October Days

This is sunset on Lake Mille Lacs near Isle, facing Father Hennepin State Park.

This has been serenity for me and QH, the love of my life, the last few weeks. We drive an hour to get there, and an hour to get back home, but the last few weeks it has been worth it. The weather has been phenomenal, even though the fishing hasn't, but when you can see bald eagles diving for fish, loons diving and surfacing and a sunset like this that pictures don't do justice, it's worth the work and the miles to be there.

I'm sad this season and this month have gone by so fast. Fall seemed to be here suddenly and going just as fast. But I feel like I've enjoyed more of it this year than I did last year. And while I didn't do as much canning this year, I know I've accomplished a lot in the last couple of months, much more than I believed I could or expected I could.

With winter coming, I know things have to be done to prepare. The windows need to be covered in plastic. I need to find the boots, the winter coats and gloves. The winter car kits needs to be re-assembled and put in the vehicles, not to mention the cars themselves need to be attended to: oil changes, tire rotations, and checking of the antifreeze levels.

Outside, the tomatoes are gone. The flowers are dying more with each passing frost. The hummingbird feeders are now clean and drying and waiting for spring.

I know most people think the fall season is depressing, but I find it rejuvenating. Halloween is coming and there is something special about the bare, dark arms of the trees stretching into the night sky, with a full moon, as if they were hands reaching up to hold it there in the sky. The brown and dry corn fields, the scarecrows, the pumpkins, the rustle of leaves as you walk through them. The smell of wood burning in a bonfire outside, and the call of ducks and geese as they gather and fly overhead.

I think of all the things I accomplished this year, and all the things I still want to accomplish. I went to the Grand Opening of the new bookstore in town called the Reading Frenzy Bookshop, and I was like a kid at Christmas. A place for me to buy books, donate the books I have read, and soon, to have my own book sitting on that shelf for sale. I saw myself in there at my own book signing, and dreamed last night of holding a writing class there. All things I have yet to accomplish in the physical world, but still alive in my imagination. It may take a month or two to make it happen, but I will accomplish my writing dreams. 

October is a time for me to check my yearly "To-Do" List and see if I am where I want to be.

I love this time of year, and love the sights and sounds of all the October Days.

Cherish them while you can.

Cooler Weather, Fall Cleaning and Chicken Feet

Fall is my favorite time of year, always has been, always will be. I used to look forward to shopping for school supplies, new clothes, and new shoes and the changing colors of the leaves on the trees. The weather here is considerably cooler than it was 2 or 3 weeks ago and I am welcoming it with open arms. Soon I will be cooking and canning and preparing what I can for the winter to come. There is a sense of accomplishment, love and pride when you look at all those jars, big and small sealed and full of something spicy or sweet.

The funny thing is, when I was younger, I hated helping my mother with canning. Now, I think it's the greatest thing!

The last couple of weeks have been really out of control and I've done what I can to cope. I can't control what's happening around me to the ones I love or what will happen later on down the road for them, but I can control my own environment. Fall Cleaning Bug has hit me hard, not just at home, but at work as well. Out with the clutter, and the stuff that is just collecting dust and taking up space. I'm beginning to feel a lot better, better than I have in a really long time.

I keep asking, "Why the hell did I hang on this? What the hell was I thinking?" The answer is simple. I wasn't thinking. I was impulsively buying stuff I didn't need or stuffing crap in boxes or tubs or containers and stuffing them under my bed or my closets. I still feel a bit guilty for throwing things away, but most of the stuff I have I know I can take to Goodwill or the Salvation Army and it can be put to good use by someone else. I just have to stop and live with the empty spaces. No matter how uncomfortable it feels at first. I know I can't let things clutter up like I have in the past. It's not healthy to hang on to things you don't use or love anymore. I have to learn to let go. It's hard, because I've lost so much in my life, and using the stuff to fill the voids was comforting for a while, but now, it's annoying me, and I realize it's rather sad. I don't want to live like this anymore.

And I really don't want to end up on the next episode of "Hoarders."

It was during my lastest cleaning binge this weekend that I had one of the most humorous moments in the last month. It was Sunday, and the weather was beautiful, so I had the windows and the doors wide open. I'm on my hands and knees scrubbing my bathroom floor, and I got up to shake out my rugs and sweep and mop the kitchen and the entryway. I came into the kitchen and saw a spot of red behind my kitchen chair. I looked under the table. Guess what I saw?

CHICKEN FEET! 

My neighbor has chickens and they have been spotted roaming around the road and the driveway. I don't really know they are around, but that morning, the rooster made his presence known under my open bedroom window. After a few "choice words" I heard the window shut and I went back to sleep. And now, here I am looking at Mr. Rooster's feet under my kitchen table!

Alex was sitting in front of the computer with his headphones on, watching a movie, so he was oblivious to what was going on. I got his attention, and asked him to help me get the chicken out of the house.

We tried to shoo the rooster out of the doors, but he ended up going behind my couch, then under the end table. Finally, he found his way out behind the recliner. All the while I'm trying to whistle, coo, click and wondering, "What the hell do you say to a chicken to get their attention?" I'm a country girl at heart, but I've never had any experience with farm fowl, so I was improvising the best I could.

He finally exited and I shut both the doors.

It's too bad I didn't have the camera going. It would have been hilarious on YouTube!

I hope you all have a good week!

I'm Channeling Martha Stewart Again

On Friday, I made 2 loaves of Amish Friendship Bread from a starter given to me by QH's sister. I have 4 starters in gallon size zip bags fermenting on top of my cupboard. I plan to give some of the starters away, and keep a few to make more bread. I hope to send some to my handsome son who is in the Navy and stationed in Virginia who is also homesick.

Yesterday, I stood in the kitchen running vegetables through my food processor and hunting for my jar rings and jar lids I haven't laid my eyes on for over 2 years now. I did zero (0) canning last year and I am paying the price for it this year. No salsa, no canned tomatoes, no jelly or apple butter in the store room. Not good. I have to replenish my stash so we can eat well this winter. I took the Romas and Jalepenos from my garden, mixed them with red onion, green peppers, garlic, and some seasonings and ended up with 9 quarts and a pint of homemade salsa. Next on the list is canned tomatoes and anything else I think we can use and eat this winter.

Today, QH and I spent the afternoon picking crabapples from the tree out in front of his folks place. The apples nearest to the ground were ruby red and ready and we picked almost two 5 gallon buckets full. Those will be just the beginning. The tree is loaded this year to the point the branches are hanging low to the ground. Those highest up will be ready this week, so we will be pickin' and a grinnin' next weekend.

The juice from those apples make the prettiest jelly. It has a nice pinkish-amber hue to it and it tastes like honey. We are looking for blackberry juice to mix with it. His Mom mixed them half-and-half one year and the jelly that resulted was heavenly. We plan to make a few different flavors, and of course, we are trying the slow cooker apple butter recipe.

Martha Stewart is channeling through me again. There was a change in the weather. It cooled down and I feel that little tickle I get when fall is close to coming. I've seen some changing of the leaves (most of it is due to lack of rain this year), but I've seen it and it's usually that sign that brings my favorite season into my experience.

Geese are gathering, the flowers are starting to fade, and I can actually smell, yes, smell, the season coming (or are those cheese curds from the Minnesota State Fair?). No matter. It's the time to prepare and lay in stocks of food and fuel and other provisions for the coming winter. I'm going to enjoy the season as much as I can, and if you see me smiling, know it's because I feel such a sense of accomplishment.

Nothing makes you feel more accomplished than a storeroom full of canned goods you made yourself. It's also a sign that we are not as bad off as we think. If you have a stash, then you have a sense of security, and in these economic times, I'll take any sense of security I can!

It does involve work. Standing in a hot, steamy kitchen with pots boiling and peelings clogging my sink is not exactly fun, but when you see what you get as a result of that hard work, it's completely worth it. Not only that, there is not doubt about what is in those jars. You put the ingredients in and mix them up and seal them up, so if the jar doesn't seal, you don't eat it. No national recalls, and the ingredients are for the most part, organic.

And for that most of all, it's completely worth all the peeling, sweating, boiling, steaming and cooking. When you hear that "pop" when your jars seal, it brings a sense of pride to my heart. I feel it totally validates what I do. And it tastes like summer in the coldest part of winter.

Websites Are Up

Yes, the websites are up, finally!

You can check them out here:

http://www.crawfordwriting.com/ the website for Crawford Writing & Marketing,

http://www.lauramcrawford.com/ my personal website,

http://www.recessionrescuesite.com/ for Recession Rescue, my project to help you save money, save time, and save your sanity in this economic chaos.

And...

http://www.legalizedextortionsite.com/ for Legalized Extortion, my project to expose how the government extorts money from the people they are supposed to serve by changing the laws to suit them, not us.

The picture at the top is a beautiful butterfly that visited me yesterday. My garden is growing by leaps and bounds and soon canning season will begin. I wanted to get things up and running so I can concentrate on that when the time comes and let everything else kind of run on autopilot.

Now, to get the books done, and get some things up to make some money from this. One step at a time. :)