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!