Status Report: October 2024

Yep, it's already November 2nd.  All of this still applied in October though, and I'm really running behind lately 😄 so here's how things are going...

SITTING: Indoors, where it's warm. That will be the way it is for the next 6 months at least. I'll jazz it up a little with "sitting inside and the woodstove is going" over the winter but that's as about as adventuresome as we'll get until next spring.  To save on heating costs, I'll be using wood a lot more this year and I'm looking forward to that. Home just feels more homey, heated with wood. 💖

BEEN BUSY WITH: Lots and lots of mulching leaves & covering all my raised beds & pathways, finishing putting summer things away, planting garlic (62 cloves went in today - to be harvested first week of July), moving the hot tub into the "winter spa" (aka, the garage) and getting that set up for the winter, and making lots and lots (and lots) of soup.  The last week of October has sort of become known as Soup Week around here.  Soup for dinner, soup for leftovers, soup to freeze and soup to freeze dry. I don't use a pressure canner but you could easily prep it this way as well, to stock up for the winter months. It's a really great way to use up all those veggies you've harvested all summer that are taking up freezer space. It's also a really good way to meal prep for the next few weeks and months where a hearty bown of homemade soup is on the menu on those chilly fall and winter days.  The last couple of weeks I've tucked away Cheesy Ham Chowder, Roasted Red Pepper Soup, Butternut Squash Soup, Loaded Baked Potato Soup & Creamy Tomato Soup. I think the young folks might call this "soup maxxing". 😊

FEELING: US presidential election fatigue. Big time.  I suspect everyone is feeling it, at least in part. Hoping for the best, either way. But I have to say, I'm not feeling very optimistic.  Since I believe God both raises up leaders and takes them down for His purposes and for His glory, and also ordains each leader put into place... I'm going to just keep reminding myself to trust in Him.  He knows what He's doing, even when we have no idea.

THINKING: about my grandpa McKinsey.  Tomorrow 11.03 would have been his 115th birthday. Ironically, my very first blog post at this blog (now archived) 20+ years ago, was all about my grandpa's ICU salvation story as told by my brother, a year before he passed & met Jesus face to face. I last saw him 32 years ago, a week before he left this earth. We joked about things like we always did, my kids ran over to him in his lazyboy chair and hugged him while he patted their wee heads then gave them each a piece of saltwater taffy candy he always seemed to magically produce from some bowl near his chair, and then we smiled as we left after a pleasant visit. One of the last things he said to me as we were leaving that day was that he decided he'd stick around at least until his birthday. He honored that and passed 6 days later. I will be forever grateful I have that last precious memory of my grandpa. 

LOOKING FORWARD TO: planning out Christmas baskets. Lots of kids, grandkids, in-laws, outlaws & jars of garden freshness to get all sorted out. From sauces, salsas, jams, jellies, fruits, pickled veggies & soups, there's a lot of goodies to get all organized in each family's basket. It's a labor of love I look forward to every year.  

PLANNING: I've had this machine for a little while now and I've been planning to do a review of it once I found out how it held up to mulching 80 trillion fall leaves. 40 trillion (more or less) from my neighbor's Sugar Maple that fall into my yard, and 40 trillion (probably) from my King Crimson Maple. The Autumn leaf fall is about 80% over now, and I've used the machine several times to both mow and mulch, so I think I have a pretty good idea on how well this Ryobi 13" Push Lawn Mower works.  

The stand-alone review will be coming soon, with all the good stuff you need to know before you buy one of these battery operated gizmos from Ryobi. 

Well that wraps up this month's status report (which is really good since I'm technically 2 days behind).  Thanks for stopping by, and I hope you have an incredible, blessed and fantastic day. 😊

If you have any questions, please feel welcome to leave a comment. 

The Family Table Ep.1 - Meal Planning

All the while I was growing up and even while my own kids were growing up, some of the most important conversations happened at the kitchen table. Setting the table, during dinner, family game night, doing homework and even folding laundry. Plans were made, vacations were planned, dreams were shared, announcements were made and questions were asked & answered. It was pretty much the heart of the home.💖  

When I returned to social media in 2023 one of the first things I noticed right away was how many young Christian wives and mothers were asking for tips & advice in a very specific area. Everything from guidance on household management, grocery shopping, meal planning and anything else related to caring for their families. And the cool thing is, there doesn't seem to be a shortage of really good answers to all those questions!  It immediately reminded me of that old family table & the wisdom shared there. 

I'm far too long-winded for twitter/X on some things so, when I see a great question there I'm going to pop in here and share some thoughts on what works for me & advice I've picked up along the way. I'm not an expert in anything really (and don't claim to be) but I do have nearly 42 years of being a wife & mom of seven kids so, that's all the qualifications that I have. I'm going to call this new little section of my blog The Family Table (not to be confused with Jess at The Farmer's Table, who you should absolutely subscribe to right away!) and I hope it serves to bless whoever happens to come along. 

I was trained in the art & science of domesticity by my grandma (she simply called it "keepin' house") who grew up during the drepression. Most of what I've learned came from her, I'm honored to say.    

So without further yammering, the questions in a thread I saw the other day were all about how to go about meal planning. Wondering how to do it, where to start, what works best, why it matters, how it helps, etc. Really good questions, all of them.

Really fun & simple answer? Start with a Weather Forecast meal plan format for all your family's dinner/main meals of the day. Then, plan all the baking, prepping & shopping around the upcoming weather for the next week or however long you set your meal plans up. 

• Is it going to be warm & pleasant?  Grilled meats, sandwiches, salads, finger foods. Pile on the fresh veggies & seasonal fruits. Then, freeze all leftover meats & veggies for use in your next soup, stew or casserole.
• Cool & blustery? Get out the soup, stew, chili & chowder recipes.  Plan the usual sides to go with each. Any leftovers, freeze in single servings for lunches.
• Dark of winter? All your favorite casseroles, roasts, pasta & rice dishes.  Again, freeze all leftovers in singles for lunches or whatever best way works for your household. When my kids were growing up, we'd have "Leftover Night" potluck type dinner at least once a week, where everyone got to pick their own dinner.   

It may sound obvious to folks that have been doing this for a long time but I know the first time I heard it suggested, it gave me a jumping off place with my own ideas on what kinds of foods to make & helped me get way more organized. Not to mention saving money on groceries by getting into the habit of storing up leftovers for the next meal or to pack in someone's lunch. It's a meal plan format I've followed for over 40 years now, and it works pretty well. I've added all sorts of recipes to each type of meal that have become family favorites over the years, so that also helps keep things fresh & fun with new recipes being added. 

Thanks for stopping by, and I sure hope this has blessed you in some way. 😊

Garden 2024 Update #15: Putting the Garden to Bed

 And just like that, the Juncos arrived, the autumn color change is almost at peak, there are flurries in the forecast off and on... and the last harvest of the year is done. Well, almost last. I'm leaving the carrots a little longer to see how they do. 

Overall it was a really good growing season, despite a few problems here and there. A couple of things I won't be growing again will be sweet potatoes and onions. I was very hopeful for the potatoes this year (their vines were long & healthy) but they didn't produce well. This is the 2nd time I've tried with the same poor results so, they're out.  So for now the plan is to replace that growing space with a single raised bed and fill it with strawberry plants. 

Things keeping me busy since my last garden update:

Salsa with the last of the ripe tomatoes & jalapenos for the year

Final pepper haul of the year October 13th

My cozy, charming wee garden

Little Jalapeno Forest

I wish I knew what both the possum and the squirrel were thinking 😂

A green onion from the farmer's market. My garden will have what your's is having, thank you. 

I'd love my own home grown veggies to look like this! 😁

A wonderful "first soup of the season, Butternut Squash and Tomato Soup recipe 

Yummy summer berries 💖

Other than the late summer planting of carrots, I still have loads of garlic to plant, leaves to mulch for all my beds, and berries to cut back. Thankfully the forecast is favorable over the next few days. Other than that, I can officially say the wee back yard garden is closed for the season. 

That will do it for this garden season update thread. Thanks for stopping by and I hope you have an incredible day. 😊

Status Report: September 2024

 September almost zipped right past without a status report so here we go...

Sitting: at my desk, listening to a dog down the street barking, kids talking as they walk to school, and birds chirping in the trees. There won't be too many more days I'll be able to sit at my desk in the morning with the windows open, so I'm enjoying it while I have it.

Been busy with: all the fall chores of putting the garden to bed. Pulling up plants that are done for the season, pruning back plants that need that and beginning the process of mulching fall leaves to give all my raised beds a nice, thick blanket for winter. 

Feeling: rather heavy hearted with the footage coming out of the south, after Hurricane Helene. Some of those little Appalachian towns are completely wiped off the map. One after another of reports of entire families deceased or missing, and so much destruction and heartache. It does my heart a little good to see so many civilians & private companies stepping up to help with food, water, shelter, etc. All of those affected are in my prayers.

Thinking: Quite a lot about so many different issues that have come up lately. In no particular order:  

• Christian Nationalism 
• Busybodies on social media 
• Bible reading challenge To the Word
• The Steve Lawson issue
• Being the kind of Titus 2 woman you wished you had as a young wife/mother

I think some of these things might be in my next Social Media Comment Section post. Maybe not so surprising, some of them are completely connected.  

I will elaborate though on the Bible reading challenge To The Word. From their site:

"Imagine a great table, loaded with the best food, perfectly prepared. This is how we view the Word of God, and it is our joy and privilege to encourage Christians to find their seats and share the bounty of it with us. The reading plan is simply the menu, the challenge is to become Christians who live and breathe the Word of God."

This is the Canon Plus 2024-2025 Bible Reading challenge that you can find here. I had no intention of starting a new Bible reading program until almost everyone I see on social media started mentioning it and then I thought "sure, why not?".  While I've studied entire books of the Bible over the years I've never been able to follow a "read the Bible in a year" all the way through.  I'm really enjoying the audio version and hope to be able to follow it through the entire year. 

Looking forward to: finally processing and/or canning all of the harvest I haven't been able to get to yet. Carrots, apples, berries, peppers, sweet potatoes and tomatoes.  Some will be canned, some frozen and some freeze dried.

Well that wraps up this month's status report (in just the nick of time!).  Thanks for stopping by, and I hope you have an incredible day.