hello. it's me.

with sweet potato fries roasting in the oven,

right after baking bread for the week, 

i'm taking a bit of time to say

hEllo & hOwdydo.

it's been a minute or a gazillion

so i'm just going to jump in and act

nonchalant, as if i haven't been away

nearly a year. 

seems to be a habit of late.

gOlly.

dinner tonight?

homemade (so squishy are these) rolls crammed

with chicken apple sausage, a medley of roasted

cabbage, onion, apple with seasonings,

fresh whole grain dijon mustard

& sweet potato fries.

gonna be good, folks.

took a drive this week to another county .. 

nearly another state altogether. 

had important business to tend.

the drive was beautiful. 

i especially love drives when it involves

snow or rain; blizzard or gully washers

it makes no difference. i love it all the same.

then again, i am the passenger princess

so i leave the driving to him. wink.

recently we were blessed with impromptu guests

for a simple luncheon. i'm thankful i preserved

soups, veggies, and more at summer's end.

it was so simple to "throw" together this meal.

a loaf of fresh milled bread was also at the ready,

with a good slather of apple butter & real butter.

pickles made a stately appearance ..

dill as well as bread & butter,

& spicy jalapeno carrots, a personal favorite.

vegetable & white bean soup

hearty & delicious,

nourishing &warm for the belly

simple setting * simple foods

and fellowship that didn't lag

whatsoever. time flew by.

tis a blessing.

strange weather we're having in these parts.

snow is nearly nonexistent but the rain

is plentiful. hoping for big snow in March

at the very latest... our first year in this

sweet lil village we got 5 (yes, five!)

feet in a 3 day period. 

last year was big snow. March offered snows to the

degree the hubs had nowhere to "put" snow 

when snow blowing. our snow berm was 

13 feet in places. just a tad taller than him. wink.

by April we were so ready for winter to finally go away;

 by May sweet relief was upon us with quick snow melt.

finally come May, our greenhouse was in place with plans for

the hubs to build it out to my preferences (he's a keeper).

just before our "safe" planting date of june 18, 

we had a quick freeze and bit of snow. the potatoes

were fine but i made sure to cover whatever other veg

i thought might require a light sweater. 

the buffalo gnats visited. 

all. summer. long. bahhhh!!!!!

buffalo gnats aka black flies.

the scissor bites of these humpback beasts are

torturous. ice packs & special ointment was needed

for a bit of relief. blisters appeared quickly, 

horrid in every respect including aftermath scars. 

to this day challenges continue from the bites.

not looking forward to summer if they're part of the party

and they're certainly not on my invite list. 

local & recent pic of our area..

my mother is faring splendidly after last year's

health debacle & subsequent surgery & recovery.

what an ordeal for her! she turned 92 in May.

a good part of her days are spent loving on lacey and cagney,

the sweet black & white kitties, who i refer to as:

starsky & hutch.

when one is retired, one does not take vacations.

one takes trips. so i've been told. 

we took a few trips in 2023..

3 to the state where mom lives

to visit her as well as family,

1 to the coast to visit family,

1 to another state to visit more family,

& 1 to the state where the jeep club gathered

for extreme jeeping - in which i remained in the

airbnb as the extreme was definitely extreme

and my back wouldn't have been able to remain

happy in the ensuing tossing and turning of the trail.

i was fine with that - and made do just fine being cloistered

in such a nice environment as the condo.

every evening the group went out for dinner 

& i was allowed to tag along.

we maintain overall busy days ..

there's always something to do, be it the 

every day habitual mode of tending home,

projects, taking drives in new to us places

or not new to us places - just cuz we like 'em,

gathering with local friends there or here,

reading, studying up on a new subject or hobby,

or revisiting said subject or hobby,

or applying what we've learned.

the hubs planted about 250 flower bulbs on our property.

he knows how much i miss flowers. this has blessed my heart.

veg gardening brought me to a place of exhaustion in summer.

i overextended myself quite a bit..  by the end of day clean & cool

from a shower, i made my way to bed with great relief come nightfall.

a couple ibuprofen taken for good measure. 

during daytime the hubs & i would meet up

on one of the decks depending on time of day for a break.

iced tea usually, feet up to rest on a footstool,

 umbrella overhead offering a respite of shade,

small talk in low tones. then me inside to begin prep for 

our main meal & him to complete garage & shop tasks.

the hubs built me a hutch in the great room

to house my pretties up high as well as

practical kitchen appliances on the lower level.

the finishing touch will be sewing a set of curtains

for that lower level so the kitchen appliances 

aren't there for all the world to see.

 i'll share a picture when that task is complete.

more and more i prep foods from scratch.

at times the weather sure keeps you home

& home is where the prepared foods are

&where you can put together a hot meal

in a relatively short amount of time with

limited energy output of yourself as well as an oven or stovetop. 

not that we lose power often though we do have a generator just in case,

but the convenience alone of putting up 

jars in the larder lends a comfort & satisfaction.

a reliance of sorts.

we live in a rather isolated area overall.

we prefer it - 'specially these days.

with that comes an uncertainty

of product choices and/or availability to 

which i was once accustomed.

before moving to this location i had wide choice

in where i bought our food, the type, and how often.

so simple it was to not take meal planning

seriously. so simple to skip down to one of my

two favorite markets assembling food for a plate.

thoughtless really. convenient yet thoughtless.

moving to this location months before the world

tilted axis i learned fairly quickly

(i HAD to learn) 

to know what we needed, how much we needed, 

how to preserve & prepare what was/is needed,

with little to no food waste.

one makes do when one has to make do.

we're better for it, for sure & for certain. 

there's a market in town & a couple 30 miles north,

big box & grocery stores in the next state

which is in the "land of people" and over an hour

driving time one way. that happens every couple

months or so - driving that route. 

i'm generally not a fan of venturing

to the "land of people."

we rely on the

farmers market in the next county

during summer where i buy everything

 i can't grow or don't want to grow.. 

growing vegetables is a challenge all

its own in my little area. most folks have a tough time

growing veg but i still try .. and try. i've come to 

the conclusion - a eureka moment to be sure - that i

will be growing only veg that is a bit more proven

than not. a dear friend lives a teensie bit lower in elevation

& grows amazing crops with great success.

i'm ever intrigued & challenged to try yet again.

aside from the buffalo gnats (ugh!) there are 

garden pests that cannot be ignored. as such, particular 

veg will not be planted this year. i'm done fighting the ickies.

additionally, if fire season proves to be a serious concern, 

i may disband growing this season altogether. 

the smoke alone doesn't allow for good results in the garden.

in fact, virtually zero results.

praying we'll be just dandy.

we've begun ordering our meats from

wild pastures. heard of it? so far we're very pleased

with the quality and selection. we also order from

azure standard which has proven to be beneficial.

those two sources along with our veg garden,

apple tree (for apple jam/butter), and the farmer's market,

round out our food supply quite well.

dairy & eggs & such as still purchased at a market.

we're doing what we can with what we have available.

how are you faring in your little kingdoms?

as to the fires:

summer of '23 was glorious in that the fires weren't a local issue.

clear skies save for ch*mtr*ils (read between the lines)

boasted a fresh, delightful few months.

however. ahem... the buffalo gnats & mosquitos

were so thick we didn't once go kayaking. not once. 

no bueno.

the years previous though were frightful & at one

point we were packed & ready to leave, 

as were other folks - just in case.

there are good years .. & not so good years.

hoping for a good year, this year. 

a simple prayer

but that one simple prayer goes deep.

either way, no matter what

life throws my way, i can put my trust in the One

who holds my heart - the Author & Finisher of my life.

with that truth, i'll finish for now and return soon.

pinky promise.

Maranatha,

.sherry.