Homesteading: A Woman's Journey

Beginning of the Harvest

Today, I picked the first of our squash from the garden.  There wasn't much.  Many of the squash had rotted on the vine due to all the rain.  I still have many more blooms yet to produce though, so there will be alot of squash this year.  I am cooking up the yellow squash to eat later tonight.  The zucchini is shredded and bagged for making Zucchini Bread later on.

The eggplant and tomato plants are also doing good.  One of the eggplants has 5 blooms on it.  This is exciting to me since I have never grown it before.

I have taken it easy today.  I wasn't feeling well, so let myself be abit lazy.  About the only work I accomplished was to care for Abbie and the animals.  That is alright though.  The important stuff was dealt with.

Joe is doing well out on the truck.  His trainee finished up his first of 4 weeks of training.  They are running as a team now, criss-crossing around the US.  This is Joe's last student.  He decided to get a co-driver next time he is home.  He wants to be able to run as a team all the time.  Also, having a trainee in the truck makes it really hard on the trainer to get any sleep.  You have to be available to your student 24/7.  Even if it means losing sleep because they are driving through a storm, the mountains, or some other thing for the first time.   Yes, that is a part of the job, but Joe is wanting to be able to feel that he can get the sleep he needs to be well rested when he is behind the wheel.

Abbie is doing great.  She has been having fun in all the new space we gained in the rooms after clearing so much out.  It is really opening up alot of empty area for us to enjoy. Today, I took her outside for awhile and she had fun in her swing on the porch. 

We are getting the really hot weather now.  Thank heavens the worst of the flooded areas around here have dried up.  When the water was still standing in the yard, the hot temps made the air very muggy. 

I am already looking into seeds for next year's garden.  It is hard to believe that in a few months, I will have to start placing orders for some of the varieties that I will be starting from seed during the winter.  This season just seems to be going by so fast.

I used to think that the time Joe was out on the truck took forever for him to return home.  Life here is busy enough now that I am finding the days passing much quicker.  It doesn't seem too long before I am starting to make preparations for his return.

This month has been pretty busy.  With de-cluttering, caring for Abbie, tending the animals & watching over the garden.  Now, I am getting things organized and am getting things like my sewing area set up so that I can be more efficient in my home sewing business.

I am enjoying this time.  I work hard while Joe is gone so that during the week that he is home, I can spend the time just enjoying his company and doing things as a family.