Sweater Weather.

Hello there. I hope everyone's weekend was marvelous. The cold front we have all been waiting for blew in Friday night, and I am sitting on the couch cuddled in sweater that is much too big for me as I write this. I love the changing of the seasons.

As some of you know, we recently returned from a trip northward. We spent four days in Atlanta attending Dragoncon, a sci-fi convention ... thing. Dad was invited as a panelist for some writing and worldbuilding discussions, and also for a book signing. It was an interesting experience. I was also glad to see my Aunt and Uncle and cousin again, who we stayed with during our visit.

On our way back home we stopped in Celina, TN to stay with Ashley and her family for a few days, and then to visit my Amish friends just over the border in Hestand, KY. It was a short but fun time. We rode horses in the pouring rain, raced them in the dark, and stayed up talking waaaay to late as is our custom. On the day after our arrival, Ashley and I went around and visited all of my dear Amish friends, smiled with the newlyweds and cooed over the precious new additions. The group of unmarried girls that I "run with" tried to persuade me to jump into the frigid Cumberland River which flows through their backyard, but after I dipped a toe in and came up numb, I swore it off and begged them not to throw me in. Jennifer went in on a dare and the other girls jumped in more than once to relax from a day of cane stripping in the Sorghum fields. Then we ate an amazing amount of watermelon because this year the community had planted so many watermelons that they lay on the sides of the road in piles and the hogs have tired of them. After the girls had dried off a little, we went and visited the livestock and I had to refuse to follow the barefoot girls into a 7 foot tall field thick with ragweed to look for the donkeys. Maybe I've become a stick in the mud in my old age, but it was hot and I claimed an allergy to ragweed. So once again Jennifer ran ahead with the brave ones and my most faithful pen pal and I sat by the barn and plotted my next invasion. She also returned my "autograph book", which Ashley purchased for me at the Amish general store to be signed by all of my friends in the community. The Amish had passed it around and it is now filled with pages of gracefully copied scripture, illustrated poetry, well wishes from and the names of all of my dear friends in the Hestand community. I wanted so badly to thank everyone who had written in my book, but I am always so rushed, and I promised and promised I wouldn't come back until I could stay a week.

So now we are back on the homestead. It's cloudy and breezy and in the sixties. The duck yelled at our doorstep from 5:00 am until about thirty minutes ago. I really need to unpack, it's been a week now. I also have been pulling out boxes of winter clothes and sorting out blankets. Maybe I'm jumping the gun but I'm so glad that it's going to be a cooler month. We are working on the fall garden, pulling out summer things and tilling in the weeds we ignored in the hot weather. Jennifer and I are looking into getting a pony to pull things around, inspired by our friends in Amish country who use a pony cart for basic here and there. 

My work laptop crashed while we were in Atlanta, so I will be a little scarce on the writing front, but that's probably good because the homestead could use a little more focus these days. I'll schedule my laptop into the shop sometime later in the month. I'm not too worried about it. 

I am still working at the bakery 1-2 days a week, and this week we have a huge catering order that's going to be tricky. But we will get it done. Our sourdough is selling gangbusters and the peach pies are seeing a lot of business, as well. The restaurant portion of the outfit is set to open again in a few weeks, too, which should be interesting to say the least. We are going to be very busy. I am still on them to let me make tortillas and sell them by the dozen, but we will see.

Thought of the week? I'm really not any good at this homesteading thing. But that's okay because God is. It's a powerful thing to realize that good things happen in spite of your best efforts, not because of them.

Have a good week. 

Tracy M.