Ahhhh, I love the weekends!

     Its been yet another long week, nothing huge happened, just life. But life CAN get exhausting, especially towards Friday! I have started one of my New Years resolutions early this year, and that is to get up every weekday morning and make tea and breakfast for my husband before he heads off to another day of work. He had made some hints, after a rare morning where I did get up and fix him breakfast, about how much easier the day was, and how much more cheerful it had made him. So I reluctantly eagerly agreed to get up every morning, from now on,,,, if it makes his day that much better! Though I did stipulate that he needed to remain cheerful, so that I would know that getting up while its still dark and cold and making him a hot meal with my eyes half closed is still making a difference, otherwise I might be tempted to just stay in the nice warm bed! (Have I mentioned I tend to be a wee bit selfish and lazy,,,,,, I try to overcome those personality traits, but lets face it, selfishness is nearly incurable!)
     So, its Saturday, YAY! And, the hubs has Monday of, YAY AGAIN! It is cold, and dreary, and doing that rainy/icy/slushy/snowy thing outside that is particularly dangerous to drive in, so we are going to just stay home today, in front of the fire, with a few candles lit and the kettle on,,,, ahhhhh!
     I will be working on these,

     I am making about a zillion of them, to be made into afghans and given as gifts this Christmas (yes, Christmas 2012, crafters need to start VERY early, and I slacked this last year, because once again I waited until November to start working on gifts, and so ran out out time, again,,,,) I have had a particular request by my niece, so I thought I better get cracking ASAP. Also, it will greatly reduce the two totes of all the odds and ends of yarn that I have, and if I ever want to convince the hubs to buy me more, I need to get RID of some of it! So, I just was handed a fresh cu of tea by my love, so I am going to sip it, and maybe watch some classic Dr Who's while granny squaring the day away, you have a wonderful weekend!
                                            ~God Bless!~

Christmas Preperations

   Hello my friends, I know, I know, I am a terrible blogger! I have been absent so much these last few months, but I HAVE been reading your blogs:) We are busy here, just like everyone else at this time of year. Today I have a couple of little Christmas pudding that I made in teacups, steaming away in my crock pot. I am working on a couple of gifts, knitting a pair of slippers for my younger sister, and a couple of rice "socks" for my father who has a lot of aches and pains that need soothing.

     Our kitties enjoyed helping us decorate our tree, as usual :) They are good girls as far as kitties go though, they have never broken an ornament, or tried climbing the tree. They do, however, have a taste for the tree "tea" that can be found in the tree stand, hehehe.
     This Christmas I have decided to make a gingerbread castle,,,, I have only ever made a gingerbread house once before, and it is a LOT of work, but oh so much fun. I was a little over ambitious though, and made the four sides a little large, and have nothing suitable for a base! Lucky my Poot is coming to the rescue, and bringing home some cardboard from work tonight. Hopefully construction will officially begin tomorrow! I'll try and post pictures when it is done, we plan on eating it Christmas day.
     We have managed to budget a little spending money for gifts this year, and both have gotten the other our main "want" plus a few little extra gifts. We actually ended up with a little extra money, and instead of getting more extra gifts we decided to get something we have wanted for over a year,

     a little electric woodstove. Now our fireplace is actually a fireplace, and it makes the living room so much more cozy. I absolutely LOVE it! We also got a lovely soft set of flannel sheets, which will be used for the first time on Christmas Eve,,,, ahhh, talk about pampered! 

     Well, I had better get back to work, I hope you have a lovely, relaxing Christmas!

Changes on the Horizon

     Well, a lot of things have been happening lately, and I have just not had the motivation of energy to blog about them. The bread business, while still small, has been enough to keep me busy two or three weeks. The holidays season is upon us, and with it the "famine" season of our finances. We are used to less money in the winter months though, so this isn't so bad. It doesn't help that virtually EVERYTHING from toilet paper to eggs is more expensive than last year, but hey, we are all getting used to that too, aren't we?
     A big change that may ore may not be around the corner in the coming months is a move,,,, cross country,,,, to a FREE home. There are a few catches. One of which is I don't want to move cross country!!! *insert whining and foot stamping here!* That's a con, a PRO is,,, did I mention the house is FREE? It was my husbands grandmothers house (or big mommas house, if you come from down there) and is in a tiny town in the big state of Texas. A con is, it is just about 2,000 miles from everyone and everything I know. *sniffle* A pro is, in that home we can FINALLY start our dream of self sufficiency. A con is,,,,, I am a pine tree,,,, we northerners don't so so well in 100+ heat, even with air conditioning! A pro would be that My husband would get to live very close to his father, and see him anytime he wants. A con would be,,,, MY WHOLE family would be 2,000 miles away!!!
     So, as you can see, up to my usual standard, I am having a hard time making up my mind! I am trying to leave the decision to my husband, but I'm not doing so well with that. I just don't know. Its just so intimidating! In the next few months we will be seriously talking this thing trough, beating it down with a stick until we make a final decision. If the move does happen, I will be blogging a WHOLE lot more, as it will be a way for me to share my day to day life with my family, and also to make more *virtual* friends, something I will need while trying to make real life friends in a new home. We'll see what happens,,,

Wednesday,,,,,

     Well, its a dull grey day today, isn't it? Brrrrr, with the temps outside barely reaching into the 50's, and a slow drippy rain falling, its the kind of day made for curling up on the sofa with mug after mug of tea and a warm homemade blanket. If only! There's a sink of dirty dishes that's giving me dirty looks from the kitchen, and a fuzzy carpet with little black fur balls all over it, thanks to my littlest kitty. So, chores to be done before quality time with the old couch!
     It is my favorite time of year really, I prefer a chill in the air to sweat dripping in my eyes. I am glad the year is turning, and I am really looking forward to thanksgiving and Christmas that are rolling our way. I really hope to finish the afghan four our bed soon, so I can start on a few Christmas gifts,,, though I really have no idea what I'll be making this year.
     So, I guess I should get started on the dishes, and think about what to make for dinner, stay warm!

So sorry I've been neglecting my blog!

     I hope you have been well, and enjoying this lovely fall weather! Its been busy here, in the Evans castle, with the start of my new bread baking business. It's taking off, and more orders and customers are coming in every week, I am quite surprised! My wonderful friends and family have been sharing with thier friends and family, so the word is spreading. Its all super exciting, I have never been an ambitious person, but now I am finding myself scheming and dreaming of someday having my own bake shop, and my husband being able to quit his job, so that we can work together,,,,, ahhhh, someday!
     Also, I have been quite busy lately, I seem to have caught a bug,,,,, the baby bug! I have been pursuing adoption websites, and have fallen in love with Reece's Rainbow, and all of the beautiful little ones that can be seen there,,, we dream of someday adopting an orphan (or two) from eastern Europe, children with Downs syndrome who would otherwise be at a risk of ending up spending thier lives in a crib, with little attention and perhaps no love,,,,, it breaks my heart, no baby should have that fate! This plan is in limbo though, until God provides a path, right now there are a few mountains in the way. Luckily, our God is bigger than any mountain:)
     Also, after a two or three year break, Mr Evans and I have decided to start "trying" again. This time we are armed with a fertility monitor (very neat!) and a thermometer, both of which I got to borrow off of my best(est) friend, as she is now expecting her 1st baby! So, be saying prayers for us, we would LOVE more than anything, to become parents. We tried quite hard a few years ago, then gave up, but now, with fresh info on nutrition and God's help, we hope that we will soon have some good news to spread.
     Now I had better be off, time to clean the kitchen up, ready for tomorrows 3am baking! Goodnight!

Going into Business!

     Here's what I got up at four am to do this morning,,,

     When I was watching the Goober, I kinda got used to having a little of my own money. Well, she is now in daycare, and I have been missing the "dough" (pun intended:) My neighbor asked me to make him some bread, and my husband said,,,, yet again,,,,,, "why don't you go into business and sell your bread?" And instead of once again brushing the idea off, I thought,,,, hmmmm,,,, why don't I? I mean, I have been baking most of our bread for years, and I have gotten really quite good at it. And, we can't be the only people who are dissatisfied with the "bread" they pawn off in supermarkets, I mean that stuff is hardly even food! So on a whim, I made a face book group and added some of my relatives and closest friends who I thought would be interested in homemade bread. The group descriptions says,

" I have a feeling, in these times of "reconnecting" with our food, that more people wish they had the time to make something as simple as bread. After all, that fluffy, chemically laden stuff on the supermarket shelves is hardly even food. Even the whole grain kinds have ingredients your grandma and great grandma would never have even heard of, let alone put in thier bread! I have been making all of our bread for years now, and (not to toot my own horn) have gotten pretty good at it! I can make a delicious loaf of bread, just like grandma's, from only 5 ingredients! Nothing fancy, just real, honest, and simple bread. The kind you would make for your family if you had time! So why not let me do it for you! 1st loaf is free, and after that $2.50 a loaf and free weekly delivery! This is less than you would pay for a CHEEP loaf of bread from the store! Give it a try, you wont be sorry!"

     Within the first 24 hours TEN loaves had been ordered by five of the ten people in the group! I am actually really excited! I hope I can get orders for about 50 loaves a week, that will be a doable number, and give the some $ for Christmas!
     So, since I have been up since before sunrise filling the first two orders, I think I am going to go take a nap! Pleasant weekend everyone!

Another busy monday

    My feet are a little achy, but I got so much don't today! I cleaned up the bedroom, washed and put away two loads of laundry, swapped the summer clothes for the fall/winter clothes, changed the sheets and made the bed, vacuumed the bedroom and living room carpets, cleaned the bathroom, did dishes, and now I am relaxing while the four loaves of whole wheat bread are baking in the oven! Tomorrow, all I have to do is sweep the kitchen floor and mop, then I will have the rest of the day to do as I please. I have a few crafty projects that need working on, and its so much nicer to work on them in a clean home!
     My hubby will be late getting back tonight. He is taking a hunters safety course at a local school so that this year he can get his license and bring home the venison! I'm really glad he is getting into this, I was raised in a hunting family, and though I don't hunt myself I LOVE wild game of all sorts. We hunt for food, not trophy's, so if your only experience of hunting is something you might have seen on TV, then you are probably misinformed as to the REAL reason a lot of people partake of this traditional sport. There is nothing in the world that can bring you quite as close to you food as providing it yourself!
     Anyway, I am sitting down now, crocheting granny squares and watching some Midsomer Murders:) I love me my british mysteries!!! I hope you all are enjoying this beautiful start to our week!
     ~God Bless