Little House On an Acre in NY

For the past two weeks, I have been visiting my daughter and her family in New York.  We had a wonderful time together, but anyone that knows me knows that I can't sit still for very long.  I invent projects just to so I have something to do.  Well, the apple didn't fall far from the tree.  My daughter is a carbon copy of me.  The only difference is that the 23 year between us has slowed me down.  I just look at her "to do" list and get tired.  She lives on an acre of land but she uses every inch of it.  When I visit her, I feel like I am going back to "The Little House on the Prairie."

For the past several years, my daughter has been going to college full time, working to support her family of five, as well as keeping up with all the housework and yard work.  Needless to say, only the important things got done.  So during this last visit, we dove into the basement to clean it out.  We took two trailer loads to the dump, about seven bags of clothes and shoes to the "Magic Closet" and had a yard sale to get rid of the rest.  She is getting shelves built for storage so she should be organized by fall.


Canning and freezing food for winter was also on the agenda.  We put up a bushel of green beans in the freezer.  She and one of her daughters made peach jam and the day I left they canned several quarts of peaches.  When my daughter was growing up, I would never have guessed that she would be the one who was the farmer.  She has laying hens for fresh eggs and is raising two turkeys. one for Thanksgiving and the other for Christmas.  She has already butchered a dozen or so chickens and is butchering a hog and beef this fall to split with a friend.  If "chicken little" says the sky is falling, she's the only one in our family who will be prepared!