~Still Kicking,... not going anywhere, yet ~

 Written by Sue, Thursday, February 23, 2023 sunny, very warm actually hot, 88 degrees🌞

I always look forward when these cute babies arrive, I know 'spring' is not to far away, at least on the calendar. We are having extremely hot weather, breaking temps.records,which I know won't last, we have had some big snows in March, but I am keeping my fingers crossed the snow will skip us this year, because the warm temps. have caused a lot of early budding. For now the chicks will be staying in the laundry room. ~wink~

When One is not able to move about freely, they have a tendency to get behind in their work, such as was the case with me, it's been almost 4 weeks since I sprained my ankle, I am now able to move about freely, so I decided I better get cranking or I will get behind.

So what have I been doing?

I juiced and canned orange juice, very refreshing, I used Cara Cara oranges, I was surprised it wasn't real sweet, which I like, 

I canned apples with vanilla and cinnamon, yummy, I see, apple dumpling, apple pies, or plain cooked apples.

Applesauce with vanilla and cinnamon, we like chunky applesauce.

I canned chicken with bone broth,  this makes great tortilla soup, chicken and rice/noodle soup.

Canned chicken bone broth, so delicious, when I was sick with covid 19, bone broth was so nourishing to me.

That's what I have been doing among other things, it was so nice to be up and about again, I am still not able walk outside, yet, though I have been busy. ha ha.

Love,

 Sue

A "Quick Note" Maybe!

Written by Sue, Saturday, February 4,2023     sunny, temps. 40's 

Hello dear Friends,

My, how quickly your daily routine can change in an instant, as I found out this week. One of my goals for the new year was to become more consistent in my walking exercise, I was off to a pretty good start walking outside for an hour 4 to 5 days a week, and having fun, being able to get fresh air and keep an eye on what was going on around the farm.

 Tuesday, as I was rounding a curve in the driveway my right ankle completely gave way, throwing me to the ground, and boy did it hurt. Instead of going to the house and icing it, I picked up a wooden  handle and kept walking for along while, not a smart thing to do,  I will admit to being somewhat stubborn,that's  not a good trait especially with something like this.

This week has found me sitting, around the fire,

foot elevated,  ice packs, rotating with Epsom Salt foot soaks at night,  and my Dh having to feed and take care of me. I am truly blessed, he has done everything with a smile, while  also reminding me that  his hourly wage has increased. Ha! ha Inflation, don't you know!

One of the good things about this week is I have had some time to visit blogging friends, catching up on some reading, meditating, making plans for future projects, as if I really needed more. 

I also found that my blogging skills have decreased, and blogger is always changing things or either I have forgotten a lot of things. Oh well! It is what it is!

Up until this week, I have been so busy learning new prepping skills, I have always wanted to make and can my own cranberry sauce, so I did, so easy peasy... I am now wondering why I waited so long to learn.

I use cranberry sauce in a lot of recipes, it goes so well with pork loin, baked ham, makes great cranberry breads and muffins, add to other sauces. 

 I also wanted to try new home remedies, since we grow our own garlic, I learned how to ferment garlic with raw honey, with so many new viruses around we need to protect our immune systems, garlic and honey are two of the many foods to help with this, as are many herbs, turmeric being one of them.

Peel, chop, garlic,

Place in sterilized jar, add raw honey, stir, several times a day turn jar upside down as to keep garlic covered in honey, each morning burp the mixture by slightly unscrewing lid, tighten again until next day, after two weeks it is ready to use. We chew  a piece a day, and put a little honey in our lemon, vinegar water. The honey makes the garlic taste so good not spicy at all, and it is good for you.

I am also learning about how essential oils are vital to our health too. Love this book, a gift from one of our sons and his fiancee.

Well! that's my supposedly quick note!~wink~Thank you for visiting.

 Enjoy your weekend.

Blessings,

Sue

should I or should I not,

write a post before 2022 ends? This was the question I asked myself this morning.   So here I am.

Hoping everyone  had a very Merry Christmas, you are staying warm and cozy,  and are looking forward to the New Year. 

Christmas Day was very quiet and relaxed for Mr P and I, we both stayed in our pjs most of the day, except when DH went to attend to the animals. 

Our ewes are lambing, we are up to 30 new babies,(pics, real soon), we always have a Christmas lamb born on Christmas Day. 

We had lots of events leading up to Christmas Day. Some of the grandkids came over to make gingerbread houses.

We baked and decorated  cookies .

decorated cookies.

He had the most important job,.... head of the cleanup committee, ~wink! always with a smile!

Christmas Eve was celebrated with Daughter and her family, we had our traditional meal of oyster stew, and chicken enchilada soup! so yummy! After gifts were exchanged, we have another tradition that is, reading of the Christmas story, with everyone sharing their thoughts of what Christmas means to them, ending with a prayer of thanksgiving of the greatest gift given to us all.

In late November,our second son,his fiancee, one of our grandsons and his family came for a  weekend our son cooked a seafood dinner for us all, that was such a nice treat.

Playtime!

First time gathering eggs.

Always time for a nap!

We ended the weekend by having a get together with family and friends at Susan and Chad's home, this was so special to us as we haven't seen friends in a  long while because of Covid 19! 

We visited Mother, she received her usual Christmas basket of fruit from Mr P, she sent us home with a big pot of homemade vegetable soup, ('we eat lots of soup around here'),(wink)

My Christmas decorating was should I say, minimal, that is compared to previous years, but it was so nice, I have really enjoyed our family tree so much this year,

 there are so many memories on this tree, ornaments made by our children when they were young and ornaments made by their children.

  The tinsel and bubbling lights are placed there by me,as a memory of my childhood. We always had both on our tree, I remember as a young girl, I wanted to toss the tinsel, but my Dad said no, we must place the tinsel very carefully  on the branches, and so it goes. 

Usually my decorations are packed and put away before New Year's Eve, but not this year, I am going to enjoy them a while longer. 

Thank you so much for visiting, and indulging my meandering! 

Wishing everyone a most blessed, 

prosperous and

Happy New Year!

Sue

Written by Sue,Tuesday, December 27, 2022, very cold but sunny, temps 40!

~A couple of things we enjoy in the fall~ Happy Fall, Y'all

Written by Sue, Wednesday, September 28, 2022   Warm, sunny fall day, temps. 70's

Hello, dear Friends,

 My days are finally slowing down, (I think) ~smile~ The pantry is almost full, so thankful for a bountiful gardening season, the peas will be harvested next week, then I will finish decorating for fall and making plans for the holidays, which will be here before we know it! Is it me or does time seem to fly by now, I have been told it's because of getting older, I remember when I was a child, time just seemed to creep, so maybe age is the reason. ~wink~

Mr P and I had our six months check up at the dermatologist this week, we both had a great report, just a few zaps with the freeze zapper. Ha ha.

Speaking of fall decorating, 

I've been working on fall decorating what I call "my little haven," the small screened porch that sits off of our bedroom and den.

Before

Scrubbed clean.

It is where I spend my early mornings, meditating, having my devotions and planning my day.

After

In the evening the led candles come on automatic, love the glow.

Mr and Mrs Farmer like to sit out here with us too, especially in the evening, listening to the quietness of the farm, as most of the animals have settled down for the night, some of the  sounds we may hear are a lamb calling for his mother,  an owl hooting, or a bobcat, and once in a while we all hear the sound of a train in the far distance making it's way down the track.

🍂🍂🍂🍂🍂🍂🍂🍂🍂🍂🍂🍂🍂🍂🍂🍂🍂🍂🍂🍂🍂🍂🍂🍂🍂🍂🍂

We did find time to visit a local vineyard to pick grapes for jelly, it was such a beautiful day, 

they were so  plentiful, it didn't take long to pick.

Our buckets  full, now the work begins.

to prepare the grapes for jelly, after washing you separate the pulp from the hulls, cook the pulp to separate the seed, strain, add sugar, a little lemon juice, a pinch of salt, cook until jelly stage, pour into jars, process in boiling water bath for 15 mins. `Voila` It was one of the tastiest batches(southern) I have made.~smile~

Thank you for visiting.

Blessings,

Sue

Psalms 46:1 God is our refuge and strength, A very present help in trouble.

Our thoughts and prayers are with all who are in the path of the hurricane! 

Blogland's long lost sheep has found her way home!

 Written by Sue, Thursday, September 1, 2022,      Sunny, hot, humid, just an ordinary late summer day 90's

Hello Everyone,

I am almost to ashamed to write a post, don't even know where to begin, I not only quit writing, I just dropped out of blogland, and all social media, once in a while I stopped by instagram or Facebook to check in on family and friends. 

Usually folks know when they are taking some time off and post about it, I didn't know I was leaving until I was gone!....... So much for that for now!

Where to begin,

We had a wedding, Susan met  and fell in love with a widower with three children, they were married in early April, the weather  turned really cold, the day  of the outdoor ceremony, it was held at a very dear friends home!

It was warm and sunny at the rehearsal! I can only imagine what she was thinking, like most brides they want everything to be perfect, and it was!!We all had kept up with the weather report!

The next day  was cloudy and cold, but our hearts were so warm, and so happy for them! Her brother performed the ceremony, he is without a jacket because he took it off and placed it around the shivering  bridesmaid's shoulders, who  happened to be the grooms 12 yr. old daughter, she was such a trooper! I would have had more photos today, but was having a hard time downloading, hopefully soon!

💕💕💕💕💕💕💕💕💕💕💕💕💕💕💕💕💕💕💕💕💕💕💕💕💕💕💕💕💕💕💕

 We planted, 

harvested, our vegetables,

 preserved a lots of vegetables. 

English peas~

Sweet corn,many more!

Each season,I try and learn something new in preserving food, we enjoy all kinds of soup, and eat it year round, especially when the weather gets chilly!~wink~ This is bacon and bean soup, it was so delicious, I say was' because it's all gone. Planning to make more real soon.

We also had a few bumps in the road, My precious mother had surgery, she is doing remarkably well, she has gone back to cleaning her own home, canning lots of vegetables, and is still baking goodies for her policemen, mailman and anyone else in her neighborhood! I absolutely am amazed at her stamina, if she would bottle and sell it I would be first in line. ~smile~

Mr P and I  contracted a variant of covid in July, he did quiet well, however it has taken me a little longer to recover, but  I am back to exercising and trying to regain my strength! 

This is just a small portion of what we have been up to ,these past seven months, please bear with me as I try to catch up and  journal our days here at Pear Tree Lane Farmhouse.

😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊

I thought you might like to see some cute photos.

We kept Zeke, while Susan and Chad were honeymooning, we already had other quests and  since it had turned so cold we decided to make a temporary, makeshift nursery in the laundry room! He just didn't know what to think of them.

Once he realized they weren't going to eat him , he decided he wanted to get in the box and play, but they  emphatically let him know that wasn't going to happen. 

BTW.....Some of these same chicks are now crowing, others are laying eggs!

We are all facing uncertain times, be encouraged for we know who is in charge, and that is, our heavenly Father, the God, and greater of this universe.

Proverbs 15:3! The eyes of the Lord are in everyplace, keeping watch on the evil and the good.

Until next time

Love,

Sue