Here Comes the Cold!

    It's the weekend before our first big chill of the season! By Halloween we should be down to almost freezing temps. Ready or not, here comes the cold! I spent most of Saturday bringing in patio plants and finding them a new home in the house. I moved seedlings still in their trays into my unheated greenhouse. Other plants that are in the ground are going to have to fend for themselves. 

    I then harvested all of the vegetables I could out of the garden. I brought in lots of yellow squash, juicy cantaloupe, and green okra ready to eat. I piled it on the kitchen counter. I still had vegetables in the garden, but they aren't ready to eat. Hopefully, I can pick them before the freeze, or they will have to fend for themselves. 

   On Sunday the rain started, slow at first and then with bouts of downpours. I spent most of the day indoors preserving Saturday's harvest while my husband fished and brought firewood into the house. I preserved the yellow squash by freezing squash for making pies. And of course, that got me into craving a squash pie. So I made one! I made the pie crust from scratch. It was delicious!!

Squash Pie

    All the work in the kitchen made the house warm and cozy from the smells of baking pie in the oven, the smell of basil tea brewing in the kettle, and squash being boiled on the stove top. Oftentimes, doing such domestic chores does my heart good and makes me feel contented and happy. Oh how I wish you could experience it too!

    On a cold rainy day, what could you do to bring happiness and contentment to yourself or others? What about reading a good book snuggled on the sofa with hot tea or writing in a journal making plans to start some seeds indoor next to a sunny window? 

    Also on cold rainy days, it is a great time to walk through your homestead house or apartment and think of ways to make your living situation better. Have you thought about adding a woodstove in your homestead to cut down on heating cost and add another way to cook indoors during times of no electricity? Have you thought about stocking up on can goods when they are on sale? Or what about buying a heating pad and using it at night under the blankets, so you don't have to heat the whole house while you are sleeping? Little frugalities add up. They will save you money and they will make you feel more confident in self and family sufficiency.

In the chill of winter, a well-prepared homestead is your warmest sanctuary.