Old Lang Syne

Should old acquaintance be forgot,
and never brought to mind ?
Should old acquaintance be forgot,
and old lang syne ?

CHORUS:

For auld lang syne, my dear, for auld lang syne, we'll take a cup of kindness yet, for auld lang syne.

There was much about 2011 that was awful.  My Mom and Dad's death.  The death of three Aunties, one Uncle, a Neighbor, a Co-worker.  But Death is always there.

There was much about 2011 that was great - my family's trip to Japan, my garden, my work, my chickens and my Brother, Scott, and his wife, Shannon and my lovely extended family.

Here is to a great 2012!  Christ's Blessings to  each of us!

Church Singings in the South

One of my earliest memories is attending the "singings" on Friday or Saturday nights at my Granny Brown's church.  We had to bathe in the kitchen with a pan of water filled by using the water hand pump.  Granny didn't have an inside bathroom yet or running water.  My unmarried Aunties would be giggly about who might be there at the church that night.  Granny would shush all of us and get us moving in one direction out the door.  We would pile into whatever car or truck worked at the moment and drive the short distance to their church.  If the electricity died, as it sometimes did back in those days, someone would pull their old truck around to the front doors and shine the truck lights into the sanctuary so the show could go on.  There was always a "love" offering.  I could never figure out exactly what that was.  Refreshing water was at the back of the church and we all sipped from a communal dipper.  Here is one old time song  that I've enjoyed recently that brought this memory out to share with you:  The Cox Family - I am Weary, Let Me Rest .

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

In the light of Christ, I wish you everything good to eat and wonderful family news in the coming year!  May your gardens grow tall and give you much produce to enjoy, may you learn more about self-sufficiency and making do or reusing.  May you have less trash going to the land fills and give more money and goods to those who don't have.  Many blessings to each of you this holiday.  Peace in Christ!

North Alabama Farm Girl has made her cranberry relish and is looking forward to sweet potato casserole, fresh green beans, a turkey tenderloin and rice for her Christmas Eve dinner.

Longest Night of the Year Celebration

Last night was the longest night of the year.  This means that the nights will gradually get shorter and the days longer until we in Alabama experience our first spring like days in late February.  Yep, I know it sucks for you Northern folks in February still but our winter is a micro winter and thankfully short and sweet.  Yesterday it was hovering around 60 degrees and I was able to finally get the bonfire (a.k.a. yard trash) ignited and we roasted hotdogs over the hot coals and made s'mores with our flaming marshmallows!  Very nice night indeed.

It was made even better by having the day off even though I ran around like crazy trying to do all my piled up errands at once.  I did finally get my grow light so my bonsai (present from Mike) gets sufficient daily light.  A plus is that my Meyer lemon will also get to use the light and I should have some fruit this year.

My collard greens are chomped to the root by the deer.  With the warm balmy days though they may continue to grow and if I can keep the deer away, I'll have some more greens to enjoy through winter.

I stood outside tending to the bonfire when my neighbor, Don Browning, and his great grandson, Jack, stopped by for a chat.  Don loves bringing his greats over to see the chickens.  They are still talking about the fresh eggs I gave the little girl great last year.  I promised Jack I would grow him some popcorn this year.  He is a first grader and thought popcorn had to come from China and that it couldn't grow in a garden.  Nothing I enjoy more than having kids get to know what a farm can do for them.

I love Mike!

My hubby is the most practical and loving man.  He is so very special that I dedicate this post to him!  Thank you go putting up with me and my family for 32 years.  I love you!  Big hug and kiss, you are the most wonderful person in the world!

Deer invasion

My neighbor who recently died had a passion for all God's creatures (her description) and that included feeding the local deer.   We have experienced a population explosion due to the deer getting fed about 150 pounds of corn each week.   Due to my neighbor's death, the deer are now hungry since I refuse to feed the local wild critters.  However, my poor collard greens have been eaten leaving me little fresh produce for the table.  The two messes of collard greens I did get before my neighbor's death were out of the world good.  I always remain hopeful though.  I might get some fresh deer meat soon and that would be awesome too.

Rest in Peace, Mom, and thank you for everything!

My Step-Mom raised me from the time I was five years old.  Like any Mother-Daughter relationship we had our ups and downs.  She did things wrong as I did.  I had a smart mouth and she was quick to punish any sign of it.  She believed in corporal punishment and I was beaten regularly between the ages of five and thirteen.  I hated her for that.  Then at thirteen I discovered how to keep my mouth shut and she started to teach me to cook.  She was a superb German-style cook while I lean toward Italian-style cooking.  I so appreciate the skills she taught me.  I didn't realize until recently that I was a prep chef long before the popular cooking shows featured it.  Together we cooked for a large and extended family.  We were poor monetarily but my Dad hunted and fished and had a large garden every year.  "Mom" made fresh baked rolls that would melt in your mouth.  We never lacked for food because we grew it ourselves or Dad caught it.  One year she taught me how to can and another year taught me how to make jellies and jams.  Summertime at our house was very active preparing for the next winter.    She never learned to make decent saurkraut; it was her only failing.  Spoiled kraut is bad, very very bad in the house.  She also failed to can the fresh sausage correctly one year and it spoiled.  The smell was horrendous.  Everything else though was so good to eat.  I can not eat mediocre food because of her; she set the food standard in my life very high.  Here is a picture I snapped on my phone of her during one of her last "good" days.  Her mind was clear to the end but her body failed her.

Hello World

My Mother, Polly, passed away October 26th.  In one year I have lost my Father, my Mother, three Aunts, an Uncle and my neighbor of 25 years.  It has been a very long and very sad year.  I am seeing a counselor to deal with the sadness, anger and hurt I am experiencing at the loss of so many this year.  I think if I could dig and work in the dirt and tend to my animals that I'd heal much quicker.   Rest in Peace, Mom and Dad.  You loved and were loved in return.  Thank you for everything - I will love you forever!

My bee colony did well up until the Alabama summer sizzled.  In early August, as I was spending more time helping care for my Mother in all my spare time, my bees were invaded by a yet to be determined predator.  Their honeycombs were blackened by the fecal material of the worm invader.  Had I been home and available maybe it would not have happened and I could have saved the colony.  It is disheartening to report the loss of  a one-time flourishing colony.

I will be very glad to see the end of 2011.  I want to sit and make plans for a bigger and better garden in 2012, to establish a couple of new bee colonies and to continue my plans for more self sufficiency.  God's Blessing to all for a safe and wonderful Holiday Season!