Living the Pantry Lifestyle - Getting Ready For Winter

I can almost see my neighbor's barn.  Can you?

The trees are shedding all their leaves and we need the extra quilt most nights.  That beautiful Autumn season will soon be behind us and I find the pressure of getting my world winterized with each day that passes.  I can't imagine what it is like for those of you who live on farms and homesteads!

I'm still getting tired easier than usual and this is the season when my sinuses complain about weather changes.  But considering how ill I have been previously, there are no complaints!  Just those twinges of frustration when my To Do list is longer than the energy level it can draw from.  ;)

The garden will be given attention later this week but there is a lot of work going on elsewhere.  If one were to walk into my backyard the past few days, they would have been startled to find what appears to be a rope and noose flung over the lowest branches of the black walnut tree.  Instead it is the garden hose in its' pre-shed draining mode.  A certain sign of the end of a season.

The twice-a-year changing of the well filters is now behind us.  That is always a weight off our shoulders, every May and October.  Hubby gets the worst of the job but those of us who assistant (that being me) also find it unnerving and challenging.  Someday we would like to get the well system changed and pipes moved, which would make this incredibly easier.  But if it takes $600 to get rid of bacteria, imagine the cost of that work!

The Farmer's Market is winding down so my budget included buying jars of raw honey from the Mennonite family at the Market.  For years now, I have purchased raw honey directly from bee keepers. If I run out, I can get raw local honey from the health food store but it obviously costs more with the middle man.  I don't buy grocery store honey.  Ever.  It's just not the same in taste or nutrition.

I no longer can stock a year's worth of honey as I once did but (thanks to a friend), I was able to purchase enough pints to get me through winter.  One jar will be used "medicinally" and the remaining jars are all destined for loaves of honey whole wheat bread.

I was asked if we had a freezer.  We bought a medium size chest style freezer a few years ago when I was still able to work part-time.  They are not expensive and we love having the extra freezer space.  It is the kind you don't have to defrost very often. 

Actually, it has never been defrosted but it needs it now.  I only have had it about 1/4th the way full through the summer so some frost has developed.  This is a good time of year to work in the garage when it is not too hot or too cold.  Yet.

I cleaned the refrigerator over the summer... one day when I had a burst of energy and was annoyed at how it looked.  But it needs a good touch up now, including going through and seeing if anything needs tossed.  One good thing about having a smaller-than-I-would-prefer frig is that it is harder for things to get lost in it.

I have a sturdy drop leaf coffee table by the door that goes out to the garage.  It was purchased at a garage sale quite a long time ago.  During the summer it often holds garden supplies and objects going out to the garage.  But come this time of year, it holds the baskets and such that I keep onions and various sizes of potatoes in (never onions and potatoes in the same baskets).  Next to a stack of books.  For there are always stacks of books.

Someday in the not too far distant future, the window on getting seasonal work accomplished will be shut and there will be plenty of time for working on indoor crafts and projects.  While I'm not certain the thought of biting cold winds are attractive, staying inside with hot tea and a book and a candle and other creative endeavors sounds like a good goal to keep in mind.