Updating the Web Site

After months of being too busy to do much with Backwoods Living, I’m finally beginning to put a few updates together. So far it’s nothing but a few venison recipes and the beginnings of our new venture – growing shiitake mushrooms.

If, and I say that with a big IF, things continue they way things have been going, I should have time to post a couple of new items on the site every week. But since life is real good at throwing me curve balls, I make no promises.

The weather is finally warming up—at least for a few days. They are calling for snow or ice on Thursday, but until then I’m going to enjoy the 50 degree days.

Tomorrow it’s back to work on the kitchen. More new cabinets to assemble and install along with an exhaust over the stove. I’ll be updating the web site with pictures of the new kitchen as we go along. I’ve got to say though, that the cedar island is absolutely beautiful. Maybe I should show pictures of the old kitchen too – let everyone see just what a hillbilly kitchen looks like and how it can transform into something straight from House Beautiful with a smart man designing and building the cabinets. Did I mention that smart man is Kevin?

So stay tuned, you never know what you may find here or at the website.

New Year and I’m Already Behind

Or at least, I feel like I am. But then again, that’s nothing unusual. Between my writing assignments (which have been very profitable the last couple of months), the work on the house (we’re remodeling the kitchen), and taking care of my grandson, I just feel like I don’t have a lot of time for the little things I enjoy so much.

We have some things accomplished though. Our garden seeds for this year are ordered and, in fact, half is already here just waiting for the first signs of spring. After years of ordering from this place and that, we finally decided this year we were only going to order from the companies owned by Jung Seeds. Of all the places we’ve ordered from in the past, we’ve had the most success with seeds from them.

I have the faucet for my new sink in the closet and now only waiting on the pot-filler for over the stove. Funny thing about growing older is that the canner gets heavier every year going from sink to stove top. Yep, getting fancy here in the country.

Darling grandson is a walking dynamo. While he’s not quite talking (real words) yet, he chatters up a storm every waking minute. The looks he gets on his face when he knows he attempting to get into something he shouldn’t are absolutely precious.

The girls are still growing. At 11 months, they both weigh in at more than 150 pounds and stand at least 26 inches at the shoulder. We built them a huge yard at the side of the house and they love their outside time, but heaven help any chicken or cat that enters their space. No, they wouldn’t kill either, but they’d love to play with them for a while.

It’s finally winter here in the Ozarks. Temps this morning were in the teens, with wind chills around zero, and the high today is still supposed to be below freezing. So water is running in the tub and the wood stove is cranking. And me, I’m not going outside unless I absolutely have too.