{ Wednesday catch up }

 

It's been a while.  It feels almost awkward sitting down to compose a post, but in a way it feels familiar too.

Well, here I am, on this beautiful Wednesday morning.  I just finished my coffee, my second cup of coffee that is, and I'm sitting on my bed with my furry babies.  

I was just about to get up and get ready for the day, but felt like I needed to come in and say hi.  

I tried last week to put up a post, multiple times, but it felt like I had hit a wall.  Where I used to come in, sit down and the words would just flow through me onto the keyboard, I felt like I didn't know how to even start a blog post.  How strange is that?

When I grabbed my laptop this morning, I had the same initial feeling, and then it washed over me, this feeling of "it's your journal, you don't need to say anything profound, just speak from the heart, talk about your day or whatever else comes to mind."  Like I used to.....obviously!

So, no trying to figure out what I'm going to talk about, I'm just going to let it go and see which direction it leads me.

 

 

 

Life has definitely slowed down around here, thankfully.  I love these slower, cooler days of Fall.  I've taken the time to potter around the house, and try to work on projects which have been waiting for a few minutes of my time.

One that I tackled the past few days, was our entryway closet, which houses our family games.  The 3 shelves were chaotic, for lack of a better word.  When we had the family reunion, there were over 35 people in our home, and looking for games to play etc.  I think you understand how messy things can get, when you have what feels like a hundred hands grabbing boxes and cards.  

I managed to give it a good clean and organize, and it feels and looks much better in there.

 

If you grew up in Europe, then you know the significance of an espresso after a meal.  It's something we grew up with, and it just seemed to be the way to close off a delicious lunch or dinner.  

I've been enjoying my espresso, but lately, I've been really enjoying an Espresso Romano.  What is that you may wonder?  Well it's an espresso coffee with lemon juice, and a slice of lemon propped on the side of the cup.  It's delicious and seems to hit the spot.

 

Last week, I also decided to go through my chest freezer to see what we had.  I found quite a lot of my frozen pumpkin, from last years harvest.  I knew immediately what I wanted to make, and I'll share the recipe with you on the blog, either today or tomorrow.

I have so many recipes to go up, just need to sit down and actually do it.

But, back to the pumpkin.  Fall is the perfect time for apple butter and pumpkin butter, but what about a pumpkin jam with walnuts and Port wine?  Bet you haven't tried that yet, and if you haven't you're in for a treat.

It's a really old Portuguese recipe, that I can't wait to share with you all.

 

It made quite a lot, so I was able to can 5 jars.  I have 2 left for myself, the other 3 went to my daughter, niece and sister in law.  

I also hadn't canned in a long time, so going through the whole process was so refreshing to my soul.  It's the small things like this, that for some may seem ridiculous, but for me, as a homemaker, it's everything.  When you haven't enjoyed these moments in a while, you understand just how much you've missed them, when you finally get around to indulge again.

 

Saturday we got to enjoy the solar eclipse and indulge in yet another activity, that we hadn't done in years.  We pulled out the telescope, with our solar filter and managed to watch every minute, of this amazing phenomenon.

It's so strange when you look outside, and see blue skies, not a single cloud in place, but as the eclipse starts, the lighting becomes weird, almost like a subdued sunshine.  

 

I managed to get this photo through my camera, shooting into the telescope itself.  How wonderful is that?

Our Pecan trees are almost ready to harvest, and that's always an exciting time for us.  I still feel so blessed to be able to live on this property, that God prepared for us, and be surrounded by not only beauty but an abundance of of blessings.  

We've been sharing our harvest with friends, family and coworkers, and just two days ago, Curt took the last 6 bags (weighing 3 pounds each), to base, and gave them away.  We're often told "why don't you sell the pecans, they're so expensive in the store, you guys have so much, you could be making money?".

And while I understand that, I just don't feel right selling something that was given to me freely by God.  I would rather share with everyone, so until a time I feel that I am moved to sell, I won't be doing that.  It just doesn't feel right to me.

Anyway, it is now 9:30am, and I need to finally get moving.  I don't feel like it, it's one of those days where I could easy lay in bed and just stay here, without moving, for the rest of the day.  That would be nice, but even though I don't work outside the home, there are things that need to be done.

The laundry won't wash itself.

The dishes won't wash themselves.

Food won't cook itself.

So, I'm going to get ready, and throw in a load of laundry, make sure I take out my pork for tonight's dinner, bake a cake,  make some sandwich bread, make some french bread loaves for pizza, subs and garlic bread, and put away the load of ironing I did yesterday afternoon.

 

I also need to do my Bible reading and devotional, as well as the prayers for today.  

Only then, will I allow myself to sit and relax, and either read a book or watch a show on tv.  I'm nursing a bit of a headache, but I think it's due to sore neck muscles, so may need to rub on some biofreeze or icy hot.  Either way, I need it gone, it makes me groggy and makes my head feel like it weighs 100 pounds.

In closing, I want to wish you all a blessed day, and encourage you to turn to God during these perilous times.  Don't get caught up in everything you see and hear.  I had to do this myself this morning, forcing myself to turn off my phone and stop looking at the news.  It can really start to play on your mind.

Have a blessed Wednesday friends, and a very happy homemaking day!