Fill it With Love

This is a satsuma and to me it is a cross between an orange and a tangerine.  It is harvest time for our little tree. It did not make as many this year but we are going to harvest the ones that it did make.

There are two clusters like this on the tree.  I hope it will have better start next spring.  This past spring it would set blooms then a cold spell would come and some of the blooms would die.  We are in a zone that we can grow satsumas but a bit precarious with a cold snap.

Even though it is still warm here, winter is near so we have pulled out all the snuggies.  Warm beds, blankets and throws.  Katherine likes this puffy bed.

Elizabeth likes to sit in my chair when I am not in it...

And this is Bernadette's favorite place looking out her lookout window so she can let us know if anyone walks by.

I have a grain grinder so I ground some popcorn to make some cornbread to see how that would do.  We have trouble getting cornmeal that is not milled or or packaged on shared equipment and we have folks with food allergies in our family so I am always looking how to make something with less ingredients. 

We are not having family or guests right now but I still like to figure out ways to simplify food. 

It did very well and actually we like it better.

The batter looked the same...

And the cornbread cooked up real well.  

Grain mills are expensive and have really gone up in price since we bought ours years ago.  I tried to find one like ours this year just to see the cost now but I could not find one like ours.  We also have a hand cranked grinder because we do grind wheat berries and now that i know I can grind popcorn I will do this.

This cornbread would make very good southern dressing for thanksgiving or just a cake of cornbread to go with fresh cooked greens.

I was thinking the other day how different our kitchen would look if we were living long ago.  We have so many choices of food today and so many gadgets that it seems to be more difficult for me so my goal is to get back to long ago cooking and just stick with that. 

I have already gotten rid of many modern kitchen items such as microwave, dishwasher, some of the small appliances and such. 

I could get the guinness world book record this year for the most number of home furniture moves in one year. I should write a suggestion list of how to survive a pandemic shut down without losing your mind but I cannot because I have failed. Charles and I do not dare to get up at night to go to the bathroom without a flashlight or lamp on due to the worry of tripping over a piece of furniture.

I am getting more exercise because every time I go to get something out of something I go to the place it last was first.  

I am getting back from my pity party now.  We are allowed one a few times of year if we choose. 

I am able to focus a little better, not completely but my mind does not seem so full for now.  I am drinking more water and eating more fruits.

It seems that I have lost my organizational skills for sewing masks.  I cannot believe that I need to make more masks again but I do since the virus is getting worse and Charles masks need to be changed out more often. Also he needs new masks to have more fabric designs to choose from. 

I have even cut up some clothing to use for making masks.  I am thankful that I can sew.

I do not remember if I ever showed a picture of how we set up an area under our carport in case someone did stop by.  This with masks on we feel would be okay for us for a short visit. 

Charles and I have gone back to reading in the evenings.  We had gotten to where we could not concentrate to read and even aborted our living like the past for a little while and watched some dvd's on our tiny television that we kept for news and weather. 

But that did not feel right and we were not sleeping as well and going to bed later so we have gone back to reading again.  

I have decided that this virus is not going to cancel our history projects and all that we have achieved in living more like the past. There is so much going on in our country that it is a stressful time but there is nothing that Charles and I can do to change anything and if we continue to be stressed it could affect our health. So we just get back on the right road and start over going in the right direction.

So for Thanksgiving we are going to bake a nice size chicken, have mashed potatoes and peas some cranberry sauce because it is Thanksgiving and I will make a dessert.

We may play dominoes or one of our board games and we are going to enjoy the day and give thanks for all that we have.  

I made up several quarts of broth yesterday so I will be able to make soups and dressing if we want some.  I plan to can a few pints of broth this afternoon. Broth is so easy to make and homemade broth tastes so good.

I remember when I was a child how much we looked forward to Thanksgiving. We always had the same thing and that was the best part, the tradition that we had. 

If you do not have a tradition then just start one.  Do not make it complicated, just fill it with love and it will be good.

Grandma Donna