Last Day of Snow Days

 We had the best day today and school will be back in tomorrow. 

Well, yall remember the little project I said I wanted to do with the girls? I took them to let them pick out their own fabric. And we made pajamas. Notice the fabric that Atleigh picked out? Yep, you see that right. It's TN Vols. Did I tell her no that she couldn't get that fabric? Nope. Did I encourage her to find some with AL? Nope. This was her decision and that's what she chose. Just goes to show I'm not a team hater so bad that I would do that to her. Caroline picked out leopard and Superwoman. Atleighs other choice was the doggie bones. They are so proud that Atleigh declared it pajama day.

Even though it's pj day, we still have to clean our rooms. Work first, then play.

On to our next project. They made their first pillows. Atliegh had enough material left over from her pj's that we were able to make two pillows. Dakota has a TN quilt inhad made for him when he was a teenager and Atleigh wants it for their bed at home. So now they have matching pillows they did.

We got to make our pizzas in our easy bake Ovens.

Identifying, cutting and drying herbs.

How dare she!!!!!!! But I'm going to let her own this one. A TN homemade quilt of her Daddys and the pillow she made, reclining in Poppies chair like she owns the place. 🤣🤣🤣🤣

These girls love watching Woody Woodpecker. They love calling Granny and asking her to do her Woody Woodpecker laugh. Then they try it. 😁😁 Now I'm listening to them in Dakotas truck on the way home singing, OOOH EEE OOOH AH AH, TING TANG, WALLA WALLA BING BANG, OOOH EEE, OOOH AH AH, TING TANG. WALLA WALLA, BING BANG.....if you know you know.

Daddy came to pick them up and they got to take their pillows and quilt home. She was so excited. They are going to put them on their bed tonight. 

Then it was time to make mine and dear hubby's suooer. 

Home canned chilli, shredded cheese from the freezer and French fries from the freezer we put up. Chilli cheese fries. 🧀

Be Prepared

I know everyone is sick of the snow and cold weather but just look at it in a positive way. 

Embrace the beauty of this winter wonderland God created for us. It is beautiful and it usually only happens one time a year for us. 

Enjoy the down time. When everything goes away next week and the chaos of life is back, you will be wishing you had this time back. 

Read all those books to the kids, play the games, play outside, cook those meals you don't normally get to during the week because of being rushed and sit down as a family to eat, watch the movies etc. 

Maybe take this time to work as a team and deep clean the house and catch up on laundry (if you have water). Work on some projects that have been neglected. Learn some new skills. 

Maybe take this time also to work on a strategy for how to deal with this the next time if it comes around again. Like checking those pipes to see if they need insulating or worked on. Come up with an emergency food plan like getting non perishable items that you can cook and staples to cook and bake with. Have some back up water on hand. Kind of emergency prepare. Check the central heat and air and get the firewood cut. Have a plan. Be prepared for next time. We know this comes at least once a year. I know some things can't be helped but being prepared in some areas will help relieve the stress.

I am by no means bragging, but this is the reason why we like to stock our freezer and pantries. I don't care if you grow it or you buy it, no one should go hungry during a time like this. Start coming up with a plan in what you are going to do if this happens again. Start stocking your pantries a little at a time here and there until you can build up a little stockpile. Next time some things go on sale, buy maybe two or three and put some back. Start with non perishables first. Learn how to bake some things and put them into the freezer. This stuff is no joke. God can bring suprises every once in a while but he did give us sense enough to know how to prepare. Remover the story of Joseph in Egypt when they were preparing for the 7 yr famine?

This was one of our local stores. Trucks have not been able to make deliveries to grocery stores. 😒 

We're beginning to see the light at the end of the tunnel. I mean road under all the ice, but a heads up. Farmers Almanac is predicting a few more rounds of this stuff. Maybe not as bad but at least you've got time to prepare. This is for our region. Please look on their website and check your region. 

Livestock Owners We Salute You

To all the Livestock Farmers out there:

If you like your steaks from restaurants or beef from the grocery store, thank your cattlemen. We appreciate what you do. You may be small scale or large scale, you may be a seasoned cattlemen or just starting out, we appreciate you. Whether you do it for hobby,  provision for your family or to becoming self sufficient, we appreciate you. We also appreciate smaller scale livestock owners. I love chicken and I appreciate the Farms who raise them for our consumption wether in a restaurant or the grocery store. Also the hogs, pigs,  goats and sheep.  We appreciate you. 

You raise the very things God put on this earth for us to sustain our bodies and you work your tails off to take care of them and raise them. 

To the spouses of these farmers, there will be times you will not see them for hours, they will be out in all kinds of weather, all hours of the evening and night after coming home from their full time jobs or out all day, they will be mending broken fences of an animal who thought the grass was greener on the other side or just plum crazy, they will spend hours looking for a lost one or two, they will come in cold, wet, muddy, or sweaty or smelly with poop on their boots. They will be angry sometimes from having to wrestle a couple of hundred pound animal or over 1,000 lb animal. They will get banged up and bruised up from one. They will wonder sometimes where the heck did all their money go. The question is: are you going to be a part of your spouses dream or their downfall? Their rock or their nagger? I say spouse because women raise them too. I raised Registered Dairy Goats for 10 years. I did those exact same things. Dear hubby helped me more times than I can count mending fences, digging holes to bury one that didn't make it, worried about me spending all night in the barn watching over a momma and her babies to make sure they make it. I've been there and done that. Now it's my two guys turn. They have my support 100%. This is what they have dreamed of for years. It's their time to shine. And we pass it on down to future generations. Keep going. We salute you. 🫡 

On another note: all livestock owners do things different ways. You do what is best for your operation and your family.

Yes You Can Start Seeds In The Winter Indoors

 This is how I make it through the depression of the winter months. I like to call it winterizing. 😏 

I will get these bright wonderful things in the mail and curl up by the fireplace and look through it and start planning. It helps me keep my sanity of those cold winter days when you might tend to get cabin fever. 

Another good thing is, you can start as early as January starting seeds indoors in Styrofoam cups, small containers, egg cartons, etc. 

It is cold outside and snowing but I just harvested fresh herbs from my Aerogarden. This is what helps me make it through the winter time.

Alot of people start seeds indoors and they are ready when it comes time to plant outdoors when the weather breaks. So get those seeds to starting and let it bring a joy into your hearts during this time of the year. 

First Snow of 2024

 Well, it arrived. Our first snow of 2024. We had been watching the weather for days and preparing. We didn't have to make a mad dash to the grocery store like most do. We already had alot prepared and bought. I am by no means downing anyone who runs to the store to prepare. I understand alot of people do not or can not garden and put up food or raise animals for meat. I know alot of people rely on grocery stores. 

This is why it is important to at least be some what prepard for situations like this or at least make sure your pantries and freezers stay stocked. One way we do this is to always shop the sales and buy in bulk. Bring it home and preserve it somehow. We just bought 10 whole chickens on sale and dear hubby brought them home, cut them up, repackaged them into meal portions for us and vacuum sealed them. We then took all the carcass' and simmered them down with carrots, onions and Celery and canned chicken broth. 🐔 It was well worth it. 

You don't have to have a garden or livestock to do things like this. Just shop the sales. This also works for non perishable items. Buy when they run sales and pick up two or three extra. Or a case. Rotate the items as you use them and keep an inventory. Then as you get low, make a grocery list. You will always have stocked pantries and freezers. 

I am still recovering from my sinus infection and ear infection. My ear is still full and is very aggravating. I'm constantly having to say, "Huh?"  for someone to repeat themselves. I am getting my energy back a little at a time. I'm beginning to get some more of my things to do crossed off my list. 

Now,  dear hubby has come down with a cold and is running just a low grade fever. We are eating simple meals that we can put together from the pantry canned items. Soups, roasts, etc. 

Caramelized onion sloppy Joe patty melt with parmesean crusted fried okra from the garden. Yummy 😋

Hey Elsa, DO you want to build a snowman? We can call him Olaf. ❄️☃️⛄️

It's snowing outside but I have plenty of fresh herbs inside. 

Dear hubby is trudging through the snow as we speak feeding the calves who have decided they are comfortable here and it's pretty nice. They have gotten use to our routine. The fence is high and tight now and they no longer look for a way of escape. I think they are settling in. It's a good thing. 

Our roads are so bad here right now that everything is closed and schools are out. Tonight will be an easy supper of a Brisket, mushrooms, green beans all simmered in some of my caramelized onion gravy in the crock pot and a good ole fire in the fireplace.