Those Unexpected Sad Days on a Farm

 

This was not the topic I planned to write about this weekend.  It certainly doesn't fit my cheerful Christmas theme I've got going on for the next few weeks.  But life has a way of taking turns that we don't plan on or control, doesn't it?  Today we lost one of our best nanny goats.  She was one of our original herd caprines that we purchased back in December 2010.  Her name was Cadbury, and she has been the best mother to her robust healthy babies and a fantastic milker.  Even though she spent her days out in the pasture and her nights in the barn, she felt like a member of our family.  Our goats have always been more like family pets than livestock, and we haven't lost an adult goat or sheep in a number of years, so it was especially hard and shocking to lose one this weekend.  

So instead of writing a post on Christmas decor, food, or traditions, I am tearfully composing a picture post in memory of this beloved member of our farm family.  She will be missed very much.

 

 

 

 

 

 

We are grateful to Cadbury for all the adorable babies she brought into the world, and the milk she gave us, and the blue ribbons she won for our children at the fair, and for the laughs.  No matter how many years we have this little hobby farm, the losses are always so incredibly sad.  We're grieving today, but I promise my next post will be a cheerful one. 

Blessings to you all.

Black Friday Shopping at the Tree Farm

 

I haven't been Black Friday shopping in decades, and I don't miss it one bit.  Instead, it's our family's tradition to cross over the mountain the day after Thanksgiving and shop for our Christmas tree.  This year it was a cool, foggy day in the Alleghenies as we trekked over the hills of this large tree farm.

 

I wore my pedometer that day and got in more steps than any other day that Thanksgiving week.  Hopefully, I walked off all that pumpkin pie.

 

Some younger members of the family never really hike; they just run everywhere instead.  Ah, if only I still had that much energy.

 

While some of us hiked or ran, others got pulled around like royalty in a makeshift rickshaw.  From the moment our orange-haired son was born, his older sister looked at him with annoyance.  I'm pretty sure she's been waiting her whole life for moments like this when he would live to serve her.

 

When we thought we'd found the tree of our dreams, Hubby "measured" its width and height using his body as the measuring tape.

 

This year we thought we'd found it early on, and some of us posed for a photo before cutting it down.  Why is it that little boys always want to photobomb your pics?

 

It turned out that after examining it more closely, the trunk had a severe case of scoliosis and would have been a disaster in our tree stand at home.

 

So we moved on and found another, this one with a perfectly straight trunk.  None of our sons want to be the official tree cutter of the family, so Hubby is still the one to lie on the ground and saw it down.

 

Fortunately, our younger boys do like to haul the tree back to our vehicle. 

 

After getting all the loose needles shaken off and the tree wrapped up tight, we got our cups of hot cocoa and a few bags of homemade cookies, and we set off for home.

 

Set up in our dining room with a crockpot full of warm cranberry apple cider nearby, the ceremonial unwrapping of our Christmas tree occurred.  The day involved no lines, no crowded aisles, no fighting over limited quantities of merchandise.  Just fresh air, rolling hills full of pine trees, and steaming cups of cocoa and cider.

And that is how we do Black Friday shopping as Preppy Mountain Farmers.

 

Gathered Together After a Turkey Trot

 

Wow.  It feels like forever since my last post.  I hope every one of you American readers had a marvelous Thanksgiving.  Ours was filled with family time, drizzly weather, and good food and wine.

 

Our cool, rainy Thursday morning began with six members of our family headed off to an annual turkey trot.  Two of our sons ran this 5K, two people volunteered as course marshals, and two were bystanders who cheered the runners on.  This was the first race ever for our ten year old who has boundless energy and can literally run circles around me any day.  Our older son hung near him through the race, and both crossed the finish line within seconds of each other with quite a bit of energy left.  They finished in the top half of the 234 runners, which wasn't bad for two amateurs who really don't train for these things, and the entry fees went to non-profit organizations.

 

When they all returned, cold and damp from the November rain, I had the turkey roasting in the oven and appetizers/light lunch on the table.

 

I cheated this year and picked up most of the appetizers from the deli and bakery sections of the supermarket.  The cherry cordial Hershey's Kisses were the favorite new item of the morning.

 

Our traditional Thanksgiving dinner was scheduled to be held at 3 PM, but as usual, we didn't sit down to eat until a bit later.

 

That was because we were waiting on these two casseroles to finish baking.  I always need to double the recipes, and the vegetable dishes always seem to need more time to set up than I predict.  The sweet potato casserole on the right is the one I make every year, along with millions of other Americans, I'm sure.  This year I made a corn casserole instead of green bean casserole, which pleased my children tremendously.  There were a lot of these recipes on Pinterest, but the one I used can be found here at www.stuckonsweet.com. The only change I made was doubling the recipe, and I had to nearly double the bake time.

 

My little ones were standing close by, salivating and very eager for the dinner bell to ring.

 

Hubby did the traditional turkey carving, with the assistance of his dad, while I performed all those last minute tasks with the help of my mother-in-law and teenage daughter.  

 

But in the end, it all came together seamlessly, and we gave thanks and began eating around 3:30.  It looked like we had enough food to feed us all for a week, but as it turned out, everything was gone within two days.

 

After dinner and kitchen cleanup, there were Christmas movies, games of Phase 10, pumpkin pie and dessert wine, and just more family time in general.

 

My day was complete after getting to hold this sweet baby boy in my arms while he slept peacefully amidst all the ruckus around him.

And for all these things, I am thankful.

Of Thanksgivings Past

 

Thanksgiving is just a week away, and the only thing I've done to prepare is buy the turkey.  In case I don't have time to do any blogging between now and then, I thought I'd leave you with a few pictures of some of our Thanksgivings we've celebrated since we moved into our farmhouse ten years ago.

 

Let me start by saying that the images in my head of what our Thanksgiving should be like are similar to last year's Land's End cover of one of their holiday catalogs.  But the reality is that our celebrations really look like this...

 

Our youngest son was actually baptized over the Thanksgiving holiday in 2006, which is a beautiful thing, but he screamed throughout most of it.

 

This was the children's table in 2007, back when we had a smaller kitchen table and we could squeeze in a kids' table.  Now that our table seats 10-12, there really isn't room for much else in our farmhouse kitchen.  When we have lots of family here, we now have to split up into two rooms.

 

We have actually spent a number of Thanksgivings at Disney World.  The kiddos love it, but I never quite feel like it's really Thanksgiving when we have dinner there.  These three are all preteens and teens now.  How I wish I could have just one of those days back again, preferably without the tantrums.

 

Our only orange-haired son has majorly loved food all his life.  When his siblings and cousins were finished and playing, he continued to sit at the table and clean his plate...and completely devour this turkey leg.

 

 For many years when my house was full of toddlers and little ones, this is what our Thanksgiving dinner table really looked like.  Definitely nothing fancy, mismatched everything, sippy cups, and if you look closely you'll see that our one year old has her bare foot propped up on the table.  I'm fairly certain the vino got me through.

 

Remember that this is what I really wanted to see at our Thanksgiving dinner table.

 

In 2013 we were back at Disney and had reservations to eat at Mickey's outdoor barbecue.  There was a Thanksgiving buffet, and our table was right next to the dance floor so we could be up close to all of the Disney characters.  Unfortunately, our youngest was, and still is, afraid of nearly every person dressed up in a full costume.  She was in hysterics when Donald Duck tried to get her to dance with him, and we had to carry her out of there with her screaming at the top of her lungs. 

 

Thanksgiving 2014 brought us six inches of heavy snow, which was kind of fun since there was nowhere else we had to be.

 

It was the only year that our children got to go sledding before they ate Thanksgiving dinner.

 

Last year my youngest was six, and I had a Pinterest board full of Thanksgiving pins I wanted to try, so in addition to our traditional turkey dinner, I also tried out some new things earlier in the day, and had a great time.  With the children older now, I feel like all the traditional trimmings are getting kind of boring and I could make them in my sleep, but my kids have begged me not to change the menu.  I've agreed to only try one new dish this year, and it's only allowed to replace the green bean casserole.

So just in case I am frantically cleaning, cooking, baking, and decorating over the next week and don't get back to my blog, May All of You Have a Happy Thanksgiving with blessings in abundance.

 

Every Girl Needs a Gala Now and Then

 

Do you know how long it's been since I've donned a long dress?  It was the last time I saw my husband in black tie attire.  And the last time I've actually danced with my husband.  That was at our wedding over sixteen years ago.  

But this past weekend, along with some of our other adult family members, we attended a charity gala that was a black tie affair.  I won't bore you with pictures or embarrass the men who very reluctantly wore their tuxedos and black bow ties, but I just have to say, that every girl needs one of these events periodically in life.  I forgot how much fun it is to dress up.  Not just casual khakis and sweaters for errands and volunteering at the school.  Not just "nice" skirts or dresses for meetings, kids' performances, or church attendance.  Not even the long flowing sundresses I love to wear on summer date nights with my husband.  But dressing up in formal wear, with the sparkles, and the high heels, and the eye shadow, and actual lipstick.  Spending a couple of hours getting ready instead of a few rushed minutes felt luxurious.  It was fantastic to be going somewhere with my husband and not feeling as if I'd been thrown together amidst finding some boy's shoes or ironing someone's wrinkled pants or braiding someone's hair or tying someone's tie.  It was just us, dressed in our finest, and spending the evening with other smartly dressed grownups who were together to raise money for a good cause.  Even though we helped with this event, it wasn't me responsible for the dinner, or the cleanup, or the entertainment.  I got to enjoy the evening with some of my favorite people; there was not a single ball cap or hoodie to be seen; and I actually got in a dance with my hubby.  For one night, I didn't have to listen to children's complaints about dinner or remind everyone to brush their teeth and clean up their toothpaste spit or pick up wet towels off the bathroom floor.  I got to feel like Cinderella at the ball with her prince, and when we got home before midnight, I was exhilarated and energized and ready to tackle another week.  

So I have decided that every girl needs a formal night out...and more frequently than every sixteen years.

 

OK, at the risk of getting complaints from male family members later, I will bore you with one photo.

Preppy T.J. Maxx Treasures for the Middle-Aged Mom

 

No talk of politics here!  Just some bargain shopping at T.J. Maxx.  Last month I shopped at this discount store for the first time in a decade, and I came home with so many great finds.  I could just kick myself for driving by this place so many times when I could have been finding designer items for a fraction of the retail price.  Today I share with you the best deals I found for fall and winter.

 

This J. Crew creme collarless wool coat was by far my biggest prize.  I have been looking for a wool dress coat for some time, and I love the winter white color.  This is double lined, and there was exactly one in the whole store, and it was in my size.  I like the uniqueness of this coat with a zip-up front and no collar.  At only $80 I knew this was a bargain, but I didn't realize how much of a discount I had gotten until I looked it up on the Internet and saw that it retails for $350: a savings of $220!

 

My seven-year old was happily snapping away as fashion photographer of the day.  It was cloudy and rainy, so the quality of my pics aren't so great in this post.

 

I've been looking for a simple black clutch for an upcoming formal event, and I found this Jessica McClintock metal mesh bag with the silver chain for only $17.  This normally retails for $48, so I saved $31.

 

I love this purple Lauren/Ralph Lauren wrap dress.  It's simple, classic, elegant, and yet so comfortable to wear.

  

The retail price is $130.

 

But I found it for $50 for a savings of $80.

 

And then, there were these shoes that my daughter fell in love with, but they were only available in my size.  I really don't like heels, and most of my closet contains flats in various colors and styles, but I needed something with a little height to wear with a long dress, and I liked these.

 

Once again, I didn't realize what a bargain I was getting for these Via Spiga suede pumps until I came home and looked them up on the Web.  I paid $70 at T.J. Maxx, but these Italian shoes retail for $195.  Savings of $125.  And these are actually comfortable!

So these four items: coat, clutch, dress, and shoes would normally cost a total of $723, but I found them at T.J. Maxx for only $217.  Grand total savings of  $506. 

 

Along with some other less dramatic bargains on a separate shopping excursion, I also found this Milano gold sweater and Calvin Klein skinny ankle jeans.

 

I love this shimmery sweater with the sheer panel underneath.  I think it's festive enough to dress up with some black pants for the holidays.

 

Or it can be worn with jeans and boots for everyday wear to the school to volunteer or out to lunch with friends.  The sweater was around $20, but I couldn't find it online, so I'm not sure how much savings went on with that purchase.  The Calvin Klein jeans were $30 and normally retail for about $69, so I saved at least $39 on these pieces as well.

 I went back to the store several times and lucked out with teen clothing for both my son and daughter too.  You can never be sure what you'll find there each time because the merchandise changes frequently.  There was quite a bit of home decor and seasonal items that I didn't even browse through.  From now on, T.J. Maxx will be my first stop for wardrobe shopping.