must haves and security blankets

it's almost winter,
we started the heat here
saturday night we did the yearly break in firing of the woodstove

canning season is still going but for me not quite at the frantic pace of before

i have been having a good time making some pear preserves, each batch lowering the sugar
i would like to get to the point where there is NO sugar in there
just pears and juice
we'll see
the sugar draws the juice of the pears out and helps preserve them
and then you reduce the juice to syrup
it's really quite good

but i am thinking
if i simmer the pears in say.....pear nectar...until tender
then reduce the juice to syrup
same deal right?

ok to the original point of this post

what are your 'must have's'?

the things you must have in the house before winter?
i have a list

• honey-we need a fresh jar of raw honey for the winter for colds etc
• candles, and oil lamps- i now have 5 oil lamps with enough oil for probably 10 years, as well as 2 boxes of 36-15 hour candles
• wood-we have 10.5 cords, which i am hoping is enough if we have a bad winter
• 200 pounds of potatoes-direct from the grower
• a fully stocked pantry-all the basics plus what i canned all season
• new prodjects for the winter ( yes virginia, this is where the yarn would come in)

now with my canning and drying, i found a few new ways to put the staples we use up, things like mushroom concentrate to replace mushroom soup for soups and sauces and gravies.
( i love my friends on the canning list......we bounce ideas off each other all the time.....)

i also have to have dried sweet red peppers on hand.....and little jars of sweet roasted red peppers..... they are the best
the upcoming weeks i will be canning kidney beans, and pinto beans.....potatoes....etc
also stuff that is on sale that i didn't get to grow this year......
such as sweet potatoes..... chestnuts

i will hand wash all our woolen or acrylic sweaters,
and lay them outside to dry on the patio table

i have already planted the garlic...... it is tucked all snug in the little divided beds in the garden.
i planted 12 new varieties this year.....and will put in, i think three of the older ones
by the time i really find out what variety works here......we'll move!

oh well it is fun to plan and try the different garlics

i want seeds for the heritage 'long pie pumpkin'
i have found them on line so this coming season.....i will grow pie pumpkin and long pie
along with long NECK butternuts
i hope we do move before this gardening season next, as i want to expand the garden
and with jackass and his ongoing juvenile vandalism i can't
somehow...... the plastic 'tent' that i put over the peppers got folded back....
but ONLY the side we can't see from the house......
and tucked between the garden fence and the hoop that supports the peppers......
neatly tucked no less
that is pretty hard for the ME to do let alone the wind don't you think?
thankfully it was still enough to protect the peppers
so no harm
but that is what we live with daily
we are going to get cameras and put them in

now back to my garden
if it were larger i would have a longer list for next year
as it is
i would like to be out of here by next year
into a larger property and slightly larger house......
i wouldn't mind building
as we would then build around the woodstove and with added solar-greenhouse etc.....
the first floor would be a HUGE keeping/kitchen
the basement one huge storage room
(and real dirt floored root cellar)
the second floor......bedrooms and studio.....
bernie wants me to have a seperate canning/soap kitchen.....
that is doable fairly easily i think


anyway....... i wandered around as usual

sooooooo what do YOU do to prepare for winter?




til next time

vi