Sunday Night Chit-Chat

Welcome to the Sunday Night Chit-Chat hosted by Carla at My 1/2 Dozen Daily! My photo tonight is of our Butternut Squash patch just before hubby and DS harvested! We are supposed to get our first frost Tuesday or Wednesday so it was time for everything we wanted to keep to come in. More about that later this week:)

So, let's get started with the Chit-Chat!

• Reading: Still reading If I Stay and loving it!
• Watching: Just watched Philomena. Oh my! It was an amazing but emotional movie. Judi Dench never disappoints!
• Listening to: The TV in the background while I am writing this post. I think it might be 60 Minutes.
• Wishing for: A new Janome HD 3000 sewing machine:) Looks like it will be my Christmas present this year. 
• Looking forward to: A day out with hubby tomorrow. 
• Happy you accomplished this week: I got 14 bags of bell peppers chopped up and put in the freezer (2 cups in each bag). 
• Grateful for: A hardworking and loving husband! 
• Thinking about: Thanksgiving...guest list, menu, decorations.

Well, that's it for me tonight! Thanks for stopping by! Since I will be out all day tomorrow, I'm not sure I will be able to do Happy Homemaker Monday. If not, I will be back for Tasty Tuesday!

Kat

Happy Homemaker Monday

Good Morning! And welcome to Happy Homemaker Monday. Dear Sandra is our weekly host for Happy Homemaker Monday and always has fun things to share. I hope you will pop over to Diary of a Stay at Home Mom to see what she's been up to!

I was so happy to see that my blog has over 50,000 views now! Woo Hoo! Thank you all for checking in to see what's going on in my little world! I truly love to share with you!

Breakfast time....what is on the plate this morning::::
Wednesday is a fast day so no breakfast for this girl! I do have plans for a great big salad for lunch!

Looking around the house::::Dog toys litter the livingroom...again...always! Everything else looks pretty good. I want to put a fall wreath up in the livingroom this week.
On today's to do list::::
Laundry...I need to do a couple loads of laundry today! There is always laundry to do but I guess I can be thankful we all have plenty of clothes.
Food Preservation...I really need to get some tomatoes canned this week! We got the sauerkraut started last week (45 Liters of it) and the Jujubes are drying nicely but now I need to get the tomatoes done!
Stampin' Up!...I need to deliver orders later in the week and make a few cards today before I put my stamping stuff away. 
Crocheting...I am still working on the yellow baby afghan. I am also working on a pretty pink scarf and earwarmer set for a three year old (need to finish this week!). I need to start working on some clothes for my granddaughter's American Girl doll. 
Cooking...Today we will have a big salad, homemade dressing and homemade whole wheat bread.

Currently reading::::
The Deep Blue Sea for Beginners by Luanne Rice
One Simple Act by Debbie Macomber (this book is so good I may have to read it over when I finish)
Sycamore Row by John Grisham (audio)

On the TV today::::
I watched The Paradise last night and might get an episode or two of the Gilmore Girls in tonight.

The weather outside is::::
It has been chilly in the mornings but warms up to low 70s (F) in the afternoon. I really can't complain tho I know the cold is coming. Just trying to soak up the last little bit of warmth!

On the menu this week::::
As you know if you read my Happy Homemaker Monday posts, I am not much of a menu-maker. I know it would be good but most of the time I just work with what's here. We still have so much in the garden that I just think about what's there and what sounds yummy to eat! Seems to work for us.

If I have a few minutes to myself, I will::::
Work on making a few cards!

New recipe I tried, or want to try this week::::
Just this morning I got found a recipe for Easy Tomato Basil Blender Soup. I have lots of tomatoes so thought I would give it a try this week. I may have found my new favorite soup:) I ordered the covered baker and proofing bowl last week for my new Artisan bread so hopefully will get to do that next week.

One of my simple pleasures::::
Chocolate:) Especially Dove Dark Chocolate! Hubby tries to buy me "designer" chocolate but I still like Dove the best!

Favorite photo from the camera::::
Nothing today...sorry! I really need to take some pictures!

Visiting with Blog friends (blog you want to share, blog post that caught your eye)::::I enjoy Patty's Stamping Spot and the current post is for The Control Freak Blog Tour! So many creative stampers. I hope you get a chance to check it out!
Praying for::::
Friends and family

Bible Verse, Devotional that is resonating with me at the moment:::: 
"In everything give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you." 
                                   ---1 Thessalonians 5:18

Thankful Thursday

My new Thankful Thursday button is a work in progress:)

Welcome to my first Thankful Thursday! Because I want to practice thankfulness, I am going to use Thursdays to share three things that I am thankful for! 

#1...I am thankful that I finished the applesauce today! I canned 65 quarts of applesauce in three days--whew! My back, legs and shoulders are sore but I am finished and we will enjoy the applesauce this winter:) The difference in colors reflects the different varieties or combination of varieties of apples. I tried to mix two or three varieties of apples for each batch.

#2...I am thankful for lots of free canning jars! I didn't think I would ever run out of canning jars but this year I did. My son was able to get me some free jars (all Ball & Kerr) from his boss' mother. What a blessing! I will make them some applesauce in return!

#3...I am thankful for our root cellar where we will be able to store food for the winter. It also acts as an additional refrigerator which comes in handy for the holidays!

What are YOU thankful for today? 

Getting Ready for Winter

Butternut squash ready to be picked--at least 30 in all

My husband works on commission--always has. For 29 years he sold real estate and for the last 6 years he has been designing and selling renewable energy systems. In both of these industries it is difficult to make sales in the winter so we have always tried to make sure our winter expenses are minimal. Each September/October/November finds us canning, drying and purchasing food to store away in our root cellar.

Six boxes of apples so far and more trees to go! 

This year I dried: apricots, peaches, nectarines and plums--lots of plums! I am canning applesauce (20 quarts yesterday and hopefully that many more today) and may do a few quarts of pears. For the root cellar we go to Portland to The Barn to purchase potatoes and beets (when we don't grow our own), also cabbage, Brussels sprouts, leeks and whatever else looks good and will last. These items will keep in the root cellar through March. 

Root Cellar set into the bank

This year we made our own sauerkraut so will be purchasing a lot of cabbage to make another bigger batch of sauerkraut. Our last batch is nearly gone and we used 17 pounds of cabbage for that one. The sauerkraut will keep in the crock in the root cellar all winter--no need to can it:) 

My husband brings the winter squash and tomatoes into the greenhouse to store them. The tomatoes he hangs from wires so they don't touch anything and we frequently have fresh tomatoes until after Christmas! He lays the winter squash on a newspaper lined table.

Shelves line both sides with a gravel floor

With all this good food and the fact that we live off-grid, our winter expenses are minimal. We heat with wood and make sure we have plenty to last all winter. Our cooking and water heating are propane so we make sure the tank is full in the fall. Occasionally we have to run the diesel generator in the winter when there is no sun or wind so we make sure the diesel tank is also full. 

By Thanksgiving, everything is ready for winter and we are truly thankful for all the Lord has given us. Maybe I should have saved this post for Thankfulness Thursday but I have so many other things to be thankful for as well. By then I will be thankful I am finished with the applesauce!!!

Have a wonderful day and a great week! No crafting for me this week:(

Kat

Day of Gratitude Triple Time Card

The card above is one we did at our Happy Stampers Club meeting last month and I also sent it to The Cupboard Trilogy as one of my Design Team projects for November. I truly LOVE this card!!! First of all, Day of Gratitude is a great stamp set and I am so glad I purchased it last year! This set will be a keeper for me even when it retires. I have a hard time parting with stamp sets anyway but need to do a big purge SOON!!!

For this card I used the following Stampin' Up! products:

• Card stock: Pumpkin Pie and Very Vanilla
• Day of Gratitude stamp set
• Classic Stampin' Pads: Always Artichoke, Pumpkin Pie and Early Espresso
• Always Artichoke Seam Binding Ribbon

I decided to stamp the sentiment in the bottom right hand corner--for no particular reason other than I liked it:)

Have a great day! I am off to get some applesauce made and canned. My goal for today is 21 quarts so will let you know how I do!

Do you put food up for the winter? Can, freeze, dry or purchase food to put in the root cellar?