Melissa asks what's for supper tonight. There is so much to pick from, I don't really know at the moment. We got a phone call last week from someone in NY who was getting rid of his freezer and all of its contents. I haven't had time to sort through all that we got, but there is beef, rabbit, and chicken which the man raised and butchered himself. We could have a feast and invite the entire church and still not have to grocery shop for a couple of weeks.

This week we are going to clean out all the pantry cupboards, take inventory of all the food we have, and make out a month's menu. I've got to get things cleaned out before the this year's produce starts coming in from garden, orchard, and barnyard.

We are wrapping up the school year quite nicely; we basically have just math and history to finish up. I like to do school in the months between harvest and planting so that I am not juggling school and garden. This year we started in October and will be finished by the end of May.

My clothesline broke last week, so Tom has that to fix today. I still want to get a fence up for the chickens, but for now they are in a portable coop which we move to fresh grass every other day or so. The man we got the meat from gave Tom a weasel trap, but we haven't seen any more signs of unwanted critters around in a few weeks. I also want to set up some compost bins along the north side of the garden so I can get all the rabbit and chicken bedding ready to put on the garden this fall. Right now it's all in a very messy looking heap.

Our friend Jillian feels like she is in limbo at the moment. She has three years to wait before she gets married, and wants to use the time as wisely as possible. She wants to go to "school" here, at my house, to learn gardening, canning, and any other homestead chores I might have. I will be having her out through the summer, and when baby is born I am going to let her take over the house for a week. She has been asking me how soon I plan to start gardening, and seems almost as anxious as I am to get at it.

Jillian's beloved is from NY, and as they will be living in the states, she plans to start applying for US citizenship soon. There isn't a whole lot she can do at home right now, and she does not want to hang out with her teenage friends too much, so she will be going here and there, wherever she is needed, to clean, garden, bake, care for children, etc. She does not want pay for this; she says she just wants the experience. We have paid her anyway, since she doesn't have very many ways of earning money.

We are back to a more spring-like weather pattern this week; it was 33 this morning, and really cloudy. The warm spell we had last week pushed everything out and up, though. The trees are greening, the grass needs mowed at the church, the daffodils are blooming, and nobody wants to do anything inside anymore. I have garlic coming up around my rosebushes; the roses need pruned.

I let everybody sleep in this morning, but now I need to get off the computer and get them all moving. We need to get breakfast, do math, and start spring-cleaning.

Have a great day everybody! I have enjoyed the extra time to catch up on this forum; now I may be off another week or so.

-- Cathy N. (eastern Ontario) (homekeeper86@sympatico.ca), April 22, 2002

Answers

Cathy, I really enjoy your posts and the good example you set! Hugs, Jenn :)

-- Jenn (none@none.com), April 22, 2002.