Wintry Nor'easter

First thing Zach did was to go outside and pick up the washers from the previous snowman and other items scattered here and there around the yard. Because the forecast was snow, and lots of it. The storm started early afternoon. In a half hour's time, the driveway and grass was white. That's how fast it came!

The latest rage around here is digging through the trashcan for envelopes. Then the boys draw pictures and write letters and 'send' them to Mom and friends. I thought it was cute that Landon gave me a 'card' or 'letter' the one day then minutes later gave it to my friend who stopped in. Yeah, I thought that was mine. ☺

Sometimes I get tired of all the trash lying around, but I know this season will pass. And I may as well let them have fun while it lasts.

With it snowing outside as you can see in the background, I thought it's time to get my pinto beans canned. We had canned about 8-10 quarts earlier and we were completely out of them. So I bought a big bag from Walmart. I doubt if these are the top quality beans you can buy. But I do know that home canned beans beat the tin canned stuff with all the sugar and additives. I'm sure the homegrown beans rate the BEST!

First, wash and sort your beans.
Put 1-1/4 to 1-1/2 cups in a quart jar.
Add 1 teaspoon salt.
Fill jar with water to the neck.
Can 3 hours in a canner like I have.
Or pressure can at 10 lbs. for 85 minutes. (I'm looking for a nice used one! I don't own one, yet.)

Adding a little less beans like 1-1/4 cups makes more broth.

Adding 1-1/2 cups fills most of the jar with beans.
I used pinto beans, but I would also like to try the red kidney beans.
It was a perfect way to humidify the house while the air was dry outside. Plus it made our house warm.
Yield: 17 quarts. I was pleased.

The children waited for several hours till there was enough of snow to sled.

For some reason, we can't find our snow suits. I know they are somewhere in the midst of boxes in storage. We searched and searched but not hard enough, I guess. So then you make do with what you've got!

Getting together with friends always makes sledding more fun!

And this is how it looked before we went to bed.