On Turning Fifty

On Turning Fifty

Wednesday, the 8th, was my birthday. Fifty years young. At least that’s how my mind feels. The body, on the other hand, has a different opinion.

This year I got the best birthday presents ever. Since Aserah was supposed to be my birthday present, so imagine my surprise when Kevin told me I could get her litter-mate too! We picked Bia up on Monday. The two of them are getting along great and I can’t believe just what great dogs they are.

Daughter Alissa got me an absolutely beautiful Chinese vase. It had a lid, but she didn’t bring that because she said it made it look too much like an urn. Now I’m harassing her for the top. My twisted mind kinda likes the idea of getting an urn for my birthday – sorta poetic.

Zayden, my fantastic grandson, is growing like a weed. Seven months old and crawling all over the place. Kevin swears he actually said “HI” the other day. I believe him. The kid is a tiny terror when he’s in his walker – he thinks the house is his private racetrack. But, honestly, every move he makes brings a smile to my face. Who would have thunk I would be such a proud grandma?

The garden is almost done. It’s been a very successful year. Both freezers are full and the canning jars are adding up. The dehydrators (two of them) have been running daily. About all that’s left in the garden are the pumpkins and they’ll be harvested by the end of next week.

It’s been extremely hot here the last few weeks. So far we haven’t hit the 100 mark in temperature, but we sure have in the heat index realm. Just walking to the mailbox will bring on a full sweat. Me, I’m trying to stay inside as much as possible – which isn’t hard, with all the produce to preserve that’s on the kitchen table.

I’m really looking forward to fall. The kitchen is finally going to get the remodel it has been begging for. We’re doing it all out of cedar and I know it’s just going to be stunning. Plus we designed it ourselves and since we’ve got the sawmill and all the tools, we don’t have to follow any other manufacturers idea of what a kitchen should be.

Time, like always, is always at a premium, but hopefully I’ll be able to post the remodel pictures on the site as we progress.

Back and Posting Again

Okay, so it’s been awhile. But, to be honest, things around here have been hectic for the last couple of months. And that’s putting it mildly.

Kevin’s been working almost non-stop and what free time he had, we spent the majority of it getting our garden in. Gotta admit, so far the garden has been worth all the time and effort and it looks like the shelves and freezer will be full to the brim for winter.

We did take a vacation of sorts in early June to go visit Kevin’s parents in Arizona. He couldn’t take as much time off from work as we would have liked, so the trip was only five days. We spent two days driving out there, but drove straight thru to get back to our beloved Ozark Hills.

We saw a lot of beautiful scenery along the way, but both of us had to admit that none was as stunning as the hills and trees of the Ozarks.

We spent his last day off driving to Southern Missouri to pick up our new family pet. Aserah, an English Mastiff, joined us two weeks ago tomorrow. She will be four months old this week and we are totally amazed by her laid back attitude and just how smart she is.

Now the garden is starting to produce and produce in a big way. We picked 50 pounds of green beans the day before yesterday and it looks like by the end of the week, I’ll have at least that many more. Plus, tomatoes to process. Yep, I’ll be busy, but if I’m lucky we can process a lot of it on the 4th when Kevin is off. (Some folks like fireworks – me I love the sound of the pressure canner preserving those tomatoes).

Anyway, I’ve posted a few new articles on Backwoods Living. One is in the Projects Section the other in the Back to Basics Garden.

We have a lot more to write, and I promise we will. Just got to find a free minute or so to do it. :)

Spring Has Sprung Once More

The weather here has just been getting better and better. Even with all the rain and thunderstorms, at least it is warm. Don’t even have a fire going this week.

This past weekend, Kevin and I worked on the greenhouse. We redid the growing beds and covered the roof with new plastic. And we planted lettuces, cabbages and onions. They are beginning to sprout and I can already taste fresh salad in my near future.

We also started tomatoes, peppers and eggplant in peat pots inside the cold frames. With any luck they will be strong plants by the time we’re ready to put them in the garden in May. We still have to till the garden for the year and hopefully we’ll have time to get the potatoes and onions in the ground on Saint Patrick’s day.

Zayden continues to grow like a weed. It’s hard to believe he’s almost three months old, but he’s beginning to laugh and has truly discovered he has a voice and isn’t afraid to let anyone hear it. I can’t believe I’m having so much fun watching him every night while Mom works. Sometimes I just look at him in amazement – he is just so cute and perfect.

Tried to upload the latest picture of Zayden and Kevin, but can't seem to get it to work tonight, so I'll save that for another day. (by then, I'll have another favorite picture, I'm sure).

For anyone following the website, I'll be updating it with at least three new articles in the gardening project section by the weekend.

See what my better half built

We call it the Elf Bed, but actually it's a beautiful cradle for our darling grandson. More pictures can be found on the Lo Gap Woodworks site - look under furniture, then click commissions and scroll down. Zayden is growing fast and Kevin will be building a crib for him soon. Mom and baby have gone home now, but soon she'll be back at work and Grandma gets to babysit. Can you say 'spoiled grandchild'? Because that's exactly what this little one will be.

So far, the winter here has been pretty mild. Which is good, since Kevin's been working so much, we haven't had much time to stockpile wood for the stove. It's a good thing we've got a lot of hickory -- it's the one wood that burns very well and very hot while still green. We did find time to order the plastic for the greenhouse this week, along with all of the garden seed we'll need for this year.

I'm really looking forward to this year's garden. With all the contamination that hit the fresh produce market last year, it's always nice to 'grow it yourself'. At least that way you know exactly what you are eating. You just can't say that about what you buy in the stores these days.

And it's getting worse. Now the FDA is planning to allow cloned meat and dairy in our grocery stores and not require that it be labeled as such. Can we say "yuck"? Makes me very glad we don't eat any meat other than venison that we don't raise ourselves.

So 2007 is off to a wonderful start. If only half of our plans play out the way we want them to, we're going to have a very good year.

Wishing everyone a happy and prosperous New Year.