What Happened to November?

 Yikes....I came to my senses, and it was THIS time of the year! 

It appears I lost a month of blogging. I will be working to catch up as I keep current.  It's been a bit crazy. 

A Blessed Sunday

 It was a blessed Sunday! A busy Sunday, a great Sunday. Allie, Stacia and I were all able to share a bit about various happenings in our lives, we watched friends and loved ones take the step of baptism, we enjoyed lunch with Jamin, raced Allie to work and then received a surprise winter survival package....great Sunday. 

The biggest blessing of the day was witnessing our son in law baptize our granddaughter! Bella has wanted to do this for some time and BreZaak let her do it today. 

This afternoon the doorbell rang...I went out and there was a package on the doorstep. I thought it might be the tea I'd ordered...but it didn't look right. I became more perplexed as I examined it. Michael, Stacia and I gathered around. We thought it had to be someone who knew us well, but we didn't recognize the writing on the card. 

Look at this loot! Even a cheeseball and wheat thins! Luke, Krista and Kids dropped it on our door, rang the bell and ran. The card encouraged us to "Keep Calm and Winter On." I love this idea! 

Saturday Fun

 Saturday morning...everyone other than Grandpa and I slept in...Grandpa has a routine. It felt good to get some housecleaning done. 

Stacia had invited a couple of gals from youth group to come hang out at the house. They made cookies and played games. WAIT - how is that brunette in the middle? 

Josiah, Carrie and Livie are back in Alaska! We haven't seen them since our family dinner in September. It was great to see them again.  Next up, Jamin showed up....followed quickly by Arielle and the two younger boys. Oh, the fun changes we observe in Little Buddy. He confidently ran in, jumped at the table, and waited for a cookie. I went to get a drink and he said, "Tea, tea." Yep, I've won a little friend. 

Ah, to have the energy of a two year old...or two two year olds. LOL 

You can't see anything but Little Buddy's hands, but they are playing a beautiful duet. 

📷by Carrie

This batch is not very fizzy....but we shall see. It's a start. 

Enjoying the Day

 Stacia and I tried to get out early for breakfast study, but it takes more time to get the animals watered and to coax the van into warmth.  Things became complicated very fast when I put the keys into the ignition to warm up the van, scraped windows and then heard the doors LOCK...with the keys INSIDE and the van ON.  Eventually, we made it to the cafe where our warm drinks awaited. LOL 

I spent the day cleaning the kitchen from the week of canning and prepping a meal for a young family. We made rolls, cookies, two roasts (one for them and one for me) and added salad and veggies. Michael and I delivered the meal, enjoyed baby snuggles and conversation. 

Millie LOVES the snow...maybe more than the rest of us? 

Bible Study & Apples

Snow! 

The chickens aren't the only ones getting used to new morning routines. Allie and I had to dig out the van before we left for study this morning. We enjoyed our discussion about women of great faith today...

My goal is to finish all the apples BEFORE the next co-op day (Nov 8th). I had three cases left this morning and I hoped to finish them all.....

 I chopped all the apples and started them simmering. I was committed to finishing them all - the boxes were empty. 

Stacia got up at 0700 to work on school so she could help with apples in the afternoon. I appreciated her initiative. 

The snow does bring the walk out cooler to life....

We did it. I finally got another batch of kombucha done...and 45 quarts of applesauce done. Done for 2022. 

The moose are back.  I love them this time of year. 

Michael had an appointment this afternoon and then ran by the store for me and to the feed store for the chickens.  This was the sunset when he pulled back into the driveway. 

Unimpressed Chickens

Our new chicks have grown into great layers. They have stayed outside in all sorts of weather, sun...wind...rain and even the light snow on Oct 10th. We wondered how they would do when "winter" really hit, today we found out. 

This group RACES out of the henhouse each morning. They push, fight and skirmish to see who can reach me first. They surround me as they advocate for the treats in the scrap bucket! 

But, WAIT! What is THIS? They raced out to explore and then just as quickly began trying to get back up the ramp and into the coop. 

They reached an impasse with those who were trying to get out as determined as those trying to get back into the coop. They've finally discovered weather they want to avoid.  We expect their egg production to slow down...but so far we are still getting 19 eggs a day...one or two less. Not bad. 

I think this snow may be here to stay! If so, does that mean this is winter? It's come a couple of weeks later than usual...

Reprieve from Apples

 Yes, I had a reprieve from apples today. I probably should have worked for a bit...but I didn't. 

Have I mentioned how DARK it is in the mornings. Michael has reminded me that daylight savings is coming and then the sun will rise earlier....of course, it will get dark SOONER on the other end...In any event it is hard to water animals when one can't find the bowl. It's a bit spooky too - though I'm quite sure the neighborhood grizzly has found a place to hunker down. We are left with moose in the garden - and I don't mind if they visit now. LOL 

I spent several hours with BreZaak's kids today. Bre had an appointment. This little gal is coming soon - I can tell these things. ::snort:: That and the fact that she is due in 17 days. The big excitement at their house is the boys have scored their own room with BIG KID BUNK BEDS! I absolutely LOVE these bunk beds. The steps are great, and they form a bookshelf - which is filled with Tonka trucks as of this morning. 

Jojo (Josiah) is rather proud of his ability to climb to the top of Gideon's bed. Rumor is no one is sleeping in this room just yet. 

We spent the bulk of our time reading. I loved it. They brought me book after book, and I was happy to read each one...these kids have a wide assortment of reading interests. 

Michael ran over to help Bre take the girls' beds apart when I got home.  I had 2 1/2 hours when I got home where I could have worked on apples before dinner and youth/women's group...I decided not to get it all out. 

In other exciting news, Larissa sent a recording of baby Noah's heartbeat. I love the technology of today.