Sunday, December 19, 2010

An update


Life is always busy for me around the holidays.  I've been spending my free time doing a bit of Christmas shopping and now I have to focus on getting the house ready for guests.  My family is coming over on Christmas Eve/Christmas Day to celebrate at our house.
I know I have been neglecting my blog lately.  Here's what's new:
The ground is covered with snow and it is absolutely beautiful around here.  I love the way pine trees look in the snow.  We have tons of birds at our feeders -- I can sit in my chair in the living room and watch them for hours (if I had the time).
Charlie and I bought a chest freezer to hold a pig that we bought from Uncle Dave (our prior landlord).  Yesterday we went to pick up the meat from the butcher.  Charlie mostly had steaks, chops, sausage and bacon made from the pig - no hams (the extra processing costs more).  We gave the hocks to his dad to make soups with this year.  After putting everything into the new freezer, I still have room for my freezer jam and plenty of room for storing more produce this year.  I enjoy canning and the idea of not needing electricity to put food by -- but I also enjoy how fresh food tastes when it is frozen instead of canned.  We will need to invest in a generator this Spring in case of power outages -- losing $300 worth of meat is not something I want to risk.
We also bought a new refrigerator/freezer at the same time we got the chest freezer.  Our old one was the original from when they built the house in 1975.  The seal was bad, it was making funny noises, and I know it was using much more electricity than it should have.  I'm hoping that even though we have a chest freezer now, our electric bill should go down just because both appliances are more efficient than the old fridge.
Next on the list is a new oven... but that is going to wait a while longer.
Other than the new appliances and the purchase of a pig, life is pretty much the same around here.  The stray cat is pregnant (either that or she is just getting fat from all the food she begs from me) and we are waiting for her to have her litter.  Work is work -- we are both blessed to have jobs that keep us very busy.  I got my first seed catalogue the other day and I get to start day dreaming about how much better my garden will be next year (hey, I can always hope).
That's about it.  I will try to post again soon.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Watching the birds at your feeders while the ground is covered with snow sounds cold.

I will be enjoying watching tanned and carefree bodies frolicking in the surf breaking on sandy beaches under the Australian sunshine.

Alas, no where is perfect and I will need to be covered in sunscreen and while I'll probably sweat it off I'll think of your snowy winter wonderland.

Shari said...

Yes, it is definitely cold here. I don't enjoy being out in the snow, but I love the way it looks.

A nice Australian vacation would be nice for a while. I don't think I could take the heat for long though.

My favorite time is a nice Michigan Spring or Autumn. Brisk in the morning, and warm in the afternoon. I think that is why I put up with our Winters.