Hello All

I am quietly sipping my tea while the boys nap. It is an Organic Blackberry from Kensho Tea. I picked up a tin of it this fall from the farm. It is delicious and its fragrance fills the room.

I am debating on napping myself since the boys are both asleep. I am tired even though I did sleep better last night. Not sleeping well seems to be just a part of being pregnant for me. Too bad since being pregnant itself makes me tired. It is as though I can't fall deeply asleep and just linger between sleep and wakefulness all night, and sometimes day. :)

I do not want to sleep though. I am just taking a break from mixing up things here in the kitchen. I made up a new batch of Healing Balm and put it in all my little jars. I usually keep some in my purse to just give away, so if you see me just ask.
I also whipped up a new type of deodorant. I had been loving what I made before, until the last few weeks. ( Hmmm. Pregnancy hormones?? That may be the culprit.) If I like it I may switch what deodorant I make regularly to that one. (NOTE TO CAREY--Once I figure out what one I like best and get another plastic tub I'll send some to you.)

I am also experimenting with an aftershave balm for Sweetheart. He voted for bergamont oils so we'll see. Since that is what gives Earl Grey tea its distinct flavor and he drinks it everyday, I think he'll like it. I am actually waiting for it to set up so I can whip it.

Next, provided I resist the pull of the bed, I will make more Lavender Body Butters. I have some Cinnamon Spice left and a bunch of scrubs, but otherwise Christmas gifts wiped me out.

While that is cooling I will try to do a double batch of lip balms as I think I am down to one or two tubes. I should pry myself out of this chair and get going, don't you think? ***Break*** The aftershave balm is whipped! And my hands are so soft. I had enough to fill the jar I wanted to use and three little sample jars. Any (local) takers?

I am looking forward to the weekend. Sweetheart's birthday is next week and so we are headed out to dinner this weekend. It should be a nice evening.

Sweetheart has been putting in a lot of extra hours between his side business and fixing our car, so I am hoping for a bit of family time this weekend. The great news is that the side business' profit for last year allowed us to pay off our second mortgage on our home yesterday. Yippee! It was all how they configured the original loans for our home when we bought it. Now that extra each month can go to paying down the first faster. Nice.

Well, my teacup is empty and I best get back to work. Hope you all have a wonderful weekend. **Special Greetings to any Company Girls!!!****

***********Added later: I finished everything except for whipping the Body Butters. The mix is still cooling to the right temperature for whipping. I checked it a moment ago and it just isn't quite ready yet. I did get fifteen tubes of lipbalm made. Now it is time to finish cleaning up and switch out more laundry. Exciting life, isn't it?

Autumn Day at the Farm

Between a new machine with new software and breaking my favorite lens on the camera, I've been having a hard time posting pictures. That should change now.
Sweetheart downloaded Picasa for me last night. I love it, plus I can make these fun collages. I stayed up way too late last night playing with it all. I also had over 530 pictures from the last month to deal with.

Sweet Dumpling Boy

Autumn Luncheon

Yesterday I had my Mom and two ladies over for lunch. One of the ladies owns Berry Patch Farms, our home away from home. Her sister has just moved here and so we wanted to get to know them both better.
It was a cold, snowy, drizzly day. But we stayed snug with visiting and soups and hot teas and coffee. They stayed for several hours and we all just got to take a break and relax. This has been such a busy season for them at the farm so I really appreciated that they would take a few hours out of their busy schedule to just be with us.

Our Menu:

Squash-Apple Soup with Nutmeg Cream and Spiced Pecans
Carrot Ginger Soup
Whole Wheat Herb French Bread
Salad with Pickled Squash & Beets, Cranberries, Garden Carrots & Tomatoes, Bacon & Parmesan Cheese served with Homemade Vinaigrette Salad Dressings
Cinnamon Cranberry Scones with Clotted Cream, Peach Butter & Raspberry Jam
Zucchini Bread & Pumpkin Bread

I had made the soups in advance and just warmed them up. That just left the bread, scones & salad to put together that morning. Other than forgetting the scones in the oven and over baking them, everything turned out just fine. We enjoyed our leisurely lunch and then moved to the family room for our desserts & drinks. As the snow fell, we enjoyed our peaceful time warmed with the joy of new friendships.

What a wonderful day it was!

Sunshine & Apples

The sun returned & disappeared throughout the day, but I am just glad for the amount we had! The boys and I took a bit of a country drive. It was wonderfully sunny and we enjoyed seeing some of the leaves changing.

We went into a little town, Hygiene, which was in fact quite clean. We checked out the little store and stopped in the local cafe. I bought a cup of coffee and the ladies there let the boys each pick out a gourd from a box a neighbor had brought it. I bought some potatoes from an unmanned roadside stand just tucking my money in the jar and taking the potatoes. Love this life!

We then went to Sweetheart's office and the four of us enjoyed a picnic lunch. The weather turned and it got rather chilly by the time we were done. On the drive home we stopped at the farm and picked up our first box of apples.

While the boys napped I filled the two dehydrators up with apple slices and took my book, The Ministry of Motherhood, by Sally Clarkson out onto the porch with my cup of vanilla tea. I was happily reading and rocking and sipping my tea when the clouds rolled back in. I read for a few minutes, but since my book was getting wet from the rain I decided to come back in.

Now the boys are up and playing with their blocks and gourds and dinner is cooking in the background. I'm planning to do a bit more prep work on the apples and getting ready for canning tomorrow. I'm going to make applesauce and maybe more apple chips. I recently read about making apple butter from milling the cores and peelings. Since I was given a food mill last month I'm planning on trying this idea. I've also been longing to try a apple-ginger-curry chutney recipe so I'm going to try to squeeze that in as well. We'll just see how far the apples go.

I've also got to do something with the cucumbers from the garden so maybe I'll get a batch of pickles in as well. The kitchen will see plenty of use tomorrow! I think I'll plan to do something in the crockpot as well to make sure we have dinner.

My, what a difference a little sunshine can make. Have a wonderful rest of the day.

Lovely Day!

The boys and I went back to the farm today and picked more berries. My friend brought her triplet girls, age four, and we all scoured the fields for the last of the berries. Yum!! We enjoyed our picnic lunch under the cottonwoods watching the chickens chase one another and listened to the birds sing. Delightful!

I bought a Kohlrabi to finally try and some English Peas and some Northern Lights Swiss Chard. I've never had Kohlrabi, so we'll see what that's like. The boys and I love the peas. (Dumpling, "Balls!" Pumpkin, "Just like Peter Rabbit!" Yes, Peter's were French Beans, but I go with it because Pumpkin's eating them!)

Afterward, they came over to play for a bit. The girls are simply darling and so sweet! Kim and I sat with our iced tea and visited while the kids played together.

When they left I found my new MaryJane's magazine in the mailbox and read for a few minutes before I headed out to plant. We are making such progress on our yard in spite of the crazy weather. It's been a long time in coming, but I just ordered the sod to be delivered on Friday. I am so stinking excited about this!

Between last week and this week I've planted: grapes, berries, two kinds of radishes, four kinds of carrots, beets, broccoli, lettuces, dill, parsley, savory, chives, cilantro, peppers, Swiss chard, okra, pole beans, bush beans, soybeans, snow peas, regular peas, corn, tomatoes, onions, and spinach. Already growing were garlic, hops, arugula, more herbs, tons of flowers, strawberries and raspberries and weeds. Lots of weeds.
Tonight when it's cooler I've got more to still plant: melons, squash, gourds, luffahs and more I can't remember off the top of my head.
So, come on over in a few weeks and bring your salad bowls! We'll have tea on the porch and pick our dinner.

Summer Days

***Thank you everyone for your kind words on the last post. They mean a lot. Thank you for all your prayers as well. It is such a huge burden lifted.***

Last Tuesday, I helped host a party at Janna's house for our friend, Joanne. She is the one that introduced Janna and I about a year ago. Now she's off on a new adventure moving to Phoenix for one year. They both did posts on the party here and here and included links to other blogging buddies we know. Blogging has been a wonderful introduction to some wonderful ladies I wouldn't have otherwise met. I fact, I met Joanne through blogging, too!

It is hard to even think of saying good-bye to Joanne. I will miss her so much. SO MUCH!!! She has added such richness to my life. I am glad the move is to only be for a year. I think I'd have to go after her if she stayed longer! She really is wonderful.

This Tuesday Janna and I took the kids to Berry Patch Farms, our home away from home each summer and autumn. Seriously, if you are anywhere remotely close to Denver you should go there. It's so fun to pick the strawberries and raspberries, but they also have a ton of other organic produce. I tried so many new fruits and veggies since I first started going there years ago. I've learned so much, too!

We had such a fun day with our kiddos hauling wagons of berries and boys. Pumpkin and Anne are just a few weeks apart in age and I'm planning to marry them off when they are of age. Jack and Dumpling are a few months apart and they all play really well together. The wagons were a perfect height for Jack and Dumpling's All-You-Can-Eat Buffet.We even made a new friend that Anne christened Strawberry the Frog. Quick catching, Janna! After our hours of picking everyone came back here to our home for lunch.

After we ate the kids played while Janna and I put together a batch of Healing Balm. Since I'd already steeped the herbs and oils before we just melted the beeswax and adding the rest of the oils. She picked what extra essential oils she wanted for more fragrance to each jar and it all went together in a flash. (BTW-Janna~How was it once it set?)

I absolutely love this recipe!!! I've been putting it on scratches, bumps, bruises, and bites. It totally takes the itch out of bug bites for me. I'll steeped some more of the herb oil in the next few days to have some on hand for more batches. The directions are here for you. I took a jar myself for my gift at Bunco that night. They are getting used to my lotions and potions.

One of the gals asked me what else I'd been making that was new. I told her I had made deodorant that day. I had the ingredients in the kitchen. It took just a few minutes to mix up and seems to work great. I wasn't too sure about trying it, but I'm glad I did. Directions are here if you are interested. I mixed equal parts cornstarch and baking soda in a half-pint wide mouth jar. I stirred in about 5 tablespoons of coconut oil and some lavender essential oil. I'll experiment more next time with more or less oil, but it really works well so far! I guess there are women who just glow, I'm just not one of them. After gardening in the afternoon sun for over an hour yesterday and two workouts later, I'm happy with this stuff.

Yesterday I started my canning. This became this:
After being inspired by this recipe I added part of a vanilla bean to the first batch of jam using the jam recipe I had. Yum! I made the second batch just the plain way and look forward to tasting the difference. I'm thinking a fresh batch of scones are in order this weekend!

Oh, remember Bacon Bits? This was her picture last year with Pumpkin:

This year:
Yep. It's bad. And no, she's not pregnant! Guess she likes the food, too.

(Janna seems to be the only one remembering her camera lately, so most of these pictures are credited to her. She does a nice job, doesn't she?)