It's rainy season!

And while it'll make the mountain road a bit slippy for a while (I did slip a bit this morning heading to McQuacks, yikes!), I'm enjoying the weather while I can. All too soon, it's going to get cold and I don't like that much cold all that much, though it does give me a good excuse to curl up someplace comfy to sit, halfway watch the boob tube and knit my little heart out on something warm like an afghan or socks or a sweater. Speaking of sweaters, the baby sweater is coming along, though I'm a bit miffed with myself. I took it along yesterday on the errands to knit while hubby does all the driving as usual, and somehow, in the van, I managed to break one of my 10" double-pointed bamboos. Grrr. So that US#6 set is down to three needles instead of four. Oh well, I can get more off eBay at least, once Quentin's back to work. I thankfully bookmarked the seller and I know they sell 6" sets, too, and I want to get two sets of the 6" full sets, which will run me about $20, mainly because they are from China, but they are great and a lot cheaper than the US-made ones. I have no problem with foreign-made products IF they are as good or better than the US-made ones, and in this particular case, they are. I love my bamboo knitting needles, but I'm not going to crank out $10 or more for a single set of four of a single size when for about double that, I can get two sets of four of everything from 0 to 10.5. (I know, more knitting info than you non-knitters needed to hear, lol.) The right front is done, the back is done and the sleeves are just over half-done. They're raglan sleeves (the kind that angle in at the shoulder rather than like t-shirt sleeves), and I'm at the point where I start decreasing for the sleeve caps. So that'll mean by next weekend, with any luck, I'll only have the left front to do, weave in the ends, buttons and the sweater's done. Then there's the hat, booties or socks, soaker, and blanket to do yet. Blanket will take the longest, but at least it will move along pretty well.

The colors are starting up around here better, though still very touchy as far as how much we see here and there. It's a patch here, a spot there, and they are still uncommon enough that we spot them and are surprised by them. The deer on the mountain are looking fat and boy do I wish we had a big enough freezer and a .22 so we could get one of them. That 12-point buck really likes to hang around our place and he'd look soooo yummy on my plate, lol.

Not quite seven weeks to go and hubby can apply for rehire. I'm glad he's so happy that he'll be going back to work, but at the same time, I'm a little depressed by it. I'll have to get used to having the evenings to myself again, but I'll have plenty to do to keep busy and there's always the boys to entertain me with their playing and racing around. There's my needlework to do, writing to do, housework since Quentin won't have time for all of it anymore, and always my favorite, READING. Lots and lots of reading. Thank goodness for my Kindle for PC (and why I always want to type that as Kidnle I don't know), with all the books I have loaded on it. I can look through recipe books and pick out ones to print off and put in my clippings book to use for us (and then get rid of the thing and review it on Amazon), or I can read for fun, or I can play my computer games for that matter. LOTS of stuff to keep busy, so I won't be lonely.  And of course, once we get internet at the house, there's always hanging out on Facebook with my friends to play games, lol. LOTS to do, so no time to really be lonely or anything. Though it will be weird for a bit while I get used to not having Quentin home when I get there to tell him all about my day (mostly to entertain him, because he misses being around live people), and not having him talking my ear off out of sheer happiness to have a live person around to be with after hours and hours of nobody but the boys. I do understand the loneliness, having been off work myself for over a year at one point. It gets depressing and all when you haven't got a lot to do, to the point that you want someone around just to talk to. People become important to you, more than you ever realized.

I did try that new job for one day. Rehang wasn't that hard, physically, but oh my goodness, the chlorine in there was ridiculous. I know things have to be kept clean, but the chlorinated water coming from the chiller on those chickens just was too much. It was like trying to breathe pool water all day, and by the end of the day, I could barely breathe. We are talking gasping for air, runny nose, burning eyes, and darn near blowing donuts into the nearest trashcan. It was just THAT bad. I gave up and went back to my old job on x-ray. One good thing about Tyson's, among the many good things about it, is that if you bid up on a better job, and decide it's not for you in the first three days, you get to go back to your old job, no harm, no foul. Though I have to admit, my boss on x-ray, Ann, was REALLY glad to see me back. I was missed. *grin*

We did get some stuff done this past week farmsteading-wise. I tore out a crapload of paneling and insulation out of the Merlot to use in the water heater compartment. Quentin's job, when the weather cooperates, is to get it installed. He cut a bunch of wood we'd had laying around again, fixed the door on the old furnace closet so it is attached to hingest again and stays shut, and we got some trash burnt. (That's a weekly chore, I know, good thing one of his three favorite words is WHOOSH, haha!) We got rid of some junk laying around that needed to get out of the house to the midden heap, so it's just sitting out of the way now, waiting to be buried. So there's a bit got done, despite the weather being goofy with lots of rain sprinkles keeping things too wet to really get out. Funny part? The mountain was all that got wet around here till yesterday. Everybody and everything else was dry as a bone. Go figure.

With that said, I need to eat, do my weekly reviews on Amazon, and post this week's freebie Kindle books for y'all (plus put a bunch more stuff in the Bountiful Farm Astore), eat some lunch and do a little bit of shopping we forgot yesterday at Wally World. So till next week, my friends, keep on homesteading!

FREE KINDLE BOOKS FOR THIS WEEK


Quick & Delicious - 24 NO BAKE Little Dessert with BIG TASTE! Mini Cheesecakes, Fudge, Truffles, and Sweet Bites (EasyDessert Recipes Collection)
Soap Making From Scratch: 30+ Handmade Soap Recipes and Tips. A Complete Beginner's Guide to Handmade Soaps (A Soap Making Book)
Container Gardening Designs & Woodworking Plans - Volume 2 Ideas for Organic Gardening & Urban Gardening
How to Grow Herbs: A Step By Step Guide to Growing Herbs
Vertical Gardening: A Complete Step by Step Beginners Guide
Growing Vegetables: KnolKhol, Lettuce and Zucchini
Fall and Winter Gardening: 25 Organic Vegetables to Plant and Grow for Late Season Food
The Briggs Book : Recipes, Remedies and Household Hints from way back when
Build a Quick and "Cheep" Auto-Feeder for Your Chicken Coop (Urban Farming Simplified)
Crochet Pattern - Santa Baby Cap and Bib
Start Your Own Organic Garden This Year - And Feed Your Family Some Produce From Mother Nature
Black Gold: Tips To Make Organic Fertilizer And Create A Bountiful Harvest
Grow Your Own Sweet Juicy Organic Tomatoes - Secrets That Your Grocer Doesn't Want You To Know
Some Useful Advice For Building Your Own Garden Shed - Tips, Tricks & Techniques To Build Or Buy Your Own Special Garden Hangout
How to Make a Living from Crafts
Making Money with Strawberries
Aquaponics for Beginners - A Step by Step Guide to Aquaponic Gardening in Your Own Backyard
Crochet Pattern Bear Hat Adult Size

Not a lot of goodies this week, it seems, but I did put in here what I found of interest. With any luck, this upcoming week will allow for more fun and games for us!