Hello New Year!!

I have a big vision for this next year. I would like to move deeply into the Great grandma's table idea for this next year. The idea is pretty simple- therefore increasing my odds of actually doing it! Basically, it involves growing and locally sourcing the food for my family.
I want to move away from WalMart food and all it's unhealthly grossness. The big picture involves finding and buying a small (10 to 15 ace) landholding and moving onto it, then maximizing it's potential with a garden large enough for me to feed my family as well as preserving and canning. Other pursuits would include chickens for eggs and table, a small greenhouse, land enough to graze two horses and a roping steer to feed out and butcher, and eventually a small orchard.
I know I can locally buy fresh milk, cream, and honey. The boys can fish for free if it comes down to it, although trout isn't my dish of choice. We are blessed with wonderful hunting friends who like to share- which is really fantastic since game meat is healthy, extremely low fat and tasty.
I also want to begin making our own bread. We eat about 2 loaves of wheat bread a week.

So! I think this is really doable, well, when we find the right place. For now, I am planning a garden for this summer and buying some of the equipment I'll need for canning and preserving.
I'm investing in:
A dehydrater- just picked one up for 30$ from Big R. This will be great for fruit, and making jerky.

A counter mounted apple corer peeler and slicer. -Just got this for 20 at Big R as well. It's AWESOME for apple butter, making apple pie filling to can, etc. I stick an apple on the end and with a few easy cranks I have a beautiful curl of peeled apple. Fun for kids too. (I love disguising work as fun)

A food mill- the kind I want is around $50. This makes jams, jellies, tomatoe sauce etc. easy. I am all about the right tools for the job. If I have to peel core and slice 25 lbs of tomatoes by hand, it will never get done. But if I just have to run it through a food mill- chances are it will get done.

I recognize my need for a high quality bread maker, if fresh homemade bread is ever going to be a reality. All that kneading and rising? Yeah, probably not going to happen. But if I can dump the ingredients in and several hours later have a loaf of fresh, beautiful bread, than yeah- doable! Based on a "professional home baker"'s suggestion, I am trolling ebay for a bread maker whose brand I can't remember but whose price tag- around $200 is definitely the priciest investment I have in mind.

This is going to be a lifestyle change, for sure, but after this baby is born, I don't know how much longer I am going to want to work. If I can "make" money by being a bit more diligent with spending on food, then I will feel better about not working a part time job.

This vision is going to take a bit more refining, but I am definitely able to get a start on it now, while waiting for our 'roots down deep' place to appear. My investments now can be on equipment and later will take the form of bigger things: the greenhouse, a chicken coop etc.
Exciting! (at least for me:)
And here is something I made for the first time over Christmas break. They were a triumph of yum! I'll include a recipe tomorrow, along with some fun new news!

Pallet house.....

This is something my brothers would make. I don't know how to resize the vid, but it doesn't cut off that much!

I just put up my first wreath. Handmade (sort of) by me. I bought a $4 fake wreath and pushed a bunch of real clippings into it. Then I added glitter acoutrements and some red balls. No matter how you phrase it, christmas balls just sounds funny. And you can't say ornaments because that isn't specific enough. They're balls. Christmas balls. Christmas ornament balls. Christmas tree or wreath ornament balls. See what I mean? You are still left with that awkward and sheepish "balls". Anyways the wreath is on my back door welcoming all with a swift punch of Christmas in the gut. Some may call it gaudy, but I prefer the term garish. Sounds much more festive.

From a three year olds perspective........

Surprisingly in focus, wouldn't you say, from a boy who is only still when asleep.

THoughts...

SO I went to my doctor and saw the baby on ultrasound yesterday. The nurse said its still in "Gummy Bear" stage so we don't know what the sex is, but it was so so amazing to see kicking it's legs and waving it's little stubby arms. It's a very active little baby in there, although I still don't feel anything. I started crying, like I always do, seeing it move and give it's arms and legs a workout. It almost looked like it was having...fun. Look, at 10 weeks, this thing is a BABY. No foetus about it. That's a person in there, trying out its legs and growing at an incredible rate. It so trite, but life really is a miracle. Next ultrasound....boy or girl?

I also went to WalMart grocery shopping. I've been craving wings like nobodies business, so Ron and I were in the condiment aisle, trying to decide which sauce to get. Fianlly I shouted:
"Look! Sauce from Hooters! They're known for their great wings!" And then me and pretty much the entire aisle started laughing. I felt like a teenage boy trying to convince his mom to let him go to Hooters. "But Mom, their wings are the best!" Yeah, Hooters is well known, but not for their wings!

THen I was at the checkout and had my 50 lb bag of dog food. The checkout lady was like "I'll scan that but I aint movin it." So I took it off the deal and was trying to shove it in the bottom of my empty cart. The cart was bucking and squealing, trying to get away from that bag of dog food and I was grunting and starting to sweat, which I HATE, when all of a sudden the cart calmed down I shoved that bag all the way on. I look up and here's this guy holding my cart for me. He had long stringy hair tufting out from underneath a stocking cap, was dressed in all black with flourescent skulls, and looked like he'd been dragged behind a Hell's Angel for half a mile. That guy? Angel in disguise right there. I thanked him profusely and he smiled. He had one of those smiles that you don't see very often. Big deep dimples, scrunchy eyes, white teeth. His whole face smiled with him. It was great.

I am full on Holiday spirit over here. To me, November is the buildup to December. If I can get all my shopping and crafting done, then I have a full month to just enjoy the blowout of holiday events in dec. I'm doing pretty good so far. I have found so much great stuff to make for K kids, I hope they like their stuff as much as I liked making it!

We got our first snow and it's perfect Novemeber, over the river and through the woods snow. Just a dusting. Perfect!

The First Craft Fair.....

was a total bomb. We sold next to nothing!! I think at the end of the day K-Tina and I each made $30, which didn't even cover the booth space cost. I feel more hopeful about the next show but it was so discouraging to sit on a hard plastic chair all day, starving and neausous, and try to defend our stuff to people who just didn't get it. It was a bust. AND they served SLOPPY JOES for lunch!! Sick!!

Helloween...

I know its a horrible holiday trying to trick little kids into associating candy with the devil.

However, I choose to focus on the fun of dressing up and getting candy, the most important parts for me when I was growing up. The costumes I remember were: being a crayon, a cheerleader (that one came out of left field) and a vet. I know I participated for 18 years, but those are the only costumes I remember.
Mom? want to fill in some missing years?

Anyways this year started with the daycare trick or treating at all the businesses in town this afternoon.
Chubzie went as a lion:
The costume came from a second hand store and looks like someone's loving grandma sewed it. I think his little face is so adorable!
LB was harder. I looked through WalMart and didn't like anything, and looked through second hand stores which all had WalMart's selection from last year. The costumes are so uninspiring and gross. Who wants to see a 3 year old dressed like a vampire/ weird ninja/ blood sucking ghoul? So I was feeling very strapped for time when all of a sudden I found this hooded shirt that looked exactly like chainmail and it all came together:
It was super cheap to buy an old belt, a sweatshirt, and a shield from the second hand store. A little heraldric work with a marker on the sweatshirt, and we have a knight! Super cute. Super cheap. Loving it!
On Saturday, the Mormons put on a "trunk or treat" where everyone parks there car in the parking lot and loads the trunks with treats. Then the kids walk around to all the cars and trick or treat. It felt a little weird last year, almost like I was doing a black market deal (You want a nice radio, lady?) but I really appreciate how simple and fun it is for my kids, and the big kids with the really obnoxious costumes usually don't come.
Last year's run in with Freddy Krueger didn't seem to make a lasting impression on LB, but still- I didn't like seeing his face as he took that particular costume in.