Goals for My Future Pantry

Many goals for this time of my life revolve around my own physical health.  I have renewed my vigor, if you will, for working on a healthier lifestyle, being more active, and eating more close to the source for maximum nutrient value.



In accomplishing these goals, I have begun again to take Glucosamine Condroitin(GC) for my joints, mainly my knees so that when I walk regularly I don't have as much pain with the lesser portion of tissue in my right knee to help with cushioning.  As a strange (to me) and interesting twist, my left knee is now giving me some problems due to favoring my right knee for so long.  So, hopefully the GC will help with that too.

I have finalized my garden plan for the front yard, due to necessity, and beautification as well.

I will certainly document the process for everyone to see.  😎

All this while keeping the house and everything else juggled!  I would love to do all kinds of vegetables and melons because I just love all the jars in my pantry.  There isn't a greater satisfaction than being able to go to one's pantry and gather foods that one has processed in a healthier way, using salts that are good for high blood pressure. Fortunately here in GA, there are at least 2 different time frames where we can grow food.  I'm so thankful!!! 

I miss my pantry! 😉

 Have a Blessed Day!

Chicken Bone Broth

A couple days ago I made "Fotato" Soup out of my Trim Healthy Mama Cookbook.  It was the 2nd time I made it and based on the popularity of it the first time (they licked the skillet clean!), I doubled the batch.  I wanted to ensure that my husband had something yummy and soothing in his stomach when he got home from work (more on that another day).  I found that I didn't have any chicken broth, so I sent my kids to get some at the local store.  I was glad for them to go so I could get the cauliflower chopped up and ready to go while they were gone.

When I saw the broth sitting on my counter, I thought to myself, "I've made this before!  I can do this!  Why should I use this store bought junk instead of knowing what is going in to my food?!"  So, I took out the only bit of meat I had in the house with bones in it--a 6 pound whole chicken--to defrost.  We had it for dinner last night and whatever was left--carcass and all--went back in to the roaster to get all yummy and delicious with lots of garlic, Himalayan Pink Salt, thyme, sage, and some pepper...and of course lots of water filled to an inch within the brim of the 18 quart roaster.  I turned it on to 225­­°F and from 5:00PM to around noon today the carcass and leftover meat simmered and made some lovely golden bone broth for my family.  

When I do broth, I have 2 different ways that I can do it.  This time, since there was so much of it, I chose to do both.  I had a limited amount of freezer containers and didn't want to go to the store to buy more.  I had 4 quart containers and 3 pint containers, which meant labeling with contents and their date of being frozen.  This way everyone knows that these will need to be used within 6 months of the date on the container.  I let them sit on the counter until they are cool and then line them along the inside of my freezer door where they fit perfectly.

With the other amount of broth, I had to get the pressure canner out along with unearthing the canning lids and rings (quite the challenge when things were not exactly put away because a place for them had not been established yet.  Oops!)  So, finding the lids and rings, we got everything moving, sterilized, and in to the pressure canner with only a couple inches in the bottom.  

They spent 3 hours in the pressure canner at 10 pounds of pressure to ensure there is no food poisoning to occur.  We will label these with their contents once they cool by tomorrow morning as well as their date, like the ones with the freezer container.  I make sure to leave them on the counter over night to cool so that they seal.  If they don't seal, I can pop them right in to the refrigerator without skipping a beat and saving the lovely contents for the next meal.  

I've made broth with chicken breasts before.  I usually simmer the chicken for 2-3 hours, then freeze.  Very few times have I pressure canned it, but this time I did.  

My plans for further collecting bones to make in to broth are to go to the local butcher and see if they will sell me bones with very little meat on them for my bone broth.  I'm going to try to process this once every couple of weeks to make sure we always have bone broth, chicken, ham, beef, and whatever else I can find.  If/when I get the bones from the butcher I'm going to freeze the bones, so I can put them in to my roaster, fill it with water and let it cook for a couple days.  I'm going to get more organized so I can make sure the broth is done in the canner by a certain time so we don't have to worry about missing church.  Yes, I messed up.  But, we were able to reclaim the time by having some card playing time while the younger 2 finished their school work.  

Now on to garden planning!  Oh!  And I'm getting an idea of what to do for my canning pantry!  

What do you do for food preservation?

God Bless,

Disjointed Catch-Up Post

"Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words. And he who searches hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God. And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose." 

(Rom 8:26-28)

When young folks are not feeling well, we can do all we can, holding them, nurturing them, to help them feel better.  When they have concerns, we need to talk them out, showing them their options, helping them choose their words wisely in a variety of situations.  When it comes to the ultimate Healer, there is a time to give Him the concerns by praying with them through each of their concerns.   

Sometimes their concerns are far beyond anything we can fix.  Sometimes we have to lay down our own pridefulness and give our children to God in unfathomable ways.  

We have done just that in this past year.  The gut wrenching experience is one that I do not care to repeat.

Now, we've established a new normalcy, complete with different expectations, different day to day activities, and lots of appointments for all of us.

My day to day activities remain the same, but I struggle to gain a semblance of order.  Without getting enough sunlight, and beginning the cloudy time of year, I know my Sensory Affective Disorder is going to kick in soon.  I work to try to find a way around the symptoms by exercising, going on walks--even on cloudy days--getting enough nutritious foods, but I struggle to get enough sleep each night without waking through the night for whatever reason.  Keeping things in check depends greatly on getting enough sleep.  Six hours, sometimes less, of sleep each night isn't enough though.  It is work to get enough sleep.  (Go figure!)

Through all of this, we are beginning to thrust ourselves in to getting ready to move to Georgia.  I would love for all the work to be done when I snap my fingers, but it won't.  We will be downsizing, purging, decluttering, pitching, selling, and eventually giving thing away so we don't have to move them.  We only keep things that we absolutely treasure and things that are absolutely necessary.  We will definitely have many yard sales beginning in May.  To begin, though, I am selling some of our home school books.  I am taking them to our local home school group meetings to sell a little at a time.  

It is amazing how much junk one accumulates! 

We've added a puppy to our home recently.  His name is Gus.  Before Gus, by about a month, we added an adult cat whose name is Pickles.  He's a good kitty who will make sure to take care of our mice problem.  We got him because the mice were getting smarter.  Now we have 4 critters to keep each of us (almost) company.  Biscuit has enjoyed sitting on my lap while Pickles goes with my husband, Gus has taken a very strong liking to JL and Rustie enjoys getting attention from anyone.  He is getting older and will probably be facing his final time through this winter.  That's why we have Gus now.

We've canned quite a bit more this year than we have last year and the year before.  This year we've made 2 batches of salsa--over 20 quarts--sauce, stewed tomatoes, and hot peppers.  We are looking at pumpkin next and whatever else we can preserve.  If we haven't eaten all of it by the time we move then we'll take it with us.  We plan to put in a garden next year just in case our house doesn't sell.  

Last week our kids participated in the Clarion Autumn Leaf Festival with the Civil Air Patrol.  JL is holding the rifle in the left front, HJ is right behind him holding the banner, and DA is right over her shoulder in the back.  They did a phenomenal job!

Now we concentrate on schooling.  I struggle with getting much in, so I'm working on that as well as the many other things mentioned above right now.  If you don't see me around for a while, that is why.  I may document my purging journey in all its glory--messes and everything.  In order to purge, you need to make a mess, right?  We've lived in this house for 9 years, so I'm sure the mess will be huge!

~Until next time~

God Bless,

Preparing for the Coldest Time of Year

This morning as I type this blog post, I am formulating a list of things in my mind that I need to get before the Arctic blast that is heading our way on Sunday night/Monday morning and lasting until Wednesday.  They say that this is the coldest it has been in 10 years or so.  I don't mind those statistics.  What I am thinking more of is that with all the cold headed our way, there are some wonderful recipes I'd like to make, chili to pressure can and lots of tea, hot cocoa and soups to enjoy.

That's right!  I'm thinking of enjoying myself while the cold rages outside.  Now is the time to get all those special ingredients that I need to make sure we have enough to make the things I'd like to make.

Why not concern myself with the cold?  Because I'm ready for the cold.  This is a special time of year that God has blessed us with to do just that, bake, snuggle, read, play games and do all of it around a warm fire.

I work throughout the year to prepare for times like this.  I am prepared.  I love this verse that mentions the lack of fear for the cold and snow.  We're not clothed in scarlet, but we're all warmly clothed.  Look at all the different versions.  It all makes sense to be prepared!

Pro 31:21

(ASV)  She is not afraid of the snow for her household; For all her household are clothed with scarlet.

(Bishops)  She feareth not that the colde of wynter shall hurt her housholde, for all her housholde folkes are clothed with scarlet.

(ESV)  She is not afraid of snow for her household, for all her household are clothed in scarlet.

(Geneva)  She feareth not the snowe for her familie: for all her familie is clothed with skarlet.

(GNB)  She doesn't worry when it snows, because her family has warm clothing.

(ISV)  She is unafraid of winter's effect on her household, because all of them are warmly clothed.

(KJV)  She is not afraid of the snow for her household: for all her household are clothed with scarlet.

(KJV+)  She is notH3808 afraidH3372 of the snowH4480 H7950 for her household:H1004 forH3588 allH3605 her householdH1004 are clothedH3847 with scarlet.H8144

(KJV-1611)  She is not afraid of the snow for her houshold: for all her houshold are cloathed with scarlet.

(LBLA)  No tiene temor de la nieve por los de su casa, porque todos los de su casa llevan ropa escarlata.

(LITV)  She is not afraid of the snow for her household, for all her household are clothed with scarlet.

(MKJV)  She is not afraid of the snow for her household; for all her household are clothed with scarlet.

(Vulgate)  lameth non timebit domui suae a frigoribus nivis omnes enim domestici eius vestiti duplicibus

Christmas Traditions

I love the simple and lovely traditions that my Mr. G and I have begun since our engagement in 1989.  We began going to Christmas Eve service at our church, then going out to get coffee or hot cocoa and looking at Christmas lights.  Over the years with my Mr. G having Christmas Eve off some years, but not others, we've found that we have to adjust and make our outing another night during the week before Christmas.  We tried it on the 26th and it just wasn't the same.  It was a little disappointing because many people did not have their Christmas lights turned on.  Out of that experience came the decision to try to make our outing the week before Christmas if Mr. G had to work.  The kids love it too and look forward to it with anticipation each year, even as they've grown older.

Another tradition that we sort of fell in to was traditionally having ham for Christmas dinner.  There is a reason for getting the biggest ham we could find.  We always made Split Pea Soup with the leftovers after Christmas.  Once I realized that I could pressure can the leftovers, I ran with it!  This year we had originally planned to either have company over the weekend after Christmas or go to their house.  Either way, we'd make Split Pea Soup and take it with us or serve it here.  We didn't go, nor did they come here, which is probably a good thing  because Mr. G brought some icky virus home from work that he's dealing with now.  I began my day yesterday by boiling my ham bone along with all the leftover ham until it was cooked down a bit in my larger pot.  Then I took all the meat out and the ham bone and cut up the meat in to bite sized pieces.  I added the pre-soaked and sorted split peas, then the meat, then the veggies, herbs and seasonings (light on the salt since the ham is salted), bay leaves and let it simmer until late in the afternoon.  Once everyone had their cup, or cups of soup as the case may be, I had my quart jars pre-sterilized, boiled my lids and rings, started ladling the soup in to the jars, and in to the pressure canner.  We watched the needle on the canner for an hour and a half on 10# of pressure and it was done!  Now we have 5 quarts of Split Pea Soup to enjoy.

They turned out lovely!  We'll use these over wild indian rice with some cheddar and parmesian cheese when we need quick meals.  This next week I plan to do the same thing with chili, then perhaps some chicken noodle soup.  We didn't get any venison this year, so I don't have any stew meat to can, unfortunately. 

Another Christmas tradition, well...it's been more of a round-the-year-habit than a tradition, is that everyone shares the preparations for Christmas dinner.  Here are my two older children preparing their chosen dishes.

HJ is making a fresh vegetable casserole and Daniel is making the Au Gratin potatoes.   I guess he didn't want his picture taken just then!  LOL  

JL had already made the ham earlier in the day so he wasn't busy cooking.   I had made the "Happy Birthday Jesus" cake and it was cooling while these two silly ones were cooking.  

I guess I'm going a little backwards, but on Christmas morning our tradition has been that if you go pick out a gift to open, it cannot be one of your own.  It has to be for someone else to open.  What a fun time to see everyone opening their gifts this way!  

HJ getting gifts for everyone else while Daddy opens his gifts from the children.

The children love laughing and smiling and making Daddy laugh at the funny tshirts they bought for him this year.  The red one underneath the Grinch shirt says, "Coal, I earned it!"  LOL

Our living room...complete with the children's CAP stuff, medicine organizer and head sets on the coffee table.  Yes, it's cleaned up now.  LOL  

This year for the children's "want" gift, we kept it simple and gave them each a fuzzy throw blanket.  They kept taking my fuzzy blanket, so they each have their own now. 

Mickey and Eeyore Jammies were for me from the children.  What a joy!  I received a day planner and a "Mrs." mug from my Mr. G.  He also got the matching "Mr." mug from cbd.com.

HJ and JL lovingly bought an organizational binder for Daniel for Civil Air Patrol.  What a blessing for him!

I love her smile!  Pure happiness!

Getting ready to open gifts from Momma and Daddy.

He loves his "Illegal" shirt! 

Look who is helping JL open his gifts!  LOL

We have other Christmas traditions, like putting the tree and decorations up the day after Thanksgiving.  This year since Thanksgiving came so late, we put them up earlier.  We'll take them down on January 6th.  I know Orthodox churches celebrate Epiphany on that day.  I'm not of the Orthodox religion, but the 6th sounded like a good day to me.  Plus it helps me remember my brother's birthday!  LOL

In years passed, we've baked all kinds of cookies, nut rolls, pumpkin rolls and so forth to share with our Dr's offices, mail carrier and so forth, but with both Mr. G and I being diagnosed with diabetes within the past 2 years, we have been searching for viable alternatives to bake.  Once we get in to the swing of the changes we have to work with, we'll be baking things again.

We're always looking for neat traditions to add to our own.  What neat traditions does your family have?

God Bless,

Looking Toward a Homesteading Mindset

For years Mr. G and I have researched a homesteading lifestyle.  We have focused on the work and the sacrifice not only of our time, but our resources as well.  We've researched raising chickens and milk goats for starters.  I know we will eventually branch out from those two types of animals adding in pigs, turkeys, cows--for both milk and meat--as well as horses.

What is the "allure" to this mindset that is drawing us to it?

We have been drawn to a more simple, down-to-earth type of lifestyle for a very long time.  We already can food, hunt, and garden, so the next logical step is to add some chickens, then goats and so forth.

My husband and I have watched a show Alaska: The Last Frontier on Netflix to see what the folks on that show experience.  I know they deal with a lot of hardship and the push for time is extreme in gathering and growing food as well as putting it up for the winter.

Our first move will simply occur once my husband retires.  We'll be able to buy something without debt, after selling our house, that has property.  Property will allow us to have the animals and care for them through the seasons and live off the land.

What about a house?

Right now, while we're concerned about a house, we're not concerned about a house.  Seems like an oxymoron, huh?  Well, we're finding some properties with houses that need some work and/or finishing that sit on over 20 acres.  I know that to some 20 acres doesn't seem like much, but 20+ acres is 20+ acres that we don't have for the larger animals that we'd like to have for our homestead.

We're so very blessed to have our home on a little over an acre.  We have a nice sized garden that we will be fencing in for next year's crops.  We've worked for quite a few years to build up this garden space, but when the deer, bear, ground hogs, and rabbits come along to take bites out of our produce, it makes sense to build a fence.

The day they brazenly came in to the yard to graze on acorns, they leisurely sauntered back to the brush pile, then hit the garden (outside the picture to the left) with a vengeance.  

We were able to get a few cucumbers, 3 cayenne peppers, and enough volunteer cherry tomatoes to get 9 pints of stewed tomatoes.  This coming year we hope and pray to fill our pantry shelves, much like, if not more than, the picture below.

We also grow a lot of our own herbs for usage through the winter.  This year we dehydrated basil, oregano and thyme.  My sage and rosemary didn't over winter very well, so we didn't have it to dehydrate.  We plan to re-add those as well as other medicinal herbs to our herb gardens this coming Spring.

As I have considered homesteading, I've noticed that my husband is already doing the work it takes for this mindset outside, in the garage and fixing things on the house.  

A few weeks ago we went to get firewood, the chainsaw wouldn't start, and the truck got stuck in the mud.  We borrowed a friend's van to get home to get the wench and other materials to get the truck out of the mud, then came home.  We didn't have to call a tow truck.  Working together as a family was what needed to happen and it did.

Many times when things need to happen, even if it's snapping beans, we do it together to get it done.

What a blessing it is to work together to accomplish a common goal.

God Bless, 

Beginning our 12th Year of Home School

The beginning of our school year is in full swing.  We started our book work on Monday August the 5th with very light school and very low expectations.  I gave them only 2 days worth of school, but months ago we were planning to go camping and we've had to wait to see what new schedule my husband was getting since his promotion.  I just kept the original plan of 2 days of school in place and had them work at their own paces to get their feet whet for school this year.  Now that we have 2 full weeks of school under our belts, we're well on our way.

I've counted days for school since July 1st, however.  We've done tons of things that are education related like field trips, work, drama, VBS, consumer math, hospitality, among a host of other things.  Our "book work" began in August.  How can I "get away" with starting to count days on July 1st?  We live a lifestyle of learning every day.  Each thing we do establishes a learning opportunity.  Even though every day can be different, it is still bringing us learning experiences.

I have a Senior, a Sophomore and an 8th grader this year.  I have very little to help them with daily because they're independent learners now.  I check their work to see what they're having problems with, explain and teach when necessary with the older 2.  With my youngest I have a bit more to do, but it is decreasing with each passing year.

As much as I enjoy not having as much teaching time, it leaves me with time to sit on the front porch with my hubby talking, enjoying our coffee and doing our Bible study together.  It is such a blessed time for me to spend time with my husband studying the Bible together.

I didn't take "first day of school" pictures at all.  I use to do that, but it has fallen by the wayside this year.  I think it is just because our first day of school came and went without fanfare.  However, I do have a picture that I took with my phone of the 3 children together not too far from July 1st, at a wedding at the end of June.  =0)

From left to right:  JL(14), HJ(15), & Daniel(18)

My husband tells me that once our children turn 18, we can address them online by their first names.  Daniel just turned 18 on August 19th.  We took pictures when we woke him up, but I don't think he was ready to wake up.  LOL 

Needless to say, he and Mr. G continue to look for just the right car for him.  Of course it has to pass Mr. G's expectations.  Once he gets a car, he'll take his behind the wheel exam a second time.  He took it with our Suburban and when he parallel parked, the front driver's side corner was sticking our 6" too far and forgot to turn his blinker on once, so the tester failed him. :0(   Now, we wait until Daddy can find a car for him. =0)

This school year began with a rotating schedule for my husband.  Now that he's been promoted, he has regular predictable days off each week.  I've adjusted our school schedule to accommodate Daddy's days off so each of us can rest, have fun, and work together on a variety of things.  Since this is Daddy's 2nd week in his new position, it has left my kids a little out of sorts.  While we usually take Sundays off, rarely have we taken 2 days off in a row on a regular basis.  They were looking around and at times, wandering around wondering what they could do with themselves.  LOL

As time moves along here in the next week, we'll probably increase the amount of canning that we're doing with the tomatoes ripening.  We count canning time as school too.  I just remove their computer school work from the day so it doesn't "pile up" on them.  Young folks learning how to can the produce from the garden is important, so we integrate that in to our days in the late summer.

A life style of learning is something that has allowed us to not be encumbered by limiting our learning to just school times, but has expanded our learning to all parts of our lives.  Just this morning I left the weather loop on the computer for the kids to see when they came past.  Daniel found a map of water temperatures when upon closer inspection, they discovered where water currents are due to those currents being a different color.  

Life is full of learning experiences.  It encompasses each of our daily lives.  What a wonderful blessing, if we recognize those potential learning opportunities and embrace them with thankfulness.

Home Making Blessings

I am absolutely enjoying the smell of my house this week.  I have trays and trays of Oregano dehydrating on the hearth in the dehydrator. 

 It smells like an Italian eatery in here.  This is our second batch this week.  We are going to try to dehydrate a couple jars full, if not more.  I missed doing this last year.  We just went out and picked it fresh to use in the kitchen, neglecting the dehydrating.  I had so few trays (the others had broken) it would have taken so very long to get a couple sprigs of it dehydrated that it wasn't worth the time.  At the end of the season I found another dehydrator, so we're dehydrating as we get it coming up.  Next up is Chives! :)

 Loveliness!

Thanking God for His provision, both from the ground and from unexpected sources...

A friend of my husband called and asked if we would like their refrigerator.  We were extremely blessed with this "new to us" one.  It takes up less space, has more shelving and drawers than our old one and it fits perfectly.  God is so good!   This is our 2nd refrigerator.  Our upstairs kitchen refrigerator is much bigger than this one, not the biggest on the market, nor a new one, but it functions just fine for now.  

What a blessing!

In Christ,

Summer Plans

One of those things we have not really ever done is taken a vacation during the summer.  We've stayed locally to where ever we've lived and done day trips and outings, but nothing on a grand scale.  We've pretty much kept our vacations and trips away during the late fall, early winter or late spring.

Our summer plans are very simple.  When we return from whatever trips we take in the spring, if any, we get to work like busy little beavers on our yard, garden, flower beds, herb beds, transplanting, pruning, planting and tilling the dirt.  We generally do not put anything in the ground until June 1st.  We know full well that in most cases, June 1st is so very late.  However, we live in an area where we JUST had frost last week!  Yes, FROST!  We just put our plants in the ground on June 1st to make sure the danger of frost is past.  So, with that said, it doesn't make sense to concern ourselves too much with things until then.  Once the weather breaks from the winter weather, but it is still cold, we usually plan to go on vacation.  Why wait when we can go south where it is warm while we wait for the warmth to come to PA?  LOL

I spent quite a bit of time outside planting my flowers, pruning and weeding today as well.  My youngest son came out and just started helping me weed.  What a wonderful time working side by side with him!  We talked about the Rapture, science and when technology makes so many mind boggling advances that it's the sign of the times when Jesus comes again.  We need to be ready in our hearts for His return, but still busy going about our daily tasks and the work He has given us.  What a wonderful time of fellowship!

I plan to do bunches more tomorrow in my herb bed.  I plan to dig up shoots off my thyme, oregano, and chives tomorrow to swap with others who have perennials that I'm looking for.  If anyone wants any other perennials, I'll dig those up as they request because the others are a bit more transplant "shocky" so it makes more sense to get them out of the ground and back in to the ground quickly complete with lots of water for about a week. Black Eyed Susans and Purple Cone Flowers are that way.

At some point, we'll be waiting on the garden to yield it's lovely fruit.  What we plan to do is take the camper to a campground for a couple days, then come home to tend to things, kind of like a "mini-vacation".  Nothing overly spectacular, it's nothing overly expensive, just a couple days at a campground.  It should be a nice time away.

In July we plan to help as a family in our church's VBS.  This is a first for us since my  hubby will be joining us this year.  What a blessing!  He'll be doing the games, I'll be teaching Kindergarten and the kids will each help where they can.

After VBS, I'll begin my lesson plans for teaching Physical Science Lab for 8th graders in preparation for the 2013-2014 school year with our home school group.  I'll be canning in between everything, picking blueberries and freezing them, making all kinds of jams from our own black raspberry bushes, peaches, and whatever else I can get my hands on.  I'm hoping to can 3 batches of salsa this year.  We ran out of salsa in April, so it's time to increase how much I make.

I'd like to go down to Georgia for a few days in August this year, but I don't think that is going to happen, unfortunately.  It's a long story as to why, and it's one that I don't understand well enough to explain--since it is vehicle gear related [and that's all I know]--so suffice it to say that we'll try to get down there soon!

August is also the time of year when we settle in and begin school in earnest.  I count school days from July 1st because we're learning every day, but book work and computerized school work will start in August this year.

Of course, we'll have our Family Birthday Bash in August and have fun with everyone then.

Then, there are the festivals, yard sales and chicken barbecues that we'll attend.

I'll make my sauce again this year, Lord willing.  We've got green beans coming up in the garden that we'll can as well.  I hope to get even more to fill our shelves this year.  Take a look at the side bar and see what's in the plans for this year.  I'll begin dehydrating very soon, if not tomorrow!  :)

Golly!  I guess we're just a little busier than I originally thought.  LOL

What are your summer plans?

Canning, Pantry, and Trees

Canning tomatoes

Laughing about something...maybe Mom taking a picture.  LOL

Beans canned this year.

Salsa canned this year.

Stewed tomatoes and sauce from this year and juice from last year.

Pantry, with more hiding behind the freezer.

Starting to take down the tree...with goofy 17 year old making faces for the camera.

Ok, Mom, I'll be serious.  LOL

The hole in the tree, hence the reason we cut it down.

Climbing on the tree once it was down.

Reaching for the chainsaw.

Cheeeeeeeeeeeeeese!

Smiling for her Momma.

Just missed the garden.

Awesome Mr. G! :) 

Hard working young man.

The end of last week was filled with all kinds of work, good work, productive work, work that makes a person feel good.  Praise God for His provision of food and firewood.