November Here and Gone

 November is but a blur.  I have been slowly downloading pictures onto my computer, sorting, and then downloading them into blog posts and as I am finishing up November's blogs (at the end of December), I am really having to think back on what we did!

Nate vinyl wrapped our black van into an "oil slick" gray that turns iridescent in the light.  It was a fun day for all the kids to run around and play in the shop while Phil and Nate worked on the van.




Finishing up the last of the Fall Harvest.  I don't remember how many gallons of pumpkin that I froze but it was a lot!  The problem is the pumpkin pies have been so juicy, leaving standing juice/liquid in the bottom of the pie plates.  I tried to fix it by leaving the thawing pumpkin in a lined colander, hoping to drain off the liquid but it hardly helped.  

I find it very satisfying to have a counter top lined with good foods!  Eating well is a huge investment and something I have really struggled with since we moved to the farm.  There is no getting around it, if you want to eat right, it takes time, a lot of time.





Some people like cereal for breakfast, I like soup.



















After the ice storm, there were several forested plots that were logged and the remaining branches and roots burned.

What are these children looking at out the window?
Falling trees!

We had to hire someone to clean up our tree block area.  There were so many broken branches and limbs and topped trees that it was a hazard this close to the house and with the kind of wind that we experience in our open valley.  We had 7 trees taken down and will need to take down a few more.  It looks so different now.  


    

Working on a little something for in the evening hours.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

New Boots

Image
Last week, was snowy and cold cold cold, then rainy.  I continued to work on getting the yard cleaned up.  I dug out the ponds and refilled the holes with dirt.  I loaded up rocks, pavers, and bricks.  I cleaned out the water features.  I collected the strawberry runners so I would have starts to plant.  I unloaded 2 loads of bark dust.  The children were a tremendous help.  They loaded an entire trailer of firewood all by themselves and then helped with another load of rocks and bricks.  I am amazed at how much there is to load and fix just in the yard alone.  It is a lot of work for the simple concept of "curb" appeal.   Waiting for the snow to melt so I can put down the bark dust. Even with two pairs of socks, my feet were freezing so I broke down and bought a pair of Muck Boots.  The funny thing is, 2 years ago, I really wanted to have a new pair of winter boots but I just couldn't justify paying so much money just to have ...
Read more

Then Came Dense Fog and the Thunderstorm

Image
Sunday, I woke up to a dense fog and smoke cover combination.  I think this is probably the densest fog I have ever been in. Before the sun came up, it was white.  Once it got lighter outside the smoke color showed through. On the porch, looking toward the swimming pool (North) but unable to see it or the goat barn or the walnut trees. On the porch, looking toward the barn, only able to see the garden before the parking area. Outside the window looking at the tree block, barely 30 feet away. I am not sure how I let Phil talk me into (trying) going to the store...but the fog was supposed to lift by 11:00 and we were scheduled to gather at the Rawie's for church and I needed ingredients to put together something for the potluck.  (We ended up having to cancel our homechurch.) Our mailbox, we couldn't see any cars, so we had to roll down the windows and listen.  I was already terrified at this point and didn't want to continue. After having to slam on his brakes multipl...
Read more

More Hats

Image
The Etsy shop is still a work in progress and unfortunately the name Over the Top is already taken.  I have been tossing around the names Tip Top and Whimsy.  I managed to get 7 hats made during the month of November.  I have a couple that I can put on Etsy when we are ready to list them and several Christmas hats made for the children.  I have been timing how long it takes me to make a hat and I am surprised (and not in a good way LOL) at the number of hours I spend.  A baby hat takes over 5-6 hours, a child's hat takes about 7-8 hours, and an adult hat 10 plus hours.  It takes even longer if I decide to tear out the stitching because it isn't looking the way I had imagined.  The more yarn variety I use, the longer it takes me to weave in the ends.  I usually spend over an hour just with a tapestry needle making all the ends secure.  Minimum wage plus materials puts the hats in the 50-80 dollar range.  Yikes!  I would never pay th...
Read more