November Newsletter

 

Hello Friends!!!!!! Well Crap!!!!! I'm late getting this newsletter out, too. We got so busy and..........Well, I will just have to tell you all about it.

November is one of my favorite times of the year because of  Thanksgiving, hunting, and getting ready for Christmas. Although we are still in VA for dear hubby's job, I am still finding things to do. I have already seen the things I wanted to see and do. Well, there was one more, but I just did not have the courage to try that one yet, especially by myself anyway. That adventure will have to wait for another time. 

However, as I normally do, I brought along my sewing machines and "project box". 

This trip was centered around conquering obstacles of fear and intimidation and teaching myself new things. 

My obstacles of fear have been conquered by driving over a lot of these bridges and underwater tunnels. Believe it or not, that is a real fear. 

Conquering my intimidation was something entirely different. This is being conquered by LEARNING SOURDOUGH!!!!!! You heard me right, learning sourdough. I have been intimidated for years (around 15) of wanting to learn sourdough. I just could not wrap my head around it. But back in September, when we first got to our workplace at the Lake House, I read a book, watched some videos, and a light bulb went off. Then I made the decision to "just do it". I have not posted about it because I wanted to see if I could actually do it and video along the way. I am so excited to say, I am learning and doing it! I have been practicing, and that will be a whole new post all in itself, not just included in a newsletter. I am so proud of myself. 

The last thing I wanted to do was to learn how to make a quilt. Yep, I can sew clothes and crafty things, but I can not for the life of me sew a quilt. Until this trip. I sewed the front of the quilts together back on another trip in the spring. I know how to sew strips of fabric together. That was the easy part. However, when we got home from that work trip, it was time to plant the garden and spend the summer with family doing all the summer things. When I packed for this fall work trip, I lugged it along with the full intention to learn to finish it. That means putting a liner and backing to it. Several videos later, I did it also. 

Two homemade quilts with love for two granddaughters right there. I think they turned out quite nicely. So, I guess you can still teach an old dog new tricks. And you are never too old to learn anything. 

They will be Christmas presents, and they can take them when they move out on their own someday, and I hope they will always remember me, and it will bring them comfort. 

Oh, OK! I will give one quick sneak peek of the sourdough I am working on. Here is a loaf I am trying. Trust me, this takes time. I have been practicing with discard recipes as well. 

 

Then the unexpected happened!!!!!! Dear hubby got called off this job to actually go start a new one that only lasts a few weeks. Now, this turned out so much in our favor because here is why. If we had stayed in VA, we were looking at staying until the middle of DECEMBER. That meant we would have missed Thanksgiving and also caused us to get home a few days before Christmas. You see how this goes? We would have been sliding in by the skin of our teeth for Christmas, which is not how we do this at all. But when we left for this whole VA work trip thingy, we knew all this ahead of time and had accepted it and just had to make the best of it. We were prepared. 

When dear hubby got the call, we were EXCITED  to say the least. This allowed us to get closer to home (7 hours), go back and forth (he had a 4-day weekend every weekend), and be home for the HOLIDAYS. We got to oversee weekend projects on the farm, have play dates with our grandkids, and be with family. Another good part, dear hubby made the decision to let me sit this work trip out and stay home and prepare for the holidays.    WHAT????????? Yes, he did. He knows this time of year I enjoy so much because of all the fun we have and the memories we create. You know, all the magical and sentimental stuff. He was ok making this decision, especially since he would be home every weekend. 

Before we knew it, Thanksgiving arrived. I spent a week getting ready. I played it smart, though. Every day, I would make one or two dishes for our meal. While they were baking, I would clean or straighten something up. By doing this every day, I had the complete meal and my house clean and ready for company. The only thing that was saved for the day of the meal was the turkey, of course. I was able to pull it off. We had a wonderful time with our children and grandchildren,  my Momma and Daddy, and their neighbor. Her husband passed away one year ago, and this was her first Thanksgiving without him. There was no way we were going to let her spend it alone. 

I am one of these people who does not decorate until after Thanksgiving. So, needless to say, I could not wait until the day I could start. I can't get it all done in one day, though. Not that I have so many decorations, it's just that I am sloooooowwwwwww moving. I have all my favorite decorations and certain ways I do things. Some of the decorations I've had since I was a little girl, and they were passed down to me from my Momma. Then there are ones that dear hubby and I have gotten together. And I would not be an old sentimental old fool unless I still had things that our children have made. 

Why yes, I am a Sentimental Ole Fool and very proud of it.!!!!!!! I still have special things from my childhood that bring me joy. I have special things my boys have made for me in their childhood that bring me great joy. I have things from Dear Hubby, my parents, grandparents, even great grandparents, and my late mother-in-law, and all bring me joy. 

I pass down things to my kids and grandkids because they know that they came from a specific person. It is an honor to be given something that meant something to someone else, and they chose to trust you with it and their special memories. I miss loved ones who have gone on that created special memories, traditions, and fun times too. 

I love old family traditions. I'm so glad I got some of my mother's traditional joys. 

She made every Christmas as special as possible when I was growing up. She decorated everything. All the beautiful red, green, yellow, and blue were spectacular as a child to watch and sit, and enjoy at night. The cooking and baking were awesome. 

I hope David and I have created that same joy and traditions for our boys when they were growing up, and they can pass them down to their kids. Traditions are becoming rare these days, and so much happiness is lost. Please start creating special memories and traditions with your family this year. Let's start MAKING THEM GREAT AGAIN!!!!!! 🎄 🎅 🤶 🧑‍🎄

Ok, enough of that. 😊

Every year, I have always had a few helpers. 

Our boys enjoyed decorating when they were younger. 

Our youngest son always loved setting up and decorating my small Christmas village, so I let him continue to do that until he was the last to leave the nest. Every year, I would find little army men with my decorations or even still clinging to a branch on the tree from previous years. I miss that. 

Then more little ones came along, and they got old enough to help, and here we are today decorating. They have taken over the job of setting up and decorating the village. 

Why yes, that is a musical dancing Santa. It belonged to my late mother-in-law. It was her favorite. No one else wanted it, so I grabbed it real quick. We have had so much fun with it every year. 

Every year, I try to find new ornaments for everyone that are personalized to everyone. This year I did it by couples. Except for the grandkids. 

I bought all of ours this year from a souvenir shop at the VA Aquarium. 

I am not a Pinterest-worthy decorator, but we pulled this task off, too. 

I will show just a few sneak peek pics here. The rest will be in December's Newsletter (which I've got to start working on). 

This is a set of placemats from my late mother-in-law, also. I wanted them out this year for the first time. 

And the table decoration I made using Dollar Tree items. I believe it turned out pretty cool. 

I hope you join me in next month's newsletter as well. 

For the time being, we are going to be here sipping on hot chocolate, listening to carols, watching Christmas movies, eating popcorn, watching our grandkids' Christmas program at school, dismissing for Christmas break, and most of all, spending Christmas with our loved ones. There will be more to come in December's Newsletter. If you have missed the last two, you can always go here and here to catch up on this whole work trip thing. You can also sign up to receive our newsletters every time one is posted. When you visit our homepage, a box will pop up inviting you to sign up. Please feel free to join us. There will also be posts in between newsletters. 

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Other affiliate links for your shopping experience:

Dollar Tree:

I love Dollar Tree and in case you didn't know, you can order from their website online. This is a great feature for anyone who might need to order multiple quantities of something. Perfect for Schools, Daycares, Churches, Nursing Homes, etc. You can find all you need in one place and have it delivered right to your door and you can shop in the comforts of your own home. You can get to their website by clicking here

Nutri Mill:

Nutri-Mill: Stand Mixers and Grain Mills: ( use Code: 4DFARMS20 at check out) If you are interested in grinding your own grain into flour to turn into the most nutrient-dense bread ever, then you need a grain mill. I love my Nutri Mill Classic Mill. They also have the best stand mixers. You can also purchase grains from them or you can find some on Amazon too. I have a few companies in my Amazon Storefront , who carry Non-GMO grains. You can order any size pounds you like and have them delivered to your home. Look for them on my Kitchen Essentials List along with all of my bread-making utensils, pans etc., that I personally use in my own kitchen to make delicious bread with. Link to my Amazon Storefront is above. 

Smokers and Grills for the guys:

PIT BOSS Outdoor Smokers and Grills: are the smokers and grills my guy uses to smoke and grill all of our meats. He even has some videos on our YouTube channel of how he smokes and makes a lot of our meats. He has even smoked eggs before. Yes, EGGS. They were so delicious. One of these bad boys is the perfect gift for anyone who loves to grill or smoke meats. Check them out. 

Bentgo:

If you are into lunch-making and meal-prepping for you or your kiddos, you have to check out Bentgo for all your lunch making needs. Lunch boxes, water bottles, backpacks, utensils and other lunch making accessories: They are not just for kids, They have a line of adult items as well and you can have then personalized now. This is awesome. I have a playlist of Lunch Making Videos on our YouTube Channel. Link is above. 

TideWe:

If you are the hunter or huntress in your family, check out TideWe for all your hunting gear for guys and gals: Most of our hunting seasons are in the fall and winter and their line of insulated hunting gear is one of my favorites. We also love their hunting blinds for ultimate concealment. Be sure to visit them. We have a Hunting Playlist on our channel as well. 

Optics Planet, Inc.:

Since we are avid hunters, we rely on ammo, gun parts and scopes to be accurate and on point. You can visit their website here and find all your essentials 

Garden Tower Project:

If you are a gardener and love those flowers, herbs or veggies, but you don't have the garden space, then consider going vertical on your porch or balcony to save space. You can check out Garden Towers here I know you will find something there you like. 

Herb Affair:

If you want to save money on supplements and want to make your own like I do, you can find all you need here at Herb Affair Here, you will find an array of powdered herbs and spices for medicinal use, Capsule It Machine to make your own capsules and an assortment of different size capsules to fill with your herbs. This machine is so easy to use and has clear and easy instructions to follow. 

Have a Blessed Day

Tracy 

Keeper of the Home