Count Down Until Christmas

Well, it's getting close to Christmas and that means it's time for our annual 600 mile holiday pilgrimage to my parent's home - and that means the time is getting short to get all the Christmas gifts together. I've outdone myself this year. I AM FINISHED! Really, I am. And this year each and every gift is home made. Every stinkin' one of them.

We've established just how much I enjoy the whole obligatory gift giving tradition, but since I've started giving home made gifts, I find it's a lot less hateful, and I even find myself in a good mood over it. At least with a home made gift, chances are slim I'll find it in my sister's garage, where she stages everything that is headed out to Good Will and where I've found many of my previous Christmas gifts to her. She may throw it away, but I'll never know about it.

I still have some home made butter to make for my mother, but I dont' want to do that until right before we go. I want it to be as fresh as possible. And don't worry - I didn't spoil the surprise by typing this on my blog. My mother is about the only person I know that doesn't read my blog. If that doesn't tell you how bad I suck at blogging, I don't know what does. My own mother. Geesh.

Hey, we finally waxed our cheddar cheese and put it up to age. Feast your eyes on this gorgeous hunk of red heaven:





We've been busy cutting up a couple of deer that a friend gave us. I don't know where he shot these deer, but they were freaking enormous! We got the largest backstrap we have ever seen out of the buck. That's gonna be some good eating.

My Dear John just had some surgery on his wrist yesterday, so he hasn't been able to email me today about how much I stink at blogging. I thought it might be a pleasant surprise for him to get two whole blog entries from me within just a couple of days of each other. Plus it might keep him busy for five minutes or so to give his poor wife a break.

That's it for now from the homestead. Oh - and by the way, I am keeping my vow to step outside at least once a day. It is, however, going on two weeks since I left this place or have gone any further than the mailbox. Bernie's making noise about forcing me to ride with him to the dump tomorrow. I think he worries people will think he must have killed me and buried me in the middle of this 65 acres. Not that he cares what people think - he just doesn't want them snooping around the property.

Bee Free,
Penny