Grocery Shopping Without Leaving Home

I did a bit of food preparation yesterday and in the process gathered many of the needed ingredients from my squirreled away stores.

First thing in the morning (before I was totally awake even), I filled a small dish with blueberries from the freezer and set them on the counter to thaw as an addition to our breakfast oatmeal.  

While in the deep freezer, I also grabbed a pound of butter along with a package of cooked duck meat to use in making B-B-Q for lunch sandwiches.  Buns for the sandwiches came out of the freezer, too.

This was lunch again today.  

Buns are gone so bread

was used for the B-B-Q sandwiches.

A trip to the root cellar yielded a head of cabbage for coleslaw, and I also got some carrots and apples.

The last morsels in a jar of blueberry jam bit the dust a few days ago so I grabbed another jar off the pantry shelf.  Remembered I'd just used the last of the dill pickles and also a quart of applesauce so I tucked a jar of each of those in the crook of my arm.

It's for certain these "put-by" foods didn't magically appear in the freezer or on the shelf, but doesn't it make the work involved in raising your own fruit, vegetables and meat all worth it when you can go food shopping without leaving home?  (Or putting on any make-up or combing your hair?)

After Christmas Catch-Up

Well, the predicted Christmas snowstorm did not materialize, at least for us in our area.  The threatened 1/4" of ice before the snow started never happened and the snow was only about 3-4" when all was said and done.  But heavy snow it was and I feel as though I may have shoveled about fourteen tons (maybe more) of it yesterday.  Even the snow plow on the front of our daughter's truck was taxed a bit while removing the snow from the driveway and yard areas.  We spent most of yesterday getting things outside cleared and back in shape.  The temperature hovered around 30° so it didn't feel bad at all being outside despite over-working a few muscles.

This morning our overnight low was 10° and it seems as though those more winter-like temps will be with us for the coming week.  Those twenty degrees from ten above to thirty above certainly do make a big difference in a human's comfort level while outside.

Papa Pea talked me out of doing my usual laundry chores yesterday (Monday) so that's what I've been up to today.  I had a couple of extra loads (who's making all the dirty clothes around here?) so it's taking me longer than usual to finish up the task.

I was planning on spending a couple of hours in my quilt room today, but it's after 4 p.m. already and being a morning person, my zip, get-up-and-go, energy and creativity really begin to dwindle by this time of the day.  My handwork may be just sitting and knitting on the couch tonight.

Speaking of being on the couch, after my snow shoveling yesterday and the snowshoe hike we took on Christmas Day, last night at 7 o'clock I literally fell asleep sitting up reading on the couch.  (I'm sure I was a fetching sight and hope I wasn't drooling.)  I knew it was a losing battle so gave up the ghost and was in bed by 8 p.m. and asleep by 8:05.  Some evenings are like that and ya just can't fight it.

I told my dear husband I wanted to take this week between Christmas and New Year's "off" to do some of the things I really enjoy like reading, watching a DVD or two, knitting, quilting, even taking an afternoon nap if I feel like it.  You'd think being at this stage of my life, I'd have as much time for such endeavors as I wanted, but it just doesn't seem to work out that way.  There are the regular, everyday (day after day) tasks that need tending to besides The List I always have running.

That list in front of me at this moment includes:

~ Make pie crusts for freezer
~ Sort recipe box
~ Bake bread
~ Give shower an in-depth cleaning
~ Organize storage shelvews in basement
~ Restock basics (soups, casseroles, etc.) in freezer
~ Fix plant hanger in bathroom
~ Clean/reorganize pantry
~ Send birthday card to G
~ Get back to Cousin J
~ Make/can applesauce
~ Make mayonnaise
~ Clear desk
~ Sort desk drawers
~ Order garden seeds
~ Split kindling

Truth be told, as I start doing some of these things (and I really do have to start . . . I've heard the best way to finish a project is to start), I know I'll discover just as many other things to add to The List.  Yep, it's never-ending, isn't it?

I don't really know how to avoid all the items I have on The List and gain days to fritter away on any of the personal things my little heart yearns to do.  None of the items on my list are things I hate to do or don't want to do to keep home and hearth running smoothly, but if I'm honest they are not ones that feed my soul.  I came across a quote recently that someone said when asked what success meant to her.  She replied, "To do something one is fulfilled and energized by."  Yes, yes, YES!

So . . . if I'm to actually take some time "off" in order to get fulfilled and energized, I guess I'd better get off my duff and get moving!

Merry Christmas!

 May your holiday be filled with

the joy of living

and the love of giving.

MERRY CHRISTMAS 

FROM OUR HOUSE

TO YOURS!

 

Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas!

It started snowing this morning around 11:30 and it's still coming down now at 5:30.  We've gotten somewhere around 6" so far which is great because now we should have enough on the ground for insulating purposes.

Up until today, my little car hasn't had snow on it this winter because it's been snugged away in our garage.  Wouldn't you know, today it got booted out first thing so some workshop-y things could be done in the garage.

I took a trip out to see how the waterfowl were doing this afternoon and took this shot as I came up to their "village."  Looks cozy with this new snow, doesn't it?

Everybody seemed to be just hunky-dory waddling around the "commons" area and basically happy with life.

The chickens, geese and ducks all have access during the day to several different "houses" which are all bedded with clean straw. 

You can see by the snow covering on his back that Mr. Muscovy must have great insulation next to his skin.  (He has his own down jacket on.  Haha.)

Then I saw these two pansies who preferred to be on the inside looking out.  Apparently they didn't want to get their feathers wet.  (I don't blame them.  My "feathers" go all wonky when wet, too.)

A view of the pond.  Pond?  What pond?  Where?

The snow is really beautiful coating each branch and twig as shown on this apple tree.  (This picture, straight out of my camera, was taken right at sunset and there was a definite pink glow over everything outside.  Very strange, but lovely.)

I spent too much a little time this afternoon getting Christmas cookies ready to give.  I sure am glad I decided to make only half of the varieties I had on my original list.  ('Course, I did make double batches of some of the favorites.)  I always have the silly notion we won't have enough left for munching here at home.  That's not going to be a problem.

Pot Holder Winners!

I drew two names for the two sets of pot holders I offered as a holiday giveaway.

We had twenty-eight entries, but Wendy from the Netherlands kindly disqualified herself from the drawing because of postage hassles involved in getting the pot holders to her should her name be drawn.  So that left us with 27 entries.

(Little Homestead in Boise and fivegirls, your comments came in after the 9 p.m. cut-off time last night.   I'm sorry, fivegirls, as you said you entered earlier, but I never got your comment until the one after the deadline.) 

I numbered your names (1 - 27) as they came in and then put slips of paper with the numbers on them in a little bowl.  (I wanted to use Santa's hat but seems the jolly old gentleman is rather busy with last minute gift preparations and wasn't available to lend his help.)

The two numbers drawn were 17 and 22.  Heather Sebastian is #17 and Gin2Weave is #22.  Their choices worked out perfectly as Heather chose the farm scene pot holders while Gin2Weave had a preference for the traditional ones.

If you two winners will send me your mailing addresses, I'll be glad to get the pot holders in the mail to you asap.

Thanks to all of you who were interested in the giveaway and entered.  

A Holiday Giveaway!

Time for some fun!

I have two sets of "Christmas-y" quilted

pot holders that I'd like to

give away.  

The picture above is of the front of

each pot holder.

And this is the back of them.

This set (on the top of the first picture)

is constructed of more traditional

Christmas fabric.

While this set (the bottom set shown)

is of a winter 

farm yard holiday scene.

If you're interested in receiving one of these

sets, just leave a comment saying so

(indicate which set you would prefer),

and I'll draw two names

from a hat (maybe Santa's)

and send a set to each of the names drawn.

I'll close comments for this giveaway 

this Sunday night, December 18th,

around 9 p.m. and announce 

the winners on Monday morning.

So, want a chance to get a new

set of quilted Christmas pot holders?

Everyone's welcome to enter!