Adventures On a Rural Homestead

Snow Fun

We woke yesterday morning to 4" of snow, and got more throughout the morning. We had such a fun snow day together~ including sledding on the hill behind our pond. 

Eli surprised us by going down the hill standing up on his sled, he just silently glided down with amazing balance! 

The boys had fun standing to sled, a challenge that made us all chuckle! 

We had such a fun time together, followed by wood stove smores to warm up after our sledding. We enjoyed homemade pizza and chicken wings for a delicious lunch. 

The college was closed today so Nick had another snow day, more fun! I'm so glad we got a nice big snow. It's the first time in our 3 winters here that we could use our big snowblower to clear our driveway. We're all hoping for another big snow, the Farmers Almanac predicted a big February snow then an early March snow. 

National Cookie Day

My parents came over to celebrate National Cookie Day with us on Monday. We made gluten-free fruit and nut balls for Nick, gingerbread, shortbread and cowboy cookies. 

There was much hilarity and laughter, it was a lovely afternoon of good company and sweet treats. 

And now our freezer is full of delicious cookies for Christmas! 

Squash Muffins

Aunt Sondra sent Great Grandma Agnes's recipe box to Alex for his birthday. He (and I!) are delighted, and have enjoyed looking through the recipes. He was greatly amused to find numerous recipes for popcorn balls, especially one clipped from a newspaper that said "Safe for people with dentures to eat." 

Eli helped me mix up Agnes Nickey's squash muffins while Alex copied the recipe down on an index card for his recipe box. 

Squash Muffins

Mix together:

3/4 c brown sugar (we use coconut sugar)

1/4 c molasses

1/2 c soft butter

Add: 1 beaten egg

1 c cooked mashed squash, sweet potato or pumpkin

Mix in separate bowl:

1 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp salt

1 3/4 c flour (we use sprouted spelt flour)

~Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients, mix. Fill 12 muffin tin papers or greased muffin tin 2/3 full. Bake at 375 degrees for about 20 minutes. Enjoy! 

Small Things

In addition to all the house painting we got done last week, there were other small bits of joy in the week. I got a milk frother, and have enjoyed delicious tea with steamed, frothy milk! 

Both the boys were such good helpers getting meals ready. Alex did most of the cooking, but Eli also likes to heat up leftovers for easy meals.

We ate delicious food this week, one of my favorite meals was a homemade version of Alex's favorite meal from our town coffee shop: rice bowls with scrambled eggs, sausage and toppings.

Eli was delighted to find Iris blooming in our flowerbeds this week! We were all surprised by Iris blooming the end of October. Eli loves to bring in flowers for our kitchen windowsill. Their beauty brought me joy as I washed dishes this week. And that little tag in the windowsill is the reminder I'm focusing on: "What you think, you become." 

Good Things

I've found joy in many small things lately. I surprised the boys with a "chip buffet" of different flavors of our favorite chips last Sunday. We enjoyed chips and football, a perfect afternoon! 

I've also been finding joy in walking. I really increased my miles last week, and feel so good and strong. I'm getting in over 10,000 steps every day, usually averaging 6 miles. In addition to walks on the country roads near our home and in town I've walked our pasture path with Levi and the boys. 

On a recent walk through the college campus I collected beautiful fall leaves. We dipped them in beeswax to hang on our kitchen door, one of my favorite fall decorations. 

We got a new waffle maker last week, and Alex has made waffles five days in a row! We've enjoyed them plain, and topped with honey and peanut butter.

I've also been enjoying good books lately, like Alice Hoffman's new book "Magic Lessons," and reading "A Wolf Called Wander" aloud to the boys. I'm so thankful for the small things in life that bring us great joy! 

Moments of Joy

Alex and Eli went to the garden yesterday morning and brought in about 20 pumpkins. Alex asked if he could bake a pie, then proceeded to make a delicious buttery crust filled with a smooth, amazing pumpkin pie. I'd woken with a headache and stiff neck, the meat chicks keep dying, and the day was tough. Alex's pie was a bright moment of joy in the day. I baked two of the pumpkins, and Alex cooked sausage and veggies to put inside them for dinner. Alex's love of cooking, and the skills he is learning bring hope (and good food!) to my days. 

“If you suddenly and unexpectedly feel joy,
don’t hesitate. Give in to it. There are plenty
of lives and whole towns destroyed or about
to be. We are not wise, and not very often
kind. And much can never be redeemed.
Still, life has some possibility left. Perhaps this
is its way of fighting back, that sometimes
something happens better than all the riches
or power in the world. It could be anything,
but very likely you notice it in the instant
when love begins. Anyway, that’s often the
case. Anyway, whatever it is, don’t be afraid
of its plenty. Joy is not made to be a crumb.”

–Mary Oliver

Food Preservation~ Freezing Peppers

Our green pepper plants did very well in the garden this year. I planted many more than I usually do, about 15 plants. We had enough peppers for my salsa canning, my mom's salsa canning, to eat fresh, and now to freeze. We like to cook strips of peppers and onions to have on tacos and rice & bean bowls. This morning after I got a Crock Pot of bone broth started I picked a basket of peppers to cut and freeze. The boys helped me clean out our chest freezers, so we have plenty of room for the veggies I've been freezing, our meat chickens, and beef we're getting from our neighbor in November. Nothing helps my anxiety like feeling stocked up and prepared! 

Sweet Brothers

The boys certainly have their share of tussles and fights, but also sweet moments playing together. Alex helped Eli with his lesson on Monday, something Eli dearly loves! 

We decided to do our Christmas shopping now, since things might close down again this winter. We loved going to Staunton and supporting locally-owned shops for our Christmas shopping last year. We were delighted to find out that the local toy store there has a great website, we can order and do curbside pickup for our gifts. The boys have had fun looking and making lists together. 

Alex wanted to do some baking this morning, and Alex asked for chocolate chip muffins. Alex found a great banana chocolate chip muffin recipe in his favorite kids cookbook. They are delicious! 

Our days at home are mostly quiet and content. We talk about all the people in the path of wildfires, dealing with torrential rains, and Covid, on top of life's usual ups and downs. We are so fortunate and have much to be thankful for, every day. 

Weekend Fun

We enjoyed a nice long weekend together, and bright sunny days! The weather is deliciously crisp and cooler, we enjoyed lots of time outside. I went for hilly walks everyday, last evening my mom joined me for a walk in town which is always a treat.

The boys worked on printing more cards to sell. They've had fun working together and teaching Eli how to print. 

We harvested and cooked good food from the garden. Nick has been enjoying cooking on the grill, and I do the side dishes like potato salad, carrots in butter, coleslaw etc. Mom and I picked 2 more 5-gallon buckets of tomatoes from our garden for her to can, and I canned my last batch of whole tomatoes today.

I also did some winter meal prep and diced and froze lots of celery and onions. Celery was one thing that I couldn't get during the shut-down this winter. I start most soups and casseroles by sauteing celery and onions, it will be nice to have these already chopped and ready to cook! 

We also spent time reading, watched a movie, and playing games together. We enjoyed one-on-one time with each kid today, I loved playing Dragonwood with Eli and learning about Alex's robotic dinosaur. 

We had a lovely weekend together, as always I am thankful for my family and this wonderful place we call Home. 

Easy Taco Casserole Dinner

Most days I have a dinner planned ahead of time, and I like to prepare most of it after the boy's morning lesson. Today I couldn't come up with an idea, then on the way home from the library I decided what to make. This easy taco casserole features staples we always have on hand, and was easy to make. We have so many green peppers in our garden right now, one of my jobs for tomorrow is to slice and freeze them so we can make dishes like this all winter. 

Easy Taco Casserole

~Cook about 1 cup brown rice in chicken stock

~Cook 1 lb ground beef with onion and green pepper and chopped kale, season with salt, cumin and chili powder

~Mix beans (whatever you have on hand, canned beans or I usually cook a big batch of beans and keep some in the freezer) with some salsa or tomatoes

~Layer crushed tortilla chips in the bottom of a casserole dish. Top with beans and salsa, then cooked rice, then cooked beef and veggies. Top with cheese and heat in oven until warmed through and cheese is melted. Enjoy!