more change

Tuesday, we had a new fireplace insert put in. We had had the old one for 27 years- it was working at 30% efficiency, and as a result, I was throwing wood in it every 1/2 hour in the cold months. They say this new one will have 70% efficiency. We'll see. I am still "breaking it in"- I have to make 6 separate fires and let them go out each time to "cure" the paint. Hmmmm....sure is a lot of rigamarole every time we get something new. What happened to ,"put it in your house and use it" .......anyway. It cost a bundle, but I think it will make us more comfortable and less hassled.

We are now ready for winter- wood in, gutters cleaned, yard winterized, etc....reminds me of that scripture from Doctrine and Covenants- "if ye are prepared, ye shall not fear..." Yep, except I am always looking at my food storage and thinking- "I could use a little more of this-".

Anyway-

Hope your winter preparations are underway. It's nice to be warm, fed and secure!

old is new again

Here is a picture of Madison, (Jared and Ashley's 20 mos. old) riding on my horse!!!I had this horse when I was her age- it's held up well, except for a few places where the paint has worn off!

She loves it- rides hard and fast, and calls it her "see-see".

Fun times!

hmmmmmm

For all of you who are "farmers" or those who have green thumbs- I envy your talent!!

Stu and I have decided we have "brown" thumbs. The only things that grow well in our yard are the "hardy" or "difficult to kill" variety of plants.

Here is an illustration. I do have to admit the carrots are weird because I didn't thin them when I should have, BUT our carrots look like this, and the pears on our tree are about 4 inches long, look like this and are virtually inedible.

Hmmmmmmm...guess we'll stick to gladiolas, irises, the forest plants that grow naturally here, and maybe roses, if I'm diligent!!!!