A Happy Surprise

Hello, friends.  The beautiful Fall days have continued.  Last week, I canned peas and lima beans.  I had small amounts of each, and canned them in the same load, to save water, time and energy.  Golden paste was made for the pups.  All laundry was dried on the line.  I made vanilla sugar, following Annabel's instructions.  The usual composting, shredding paper and cardboard, and adding veggie scraps to the broth bag happened.  From the garden, tomatoes, peas, eggplant, basil, oregano, green beans and lima beans were harvested.  The green and noodle beans have only been about a dozen a week, so I've been adding them to the broth bag.  Sweet potatoes that had been chewed on, or were damaged when digging, were sliced and dehydrated for pup treats, once the ugly bits were cut off.  I gathered marigold flowers for dyeing, and added them to the dehydrator.  

While in a town delivering soap, I stopped by a thrift store, and found a vintage cotton sheet for $2, and a gold frame for $1.  A friend happened to be there too, and it was nice to catch up for a few minutes.  I stopped by the feed & seed, and picked up some plants... two varieties of lettuce, parsley, and chicory, which caught my eye, it was so pretty.  I've never had chicory fresh, only in a coffee blend, but tried a leaf, and thought it would be great in salads, similar to how we use arugula.  This variety had a lot of purple in the leaf, and is a milder tasting one.  I love having lots of greens available, being they're so good for us.  I got them all in the ground.  J put the hoops over the lettuce bed, and bought row cover, so we're ready to set it up, when frost threatens.  He got extra garlic this year, and gave a pound to a neighbor to plant, who in turn brought us some apples from the NC mountains, one of which was used in wild blueberry cranberry sauce, which J requested not long ago.   

 

While gathering some numbers for the holiday season, I noticed I'd had 1,234 sales (in 16 years) in my online soap shop, a rather auspicious number.  It's a small amount of income for me, but I appreciate each sale.  Last week, I took advantage of the warmest day, by washing and vacuuming my car.  That always feels better, and will likely do until warm weather returns in the spring, lol.  Boxes of my cold weather clothes were brought down from the attic, and still need swapping out.  I was delighted to see my first orchid flowers.  I've been trying ten years, after inheriting my Mom's orchids.  In previous years, any buds fell off before blooming.  Two more plants have buds, so I'm hopeful.  They supposedly don't like wood heat, but we've added another air purifier, so perhaps that's made the difference.  Wishing you some happy surprises, and peace this week.