Ramblings & Thoughts

Greetings! What a blessing we have been enjoying. Night before last, we had a wonderful night long of thunderstorms. After having excessive heat the rain and cooler temps are a welcome blessing.

I had to buy more canning lids again. I think that I will buy the flat lids in bulk next time. Buying the lids by the small 12-count boxes at the grocery store just gets too pricey at the volume I go through each year. Not that I am complaining about all the canning. I love doing it. I just don't enjoy the frustration of running out of lids just as things are needing to be canned.

I am hoping the weather cools off some more soon. I want to plant more beans, winter squash, and root crops for late autumn harvest. Right now with the temps as hot as it has been lately, the tender little plants would easily be burned up. I just have to be patient a bit longer I guess.

I have been thinking on our non-electric lifestyle alot lately. It seems hard to remember a time when we lived any other way, although it hasn't been THAT long ago that we used electricity for everything. Life is calmer now and has a slower pace that I enjoy. Of course there are always those times when something happens that sets a faster pace, but only for a short time.

The quieter, slower lifestyle has blessed us in many ways. We read alot more, spend time together doing things as a family, and we actually have time to have quiet time with the Lord in prayer and Bible study. Right now, life is busier as we prepare for winter. Soon however, the pace will become slower as winter arrives and brings with it the cold weather. In winter, there is more time for the activities like quilting and other tasks that are not able to be finished when there is more pressing tasks to do in the warmer days.

I have had to awaken as early as 2am to be able to do the heavier tasks (such as laundry & cleaning) in the cool hours of the very early morning. I am considering continuing to do so in the winter months. It will not only give me a chance to get the work done uninterrupted, but also I will be able to better maintain the wood stoves to keep the house warm overnight. The only downside to doing this is that by 7:30pm I am feeling like I am becoming a pumpkin and needing to get some sleep. I go to bed shortly after the little ones....not such a bad thing!