{ Drying grapefruit slices and slowing down }

There's a nip in the air, ice on the grass and a slowness that comes with Winter.  I stand at the kitchen window and watch the deer slowly creep around the back of the property, down the driveway, then take a leap over the fence and dash off into the woods across the street.

Little House in the Big Woods!!!

I don't know why that thought popped to mind, other than the fact that I adore Little House on the Prairie, but maybe it's my deeply ingrained wish to go back to simpler times.   

Birds chirp,a woosh of wind whips by and everything seems to move at a much slower pace.

It's that time of year.  I used to think that I was a summer girl, through and through, but I've since discovered that I seem to be more of a, every season kinda gal.  The trick is to enjoy each as they come, make the most of it, and dive full force into each season.  But, yet, if you were to ask me which of the four I love the most, aside from the bitter cold weather, it would have to be Winter.

The past few days I have spent in my apron.  It pops over my head first thing in the morning, and doesn't come off until I'm done with the dinner dishes, kitchen is clean, and I'm headed to the shower.

Old fashioned?  Maybe, but I've been called worse, believe me.

I've been wanting to make another orange garland for my fireplace, and my tree this year.  I had one that actually lasted for quite a few years, but it did get to the point where it became moldy, and so we had to part ways.

Since then, it's been on the back of my mind, it's just been a matter of finding the time to do it.

I don't have oranges at the moment, but I do have a big bag of grapefruit that my mother in law sent over.  And so, grapefruit garland it is.

I've been slicing and drying for two days, and today I'll finally get to sit down, thread some twine through it and hang it up.  You'll have to wait until tomorrow to see how that turned out.

But while I was slicing the grapefruit and decorating the house, using the trimmings from the tree, I decided to get one of my simmer pots going.  It has been years, and I mean years, since I've done one, it was back in Arizona, so that will tell you something.

Yesterday I mentioned how I love using the tree trimmings to decorate the house.  There's something about bringing the outdoors, indoors, that I love.  It makes you feel closer to nature, that and the fact that you can't beat the smell of fresh pine wafting through the house.

I've kept my tree very simple this year.  I used to love a full tree, shiny ornaments, all sorts of colors, tinsel and garland and so on.

As I've gotten older, I've switched to a more subdued tree, that I like it even more.  A tree does not have to be flashy to be beautiful, at least in my opinion.  That's not to say that you can't decorate yours however you wish, it is after all personal preference, and you do what makes you happy, that is all that matters.

I would also love to say that at this point, I'm done Christmas shopping, but the truth is that I have bought one single present, that's it, just one.  This weekend  we will finally head out and get the shopping done, as I'm itching to wrap, get it under the tree and call it good.

That slowness that I love about Winter?  I don't equate Christmas shopping or anything surrounding the holiday, as slow and relaxing.  If anything it is busy, rushed, stressful and too focused on flashy, big and better.  Maybe I'm over it all, or maybe I've just gotten wiser as I've aged.

Wintery cold days also mean tummy filling, home cooked meals.  Last night's dinner was Hot Sesame Pork, you can find the recipe over on the blog, but I'll link it for you here too.

And to end off my slow kind of day, a disaster in the kitchen.  Curt and I looked at each other and just started laughing.  Our first obstacle as home owners, no more calling in maintenance and waiting for someone to come out and fix it.  It's us, all on us. 

It's not the first time that my kitchen sink has clogged up, it's been an ongoing issue since we've moved into this house, it clogs at least once a year, they come out, unclog it, I'm extra careful about what I put down the disposal, and then it clogs again.

It happened again yesterday afternoon, right as I was prepping dinner.  I tried unclogging, I tried a plunger, I tried everything I could think of and nothing worked.  When Curt got home from work he tried as well, and usually he can get it unclogged, but for some reason, instead of unclogging it just started leaking out of the bottom of the disposal.

Next thing I knew, there was an inch of water under the sink, water on my floor, Curt's shoes soaked through and a soaking wet kitchen rug.

It's still not fixed.  I have to wait until hubby gets home from work this afternoon so that he can remove the disposal, take a look at it, and see if he can fix it.  I'm thinking we may need a new garbage disposal.  Thankfully you can get a pretty inexpensive one at Lowes. 

But this whole thing got me thinking about the old days, the simpler times were garbage disposals were not even invented.  We survived without one, our sink was just a proper normal sink where you washed dishes, and never in a million years did you think of throwing any kind of food down the drain.

So is it really worth it to have a disposal?  To deal with these headaches?  Or is it maybe time to ditch it?  I would live just fine without one, and I think that this may just be a project for the very near future.  Ditch that disposal and go back to a normal proper sink.  Yes, I think that is on my list.

For now, I will be using my laundry sink which thankfully is across the kitchen, on the opposite wall.  I do my dishes in there, and then for dinner we will probably go out with my brother in law. 

I need to get up off this bed, get dressed, go tackle my kitchen and start making some gift lists so that I'm prepared tomorrow.

Have a wonderful blessed Wednesday!