Where did November go? Eep! Every autumn brings on squirrely behavior. So we've been busy.
The nip in the air sparks an urge to put up and put away for winter. You'd think we lived out on a remote homestead somewhere (my secret dream, although the reality of it would probably kill me). But no. I'm just a pioneer woman wannabe. Speaking of pioneers, we made a long overdue visit to our kids and grandchildren in the stunning High Plains of Texas.
It was kind of cool day-dreaming in the middle-of-nowhere prairie land, imagining covered wagons rolling by, a la Oregon Trail. Does anybody remember that video game of the same name? As I recall, the idea was you had to keep your virtual pioneer character alive as they journeyed the Oregon Trail. While visiting, I got a toothache. The left side of my face swelled twice its normal size (not pretty), and to make matters worse, there was not a dentist to be had for miles. My daughter-in-law made onion poultice, and my son medicated me with his home-brewed hard cider. I did eventually receive 21st century dental care. So I survived. Had I been an actual pioneer, I would've been buried on the side of the trail. Game over.
When I worked on an
18th century working farm museum, visitors would sometimes say, "Oh, I'd love to live that way." My answer was always, "Not if you had a toothache." Haha, my own words came back to haunt me. Anyway, all is well now. I'm safe and sound in the suburbs, sharing with you the rewards of our squirreling. A girl can pretend, can't she?
We've been:
Saurkrauting (did I mention fermenting is my new hobby?)
Mead brewing
Pickling
Apple gathering
Playing dress-ups (when did my baby get taller than me?)
Learning to make Mexican chocolate from scratch, thanks to my daughter-in-law
Ordering baby chicks for spring (old photo)
Wood chopping and stacking
Putting the gardens and the beehives to bed
Best of all: Celebrating 32 years of marriage with the dearest farm-hand ever
It's been a full autumn. I'm thankful. Now onto Advent...
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