Happy New Year!

It's time for a new look for this blog, and so I have changed things a little.  It's always nice to have something new to look at.  The start of the new year is a time for new beginnings.  I never make any resolutions, though.  For one thing, I know I will never stick with 'resolutions'.  Instead, I try to think about what new things I would like to do during the coming year.  This year Harold and I hope to finally finish the walls in our bedroom.   We built our house in 2005, and moved into it in May of 2006, and the walls are still not finished!   It's the last room of the house we haven't done.  About 3 years ago I bought some wallpaper for it, and that's as far as things went.   It's always been a matter of time and money (mostly money) as to finishing projects.   But enough is enough!  Time to get the bedroom done! We will move into the guest room while we work on our room. 
     We are also thinking of new things we would like to try in the garden and greenhouse.  Since Harold plowed up the pasture last fall, we now have lots more room to plant.   We hope to put some apple trees in there, and some chokecherry, highbush cranberry,  and Nanking cherry bushes.  Also we will plant all the spreading crops like pumpkins and watermelons and cantaloupes.   I asked hubby how we plan to keep the deer out, and he says an electric fence.  Well, it will have to be a solar fence since the pasture is quite far from the house and power pole.
     I am also picking up the challenge put forth by our church pastor of reading the Bible through from cover to cover in one year.   From Genesis to Revelation in one year.  I have read the Bible through before, several years ago, but in recent years I have only read parts of it on a daily basis.  Well, I'll read it every day according to the schedule given.   Pastor says at the end of the year those who have taken the challenge will receive a nice new leather-bound Bible with our name engraved on it, the last Sunday of this year.  Sounds good to me - I do like rewards!
     Harold and I also want to build a new chicken house and get some new little chicks.  I miss the fresh eggs we used to get every morning.  Our chickens got too old to lay eggs and we gave them away to someone to butcher.  We needed a new chicken setup anyway. 
     And I hope to continue my weight loss regimen.   I fell back a little during the holidays, but I am still hoping to achieve my goal of losing 30 lbs.  This will surely be easier to do in nice weather when I'm busy with yard and garden work!  Meanwhile I will use the winter time to rest, catch up on reading, plan my gardens, try some new recipes, and work a lot of crossword puzzles.   The winter scenery is so pretty right now, too.  Actually every season is beautiful, but winter seems to be especially serene and peaceful.
     There isn't much going on today, but I did take a photo of some of my cats sunning themselves this morning after their morning meal.   I took this photo through the kitchen window - that's about the only way I can get them to "pose".  Otherwise if I go out the door, they are at my feet in an instant.  They follow me everywhere - to the mailbox, down the road for a walk, to and from the car when I haul in bags of groceries, etc.   In a few months when Harold and I go to the woods to tap trees for maple syrup, they will be following us from tree to tree.

About half of the farm cat crew sunning themselves this morning.  That's Popeye sitting in the food dish.  He is the runt of the litter and never misses a meal.

People often ask me why I write up a blog.  I guess it's because I enjoy writing, I enjoy taking pictures -  (of everything else, though - not me!), and I hope that my articles will inspire folks to try gardening and canning and sewing and old-timey skills.  Some people have said to us that they think living in the country is kind of lazy and laid back.  Nothing could be further from the truth!   Everyone I know around here is always swamped with work and there just aren't enough hours in the day.   Self sufficiency makes for a lot of work.  But we do enjoy it.  Writing about my simple daily living is how I like to share my life with others.  One of my favorite authors is Gladys Taber.  She wrote many chronicles of her life in rural Massachusetts and the seasonal happenings and observations at her home called Stillmeadow.  If you would like some good clean reading check out her books at the library.   She has long since passed away, but her books are quite interesting for many future generations to enjoy.
     I hope that everyone has a truly great 2016!  It will be a new adventure in life for all of us.  What does The Lord have in store for us??