I'm Climbing Back onto the Homestead Wagon!

      Since facing the discouraging summer of gardening, I felt like I had totally 'fallen off the homesteading wagon'! Well, I'm pleased to announce that I'm climbing back on again! I've been cleaning out the vegetable beds, now that the bugs and chiggers have gone. I am so glad to finally be able to access them! I had to hack my way through the weeds to get to them and I'm still hacking, but at least I'm making progress! It's a good feeling! I am so thankful to be able to do this! If I was working a job outside the home, I probably wouldn't have time to do all these things! Have you ever fallen off the homestead wagon? I'd rather be on that bumpy-riding wagon heading for the wild blue yonder, than sitting by the road, watching everybody else do what I love to do! Is it too early to start seeds indoors? Lol!

      I've been thinking about and praying for the people in the mid-west who were ravaged by devastating tornadoes! Who would have thought tornadoes would go through Illinois, Wisconsin, Indiana, all the way to New York! We were expecting strong storms here, not there! We didn't get them. They stayed up North. So sorry for those people! I hope none of you were touched by those awful storms!

      The weather has been so nice here today! Sunny, breezy and right below 70. It was somewhat rainy over the weekend and very humid! I guess living in the South, we'll always have humid weather all season long! That's O.K., I guess I'm used to it! 

      I raked leaves to go in the raised beds and got enough to go in the raspberry bed. It could probably use another bag, but my shoulder can only hold up to so much raking! I've used leaves that I raked and bagged last year to fill the beds, so far. I've got about three bags left, so I will have to rake more. With this mild weather, I don't mind. Would you like to come and help me rake leaves?

      We are having Thanksgiving here. I need to get the house cleaned and prepared. But I'd rather be outside! If all goes well, I should be able to do both. At least I can get the dining room table cleaned. It has canning jars that I'm wrapping with newspapers and putting upstairs until summer. And the kitchen island cleared of all the glitter and craft scraps. If I can get that done, then I've accomplished something! Someone want to volunteer to help?

      Ya'll know I'm just kidding, but sometimes a little help wouldn't hurt. Maybe my nieces can help this week. Have a great week! Until next time, Blessings from Bama!

Ground Boston butt I ground to make two different recipes. The one on the left is taco flavored, whereas the one on the right is Italian sausage.

I made a chili pie with the taco flavored one and as you can see, spaghetti sauce with the Italian sausage.

Three raised beds that have been cleaned out and mulched leaves put in.

These are what the beds look like before. These are two beds that I still have yet to clean. You can barely see that they are beds!

Two more beds that need cleaning. See the garlic? I hope it winters well.

This awful mess isn't a bed; just an area in the garden that needs cleaning!

You don't know how good it makes me feel to see these beds cleaned out! I finished the one on the back left today! It was a job!

The one on the left is done, the one on the right is the strawberry bed. Should I move them when I clean them out, or just leave them here? They've been here a couple of years.

I get so dirty doing this, but I love it!

Roasted butternut squash and acorn squash. The acorn squash has cinnamon sugar, and tasted pretty good. I probably won't make it again. The butternut squash is going in a soup.

The making of Kind bars. Randy calibrated my oven and they were overcooked. He needs to fix it back.

Jim Lahey's whole wheat bread. I wanted to try the whole wheat, but I'm just not a fan of whole wheat. I like the unbleached, unbrommated flour best.