Bread Making

With the weather turned off cold its time to bake bread again. Couple days ago I made two small loaves of pumpkin bread and a banana nut bread. I also made applesauce for the first time ever from apples off my tree. We'll see how that turned out one day.

Today we had a Chicks meeting at Cheryl's house where she made us a delicious lunch and showed how to make MaryJanes Artisan bread starter to those who had never made it before. Next week we all get to try each others bread to see how they turn out. That should be interesting as mine have not been very good in the past. It's something I need plenty of practice with.

Here It Is

I finally tried my hand at crochet. Bought a self teaching book and tried a few different things. It took me awhile to get the hang of it but after starting over numerous times, I think I got it. Although there are many things I'd need someone to teach me that I'm not sure exactly how to do it. I would love to learn some really cute designs, but simple ones. I must say that crochet is for someone with very strong wrists, not something I have any longer. It is a nice way to pass the time on a gloomy day and catch up on all the DVR shows I taped. Plus it gave me time to sit in the rocking chair and relax which is not something I do very often .

The Bug Is Here

And that bug is what we all call the flu bug. So many I know have already been hit with it and now I've been laid up for four days with it so have not been able to get out and enjoy our fall weather. We've had rain now for a couple of days and it always smells so nice out here when it does. I use to love running in the rain when I was a kid. After getting soaked and having a blast doing so, I would then go in and take a nice warm shower. I have since then always looked forward to a good rain. Living up here in the high desert it does'nt come around all that often so when it does I try to enjoy what I can. I must say having to have a fire in the wood stove has also added to the wonderful smells of the outdoors rain and all.
Last Saturday I went to the farmers market to pass out some flyers hoping to recruit some farmgirls into our Chapter. I met one lady who makes her own dog biscuits and one who crochets and knits. I would like to try my hand at crocheting again as it has been many years since I first tried my hand at it and made a coverlet for my moms bed.
With winter coming soon it will be time to start planning lots of indoor activites and I hope to meet some other farmgirls with different interests so that I could learn from them. I have even thought of taking a yoga class as it is something I've always wanted to do.
So now its time for a hot cup of tea and a little more rest to get over this bug. Then I hope to get out there and do some more recruiting. In the meantime, hope everyone stays warm, stays healthy and enjoys their fall.

Saying Goodbye

It is really hard to say goodbye to those you love when you know it will be awhile before you can get back to see them. I just returned from Idaho from seeing my son and my mother and brothers and sisters. We only had a week there as the weather was changing toward snow back here. We spent what time we could talking, shopping and eating too much. Saw many of the neices and nephews and their families as well.
My son is doing very well and looks real good. We shopped, he took me to lunch and we talked about many things. He's already letting me know what he wants for Christmas.
Even though it's hard to leave them, it is good to be home. All of my animals miss me when I'm gone and there is so much to do around here to get ready for winter. Just the day after coming home I was hauling wood for the fireplace, putting up all my garden decor, readying the coop for the winter chill and looking for the gloves and hats to bring inside. By the next day, it was snowing the better part of the day and the following was a snow rain mix.
Well I guess I now have to say goodbye summer, hello fall. My compost bin is nearly full from all the garden scraps and the leaves have fallen from many trees. The deer are eating anything left that is green and the hens are laying fewer eggs. I've put up all my garden equipment and hubby has winterized all the motored ones. Time to put on my thinking cap and start planning crafts to make for the cold winter days ahead. I've already started pulling out the soup recipes and the crock pot, now if I could only learn to cook.