On the home front...

It's raining here today, so I'm taking a break from the garden work to get a post done.  It's supposed to stop this afternoon so hopefully I can go for my walk then.  There is still plenty to do in the garden.  Yesterday I cut back a BIG rosemary bush (the size of a small tree), plus cutting back the blackberry bushes as they finishing fruiting.  Still picking some blackberries every couple of days, but they have just about finished.  The tomatoes are going well.  I pick some every couple of days, and when I have a tray full, I chop and freeze...

So far I've frozen about 4 kilos, but there are plenty more coming on.  I just hope the frost doesn't beat them

I also freeze sandwich size zip lock bags of  various foods to have on hand for easy access when needed for recipes...

top l-r: cooked lentils and blackberries (9 kilos so far)

bottom l-r: cooked chickpeas and cooked black eyed beans

Cooking up more apples, but these are some Marnie and Denver brought me from a road side stand they passed...  

One can never have too many apples!!

And I recently made a curry and coconut milk chicken and veg stirfry...

with the mandatory cashews sprinkled on top :)

And fried rice...

I finished the scarf I was knitting and also two beanies.  They will go (via Knit4Charities) to Backpacks for Kids in Victoria....

Picked up this book from the library and am really enjoying it...

and started another beanie for the kids backpacks

Some photos from my recent river walks.  Not all taken on the same day...

At this time of year, I sometimes feel a bit like the Ingalls, as they prepare for winter...

"All through the pleasant fall weather Laura and Carrie were busy girls.  In the mornings they helped do the chores and get breakfast.  Then they filled their dinner pail, dressed for school, and hurried away on the mile walk to town.  After school they hurried home, for there was work to do until darkness came.  Saturday was a whole day of busy working...

Laura and Carrie picked up potatoes while Pa dug them.  They cut the tops from turnips and helped Pa pile them in the wagon.  They pulled and topped the carrots, too, and the beets and onions.  They gathered the tomatoes and the ground-cherries...

All day long while the girls were at school, Ma made preserves of the red tomatoes, and the purple husk tomatoes, and of the golden ground - cherries.  She made pickles of the green tomatoes that would not have time to ripen before it froze.  The house was full of the syrupy scent of preserves and the spicy odor of pickles." 

(from Little Town on the Prairie - Laura Ingalls Wilder)

image from the book:  The World of Laura Ingalls Wilder

And after all this garden talk/work, I think it's time for my coffee :)

And also time to re-visit The Little House books!  It's been two years since I've re-read them and they make such a nice winter read.

Do you have books you like to re-visit every couple of years?

xx