Independence Days 2

It's definitely Fall here. The trees are beautiful, we've had plenty of frosty mornings. All the tender plants have died. But today, it was a lovely day. It was sunny and mid 60's. A distinct change from the 40s and 50s we've been having. And BOY, OH, BOY, the boxelder and ladybugs were out in force. We must have vacuumed hundreds out of the kitchen window. But fortunately, while they seem to be hanging on the exterior walls and doors, that appears to be the only window they're getting into in force. But it's like running the gauntlet to get into or out of the house. I took advantage of the combination of a slow day at work and the beautiful weather today. I took an hour and a half of vacation time and managed to get some outside work done.

But it's Monday, and that means that it's time for my Independence Days Challenge report.

1. Plant something- Garlic, mint -transplanted from the old house- my other one died :( And we also planted a bunch of flower bulbs. 50 tulips, 9 daffodils and a dozen or so crocus. We were here early enough this spring to realize that there were NO flowers planted here other than hostas, a few neglected iris and the naked lady bulbs. That had to change. I also transplanted some yellow coneflowers from the old house, some siberian iris and planted a few more iris here.

2. Harvest something- nope. The freeze got everything.

3. Preserve something- Dried a few more hot peppers, canned spiced apples.

4. Waste not- The usual recycling, composting, reusing and repurposing that goes on around here. The children are going through the closets to come up with costumes for Halloween. We have such an assortment of oddments and costume bits that it's usually fun to put them together in new ways each year.

5. Want not- Made the annual fall fun to Stringtown for oatmeal, whole wheat flour, craisins and some dried beans. Purchased a bushel of apples that went into the fridge for eating apples. The ones from my parents will be canned or dried since they're not keeping. Lets see, V and I made a trip to Target to get a few plastic storage totes. We haven't seen any mice in the house since we did the big repair on the wall (knock on wood) but I'm still wanting to put some things into more secure storage than boxes.

6. Community food systems- shopped at Stringtown, the local Amish bulk store, purchased local apples. Purchased cheese from the dairy in Kalona. I made sure to get the stuff they make themselves and not the multitude of imported selections that they have- oh, and of course, I got some cheese curds.

7. Eat the food- This evening, as I was making dinner, I had this wonderful feeling as I wandered around the house, collecting food. The beef roast in the oven was from the freezer (J15 gave up on vegetarian month after 15 days) and I added in home grown potatoes and onions and some carrots. It smells fabulous and J15 is just now home from orchestra and we're ready to eat.