40, 17 and the cold hand of winter

Winter roared in like a freight train, everything in the garden is dead. It was pretty amazing to see how fast it went from lush to dead. I had everything pulled, picked, and harvested so I wasn't upset but I did get annoyed that I couldn't save the tomatoes... I lost about 150 of them. I could have covered them but since they are in pots that wouldn't have helped the roots and it was 27 degrees 2 mornings in a row with ice all over the ground.
Next year I will put them in the ground for sure, mainly for water consumption control, but it could have saved.
I turned the heat on, froze my butt off at a work event on Saturday. I finally finished making all of the Amish bread. We are getting a freezer next month, it's time, our fridge/freezer is busting open with frozen goodness. Once we have that up and running I can make as much bread and food as I like!

If anyone wants some, I'll mail it to you.

I turned 40 this morning and I feel wonderful.
We are having our 17th anniversary on Thursday.

Both are being celebrated on Sunday with a BBQ for family and friends, I'm up to 50 RSVP's... I never realized I knew so many people, let alone so many people who wanted to share these special occasions with us. After I left the Army I really didn't have any direction but knew I had made a commitment for life. There wasn't a job back in the day that I had skills for, there wasn't a need for Blackwater/KBR types. I had a job offer in Saudi Arabia for a lot of money but I knew it would destroy the relationship we had just started. I never imagined I would be settled down in one spot for so long and be so happy.

I'm not religious, but I've been blessed. When I lost my father I thought my life was over, I really was lost. We stuck together, I pulled myself up out of the bottom of a deep pit of despair. I'm doing better than ever now, it's amazing how fate works. Tragedy can destroy or it can bring you closer and more determined. I was/am determined to move forward and look in the mirror knowing I'm a good man and still making my Dad proud.

I'm healthy, happy and feeling like the top of the world. We are well prepared for whatever comes our way, or at least as best as we can be without going off the deep end. We continue to work on self reliance without giving up a lot of the things we enjoy. Our annual trip to Mexico for scuba diving is in a few weeks.

Top of the world.
It's cold this morning at the top too. Brr.