Starting to feel prepared

This morning, in the light rain, I hauled fifty 40lb bags of pellets from my backyard into my basement. And not a moment too soon! Within an hour, it was downpouring. 

Just knowing that they're down there, stacked in a big pile, makes me feel better about winter coming.

I also cleaned and started my stove this morning, since the house dropped to a very damp 60 degrees last night. I added an extra blanket, but I was wishing I had cleaned it sooner. It was so nice to have that heat cranking through the house this morning!

Now I just need to start setting aside money for oil. Ugh!

Note To Self...

Check the weather forecast before ordering pellets to be delivered...you know, in case we're due for three days of rain.

Finally...

After 9 months of being a total slacker and not getting my act together to just sit down and take care of my finances, I finally did it! I came down with the flu this past weekend and took advantage of not having the energy to get up and do things around the house, so I made myself start balancing my checkbook. This was no small feat since its been backburnered by the procrastination bug since January! But it's done. And while I don't want to know what I've wasted my hard earned pay on over the past near year (there were a lot...A LOT...of iTune and Amazon purchases), I can run a report to tally it all up individually (I think I'll pass).

I even got the budget set up so I know what I've got for bills, when they are due, what comes out automatically and how much is left over at the end of the paycheck.

I wish I'd kept up with this back when my last job ended and this one began. But hindsight being what it is, we live and we learn! I'm just happy that its done, I'm back on track and I'm ahead on some of my bills!

New Favorite Tea Mug

I really love this mug that I got at the Common Ground Fair from Cabin Pottery (she's out of Pemaquid)!

I may have to get a couple more, lest I wear this one out from repeated use (been washing it every time I think I want tea!).

Strange how such a small thing can brighten the day.

The Common Ground Fair

The weather forecast called for sunny and 72 on Saturday. It was neither, but that didn't stop my friend and I from enjoying ourselves! 

We (and about 3,000 others) decided to be there when the gates opened. It was the largest CGF I've ever been to. The resurging interest in farming and homesteading brought out the masses. It was a sea of young hippies, old hippies, farmers, food producers, artists, craftspeople and urbanites from away!

We pet sheep and goats and angora bunnies; ate wood fired pizza and chocolate cheesecake pie cones; stood in awe of the talented artists and oohed over the crafts. I bought a pottery mug with a crow from
Cabin Pottery (new favorite tea mug!).
I also picked up Sweet Annie to hang in my house and a bundle of French Lavender.

I garnered so many ideas from the fair: things to make, things to give as gifts, things to decorate my house with. I wish I had paid more attention to the schedule and sat in on some classes.

Despite the thousands and thousands of people, I really enjoyed myself and can't wait to go next year. Maybe I'll even volunteer!

Heading to Common Ground

<p>The <a href="http://www.mofga.org/theFair">Common Ground Fair</a> in Unity, Maine started yesterday. And while I thought I was going to have to miss it, again, my weekend plans changed and I will be Unity bound in two hours! </p>
<p>This will be my first time going for a couple of years. I've missed it! Though with the resurgence in farming and homesteading, its going to be packed! Hence getting&nbsp; there early, as the gates open.</p>
<p>I joined MOFGA this year, but haven't had a chance to take advantage of my membership, just because I've been doing things around the house and the cost of classes hasn't been in the budget. </p>
<p>But today will be about amazing day. The trees have just started changing, the scent of Autumn is in the air and its supposed to be in the low 70's! I can't wait!</p>

With cold mornings comes the thought of homemade bread

I really like this bread recipe that my mother recently gave me. It's versatile, doesn't require much work and its forgiving (for those of us who tend toward slapdash bread making!).

Starter mix:
1 cup flour (I used all wheat for this) 1/4 tsp yeast
1 cup warm water

In a big mixing bowl add flour, yeast and then water. Stir it up w/ a fork until all the flour is mixed well (nothing left on the sides of the bowl). Cover with plastic and leave on the counter for 8-10 hrs (or overnight). This becomes the preferment.

After you've let your preferment set, you will need:
Approx 5 cups flour (I used half organic wheat and half bread flour)
2 tsp salt
1 tsp yeast (using organic, I added a little extra because it's not rapid rise)
10-12 oz warm water

To the preferment, add the flour (save a handful or 2), salt and yeast, then the water as you hand knead (make sure your hands are clean). Once it's formed a sticky ball, add that handful of flour as you keep kneading, to make the dough soft and not sticky.

Cover the bowl back up with your plastic, then wrap the whole bowl in a blanket and set it in the sun or a warm room to rise for 90 mins (or until the dough has doubled).

Once the dough has risen, punch it down, knead it a little and separate into 2 loaves, then set into 2 greased loaf pans. Preheat your oven to 450 degrees and place your loaf pans on the stove, covered with a clean dishtowel. Let rise until doubled  (should be ready by the time your oven has preheated.

Once they've doubled, this is when you would add other ingredients, like olives, nuts, cheese or herbs. I layered asiago cheese slices atop one loaf and left the other plain. Spritz the top lightly with water (unless you have cheese on top) and bake on 450 degrees for 25 mins. Check them. If the top is a crisp, golden brown, they're done! If not, give them 5 mins and check again. Do this until they are done (and not too dark on top).

I think this will be my go-to bread recipe from now on. While the asiago was awesome, the plain old wheat rocked, too!

Enjoy!!

Sometimes I think I took the wrong road

When I was a freshman in high school, there were two paths that I excelled at: art and writing. My high school put a strong emphasis on sports, of which I did not partake. I was a theater geek, in a school with very little arts funding.

Because of required classes and my boneheaded guidance councilor who said that he couldn't support me taking art electives over classes that would get me into college, I followed the writing path, only to once again allow myself to be mislead by a "well meaning" professor who said that creative writing courses would hinder my ability  to properly write term papers for my other classes.

Looking back, I feel like I missed out on what really made me happy, career-wise, because I allowed someone else to make my decisions for me. I've followed a path that, while introducing me to some great friends and teaching me so very much, has led me to work where I'm bored, living paycheck to paycheck and having no way to fund going back to school to make a change.

In a meeting today, that I covered for one of my bosses, I heard about a fabulous educational center that puts such an emphasis on arts, that I was both excited for those kids and jealous! Why didn't my school put more of an emphasis on arts education? Oh right, because it was a public school in a sports town. But the teachers in this educational center just loved their jobs, you could see it!  Educating pre-K and kindergarten students, with the plan to expand into higher grades, brought great joy to their faces. It got me thinking how incredibly rewarding it must be to be an educator like that, in  early learning for a private school that has a Montessori background.

I'm still not sure where my personal road is leading, but just seeing in these teachers that finding happiness in your chosen career field is possible gives me great hope that I can find that, too.

Getting There

While not everything on the list was accomplished this weekend, I feel as though I did quite a bit; much of which  has been just sitting there waiting to be done.

The two biggest, or rather most important, on the list were not done; balancing the checkbook and revamping the budget. While I cleaned the basement and rearranged the living room, I chastised myself for not sitting down and doing those two very important things. But I knew that in their overwhelming nature, they would consume an entire day (did I mention that I'm really slacking on the balancing of the checkbook?). I had to decide that these would be saved for a day when I would not be distracted by all the "other" things that needed to be done.

Despite this, my three day weekend was full. I managed a night at the Windsor Fair, in the rain, and still enjoyed myself. I cleaned the house with more energy than I realized I had and I spent a day at the Lake with my family, where I was able to start the binding on a quilt that has been near completion for three years or more. I have 1 1/2 sides to go and it will be finished!

I also managed to get zucchini, squash and celery from Mum's garden blanched (well not the celery) vacu-sealed and frozen; I made pulled pork and cornbread from cornmeal grown and milled in Maine. Tonight I will be putting together a chicken soup with ingredients from my garden (and my mother's), so I can freeze it for this winter.

I wish I had another day or two, for yardwork and to take a day to paint, because I've been itching to paint and I just haven't taken the time.

It'll come. I just need to manage my time better and realize that, no matter what, the dishes will still be there and the floor doesn't have to be vacuumed right away.