The Whole Mama

Life is sweet.

In the mornings when Amie is at preschool I rewrite my book. It’s rather good, if I may say so myself, at least, I like it… In the afternoons Amie and I play, read and make art. We do our chores: filling the buckets with rain water, tending to the garden, canning, general cleanup, laundry and the like, and cooking dinner. Next week my pottery class is back in session, and this time around I plan to be a little more focused, maybe even on making some things that I could sell.

The Whole Mama is satisfied.

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Let’s just say that everything is peachy. At yesterday’s Farmers Market I bought half a bushel (24 lbs.) of peaches, on sale ($25). They were almost ripe, so I can process each batch that ripens, day by day. Today I made peach salsa, tomorrow I’ll make peach butter, the day after peach preserves, then peach jelly. I think there will be enough for peaches in syrup and some more of that peach salsa, it smelled so good.

I also bought a couple of large jute bags that coffee beans come in – a local coffee roaster donated them to the local food pantry. I might make something out of those, maybe also for selling later on. I am keen on  exploring the local, handmade, added-value market, and earning a little extra.

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As for the garden, yesterday I harvested and fried up two Applegreen eggplants, with some oil, pepper and salt. They were just sumptuous, so much better than the tasteless mush from the supermarket. Each of my two large eggplants will have given me only 3 fruits, though. The six plants that I put in slightly later but that are much smaller have only just started fruiting, and I don’t think those will make it before the first frost. It just hasn’t been a season for warm-weather vegetables. I’ve got only two tiny green peppers…

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At the moment I’m cooking this recipe with homegrown carrots, tomatoes (the last), onion (tiny, but very sharp), celery (thin stalks, but also very tasty), parsley, basil, oregano, and thyme. I added some homegrown kale and spinach as well. The house would smell even better if I were also baking some bread…

All that heat from cooking is welcome now. It’s getting nippy. I’m wearing socks, a sweater and a scarf. This evening DH and I will put our first log into the new wood stove. Neither of us has ever tended a fire, whether in a stove, a fireplace, or a fire pit. Time to experiment, before it really gets cold. I’m liking the prospect of winter…

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