Winter

Gone Again

It’s cold here in my neck of the woods. And snowy. We have lots and lots of snow this winter. I just came in from taking care of the chickens and my toes are cold and my cheeks are cold. I was doing pretty good until I decided I needed to shovel off the patio as we got another skiff of snow this morning. I love love love winter and snow but these zero and below temps are not fun. It’s even cold in the house since I refuse to turn the furnace up. We just layer, pile on the blankets when we’re sitting down, and this year I’ve made rice bags and boy do they help!

Last week was tough as Joe was gone most of the week. And this week is the same. We have gotten so spoiled over the past year as he hasn’t had to travel. Last week he was only 45 minutes away which even though he’s not home, we at least know if absolutely necessary he can come home or we can go to him. This week he’s out of state. The only positive to that is he’s there to hand over the account to someone new so he shouldn’t have to go again. Yeah! The last time he was there was last year. We weren’t sure he would be able to get home due to the quarantine and the state shutting down. He made it home and the next day everything shut down. Scary times!

We had been so used to him traveling. He had slowed down considerably over the years but he still was gone quite a lot. But over the past year, he’s been home. All the time. And after an adjustment period for all of us, we settled in and loved it. He’s slowly been going out and to accounts and been gone during the day for part of the week and that’s as it should be. But again, it was an adjustment as we had gotten to used to him being here all the time. There have been so many negative aspects of this pandemic but being able to spend so much time together has been a blessing that I have cherished.

Another positive of the pandemic has been homeschooling. Something we had been thinking about doing became necessary at the end of the last school year and then we decided to carry on this year. While challenging, very challenging some days, it’s been fun. A fun new project we started at the beginning of the year was a nature journal. And then the darn winter weather hit and getting outside and exploring really isn’t possible right now. There is just too much snow and it’s too darn cold. So, for now we’re taking what we study in Science and our Mammals unit and we’re transferring that into our nature journals. As you can see, Andrew drew his food chain but then he decided to embellish his journal with a turtle with a food bowl in its shell. I never know what he’s going to come up with!

Candlemas and Groundhog Day

We celebrated Candlemas and Groundhog Day yesterday. I surprised Drew with a day of celebrating mixed in with school work and I think he enjoyed the day. He asked if we would celebrate Candlemas every year! I found it interesting that he has never liked Groundhog Day and never wanted to talk about it or know if the groundhog saw his shadow or not. But he was open to studying it yesterday and he even chose to draw a groundhog in his nature journal. A groundhog with a top hat on!

For Candlemas we talked about what Candlemas is and how we’re halfway to spring. That seemed to excite me more than Drew! I had not ever heard of Candlemas so it was interesting for me too. We brought out the beeswax candles we poured awhile back to use in our celebration. We did some fire experiments using the candles and for supper we ate pancake stacks by candlelight. We had just read the chapter in Farmer Boy about Almanzo’s mom making him pancake stacks so that made it even more fun! It was nice to have a little celebration on a cold winter day.

Winter Days

I’m sitting here munching on dehydrated apple chips from the apples we picked at a friend’s house this past fall. They sure taste good on this cold, foggy winter day! I’m thankful I broke down and bought a dehydrator. I got it thinking we would make beef jerky and so far, that’s the one thing we haven’t tried!

It’s been a quiet few days around here. It’s cold and there’s lots of snow on the ground. I enjoy these days and would enjoy them even more if Drew did. He needs to be able to get out and run. Being cooped up is not for him. We’re planning a trip to the library later this week. We have to make an appointment to be able to get in. Hoping to find some books for our mammal study we’re starting and hoping to find a good book for him to read. With all the books in this house that his siblings read you would think something would grab his interest but so far nothing.

I’ve been busy stitching orders and am finally caught up so last night I switched things up and stitched a chicken. No reason. Just ran across the free pattern, had some fabric begging to be used and ran with it. A little bright spot in the kitchen to cheer us up on these cold winter days!

Drew learned to run the snow blower and got to put it to use over the weekend. He thought it was fun to try and bury me in snow! We went on a road trip before the snow hit. Joe showed us where they hunted for deer and told us about the hunt! Drew and Rambler must have gotten bored, they both fell asleep! There’s been a lot of fort making going on and I’m ready to have my living room back! And then there’s Possum, just enjoying being King of the Castle!

Snowdays and Forts

Last Wednesday was a snow day, Drew was sick and we kept him home on Thursday, another snow day on Friday, and no school again today due to ice and cold. We went from warm, almost springlike days, to frigid cold, wind, snow and ice overnight. That darn wind even blew some siding off of the house. And so much ice. I love snow, but the ice is just plain hazardous.

I think it was Friday when Drew said he wanted to build a fort. I am all for fort building but he builds them in the living room, doesn’t want to take them down for days and I get sooo tired of them. So, I told him to build one in his bedroom. When you have a bunkbed and no actual bed on the bottom you have the perfect spot to build a fort! The only problem with that as far as Drew is concered is it will mess up his bedroom. When Eric moved out Drew asked to move into Eric’s old room. Which I was fine with but it has also brought on an interesting issue.

Drew has never been one to keep a clean room. He could destroy a clean room in seconds flat. No joke! So, when we started moving things into his “new” room, he surprised us when he decided to be very selective in what was moved and what was not. And he now keeps his room picked up at all times. He even goes in and cleans and vacuums it on his own. It is wonderful! But, the issue is, all of the things he didn’t bring into his “new” room are still piled up in the old room. He’s not ready to get rid of them yet but he doesn’t want them making a mess in his room either. So, after 30 years, I finally get a spare room and it’s full of Drew’s stuff. We did get a bed set up in there so we do have a place for Aaron or Eric to sleep if/when they stay. But the room is a disaster that needs to be tackled.

Back to the fort. Drew spent time building it and making it just the way he wanted it. It had room for him, his dad and me to sit in it comfortably. He built little cubbies for each of us to hold our things, phones, slippers, whatever we wanted to bring into the fort. We played games and took a nap in there and I thought yeah, he can play in this all weekend. It will give him something to do. And, I was wrong. It was fun while it lasted but it was messing up his bedroom and he just couldn’t take it. I went to fix supper, Joe headed out to do chores and down came the fort. Every single thing was picked up and put away so his room would be nice and tidy. I do wish this desire would manifest itself to the rest of the house as he really doesn’t care how messy he is everywhere else. I do love that he wants a nice clean cozy bedroom. And yet, I wish he could have left that fort up for a couple of days at least. It really was fun!

I finished my wee little Flower Witch by Lori Brechlin. I love how she turned out. A little more practice and I’ll be ready to start stitching for Bayah.

As much as I’m enjoying learning a new craft, it feels good to get back to making those tiny little X’s. Strawberries and bunnies and a beautiful new needle minder given to me by a dear friend. Doesn’t that dragonfly just scream out warm summer days! And yet here we are, the middle of winter and we’re supposed to be getting quite the snowstorm today. They canceled school as of last night already. According to my phone we’re supposed to get 3 to 5 inches of snow with ice accumulations of up to one tenth of an inch, wind and near whiteout conditions. We’ll see what really happens. Mother Nature always does her own thing! I guess I’ll head to town to run errands this morning and then plan on staying home the rest of the weekend. I love a good snowstorm!

Rambler

We got a new puppy a few months ago. He’s a Black Lab Red Heeler mix and we road tripped to Missouri to get him. We ended up taking backroads and being out in the middle of nowhere to the point I thought we should turn around and go home. I was wondering if maybe we were not in a safe situation. Joe of course thought I was nuts and kept going. And he was right. I would say the lady who we got him from was the crazy one. Dead end road, just her and some strangers who showed up to pick out a puppy. But it was fine. She was great. Drew picked out the puppy he wanted and we brought Rambler home. The name Rambler comes from Drew’s love of the Nash Rambler. Another vintage love of his! Well, I had to take Rambler to the vet yesterday. He was limping and not putting any pressure on his right paw. And the poor guy came home like this:

A splint and a cone of shame. The vet thinks he fractured his paw, possibly in more than one place, and to be on the safe side he decided to put a splint on. Which means he can’t get it wet. And of course it’s the middle of winter with snow, freezing rain, mud everwhere. So the poor guy will be spending the next two weeks in the shop where he won’t be doing much of anything besides resting and eating and going outside for potty breaks with plastic wrapped around his leg. But only if the ice melts. He’s so awkward with that splint, I’m afraid he’ll hurt himself even more on the ice. It’s going to be a long two weeks.

Frost Quakes and Hoards

Beaky, Ethel, Blackie, Ester and Matilda – Liz didn’t want her picture taken I guess!

Frost Quakes – the official name for the sounds this old house has been making. I heard one last night right before I fell asleep – it sounded like someone rammed into the side of the house. You should have seen me jump! We had another cold night and it was cold out there this morning when I checked on the girls and gave them some fresh water. Right now it’s -7 with a wind chill of -26 and that’s nothing compared to what we had Tuesday night and yesterday! Tomorrow it’s supposed to get up to 20 and by Sunday 45. It will feel like a heatwave! No coats necessary! It always amazes me how by this time of the year we run around without coats in 30 degree weather and think nothing of it. Our bodies adjust. School was canceled again today and no mail delivery again. Two days in a row for that – I wonder if that has ever happened before? I’m thankful that the carriers don’t have to be outside in this weather. There’s no need.

Just a small pile of patterns to get organized and in binders – a daunting task!

So, today I’m back to sorting through endless piles of cross stitch supplies – threads, trims, linens, fabrics, needles, scissors I forgot I had, patterns. An endless amount of patterns. I could never stitch up all the patterns in my collection in my lifetime and yet I can easily find more I think I have to have . I’m pulling each and every one of them out of their plastic packaging and organizing them in three ring binders, some binders according to holiday, others according to designer. I’ve run out of binders and plastic sleeves so it looks like a Walmart run in the near future. (Weather permitting of course!) I cannot wait to have everything organized so that I can pick out exactly what I want and/or need at any time and get started on a project!

I’m going to try this whole blogging thing again. Only different. Here goes.

We had record breaking cold weather last night. It was absolutely frigid. I had never heard the house groan and creak and pop like it did all night long. I’d read about that happening but had never experienced it myself. It was strange. Like the house was talking back to Mother Nature. But this 100+ year old house kept us safe and warm. The furnace kept up (thank goodness we had a full gas barrel), and the electric heater along with an old heavy quilt kept the back bedroom comfortable, the water pipes didn’t freeze. I’m so very thankful!

Joe was gone. He’s been in Pella this week. So it was up to me to hold the fort down. I stressed and worried about the poor chickens. I went out at dusk and gave them more bedding, stuffed some old sheets up and around them, then more bedding, told them good night and closed their door. And this morning – they were up and clucking and seemed to glad to see me. They got warm oatmeal and fresh water for breakfast and I opened their door in case they wanted to venture out. I was so happy to see them up and moving around!

It is so cold that everything in town is pretty much closed down or opened late and will close early. The postal service has shut down for the day. That has never happened before that I can remember but I was so glad to hear their decision yesterday. And Monday they announced that school would be canceled for yesterday and today. School was canceled four days last week due to snow, blowing wind and cold. Looks like we will be going to school longer this spring but that’s okay – better that than putting anybody’s life in danger trying to get to school. I have always loved winter. I find a good snowstorm to be exhilarating! There’s nothing prettier than a snow covered landscape! But these temps – I must say I’m not a fan. It’s been a winter to remember that’s for sure!

So after braving the temps this morning to take care of the girls I sat down with a couple of warm cranberry muffins, a cup of coffee and my new MaryJane’s farm magazine and enjoyed a few minutes of perusing. I ordered this magazine sight unseen when they sent me a flier and I am so glad I did. It is filled with fun, informative articles on everything farmgirl related. I can see I’m going to really enjoy it. I’m trying to get back to simple. Less electronics more hands on. Less time spent on blogs and Pinterest and Facebook, more time spent reading a book or magazine and just slowing down and enjoying my family and my home. As much as I enjoy having the internet at my fingertips, I enjoy a hot cup of coffee, a homemade treat and a good magazine so much more. It’s the little things for me!

Seasons

I am thankful to live in and area where we have all four seasons. I feel I would be lost without them. Fall is my favorite with winter being a close second (It’s still fall here but I woke up to snow – it’s so pretty outside right now!) Fall brings clean crisp air, bonfires, beautiful colors everywhere and just doens’t last long enough. Winter for me is a time to hibernate which I love. I don’t even mind that it gets dark earlier. It’s a time for hot chocolate and blankets and settling in. Of course spring brings summer which means camping season so I like them too. Spring brings color back into the landscape and a desire to get out and work the earth. And summer means long days and late nights, picinics and bike rides. Each season brings with it it’s own unique offerings and I’m thankful for them all.

What We’ve Been Up To

Last week we saw snow. Lots of snow. It started a week ago Monday and kept coming. All in all we ended up with something like 15 inches or so. I’m not sure how many years it’s been since we’ve seen this much snow but it’s been awhile. I’ve really missed having snow like this and I’m enjoying it while it’s here. It covers all the drab browns with a beautiful blanket of white. It softens all the hard edges. It’s beautiful!

On Friday after Joe got done clearning the driveway he pulled Drew around on his sled behind the 4-wheeler. Unfortunately this ended up with Drew falling off the sled and planting his head in the driveway. He came in the house crying and with blood running. He banged his head up pretty good but he’s tough. After an hour of cuddling he was up and running around loving his war wounds and planning how to make sure he doesn’t fall off the sled tomorrow!

By Saturday we were needing groceries and needing to get out of the house so we headed to Oskaloosa. First we took Drew to the mall to see a model train set up that’s there. He is fascinated with model trains. We all enjoyed this set up and best of all – it was free! Then onto Fareway to stock up on some meat and Hy-Vee for some sale items. On the way home Dad called and asked if Joe could run over and help him fix his tractor so when we got home Joe and Drew headed over there while I stayed behind to put groceries away, bag up meat for the freezer and clean the chicken coop.

Joe and Drew built a fort on Sunday after Joe got done cleaning out the driveway. Snow – free entertainment for adults and kids alike! Then we headed to Fairfield to visit Aunt Konnie. She had been in the hospital with pneumonia and is now in a care facility for a week or two for some additional help before she goes home. She was looking good and seems to be on the road to recovery. Later Dad and Mom came over for supper and to play games. A nice ending to the weekend.

Nothing much went on throughout the week. A nice quiet week for once. I got my hair cut on Thursday – the first haircut I’ve had in over a year. Joe likes it long but it was just getting to be too much for me and it was time to shorten it up. I worked at the school on Friday and yesterday we met Joe’s brother and sister-in-law for supper in Des Moines. Something we’ve talked about doing and finally did. It was a nice evening. We decided we needed to try and do that more often. Hopefully we will make it happen.

Our meals the past few days:

Saturday: Comfort Meatballs and Mashed Potatoes – recipes from The Pinoneer Lady

Sunday: Crockpot Beef Stew, bread and butter and cheese.

Monday – Cheeseburger Quesadillas – recipe from Sunny Simple Life. I hadn’t made these before but was hoping we would like them. Something fairly quick and easy to make for those busy nights that pop up now and then. We all loved them!

Tuesday: Pancake supper with Dad and Mom at the Sigourney Christian Church.

Wednesday: Spaghetti with both red sauce and alfredo sauce, strawberry Jell-O with bananas and marshmallows, homemade rolls, Mississippi Mud Cake. And Valentine’s chocolates!

Thursday: Leftovers. I love leftover nights!

Friday: Crockpot Taco Chicken Bowls

Saturday: Famous Dave’s – we met Joe’s brother and sister-in-law in Des Moines for supper. A spur of the moment decision – and a fun evening out with family.

What I’ve done to be frugal: Stitched the flower back on my headband that Drew had been wearing around. That kid likes to wear my headgear for some reason.

Fixed my winter chore hat. Drew had worn it to school and brought it home with a broken clasp. I cut the clasp off and attached iron on Velcro. I’ve had that Velcro stashed away for years and never used it. There was a time when I would have simply stuffed the hat into the back of the closet and bought a new one. And yet now, after my frugal fix, it stays snugger than ever and is better than new!

Repurposed an empty plastic coffee container. I hate throwing those away and yet you can only store so many for later use. But, we are now using one for leftovers to go to the cats. I keep it in the refrigerator and when it’s full out to the cats it goes. Then I wash it and start all over. I’m saving the container from the landfill and saving on cat food too. On the days the cats get leftovers they don’t get dry cat food – and they love leftovers!

Joe started cleaning out his office and shredded tons of paper – will be used for bedding in the chicken coop.

I’ve gotten a lot of stitching done while watching the Olympics in the evenings with Drew. We really enjoy the Winter Olympics. Anybody else enjoying the competitions?