The last three days, I had a big pot of beef bones simmering in a big canner. I browned the bones in a 400° oven till they were a rich, golden brown. Then I put them in the canner, covered them with water and simmered on the back burner for twenty-four hours. Then I added onions, celery, and garlic and let it simmer for another full twenty-four hours. Yesterday was the day to put up the broth. At first I thought I’d strain the broth from the vegetables and bones, but it all looked and smelled so yummy, I decided to purée everything together and can it in pint jars. I ended up with seven pints of very concentrated bone broth that’s going to be a great vegetable soup base this winter! I canned them in the pressure canner at 10 pounds pressure for 25 minutes and them let them cool on their own. I know you can take those bones and keep cooking them over and over till every bit of nutrition is out of them and they crumble into nothing. But I got to thinking about how much gas I used to cook that and decided that was enough. We’ll see if it tastes amazing before I decide to do that again.

I spent the rest of the day making things. I finished a hat and scarf and another Christmas stocking. And I crocheted some more scrubbies. It was a really lovely day with my sweetheart. We watched some more college football and Christmas shows. There was a skiff of snow on when I woke up and I was really happy to stay in.

Mr. FixIt has to go to town today. I need a few things, so I think I’ll send him with a list and stay home to work on more things that I can offer in my shop. I’m looking forward to getting back into selling some things I make with my own two hands. After all, that is the root of my humble beginnings here at Marshmallow Ranch.

I found out yet another of our classmates that attended the Christmas Dinner on the 8th has come down with Covid. That’s either nine or ten out of twenty-nine. And, if I were a betting woman, I’d swear I’m coming down with something, but so far the test is negative. We’ll see what it says this morning. I’m praying I don’t get it, but if I do, I am terribly grateful for the vaccines and how much they have protected us. They gave us time to develop a herd immunity  as the virus morphed into a less violent and deadly version of itself. I’m grateful for the knowledgeable scientists and doctors that worked for decades to find a delivery system for vaccines that would carry the information directly to the cells. This same mRNA technology is going to be used in ways we can’t imagine yet. I’m excited to see where the science takes us. 

I hope you’re having a good week and you’re healthy and doing well!

🎄

”The Lord sustains him on his sickbed; in his illness you restore him to full health.“

Psalm 41:3 ESV