We have been blessed this year

I was just thinking today how blessed we really are here. It has been a busy year but successful one. We started the year with a nice vacation to see Rob and Amoy and spend time with them. They took us to Las Vegas for a few days. That was fun. Back home to being busy with the gardens and summer time stuff. Our gardens and crops did great this year in spite of the dry season. So thankful for that. I did can lots of veggies to last us thru the winter and beyond I hope. We did have several chickens to butcher this year as well. Still have some that need to go in the jars. I have a bunch of young roosters our setting hens hatched off that are mature enough to be harassing the hens. Much to the annoyance of the king of the flock. So seems there is a constant brawl going on in the chicken house. I am getting far more eggs than we can use. Hopefully Rodger's niece and her hubby can come get some of em soon. When I butcher off the excess roosters I think I will cull my laying flock as well. I surely don't need that many hens. I probably have 20 or more. Have not really took time to count them lately.
In November deer season Rodger came home with 3 deer total. Very thankful for the meat in the freezer. Then in muzzle loader season in December he got another doe. So more meat in the freezer. I spent the 2 weeks of muzzle loader season in west Ky at my aunts lodge again to help her out with that. We normally don't have hunters for muzzle loader season but this year she did have 8 hunters in camp. That kept me busy. And the guys were so nice, fun to talk to, just all around great guys. ALL of them have either beat cancer or some other major medical issue in their lives. So they were also great moral support for Aunt Ann. So far she has tolerated her chemo really well, not been sick, just tired and weaker than normal. But doing OK. For this I am so thankful. Please continue to keep her in your prayers.
After a busy couple weeks I am finally back home so I can hibernate for the winter. I did bring home some sewing projects from Aunt Ann's too. That should keep me occupied when the weather goes to crap. I have some quilt tops, some of which my late aunt Connie made that I would like to quilt and get finished. Also Aunt Ann gave me some embroidered quilt squares that my grandmother McKinney made. I think I might have those made into a baby quilt for a lil grand baby. I think I have enough squares to make 3 quilts. Hmmm.
Rodger spent the day getting our other corn crib cleaned out and ready to put the white corn in so we can shell and dry some to have ground into meal. And then whats left will be used as chicken feed. In winter the chickens will eat a lot of corn. It helps keep them warmer with all the carbs in it. Makes beautiful dark yellow yolks in the eggs too.
Rodger and I decided to make a trip to Walmart yesterday to get a few things we needed. Good grief, people are crazy this time of year. We did get the things we had on our list and didn't come home too broke. We stopped to see Tammy on our way home. She is coping as well as can be expected with  losing Carl last month. She still needs continued prayers to get her life back together after that sudden lose. He surely is missed by all of us. Love spending time with Tammy, wonderful lady. I am blessed to have great sisters in law. They are good christian ladies that love their families.
Tomorrow I think Rodger is gonna process his deer he brought home last week and get her in the freezer. Than maybe he can help me butcher the roosters and get them off the feed bill and stop the chicken house brawls. Just maybe. But would it be wrong to make a feller work on his birthday? I don't think Rodger would think much of spending his 55th birthday butchering. Guess only one way to find out eh? If I never update my blog again you all will know that didn't end well.
I really need to get busy in the house and do some closet cleaning and organizing. Thas what I do in winter time when I cant be out in the gardens and yard. Might even find more sewing projects to do this winter. I would like to make a big crocheted rag runner for the kitchen. I am betting if I clean closets I can find enough worn out clothes to make a big one.
Rodger did get online and order parts to fix our electric furnace today. So when we get those maybe we can get his neices' boyfriend to install them for a reasonable price and then we will have 3 sources of heat again. But even if we can fix the electric furnace we will still just heat with propane and the fireplace in the den. We find it is much cheaper to do that than to pay for electric but in the event the propane tank runs out in the middle of the night someone don't have to freeze to go switch tanks.
Not really much happening around here on the farm. But just reflecting on the years blessings and being thankful for the life we have. Till next time, blessings and Merry Christmas from the McGuire homestead.

Stella