Home Again, Home Again

Seasons Greetings Farmgirl Friends,

Merry Christmas! Happy Holidays! Joyous Festivus!

Winter has finally come and stuck around. The exciting tease of flurries and chill that begins to poke around in October has given way to snow that accumulates, temperatures that remain below freezing, and the shortening of days. As I write this, we are two days shy of the winter solstice and our number of daylight hours hovers around five and a half. The sun rises after ten a.m. and sets well before four p.m. It is winter. It is time to eat, love, create and enjoy.

We have been treated with beautiful hoar frost several times this December.

We have been treated with beautiful hoar frost several times this December.

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  1. Patsy Baker says:

    I always look forward to your post. So entertaining.
    From a Texas ranch Farmgirl ,
    Patsy
    Dirtduchess

  2. Denise Ross says:

    Merry Christmas Alex and family. Glad to read you’re all well again and what a gift from Mary Jane. Have a wonderful Christmas

  3. Joan says:

    Ohhhh’s Ahhhh’s OhNo’s but all in all it was a great post! I hope y’all stay well and have a very Merry Christmas!!! God bless.

    • Alexandra Wilson says:

      Haha, because of all of the meat? yeah, I know a lot of your are vegetarians, and I VERY much appreciate that, as I used to be one myself. If I do eat meat I want it to be the of the most responsible kind :). Merry Christmas to you, too!

  4. marge hofknecht says:

    My husband and I lean toward a more vegetarian lifestyle but I found your post interesting in that you are working on making a dream (of being a butcher) come true. I’m sure your friends were extremely grateful for your help and others probably will be so as you grow and learn. Your post encourages me to pursue a dream I have: I becoming more familiar with herbs and their properties and uses. To me, herbs are fascinating. Ancient people relied on their herbal knowledge to get on in life whether for health or for spicing up their foods. God gave the herb for mankind to use and that’s another reason to pursue a study on herbs. Thank you for sharing how timely the emergency food came to you when you and your family needed it most. Your family’s guardian angels appeared to have been whispering in Mary Jane’s ear! Have a blessed Merry Christmas and a memorable winter. Each season has its secrets and I enjoy discovering them as the year cycles around.

    • Alexandra Wilson says:

      Thanks for the comment, Marge! Herbs and incredibly fascinating–I’m so glad I got to help pique that interest in you. Have you ever heard of Aviva Romm? She is my favorite herbalist. She is also a Yale trained MD–an interesting combo. I highly recommend her books, blogs and podcasts if you haven’t heard of her. Merry Christmas to you and yours, too!

  5. Amanda says:

    Merry Christmas to you and your family!! It does take some careful thinking when it comes to butchering. We raise and butcher our own beef and pork and venison- this year our oldest daughter is raising the beef (named Chuck). Our youngest daughter would rather eat broccoli soup! We butcher in February and I make sure I label the holiday meats- ham for Easter, pork roasts for pork and sauerkraut for New Years. We’ve been dealing with some colds, too, and always at the worst possible time! It is amazing how our daughter can manage to not cough or sneeze during her gymnastics routines at a meet- not sure if a sneeze would be a deduction or not! Isn’t it also amazing how something from MaryJane shows up at your door when it’s most needed? It happens to me a lot and I’m still not sure how she knows!!! Many blessings in the new year!

    • Alexandra Wilson says:

      There must be an informant out there somewhere! haha. I love hearing these stories of others raising their own meat animals. I like the name Chuck, it reminds me of a pig I knew named Frank. With all of the indoor time with lots of people (many who have been traveling) and cool temps, I expect colds…I wonder if the adrenaline of competing puts your daughter’s symptoms at bay? It sounds like your feeding your little gymnast well! Can’t wait until my kids are old enough to compete! Happy New Year to you and yours, too!

  6. Karen Pennebaker says:

    I couldn’t kill a chicken but I have helped butcher deer, rabbits, etc. My sons and my late husband hunted and did the “deed” – I help after that! So far this year, my sons haven’t gone deer hunting and I wish they would! Canned venison is the best “fast food” I can think of!! 3 days of deer season after Christmas, so there is still hope!! Merry Christmas!!

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