Holiday Season Already?

It's hard to believe it is the end of November, 2012 has truly "flown" by.  We hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving weekend with family & friends and that everyone had a chance to take a step back and reflect on all that we have to be thankful for.
For those that braved the post-Thanksgiving shopping frenzy, I hope you came away unscathed.  I will admit I am one who is turned off by all that "consumerism".  I feel the Thanksgiving holiday is meant to be left alone, respected as a holiday, and I have a few issues with stores that choose to open that day, although I know in this world of competition we live in, they feel they have to open or get left behind.  I will admit I am NOT a shopper, in fact short of a day or two during the holidays, I avoid it like the plague.  I do some internet shopping which for the most part I prefer, but I will arm myself with my remaining list and venture to town a time or two in December to finish up.  With being a "crafter" I take pleasure in sending out quite a few homemade gifts/baskets during the holiday season.
My favorite part of Christmas is decorating and baking.  Over the last few days, the outside lights have gone up, the candles in the windows (my favorite) and yesterday the inside decorations went up (except for the tree which we'll go cut the next week or two).  There is nothing more inviting to me then in the late evening or early morning than to enjoy the lights outside welcoming you home, or to tuck in at the end of the day when the house is quiet and enjoy the lights from the Christmas Village and Santa cabinet in my living room.
The garden has been laid to rest for the season (although I still have a bit of garlic and some asparagus to plant this weekend when it finally warms up a bit.  I do have a little lettuce, spinach and chard under cover that we are still using.  My daughter enjoyed making a fresh salad last weekend when she was home over Thanksgiving.  It's pretty neat when Tuesday when we woke up to a dusting of snow. 
Our last Farmers Market of the season was the day before Thanksgiving, we had beautiful weather, a great turn-out, sold out of eggs and quite a few crafts were purchased.  We sure enjoyed our first year of participating in the Market, made some good friends, and look forward to returning next year.
We also participated in a large local craft show.  There was excellent attendance and we had a really good day there - business wise, it was very encouraging.  It was a lot of work and a lot of fun all wrapped up into one day.  
I hope this time of year you are able to find a "calming" spot, take pleasure in the beauty of the season and that you do not have to get caught up in the craziness that the season can bring.  I look forward to starting my baking here in a couple weeks.  Take time to find something you enjoy, curl up with a good book, bake, spend time with family, friends or neighbors.  Just sharing your time, enjoying a simple walk on a brisk evening, or some good homemade food, simple gifts with friends/family......those are the things that you will remember in the years to come. 

The Coldest Morning Since March

Woke up to about 22 degrees outside this morning.  The coldest start they say in our area since March (8 months ago), really?  It doesn't seem possible.  Where has the year gone?  It is one of those mornings with a thick fluffy looking frost, very beautiful.  We kept trying to stretch the garden out just a bit longer, but my husband finally made the decision it was time to mow it off.  I think down deep I'm glad he made the call it was time.  We did get to enjoy our last fresh picking of green beans this weekend (with potatoes, onions, smoked sausage)- yum, so good!  The chickens were enjoying a bunch of squash/kale & lettuce scraps over the weekend.  We will be getting the garden turned and manure on over this next week.  I did keep one row of lettuce (with a row cover) and a bed up by the house that has spinach/chard going for awhile longer.  Last year these were good thru Thanksgiving, I hope to do about the same this year.   I have some garlic yet to plant, along with a couple blackberry & raspberry bushes.  It's been below normal in our are the last couple weeks (with high's in the 40's-50's).  By this weekend they are expecting us to be more normal - 60's.  If that actually happens, we hope to get a little fall barn cleaning done, the fall meat chickens butchered and some late hay put in the barn.
This week is my "crunch" week for crafts.  We are just under 2 weeks from the main craft show that we'll be participating in this holiday season.  I still have quite a bit to do on rugs to feel ready - stock wise.  I've been crocheting towel tops anytime my hands are free.  My soaps are all made, just need to label a few more once they finish curing.  I still have some candles to make in the "holiday" scents.  Hopefully my husband can find plenty to do outside or in his garage this week, because I'll be taking over the house and turning it into a "crafting palace".
Our chickens are laying wonderfully.  We are getting over 3 dozen eggs a day.  We've made several contacts to keep egg sales going this winter, with the customers established during Market.  We hope this week to start a delivery schedule at least once every other week (maybe more, depending on the demand).
We hope to keep people enjoying our farm fresh eggs all winter long. 
Time also to get some firewood stacked up close to the house.  Hard to believe how much the furnace has had to run the last few days.  Hope to give it a break and enjoy a nice toasty warm fire from the woodstove.  I don't think there is anything that warms a body faster.

We hope all of you will get out tomorrow and exercise your right to vote.  What an important election year this is.  Do your homework, make intelligent informed decisions, and most important, get out there and VOTE!.