Tootsie Travels.

 We brought Tootsie with us.  What a marvelous traveler. 

Thanksgiving!

 We left before the sunrise to make a quick trip to my dad's cabin for Thanksgiving.  A solid day's travel it takes us.  We definitely made memories. 

Gifted myself some noise canceling headphones. I could definitely use them. 

Changing Seasons

 Oddly enjoy, October in Maine I'm still in the garden.  Did some work in the orchard, still planting and transplanting. Garlic is finally in.

Still eating a few things directly from the garden (parsley below) and going through my homegrown stores.

I'm back to fiddling with my sour dough (home grown herb crackers). 

More soaking lately. Garbanzo beans for roasting, bulgur for tabbouleh, alfalfa for sprouts.

The early sunsets brings us in for sewing and board games.  Went through my mending pile tonight and made a half dozen new reusable paper towels. It's been about a dozen years now of upcycling flannel sheets into reusable paper towels. I make a few new ones every year.  I really enjoy this time of year when the darkness brings us all in sooner for both gathering and indoor homesteading tasks.  

Homeschool Co-op Wrap Up

 Ironically, although I'm the one who does all the work for our homeschool co-op, there are no pictures of me with my kids, only my husband.  He did frequently get to come to our weekly co-op this year, so that was a bonus.  

Fall Semester Classes: 
Adrian, Grade 8:  STEM, Public Speaking, Home Repairs
Audra, Grade 6: Book club, Modern Art, Survivor Skills
Anna-Kate, Grade 1:  Book club, Gym, STEAM
Mom: I did book club for 1st/2nd and 5th/6th, taught Entomology to the highschoolers and led the community service club. 

We're on break until the New Year.  Thankful for our Homeschooling pals. 

Away

 So thankful to have had the chance for a weekend away with some marvelous friends. We laughed a lot, which was good for my soul. 

Fall musings

 The Maine fall has been quite mild. This is the latest I have dug my gladiolas and dahlias. I haven't even planted my garlic.  We just pulled our 3 season porch screens out and put in the walls and windows.  I still have quite a list of random things to do outside before winter. There are still a few things in the garden to eat and I am still working daily to put up food for winter (pears have been my focus the last two weeks).  Our fires inside have been few and our outside after dark enjoyment has been more than usual.   The wind was coming from the North last night and the temperature shift was striking.  I welcome the colder and darker months, they are a fine reprieve from my days filled with garden and food preservation work.  Board games, fireside books, sewing projects and snuggly animals coming right up, and I'm delighted.  I love the change of seasons and I'm *almost* winter ready.

 

More Kittens!

 We were fortunate to have these cute little kitties for almost a week. Garfield and Frito.

And now there's a new little kitty we're fostering: Gyps. 

  We still have Tootsie. 

And we still have our forever kitty Zippy.  So many cats!