Dearest Readers,
Our gentle life here on our little homestead is full to over-flowing! We have begun and finished so many tasks and yet the list of "to do's" is still quite long....
We have finished the construction of our passive solar greenhouse and now I can begin to paint and organize the inside. I have until the end of March to have everything in order so that we may start our seedlings in anticipation of planting in the garden. I am always in a rush to set about gardening out-of-doors and I have been fooled many times by a late Spring storm.....not this year, I vow to wait until late May!
We ordered and just received a Solar Oven and I cannot wait to try my hand cooking with the sunshine. Alas, today we have clouds and snow, so I will have to be patient for a few days longer. Dearest and I are hoping to incorporate more solar power here on our little homestead this year and use the money saved on our electric & gas bill to deepen our food pantry.
I have spent quite a bit of time rearranging my canned goods and canning equipment. I took all my lovely canned produce and put it down in the cellar. While I just adore looking at sparking jars of the summer's bounty every time I step into my pantry, it was really not a suitable environment for long-term food storage...just too much sunlight and far too warm, especially on the top shelf. Of course, I now will need more shelving down in the cellar to hold my ever expanding food pantry, so I have added it to our list.
My sewing/craft room was also rearranged, as I was able to incorporate a base kitchen cabinet. It has a built-in glass cutting board and it will serve as a wonderful work station for my more messy projects. We had been saving it for quite some time, as it had been displaced from the kitchen when I added my lovely old stove. I love to re-purpose and re-use!
A wee bit of sewing, baking and cleaning round out my days.....all, in all a very gentle life indeed.
Yours kindredly,
Shan
