{ The past few days in homemaking }

Every day is a gift from God, make the best of it.

 

I've done so much the past few days, and I've been very good about taking my camera along to show you.  I haven't been posting as much as I said I would, but that's because the past few days were filled with organization and homemaking, as well as a funeral for Curt's aunt.

That's life.  

I used to be a planner and wanted my whole day planned out and scheduled.  As I've drawn closer to God, I've learned that I can make all the plans I want but ultimately, what He has planned for me, is the what will actually happen.  What does that mean?

Well, it means some days I plan one thing and something completely different happens.  The key is to not freak out, get upset, and angry.  Just go with it.

It also means that I've learned to live a life with purpose, making use of every day that I have.

I went grocery shopping on Friday, at the base commissary.  It used to be that the commissary was cheaper than anywhere else, and that we also had a lot of products at our disposal.  Lately, it's been declining.

The prices are much higher (which is happening everywhere), a lot of shelves are empty, some items are very close to their expiration date, and shopping has just become a bit of a frustrating situation.

 

Nonetheless, I managed to get our groceries, and am doing pretty cheap and easy meals, the next two weeks.  The more time goes by, and the more expensive things get, the more I start looking at my big 1 acre field and planning some planting in the next few months.  Living off the land is looking very appealing.

Our garden is coming to an end, though I'm surprised I'm still getting some goodies.  The pumpkins I've managed to process and freeze, and I have one more on the vine that is almost ready to be harvested, then we can pull it all out and get ready for next Spring.

I wanted so much to do a fall and winter garden, but I'm not sure I'll succeed this year.  I may just pull out my notebooks and get planning for 2022.

Our fruit trees are doing so well.  I sit and look at them and am just in awe,  that we've been growing them from small saplings.  Honestly can't wait until they start producing fruit, it will be at least another two years or so, but that's ok.

 

I've been on an organizing and cleaning mission around here.  As we head into Fall, I like to do a big cleaning along the lines of spring cleaning.  

 

Yesterday, I decided to tackle our linen closet.  I pulled everything out, divided it into piles, one to donate, one to wash and repackage, and the other to throw out.

Our closet shares a wall with Nick's bathroom and it has a tendency to get a bit moldy, if I'm not constantly on top of it.  I've managed to keep in control, but I still like to wash everything in there every few months, and I've also switched to space saver bag to help with the humidity too.

So I spent the morning, wiping down shelves, organizing, and washing, hanging outside to dry, packing and so forth.  It didn't take as long as I thought it would and I'm so glad that I did it.

I have 2 big bags for donation, one is mainly lines and comforters etc., the other is crafting stuff that I was gifted last year, in a big storage tub and it had just been sitting in that closet.  I pulled everything out, kept what I knew I would use and am donating the rest.  

I'm also using that tub now to hold extra comforters and blankets.

I should have taken the photo AFTER I folded the sheets and packed them nicely, but hey ho, sometimes I get so carried away that it is what it is.  Those sheets were folded, and stacked nicely.  I even ended up with extra space and am empty shelf.  

Folks, seriously, if you have a big project like this to tackle, just do it.  I couldn't even get in that closet, it was so full, so overfilled, it used to give me anxiety just going in there for something.  Very happy with the result.

I made some dulce de leche in my instant pot, for a cake recipe.  It was my first time using the pressure cooker, to cook a can of condensed milk, and I won't lie and say it didn't make me a bit scared, but it was fine and so easy.  I'll share that on the food blog as well.

I've been spending more time in the kitchen too, making delicious meals and desserts, making sure to get photos and updating the food blog.  

It can't tell you just how much I've been loving getting back to my routine.  I feel such a sense of contentment right now, and that sounds a bit weird because life has been hard for us, we've had a lot of sadness around us and it would have been easy to just fall deeper into a dark place.

But my Lord is so amazing and so kind and loving and forgiving.  I get through my days because HE gives me the strength and the focus.  All I had to do was ask, for help, for comfort, for peace and for motivation to do what I need to do and be who I need to be......who I love being.

Suddenly everything seems brighter and happier, I take so much pleasure in reading a good book, in working a row of crochet, in cleaning, in decorating, and taking care of my family and home.

Funny enough, you don't always notice the things you stop doing around the house.

 

For example, decorating for different seasons or holidays.  It's something I always did, and I didn't even realize I had stopped doing it, until I started pulling things out and couldn't remember the last time I used them.

 

A quick look through my blog and my photos, gave me the answer.  It's been at least 2 or 3 years.  Wow!

 

I AM decorating again, well, if you can call it that.  I am not a decorator and I don't even think my home has a theme.  I tend to just use whatever I like, and hope it looks ok.  Haha

 

I'll have another post tomorrow showing how Fall is starting to show up in my home and around our property, so if that's something you enjoy, come back tomorrow.

 

I am going to finish off this post, take my allergy pill *again* because it's very windy here today, which means I am feeling it.  Also going to do a little more cleaning and organizing, and then it will be time to get into the kitchen and work on dinner and a delicious cake using that yummy dulce de leche that I made yesterday afternoon. 

Dinner tonight is Fish Sticks, Scalloped Potatoes and some Mixed Veggies.

And on the TV, I'm watching some homemaking vlogs and trying to finish a really sweet movie on Amazon Prime, called Cider with Rosie.

I'll finish off the night with more Bible reading, and that will be my Tuesday.

If you've made it all the way to the bottom here, thank you for coming by and visiting.  I really appreciate all the visits and the sweet comments.  I promise I'm going to try very hard to start replying to your comments on the blog here, so that I can interact more with you.  

Have a blessed Tuesday, and I'll see you tomorrow!

xoxoxo