The Big Freeze

It's a thing of beauty! Who would have guessed ten years ago that I could possibly become so excited by such a utilitarian appliance, but I am! Oh, how time and motherhood changes priorities. I have long wanted a large "extra" freezer. I have shopped for one, compared the options and finally settled on this very energy efficient baby. It took a little bit of work to convince Ben that buying a brand new appliance was the way to go, but when I was able to present him with the fact that this brand new chest freezer would only cost us an average of $22 per year in energy, he was convinced and then when it went on sale... we got to go down to good ol' Home Depot and pick it up. And best of all it makes a great place to set my tray of garden seedlings. The freezer joined our household on Saturday afternoon. When I woke up on Sunday morning and looked out the front door, I realized that possibly my freezer had gotten a little carried away...

It looked like my brand new freezer had cast a chill on the entire mid-march world. The snow melted quickly, and was really just enough to remind us that a couple of days of spring-like weather in Tehachapi does not mean that winter has relinquished it's hold.

The cold weekend kept me inside working on my canning projects. This weekend brought a large batch of 11 quarts of refried beans and 12 pints of cubed ham (which I might add was on sale this last week for only 99 cents a lb.)

Every time I can something new, I am so proud of the results. Aren't they pretty?

Even though things were very busy and hectic here, the kids did find a chance to get outside and play with the neighbors and Sarah even got a little bike riding lesson from Big Ben.

Coming soon... grass in the front yard. Ben finished the sprinkler system today! Yayy!