Come on get here, NOW!

2013.... See ya... I won't miss you... I will be happy to see you go.... Can you move out of the way so that BABY NEW YEAR can get here already!!!!

I decided that this year there will be no resolutions.... Resolutions have no structure, they have no end. They are hopes and dreams of something different. This year I have goals. Most of them are short term. But that's fine because I will have such a feeling of accomplishment once they are done... With that being said, it should motivate me on to the next goal. All of the goals revolve around one another. 

Get the address to the property

Loose 2 pounds a week

Get Thyroid under control

Start eating more organ meat (liver)

Juice more

Make $500 a month (31~UL~yarn)

Get the electric on property

Fix soffits on shed

Find a used mobile to put on property

Plan on going to convention

Clear orchard area

Plant trees

Find out about cementing the floor of the shed

Get 2 does

Breed out 4 sets of kits before the end of the year

Get 1/2 a cow

Get 1/2 a pig

This year is going to be about focusing on the property, me and my home. Two of which have severely ignored. 

Here is to Eating that Frog in 2014!

Yart

Stuck in the Smoke Hole of our Tipi.

This is my newest favorite Christmas song.... Then Dominic the Donkey and Jingle Bell Rock! Enjoy!!

Yart

Oh, where is it?

The Christmas Spirit.... It really hasn't made an appearance to my home in a couple years now.

I'm not depressed or down trodden!?!

I'm not rushed or frazzled!?!

Almost everything is done....

Decorating -Check

Cookies - Check

Presents bought - check

Wrapped - check

Meal Planned - check

House Cleaned - Almost 

Not sure what the deal is....

But I feel like its just another day... I think it has something to do with the monsters getting older.... I fell like I'm going through the motions.

On a side note... 

I took the family to help out at Toys for Tots... We sorted and placed toys.... Then we went back and assembled bicycles. We had such a great time... Picky even commented that how cool it is that we put the bikes together that little ones will be getting on Christmas morning... I love my monsters! I was so proud of them... They jumped right in with what needed to be done... Never a complaint... Always looking to see where they could work next!

Winter Solstice -

We didn't do anything special... Mouthy worked on her Pooka Pages. The older girls helped me make cookies. It was a very quite day together!

Yart 

What Spring Holds!

About a month or so ago we lost our Tickety-Boo. Not really sure what happened to him but he didn't make it. So that has now freed up the hutch for two females this spring. Grim works with a Fella that has rabbits. He said that we can come out and get them once the weather breaks! YEAH! I am so excited to actually have does!!! I'm hoping that I get them old enough so that I can breed them right away and have the first kit before the weather warms up to much.

Now if I could just figure out how to make these bark, I could have a couple!

Baby Doll Shetland Sheep!

Off to by lottery tickets!!!

Yart

Lots going on!

Since its that time of year again, I feel the need to clean house... I know it would make more since to do it daily or even weekly... Which we do keep up on the top layer of stuff.... But its the deep down cleaning that I feel the need to do... I didn't get a chance to do it at Thanksgiving because of the dreaded funk of 2013. So now we are just 10 days from Christmas and I need to get it done... But what am I doing instead.... Playing on the computer of course.... LOL! And waiting on the time to come for me to leave and get my oldest Monster from the bus depot! She will be home for almost a month... Its going to be weird her being here again.... When she was here at Thanksgiving I was so sick that it didn't matter to me who was here... :D Since she will be home during the day with me as the others are at school, she will be able to help me get a ton of stuff done....

I haven't even started my Christmas cookies yet... 

Chocolate chip

Oatmeal

peanut butter

magic bars

cherry nut bread (oh, my mixer is going to hate me)

snowballs

russian tea cookies

thin mints

The shopping is done... Just need to get everything wrapped! Still need to get a turkey, already have the ham. I have most of the stuff for the side dishes. Just need to get a few more things.

Yart

I never got to show you

Years ago Grim bought me daisy's for Mothers day and I planted them. Little did I know Daisy's actually bloom in the fall. So every year I am surprised by a glorious display of beauty while everything else is dying off.

These came into the house the first week of November. Who would ever think blooming flowers in November in Southern Michigan. The funniest part is that the heat didn't get turned on for almost another 2 weeks.

Crazy weather!

Yart

Prayers

Tonight I pray for a family facing the unthinkable... I've prayed since the first day and even before... I will continue to pray... For that is all I can do! My heart breaks for them, I can't imagine their pain or sorrow... 

Yart

One done

I was hoping to have had the second one done... But with half days, bowling practice and parent teacher conferences.... It would not be the case.... I plan on getting a few more rows done today... We have instrument practice and Grandma's.... I also have the first night of a 3 night vendor event to attend tonight!

I like the design.... But I'm thinking that this pattern would also lend itself well to a hot water bottle..... Off to see how much they are?!? The last one I had dry rotted a couple years ago and I never got around to replacing it.

Yart

Little Drummer Boy

This video was shared on FB.... I'm sharing it with you! It is a lovely version!

Yart

Little Things

Since I've finished the baby blanket and not quite ready to get onto the Autumn afghan...... I thought I should get a few small projects in. I only have 1 pair of leg warmers that I made two years ago while at the hospital with my uncle. I have a couple really nice skirts that I want to be able to wear this winter. Since I get cold so easy I think leg warmers are the way to go... 

I didn't go out for Black Friday or Cyber Monday... I was very good! But I did manage to have to go to Michael's today to get a bigger set of circular needles. While I was there I spied the yarn.... It was on sale.... So I got 2 skeins of 2 different colors. The one above is a Red Heart Soft jewel-tone and the other is Impeccable charcoal tweed.

All I did was start with 48 stitches k2 p2 for 3 inches and then just knit. I'm at 5 inches right now... These are coming together quickly. Once these are done I have a skein of Bernat in Pink that I want to use to make a set with also.... 4 pairs will work nicely for this winter. 

Yart

Pumpkin Pies

Like I said they needed a post to there own!

Back near the end of October Grim and I went down to see the old woman... Who wasn't there but her family was... ( don't know if anything happened but keeping her in my prayers none the less ). We got some apples and a few small squash. While we were there I picked up 5 pie pumpkins.... I have only once in the last couple years cooked them up... Usually they end up as decorations or squirrel feed. But this year I had every intention of cooking them up. By the middle of November one of them got all mushy on the counter. So it was a do or die situation... LOL! Needless to say it was a good day to cook pumpkins!

Once the pumpkins were cooked and cooled, I blended the pulp and forced it through a fine colander to remove any chunks.... Then I weighed and put into zip top bags. Off into the freezer they went... I ended up with 4 ~ 28oz bags. Two of which were used to make 4 pumpkin pies for Thanksgiving.....

This monumental task was taken on by Picky monster.... It was her first time.... She kept coming and asking me why the color didn't match the color it should be.... In my brain fogged sickness it took me awhile to come up with an answer... Its because we used real pumpkin not canned. She did a fantastic job! I guess I don't have to make the pies anymore... LOL!

Yart

December Already!

Where did the time go? Not really sure, been busy chasing my tail as of late. Ever seem so busy you don't get anything done. Yep, I think that's what has been happening here. With the new business ( Uppercase Living ) I have been doing a lot of computer work setting up the facebook page and listening to seminars as to how to run a successful FB page. Not to mention all the crafty stuff I have been making to sell as cash and carry items at the vendor shows. I only have 1 more weekend of vendor shows this year. Then I can put everything I made & didn't sell up on etsy.

I have almost finished the baby blanket. The boarder is done, all that's left is to tie up all the ends. I'm very thankful this one is done... Its beautiful!!! Once its done, it will be up for sale! So if your interested please let me know. I also have a few other things that I need to put up on the craft page. More to come this week.

We went and picked up our monster from school so she could be home for Thanksgiving. We have had no snow down state but this is what we found on the way up and back.

I ended up being so sick that I thought I might have to go to the hospital. I had already gone to urgent care got motrin and antibiotics. But my temp shot up and had we not been able to deal with it here I would have had to go to the ER.

The monsters and Grim cooked the entire meal... as we still had company... I stayed in my bed the entire time. No visits for me.. :( Food turned out great... They did a fantastic job. (The pies deserve a post all by themselves) Friday night I got time to visit with my kid.... Saturday morning we were up and on the road taking her back. The weather was pretty much the same... Smooth saleing up until we got across the bridge and then it snowed like crazy.... Cars off into the ditches, good thing we have a 4x4 truck now.

Grim's pickup died... The gas tank fell off as he was going in to work one night... Bad, tow truck, police, fire rescue.... everyone was ok.... except for the truck. Grim decided that it was time for it to go. It was 14 years old and it was starting to nickle and dime us. So off it went! Remember I told you all about the little car that we absolutely hated. The one that I've been trying to sell for months now.... Well, we went to every dealer in the area. Grim found a truck he absolutely loved. Its a Green Ford F-150 4x4. So we talked to the dealer and they not only gave us a great deal on the truck they took the car and payed it off. YEAH!!!!! So we both have good dependable vehicles now.

That's about it for now! Off I go... LOL!

Yart

Morning Visitor

Isn’t he just he cutest…. The dog and I heard something at the door…. Every time I opened the door there was nothing there…. The last time I got up, I saw a squirrel in the bush by the window. So I thought that was the noise… You know the bush hitting the window… Nope!

It was this little bugger crawling across my screen to get from one side of the porch to the other. I can say I was scared to open the door to shoo him away for fear he come in the house. He was there for over 10 minutes with me taking pictures and tapping on the glass. No fear of me!

 

Yart

Could I be Lazy?

 

I’ve been thinking a lot about this recently… I even joked with Grim today and said that these jobs need to fall to the way side so I could get back to what I do very well…. That’s nothing… LOL!

I laugh at that because I may sit and get sucked in to facebook, pinterest, twitter, tumblr and the like, I still manage to get stuff done. The chicken that I bought from Zaycon, so far I have canned up 15 quarts, I made 2 batches of blackberry jam, and went and got 11 pounds of hamburger that made 12 wide mouth pint jars very full. The scrap-ghan is done, all the ends have been tied in. I have almost the entire baby afghan sewed together… Once that’s done I need to tie in the ends and add a border. Not to mention getting all the stuff ready for all the vendor shows. I’m working on 6000 steps for the past 2 weeks on my fitbit… Even though I’ve been going over. And today was day 4 on the 24 day abs so tightly right challenge!

But really if I had nothing else to do I could very easily just sit and read… even that pleasure has been taken from me… I have gone through 4 audio books that I downloaded from the library online! I listen to them while walking around the house getting in my steps… All in the pursuit of trying to get more done in a day then I really need to.

Can you imagine this is all the stuff I have accomplished…. What could I do if only I didn’t procrastinate on the computer… Let’s not think about it…. cause in reality it’s never going to happen… LOL!

Oh, I was going to share pictures… But I deleted them from my phone?!?!? And can’t figure out how to get them back…. So that’s all I got to say about that!

Next post about my morning visitor!

 

 

Yart

1st Time for everything!

Grim and I have been camping since we first started dating. It was a cheap, fun getaway. I remember taking UN monster when she was just a couple months old and having the playpen set up in the tent. We continued to tent until Picky was a couple years old and we got caught on Memorial day weekend in a rainstorm that flooded the tent and damn near froze us to death… LOL! We just didn’t think to go camping again for a long while. Then about 4 years ago we decided to try it again… This was great fun as Mouthy monster had never been camping. After a couple trips, we even upgraded to one of the giant tents that had 2 rooms and even closets. That was the tent that only got used 1 night before it was killed by the weather…. See the evidence photo below…… In this shot you can even see the other two tents that were destroyed.

So as you can see we have done lots of this camping thing…. The one thing that Grim and I had never thought to do was Fall camping… You know once the pool is down and the monsters are back in school…. Who camps?!? Especially here in the NORTH! Well, I actually got the idea from Kristina over at Pioneer Woman at Heart And what a great idea it was…. I had to find a campground… Which I thought should have been no problem at all…. Boy was I wrong. Come to find out Fall camping is huge… To the point that most of the campgrounds are booked 6 months ahead of time just for this prime time!

I was lucky enough to get a canceled spot at one of the State Parks. On the website, they explained that it was a Halloween weekend… But we had no idea what to expect…. I made sure Mouthy had a costume. We had a couple small things and some lights!

I’ll tell you what, even though it rained both nights we were there…. We had the best time… There was a ton of activities for the monsters…. Each site passed out candy… Each site was decorated…. They even had a dance for everyone Saturday night. The monsters had a better time there then they have ever had here in the neighborhood. Now I know why these sites are booked 6 months in advance… I know I will have our site reserved by May 31st next year!

Yart

I've given up!

I can't find my list of things I wanted to write about for the month of October.... That's ok as I really haven't had the time.... Remember in the last post I told you that Zaycon had contacted me... Well, I went to work for them and I made $22.90, not a bad haul.... that money is in my account to be used for future purchases! ( If you want to sign up at Zaycon... could you use me as your referrer... I get $1 for each person I refer, Thanks!) Which is good because they have burger coming up next. I got my 80 pounds and so far I have canned 11 quarts (1 didn't seal) and used 4 of the breast for a meal. I still have lots of chicken to process... But I was smarter this time and froze the majority of it to be pulled out and processed at a later time. Which was a very good thing as once I was done working for the day I couldn't move for almost 3 days after. 

Grim and I hit all the farm markets over the weekend.... I got 50 lbs of potatoes, 50 lbs of cooking onions, a bushel of red delicious apples, 12 pints of blackberries & a bunch of miscellaneous stuff. The onions and potatoes will last most of the winter. The apples will be eaten by the end of November and the blackberries will be made into jam in the next day or two.

Grim believes that winter is going to be a hard one this year. I can't say that I fault his reasoning. This morning we were down to 33. All the windows except for one have been closed up. All the bedding has been changed out for big, warm, fuzzy blankets! The tea pot has been going non stop for days as the littlest one has picked up some nasty from school. Praying that it doesn't spread through the house like wild fire.

We got the yard cleaned up while the weather still liked us. Grim cut down the apple tree, dug up the grapes and rhubarb. After all the years that they have been in the ground they really produced very little. So it was time for them to go to make room in the spring for something that will produce. That's one of the sucky parts about gardening... You take the time and energy to get something in the ground and growing only to have to get rid of it because ( the soil sucks, not enough water, to much water, to hot, to cold). You understand! I'm thinking a mulberry for in behind the garage.... I'm going to move the raspberries to the spot where the grapes and rhubarb was. Then where the raspberries area now.... That will be the only raised bed for veg that I have.

I have just about 2 weeks to get what needs to be done here at the house done.... Because I'm going to be swamped with work. I have an event each and every weekend though the end of the year. I would have started on next year, but I don't have the entrance fee.... So wish me luck on selling items and booking shows! I love this product it is so easy to use.

Yart

Oct. 15th / 16th

This was suppose to be another Autumn / Halloween inspired post... But of course I lost my list of days... Anyways, I wanted to quickly do an update...

I got a call yesterday from the people over at Zaycon.... They asked if I would be interested in working for them for a couple hours.... They will pay me in credit toward my next purchase... All I have to do is help the driver unload and help with the customers. By the way I have chicken coming.... So for the next couple weeks I will be canning that up... I haven't put anything up this year. Nothing.... I know bad homesteader!!!

I will be going this weekend and getting bags of potatoes and onions. I will also try to get lunchbox apples for the monsters. But other then that nothing. The reason is I still have strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, chestnuts and lots of other things still in the freezer from last season. I still have jars of sweet potatoes, white potatoes, carrots, tomatoes, applesauce and jams / jellies on the shelves, that all need to be used up. I didn't feel the need to can up more stuff when I still had an abundance in the basement.

I have been working on the big scrap-ghan... That will now be the color block scrap-ghan. I am about 1/2 way through one of the last 4 skeins. I'm thrilled that its almost done, with the exception of tying in the ends. I still have the sunburst to finish... But I went out and bought more yarn to work on the next one... I know really... I need to get sewing... That was the original plan for this down season.

Oh, I don't remember if I told you.... Grim and I found out that it will only cost a couple hundred dollars to put in the electric at the property if we do the work ourselves.... We have friends and family that said they would help out with the work and expenses....WOO HOO! So it looks like we will have electric this coming Spring!!!! Once that's done then we can figure out what to do about a septic system.... Since we have an artisan well, we may not be able to have a standard system.... It may have to be a lagoon. I still have yet to talk to the code and building department... I wanted to find out about the address and electric first. I still need to fill out that paperwork to get the address going.

Its weird being a family of 4 now. I am looking forward to when she comes home at Winter break. Because she will be here for a month. Thanksgiving will be a whirlwind of visits and food and sleep. With Winter break it will be at a more relaxed pace, so we can get stuff done. The basement needs some serious attention as does the bedroom of the older 2. Work work work! Its never done.

I am doing pretty good with the new business venture. I like the Uppercase Living product so it's easy to sell. I have every weekend that's not taken up with family time, devoted to vendor shows. I really need to get more product to sell... LOL! I was able to find some windows to use. I'm hoping to be able to sell all the stock that I have. That would be such a great feeling!

Well, tons to do as usual.... I have to go! Until we meet again!!

Yart

Good things come in 3's

Odd music, Skulls and Jack o Lanterns! A nice little trio even if I do say so myself!

I am absolutely in love with both of these make ups.... I think they are stunning!!

 

Dry ice inside a pumpkin. Add a green glowstick to make it even eerier.

After you scoop out and carve your pumpkin, dip it in a large container of bleach and water...

Yart

Oct. 11th

I can say that I didn't know this....

Yart

Bonfires, Hot Chocolate, & Werewolves!

That is what the last few days have suppose to be about... I wasn't able to get all the posts ready ahead of time... LOL! These are 3 that ended up on the back burner, waiting for me to get to them and of course I never did.

I'm so going to do this at the Halloween camping trip that I'm planning for next year! I absolutely love this idea!

Its just the image... But I love the werewolf having attacked the wedding cake... So cool!

And it wouldn't be complete without Werewolves of London!

Yart

Oct. 7th

Don't you just love getting several posts from me in one day.... We were gone a Halloween camping trip this weekend... The monsters had a blast and can't wait till next year to do it again. Every single campsite was taken and decorated! We had more fun there then we have ever had at the house during the Halloween season... Because everyone was like minded and no one was under or over dressed. Next time we will know that we can bring the inflatables and more lights and definitely more candy... With 3 big bags we ran out half way through.... I'm lucky to give out 2 regular size bags at the house.

But without further ado.... Today is Vampires....

I can't find the meme... But it showed the vampires from Lost Boys and it said in my day we were scared of vampires, we didn't want to date them... LOL!

Yart

 

Oct. 6th

Children of the hay field... nope that's not right either... LOL! Corn! That's it!!!

Yart