It's Been Two Years.

Well, Howdy There Folks!

My Name is Christine Harris and it's been two years since my last blog. :)
In that time I started and sold a Sweet Shop.
Watched yet another child leave the nest.
Fought back sadness and depression.
Worked a year as a cake decorator at the local grocery store.
Kept on top of my high-functioning anxiety.
Helped my man start a wood-working business.
Added pigs and goats to the farm.
Started working as a Home Care Provider.
Cut sugar permanently out of my life. (which has worked wonders on the depression!)
Baked and ate a rabbit pie. (From rabbit we raised!!)
Started a sugar-free support group.
Joined the local choir.

Then Corona Virus showed up. 

Came to Canada. 

Came to my province.

Now we wait for it to come to the village and we wonder......
.........will it come to "Wingin' It Farm"?

The proverbial "poop" has hit the fan.

And all I can think about is all the people I haven't told about Jesus yet.

If you are reading this ....
Chances are you are a person that God has brought into my life one way or another.
Chances are I consider you a friend and love having you in my life.
Chances are, if you have only known me the last few years, you have even said something like... "I just love the vibes you give off Christine!"
Chances are I really, really, really wanted to tell you that those "vibes" are Jesus.

I could talk for hours about this, but I am going to nut-shell it.

This is what I believe. This is what I trust, hope, wait, and rest in.

I believe that the Bible was written by an Intelligent Being, called God.
I believe that HE created the world and you and me.
I believe that "Adam and Eve" isn't just some fairy tale. I believe it's OUR HISTORY. That mankind was created perfect. But the snake and the apple changed the story line...horrifically.
People have been paying the price ever since.
Booted out of paradise. Struggling through centuries and centuries of pain and death.
Living, dying.
Laughing, weeping.
Loving, warring.
Triumphing, failing.
And always, always, forever and eternity, sinning.

The "snake" was OUR enemy. Still is.
You may have been introduced to him as Satan, Lucifer or The Devil.

I believe we are spiritual beings living in mortal bodies.
I believe our souls will live forever and we will end up in one of two places.
Heaven or Hell.
I believe that "doing our best" won't cut it.

I believe the 10 Commandments aren't just a suggestion.
That when God told us to love Him above all things He meant it.
That we weren't to have "idols" in our life more important than a relationship with Him.
That when He told us not to use His name as a swear word we shouldn't.
That we should rest once in awhile and focus on Him. (Sabbath)
That we should honour those who raised us.
That we should never murder, lie, steal, covet and commit adultery.

I believe that no matter how hard we try we will never, this side of hell, keep those rules.
The bar is set way too high.

I also believe that God loves us. Always has, always will.
He being a perfect Being, wants us, even imperfect that we are, to be with Him forever.

It's a long story and I can't pretend that I understand all the "Whys" but I believe that God sent His Son to die for us.
You've heard His name before. Some of you have said his name already today.

Jesus Christ 

I believe Jesus was born of a virgin. Lived a sinless life. Died on a Roman cross. Was buried for three days. Rose from the dead. Visited His friends. Ascended to Heaven and is coming back.

I believe Jesus is our "ticket" to Heaven.
But he is more than that, He's a promise to peace right now.

Cause I may not know all the "whys" but I do know, if the Grim Reaper comes to "Wingin' It Farm" dressed as the Corona Virus, I'll just go home. Home to be with Jesus.
I'm 100% sure of that!

I also believe though, that believing Jesus to be the Son of God and that He was a real man who walked on this earth, isn't enough.

I believe that in order to "go to heaven" you have to do three things.

One, you have to admit that you are a sinner. As in you can't, on your own, follow God's list of rules.
Two, you have to repent. Say you are sorry for the wrong you have done, against God and others.
Three, accept that Jesus died to save you and ask God to become Master of your life and destiny.

In my heart of hearts I know all this to be true.
I hope you do too.
There is much, much more that could be said.
If you want to crack this "nut-shell" open further please, please, please do!!!
You can call, text, write, or email me
I am never too busy to talk about Jesus and getting right for eternity.

Call - 902-920-0311 or 902-899-9585
Email - christineharris35@hotmail.com or message me on Facebook.
I'd say "Come on over!" to West Tatamagouche Road, but Corona has put a halt to visiting in person at the moment.

Love and Prayers,
Christine

Leaving you with one final thought....

If I am wrong about all this, that there is no God, no Jesus, no need to repent...that maybe when we die there is nothing after death, then what will I have lost in believing all this?
Nothing. I along with the rest of you will just cease to exist.

But if I am right, that all this is something, and true, and very important, then when it comes to death, and we all die eventually... what will you lose? I suggest to you that you will lose eternal life filled with happiness and joy with no more pain and tears! You will instead gain eternal death in hell.

So please, whatever you do, take your eternal destination seriously!

The Little Spa That Wasn't

And you thought this blog post would be titled January didn't you?

Well, being February is almost over and the events of the previous month are fast becoming faint memories, I decided to break with the monthly title pattern and just give you an up-date.....

It seemed like the winter months in Canada this year were really just a series of mini-Springs. This meant that the ski hill where the Man-Son and I were working had a tough time keeping snow on the slopes. I say "were working" cause although the season is winding to a close due to un-cooperative weather, I bowed out and gave my "quittin' notice" yesterday. I had had enough of the poor management. I concluded that life is too short to spend that much time, working for minimum wage, in such a stressful environment. I was getting almost full time hours since six staff had quit before me. Seems I wasn't the only one who thought the place was best to stay away from!! To sum it up, I was raised to be a non-swearer and as a Christian I believe it is honoring to my Lord to keep my language clean as an adult. But after only a couple months in that kitchen I was afraid to open my mouth to respond to the supervisors cause I was afraid that @#$^%* would come out. So, I concluded that in the best interest to all involved I would quit before such a dreadful thing occurred.

Remember how I was telling you about the "The Little Spa Shop"? Well, it's a dream that isn't going to become reality.

Instead my peeps and I will be opening up a different business much better suited to our strengths and abilities.

It'll be a little SWEET shop instead. I do think making tea and serving cookies will be a little more up my line of expertise than asking people to strip down from neck to waist to have oils applied to their backs or soaking feet and trimming toe-nails of strangers. Haha.  I would have been happy doing the later, but I have more experience in the hostessing department.

"Christine's Sweets By The Sea" that's what we'll be called.  It was hoped that we would be "Sweets by the Sea" as it will be a family business......but the good ole government thought it was too closely related to another business out there called "By the Sea Refreshments".

Yeah, I can see how all you poor folks out there might be confused by the two. (insert sarcasm)

So being "Christine's Christmas Cookies" was fast becoming a brand name....we added "Christine" to the business name and it was accepted.  At least the locals who enjoyed my holiday sweets will know who I am...and come summer the folks visiting Tata will find out as well!  :)

The location is just the BEST. It'll be in the front of the Grain Elevator.

Different paint colour same kitchen.  Awesome location..... it's where all the tourists hang out on the weekends.  Perfect seasonal hours.....I will only be using it (paying rent) for the months of May-October. It's separated from the rest of the Grain Elevator by a door, so I can have more "Open" hours than just Friday-Sunday. Then come November-December I'll kick into Christmas mode....and when the New Year strikes I can have a break from baking for a bit. I'm liking the sound of that already! hahaha

To say we are excited is an understatement. I will save details about menus and such until a later blog.  Right now every extra minute is spent sewing aprons, working on getting permits and business numbers, finding wholesale suppliers, out-sourcing sign making and trying out new recipes on any "guinea-person" I can find. So, far I've had no complaints and many happy volunteers.

In the mean time....if you hear of anyone named Christine Harris who would like to open a spa at the Grain Elevator in Tatamagouche....I already have business cards for them....I'll sell them for a good price too!!! lol

Until next time...... Sweet Days and Dreams to you!! 

December

Like I warned you in the last post, December was mostly about cookies as well.

So, I'll tell you how it was that I happened upon a Cookie Business.
Truth be told I rarely make cookies for my family. I'd rather make muffins or squares.Only one pan and you're done! None of this six or seven cookie sheets later while you watch sugar vultures devour your work before you're even finished!

But apparently I know how to make a great cookie! Who knew?!

I am not sure if it is a gift? Or because I am a perfectionist that loves to create edible things? (Once I set my mind to learn how to make something I keep at it till it comes out right! Pretzels are next) Or if being the manager of my own kitchen for twenty-eight years meant I honed my skills? But whatever it was I was getting reviews like this....

"Exquisite and delicious and even better than your own Grandmas cookies. I cannot go a week without a dozen.......or 2."

"Delicious! Your box of assorted dozen I got at the farmers market was a huge hit with the grandparents! They sure loved them" 

"The Twix cookies are quite amazing, we both love them. I am glad that we did not get into them before Christmas while you were still at the market and had access to more! Thanks, they are yummy."

" I decided to make a coffee and sit quietly to finish my very last two GingerBread Houses... and I was wondering if you have any more of these culinary delights squirreled away in your freezer. I think I need a couple dozen more!!! One must not live without your gingerbread cookies!!!"

In just two short months I ended up with "regulars" who by the second week of December started to look worried....what were they supposed to do once Christmas ended?!?!

Anyways, back to how it came about.

As you know I worked at the Grain Elevator this past summer.  Or rather played there on weekends I should say. I really can't think of a more delightful thing I've done. I'm sure there were times in my life that had wonderful moments, I know there were, but there is something about being in an unusual, old building made of wood.....it's kinda a magical place I guess.  Anyways I was often saying "I can't believe I'm being paid to be here".  When it was my turn to "man-the-booth" it was up to me (as per my suggestion) to supply the baked goods to go along with the coffees and espressos etc.  So I tried out a few of our favorite recipes.  Two weeks running I offered Molasses Gems. A molasses ginger cookie with raisins. They are one of the best cookies we've ever had. Of course the sign had to include the fact that they had raisins.

They didn't sell.

Not that my family minded since they finish off any left-overs!

But I had to try one more time....without the raisins.

Yep! That was the trick. They started selling then.  I also started getting asked for the recipe. By now I was thinking......"Hummmmmm, maybe I'm onto something......". 
I decided to keep the recipe to myself until I could figure out what that was exactly.

After yet another request for the recipe (and my denial) my-now-friend suggested, "Never mind, I couldn't make them as good as this! When is your bake day? I'll just buy them from you" I admitted to her I don't usually bake with this much sugar for my family, but that if I ever did go into business I would let her know.  On the way home that day I decided to give some of the left-overs to the East Neighbours. We'd been eating a rather lot of Molasses Gems and it seemed right to share.
They walked over later that day and said something like "BEST Cookies ever! You sure know how to make a cookie! Have you ever considered doing it for a living? Cause you should!!"

Twice in one day. What did this mean?

And so the Cookie Business idea was born. Thanks to the Molasses Gem.

If this was a food blog, I would include a hundred more pictures of this wonderful treat and then add the recipe at the very bottom.

But this is not a food blog.

Meaning you are spared from scrolling through countless pictures of a cookie taken from every conceivable angle! But you also, (pout face), aren't getting the recipe either. I can't be just handing out "for free" what is "bringing in the dough" now can I?!
The Molasses Gems recipe is special to me for another reason, it was given to me by a friend who was like a Gramma to me. Sadly, not long before my cookie business started, Jesus called her home. I've teared up a couple times thinking how she never heard that Molasses Gems, minus the raisins, are a hit in Nova Scotia and have actually provided an income for me........but maybe she does know?

Last month after reading "November's" blog you might be thinking "What does a "Tim Hortons" of Cookies look like? How does one have too many cookies to pick from?"  So, here is a list of what we offered. (Taken from my Facebook page)

14-15 types of Cookies are a lot to pick from or even remember what is available. Here is a list to help you sort it all out....(a * beside the name means it is also available Gluten-free)

Shortbread types -
Classic Shortbread - cutouts with coloured sugar
*Twix (shortbread base with caramel and chocolate layers) 
White Chocolate Cherry- pink cookie drizzled in white chocolate
Russian Tea - Finely ground nuts in shortbread balls rolled in icing sugar
*Peppermint Melt-Aways - an iced, mint shortbread

Chocolate
*Dark Chocolate Candy Cane - Chocolate cookie dipped in white chocolate with candy cane sprinkles
*Chocolate Crinkle - a brownie cookie rolled in icing sugar
*Salted Caramel Coconut Macaroons - dipped in milk chocolate
*Buck Eyes - Peanut butter balls dipped in chocolate

Ginger/ Molasses
*Classic Gingerbread - cut-out shapes nicely decorated
*Molasses Gems - a five star cookie!

Snickerdoodles - vanilla cookie rolled in cinnamon sugar
*Oatmeal Coconut Cookies with jube-jubes
*Egg Nog Cookie - soft, iced cookie with rum flavor, eggnog and freshly ground nutmeg
*Meringues - sometimes coconut, sometimes chocolate :)

So what would you pick out for a dozen? :)

December found two of our family members debut in a Nativity re-enactment on Christmas Eve.  The Youngest had the honored role of Mary and Geoff was a shepherd.  The sweet sheep on center stage were a loan from the local Yarn Shop whose owner was supporting my cookie business. After a practice run The Youngest suggested a couple sheep would be a nice addition. I instantly thought of the darling sheep I had seen there and contacted the Yarn Shop to ask about borrowing them. My request was met with an enthusiastic "For sure!".  It was a wonderful evening, everyone performed their parts well and all the hard work of preparation resulted in a lovely representation of the birth of our Saviour, the Best Gift the World has ever received!

Cold winter weather arrived along with December! Keeping animals watered is challenging as we are finding out. haha. We've made areas for the cat and rabbit as snug as we could with bundles of hay built into forts and walls to block out drafts. They seem to be thriving no matter the drop in temperatures!   Neela was a delight to watch as she discovered snow for the fist time. She LOVES it outside and will find stuff to amuse herself with or just sit there all furry and cute on the step looking out over the yard and farm. We often imagine she is planning how she'll care for this place once she is all growed up and trained to behave off the line.

Sadly the last month of 2017 was also the month it became clear that Geoff's eldest sister, Joan, was nearing the end of her battle against cancer. She had been fighting against that dread disease for seven long years. Geoff's parents came from Newfoundland. Joan's two sons flew from Ontario for a short visit and we tried to get over as often as we could around work and weather. She passed away January 6th at the age of fifty-five. :(   Joan is now Home with her Saviour, healed, happy and pain free. As much as we miss her already we can only be thankful that she is in a better place. When we said our good-byes just days before the end...I asked her to take a message from me to the Lord.  "Tell Him that I can't wait to meet Him too" I said. In a voice cracked and little more than a whisper she said, "I can do that. Jesus is who I am waiting to see".  Then a few minutes later she announced "I am at peace". As it turns out those were pretty much her last words.
What a roller-coaster ride the loss of a loved one is!! Every kind of emotion possible goes through your mind and heart all within a day, an hour or even a short moment. Prayers for Geoff's family, as they navigate a world without a mother, daughter, sister and Grandmother..... are appreciated!! Thank you.

May I leave you with this prayer for the New Year. I wrote it out and gave a copy of it to my in-laws, cause how can one give the standard greeting of "Happy New Year!" when their daughter lays dying. It's from something I read on-line (with a few changes)...and it is my prayer for everyone reading this.

May God make your year a good one!
Not by shielding you from all sorrows and pain,
But by strengthening you to bear it, as it comes;
Not by making your path easy,
But by making you sturdy to travel any path;
Not by taking hardships from you,
But by taking fear from your heart;
Not by making your life always pleasant,
But by showing you when someone needs you most, and by giving you the strength to help them.

Not by granting you unbroken sunshine,
But by keeping your face bright, even in the shadows.
God's love, peace, hope and joy to you and yours for the year ahead. [Anonymous] 

November

November kinda went by in a blur.

A blur of sugar, flour, raisins, cherries, sprinkles, vanilla, cocoa and spices that is!
Oh, and pounds and pounds of butter!!

The cookie business I mentioned the end of October did really well! One Saturday found me lugging 102 dozen cookies to Market!! I stopped counting after a bit, but I made, with the help of my Right-Hand-Gal, thousands of cookies!!

Dark Chocolate Candy Cane

The Molasses Gem - The Cookie that started it all. 

(which may be a blog unto itself sometime!)

Snickerdoodle in front - Russian Tea in back

White Chocolate Cherry

Chocolate Crinkle

Eggnog Cookie

The Classic Shortbread

Twix - Shortbread, Caramel, Chocolate - Brilliant! 

There were 15-16 different types of cookies. Sometimes making it too hard for shoppers to pick which kind they wanted. Basically we were the Tim Hortons of Cookies. You could pick what went in your dozen. For those who "froze" in the process of trying to decide I would suggest an assorted dozen so they could try one of everything. That usually "thawed" them out and they would be seen happily carrying out their special box. :)

We eventually expanded our product line to include Cupcakes, Caramel Popcorn, Magic Bits, Dog Biscuits, Christmas Pudding, Oreo Fudge and 13-14 types of Gluten Free Cookies!

It was such a successful first attempt that I hope to do it again next year. Since I will already have my sign, business cards, leftover boxes and addicted customers it'll be sure to get a move on faster the second time around! 

Also adding to the blur of November was Neela. She came when she was seven weeks old and for her first week here we basically got zero sleep. We were trying to crate train her, but she also had a UTI and it was hard going! With the help of a cranberry supplement and the "forgetting of the crate" (we just gated off the kitchen) she started to feel better and sleep at night. 

Sleep. Is. Wonderful.

She is a bright little gal for which we are so pleased and thankful! By 8-9 weeks old she was doing lots of tricks.  Sit, down, spin, shake, come, drop-it, go-get-it. At 3.5 months she can almost do "roll-over".  Barking (or more like a funny half-snort, gruff throat clearing) when she hears something unknown outside just started a few days ago. It'll be nice to have a real-live warning system in place. :)

She can be full of beans and does what I call "Crazy-Lady" once or twice a day. Tearing through the house pell-mell and you'd-better-try-to-keep-out-of-her-way-running-loops-around-everything kind of crazy. There are no more carpets in sight. She rarely has "accidents" but guaranteed when she did it was on a carpet. :/  She is really very calm the rest of the time, not getting into stuff in the kitchen (I am still lacking bottom cupboard doors) and when she does get restless grabbing a handful of treats and getting her to run through her tricks a few times settles her down.  It's quite easy to see she is a working breed and needs to be kept stimulated and have a purpose. 

Bagheera, the barn cat, is slowly accepting that this dog is here to stay. (The Youngest has done some dog-sitting and the cat was always happier when they went home) It is quite hilarious to watch the older-wiser feline, purposely tease the younger, gullible puppy into a tangled mess with her long line. Bagheera knows how to dart here and there while Neela chases him and before she knows it Neela is left with only a foot or two of line. haha. At which point the cat slows down to a saunter and struts his stuff just out of reach of the dog. 

I said for years that I was not a dog person. I always admire and enjoy other peoples dogs, but the three dogs we had when the children were small and we lived in a little house were always too much for me. So it has come as quite the surprise that I am enjoying having a puppy in my home. (and just generally being OK with messy floors, peed on stuff etc etc etc) One day last week I was watching Neela and thinking....."I can't believe this is my life and I am fine with it". I am fairly certain that it is because my youngest is fifteen (and doing most of the training and entertaining) and we have a large farm house with more space.  Whatever it is, Neela has brought more joy and laughter than I thought possible and I am glad for it. :) 

November the 20th was a life changing day for me.  

I had a job interview and was hired ten minutes into it!! 

Other than working at the Grain Elevator this past summer (which felt more like playing) I haven't worked for pay for many, many years. When I started to think about putting together a resume it seemed like it would look rather ridiculous so I wrote up a letter instead.  Since it's a bit fun to read I thought I would share it with you......after the date, address, "Dear So-n-So" etc......is.....

 You are receiving this letter in lieu of a resume.

It's been over 28 years since I worked at a “real job”. In those years I raised and home schooled four children who all turned out to be decent, contributing citizens. At least I think they did! :)  

But let me tell you about myself so that you may determine if I am someone who would add value to your team......

·        I have great people skills and am gifted with children.

·        I ran a successful day care business for years in Ontario

·        I am a good cook and can manage a kitchen well

·        I have common sense and a sense of humor

·        I learn fast and if I don't understand something I am not afraid to ask questions.

·        I believe in giving 110% in all I do and take pride in a job well done.

·        I am organized and punctual (except in cases of snow or sleet..... ;)

·        I am honest, kind and customer oriented

·        I'm a team player and work well with others (even the difficult ones! ;)

·        I have passed the Food Safety Course and First Aid/CPR

·        and above all I am humble. :) haha.

So writing this blog today is ..... A-brand-spanking-new.....Short Order Cook.

Let it snow! Let it snow! Let it snow!! That's now a wish of mine!  The cafeteria I will be flipping burgers at is located at Ski Wentworth. It's a twenty minute drive and The Man-Son is working his second season at the Rental Shop which hopefully means we'll be able to car-pool sometimes. I am happy for the seasonal aspect of it. I have plans in the works for a spring-summer business (the spa) and the cookie business (Nov-Dec) So having something fill in while the farm sits dormant for winter and the Grain Elevator is closed is ideal!!

Well, there's November's high-lights for ya.  Lots of other little things were tucked in around the big stuff. But we all have stuff both big and little don't we?

It's life.

We just happen to be doing ours out here in Nova Scotia, on a farm, in an old, drafty farmhouse, with a puppy, a barn-cat and a bunny rabbit. :P    It's already border line "Funny Farm" around here but Wingin'-It-Farms will be a "full blown" Funny Farm by Spring most likely. It's then we plan to add Guinea fowl and chickens to the craziness!! :)

So stay tuned.....until then.... see you in January where you'll hear about December.
(which might be kinda boring cause it was mostly about cookies as well!! LOL )

Cheers!

** Credit for the cookie photos goes to The Man-Son and were a big help to the success of my business!! Makes them look kinda edible eh? :)

October

October found us doing a bit of harvesting. We hadn't planted a very big garden this year, mostly because we have a patch of swamp grass that needs dealing with and is right where the garden is supposed to go. To rid oneself of swamp grass (or quack grass as it's called here) you must plow and plow and plow again.It doesn't spread only by seed but by root as well so the roots need multiple breaking up. Of course we don't own the expensive but capable tractor to do such a job but will be hiring our neighbour who does. Hopefully he'll get one plow in before the ground freezes for the winter. It has been a dry fall and clay soil becomes like concrete so we are hoping for some rain to soften the ground first.

With the little bit of planting we did do, here and there, among old flower beds and in one patch Geoff rototillered up, we did pretty good! Almost felt like farmers we did! haha

Tomatoes LOVE clay soil. The patch they were in was too far from the house to do much watering, the hose isn't quite long enough and lugging pails gets old real fast! :)  But that's one of the pro's of clay, it holds water and nutrients well. We ended up with more tomatoes than we could have imagined during what ended up being a very dry summer! And there is no tomato like a home-grown, fresh-from-the-garden-tomato!!

I once read that if you are living on a new bit of land and are unsure of how the sun reaches all the parts of the garden, that you should plant inexpensive, sun-loving petunias all over. The ones that thrive are getting good sun exposure and those which languish poor sun exposure. Equipped with this knowledge you can confidently place more expensive plants in areas best suited for their growing preferences. 

I tried this here but used leeks instead

They grew, but they were the saddest leeks you ever did see. It took all six leeks to make any kind of difference in the chili. So now I know one place that doesn't get enough light to grow sun lovers!

The best thing about growing your own food is seeing the multiplication wonder that God started all those years ago in the Garden of Eden. You put little things in, you get lots out. A small bag of seed potatoes and even in our thick-like-cement-soil and lacking-in-rain-summer, we ended up with lots of yummy potatoes. (here is one place we failed, we didn't weigh the potato harvest) but we have been happily sampling it! Delish!

Basil, thyme and sage plants grew into small trees. Cool.  Perennials took. So we'll have herbal plants we can harvest from in the next few years. Lavender, Peonies, Evening of Primrose, Mugwort, May Apples, Echinacea, Citronella, Lemon Balm and Calendula.

The sunflower patch The Youngest seeded was impressive! Most of them towered so far above me I wasn't sure how we would harvest them! The blue jays notified us to their readiness. :)

We harvested from the abundant patches of Yarrow that we were so pleased to find on the property and made a batch of what is supposed to the best insect-repellent going. Being it's mostly vodka and chopped yarrow, we joke that should we be "pulled over" while wearing our bug-spray we hope the police officer believes us when we tell him why we smell like we do. ;) (Here's hoping we don't have hic-cups at the same time)

Well, writing this has been good for me. All summer I felt like we hadn't accomplished anything in the garden, but looks like we actually did get more done than I thought.

We are pleased to inform you that October was also the month that we started our Worm Farm!!

Yay eh?! :)  Worm What?!

I am not going to give you the low-down here, but here is a link if you are interested in knowing more!  It'll be a way we can produce some of the best-compost-going during the winter while we don't have chickens or pigs to feed our scraps to and have them turn it into fertilizer. :) 

The Whole30 Diet has been a game changer for me. I have decided to make it The WholeLife Diet. I am feeling so much better physically, mentally and emotionally that I have no interest in "going back to my old eating habits". I will not be eating it 100% of the time, but I am already discovering that when I do veer off and eat something from the ta-boo list I pay for it! It's not fun "paying-for-it" so I will do that as infrequently as possible. I highly recommend that anyone looking eat healthier or get a handle on a budding health issue (or even an old, persistent one) look into this lifestyle change.

October was also the month Geoff and I celebrated 28 years of marriage and 27 years of being parents! We thank God for each other and the many, many blessings He has given us over the years!

Here's where I will have to exercise self-control. October found us looking at a litter of puppies and picking one out for ourselves. (that same puppy is laying at my feet as I type this, but that is next months blog, not this one, so you'll have to wait!)  I put out on the Village Facebook page that we were looking for a "Heinz 57" puppy. We wanted to avoid the many health issues that pure-breds seem to be (sadly) endowed with. We also weren't interested in the price-tag often attached to said pure-breds either. What we needed was a mutt. I don't know exactly what I was excepting from my ad? But less than 24hrs later we were looking at a writhing, yipping, fluffy, mass of puppy-cuteness! We had to pick one out right then, the puppies were only three weeks old but they were being spoken for fast, we had to act now or miss out.  Well, that was a bit sudden for my liking but we picked one and returned home to get prepared.  The best part of all this was her breeds, the ones that she is a mix off, are all excellent farm dogs.  Border Collie, Great Pyrenees and Australian Shepard.  Hopefully she'll grow to be a working dog that contributes to the farm. Scaring off deer and other garden destroyers. Guarding the other animals that are here (and the house and her people too). Notifying us about things she can hear that we can't. You know...dog stuff.   I can tell you her name as that was picked out before November.....Neela. (N-eeee-la....like la, la, la singing la)

Sorry but there are no pictures today.  Another thing that happened before the month ended is I discovered I would be starting up a Christmas Cookie Business for the months of November and December. I baked like a crazy-lady last week of October and tried out the Farmers Market. It was a success! Now every day I have a schedule....bake three types of cookies, starting with freezer friendly ones Monday -Wednesday, Gluten-Free on Thursday and delicate non-freezer and finishing touches on Friday. And then Saturday morning...."This Little Piggy goes to Market!"
Needless to say doing that on top of home schooling, eating from-scratch meals and now a puppy I have more than a full time job!!

So although things like blog pictures have to go....I am having that much fun I am glad God supplied the idea, the skills, the start up money and ingredients. This is going to be a busy couple of festive months around here! Thankfully I successfully slayed the "Sugar-Dragon" and although I enjoy the smell of spices and sweetness baking I have no desire to eat the product! The same can't be said for my poor room-mates.  If it wasn't for the "tasters and wasters" that baking produces I might have a mutiny on my hands. :)

Well, the time has come to start the day! This blog began in the wee hours of the morning as the puppy, bless-her-yipping-little-heart, needed some company and I wanted the family to get some sleep. No need of us all being sleep -deprived and grumpy! But now the sun is up and the family is roused and either I will begin to do the laundry (it is Monday after all) or start the days baking.....or...... I may take a nap since the shift change has happened. :)

Happy November blessings to you! 

September

A lot is happening in a short span of time....or in other words it seems like the months are flying by. I think since finding time to blog is challenging I will just focus on writing one a month and sum up the highlights, using pictures when I can :)

So we had a wonderful time at our eldest daughters wedding......we were gone from the farm for 12 days and fit in a lot of miles (we drove) and many (but not enough) visits. It was good to see friends and family again. The wedding was lovely. The weather behaved perfectly and all the details that were planned out in advance came together smoothly. I told the Newly-Weds "They threw a great party!"

Mom and Maid-Of-Honor! 

Isn't the bride B-E-A-U-T-iful!!! 

Couple of good-lookin' young men right there!!

The handsome groom.

Groom's father did a wonderful job officiating. 

Lakeside. Beautiful! 

All seven of us! 

Also joining the farm in September was Wesley. Our first rabbit. Wesley will be the buck that hopefully helps produce lots and lots of  "wittle wabbits" so that we can begin to process some of our own meat from the property. This is a plan that sounds good in theory but has to play out to a successful result. We still need a couple does. Also Wesley is only 13 weeks old and must grow up first. To work around the fact that we will one day be eating cute, little bunnies....The Youngest consoles herself with the thought that the parent rabbits will be her pets (that will never ever land on a plate) and that when "market day" rolls around she will not be available to help.  Come to think of it, I think I am busy that day as well!!  Then we shall see if this cook can make something edible with rabbit meat that will actually get eaten.....stay tuned, or not tuned depending on your tolerance of how cute food should be prior to putting it in the pot. :P  The hope is to be as self-sufficient as possible using our 48 acres. Rabbits will turn grass and veggies into meat. We will use them for a protein source for ourselves and other "meat-eaters" on the property....cat, dog, chickens etc. How primal of us eh?!

He is such a cutie! 

A bit ago I shared that I attempted to get off sugar. I'm sure it adds to health issues I have. (minor ones, but still annoying). I tried unsuccessfully to do so in January. Cutting out sugar cold turkey is TOUGH!  Well, I've tried again and this time it worked, without much agony!  A friend shared with me that she had found The Whole30 plan/diet/lifestyle and it had helped her considerably.  I ordered the books and got set to try.  I'm on Day 21 but the first few days were without the horrible withdrawal symptoms like one would usually expect when cutting out sugar, dairy and grains all at once. I can't say that I have felt huge improvements in the list of aliments I am hoping this will help, but again I am only on day 21. My clothes are fitting better, my energy levels remain more consistent and I am not having to snack all day to keep fueled-up like was my habit for years. I am thinking that once the 30 days are over (and I slowly re-introduce the missing food "groups" back to see if any disagree with me) I will find I feel better without some and will continue to eat Whole30 for much longer. Or like maybe for the rest of my life?
I think it's true that most of us know that the Western diet is the cause of all the illness that is so prevalent in our society but it takes a lot of work and determination to eat differently. I attended two pot-lucks in the last two weeks, while on these restrictions, and I will tell you there wasn't anything there that I could eat! I had brought my own food since I knew that would be the case. But to be "different" in the "food department" means you have to "go against the flooding current" and that it is a very, very difficult undertaking. So between that, the PILES of dishes (cause it's all from scratch) and the time commitment it takes to cook all of your own food (and sauces/dressings) is the reason why more people don't do it.
It's work (and weirdness) to eat healthy.

Those of you on Facebook already know this....but The Teal Kangaroo Day-Care has closed it's doors. There wasn't enough kids to keep it going. I needed four full-time kids to make it worth while and in the three months that we blasted ads, had friends sharing and recommending I only ended up with three VERY part-time children.  Oh well, I gave it a go. Next I turned my energies into selling  the stuff I had gathered and had a toy sale at the Grain Elevator during it's last two Saturdays of the season.  That was fun and I recouped some of my costs.  Turns out I probably would have made more money if I had opened a toy store instead of a day care! There isn't one in the village and all I needed to do was make trips to the towns and cities with thrift stores and mark up the prices.

Well, now that a third of October is well under way.......I hope you all are having a great beginning of Autumn and had a lovely Thanksgiving as well.

We are enjoying the colours that are creeping (or more like BURSTING) over our woods and the view looking across the pastures is really something. When I walk I feel almost like there is a poet inside me just begging to be released.....but when I get back to the house it is usually a dishcloth and not a pen that fills my hand :)
So for now...I will not be publishing any "Poems and Deep Thoughts" by Christine Harris.

See you later, in October. Or if I follow this route you'll hear about our October in November! :)

Blessings and love to you all!

One Year Later

And we are outta here!

It's back to Ontario we go.

Not to worry, it's just for our daughter's wedding.

Kinda funny how that worked out though. We are leaving one year to the day that we arrived in NS. We sure got a lot done in that year! A house that had been sorely neglected and abused is now a lovely family home and even safe enough and pleasant too for a day care. There was more crossed off our list then remains. At least for the first year of our five year plan. But the remaining list is still none too little.

Still to do.....
- remove old brick chimney
- patch roof where chimney was
- dry-wall, mud, sand, paint guest room
- finishing touches to where new chimney was installed
- build new or make existing master bedroom closet, practical
- replace two windows upstairs
- remove water damaged plaster in upstairs hall-way and check for leak (it only became wet once in the whole year, but guess it needs looking at)
- replace six windows on main level
- find/replace screen door on sliding door
- build a deck or stairs (or screened in sun-room?!) off living room/sliding door exit
- finish giving all the lower kitchen cupboards doors.
- build a pantry
- build another set of shelves for permanently placing some electrical kitchen gadgets
- replace mud room and add laundry sink and washing machine
- remove defunct furnace and oil tank from basement
- install sump pump in basement
- work out some kind of air exchange system to prevent mold etc.
- scrape and paint wooden siding and window trim
- replace antique front door

That's all that's left on the "first year" list hahahahaha.....we have nine days to get 'er done Boys!! (as of me writing this on Aug 23) And that list hasn't one build-us-a-farm item on it.

But like I said, it's still a shorter list compared to what we accomplished in the last twelve months.

But I have this feeling I just became the "plumber's wife" you know that poor soul whose husband works so hard on everyone else's plumbing he doesn't have time to fix his own leaky tap? Geoff just started a handy-man business. It was at the neighbours suggestion actually. They kept mentioning that there is little to no reliable men in the area that you can count on to do a decent or even complete job, and as they watched this house transform they knew Geoff had the skills to handle most anything house related.

So I put an ad up on the village Facebook page and in the first two days he had three calls! Two of the jobs are for a fair bit of work! So guess who packs up his lunch box and water cooler every day now?
Let's hope that with more ads, posters in town and word of mouth he'll be kept just busy enough to bring home some dough but still have time and energy to keep getting stuff done around here!

My daycare is slowly growing.  Three families bring their little people one, two, or three days a week. It will have to pick up or it's not really worth doing. On the days I only have one child, (which is more often than not) it's a long 8-9 hour day keeping a little person entertained and only for $25-30. I would make more money in a shorter time at Foodland. :/  I've had a couple more interviews in the last while so we shall see, but I am seeing a pattern emerge and that is not many parents here would need me Monday-Friday full time.

I have also been working at the Grain Elevator. And what a lovely experience that has been!! I started out serving at the Sleepless Goat Cafe (read here to understand the quirky name) where the menu is crepes, assorted baking and specialty coffees (Surprisingly I got the job even though I don't like coffee!!) But as I grew to love the place and since I have the ability to be everywhere at once, people got to know me and other vendors have been hiring me to watch their booths too. It means we are there almost every weekend. It is open Friday - Sunday for the months of May - October.

This is a historic picture of the G.E. popular in the prairie provinces but the only one in the East. It's celebrating it's 60th birthday in October thanks to it's owner who bought it a few years back to prevent it from being torn down. And we are so glad he did!! The inside has been converted to a bunch of shops and it is the loveliest place to work and visit!! 

Today's view :) 

We found out about this place because The Man-Son's Ski Hill Boss, is Manger of the G.E. (she is in a picture, with The Youngest, further down) and she hired him to do some painting to prepare for Spring opening. When he came home from this job he said "Mom, you gotta come check this place out, it's NICE!" When a young man says something is nice you go to check it out!!!  I had to agree.  

Here is a glimpse inside. 

The cafe is behind the black window frame (middle right). Some Saturdays it's been estimated that over 2000 people come though the doors!!

 

The Cafe Sign above and booth below.

It's one of my favorite places! 

If I had of known my picture was being taken I would have showed it by a big smile!! :)

The Youngest has wanted to learn to spin ever since we moved here. Well, she got a job spinning........just not sheep's wool....Cotton Candy! And she spins like a boss too! 

Just give her $3 and she'll make you a pink or blue cloud of sugar on a stick!!

Once she moved out of the "training" corner and was set up by the big entrance doors, crowds will gather and watch mesmerized as she spins magical fluff! As her mom I think the magic is in the little girl who grew up wanting to farm but can still handle crowds watching her work with grace and nerves-of-steel. She also makes crepes for the Cafe and having people watch you "flip their crepe" is another test of your endurance. ;) 

And here is a prayer request.....

See this cute little spot?

This wee store front, located in the G.E. could be my space come May!!! 

 I'm thinking of running a little spa type place where I will offer Aromatouch Technique, hand and foot wax treatments and natural products for home and body and much more!! Please pray for God's leading and blessing. The plans are well under way, wax has already arrived, business cards are ordered and an artistic friend is working on my sign. We just don't know if this will be my spot or if another corner of the building will get set aside for it. We haven't had a chance to see if my massage table will fit yet. After several days of mulling over names, I finally settled on something simple.....

The Little Spa Shop

Short and practical enough but still reveals what I offer. Spa services. Plus I think it's cute too. It'll match the little spot I'll be set up in! 

Well, this is done up a few days before posting. The last week and a half were filled with day care, work, visitors and packing for our trip. But I couldn't let our first year anniversary go by without a blog to commemorate.

Thanks for your interest, following the blog, encouraging comments, love and prayers. We may be far from most who read these words-of-mine, but we feel all the good wishes and it keeps us going!!

Here's to our second year ahead! May as many, or more, tasks get crossed off the to-do list during the next 12 months than the last!!

Someone please second that toast!! :)