A Little Canning & Eating From The Freezer

Hello, friends.  I hope you've been doing well.  Last week, I strained all the jars of glycerite that were started last year... mullein, lemon balm, nettles, hawthorne and reishi.  I've already begun using the mullein.  A sweater was mended.  The freezer had started filling up with veggie scraps, so pots were simmered on the stove, and another round of broth was canned.  I watched a short video, comparing the Great Depression and now, which was pretty surprising.  Christmas was taken down.  Last year, I enjoyed leaving up the tree through a good portion of January, with the winter and nature themed ornaments.... bird houses and nests, acorns, pinecones, mushrooms and the like, but the tree dried out badly this year, so it needed to come down.  I'm sure the difference was getting the tree at the grocery store, rather than from a nursery, where they're kept in water, but for the savings, we couldn't pass it up.  I'm working on eating down the freezers.  I pulled vegan mac & cheese for a lunch, and bags of grated tromboncino squash.  One was used in a zucchini dish, with homemade broth, homegrown onions, garlic, oregano and thyme, and the others from '20 are being added to the chicken's mash.  I made tomato rice loaf, using home canned tomatoes, homegrown garlic, onions, and added sweet potatoes to the oven, while it was baking.  As all the store bought canned pinto beans were gone, I canned up a batch of 15 pints, 3 quarts.  Pasta sauce was made with our canned tomatoes, onion, garlic and frozen basil cubes.  Laundry was dried on the line, and two wool items were hand washed.  

A couple of weeks ago, I noticed three more of the game birds were missing, both young hens and a rooster.  There were signs of them close to the chicken yard on the outside, so we expect that either a hawk or owl got them.  Now, all that's left of the game birds are mama hen and papa rooster, and two of the young roosters.  J has had to buy eggs a couple of times recently.  Over the weekend, mama hen started laying again, not in a nest box, but on the floor in that room, which is better than the odd spots she usually finds.  Hopefully, we've lessened the other options.  We've gotten good rain, and are so thankful for that.  Soapmaking oils were melted on the woodstove.  A pot of rice and another of sweet potatoes were brought to a boil on the stove, and finished cooking on the woodstove.  Vegetable soup was made, which included our broth, tomatoes, cabbage, onions, garlic, summer squash, a bag of crowder peas pulled from the freezer, and a handful of our dehydrated soup mix, including carrot tops, mushrooms, and sweet potato leaves.  At the library, I picked up four books, including Strega Nona, a Caldecott Honor book.  I caught up with the latest Call The Midwife series the library has, which is Season 11.  I greatly enjoy this show, perhaps because of my Catholic upbringing and years in the nursing field.  Though it has it's moments of drama, it seems to mostly highlight the best of humanity, sorely needed in these times.  Take good care of yourselves, everyone, and for those in the US, wishing you warmth and safety.