Thirteen for Thursday

Random catch-ups for the past week or so:

1. My mom harvested my loofah gourds this week, so now I have to figure out how to peel and dry them to make sponges. Hopefully some of them are ripe enough. We seem to have had a late season with the gourds, so they might not have matured before the first snow/frost.

2. Yes, we have a little dusting of snow on the deck and fenceposts!

3. Yesterday was the first day to turn on our furnace. My husband is in some kind of bragging rights contest at work. He won, although I wonder if he told them we run a space heater in the baby's room.

4. Exercise and weight loss around here have kind of plateaued. Actually, exercise still happens; but proper eating has been neglected.

5. Soap making is in full force. Holiday preparations are happening. Someday I would love to attend a few area craft fairs, but I've come to realize that this year is still not the right time.

6. The hunter/gatherer for the family has bagged one deer (doe) thus far. I believe we are in the midst of archery and early muzzleloader season.

7. We have a church dinner tomorrow night (celebrating Reformation Day), and a new recipe is to be attempted. White chili sounded like something tasty, so we'll see how it turns out! I'll prepare the chicken meat and broth today and then combine everything in the crockpot tomorrow.

8. I love this time of year because baking and cooking make the house a pleasant warm not a hot and sticky warm.

9. I can't remember if I mentioned this before, but my son told me that the only time he can accompany my husband in the hunting blind is if I pack him snacks!

10. My littlest one, Susanna, is going through the separation anxiety stage that the others experienced. It's sweet, but occasionally hard too.

11. Abigail is learning about being a good sport; the girl does not like to lose. So, my husband thought he would try some reverse psychology with her and let her win at checkers. He told her he was going to let her win, and made the game so obvious. At the end he asked her how that went (thinking that it was no fun to win that easily). She told him that she really enjoyed it, and that she really likes to win. So, we'll keep working on that.

12. Our dog is now the bionic dog. She has more collars: a gentle leader for walking on the leash, and electric collar for the underground fence around the yard, and an electric collar controlled by a remote for training. Yesterday I was trying to get out of the house to run errands, and the dog was bopping around in the yard with my mother-in-law's dog completely ignoring my "come". I'm buzzing the remote for her caller and just getting thoroughly frustrated because I.need.to.leave.now. I called my husband to complain, and he starts with, "is her collar on?" Oh. Right.

13. My kids are learning the joys of hot oatmeal for breakfast - especially when there is an array of toppings!! I wonder where they got such a sweet tooth....sigh.

Happy day to you!