Status Update ...

... Mr.B is on his way home from a business trip.  Yesterday, he phoned me from the Godiva Chocolate store front to inquire about which boxes of chocolates he should bring home.  He also notified me that he was able to find one of AB's favorite childhood treats, which we'll be sending him for his upcoming birthday.

Are you wondering why I'd find this to be something worthwhile to post about?  Well, it's because when one moves away from the conveniences of a large city to the isolation of the Montana prairie, it doesn't take much to get excited.

Although It Didn't Seem Right ...

... I did it anyway.

Despite the blowing snow we were experiencing on Saturday, I set our little indoor green house up in our mud room and planted seeds for our garden starts.  Last night when the wind was howling and the temps were dropping to 3 degrees Fahrenheit, it was hard to believe that within 8 weeks, Lord willing, we will begin putting in our summer garden.

Last year we planted a 30' x 70' vegetable garden.  This year we are excitedly planning to expand that by another 60' x 140' for a corn patch and potato patch.  Our starts include jalapenos, 3 varieties of bell pepper, 6 varieties of tomato, broccoli, green cabbage, and 3 varieties of cauliflower.  I also started cilantro, parsley and chives to indoor pots adding to my year round herb collection.  In addition to the above we plan to grow pumpkins, red & yellow onions, spinach, lettuce, carrots, Swiss chard, beets, English peas, cucumber, yellow squash, zucchini, cantaloupe, sugar baby watermelons, strawberries and numerous outdoor herbs.

We've also been researching the cold hardiness of various varieties of fruit trees thus, hoping to see the beginnings of an orchard this year.

Where are you in your garden planning?

Sensory Overlaod

It has been 18 months since we moved to our little farmstead out here on the Montana prairie.  Since our closest neighbor is 1 1/2 miles away, we do not hear traffic noise, car stereos blaring, children playing in the neighbor's backyard,  neighborhood dogs barking, etc.  We do hear birds chirping in the mornings, our roosters occasionally crowing, our dogs bark  acts as an alarm to look out the window to see who's decided to visit, many days we hear the wind and if the wind is blowing just right, when outside we might catch the faint sound of  the Burlington Northern Santa Fe's whistle echoing across the prairie.

Since we live 60+ miles away from the nearest city center, we do not visit it often.  I have found I am no longer accustom to crowds of people, hordes of cars racing to beat stop lights, huge discount stores and shopping malls with isles upon isles of merchandise, or restaurants with high ceilings that cause sounds of music and chatter to be amplified.

Last week the littles and I drove into the city to do some shopping and have lunch.  The food at the restaurant was good, but the loud atmosphere made me feel anxious and I couldn't wait to get out of that place.  The large discount retailer really sent me into sensory overload with it's glaring fluorescent lighting, hundreds of shoppers, noise, hunting isle after isle of merchandise for the items on my list, and my littles expressive excitement over being in such a lively and stimulating place.  After being in the city for only 2 1/2 hours, I was frantically scrabbling to get out.

As I drove home I found myself pondering how I  tolerated living so close to the 4th largest city in America for nearly 20 years.  I honestly don't know if I could handle a visit home to Houston or Dallas.  The soft sounds of nature and the friendly smiles of locals in small little shops have become more my speed.  It's hard to conceive that we've been here only 18 months - it's starting to feel like this is where I should have been all my life.

Bow-Wow, Baaa & HooRay!

There has been quite a bit happening around the B homestead.  EJ has been pestering me to post some photos of Piper, his black & tan hound.  She is growing so much and so fast - I didn't realize she would grow as big as it appears she will.

Piper

Piper playing w/ EJ's inner tube

 Can you say Baaa?  EJ and OG purchased their 4-H lambs 11 days ago.  They are CRAZY about them.  I am already wondering how they will ever let the sheep go to market - but to market they must go.  Anyone who knows me personally will be SHOCKED to find out that the lamb crib is in our basement.  Yes, that's right, I am housing livestock inside my home!  That means I have officially been transformed into a farm girl.  Of course it's only temporary.  As soon as the lambs are a little older and can stand the cold night time temps our region gets this time of year, they will be relocated to the unheated, non-electric barn.

EJ & Lucy

Lucy & Looney Tunes w/ little Oscar nudging in for a bottle too.

Most importantly, we have a new U.S. Airman in the family.  Mrs.A's oldest daughter just graduated from Air Force Basic Training.  Our entire family is so very proud.  We both have children who have/are serving as U.S. Sailors and U.S. Airmen.  I can't help but wonder if any of our remaining younger children will also serve in our nation's military.

Got Eggs?

Our chickens provide us with an abundance of eggs.  But since my family was gone for 11 days and Grandpa has been up at his log cabin in the mountains for the past 3 1/2 weeks, we currently have an unusually large abundance of eggs.

Yesterday I was able to use 50 eggs in various recipes and still have 13 dozen left.  I cooked up 15 homemade egg mcmuffins, a bacon, bell pepper, onion & cheese egg casserole, a pain egg and cheese casserole, fried eggs for breakfast, omelets for dinner, chicken pot pie for supper (used 1 egg in pie dough), and a German chocolate cake.  The egg mcmuffins, and individual servings of egg casseroles have been placed in the freezer for Mr.B's "to go" breakfasts.

Today and tomorrow I plan to use another 3 or more dozen by making deviled eggs for our church WM's meeting, and a Karbach Haus bread pudding, a family favorite that also freezes well.  Breads, rolls and cookie recipes that call for eggs are also on the list and should use up a few more.

EJ and I are also going to figure out a way to mount our "Yard Eggs" sale sign out near the mailbox.  Maybe, just maybe, we'll be able to sell some.

Home Alone - Day 7

I am late publishing Day 7's post.  On the way into my office last night, I severely twisted my ankle.  I heard a loud pop and then came the excruciating pain.  At first I was almost certain I had broken my ankle.  However, after 4 Advil (2 taken immediately after the incident & 2 taken before bed) and a good night's sleep, I believe I've only sprained it.  Morning chores have been slow as I've limped around in 6" deep snow  hauling feed sacks and water buckets.

So, how was day 7?  Aside from injuring my ankle, very restful and mostly peaceful.  I say mostly peaceful because during my phone conversations with my family, EJ attempted to engage me in an argument.  The second time within two days.  We are not even in the same house and he's not having to obey or even try to get along with me yet, he decides to pull his regular antics.  This upset me considerably.  I was hoping that time away from mom would cause his heart to grow fonder.  No, there is not one single indication that he's missed me.  EJ has, thus far, been my most difficult child for his age.  He isn't a "bad" kid, he just likes to ignore me and argues about EVERY instruction I give him.   He is obedient and gets along well with Mr.B.  Other people compliment me on his behavior and helpful attitude.  He, for the most part, gets along pretty well with others - just not his mama. On the other hand, OG started crying saying she misses me and Mr.B is thinking about packing up and leaving for home tomorrow, two days early.  I don't do drama or changed plans very well.  I like consistency.

Well, I'm off to prepare myself some breakfast.  I'll post about Day 8 this evening, so "tune back in".

Home Alone - Day 6

It's been 5 days since I last washed laundry - I still don't have a full washer load.  Leftovers from two meals cooked before my family left and one take-out meal have fed me all week.  Although I drink a large glass of milk with breakfast every morning, I still have more than 1/2 a gallon.

It has been snowing, off & on, for the past three days.  It is beautiful outside.  Everything I view is like looking at a winter scene on a Christmas card - gorgeous.  (no photos - OG took our camera on vacation)

Since EJ's been gone, I've been in charge of training his puppy, Piper.  She is beginning to catch on.  She comes when I call her name.  It also seems she is beginning to understand the word, "outside".  I hope EJ is consistent when he returns home so Piper continues on this positive trend.  It is obvious she, and Sam our older dog, miss OG and him.

My day was another excessively lazy one.  Do I feel guilty?  Not at all.  All the chores are done and the house is clean.  Since I'm the only one here, it stays that way.  I have come to realize that I need the rest.  I anticipated having trouble sleeping at night due to a significantly slower pace of life and much less work. On the contrary, I've slept very well at night even with a little catnap during the day.  A sure sign of exhaustion.

Speaking of sleep, I'm going to turn in.  Praying you all sleep well this evening.

Home Alone - Day 5

Today was truly a LAZY day.  I began the morning visiting via telephone with Mr.B and then with Mrs.A.  Thus, I had a late start with the morning chores.  Thankfully the animals did not seem to notice that I was running late with feed and water.  Aside from deep cleaning the master bath, I've done nothing productive today.  The evening is being finished with a hot aroma therapy bath filled with a generous portion of eucalyptus spearmint stress relief bath soak
During my home alone time I have discovered that during winter months here in the freezing north, I am need of a set of flannel sheets.  Every night I've climbed into bed the sheets have been freezing cold!  Maybe I will be gifted with a set for Valentine's Day or Mother's Day.
I very much enjoyed this lazy, quiet day.

Home Alone - Day 4

Christmas Day.  I received FOUR separate invitations to Christmas dinner.  My personal desire was to decline all of the them, however, the 1st person to invite me was one of our community's senior citizens.  Her children and grandchildren, save one never married daughter, live out of state & do not travel to eastern Montana during winter months.  Ms.SP seemed so desperate to have another person spend the day with her and her daughter, I couldn't bring myself to refuse her invitation.  I took a couple dozen eggs for a hostess gift and a pumpkin pie as contribution to the meal.  When my family left to travel south, I had envisioned spending a very quiet day lounging on the sofa watching cheesy Christmas movies & eating bowls of popcorn.  Ms.SP seemed truly delighted to have me as a guest today and after all was said and done, I am very glad I accepted her invite.

All my lounging plans were not put aside.  I was home by 3:30, an entire hour before dark.  I finished up the farm chores, put on my most comfy clothes & wool socks, popped a bowl of popcorn and enjoyed two Christmas movies that Mr.B and the rest of my family would NEVER watch with me - LOL!

Although my day did not go as originally envisioned, I feel so abundantly blessed by our community.  These families and individuals conveyed a sincerity in their invitations that I've never felt before.  I sincerely feel like they really wanted me to join them - it does not seem their invitations were extended merely out of pity (which is a good thing because I was not saddened, in any way, about the prospect of being alone today - I have been blessed with the gift of rest, something I am in great need of).  That communication of sincerity has turned out to be a most precious gift and has abundantly blessed me.

My plans for the remaining days alone include a resolve to stay at home, reflect on the Word of God, meditate upon the Lord and enjoy the opportunity to bask in rest and relaxation.  I am now off to indulge in a cup of hot cocoa before retiring for the evening.

Blessings and, again, Merry Christmas!

Home Alone - Day 3

Well, here I sit with my cup of hot cocoa at the close of another day at home alone.  Won't you pour yourself a cup of hot tea, cocoa or whatever you enjoy most and join me?

Today was full of surprising gifts.  We received a box of gifts from my dear BFF sister in Texas.  She has the most incredible knack for sending the most thoughtful gifts.  The obvious time and effort she puts forth means so much to me.  I am touched that someone could and/or would love me so much as to be so thoughtful.

 I also had an unexpected visit from our neighbors.  I was not expecting to see them drive up this afternoon.  Yes, my next door neighbors DROVE to our house.  As ridiculous as that may sound to most, you all must remember that my next door neighbor is 1 1/2 miles away.  Since our temperature was 1 degree Fahrenheit @ 2:30 this afternoon, I think a drive in a warm vehicle was practical.  Mr. W and his two beautiful children blessed us with a Christmas gift AND some bison!  I decided to wait until my family returns home to open the gift and I am confident Mr.B will be very grateful for the bison.  EJ & OG will be disappointed they missed a visit from their friends.

This evening I attended my 1st ever candlelight Christmas service.  In all the years I've been a Christian, family obligations have kept me from attending a candlelight service.  The singing was angelic.  The message was delivered with compassion and love.  BUT, my favorite portion of the evening was the closing when the candles were lit. As I stood in the dark watching each person light his/her candle the symbolism of the witness of Jesus Christ was so poignant.  We all stand in the darkness of sin separated from God.  Because of the gift of Jesus Christ we each have the opportunity to be reconciled with God.  But how do we receive that gift?   The Christian stands in the light of God and his/her world is illuminated (a person stands with a lighted candle).  The Christian tells us of the gift of Jesus Christ, we then must choose to accept the gift (light our candle) or reject it.  When we accept the gift we then witness to another person and he/she has the opportunity to accept (light his/her candle) or reject.  As the message is spread and accepted one person at a time is pulled out of the darkness of sin and into the light of God.  As we went around the church lighting candles, I noticed that one man's lit candle was extinguished.  To me this represented a fall from our Christian walk.  However, when his candle went out, his neighbor turned to him and offered to help him re-light his candle. He accepted the offer and was once again illuminated with light.  When we fail and succumb to sin's temptations, we have the opportunity to repent and be reconciled, once again, to God.  Oh! how I wish I were eloquent enough in my writing to effectively convey the message of how the lighting of the candles ministered to my heart.  What a beautiful gift the Lord gave me this Christmas!

I pray you and your loved ones experience something special and moving in your hearts this Christmas.

MERRY CHRISTMAS & GOD BLESS

Curiosity Got the Cat

Not long after dinner today, I was working in my office.  OG was upstairs practicing guitar in her bedroom.  EJ was supposed to be in the basement den playing with his farm set & Lego's.  Suddenly, I hear a muffled cry, "HELP! HELP!".  It's EJ's voice.  I hurry to the kitchen threshold and call out, "Where are you?"  As OG comes running down the stairs, EJ hollers, "Downstairs!"  I rush down the basement stairs and find that EJ decided to TEST his coon/fox trap.  Well, it works!

As funny as we all thought this was at the moment, I am thankful we weren't outside working, or worse, he wasn't outside in our current 12 degree, 6" deep snow testing his trap where we couldn't have heard his cries.

What Kept Us Busy?

Now that I've returned from my blogging break, I thought I share a "few" photos highlighting some of the things that kept us so occupied.

1.  Mr. B spent several weekends working with the littles on their shooting.

OG missed that one.

EJ not only shot this one but a total of 9 out of 10

2.  4-H and County Fair

OG & Samson receiving a blue ribbon in the 4-H dog show

EJ's Best in Show for his archery display

OG's Best in Show for her shotgun display

EJ with his Interview judge for his shotgun project

The front of our 4-H club's parade float

No one ever told Mr. B the b-day hat should go on TOP of his head!

Just a cutie riding in the county fair parade

3.  Hauled home and stored 35 straw bales for our chickens, lambs and garden.

4.  EJ's and OG's 1st day of school.

All dressed and eager to go ...

... to 1880's country school!

EJ at his seat w/ his slate behind him.

Recess!

The 1880's school room.

5.  Grandpa had another birthday!!

Chocolate cake w/ chocolate frosting is Grandpa's favorite.

 6.  More tractor & clean up work.

 7.  EJ played pee wee football and had a TON of fun!!

Although the orange team has the ball in this photo, our blue team was undefeated this season.

EJ is down front in the nose guard position

 8.  Food preservation - this may seem like a lot to some folks, but if the freeze had not got our garden so early, we'd have had 2-3 times this.  As much as we harvested, we are still a very long way from supplying our family for a year.

33 qts. carrots; 60 pts. green beans; 12 qts. spaghetti sauce; 4 pts. salsa; 7 1/2 qts. dill pickles; 15 pts. bread & butter pickles; 3 1/2 pts. bell peppers; 6 1/2 pts. green onions; 8 qts. zucchini; 9 qts. yellow squash; 2 gal. broccoli; 14 pts. turnips; 29 cantaloupes; 1 pumpkin

Well, that's some of what we've been up to during the past couple months.  I am now preparing for Christmas.  I have two of the children's homemade gifts completed & 3 more to go.  Upon completion, if I have any time left I will make a few gifts for extended family and close friends.

What have you been up to?  Are you finished or just getting started with your Christmas preparations?

Before I Leave ...

... for a break from the blogging world, I thought I'd touch base with an update on what's been taking most of my time lately.

Remember a couple weeks ago when I posted about frost damaging our garden?  Well, after that post I went out to try and salvage what I could and realized that because I had not pruned the very thick foliage on my plants, only the tops and outside leaves were damaged.  I was so excited to discover that the vegetables and lower leaves were fine!  I pruned all the damaged leaves.

frost bit tops & outer leaves of tomato plants

tomato plants after pruning frost damaged leaves

That's why I'll be away from blogging for a short time.  It is now time to harvest and preserve the bounty God blessed our family with this growing season.  When canning is over I'll be back with an update on the total amount of food we've been blessed with.

God Speed & See you later!
Mrs.B

A Family Affair

Our garden is beginning to produce a nice abundance of vegetables.  Some of our young hens are also beginning to lay - Hooray!  Most of yesterday was spent in the kitchen putting up our harvest.  Today, we will be back in there making pickles; kosher dills and bread & butters ... Yum!

Getting the whole family involved in producing, harvesting and preserving our foods not only gives me much needed help but also teaches the children valuable life skills.  For instance, not too long ago, JP told me, "If we ever go hungry it's nobody's fault but our own.  Y'all have taught us to hunt, fish, grow our own food AND clean it, preserve it and cook it."  Not only have they been taught these things, but they have also acquired an appreciation for the labor and time invested in producing enough food to feed oneself or an entire family.  Too many of today's young people don't have any concept of where their food comes from much less how much work and time it took to get it to the table.

yesterday morning's harvest

my bean snappers

37 pints green beans, 7 quarts frozen summer squash &
6 quarts frozen zucchini

A helpful canning hint:  Add a splash of white vinegar to your caner when adding the water.  Your jars come out clear and shiny.

Sunflower Fields

Mrs. A., this photo is for you.  Remember the old abandoned homestead we see when we turn off the highway onto our gravel road past the rail road tracks?  Here's a photo of it with the sunflowers in bloom.  I wish the photo was as beautiful and vibrant as it is to the naked eye.  Most of all, I wish you were here to admire it with me. 

Opps!

Mr.B wanted the tree, pictured below, by our front door removed because it was about 70 ft. tall and had a significant lean toward the house.  We hired a tree removal service that has been in business 20+ years to do the work.

 As you can see from the additional photos, someone didn't properly figure the math and physics on this tree removal.

 Even the interior wall and window casing was pushed into the boys' room.  We also have damage to the steel roof.

 We lost our central a/c unit too.  Fortunately, the "hot" summer weather up here in Montana feels like cool spring weather to us Texans.

We are thanking God for insurance, but finding ourselves praying for an available contractor.  So far, everyone we've been referred doesn't even have time to come out and to assess the scope of work.

Guess What We found in a Hollow Log?

A new liter of kittens!  Spook, our mama cat, is once again a proud mother of 4 little kittens.  3 are black and 1 is spotted.  Aren't they cute?

Has My Absence ...

... from the blogging world made your heart grow fonder?  "Busy as a bee" is what we've all been.  Eastern Montana springs and summers are FABULOUS, but also filled with activities and lots of time consuming outdoor work that can't be done during the frigid winters.  Here's a few posts chronicling some of what's been going on around here.

OG dressed for her 1st formal - "Daughters of the King" banquet.  She was invited to attend with one of her schoolmates.

Rural school and home school track meet.  OG was so proud of her 2nd place ribbon  in the running long jump, 9 ft. 11 in.  Pretty impressive for a girl of only 5' 1 3/4".  1st place was won by a 5' 9" student who jumped only 3/4" further!

EJ earned 4th place in the 100 meter dash.

EJ and OG represented our county well on the baseball and softball teams.  OG's 14 & under  girls softball team  played an undefeated season.

Farm Work -

 

In addition to all the extra activities spring and summer have brought our way, we have been very busy hauling off old abandoned and useless farm & barn equipment (almost 8,000 pounds, thus far), caring for our growing chickens, burning piles and piles of tree debris, putting in the 1st section of our garden and utilizing the long daylight hours to mow a couple of our pastures so we can begin some fence work sometime in the near future - hopefully.

Mr. B mowing one of our pastures

Breaking and removing the sod for garden section 1 (30' x 70') 

Measuring out the planting beds

Planting seed and labeling sections

Beginning to see the possible fruits of our labor

Challenges ...

If you ever decided to move from a semi-rural area to a VERY rural area with out challenges, don't be fooled.  One really needs to LOVE country living a whole lot more than the conveniences of city or semi-rural living.  The past couple weeks seem to have been wrought with challenges.  Please bear with me as I lament, BUT don't fret because I will not leave you without a couple upbeat happenings.

1.  It all started with a less than favorable report from the doctor.  Now, more tests - driving a minimum of 60+ miles one-way, maybe even 200 miles one-way if I have to go to the Big city.

2.  The lawn mower, which, by the way, is only 6 months old and has been used less than 5 times, isn't working.  With the arrival of spring the grass in our yard is beginning to get quite tall & thick.  The upside ... the mower is still under warranty.

3.  While Grandpa was helping with the mowing one of our pastures, with what we southerns commonly refer to as a brush hog, (they haven't been mowed or used in nearly a decade) so we can work on our fences, he "bumped" a water spigot breaking a water line.  It took me 3+ days to find someone with a backhoe (water lines are buried six feet deep) who was willing to come out here and dig it up for a 5 minute repair.

4.  Our two year old microwave has stopped working - not a major crisis, but an inconvenience.  We have the extended warranty, BUT the manufacturer can't seem to find anyone who is willing to come all the way out here to repair it.  It's beginning to look like we'll have to purchase a new one & the built in one's are of course the most expensive.   I do expect the cost of the extended warranty to be refunded.

5.  I drove 60+ miles, one-way, to rent a rear-tine tiller so I could break up our vegetable garden area.  The ground is SOOOO hard the tiller won't even begin to do the job.  It looks like we'll need to purchase a plow  AND I need to have everything planted by the 1st part of June, otherwise we'll run out of growing season up here.

However, I did promise to end on a positive note, here we go:

 Our mama cat, Spook (we call her this because she is totally black and has super green eyes - just like a Halloween cat), and her new kitten.  She has finally decided to introduce him to the outside world and us.  Isn't he adorable?  OG and EJ have named him Willow.  He looks a whole lot like Smudge did when he was a young kitten, don't ya think?  I personally find it kind of weird that, so far, our dog and cats are either totally black or black and white paints.

Despite the broken water line situation, Mr. B has finally been able to get a start on mowing the pastures.  He's made quite a bit of progress since the taking of this photo.  Our plan is that by mowing and fertilizing the pastures for a couple seasons we will eventually have some nice summer grass for a couple horses and maybe ... a cow.  We will also be able to do some fence work, which is required, to keep the horses and other livestock within the boundaries of our property.

Thanks for bearing with my lamenting and I hope the positives, no matter how small they may seem, encourages you to also find the upside of any downs you and your family may also be experiencing.