Thursday, December 31, 2009

A Happy New Year To Everyone!


We pray each of you had a Blessed Christmas!

Winter officially set in not so long ago, but it feels as though we have been buried in snow for months! How pleasant to be buried in the cozy house with one’s family when there are so many good books to read and a perfect wonderland to enjoy outdoors. The house is perpetually filled with the pungent, bitter sweet aroma of burning wood. I’ll have to admit that in the morning when one of us is starting the fire, the “aroma” isn’t exactly sweet…more choking, but overall, I don’t believe anything can replace the atmosphere a real wood fire gives. Another advantage of having a wood-stove is that we are all good at handling fire, or should I say, we all enjoy fire…hmmm…not sure I remember what that is called…pyro…something.


Yesterday morning, the smoke mounting from our chimney was picturesque…perfect for a Thomas Kinkade painting. I decided to wait to take a picture until this morning. Today, the smoke was hardly visible as you can see. I was disappointed, but truth be told, picturesque smoking chimneys are the result of a few less than pleasant circumstances…an especially bitter cold day which concentrates the smoke, and wet wood that makes weak fires that emit smoke indoors as well as out and produce watering eyes, and very little heat. The chimney pictured above, while appearing less than productive with its grey halo of haze, is in fact the product of a hot and healthy fire, for which I am grateful in spite of the missed photo-op.

The mailbox is loaded daily with the extra weight of seed catalogs! Seed time seems to come earlier every year… some catalogs came before Christmas! Harris Seeds, Johnny’s, Jung’s, Seed Savers, Burpee, Gurney’s, R.H. Shumway’s, Park Seed, Henry Fields…just to name a few! Believe it or not, some of our orders have already arrived! Of course the green-house isn’t remotely warm enough to start seedlings up here in the “Arctic” of Minnesota, but we are already discussing small beginnings! None of us can picture greens and gardening and grass with all the pleasures of winter still before us, but of course you have to plan. A friend of ours who comes from Indonesia was laughing with us at the idea that we have to wait to plant seeds for six months out of the year. Of course, living near the Equator, she was able to have a garden all year round. Even so, I’m not sure I would trade the six-month break for the heat, even though the idea of a year-round garden is intriguing!


Blessings to everyone’s New Year!

The Six Arrows

Wednesday, December 16, 2009

The Six Arrows at the SOS Conference in Cincinatti


Read more on our Six Arrows at Home blog

Ice cream at Fair Oaks Farm(on 65, between Chicago and Indianapolis)...we say this velverty ice cream is worth the stop!  Their 5 year cheddar cheese is wonderful too!

Life is truly an adventure when you are on vacation and make a habit of running ahead of blizzards as we have the past two years. :o)
We are eternally grateful for good neighbors who are willing to do our chores in arctic Minnesota weather!
Thanks to Hannah!
And to Mr. K. who kindly shoveled us out!

Friday, December 4, 2009

Wintery Things...






Miss Grace stirring the fudge... Mmmmm....