A Successful October

We’ve been busy ‘round these parts. Really, when are we NOT busy? Just when I think we have a break coming up, something happens or I forget that living on a farm with animals, a huge garden/harvest, having 3 kids with 1 on the way, 2 kids in school, and a husband who works swing shifts doesn’t make any woman’s life just a bit insane. Well, anyway, life has been busy.

Last spring we decided to officially try to get rid of some produce for money. We sold tomatoes and potatoes that ended up paying for our canning and gardening season. A success. And just when we were cursing planting so many pumpkins, pumpkin sales far exceeded our expectations. It was a successful endeavor. By successful I mean we sold every last pumpkin that we pulled from our pumpkin patch. Every.single.one. It was fun. And people were asking about next year. So you can only guess what that means. Yup, we’re revamping our pumpkin patch and adding some perks. We are excited.

On a side note: Right in the middle of our pumpkin season, my washing machine decided to die on me. Literally die. One day it just stopped mid-cycle. The repair guy came over to see if it was fixable and determined that the motor was shot, the coupler was shot, and the pump was shot. Dead. The replacement parts plus the work would have cost almost a third of a new washer. Since John and I had just recently discussed replacing the washing machine, we were half expecting it would be now given it’s recent mishap. You can imagine the expense. It wasn’t expected though we were starting to save for the possibility. It hurt the checkbook. A lot. But I was happy with the new arrival. And when a mom is happy, usually everyone else is too. And guess where the money came from that replaced what the washing machine took from our checking account. Yup….you guessed it. PUMPKINS. Almost down to the dollar. God is so good. And you can count on pumpkin season happening here again next year. J

In light of my growing love of pumpkins, I am baking loads of pumpkin bread for neighbors, teachers, the principal, our priest, family, etc. Mostly it is to get rid of the pumpkin still in my freezer from last year to make room for 242lbs of beef coming soon. (Yeah, I know……insane amounts of meat!) But it is also to entice the local pallet to come back for more next year. When they see pumpkins, smell pumpkins, taste pumpkins I want them to think of the yummy-smelling good pumpkin bread that came from the Backowski’s and their pumpkin patch.

Perhaps next year my fridge or stove will decide to die during harvest. A woman can only hope, right?.

Here’s to happy fall seasons, welcoming winter and all the beauty that comes with it, and kitchens that smell oh.so.good.

Cheerio!