Catching Up

As I continue to struggle with, what may be, the next Great Depression, I also think it is important to think and plan ahead.

There were sweet potatoes for sale in bags at Aldi's for a decent price. So they are waiting to be canned. If you are interested in learning more about canning sweet potatoes, here is a website I found that I'm going to use because, of course, it has pictures! http://canningusa.com/IfICanYouCan/PotatoesSweet.htm

My apple guy had some more Cortland apples that I dried yesterday. I am thankful for my "dryer" that my in-laws were finished with. Dried apples make great snacks and then there are Amish Moon Pies. I love these! Although, I must confess, that I still have not perfected them. Keith says he will happily eat all the experiments! If you are interested in drying apples, here is a website: http://www.pickyourown.org/apples_dried.htm It explains things very well and has pictures! Like I said, I prefer the Cortland apples because they don't darken like other varieties. I don't care to treat my apples--just one more step that I don't think is necessary. This site has pictures and How-To's for doing this in the oven, in a dehydrator and even your car on a hot day. I store mine in big 1/2 gallon canning jars that I got from my daughter's mom-in-law.

I'm still wondering if Keith and I should find someone to plow our "back 40" to plant more stuff either for us, for the kids or to sell. (I'm already anxiously awaiting the seed catalogs.)

It has been cold here the last couple days. A bit of snow, but not much yet. What little we get is gone in a short time. The roads were horrible coming home from our small group on Monday. The road was covered with black ice. Flipped cars and trucks and skid marks everywhere! I went 35 mph down Rt. 422. Butler County was the worst. Once I arrived in Armstrong, the roads had be faithfully taken care of by our PennDot.

This time of year everyone around here hibernates. We'll see each other either at the store or when we shovel snow. It is kind of a lonely time, but we will celebrate when we see each other in the Spring. This is a time to quilt and watch movies and get some reading done. I also want to can some vegetable soup and more chicken, when it is on sale. That worked great!! All I'm missing is my wood stove, which, on days like this, I miss so very much.

The following is something to which I want to aspire--I have not arrived yet:
I want not the favour of man to lean upon, for I know that thy electing grace is infinitely better. Excerpt from Election, from the Valley of Vision. It is my prayer that I can get over being concerned about what people think.