'tis the season....

As many of my Facebook friends will tell you, I count down Christmas all year! Once September arrives, it gets crazy busy around here, but it's one of my most favorite times of the year. This year, I am adding in a little extra. I will explain all this in just a minute. First and foremost is my love of Christmas. Not the gifting so to speak, but the beauty, the kindness that is shared usually only during the holiday seasons, the time we spend with our family and my birthday. Most people cringe when you talk to them about their birthday, even teasing about being 29 forever. Not me! This year is my last year in my thirties, I will be 39. My 20s and 30's were some of my best memories! I married my husband at 25, had my first baby at 26, had my second baby at 34, and we bought our farm when I was 36. I am ready to see what the next decade will bring!


Every year, I spend October through January baking. I do this once the weather starts to cool off, and my own holiday spirit kicks into overdrive. I can't tell you how many dozens of cookies, brownies, loaves of bread, and cakes I make from October through January! It's probably some unheard of number! I love to share all these baked goods with anyone I can. Seeing someone smile, or knowing that I have made something from scratch and given someone else a healthy choice to snack on, is the most amazing feeling. I am a giver by nature. I truly get the most joy from giving. Getting gifts is nice, but I do feel uncomfortable taking gifts...that is not my nature. While I usually get amazing gifts that I use on a regular basis, and I love them, it's hard for me to express my appreciation when receiving a gift.

This year has been a little upended from normal. The Spring weather pushed my garden planting back about 2 months later than normal, and now my canning is still going on when it's normally done by August. I love knowing my family will have the necessary food for the Winter months, it's a lot of working putting all the food up. I run in cycles with my gardening/canning. I am geared up and impatient for Spring to arrive, plant the gardens and excited wait to start seeing the first signs of plant growth, bust my tail to keep up with the weeds in all 3 gardens, start harvesting the first vegetables. Then a bulk of the gardens come ready(usually about the same time!), I rush around canning the bulk harvest, have a few fresh vegetable meals, then the later harvest happens and it's a little slower pace. By the time the tomato plants, pepper plants, and pumpkins are ready I am about burned out with canning! I rush to get through the last harvest(normally!) so we can get ready for our crazy Septembers. So, by the 1st of October, I am geared up to start my holiday baking. This year, we are 3 days away from the 1st of October, and I am STILL canning! Temps are still up near 80, although the days are starting in the 50's. By 3 in the afternoon, the house is warm, and worse if I am cooking or baking, and it's too hot to be excited about Fall! So, until the weather gets much cooler, I am delaying some baking! Maybe by the end of next week, I will be finished with my canning, and the weather will get back to normal. I am a firm believer in the predictions of the Old Farmers Almanac, and love hearing the older local farmers talk about their predictions....I am finding that the predictions of a colder/snowier Winter this year better hurry up! I am ready for snow fall, cold weather, hot coffee and hot chocolate, homemade goodies, bonfires, the beautiful decor that Fall and Winter provides right out my windows!

As we wind down Fall and head to Winter, my house becomes a whirl of activity! We start putting up the outdoor lights in late October(saves hubby from freezing his tush off when the weather changes), Christmas decor begins going up in November. Yes, I know that Thanksgiving is in November...but I see no good reason not to enjoy the Christmas decor from November through January! We have an open house for neighbors, family and friends in early December. It's a beautiful time to enjoy everyone, and a whole slew of homemade treats too! Last year I made 25 different types of cookies, several types of candies, had cake, crackers and dips, hot cocoa, spiced tea, sweet tea, and coffee. This year I am considering adding a little more! Then we have Christmas. 3 different families to share time with, our own Christmas and at some point time with both sets of my parents too. Then comes a great time for me. The time I get to celebrate getting another year older(and hopefully, wiser!). This year is a special year for me. My last year in my 30's.

That brings me to my new addition to my schedule. I will be 39 this year, the end of a decade. Next year will be a new adventure, a new decade....40's. This year, I have told my family that I don't want gifts. I am going to use my birthday, and the 27 days leading up to it, to do 39 random acts of kindness. My gift to everyone else. This is in addition to my children's community service school work of random acts of kindness from November 1st through the end of December. While we are not in the upper crust of people that can afford to give a gift to everyone, what better way to help others, celebrate the gift of each new day, and be able to give something to everyone...even if it is just holding doors for others. We are working towards a large donation to our local food pantry right now, for Thanksgiving. We have offered to help box/package food for November and December food distribution, as well as gathering items that can be donated.

I find it very important that my children understand that some do need a hand up when they are knocked down, when they mostly see hands outs to those unwilling to earn their own living. I think it's necessary for them to be willing to work hard, knowing that they won't receive a dime, while also knowing that when you work hard you receive the personal gratitude of their hard work with or without the reward of payment. I think they need to be willing to help everyone, even those that can do nothing to help them. I do not want them to think or behave in a way that they will help people only so long as they are going to receive some sort of payment. While their community service activities are part of their school work, it's just as much a part of helping them develop their personality and compassion.

So, as we go from now through January, I hope to lead my children by example in the way of helping our community. I hope to build these 2 little people that we brought into this crazy world to see more than just one side of life. I hope to help them become productive members of society with compassion, wisdom, intelligence, and knowledge.

As we finish out 2013, and welcome in 2014, we get into the final month of my beautiful Christmas decor. That's when I do some deep cleaning while putting our beautiful decorations back into their packaging. We will celebrate my hubby's 39th birthday the end of January, and I begin to get the itch to garden again with each new seed catalog.

We have a pretty busy schedule year round, but September through January are some of my favorite times. Once we get through January, February is usually pretty quiet but March starts a whole new madness. Spring planting, our youngster's birthday, garden planning, garden planting, fertilizing the hay ground, then comes late Spring and early Summer. Hay baling, garden harvests, and Summer holidays. And then we begin the Fall activities all over.

So, as I said before, "'tis the season!" It's the season of beauty, and compassion. Here's my countdown as of today!!!!

Halloween : 34 days away
Thanksgiving: 62 days away
Winter Solstace: 85 days
Christmas: 89 days
My 39th birthday: 92 days
2014: 95 days

I encourage everyone to get out there during the next 95days and do some sort of random act of kindness every day! Imagine what a great world it would be if everyone did a single act of kindness every single day!

~Sal