Post Christmas Busyness (and a trash to treasure!)

Greetings....

Let's do first things first and allow me to apologize for abandoning both you and this blog.
Where does time go?
 It seems as though the older one gets, the faster time flies.
Why is that??

Okay, so allow me to catch you up.....

We had a lovely holiday.  I hope you can say the same.

 We rang in the new year with friends.
We had a great time, just staying in and playing games.
 You know...
good friends + good food = great time!

Hubs really gets into playing Wii! 

For me, the new year has always been the perfect time to do some organizing.
It's the time of year, when we're held up inside.
 No gardening to do.
No holiday preparations.

So once the decorations were taken down and replaced with our home's usual vintage-ish decor,  I got busy on some re-organizing and purging.  As the title of this blog implies, I'm very into keeping things simple.
 While I can't really call myself a minimalist,
I do like to keep things simple, clutter free and organized.
So I started with the closet where I keep the wrapping paper, since it was a mess after all that holiday wrapping.

With all the snow (and cold) in these parts, we have had ample opportunity to play in the snow.
The dog loves the snow!
Okay, so she really doesn't care.
 She just likes to play.
When we take potty breaks, allowing her time to burn up some energy is a must.  Some days, we even have 

doggy play dates 

with a friendly German Shepherd.

I have been enjoying watching the birds this winter,  I have taken some awesome pictures out my front window that I plan to share with you each (Foto) Friday.   Hopefully, I can follow through on this!  :)

So as promised, 
a trash to treasure.  
While cleaning out a closet, I came across this cosmetic travel case.

 I can honestly say, I never use it anymore.
However, I deemed it keep-able.
But it was in need of a makeover.
 Sorry I didn't get a before picture of the inside.
Suffice it to say it was worn and ugly.

So a little scrapbook paper and a piece of burlap gave it a 

cute and quick fix. 
(I used spray adhesive for both the paper and the burlap)

At first, I thought it might make a good magazine holder for the bathroom.

But in the end, I needed something for some miscellaneous stuff in my bathroom.

Walah!

 In case you're wondering about this case....
 Yep, it was mine.... 

Given to me on my first day of beauty school some 35+ years ago.
 It seems like a lifetime ago.  

Since then.... 

I have raised and homeschooled 2 children....

and am currently caring for 2 darling grandchildren...

teaching water aerobics at the Y.....

 and yes, I am 

head chicken keeper and gardener.
One just never knows where life will lead them!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Stocking up for Winter

Wow, I can't believe it's been a month since my last blog post.  I have such good intentions to post on a more regular basis. But it seems that there is always something vying for my attention.  During the month of October,  we were busy putting our garden to rest for winter and securing our food stockpile for the cold winter months ahead.  

We put an addition our chicken house so we could take a vacation.

  This little overhang allowed the chickens to have a

  SAFE place to hang 

during the day, and at the same time, they can let themselves in and out as they please.  That way, we only needed someone to feed and water them, and  gather the eggs once a day.  

Ugly, huh?  We repurposed some wood removed from someones basement,

 so now I have to paint it.  Always something to do, right?  Sometimes, I think these critters are more trouble than they're worth! 

So.......we did have a chance to get away for some much needed R&R.  Here's a sneak peak of our  little getaway.  I PROMISE to share more pictures SOON!

Gorgeous, huh? 

Okay, so back to the purpose of today's blog.....

Today, I thought I'd share with you our food stores. It's getting easier to put food away since the kids have flown the coop!    At this point, I have nearly everything put away.  Everything that is, except applesauce, which I will probably get to next week.  

My husband thinks we garden because it saves money.  But I don't think we save that much money, especially since there is only the two of us.  But what we do gain by growing and preserving food is peace of mind.  It gives me peace of mind to have a cache of food.  And it gives me peace of mind to know where my food comes from and how it was grown.

 It's organic,

 non-gmo, 

wholesome food!

Here's a peek....

Freezing...

Canning....

Drying...

crushing red peppers

dried beans

I dried several veggies for use in soups.
This is zucchini.

 SALSA ANYONE? 

POTATOES !  

We also raised sweet potatoes about 2 weeks ago. 

 They are still "curing."

IN MY PANTRY....

salsa, tomato juice, pears,beets, relish, pepper jelly, sauce, homemade vanilla (yum yum) and some dried herbs.

 In the "butler's pantry".......dried tomatoes, cabbage, beets, zucchini, fruit mix, peppers, mushrooms, herbs and more!

IN THE FREEZER.....

We eat a lot of our produce fresh and uncooked as much as possible.  Even so, it's good to know the freezer is filled....corn, beans, peas, pumpkin, blueberries, horseradish, corn soup and more...

In our extra fridge.....

PICKLES

So there you have it. 

We're ready for winter.  

Are you ready?

Do you put food away?  

What do you have in your stash?   

linked to http://www.fresh-eggs-daily.com/2013/11/from-farm-blop-hop-and-diy-glass.html

Gone Wild!

It's been along time since my last post.  

My apologies....

Our summer has been nothing short of WILD!  

Early in the season, we moved the chicken house.  

What an ordeal.  

I had this wild idea to move the chickens closer to the house where I could keep a closer watch over them (and hopefully out of hawk view), and closer to a water source.

I told hubby that if it was a big deal, we could just let it go.

But he said, "No problem.  We moved stuff all the time on the farm (where he lived as a child)."

So move it he did!

So the house has been moved

 and the fencing is in place.

The girls are happy.  

All is well in the hen house.....at least for now!

More wildness..........

I've been trying to get some cleaning and organizing accomplished this summer.

I am the queen of organizing- that's just my opinion of course ;)

My craft area is the worst place to keep under control.  

Just 1 hour of crafting and the place is trashed.  If you craft, I'm sure you know what I'm talkin' about!

My goal was to clean, purge, organize and.....

well just jazz things up a little.  

The problem is, however, that I share my craft space with my husband.

So now you see my problem.  The testosterone drips from the walls of our office.

So what's a girl to do?

I say if you can't beat 'em!

Join 'em.

So...

off to Michaels I went!

I came home with these...

Yep, 2 rolls of handy dandy duct tape!

I also picked up a can of black paint.

I used duct tape to add some WILD touches to my side of the office, and the black paint to paint some missed matched furniture.  

I used boxes, baskets and jars for organizing craft supplies.  

The black piece of furniture is actually 2 completely separate pieces.  I found an old bookcase in the basement...

Painted it black..

and made it a topper for my grandma's old Hoosier bottom (that was also painted black).

I decided to pull the L-shaped desk away from the wall, that way all my stuff is handy and quickly available.  I don't even have to get up, just roll around on my trusty chair.  

And in case I forget why I'm in the Wild room...

I made this with my favorite gadget..

the Cricut Expression 2

While I still have a lot of things I want to do to make this room work, I have the bones of what will make a functional space.  

With any luck, it should also bring out the 

wild side 

of my creativity.

I love to make cards.  But what's even more enjoyable than making cards, is giving them!

And so since making cards is one of my favorite crafts, I'll leave you with a sampling of cards I made recently using the Cricut.  

I cut a page of trees on vinyl

(taken from the family reunion cartridge)

and made every effort to make each one look just a little different.  

Miss Josie, 

(my constant companion who relaxes while I craft) 

and I say

Thanks for stopping by our WILD ROOM.  

We hope you all have been inspired to do something wild today!

linked up to...

http://1840farm.com/2013/07/from-the-farm-blog-hop-41/

http://www.the-chicken-chick.com/2013/07/clever-chicks-blog-hop-42-with-two.html