{ Canning and fresh cut flowers }

“I’m so glad I live in a world where there are Octobers.” 

— L.M. Montgomery, Anne of Green Gables 

 

Oh beautiful October, beautiful fall, beautiful leaves and warm morning glow.  This time of the year brings so much peace to my soul.

It's started to get darker earlier, by 7pm the sun is already dipping below the horizon, and yesterday we had to turn on the car lights while driving home.  And I love every second of this transformation from warm to cold.

I wanted to come in and just share a bit of what I was up to the past few days.  

#1 - I would love to say that I got the recipes on the food blog.  Truth is, I didn't.  I haven't had the time, and the little downtime that I have, I end up just wanting to sit for a bit and don't have the motivation to do anything that requires me using brain.  You understand, I'm sure.

#2 -  I have so many projects that chores, tasks that need doing before the cold weather truly arrives, and I'm so hoping to get them going this week.  They need to happen and soon.

 

Okay, now that we got that out of the way, let me show what I've been up to.

 

 

 

My slow cookers have been working overtime.  They're either making dinner, or a side dish, or something that I need to process to be able to can for the winter time.

 

Last week's slow cooker meals, were not only delicious, but they saved me so much time, and ensured that we had a home cooked meal on the table after a day of running around.

I also made a delicious Pumpkin Spice Apple Butter, and canned two of them for the pantry, and left one out in the fridge.  It is soooo good, so so delicious.  It's one of the recipes on the list to be posted.

I also canned some of my nectarine brown sugar jam, and some pecans as well.  Forgot how much I enjoyed canning and am determined to get back to it, as soon as possible.

We are slowly filling our cellar with canned goods and all sorts of canned food.  I will be getting some big buckets soon for flour and sugar too. 

I mentioned last week how I made this Immune Booster drink.  I've been taking a tablespoon every day, especially going into the cold and flu season.  It packs quite a punch and I'm sure it is going to be wonderful especially with such ingredients as grapefruit, lemon, ginger, cinnamon and tonic water.

As our gardens come to a crawl and put out the last of their beautiful blooms, I've been trying to make the most of them by bringing them in, and adding pops of color to different rooms of the house.

 

Walking into a room, smelling the outdoors and seeing the beautiful flowers, is sure to brighten your day, at least it does mine.

I also brought out more of my candles, and placed them in different rooms.  Not just for those nights when we lose power due to strong storms (which happen more often than we would like), but even though I light candles all year long, there is something magical about candlelight.  

It invokes a feeling of cozy and warm, of soft blankets, cups of coffee or tea, a cheeky cookie or a slice of cake.  Crackling fires, and the sound of rain or a winter storm blasting outside.

I've started gathering wood and getting the fireplace ready, and can't quite wait for the first fire of the season to be lit.  

As I type this post, a storm has moved in, and is howling outside, trees are dancing to and fro, and our lights are starting to flicker.  

I had no sooner finished typing that line, and we lost power.  It would go on to last from 7pm to 3am.  I think one of the longest we've lost power due to a storm.  There is a lot of damage outside, a neighbor's trampoline from across the field, is in our front yard.  A mangled mess of bent iron and torn fabric.

Trees have come down, huge branches have broken off and toppled to the ground and we have a lot to clean up.

I just wanted to come in and quickly finish this post so that I could post it for you all.  Thankfully, we were ok, and aside from losing power, we were kept safe by the Lord.