Letters – Dec 3, 2021

I haven’t written a letter in a while. Letters to family and friends was how this blog started….. so here is a letter

Dear family and friends,

I hope that this year, so far, has found many of you well. It has been a year of up and downs, happiness and sadness…strengths and weaknesses but far above all, that God has been by our side through it all. He has drawn us closer to Him and the hope in Him is greater.

I had a few health challenges at the beginning of the year. One was quite a bit more serious then the second. It literally took me all spring, summer and fall to finally feel like myself again. The serious issue has settled down…. the knee surgery has healed up very nicely. I know through all that time it was extremely difficult for Russ. He had quite a bit of stress but I believe that he is doing much better.

The health challenges I had really did changed things for us this year. We did not get the chance to give our home renos that big boost that we had hoped for. On the farming side of things it didn’t go like usual as well. I didn’t do anything for customers this year…. what ended up happening was that I grew for us…I canned and put food away for us. We gave food away too, but mostly, when I felt well enough, I put food away in our pantry.

We enjoyed a more laid back summer and fall. It was really nice not stressing over what did and did not grow in thr gardens. The peace and satisfaction of eating from the gardens was beautiful…. I(we) really felt like a homesteaders once again.

Of course the virus really put a damper on all life as we know it. Ry and Kristina got married in June, the ceremony was small because of all the restrictions. I couldn’t travel, so we had to decline being there. That was so hard to do…. not an easy choice. They did to our surprise and excitement decided to reschedule the wedding for later in the year…. September when things opened up and they could actually have a ceremony and reception. I think the second decline was much harder then the first. Of course you all know that Rusty is a general contractor and they have been so busy. They had been booking jobs months in advance because of how busy they were. So early in the spring Bob and Rusty had a house build booked for August into October. It was not a small job and they were on a strict timeline to get it done so the clients could move in as they had sold their house. When the guys booked the job we didn’t know that Ry & Kristina were going to rebook the ceremony and reception in September. So when we sat down and looked at all the logistics involved with trying to make it work we just could not no matter how we looked at it. We were both so disappointed we had hoped that our stupid province would actually open up and allow free travel between provinces but nope we would have to self isolate for 8-14 days on top of the time spent driving to Ontario, ceremony and back if we left pei and returned. So it was with heavy hearts ❤ that we had to tell them we couldn’t go. We just couldn’t afford the time loss with travel and being quarantined with the job they had committed too. Rusty couldn’t leave bob working alone for 2 weeks plus. We did however get to watch them get married via live feed which was so beautiful. It certainly did match being there in person but we were so blessed to see them do it “live”. We hope they understood why we couldn’t be there in person. But know that all our love and thoughts were with them….

Carrie & Chris also got married in the Uk and then made there way back to Canada. Something about Carrie’s work visa expiring I think. Anyways they had just made it back in time for the wedding from what Gloria said. We did see them in the crowd at the church. I don’t think they are into big parties so I am not expecting them to do what Ry & Kristina did with a second ceremony to celebrate. (P.s don’t have a wedding picture from Carrie & Chris.)

This was the first summer in a while that I enjoyed my gardens so completely….. it was the year of taking steps back and being drawn back into what brought us here in the first place. It was so nice to go out and grab a handful of this and that and cooking it up for our meal that night.

I got my first pressure canner, a presto 23 liter. I got over my fears and wow I am so excited. I use it freely now. I participated in a “every little bit food preservation” challenge for 30 days in September it was so much fun. I did small batch preserving every day and posted it on my Instagram account.

I also learned a lot from the other homesteaders… recipes, procedures etc. Rusty is a happy camper cause he benefits from all the goodies I put away. Cowboy candy, mustard pickles, hot pepper jelly, etc.

I grew some different stuff in the gardens too. It was a new experience…. like the garden huckleberries they taste horrible raw….. but cooked…..oh so good. My freezers are full, my buckets have dried goods in them and my shelves have so many colorful jars of yumminess.

It’s just like old fashioned living, what I call “the farmhouse movement”

Part of that movement is getting back to the roots… like how our grandparents etc use to live. Focusing on the important things in life and moving away from the sterile, distant, constant moving, life of rushing through, day by day, week by week, in constant busyness.

We got our firewood logs early this year and were able to get them cut and split and stacked in the basement for the most part. I helped as much as I could and we got a good chunk done….. there is a little outside that needs to be chucked up and stacked but there is no more room in the basement at this time. We also were able to clean up some stuff in the yard. I didn’t get a chance to tiddy up my veggie beds…. but who knows we still might get some warm days that will allow me to tiddy up a bit.

The house is coming along guys….. we got the main room on the first floor gutted, blocked, insulated, drywalled and primed….. and I can actually decorate for Christmas so much more this year. It looks so nice. We have some projects to work on to get us through the winter which of course will make everything so much nicer on the main floor. It is a labor of love and even though its taking a bit longer then we want it is getting done and it is satisfying.

If things ever open up freely again and if the Lord tarries I am sure we will get some visitors. Can’t wait♡

So I think I am in christmas baking season now. The Christmas music is on and the snow ❄ is flurrying and its colder. So hard to believe that we are 3 days into December already. How the time goes.

Now not sure how much baking rusty Is going to enjoy this year. We are trying to figure out if some issues he is having for a while now is related to gluten. We have made a few changes in hopes to figure out what’s going on and it’s kinds frustrating for him but we are making the best of things.

Rusty is not big on talking about himself and I’m sure he will not be to excited that I have said something about this but maybe some of you prayer warriors can pray with us that we can figure out what is upsetting his tummy and fix the problem.

I guess we are getting older and we don’t react to stuff the same anymore. Change is inevitable and really sometimes it can be an easy change. We eat pretty clean, I cook from scratch mostly but since the end of August I did buy a lot of breads, bagels, etc to eat with our jams and jellies….. I think its more of a glyposate and chemical thing then a gluten…. time will tell. I think because we eat clean when you add some of these processed foods the fertilizers and pesticides that are built into regular everyday flour foods affect you and make you feel not so well.

So we are now getting ready for Christmas….. I sent out my cards and baking is starting ….. gift giving is engaged and wrapping will soon entail and before we all know it the 24th will be here. It always happens in such a flurry.

Animal update…. murdoch is doing really well…. we changed him over to a raw diet earlier this year cause his health was not good. He has since really picked up and is much, much better. I did quite a bit of research to help him after the vet wanted to out him on steroids and antibiotics every 2 or 3 months. That stuff was making all his outward symptoms worse and I just couldn’t do it anymore. I research his symptoms and found a few protocols(natural) to help him and it is amazing how his health is so much better. Even his skin is almost completely cleared up too and his ears are not an issue anymore….. go figure looking at natural ways to heal the body and it heals. I am so happy for him… he is 12 plus years old and we are aware that his time with us is numbered but at least his health is so much better and he is a happier dog.

A few weeks ago I had to put barney down. I’ve never felt so sad….. he was in full heart failure and there was nothing that could be done to heal him. We have him buried out back with the others♡♡.

We have Daisy, Angel and Charlie. They are now doing better there was a period of grieving and that was hard but they are cheering up and little rascals again. Charlie, Russ will confirm is a mommy’s boy….. he cuddles with me and is sookie around me….he is a little with Rusty but mostly me….. other then that the xats are happy and settling into the fact that winter is coming curling up in front of or next to the wood stove.

So I hope December finds you all well and we get some letters in return letting us know how your season went. May the Lord keep you all safe and close to him and may we not forget why He came as a baby and then as a man to free the sinful man and give us eternal life through Jesus death on the cross.

Thinking and praying for you all. Have a very blessed Christmas if we don’t share with one another sooner. Love you all, Nessie & Rusty.

Check out the blog as I am sure there are more stories from our year there that I have missed here♡.