Seasons Greetings...

It has been a while since I posted anything substantial here, which is completely normal for me. This time of year I tend to be more focused on the holidays, making gifts and spending time with family. My writing usually takes a back burner for a couple of months, until the weather warms up and I start thinking about my garden again. Year's end is always a time of deep reflection and meditation, a chance to review my goals and values and renew my resolve. I need this down-time if I want to do amazing things in the coming year! I'd like to post some pictures of the gifts I have been making, but so many of the recipients read this humble little blog that I'd be giving too much away! I will say that my fingers have been very busy, and the kids have been really enjoying making gifts and cards for everyone!

The birds are at the feeder in droves now, and it has been a great learning experience for both my children and myself. When you have 6 or 7 different types of bird at the feeder at the same time, it makes it a lot easier to point out their differences so that the kids can learn which is which! So far, we've had Chickadees, Red Poles, Nuthatches, Pine Grosbeaks, Downy Woodpeckers, Hairy Woodpeckers, Magpies, Gray Jays, Ravens, Eagles, Ospreys, Owls, and even a Northern Goshawk!

I'm also happy to report that the snow finally arrived... hopefully before too much damage was done to the roots of my perennials. When you have longs stretches of below-zero weather, the snow actually insulates, keeping the frost from heaving the plants up out of the ground! I did use leaf-mulch on the plants that I thought would need a little extra help, so everything should be doing fine, but you never know what Mother Nature will decide to do when nobody is paying attention!

Now, I'm headed back to my Peppermint Tea, and the chicken stock I've been boiling to turn into tonight's Chicken and Dumplings! I sincerely hope that you all have a wonderful holiday, no matter if you celebrate Christmas, Hanukkah, Winter Solstice, Festivus, or any other version of it! Peace be with you all!

Hand-made for the Holidays!

Here are a few quick pictures of some of the things I have been creating for Christmas gifts this month. (I can't show a lot of it, or it would give away too much to the gift recipients!!) The crochet is free form, rather than following a specific pattern...

No Spending On Black Friday

Just a quick post today, folks. I want to remind everyone that although today is "Black Friday", there are alternatives! The holidays are about giving and being thankful, not about getting into a fist fight or stampede, just to try to get the latest "thing" that will be forgotten the day after Christmas! Sales are nice, but must we turn into monsters just to get the deal? Today, step back from this ridiculous consumer culture, cherish who and what you already have, save some money and sanity, and if you must shop... shop the little guy, the local guy, the non-corporate Mom and Pop shops, where every dollar really DOES make a difference!

Early Christmas Gifts

My wonderful husband gave me my gift early this year... my very first sewing machine! I have been having fun learning how to use it. So far I have made lounge pants for Rob and Stephen, and a bag for a young lady I know. Here are a few pictures... not bad for my first try!

Apple Cider Soup

This is too delicious not to share! I roasted some squash and root veggies from my CSA veggie box for dinner yesterday. This soup is made of leftover veggies simmered in vegetable broth and leftover apple cider. The roasted beets give it the beautiful color, and it tastes amazing!

A Successful Thanksgiving!

What a feast! Thanksgiving is always a great time to enjoy the bounties of the fall harvest, and it was a blessing to have lots of family to share with! I couldn't believe how much food there ended up being, and everyone was happy to have leftover goodies to take home with them. Its always funny to watch my husband at Thanksgiving... you can set a timer to the exact number of minutes it will take him to fall asleep after finishing his meal. Its always the family joke.

We had a great day, and now I'm looking forward to a day of no spending, to protest "Black Friday." This world is too focused on consumerism, and I am boycotting the concept this holiday season. It amazes me that so many are so blind to the state our economy is in right now, as well as to the obvious things you can do to make it a little better. Start by spending your money wisely, focusing on supporting your local economy rather than China! Buy gifts from little shops rather than big box stores, or better yet, buy the basic ingredients or materials and make it yourself! A well thought out gift means so much more than 10 cheap little things you grabbed off the shelf, in the race to beat the person next to you to the next aisle over!

This year I am giving gift bags full of homemade goodies and useful items. The gift bag is really a re-useable shopping bag, and it will contain a few homemade preserves, like the Ginger-Pear Marmalade I made last week, Banana Bread, Cookies, and even a few neat dish-scrubbies that I have been crocheting over the last month or so. A few special people may get a few extra goodies that I found at a thrift store, or maybe a CSA box for the week of their choice. My point is just to be thoughtful, rather than tv-commercial driven. You will feel better about the whole season, knowing you didn't give in to the little voices coming out of your television that tell you what to buy and how to think.

Winter is definitely here!

Wow! What a sudden change! Winter is definitely here!

It is -24F at my house this morning. Cold enough that I have the water trickling in the bathroom sinks so that the pipes don't freeze. Every time I think about getting chickens, this is the one drawback I come up with. What about in the middle of winter? I know that they can survive quite comfortably with the right setup, but am I really going to want to go collect eggs at 40 below? The answer, of course, is no, but I would do it anyway! I just need to think about this when I determine how far from the house I decide to locate the coop.

Stephen has expressed an interest in vegetable gardening and raising chickens, so I recently requested some information from our local 4-H folks. The packet just got here, so I need to read and see what they have to offer. We wouldn't be joining until summer at the earliest, but I think this will be more of a next-year project. At any rate, I'm glad he's interested. That means that he is listening to what I am trying to teach him!

Now that there is real snow on the ground, I am really starting to think about Christmas. I have about half of my gifts made, and I need to decide what type of preserves to make. I want it to be something festive, so maybe something like pear/pomegranate jelly? I'll have to start flipping through my canning cookbooks for ideas.

We had an early Thanksgiving dinner with some close friends of ours last weekend. Today I am making turkey soup with the leftovers. The house will soon be smelling warm and delicious, which is perfect for a cold day like today. I love turkey leftovers!

Its still not snowing!

Well, the weather warmed up a bit, hovering right at freezing at the moment. But its still not snowing! I love the first REAL snowfall. (as opposed to the dusting we got the other day.) Big, white fluffy snowflakes drifting slowly to the ground, it makes me feel warm, even if they are made of ice! I want to look out the window and see a perfect blanket of white staring back at me, undisturbed except for the occasional moose tracks, or mouse tracks, depending on how close to the house you happen to be looking!

Ok, my neighbor already put up a Christmas tree in their living room... that, my friends, is overkill. What about Thanksgiving? We seem to rush these things more and more each year. This year I intend to slow things down a bit. Hand-making my Christmas gifts will be a big part of that. I am looking forward to putting the baskets together, probably making a few more jams or jellies to include, and making the dishcloths one by one. I've just never had the time to do it before, and I am excited! A real, home-made holiday season!