Valentines Days 2 & 3

Wow!  That hog butchering absolutely wore me out yesterday.  My back muscles are still aching today!  I'm sorry I didn't get the post done yesterday.  There was just no way I could think clearly enough when I got home to get it written.  I'll share some pictures of that, but first, I would like to share our Valentine surprises.

If you are considering doing this next year, look for items like
these on clearance at the end of each season to keep your
costs to a minimum.

On day 2, Alissa got cute little Valentine socks with a tag that read, "Valentine, you knock my socks off."  I didn't think Jacob would like cute little socks, so I gave him the Super Mario hat and glove set I found on clearance.  His tag read, "You are a super Valentine!"

Day three was church day.  We always have gum to take to church.  I picked up a couple of extra packs (no pun intended!).  Jacob has suddenly taken a strong liking to root beer.  Look what I just happened to find at the checkout line- root beer flavored gum!  :)  The tags read, "You are extra special, Valentine!"

I have loved picking up little things the last several months to use.  I actually have a couple of things from last year that didn't get used.


Switching gears:
Warning:  Some images may be disturbing to some viewers.  Viewer discretion is advised.  :)



Okay, I promised I would share some images from the hog butchering at a friend's house yesterday.  We butchered her two pigs.  Her husband had actually killed and skinned the pigs the day before, so the hard part for me was already done when I arrived yesterday morning.  I was a little late getting there and one pig was already being cut into pieces,

 but the other one was still hanging.

There was only one of us who had ever done this before and knew what she was doing (the one in the gray sweatshirt).  She was so patient with us!

She took the bacon and three hams to the butcher just down the road for smoking.  The very thick chops were put in the freezer.  I wish I had counted how many there were.  The rest, we cut off the bone to make ground pork, sausage and pepperoni.

This was the second grinding of the meat.

Spices were then added to the different bowls for two different sausages and one type of pepperoni.

The the casings were prepared and stuffed.

The casing, sheep intestines, ready to begin.

I tried to load the video of the sausages as they were made, but my blog skills are still lacking, I suppose!  :)

One of the finished sausages!

As tired as I was upon leaving, I had to stop and snap a couple of shots of my view all day.  This area is so pretty!

Ahhh!  What a happy day it was!  It was so good to be able to talk so long about so much with my friends, my sisters in Christ!  It was so fun to relax, laugh, and learn!  This my friends is what we call the simple life.  My greatest joy of the day?  The ladies all laughing halfway through the day when I pointed out I had on pants and not a skirt with my veil.  Only one, who had told me to wear pants to begin with, noticed.  The other ladies were so interested in me, us, and what we were doing that no one had even looked.  (And you know what?  Not one single one would have cared if they had!)  Most of my life I have spent dodging eyes that have looked at me from head to toe before one decided to speak or not. Not many have ever bothered to see the smile that I offered first.   It is such a blessing to be among those who look at me, the true me, and not my clothes to see if I suite their standards.  I am loved and accepted because I am a child of God, and I have seen that same love displayed to the saved and unsaved alike.  Isn't that that the best way to reflect God's love?  This is how I have always tried to treat others, and it is so good to be among others who feel and do the same.  We serve such an awesome God!  I thank him so often for sending me to my new church, my new home.

Until we meet again, may you be blessed!