Puttering thru winter

Sometimes I think I am just puttering thru the winter trying to make it till spring. Kinda looking forward to gardening time again. Although we haven't had any really bad weather it has been cold, at least to me. We finally got the fence put back up around the onion bed today so we can let the chickens out in the afternoons. They do enjoy being out and they just lay better eggs when they are allowed to roam a bit. And this gives Luna something to do keeping an eye on the chickens. She does keep things a lot more secure around here. She lets us know when something or someone is around.

I went out again today to moms apartment to continue the process of cleaning up and packing her stuff for storage. Not really a lot of stuff to pack, I can only do a limited amount each day. The earlier part of the day was spent taking care of things around my house and getting laundry done here. I had thought that when winter got here I would have some free time to cook and bake and do some reading. I would like to start crocheting again, it has been a long time since I did that. But there are still more important things to do before I have that free time.

Our youngest son, Rob graduates from college this weekend. I am so happy for him to have that behind him and to be able to get on with his life. We are quite proud of him and wish him great success. God bless ya Rob. Till next time, blessings from the McGuire homestead.

Stella

Life goes on

Life goes on in spite of us sometimes. I have stayed busy all week trying to get my moms apartment packed up and ready to move. Most of her stuff will be moved into my house and some odd things will be put in storage if she ever has a need for them later.I did manage to get my carpet shampooer to the apartment and cleaned the recliner that she wants to use at the nursing home, so thas one thing out of the way. Maybe by weeks end I will have the other stuff in boxes and ready to move the week of Christmas. This kind of work takes its tole on me physically. Does get kind a hard to keep up with 2 households. But I think I will survive.
The weather today was nice but cold. Or at least to me 35 is cold. Maybe I have become a wimp in my time. But hopefully it made for good deer hunting for the guys and gals that are out this season. Haven't heard from my bunch yet so I really don't know if we have more deer for the freezer or not. I may have to can some of the venison if we have more deer as I am out of freezer space and really don't want to buy another one right now. But I do have space in the cellar for jars of canned goodies. I will need freezer space for cornmeal when we get our corn ground into meal the week of Christmas. This has been a long season for me. Seems as tho I can never get all the things done that need to be so I can settle in for winter. But my dad always said the older you get the more there is to do it seems.
Till next time, blessings from the McGuire homestead.

Stella

Winter has arrived

Winter has finally arrived for sure in these parts. We have had snow this week and rain galore. I don't like cold weather so I try to have an excuse to stay in most days. I got out this morning to feed the cats and dog and was pleasantly surprised at the temps. It was a good 60 degrees with a good bit of wind, almost spring like. The wind got much stronger as the day progressed. There were several trees down all over the county and some took out power lines. In our little hollow we got wind but no damage. Unless ya count the stuff that got blown about that probably should have been tied down anyway. I had a large piece of rubber roofing folded laying on the picnic table out back that was blown off and hit the temporary fence around the onion bed and broke one of the post off. So I didn't let the pullets out to forage cause we all know that is where they would go first. I also had to put the rubber roofing back over the compost and manure we had layered in front of the cellar, it was scattered about.
I went into the cellar to check the temperature and found it to be nice and cool and dry. We have many bushels of sweet potatoes stored in there and lots of jars of canned stuff. I think we are all set for winter around here.
Earlier this morning I decided to go to moms apartment and start trying to get her stuff packed and ready to move to storage while she is in the nursing home. I think she will be there for a good long while. She says she is feeling OK, but she does seem a little confused some days. I think I finally have all her laundry done and ready to pack up. Now I am working on the kitchen stuff. Will probably spend this weekend trying to get most of that done while hubby is out of town deer hunting. Hopefully he can get a couple more deer to make jerky and stew meat from. But I really shouldn't plan things as something will surely happen to make them change. Thas the story of my life. So till next time, blessings from the McGuire homestead.

Stella

Not much happening

Not much happening here on the farm this time of year. It was rather cold this morning. Think the low last night was about 22 or so. I really don't take the cold like I did when I was 20 for some reason. They tell me age plays a big part in that fact. But none the less even in winter there are minor things that need to be done here. We finally got some firewood hauled and put on the front porch in case the power goes off. Or even if it don't we still use the fireplace to help cut down on the power bill. A nice fire in a fireplace kinda reminds me of my youth when I was growing up in the old farm house we heated with wood and coal. The coal was mostly used when the weather got bitterly cold as it produces more heat than wood. The smell of coal smoke takes me back a few years. Strange how smells can do that to your mind. I remember when I was very young, in summer time the railroad company would come through replacing cross ties in the tracks and dad would always talk to some of the men working and tell them they could leave some of the pieces along side the tracks on the farm. Then he would put an old chain on his chain saw and cut them up then split them to use to heat water at hog killing time. I can still remember the smell of the creosote as it burned to heat the water. When dad farmed with mules, the mules knew that smell all too well and it meant they would be dragging a dead hog to the scalding platform soon and they would get jittery. Then the smell in the spring when dad would smoke the country hams with hickory. Ah such a good life that was.
My task for the day was to get moms laundry done up and taken to the nursing home for her. That was a bigger job than I had anticipated. I ended up doing 8 loads of laundry, all of which had to be taken to her and some of it taken back to her apartment till she needs it. The next several days will consist of cleaning and straightening the apartment and packing some of moms stuff for storage. Sadly she wont be able to live there anymore with her health declining. So I have my work cut out for me I guess. So till next time, blessings from the McGuire homestead.

Stella

I am still alive

I just thought I would let ya know that I am still alive and kicking. Just not real high these days. But really I am doing OK. As long as air goes in and out, and blood goes around and around.
This has been a rather stressful week for me regarding my mother. She had a bad fall in her apartment and broke her right hip. And as most people know that can be very critical to an older person. The fall happened on Sunday night and she had surgery to repair the hip on Tuesday. On Friday she was transferred to the local nursing home for re-hab and will be there indefinitely. She was very confused for a few days but tonight she seemed to be doing better. This is especially hard with me being the only child. I spent the day today getting her apartment cleaned and trying to get ready to move her stuff out an into storage somewhere. It was rather emotional for me but I managed. My body is paying the price in pain as I write this post. Just need to take care of me for a bit now.

On a lighter note, we got our first snow fall of the season last night. Maybe got an inch or so total. It was pretty but dang was it cold. The neat thing was there was no snow on our little road, just on the ground everywhere else. Luna had already had a good time in the snow when I got out to see her this morning. The cats were not real sure what all the white stuff was about but they knew it was cold on their feet. They would jump from one clear spot to another to stay out of it. They were cute to watch. Later today they only had mud to play in because all the snow melted. There was ice on our back deck when I came in earlier this evening. I guess that is to be expected when the temperature is 24 degrees. I think a nice warm fire in the fireplace might be in order. So till next time, blessings from the McGuire homestead.

Stella

One of those days

Did you ever have one of those days when you just wish you had not gotten out of bed in the morning? Dang, seems I have a lot of those lately. But I did get up and maybe got a few things in order. First off had to deal with nurses at a hospital that do not care what happens to patients when they leave their care. They have no consideration for the patient or family. My mother is in just such a facility after a fall and broken hip. She will require placement in a nursing home for an extended period of time, probably indefinitely. Sad part is if she had been able or so inclined to humor the staff into thinking that she could provide care for herself she would have been sent back to her apartment, no questions ask. And even with me, her only child telling them differently. But God must have intervened on my behalf and she told them she would go to the local nursing home at free will. That was somewhat of a relief. So she may get to come to the nursing home on Friday for re-hab and a long stay. One day at a time.

The weather was really warm here today, not that I was able to be out much. Then late this evening we started getting some rain. Forecast is for colder temps for the next several days. Maybe good soup weather is ahead.

On a lighter note, well kinda, when I went out to give Luna her meds today she had a "thing" on her nose. And with a little closer look, it was a tick of all things. I would have thought ticks should have been froze out in our area by now. But sure enough it was a tick that had got a good belly full of Luna's blood. We did manage to get it off with a little effort. She was a happy camper after the wrestling match. She is doing much better with her leg, not limping much at all. So I think the meds worked and she can skate by this time without surgery.

I had planned on making hominy this week but as usual it never pays for me to plan anything. Still think I might get to that project this weekend if I can scare up some help. Good homemade hominy is quite tasty and very nutritious. We shall see. So till next time, blessings from the McGuire homestead.

Stella

Holiday hang-over

No, not the kind of hang-over you might be thinking. Just that sluggish feeling you get from eating too much. We had a good meal so I suppose that is a plus and probably more than a lot of folks had. We stayed busy most of the holiday finishing up the butchering and getting deer meat in the freezer. So the freezer is full again and just maybe that will hold us for a while.

Luna is feeling better and not limping like she was. Am sure hoping this treatment the vet gave her works for her shoulder and leg so she wont need surgery. If I ran and bounced around like she does I'm pretty sure I would have torn cartilage too. Or worse. But she is more active than before so that's a good sign I think. The weather has been warmer during the day which helps as well I'm sure, although it has been near freezing at night. Guess cold is to be expected in December. So hard to believe this year is almost gone from us and a new one is around the corner. Maybe a long nap is in order. So till next time, blessings from the McGuire homestead.

Stella