I am sitting in my living room, writing this by the light of the fire, feeling quite snug and pleased with myself. I like to be snowed in on occasion and today seems like an especially good day to be able to stay put. My kids are sleeping, the pantry is well stocked and I have a pile of books that Santa, blesses his jolly little soul, brought me for Christmas. I also have dozens of comments to go through and respond to. All in all, a good way to spend a day.
The first book on my list is Joel Salatin’s The Sheer Ecstasy Of Being A Lunatic Farmer. I LOVE this book! It makes me want to go out and buy a cow or two. He makes such a compelling case for the addition of livestock to a homestead. I also have the Resilient Gardner waiting for me and The Homebrewer’s Garden. So many books, so little time.
In addition to the books, Ben and Maggie have arrived. They had a nightmare of a trip with a two-day delay in a Chicago train station. Maggie lost the stone out of her engagement ring and picked up a nasty cold. But they have the ability to turn such things into funny stories and all of it pales in the pleasure of having them home. We are enjoying our time together. There is a lot of good conversation and music, board games and old movies.
Maggie has promised to show me how to post pictures to my blog. I have long wanted to do that. I really want to post a picture of the gift she received from her aunt. It’s an emergency preparededness notebook that is about the coolest and most organized system I have ever come across. She designed it herself and I plan to ask her if I can order one myself.
I hope all of you had a blessed holiday season. I will have some wonderful recipes to share and some guest post coming up. My best to you all.
Kathy
December 27, 2010 at 8:28 am
I love it! We are, of course, most definetely snow in too. 24″ up here so far. I promised myself that the first “snowed in day” I would get out the seed catalog and corral the family into sharing ideas. Yay!
So sorry about Maggies engagement ring! Please share more about that note book he aunt made. Stay snug!
December 27, 2010 at 8:59 am
I like your blog even without photos. It will be even better when we can “see” what you talk about. Can you describe the EP notebook? I might want to buy one too. Where it can be bought? It might be a good companion to your book on my shelf.
December 27, 2010 at 10:12 am
All the best to you and yours, Kathy. I’m so glad to have all you good blogging folk in my life.
December 27, 2010 at 10:28 am
Kathy – so glad your kids have arrived with their sense of humor in tact. Too bad about the delay in Chicago and the loss of the stone tho. We have been hearing about the storms on the east coast. In Minnesota we have snow piles at the end of our block that are literally eight feet high deposited by the snow plows. These have accumulated over the past few weeks. More is exptected over the New Years Holiday. Curling up and reading some good books sounds good after our hectic holiday activites. It feels so good to be prepared for the winter weather. Your guidance has helped your readers prepare for emergencies in whatever form they arrive. Looking forward to hearing more about the emergency prep notebook.
December 27, 2010 at 11:30 am
Oooh! The notebook sounds wonderful … can’t wait to see it!
December 27, 2010 at 11:46 am
THANK YOU FOR YOUR BOOK ! We meet at the Mother Earth New Convention in PA. Since then I’ve read your book and just bought it for my sister-in-law for Christmas and intend to give more of your books to other family members. I haven’t completed all the tasks in the book but I’m on to a good start and I continue to hear your advise in the back of my head daily. This morning on the way to work in downtown Cleveland, OH I topped off my 1/2 full car “Just in Case”. I could have gone a few more days but something told me to stop and fill up today. I wish I could think of a better way to store fuel than in 5 gal tanks. It’s said how much we depend on fuel. My next goal is to be less dependant on it and find a job closer to home. Keep on spreading the good word, you are making a difference and some of us do hear what you are saying.
December 27, 2010 at 12:04 pm
Enjoy your books and the fire. I had to commute to the hospital in Boston early this am. Thought about all I needed in case I got stuck or had to walk. I am very interested in the emergency notebook. I enjoyed my warm fire last night while the snow was blowing outside.
December 27, 2010 at 1:25 pm
Very interested in the emergency notebook as well.
December 27, 2010 at 5:09 pm
I was glad to see you posted today and are enjoying your family time-snug and warm! I am also enjoying my fireplace-albeit by DVD:)down here in Ft Lauderdale-hey it was 39 degrees this morning:) Please do give us details if you are able about the terrific sounding book. Blessings to you and yours!
December 27, 2010 at 8:26 pm
Sounds like we all want to know about this notebook.
It’s a gorgeously warm -3C (27F) here tonight. When I take the garbage out later, I doubt I’ll even put on a jacket.
December 28, 2010 at 7:36 am
Glad to hear your family is safe and snug. Hope the kids in Florida are managing. I too am interested in the notebook. Best wishes for a happy, healthy, sustainable New Year!
December 28, 2010 at 1:18 pm
Sounds like Maggie’s aunt has a potential mail order business! I’d love to buy one from her, too.
Hope you and your family have a happy, safe and prosperous New Year, Kathy!
December 31, 2010 at 8:57 pm
For only the second time this year, we got snow in Colorado… and winter is here with a vengence. The high today was 11 degrees and it’s supposed to be negative 14 tonight. Brrr…living in an RV sucks sometimes, lol, but at least I have food and propane and heavy warm clothes – and the cat is enjoying the 0 degree sleeping bag, lol! I made fried pies for breakfast… yum (roll out biscuit mix as thin as you can, slice into strips 4″ by 8″ or so, adn fill half with pie filling. Fold over, pinch the edges with a fork and fry in oil or butter (oil smokes less) in a cast iron pan. Smother with vanilla ice cream or whipped cream. When it’s cold out, it’s a good hot breakfast. YUM