Mountain Home Quilts

The Best $28 Ever Spent

2012-01-27T16:11:00.000-08:00

I'm all for being frugal. Sometimes a little too much in certain areas. There is, of course, that other side of me that isn't so frugal in other areas. But, we're talking saving money here so let's get on with it....
I am always searching for ways to cut our budget. About 2 years ago the thought came to me! Why am I paying to have my boys hair cut?! At that point we had 3 boys in the family (2 boys and one husband) that were regularly getting their hair cut about every 6 weeks. Now we have 4 (3 boys and one husband.)

A haircut in our area, for a boy, can run anywhere from $12-$20, depending on where you get it cut. So, let's do some math......

52wks in a year/ 6wks = 8.67 haircuts per year per boy

and 8.67 haircuts x $12-$20 per cut = $104 - $173

With 4 boys the total would then be $416 - $692 per year!!!

So, just over 2 years ago I ventured down to our local Wal-Mart and bought this....

For $28.

Yep. That is all I have spent on boy's haircuts in the last 2 years, a whopping $28.

Savings? Best case scenario = $832 (2 years worth) - $28 = $804
Now that is a chunk of change.

I do get my hair cut (for $20) about twice a year and Timber has yet to even need a haircut. Yay for being frugal! Excuse me while I go spend that extra money on fabric.........er, I mean bills.

Do you cut your boys hair? Have you ever figured up your savings for doing so?

IndoctriNation Giveaway Winner

2012-01-21T11:33:00.001-08:00

The IndoctriNation giveaway is now closed. Here is what Random.org had to say this morning:
Random Integer Generator
Here are your random numbers:
21
Timestamp: 2012-01-21

That means that Katy~The Country Blossom is our winner!
Congratulations Katy, I'll be emailing you!

We're still inside!

2012-01-20T11:33:00.000-08:00

The last 3 days have been very stormy and we've been in the house A LOT. Today is the first day where while it is still raining, it's not coming down in buckets and you can safely walk outside without being blown over into the next county. I haven't seen the river today but I'm hoping it has come down since yesterday. It was beyond flood stage yesterday.

But with all this time inside we've been able to still enjoy ourselves.

We've had the wood stove going strong for about a week straight. First it was the cold weather and sprinkling of snow....

Then the warm up with high surf (at the ocean), high wind, and flooding advisories everywhere!

We're looking at these books. Have you ever seen them? I know they can't be anything new, but they are new to us and we absolutely love them! If you have any at your library I'd highly recommend checking a few of them out.

I've been working on Mason's quilt too and have 13 of the 20 blocks done!

So here is to winter finally being here! Here's to hot fires and warm toes... drawing, reading, sewing and snuggling! I can certainly wait a little longer for spring.

A Simple Woman's Daybook

2012-01-17T12:16:00.000-08:00

FOR TODAY
Outside my window... It's windy, overcast and cold. The ground is still wet from last nights rain.
I am thinking... that staying on top of discipline is a discipline in itself. And a hard one, at times, at that.
I am thankful... for my daughter. I am constantly thankful that the Lord's plans are always better than my own.
From the learning rooms... lots of reading and narration.
In the kitchen... leftover clam chowder for lunch today and a pork roast tonight for dinner.
I am wearing... this skirt with a long sleeve blue top
I am creating... Mason's quilt.
I am going...to violin lessons this afternoon with Timber.
I am wondering... if I'll ever measure up to the type of mom and wife that I want to be in my heart.
I am reading...I just finished "Raising Maidens of Virtue" and am in the midst of "Created to Be His Help Meet."
I am hoping... better yet, praying, that I do my husband (and my children) good and not harm all the days of my life. Lord, lead me.
I am looking forward to...the eggs we'll be getting from our 3 new laying hens!
I am hearing... the sound of the Suzuki Violin CD playing as my little children sleep.
Around the house... dusting and laundry are on my to do list.
I am pondering...signing Layton up for T-ball.
One of my favorite things...winter storms.
A few plans for the rest of the week... getting together with a friend to finish up a sewing project, cleaning house, running Wyatt back and forth to his bike repair class, etc.
A picture thought... sometimes you're just desperate for some snow!

Family Picture Time

2012-01-16T07:09:00.000-08:00

While we were down visiting family for Christmas we had these photos taken. While the photo session went...well, lets call it "interestingly", we had better success than the last time we attempted family pictures.

I am blessed beyond measure.

IndoctriNation: A DVD Giveaway

2012-01-12T06:49:00.000-08:00

I have been so impressed with the IndoctriNation movie. If you missed it, you can read my short review of it here. I wish that this movie could be handed out to all Christian families, for free, so that everyone could easily have a chance to see it. It's that important. It's that good.

I'd like to give away a copy of the movie here on my blog. If you'd like to win this DVD, here are the giveaway rules:

1. Leave a comment here telling me if you're already a homeschooler or looking into homeschooling or if you've never even considered homeschooling.

2. FB or Tweet about this giveaway and leave me a separate comment telling me you did for an extra entry!(optional)

Please make sure I have a way of contacting you if you win.

Giveaway will end Friday January 20th at midnight- California time!

Timber's Quilt

2012-01-11T14:54:00.000-08:00

I think it's been longer than forever since I've shared a quilting post. True?
Mostly, because I haven't been quilting much with the exception of what needs to be quilted for our family.
Timber and Layton moved into bunk beds a few months ago when Mason got bumped up to a toddler bed. Since all 3 of them share a bedroom the bunk bed gave them more floor space. When I contemplated what to do for the kids quilts, I knew I needed to make it easy. 2 twin size quilts and a quilt big enough for a toddler bed were in my immediate sewing future and I didn't want to dive into anything intricate.
Here is Timber's quilt:

The quilt has been on her bed for a few months now, but I just got around to taking a picture of it.
I used Portugal by April Cornell for Moda.

Layton's quilt is on my machine as we speak. Hopefully once it's done it won't take me 3 months to snap a photo. I'm using the Ron's World collection by Henry Glass for his. I can't wait to show you the back of the quilt. I really love it!
As for Mason, his Happy Trails quilt hasn't even been cut. The poor baby is still sleeping under his baby quilt- with his little feet sticking out.

If we could get some rain, I could get some more sewing done....probably.

Really Good French Bread

2012-01-07T11:55:00.000-08:00

Nothing says "winter dinner" like a nice pot of homemade soup and some french bread. When it's dark by 5:30pm and been cold and raining all day, nothing welcomes daddy home like the aroma of fresh bread coming out of the oven.

I'm sure that if it was winter here then my husband, who works outside all day (rain or shine) would appreciate that supper.

Except it's more like June here rather than January.

Case in point: December's average rainfall: 13.7 inches. This December's rainfall: 2.4 inches.

So instead we've been having crab salads for dinner with french bread. Because while it still may be sunny and late spring like, it is still crab season in these parts!

~ French Bread~

1 1/4 c warm water
2 tsp sugar
3 1/2 c flour
1 1/2 tsp yeast
1 tsp salt
1 egg + 1 Tb water
cornmeal for dusting

Place first 5 ingredients in bread maker and set on dough setting.

Read to your kids, spend some time in the Word, fold a couple loads of laundry, whatever, for the next 1.5 hours.

When cycle is done, divide dough into 2 equal portions. Roll each portion into a 8x10" rectangle with a rolling pin. Roll up dough jelly roll style, pinching seams and placing loaves seam side down on cornmeal dusted baking sheet.

Cover and allow to rise for 20 minutes.

Whisk egg and water together and brush over the tops of the loaves. Slice 4 slashes in the tops of each loaf.

Bake at 375 degrees for 20-25 minutes.

Tiramisu Cheesecake

2012-01-03T08:46:00.000-08:00

I realize that this is not the time to throw those New Year resolutions out the window but you just may have to for this recipe.

My Italian half has always loved Tiramisu. My other English, Irish, Russian, German, Scottish, etc. half just sees it going to my hips while shaking it's head.

This recipe combines Tiramisu and cheesecake together to make one of the most wonderful desserts!

Here's what you'll need....

1 pkg (12oz) vanilla wafers (For this recipe only, don't look at the ingredients on the side of the wafer box otherwise you'll end up not making this.)
5 tsp instant coffee, divided
3 Tbsp hot water, divided
4 8oz. pkgs cream cheese
1 c sugar
1 c sour cream
4 eggs
1 1/2 c whipped cream (cream that you have whipped yourself with some sugar and vanilla)
1 Tb baking cocoa

Layer half of wafers in greased 13x9 dish. In a small bowl, dissolve 2tsp coffee in 2Tb hot water. Brush wafers with half of coffee, set remaining coffee aside.
In a large mixing bowl, beat the cream cheese, sugar and sour cream until smooth. Add eggs: beat until just combined. Divide batter in half. Dissolve remaining coffee in remaining hot water and stir into one half of the batter. Spread coffee-batter over wafers. Layer with remaining wafers; brush with reserved coffee. Top with remaining batter.
Bake at 325 for 40 minutes. Cool for 1 hour. Refrigerate for at least 6 hours or overnight.
Spread with whipped cream, dust with cocoa.

Now, try to only eat one piece!

The Family Integrated Church

2011-12-19T08:42:00.000-08:00

While perusing my Vision Forum 2012 catalog a few months back I noticed a movie titled, "Divided." I read the brief description of the movie and thought, "Hm, sounds interesting." Since then I have been hearing little bits and pieces of what a Family Integrated Church (FIC) is. What I'm gathering is that the FIC does away with things like Sunday School groups and youth groups divided by ages. Families would attend a Sunday School or family group together instead- as one family. Here is their website, which I found and began looking at today, if you'd like to look into it further.

The thought of how our church is run has been rolling around in the back of my head for those few months. I have yet to see "Divided" but plan to when we start our subscription to Puritan Picks this January. (My husband and I are getting the subscription as a mutual Christmas present to each other.)

So, where am I going with this?

Honestly, at this point it would have still been a thought that was rolling around in my mind somewhere had I not read two articles today in The Home Educating Family Magazine. I have not subscribed to this magazine as of yet but have been interested in their Facebook posts, giveaways and what treasures their magazine may have. I have tried to order a subscription twice in the past but for some reason, just did not get all the way through the process. How I got this free issue, I don't know. It just showed up in the mail yesterday.

As I read through the article titled, "Mission of the Family, Mission of the Church: A critique of the Family Integrated Church Model" in the 2011 Issue 3 printing, I heard the argument against the FIC. I put the magazine down and gave it some thought. Then I re-read the article. I also read an article review of the movie "Divided" in the magazine.

Something just wasn't clicking for me.

How could a magazine that believes Deuteronomy 6:7, say that the idea of a FIC is a poor idea?

One of their main arguments is that singles and the elderly are left out of the picture in FICs. Why would that be? If EVERYONE is attending Sunday School together then why would that exclude an elderly person? Why would it exclude a young adult? Maybe I'm misinterpreting the purpose of the FIC. Are they wanting a church full of JUST families? That would be hard for me to believe. Especially when I know of some of the homeschool fathers that support FIC such as Doug Phillips and Voddie Baucham. If I am wrong, please let me know!

In the review of the "Divided" movie HEFM argues that "It is notable that the film does not offer any measured response to FIC. There are many conservative, biblical Christians who reject FIC and I am sure it would not have been difficult to interview a couple of them. Leclerc does not allow any of them to speak." That's like asking why Ken Ham doesn't include the response of an evolutionist in any of his films. Realistically, documentaries are mostly one sided, no matter what the documentary is about, so that argument isn't valid.

"I see young people abandoning the church and though I am saddened by it, I Am Un-alarmed." What???? I read that sentence over and over trying to have that make sense.

Then in the next article, "I believe there is little debate...when it comes to fathers being...servant leaders of their homes and the family growing in love and admonition of the Lord while worshiping Him together in Spirit and truth." (bold emphasis mine)

Isn't that what the FIC is for, not against?

"A look at the demographics of the FIC movement reveal that FIC's are predominately made up of homeschool families with K-12th grade students. That statistic undermines the very term 'multi-generational' " My question to that would be, "Who do you think is going to begin the FIC churches, a bunch of teenagers?" No, it would be families that want to worship together as a family.

My only conclusion then is that a home schooling magazine that encourages Christian parent to bring their children home to be educated would be condoning a traditional church that separates a family for the better part of Sunday, that sends babies off from the security of their parents, lumps a bunch of young children together in one room and sends teenagers off on Sunday nights (or whatever night you have youth group) all to be taught from someone else other than their parents? Sounds to me like............well............. government school.

I could see Christians that already send their children to public school questioning FIC, but Christian homeschoolers?

With all that said, this is something that my husband and I will have to give a lot of prayer to. I'm not suggesting that anyone leave their traditional church at this point. We have no plans of looking elsewhere for now. It's just a though that will need a lot of wisdom and guidance from the Lord.

What are your thoughts on Family Integrated Churches? I'd really love to hear!

Homestead Happenings

2011-12-16T13:42:00.000-08:00

I'm not quite sure how it seems that we have less going on at the homestead right now yet I feel as though I don't have the time to blog?

The garden was put to sleep this fall with a cover crop seed mixture that was put together by one of our local farms.

The new piggies are doing well- it will be March/April before we butcher again.

Work is still busy for my husband as we must have set some type of record here in Northern California for the driest December to date. I do believe that our normal rainfall in December is just over 10" and I wouldn't be surprised if we've only managed 2" so far. Plus, the next 10 days shows plenty of sunshine!

Timber Ann found a favorite book of hers under a dresser... or bed.. or tucked away in a closet somewhere. It's been missing long enough that I didn't think to put it on our Favorite Book List, but it is certainly one of her favorites. Now that it has been found we're back to reading it daily. She likes to read it to me from memory. While it's not a Christian book, it upholds values that have seem to have been forgotten by this country... A daddy that goes off to work to provide for his family. A mommy that stays home to raise her children and educate them. One that loves to spend time with her little ones, not ship them off as quickly as possible. One that is diligent. A family that eats supper together. It's called Little Mommy.

Layton has been a busy Lego beaver and has been creating all kinds of things. He brought me this dragon the other morning before the sun came up.

Tomorrow he turns 5. Ah! Where did the time go? He was just a newborn sleeping on my chest. He was just a toddler learning to talk. And now, 5? I want to cherish every single day that I have with him because the time passes all too quickly. Soon he will be grown with a family of his own and I'll look back wondering how all of that life happened in just a blink. What a sweet, sweet blessing he is to me.

Happy Birthday Layton!

IndoctriNation: A Review

2011-12-10T09:54:00.000-08:00

My husband and I watched the documentary "IndoctriNation" by Colin Gunn the other night. We were blown away. And we're already homeschoolers!

Here's a quick synopsis of the film- Mr. Gunn and his family load up onto a used school bus they found on Craigslist and take off traveling around America to learn about the origin and history of compulsory schooling, as well as talk to pastors, educators, authors, students and parents about public schooling.

I loved the array of people that are interviewed in this documentary. People like Ken Ham, Doug Phillips, Erwin Lutzer, and John Taylor Gatto (who as far as I know isn't even a professed Christian.)
This documentary shares verse after verse, far beyond Deuteronomy 6:4-7, to give Biblical reasoning for educating your children at home.
It also has some surprising twists (well, surprising to me at least.)

What we enjoyed the most from this film was not that it convinced us to homeschool, since we've already been convicted to do so, but that it made me rethink the way I homeschool in general. Why am I comparing my children to the children in schools? Who's standards am I trying to measure up to?

This film is also highly encouraging. It reaffirms your entire reasoning for homeschooling. I am so thankful that I purchased it as we can now watch it as often as we'd please.
I would encourage all Christian families to watch this film and then pray about what the Lord would have you to do with your children.

Here is the movie trailer:

Our Favorite Books for Little Ones

2011-11-25T09:06:00.000-08:00

My little kids love to be read to. One of our 2 year old's favorite sayings right now is, "Read! Read?" as he brings over a book and climbs up into your lap. Wyatt loves to read too and even takes delight in listening to what I call the "in between" books for our family when we read aloud in the evenings. ("In between books" are the chapter books that my little ones couldn't sit through if we attempted to read more than one or two chapters at a time but a book that Wyatt could read himself in one short afternoon.)
I thought I'd share some of our little ones favorites as I always love to get ideas for good books from other moms. There really are too many fluff books for little ones out there- not to mention ones that are drawn out and honestly a bore to read.

Keep in mind that my little ones are 2, 3 and 4 so this list is geared towards those ages, or certainly younger. I hope that this list inspires you!

Regular Read alouds:

A Dragon In A Wagon
Blueberries for Sal

The Little House
God's Wisdom for Little Girls (and Little Boys)

All of My First Little House Books

Shape Capers
My First Oxford Book of Poems
Cowboy Small
Harold and the Purple CrayonLet's Grow A Garden

Anything from Beatrix Potter

Chapter Books:

My Side of the Mountain

The Courage of Sarah Noble

Any of the Little House Books

Sarah Plain and Tall

Books for the holidays:

Patty's Pumpkin Patch (mentions Halloween, but limited to 1 page)

The Thanksgiving Story

A Corgiville Christmas

A Little House Christmas

I buy most of our books off of Amazon.com and 80% of the time buy them used. If I am placing a large book order then buying new sometimes works out to be less expensive if I qualify for free shipping on my order. I have also loved using Christianbook.com for books for the entire family and some of our our home education books.

Books make the most wonderful gifts for little ones, since I'm sure most of you are thinking towards Christmas now. If you have some favorite books you'd like to share, I'd love to hear about them!

Happy Thanksgiving!

2011-11-24T09:58:00.000-08:00

May your day today be filled with the blessings of friends and family!

Happy Thanksgiving.

A Simple Woman's Daybook

2011-11-23T08:02:00.000-08:00

FOR TODAY

Outside my window...it's already just after 8am but it is dark and gray outside. The forecast today is heavy rain/wind. At least the Maple trees are a cheery shade of autumn even if the rest of the world looks like winter

I am thinking...that I have a lot to get ready before my parents arrive this afternoon

I am thankful...for creation. What an amazing God we serve, that He could speak this wonderful beauty into existence

From the learning rooms...Thanksgiving studies, crafts and books

In the kitchen...sliced homestead raised ham for breakfast along with homemade raspberry jam on toast and this afternoon I'll make a new cheesecake with toffee

I am wearing...an old jean skirt with a grey t-shirt

I am creating...a apron for my mom and a table runner for my mother in law

I am going...to be cleaning the house today!

I am wondering... how many emergency storm calls will come in today with trees down

I am reading...Having a Mary Spirit and Memories of Mark Twain and Steve Gillis

I am hoping...that my parents don't get sick with the cold that we've all had for a couple weeks now

I am looking forward to... a cozy warm fire and baking Christmas cookies- starting Friday!

I am hearing...the sound of Mason and Timber playing with Legos. Wyatt and Layton went to work with daddy this morning

Around the house...laundry and cleaning out the pig barn

I am pondering...possibly opening up a new Etsy shop. I really have to pray about that one!

One of my favorite things... having my entire family cozy in the living room after dinner on a cold, rainy night

A few plans for the rest of the week... a Thanksgiving feast with family, visiting with my parents, and finishing up some sewing

A picture thought... oh the imagination and mind of a child....

Winter is near

2011-11-22T09:35:00.000-08:00

The days of fall are quickly coming to an end as the rain sets in , the trees are getting more and more bare, and Thanksgiving is just a few days away. Soon it will be winter.

This fall has been a wonderful time for us here at the homestead we have butchered pigs and bucks, chopped LOTS of firewood, spent time with homeschool friends, picked out pumpkins, baked new goodies, celebrated birthdays, planted garlic, tried our hand at smoking pork, finished up most of the canning for the year and even made time to sew! Here are a few pictures to recap our fall.

{Special pumpkins}

{Tree climbing}

{Mason turned 2!}

{Timber's new skirt}

{Timber's new jumper that ended up looking like a pillow case!}

{ Playing in the leaves}

{ Outdoor School with our homeschool group}

{Scarecrow parties}

{Bucks}

{Wyatt turned 14 and got a laptop for his birthday!}

{Smoking pork}

This Thanksgiving we won't be eating a home raised turkey. I only purchased one hen this year and about 3 months into her stay, she died. We couldn't afford the cost of purchasing another chick so we ended up buying our turkey from Azure this year. Organic turkeys have to be one of the most uneconomical animals to raise. Has that been your experience too?

If I don't get to check in again before Thanksgiving, I pray that yours is a blessed one this year! We truly have so much to be thankful for.

"Oh give thanks unto the Lord for He is good." Psalm 118:1

"Giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ" Ephesians 5:20

A Wonderful Homestead Giveaway!

2011-11-08T14:18:00.000-08:00

Daniel and Abby Jo over at Forgotten Way Farms are having an absolutely wonderful giveaway that you WILL NOT want to miss!
Giveaway HERE.

A Pumpkin Unit Study

2011-11-03T12:00:00.000-07:00

I love pumpkins.
I always have. I always will.

I don't know how I came to love them but I do and I have since as far back as I can remember. Really, I used to hug pumpkins. But that was in those weird teenage years. I don't hug them anymore but I do still love them.

When I saw this post on Growing Up Homeschooled I knew what we had to do. Pumpkins. An entire week devoted to them. Normally I don't choose the topics that my children "study" so precisely. We try to fall somewhere in the learning realm of Charlotte Mason. I lean towards unit studies and a little bit of unschooling too.

If you're interested in doing a pumpkin study here are some great resources that I have found. One of the greatest things is that a pumpkin study can be done at any time in the fall. This is not a Halloween study or a Thanksgiving study, it's simply about the pumpkins!

Growing Up Homeschooled Free Pumpkin Unit Lesson Plan

Growing Up Homeschooled Pinterest Fall Learning Page

The Virtual Vine Pumpkins Aplenty

Moments of Mommyhood Pumpkin Pie Spice Playdough

Hostess with the Mostess Paper Pumpkin Ornaments

Devotions in Motion Pumpkin Devotion

Almost Unschoolers Pumpkin Shaker

Craftaholics Anonymous Mini Paper Pumpkins

University of Ill. Pumpkin Facts

2 Teaching Mommies Pumpkin Study (this is one of my FAVORITES!!)

Here are some of the books we've read this week....

Patty's Pumpkin Patch

I Know It's Autumn

From Seed to Pumpkin

The Pumpkin Blanket

We have one more day in our pumpkin study (tomorrow) and we'll be reading, baking pumpkin bars, coloring a pumpkin picture, and making the play dough (that's the one craft that my kids have been looking forward to all. week. long.)

Have fun!

When a Quilter Destashes

2011-10-29T11:26:00.000-07:00

I went through a fabric cabinet of mine this morning and decided to destash. I thought I'd share with my blog readers before listing all this on Etsy. If you're interested leave me a comment here or email me. First come, first serve. Thanks!
All fabric measurements are the inches given by 42" or 44" depending on the manufacturer, unless otherwise noted. No fabrics have been washed. All prices are for the fabric only, shipping will be added depending on where you live. I accept PayPal for purchases.

1. Heather Ross, 36" horses on green from West Hill, other prints are scraps $8

2. Strawberry Delight by Fabric Freedom, black 23", strawberry 21", green floral 21", red solid 11", $8

3. Building Blocks- American Jane for Moda, 2 cuts- 74" and 43", $18 SOLD

4. Honeycomb Harvest- Moda, 5 charm packs, 1 jelly roll, beehive print 112" , vine print 74", $65 SOLD

5. It's Snowing- Moda, Squares and circles 36", snowflakes 36", candy cane 19", dots on red 43", 1 panel with 8 snowman squares, plus 1 yd of Candy Stripe from Marcus Fabrics, $25

6. Traditions Collection For A Cause Fat Quarter Bundle for Moda- 40 Ft Qts, $55 SOLD

7. Michael Miller- horseshoes on Red 28", cow print 30", retro cowgirls 29"x38", blue bandanna 30", plus Moda red/blue letters 14", $13 Sale Pending

I hope someone can use some of this! If you feel any of the prices are too high, I'd be glad to consider offers.

Really. Make me an offer, I want this stuff gone! :)

**I forgot to add that I have 1 Peace on Earth Charm Pack (50 sqs) for $5 and 3 Hemming House Wovens Charm Packs (19?sqs each) $6 for all. HH Wovens- SOLD All charm packs are from Moda. I didn't take pictures though. If you need one, I can email it to you or you can search the collections on Google.**

A Simple Woman's Daybook

2011-10-26T07:27:00.000-07:00

FOR TODAY

Outside my window...the sun is not quite up yet but I can see the daylight breaking

I am thinking...that having a home that is organized and runs without constant chaos makes everyone feel better

I am thankful...that my children are healthy

From the learning rooms...a pumpkin unit study

In the kitchen...pumpkin pancakes and link sausage

I am wearing...my newer denim tiered skirt and a green peasant top, barefoot

I am creating...Layton's quilt. I just finished Timber's on Monday

I am going...on a hike this morning with my kids to enjoy the crisp, fall sunshine

I am wondering... about all the fun things I'll get to bake/make for Christmas this year!

I am reading...Having a Mary Spirit and The Charlotte Mason Companion

I am hoping...that our smoked meat will be back from the butcher shop soon. We are really missing bacon!!

I am looking forward to...spending the day in the forest with my children

I am hearing...the sausage sizzling, Wyatt coming in from doing outside chores, Mason playing with toys

Around the house...dusting and vacuuming are in order!

I am pondering...how I can become better at being a help meet

One of my favorite things... the fact that Mason is almost 2 and still has that "baby" look, complete with chubbiness and all!

A few plans for the rest of the week: Swimming lessons, apple drying and canning, and enjoying, what probably will be, the last of the fall weather....before it starts raining.

A picture thought.....

Poppy and Pearl Giveaway Winner!

2011-10-21T15:23:00.000-07:00

Thanks to all who entered the Poppy and Pearl Co. give away! Here's what random.org said this afternoon:

Random Integer Generator
Here are your random numbers:

34
Timestamp: 2011-10-21

That means that Kimberly is our winner! Congratulations!

Recaping the 2011 Garden- A Green Bean Comparison

2011-10-14T15:42:00.000-07:00

This year I planted 4 different types of green beans and anxiously awaited them coming on! I was trying to figure out which ones I liked best.

Have you ever looked at a seed catalog section of grean beans? Talk about intimidating. Which ones will do better in my zone? Which ones do I like the taste of? What are their growing habbits? So many questions, too few answers. I decided to do my own little trial.

(Photo order: Blue Lake Pole, Royal Burgndy, Venture, Black Valentine)

(Unfortunately I took this picture at the very end of the season so I didn't have a mature Black Valentine bean to photograph. They are really much larger.)

I planted Black Valentine Bush Beans, Venture Bush Beans, Royal Burgundy Bush Beans and Blue Lake Pole Beans.
The Black Valentines came from Azure
The Venture and Blue Lakes came from Territorial
The Royal Burgundy came from Olds

Here's how they panned out...

At first I was not impressed with the Black Valentines. They are an heirloom bush bean and the flavor in my opinion was just so-so. Once I started to really compare their size to the other beans though I was pretty impressed with how large and yet tender they could be. They bush out nicely and put on beans at a steady pace. They were even still flowering when I ripped the plants out.

The Venture Bush Beans put on great tasting, very straight beans. And they put them mostly out at one time. Which isn't so bad if you have a short growing season and just want them to come on and then be done.

My Blue Lake Pole Beans.....what can I say? They were again not impressive this year. It's not the bean itself though, as I have planted this type of pole bean for 5 years in a row. Pole beans require better weather conditions than bush beans around these parts and my Blue Lake Poles just aren't getting the early start they need. The beans were very "beany". The bean shape is prominent in the pod.

And finally, Royal Burgundy. These are just a fun bean to grow because they are purple! My kids are always in awe that we have purple green beans. These were probably my least favortie bean flavor wise but they, like the Black Valentine, keep putting out the blooms and produce bean after bean. If you don't harvest them when they are of a small to medium size though they can get stringy.

How did the beans in your garden do this year? Do you have a favorite type of bean to grow?

Poppy and Pearl Co. - A Giveaway CLOSED

2011-10-12T14:02:00.000-07:00

As promised, a giveaway that has something to do with Mason jars! What woman doesn't just love Mason jars? Especially the unique ones. Just thinking about them gets me all excited. Of course, you may be a totally normal person who doesn't get giddy over them and I may just be a weirdo.
Whether you're a Mason jar junkie like me or not, you'll still love what I've got to share.

Poppy and Pearl Co. has graciously offered to give away one of their Mason Jar Tumblers to one lucky winner!
These are perfect for our family since we steer clear of putting anything into plastic!

Bobbi Bankston is the shop owner and creator of everything you'll find at Poppy and Pearl Co. on Etsy. She is a momma of three sweet little boys and a wife to one husband. She and her family live in the happiest place on earth........no, it's not Disneyland.........it's the California Mother Lode! Let me take a moment to allow Bobbi to share a little;

Tell us a little bit about yourself....
Hi, my name is Bobbi. I LOVE living in the beautiful town of Sonora, the place I was born and raised. I married a really cool guy 14 years ago and we now have three amazing, rowdy boys who are 8, 5, and 2. I love gardening, baking, fishing, hydrangeas, snowboarding, dates with the hubby and coffee. Coffee should have been first on the list... I think it's my #1 priority in life ; )

What gave you the desire to open Poppy and Pearl Co.?
I've always adored Etsy... it truly is genius! After working (outside the home) last year, I realized that I needed something that was "my own". I desired a career that would make me smile and allow me to work from home. I LOVE girly things and in a house full of boys I was happy at the thought of doing something that expressed "me" and also gave me a creative outlet. Several close friends of mine who are also Etsy shop owners, inspired and encouraged me to take the leap of faith, make the career change and give it a go. And so, Poppy and Pearl Co. was born on August 2nd.

Where does your inspiration come from?
My inspiration comes mostly from the vintage fabric, doilies and lace that I have collected. I've been lucky to find (and been given) so many wonderful materials. I adore vintage lace and doilies- such lovely treasures!
My new Mason Jar Tumblers featured for the giveaway are kind of like my pride and joy right now. The Mason Jar is extremely popular and so many people have created wonderful uses for them. Using them as beverage tumblers are eco-friendly and they look pretty in your hand which makes them very Poppy and Pearl. Getting the word out is a very exciting process for me!

What new items do you see Poppy and Pearl Co. creating in the future?
I would LOVE to expand my Mason Jar lids, starting with "fermenting lids" for the gallon size jars. I have been working on lace earrings and necklaces and also collecting vintage bags to add to the shop in the next few months.

Bobbi was even kind enough to send me a sample of her tumbler toppers so that I could try them out for myself.

They are absolutely wonderful!

To enter the giveaway here's what you need to do:
1. Check out the Poppy and Pearl Co. shop on Etsy and let me know, via a comment, which of Bobbi's items really catches your eye.
2. (Optional 2nd entry) Blog about this giveaway and leave a SEPARATE comment telling me you did.
3. (Optional 3rd entry) FB or Tweet this giveaway and leave a SEPARATE comment telling me that you did.

This giveaway will be open until October 20th.

Root Cellaring Give Away Winner

2011-10-07T19:59:00.000-07:00

O.k., it's Friday night and I'm pooped. The bed is calling my name and I can't wait until tomorrow. Why? Because tomorrow I have nothing to do but sew!

Well, and take care of the kids, and prepare meals, and get puppy food, and laundry, and organize my stash of fabrics....which by the way I'm thinking of getting rid of. Not all of it of course, I may have gone purge happy , but not that purge happy. Is there anything that you are looking for? I have an abundance of Moda....especially pre-cuts. Let me know if there is. Maybe I can send something your way.
I'm rambling now. See, that's what happens when I blog at night. By the way, it's only 7:59pm right now. Can you tell I'm one of those early to bed, early to rise gals?

Anywho, on with the give away......

Random. org (a give away blogger's best friend) said this tonight......

Random Integer Generator
Here are your random numbers:

19

Which means that Amanda from Homegrown and Beeyoutiful is the winner!

YAY!! I love giving things away- to anyone really, but it's even a little bit sweeter when Random.org chooses one of your blogging friends!

Thank you so very much to everyone who entered the give away.

Next week I have a really fun give away to share that I know you'll love. I'll give you a hint- it includes Mason Jars! See ya then!

Root Cellaring- A Give Away CLOSED

2011-09-30T08:37:00.001-07:00

Technically it is still September. The 30th- but still September! I did get the opportunity to read "The Joy of Keeping A Root Cellar" earlier this month, I just haven't gotten around to putting up a post for the give away until now.
First, my pros and cons on the book.
Pros: The biggest thing that I love about this book is that the author actually HAS a root cellar on her farm. This isn't someone just writing about what she has researched. Jennifer Megyesi is living it at Fat Rooster Farm in Vermont.
The book has a bunch of information on canning, freezing and drying fruits, vegetables, herbs and meats. It also has some information on smoking meats. The story that Jennifer tells about her homemade smoker is hilarious! You'll have to read the book to find out for yourself.
There are also some great looking recipes included in the book.

Cons: My only real "con" in this book is the section on smoking. I would have loved to have more information on it, including lots of recipes and how to's. The only recipe that is shared in that section is one, "For five hundred pounds of hams." No, really, that's it. Of course, I could reduce the recipe by maybe 10 times to get something accurate on what I'd actually do here at home.

Overall, I really enjoyed this book. I hope that you will too!

To enter the give away please do the following:

1. Leave a comment here telling me what you'd most like to learn from this book.
2. (Optional 2nd entry) Blog about this giveaway for an additional entry and leave a SEPARATE comment telling me you did.
3. (Optional 3rd entry) FB or Tweet this giveaway and leave a SEPARATE comment telling me that you did.

The give away will be open until Friday October 7th.

What better way to be prepared than to have a supply of food at your fingertips that is preserved? Join the Preparedness Challenge!

Cinnamon Vanilla Pear Jam

2011-09-28T17:18:00.000-07:00

It's fall and I'm inspired. Inspired to take some of God's goodness and put it to work in my kitchen!
Pumpkin pancakes for breakfast, hot cider on the stove, and cinnamon vanilla pear jam! I purchased 6lbs of pears from Azure this month and went on a internet scavenger hunt to find a recipe for pear jam. I found this one and loved the idea. But you know me, I have to modify and change stuff around so here's what I came up with:

4 c peeled, chopped pears

1.5 c sugar

1 vanilla bean (cut and scraped)

3/4 tsp cinnamon

Pectin

(The following directions are for making this jam using Pomona Pectin. If you use a different type of pectin then just go ahead with all the ingredients in the pot and add your pectin after it's hot.)

Peel and chop your pears. Add the pears, 1c sugar, vanilla bean and scrapings, and cinnamon to large saucepan. Heat till pears become slightly soft. Mash about 1/2 of the pears into a pulp, leaving pear chunks as well.

Add 4tsp calcium water and stir well.

In a bowl, combine remaining 1/2c sugar with 3 tsp powdered pectin. Stir well.

Pour sugar/pectin combo into hot fruit. Stir at medium high heat until well dissolved (about 2 minutes.)

Ladle into half pint jars (or pint if you wish) and process in a hot water bath canner for 10 minutes.

(Just as a note, I did do the original 2 c of sugar in the recipe linked above for my first batch but found it to be too sweet. I lowered it to 1.5c in my second batch and was happier with the results. I believe though that you could lower it even more- to say 1c and still have it turn out great....using the Pomona Pectin that is.)

Simple. Yummy. The perfect fall gift for a friend, at a party, for a neighbor. Enjoy!

This post is linked to the Farmgirl Friday Blog Hop!

The Cost of Raising Hogs for Meat

2011-09-20T16:08:00.001-07:00

I finally took a few moments to sit down with my pen and paper, receipts, and a calculator to figure out the cost of our hogs this go 'round. I try to do the math every time we butcher because there are so many variables, how much we paid for the weaner (which by the way caused quite a ruckus in the feed store the other day when I asked the owner "how much he was selling his weaners for" and someone over heard me not knowing that I was talking about pigs), how big the hogs actually get before we butcher, how long we keep them, how much food they go through, etc.

So, for this time around our first hog weighed in at 250lbs, via the weight tape, a week or so before we butchered. Her hanging weight- which was her weight with no hide, no head, no guts, and no feet came out to 157lbs. I know that may seem like a huge difference but trust me, that huge head and the hide together weighs a ton!

-We paid $125.00 for the pig (we got it later than 8wks) normally, weaners are anywhere from $80-$100 in our area

-We spent $375.00 on organic hog feed ($750.00 really, since there are two hogs but I split the cost in half for one hog)

-We spent $4.00 in straw (again, halved for the one hog)

So, $125+$375+$4= $504.00 to raise a hog

Our meat then came out to $504/157 lbs = $3.21/lb

We are sending out one ham and the bellies to be smoked this time so our total cost will look more like this: $566/157lb= $3.60/lb

We saved the cost of butchering it by doing it ourselves. The last time we had a hog butchered off our property it was $50 for the kill and then $200.00 in cut/wrap/smoke fees. If we added those onto this hog it would have been $504+$200+$50= $754...then divided by 157lbs= $4.80/lb.

We're certainly saving money by doing it on our own. We can't buy organic pork, let alone bacon, for $3.60/lb. I know the bacon goes for something like $7.00/lb and I believe the chops are around $6.00/lb.

We'll be butchering our second hog in the next few weeks and then in October we'll be getting 2 more weaners. These should be a little less expensive, around $80.00 which will certainly make our bottom line lower. We'll be getting gilts again since we really enjoyed them this time. I actually enjoyed them so much that I was a little sad to see the first one gone but their purpose is food, not as pets. I'm thankful to have a freezer full right now!

The Look of Fall Around the Homestead

2011-09-19T14:50:00.000-07:00

Hunting season is here, the huge Maple tree out front it turning colors and dropping leaves, the apple trees are almost ready to be harvested- it's fall!

Hot cider, warm apple pie, raking leaves, tree work and hog butchering. (Well, maybe the last two aren't a thought of fall for most!)

This past Saturday we butchered one of our hogs. I'm still working up the money vs. pound-age and final costs. I'll let you know how that turns out.

The kids watching Gavin gut the hog.

We're thankful for fall and all it brings.

Canning Tuna - A How To

2011-09-15T11:00:00.000-07:00

When you live near the coast, you can tuna. You head down to the docks, or talk to one of your fisherman friends (because there are a lot of fishermen here) and you buy a bunch of whole fish. Say, 100-200lbs of it. Then you fillet it. Then you can it.

Pretty simple.

You know where your food comes from (just miles off the coast) and you know how it was processed (at home.) It makes for much happier tuna consumption than the little cans of Bumblebee from the store. Plus, it would take about 5 of those cans to feed my family for lunch. Opening one can is just much easier than opening five. See? I am a tad bit lazy.

So here we go.......

Take your fillet of fish and remove the skin.

Make sure to first cut out all that really dark meat (the blackish, reddish, purplish stuff- it's really fishy.)
Now, if you're a professional fish cutter-upper than you have this down pat. If you're me though, you have some fillets that turn out beautifully...

and then others that just looked hacked to death. But it's o.k., "hacked to death" doesn't matter when you're just cramming the fish into the jar anyway.

Cut your tuna into 2" chunks and pack firmly into clean jars.

Add about 1/4-1/2tsp salt, wipe your rim down, place your lid on, screw on the band and load the jar into the pressure canner.

Your pressure canner should have a couple of inches of water in it, say 2".

Once your canner is full of jars, place the lid on and turn your burner on high. Once the air/steam starts to come out of the top little exhaust hole, turn on your timer for 10 minutes. Once you have allowed all the air to escape, place your bobber thingy (don't you love all my crafty, scientific names for things?) on the exhaust and bring your canner up to pressure. Can at 11lbs of pressure for 100 minutes for pint jars. When 100 minutes is up, simply turn your burner off and allow the canner to reduce it's pressure on it's own. DO NOT remove the bobber thingy until all pressure is gone!

The whole process of canning, once your jars are in the canner, takes about 2 hours with all the heating up and cooling down. I try to can as much as possible at one time so that I'm not at the stove all day long.

Really, canning tuna is easy and fun! Have you ever had home canned tuna? Questions? Comments? :)

This post is linked to the Barn Hop!

Here we go homeschool!

2011-09-14T15:19:00.000-07:00

Well, I did it. I lept in head over heels with high school homeschool. So far, it's been good. Of course, we are only just over half way through week 2. Hopefully I'll be able to say the same thing on week 32.
Curriculum was totally new to me this year. My 4, 3 and 1 year old don't' require any obviously. But this is high school. This stuff counts. (In a "you have to complete this or don't get your diploma kind of way.") It all really counts no matter what you're doing. Even the non-school time counts. Is there really non-school time anyway? Life is school. My children are learning every day. They're gaining knowledge from books and experiences but they're also learning habits, character, morals, ways of thinking and more from the environment around them each and every day.
Wyatt is using Rosetta Stone this year for Spanish. They call their way of teaching "immersion." You are immersed in the language so thoroughly that you can't help but learn it. Life is the same. What you are immersed in, you learn. I'm thankful to have all of my children home with me so that I can, in the best way I know how, teach them God's word, kindness to others, respect, honesty, and hard work along with all the book knowledge.
So here's what we're using this year:
Math: Saxon Algebra. Math isn't my strongest subject (right, Dad?) so Saxon is perfect for me and for Wyatt. It repeats/reviews problems from lesson to lesson to make sure you're actually getting it. Plus, there is a companion CD set that has the availability to take you step by step through each problem (yes, really, each problem in the book) in case you're just not getting it.
English: Rod and Staff English, "The Fallacy Detective", "Eats Shoots and Leaves", and tons of readers (ones like 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, Pilgrims Progress, The Mark Twain Reader, Death of a Salesman and Gulliver's Travels)
Spanish: Rosetta Stone, as mentioned above.
Bible: Rod and Staff 9th grade Bible, Morning and Evening, Matthew Henry's Complete Bible Commentary
Music Study: Beethoven and other composers. I know that these books are somewhat juvenile for Wyatt in the reading level but all of it is totally new to him (he's never studied any kind of music- let alone classical) and it works well as an elective.
Health: Yeah, I know. Who knew? Apparently California has a new requirement for graduation that requires 1 year of Health starting with students who graduate in 2014 or after. That would be us. I didn't find that out until about a week ago. I ordered this health book by Susan Boe. I like that it's sciency (is that a word?) yet upholds Biblical values.

I did buy the 9th grade Reader from Rod and Staff also.

When things get tough or I feel overwhelmed, I remember that instead of saying, "I think I can! I think I can! I think I can!" all I have to say is "I know He can!"

Cinnamon Roll LOVE

2011-08-28T14:00:00.000-07:00

Don'tcha hate it when you find a fabulous, out of this world recipe when you're trying to lose weight? Once I made these, I threw out any kind of food management. Well, at least on Sunday mornings when I make them. I can spend the rest of my week making up for it, right?These cinnamon rolls are so good. I mean good. Paula Deen good........probably that good because, afterall, it's her recipe.

Ingredients

Dough:1/4-ounce package (or 2.25tsp) yeast
1/2 cup warm water
1/2 cup scalded milk
1/4 cup sugar
1/3 cup butter
1 teaspoon salt
1 egg
3 1/2 to 4 cups all-purpose flour
Filling:1/2 cup melted butter, plus more for pan
3/4 cup sugar, plus more for pan
2 tablespoons ground cinnamon
3/4 cup raisins, walnuts, or pecans, optional
Glaze:4 tablespoons butter
2 cups powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 to 6 tablespoons hot water

Directions
In a small bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water and set aside. In a large bowl mix milk, sugar, melted butter, salt and egg. Add 2 cups of flour and mix until smooth. Add yeast mixture. Mix in remaining flour until dough is easy to handle. Knead dough on lightly floured surface for 5 to 10 minutes. Place in well-greased bowl, cover and let rise until doubled in size, usually 1 to 1 1/2 hours.

When doubled in size, punch down dough. Roll out on a floured surface into a 15 by 9-inch rectangle. Spread melted butter all over dough. Mix sugar and cinnamon and sprinkle over buttered dough. Sprinkle with walnuts, pecans, or raisins if desired. Beginning at the 15-inch side, role up dough and pinch edge together to seal. Cut into 12 to 15 slices. (For some reason I always come out with 11....maybe I cut mine thicker.)

Heat oven to 350 degrees F.

Coat the bottom of baking pan with butter and sprinkle with sugar. Place cinnamon roll slices close together in the pan and let rise until dough is doubled, about 45 minutes. Bake for about 30 minutes or until nicely browned.

Meanwhile, mix butter, powdered sugar, and vanilla. Add hot water 1 tablespoon at a time until the glaze reaches desired consistency. Spread over slightly cooled rolls.

My husband, the most gracious man when it comes to my cooking, said, "These are the best cinnamon rolls I have ever had!" Then my older son agreed. So maybe there is some truth to it. Either way, these have become a Sunday morning staple at the homestead.

This post is linked to the Barn Hop and Raising Homemakers!

Beekeeping Giveaway Winner!

2011-08-27T16:40:00.000-07:00

Thanks to all of you who entered my Beekeeping Giveaway. Today Random.org said........

Random Integer Generator
Here are your random numbers:

26
Timestamp: 2011-08-27

That means that Carol is our winner!

Congratulations to you Carol! Next month I'll be giving away a book on Root Cellaring- stay tuned!

seriously homemade herb dressing

2011-08-22T15:00:00.000-07:00

A friend of mine asked me to post this recipe and I am happy to share it because it's a good one! I'll be honest and say that this is not my creation. It actually came from a Homestead Blessings DVD, The Art of Cooking.Photo Credit

My favorite thing about it? It's easy and it's TOTALLY from scratch, using yummy foods right from your homestead like eggs, buttermilk, and herbs from the garden.

Here's how it starts- Make your own mayonnaise. If you haven't made your own before, don't worry, it's not hard. Plus, you can use the leftover for those summer tomato sandwiches!

Mayo:

In a blender, combine

1/4 C Sunflower Oil

1 Tb Vinegar (I use white)

1 Tb Lemon Juice

1 Egg

1 tsp Salt

Blend for 3-5 seconds, just to combine the above ingredients, then DRIZZLE 3/4 C Sunflower oil WHILE the blender is running- blend until all oil in incorporated and mayo is thick. I capitalized those few words there to really emphasize the need to pour slowly and make sure that the blender is running, otherwise you'll end up with a runny mess.

(Note: I use sunflower oil because it's one of my favorite oils but I think in the DVD the West ladies use Extra Light Olive Oil.)

O.k., so your mayo is made. You're going to use about a 1/2 cup of it in a pint size mason jar. Here's the best part of the recipe.....the rest is up to you!! There are no specific measurements but here's what you'll need....

Honey

Buttermilk

Fresh Herbs, like parsley, oregano, basil (or dried ones if fresh aren't available)

Garlic powder

Onion powder

I put my mayo in a jar and then stir in my honey first thing. The honey mixes better if you add it before cold buttermilk from the fridge. Then add your buttermilk, chopped herbs and garlic and onion powders to taste. Adding the ingredients, you're going to want to fill up the rest of the jar.

Let the dressing sit on your counter, or in the fridge, for at least a half hour to allow the ingredients to blend together.

Pour over your salad, dip your sliced cucumbers or carrots or use as a spread on your sandwich. However you choose to use it, enjoy!

reconsidering off grid

2011-08-19T13:00:00.000-07:00

Don't you love it when other bloggers inspire you to really re-think things? Amy's post got me thinking about what it really means to be off-grid. To some it may simply be getting away from the power company. Not being wired into the system, using a generator/battery system, solar, hydro or wind power instead. But what about really being free from big industry and "the man?" Here are some things that came to my mind to consider as my family and I think about off grid living...

Power. Spending $15,000-30,000 on a solar system is fine. After all, the sun isn't powered by man. But what would happen if there was a collapse of society and then sometime after, the solar panels broke or wore out? How would I fix or replace them? What if I needed a new inverter; where would it come from? Can we figure out a way to live simply without power?

Photo Credit

Food. This is really two part- growing and eating. First, growing: How can I save seed from my garden? How am I going to feed my animals (chickens, cows, hogs...) without the help of the feed store? (At this point, we buy all of our feed except for the grass and bugs that the animals eat.) Would I be able to grow all of their food too? Second, eating: How can I preserve food without a freezer or refrigeration? How much do I really know about curing, salting, smoking, fermenting, and drying?

Photo Credit

Money. How much debt do we have? How can we free ourselves from that? What if there was no work for my husband? Could we survive on just our land and what it produced?

Water. How will we get it? Do we know how to build a hand-dug well? What other systems could we use to store up water sources such as rain water?Photo Credit

Everything Else. What about toothbrushes, clothes, vehicles, gas, lumber, toilets, toilet paper!, writing instruments, lighting, and the list goes on and on...

Could we really prepare ourselves to truly be off grid and without the modern things of today? Have you considered any of these? What have your thoughts been?

P.S. Don't forget about the beekeeping giveaway a few posts down!

This post is linked to the Preparedness Challenge.

the busiest time of the year

2011-08-18T13:14:00.001-07:00

The end of summer. Fall. It's the busiest time around here- even putting spring to shame. Harvesting the garden is busier, in my opinion, than planting it. I spent an hour and a half yesterday harvesting green beans alone. Then I spent another couple of hours snapping, filling jars and canning. With the help of my trusty homemaker in training, my daughter.

But it's just not the garden, it's getting ready for the school year, putting together our daily schedule, making sure that I have all the curriculum that I need. And what's more? Hunting season has already begun! Well, bow season at least. And in just 4 more weeks, rifle season opens.

I'm also feeling nesty lately. No, I'm not pregnant....although I would love to be. Maybe it's the other baby we have around here now....

Meet Miss Oakley. She's a Cane Corso (Italian Mastiff) and she's 12 weeks old. She likes squeaky toys, chewing on anything and brief walks. She's loyal to her family and loves lying around.

I haven't had a puppy in over 12 years. All the work though is now coming back to me. While I'm still loving her puppy breath, all the loose skin, and the way her ears flop around while she runs, I'll be happy when the housebreaking, chewing on the furniture (good thing it's all second hand) stage is over.

Ah summer, I'm glad you're still here for a little while longer. A few more trips to the river, a few more BBQ's, I'm going to hold onto as much sunshine as I can now because I know the rain will be here all too soon!

What's your busiest season where you live?

It's Tuna Time

2011-08-16T09:11:00.000-07:00

The Tuna is just starting to come into the harbor this year. Getting fresh from the ocean Tuna is one of the many blessings of living near the coast. And because we're mountain folk, backwoods, okie-like, this is how we do it- outside, on the plywood, away from the house.

The kids had more fun than they should have with the fish. Ya know, the usual poking of the eyes and slapping the mouth open and shut to make the fish "chomp down."
My wonderful mountain man of a husband is a pro at cutting up any animal- including fish.
I'll be canning this later this month. For right now though, since other things are so busy, the Tuna is in the freezer.

In other boon-dock news, we have another bear. No matter how many we kill off.... I mean... "drive away," they still come back. The bear was here a couple weeks ago, dumpster diving. But the other night he/she did something that put a price on it's head. Too bad the Beekeeping book doesn't have a "What to do in case of bear attack" section.

I'm going to try and reconstruct as much of the hive as possible and then wait up with the 300 Wetherby until the bear comes back.

Beekeeping- Review and Giveaway CLOSED

2011-08-11T09:09:00.000-07:00

This month I read the book "Beekeeping" to review. Boy, did I enjoy this read! The book isn't too thick- only 128 pages, but I loved every page! I think I read through it in just a couple of days. Each day I was excited to read what else Joanna Ryde had to say. Being new to beekeeping myself I found this book to be super helpful with lots and lots of information. Topics are made simple for the novice to grasp and the book is actually entertaining too.
The only few "cons" I would give this book are the fact that there are no real photos. All the pictures are drawings. There also isn't much detailed information about mite control. I've heard a lot about mites destroying entire colonies. I haven't noticed any in our hive as of yet. For better information about diseases and bugs that may infest your hives, try looking for a book that specifically has to do with raising bees in your area. If you're on the California Coast, this book is great.
Overall though, Beekeeping is certainly a book I would add to my collection. It would make a great quick reference. It offers a fantastic general knowledge that is perfect for the beginner, like me. If you know someone who wants to start a colony or that has just begun their adventure in beekeeping, this book would make an excellent gift!

If you'd like the chance to win a coy of the book here's how you can:
1. Leave a comment here letting me know if you already keep bees or are hoping to in the future.
2. FB or Tweet about this giveaway and leave a separate comment letting me know that you did
3. Blog about this giveaway (a simple post will do just fine) and leave a separate comment letting me know that you did

The giveaway will be open until August 26th and a winner will be chosen the following week.

This post is linked to the Barn Hop!

The Homestead Handboook Giveaway Winner!

2011-08-01T06:29:00.001-07:00

Well, I'm up at at 'em this morning! Here we go with a winner!
Random Integer Generator
Here are your random numbers:
22

Timestamp: 2011-08-01 6:30....as in AM! :)

That means that our winner is........ Brie said...
"I am brand new starting out on my journey to homesteading. We have two years before we can actually separate and go off grid. I really need all the info I can get in preparation for the big move."

Brie, I don't have a way of contacting you so I need you to contact me. Leave a message here with your email or email me directly at mountainhomequilts@charter.net

Thanks to all who entered! This month I'll be reading "Beekeeping" and giving away a copy. Stay tuned!

unripe peaches

2011-07-29T17:03:00.000-07:00

"Sometimes it's hard for a little monkey to be patient."

learning beekeeping

2011-07-21T14:16:00.000-07:00

Since I've been a little absent here on the blog (come on, 2 posts in June??) I've failed to update quite a bit of things; one of them being beekeeping. If you follow me on Facebook then you already know part of this story.....We fell into it one Saturday evening in May. Actually, our 4 year old got us started. Sounds strange, doesn't it? I'll try and keep the story short.
Layton (said 4 year old) had "parked" his bike next to our bird bath one sunny afternoon. That evening as we were all outside he went to get his bike and came back to daddy and said, "Dad, there are a bunch of bees in the back!"

Daddy went to look and then called Mommy (that would be me.) What happened next?
Chaos ensued! Here were free bees sitting in our backyard. We needed to capture the swarm- and fast. Thankfully my in-laws, who live about 8 miles away, have always wanted to keep bees and have a STOCK of supers (bee boxes) and frames. Someone had given the equipment to them a couple years ago and it had just been sitting unused. I dashed over, got the stuff we could use and raced home.
One problem....we had no foundations to put into the frames, we knew nothing about bee keeping and we had a swarm that was going to leave if we didn't do something quickly. I looked up natural beekeeping on the internet to try and figure out how we could go foundationless. I figured it out and we set up 5 frames in the super. (A super normally takes 10.) We then took the box outside and placed it under the bees. I took a hand broom and wearing my bee veil and gloves (also borrowed from the in-laws) I swept the bees into the box. It worked! We closed the lid a little while later and found ourselves the proud owners of a small colony of bees.

Yay! We did it!

I promptly ordered more bee gear, for the bees and me, and read book upon book about beekeeping.
I'd love to say that the story ended there and that the bees were happy go lucky little girls (and a few boys) that lived happily ever after, but it doesn't. Let me say that there is nothing like jumping head first into something that you know little to nothing about to teach you what NOT to do.
First, make sure you put ALL the frames into the box. I left a hole, or lack of frames, so that the bees would get all the way into the box. Don't do that- don't worry, the bees will find their way down in between them. Leaving a hole like that (the part where no frames were) encourages wild comb to be built. And boy, did the bees ever build it! When I went to open the hive to check on the bees a week later, they had built a bunch of wild comb from the inner lid down and when I removed the lid by pulling it across (#2 lesson learned-always just pull the lid up!) it broke all the wild comb which landed on the bottom of the hive in a heap.
The next day the bees promptly moved out.
Thankfully, they swarmed just over to the trampoline where we caught them again and this time, put them in a correct box.
The bees have stayed happy in that box, so far- and it is July?, so I'm hoping that all is well. I check on the ladies and gents usually about once a week, just to see how everything is going.

Bees in their new, permanent home!

The bottom super is looking as though it's filling up nicely and I'll be adding a western super on top of it in the next month or so.
I'm still learning, still making mistakes and praying that in a year or so I'll at least have the basics mastered. Sitting outside the hive and watching the bees is mesmerizing. I am so thankful that the Lord blessed us with a spring swarm!

Don't forget to enter the giveaway for the homesteading book in the post below!

This post is linked to the Barn Hop!

The Homesteading Handbook- Review and GiveawayCLOSED

2011-07-20T09:55:00.000-07:00

When I got these books from Skyhorse Publishing, I chose to read The Homesteading Handbook first because it intrigued me the most. Now that I have read through it I have to say that I am both impressed and not impressed at the same time. Is that possible? Here are my pros and cons of the book....The Pros: (isn't it better to start off with the good news?)
- This book covers nearly everything. Seriously. I was AMAZED at how many topics it covered. We're talking, gardening, canning, drying, freezing, edible wild plants, all types of poultry, beekeeping, goats, sheep, llamas, building doghouses, birdhouses, poultry houses, fences, bridges, workshops, smokehouses, root cellars, small barns, using alternate forms of energy in the form of hydro power, solar power, wind energy, making things like candles and soap, knitting, pottery, herbal medicine and first aid. PHEW!! Did you get through all that? Really there is a lot covered in this book.
- The photos in the book are great. Nice shots with great color!
- The section on "Edible Wild Plants and Mushrooms" was a fantastic addition. I haven't seen a homesteading book yet that included it. Along with pictures, descriptions, locations and "edible parts and preparing" notes.
- I was also impressed with the canning section. Lots of great information. It's like a canning book inside of a homesteading book.

-Llamas. Most books don't even mention them. If you're an avid knitter, how great would it be to spin your own yarn?
- Cheesmaking! While there are only a couple recipes in the book, they are all that I would need to start off...mozzarella, cheddar, the book even has instructions on making a simple cheese press.

The Cons:
- Because the book covers so many topics in only 268 pages, each topic is covered very briefly. If you're looking into raising honeybees then this book is not going to be sufficient, even though it has a section on them. The section on turkeys talks about having a male and female to have offspring but fails to mention that only certain breeds of turkeys can reproduce without "help." If you're looking for a book on a certain topic like raising goats, building barns or even gardening, a specialized book would better suit your needs.
- There is not one thing in this book on cows!?? Whether for milk or meat.
- There is nothing in this book on wild game or hunting. Elk, deer, jackrabbits, etc. Really going "back to basics" would certainly include obtaining meat from other sources than the grocery store.
- There is nothing on rabbits. My new love of rabbit meat, their ease of butchering and raising has got me wishing that this book covered them.

All in all, the book is far from perfect....but most homesteading books are. They may cover one topic very well (in the case of this book, I'd say it's canning) and leave much to be desired on others. If you're into canning, building smokehouses and would like a general knowledge on most farm things, then this book would certainly work for you!

I'll be giving away one copy of this book to one reader. If you'd like to enter the giveaway here's what you need to do for one or more entries:
1. Leave a comment telling me what homesteading skill you'd most like to learn
2. Post this giveaway on your Facebook page and then leave another comment letting me know that you did
3. Blog about this giveaway (it can be as simple as, "Look! Here's a giveaway!" with a link) and then leave another comment letting me know that you did

The giveaway will close on July 31st at 7pm (PST) The winner will be announced during the first week of August. Please make sure that you leave a way for me to contact you, or make sure that you are checking back during that first week to see if you've won! I'll also announce the winner on my FB page.
Happy entering!

camping + organic homemade marshmallows

2011-07-11T11:56:00.000-07:00

We had a great time camping this past weekend.

The solitude, the creek, the family, sleeping on the hard ground (oh wait, that wasn't one of the highlights!) and...........the marshmallows.

Now I like s'mores fairly well. I'm certainly up for making one but that's about it. Maybe I'm lazy and the actual roasting part takes too long, or maybe it's the knowing that I'm ingesting all kinds of horrible yuckiness that is a store bought marshmallow that makes 1 my limit. I'm going to say that it's a combination of both.

So I decided to try my hand at making my own. I think the first words out of my mouth around the campfire on Saturday morning were, "Is it too early to make s'mores?" Seriously people. They are THAT GOOD. Here's why:

1. The roast incredibly fast. You can nicely brown them and get them to a good smooshy consistency.

2. They don't catch on fire. Kinda makes you wonder about what's in those store bought ones that's so flammable, 'eh?

3. They taste sooooooooo much better!

4. They're super easy to make!

5. Your kids (or you) can eat 10...... I mean 2, without feeling that guilty, "I shouldn't be eating this/feeding this to my kids" feeling. Well, sort of. Granted you are feeding your kids a bunch of sugar, which really is never good but the occasional campfire treat isn't going to kill em.

The verdict?

YUM.

Here's the recipe I used,
3 TB unflavored gelatin
1 cup ice cold water, divided
12 ounces organic granulated sugar, approximately 1 1/2 cups
1 cup organic light corn syrup
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
2 teaspoons organic vanilla extract
1/4 cup organic confectioners' sugar
1/4 cup organic cornstarch
Organic butter
(you can omit the cornstarch if your confectioners' sugar already has cornstarch in it)
Directions
Place the gelatin into the bowl of a stand mixer along with 1/2 cup of the water. Have the whisk attachment standing by.

In a small saucepan combine the remaining 1/2 cup water, granulated sugar, corn syrup and salt. Place over medium high heat, cover and allow to cook for 3 to 4 minutes. Uncover, clip a candy thermometer onto the side of the pan and continue to cook until the mixture reaches 240 degrees F, approximately 7 to 8 minutes. Once the mixture reaches this temperature, immediately remove from the heat.

Turn the mixer on low speed and, while running, slowly pour the sugar syrup down the side of the bowl into the gelatin mixture. Once you have added all of the syrup, increase the speed to high. Continue to whip until the mixture becomes very thick and is lukewarm, approximately 12 to 15 minutes. Add the vanilla during the last minute of whipping. While the mixture is whipping prepare the pans as follows.

Combine the confectioners' sugar and cornstarch in a small bowl. Lightly coat a 13 by 9-inch metal baking pan with butter. Add the sugar and cornstarch mixture and move around to completely coat the bottom and sides of the pan. Return the remaining mixture to the bowl for later use.

When ready, pour the mixture into the prepared pan, using a lightly oiled spatula for spreading evenly into the pan. Dust the top with enough of the remaining sugar and cornstarch mixture to lightly cover. Reserve the rest for later. Allow the marshmallows to sit uncovered for at least 4 hours and up to overnight.

Turn the marshmallows out onto a cutting board and cut into 1-inch squares using a pizza wheel dusted with the confectioners' sugar mixture. Once cut, lightly dust all sides of each marshmallow with the remaining mixture, using additional if necessary. Store in an airtight container for up to 3 weeks.

Enjoy!

book reviews + giveaways

2011-07-07T11:36:00.000-07:00

I am super excited to share this post with you! The nice folks over at Skyhorse Publishing have asked me to review and giveaway a few of their publications, which I gladly accepted. Look what came in the mail today...
I'll be reviewing The Homesteading Handbook this month and giving away a copy. In August I'll review Beekeeping and giving away a copy. Then in September I'll review The Joy of Keeping a Root Cellar and give away a copy of it too. Which of the books is the most or least appealing to you?
I am really looking forward to 3 months of great reading, sharing my thoughts with you and sending these 3 books to 3 lucky winners. I hope you'll stick around!

Where have I been??

2011-06-23T15:19:00.001-07:00

O.k., seriously folks, this lack of blogging is getting a little out of hand. But truth be told, I have so enjoyed being away from the computer and spending the time doing all kinds of other things. I could go on and on if I were to recap the last few weeks around the homestead here but instead, I'll leave you with some pictures and spare you some pictures (the other 4 ladies and I had a great time butchering those rabbits!) in hopes that you'll see that I'm really not just neglecting you all.

Between the garden, animals, river and beach trips, books, quilting and cooking, life has been a busy blessing! I bet you didn't know that Blogger would allow so many pictures in one post! Yay for summer!

A Simple Woman's Daybook - Week 3

2011-06-07T08:11:00.000-07:00

Outside my window...it's overcast, but the sun this afternoon has been promised by the weather man. The ducks are searching for slugs.

I am thinking...about learning to manage my home better

I am thankful for...the blessing of being a stay at home mom; being able to be with my children on a daily basis and having the freedom to homeschool them with a Biblical foundation

From the learning rooms...curriculum, curriculum, curriculum (for next year!)

From the kitchen...rice pudding for breakfast

I am wearing...my "work" jean skirt and a purple top, barefoot

I am creating...new quilts for all of the little ones that will be "moving up" to bigger beds in the next few months

I am going...to Lego Club this morning!

I am reading...the High School Handbook and Practical Beekeeping

I am hoping...that the Lord will direct us, and that we'll be willing to listen and be obedient in moving to a new homestead

I am hearing...Layton and Timber drawing at chatting at the kitchen table

Around the house...general housecleaning to get ready for hosting 4 ladies later this week for another rabbit butchering session.

One of my favorite things...hearing Mason, at 19 months, trying to sing "Do Re Mi Fa So La Ti Do"

A few plans for the rest of the week... lunch with some girlfriends, a drive to Fred Meyer, the rabbits, working in the garden

Here is picture for thought I am sharing...

the birds

2011-05-26T08:32:00.001-07:00

This spring the kids and I have really gotten into bird watching. We have seen so many beautiful birds in our backyard. So many in fact that we haven't even had to travel out of the yard to find a variety of these wonderful animals God created.
Here are a few of the one's we've found that rank near the top of our favorites list!

First, the Western Tanager. Now it could be that we simply haven't paid that much attention to birds in the past but I don't ever remember seeing these in our yard. They showed up about 2 weeks ago and their feathers are such a lovely contrast to the green of the trees they're in.

The Oriole. These boys just started visiting our feeders this past week. Oh the orange and black! Stunning! The females are here too and while they're not as bright, they are still a very pretty bird.

The Varied Thrush. This one is my personal favorite. I haven't seen them lately in the yard but earlier this spring they were abundant. The picture here doesn't really do them justice. The colors of their feathers are so beautiful together.

The Norther Flicker. This bird is actually part of the woodpecker family but mostly scurries around on the ground. Look at those spots! The males have the bright read feathers near their beak while the females don't have any red at all.

And remember those Starlings? Well, we still haven't made that pie but they did make a nest in a tree hollow in the back and, with the help of a ladder, the kids were able to see the babies up close. That was so exciting!
Do you bird watch? If you have children and homeschool, have you done a nature study on the birds in your yard? What is your favorite native bird?

*Oh, and I wanted to add that we have found some great bird books on Amazon used books. I got a book specifically on birds in N. California for $0.18!*

Butchering Rabbits and a Recipe For Them!

2011-05-13T09:50:00.000-07:00

Earlier this week some friends of mine and I butchered 3 rabbits. I had never processed rabbits before but figured it couldn't be that difficult. I've done deer, hogs, turkeys and chickens so I was somewhat confident. What I needed help with though was the kill. I'm a wimp. Seriously. Ask me to shoot a deer at 100 yds and I have no problem but when you can't shoot an animal and you have to kill it another way, I just get creeped out. So I called in reinforcements for support! We each did one rabbit. I'll totally admit though that I waited till the last one to muster up the courage for the kill. *Thanks Kristy and Ida for giving me the courage!*
I got the basics of the process from here and here. Both were extremely helpful.
Gavin was gone at work, the little kids were sleeping and we three gals had an "afternoon on the farm."

*The next few photos may be graphic to some. There is very little blood in them but if you're squeamish then you may want to stop reading.*

The finished product.

I have never cook rabbit before so I went searching for recipes. Then a friend reminded me of my Little House Cookbook. How could I have forgotten? I took the recipe for Stewed Rabbit and adapted it a little. It seemed a little too plain for my taste- but Caroline Ingalls didn't have easy access to all the things we have today so I can see how it would have been basic. Plus, I didn't have any Salt Pork. I did have bacon though and used it instead.

Here's my recipe for:

Stewed Rabbit and Dumplings

1 3lb butchered rabbit (cut into 8 pieces)
6 oz bacon
½ onion, chopped
4-5 cloves garlic, chopped
2 c chicken stock/broth
2 Tb butter
2 Tb flour
1 c water
salt and pepper

Dumplings:
2 c flour
1 heaping tsp salt
1 tsp baking powder
3/4-1c buttermilk
Dice bacon and cook it in a 3qt chicken fryer. When cooked, remove pieces and leave fat in fryer.

Season rabbit pieces with salt and pepper then fry rabbit in bacon fat for about 10-15 minutes.While rabbit is frying, saute onion and garlic with butter in small saucepan, until tender.

After rabbit has been fried, add chicken stock/broth and sauteed onion/garlic into fryer. Cover and simmer for 40 minutes on medium to medium-low heat.

Meanwhile, brown flour in small skillet over medium heat, stirring constantly, making sure not to burn it. Flour is done when it resembles cocoa powder. Leave flour in skillet but remove from heat and allow to cool. Once it has cooled down, stir in 1 c water to form a thin paste.

Make dumplings mixing all ingredients together just until blended.

Uncover rabbit, add in flour paste and bacon pieces. Then drop by spoonfuls, the dumpling dough, covering the top of the rabbit.

Cook uncovered for 10 minutes and then replace cover for the last 10 minutes.

Serve with a vegetable and mashed potatoes.

I did broccoli with ours and didn't think of the mashed 'taters until we were eating our dinner... but thought it would have been great to pour the gravy over some fluffy mashed potatoes!

I was very happy with the way it all came out. The rabbit tastes very similar to chicken so if you don't have any rabbit on hand you could use this same recipe with a whole, cut up chicken.

I purchased these rabbits for $6 each. I believe that the final cost came out to just over $2/lb. If I had raised the rabbits myself, the cost would have been significantly less. Rabbits are raised till about 12 wks old for butchering but aren't weaned from their mother until 6-8wks, so there is very little "raise" time in between. To raise them you must keep a buck and a doe (preferably 2 does) year round. The gestation time is just under a month, very similar to chickens. I'm not sure that I want to take on raising rabbits right now with everything else we have going on, but it is certainly something we'll be thinking about.

This post is linked to the Barn Hop!

Mother's Day

2011-05-08T07:05:00.000-07:00

What a wonderful Mother's Day it is! To have my 4 wonderful children happy and healthy and with me is such a blessing. I am looking forward today to some extra cuddling and spending time with the precious gifts that God granted me. The littlest of which is sitting on my lap as I type.

Today I am also thankful for 3 wonderful women.
My grandmother. She is so very special to me. Although we don't live close to each other now, I'm thankful for the few trips to see her, the phone conversations and the letters back and forth. What a blessing she is to me.

My mother-in-law who is always there to help out with the kids if I need it. She's patient with them and enjoys playing with them for hours!

And most importantly, my mom. What a wonderful mother she is. So supportive and generous. She is always thinking up thoughtful acts to do for others, including me! Her time while visiting us (on almost a monthly basis) is spent helping with housework and most importantly, creating wonderful relationships with her granchildren. Putting together puzzles, reading books, taking them for walks, building great Lego creations and all the other fun things she does with the kids! Thanks Mom!

I hope that your Mother's Day is blessed!

the animals commeth

2011-05-01T18:34:00.000-07:00

I was going to break this blog post up but then I realized that if I did that, you probably wouldn't see it all for weeks. Especially since we're forecasted to have sun this entire week.
Either spring is actually here or some nice person paid off the weather man to appease me.

My plan then this week is to spend as much time outside as humanly possible soaking up the rays and getting a thing or two done.
We added 4 sweet baby animals to the homestead in the last couple of days. First came the Runner ducks. We have never kept ducks before and I wasn't sure what to expect. You'll have to tell me, are all ducklings super friendly? These two little guys (or gals) are the sweetest little creatures. They seem to love being around people.

They are perfectly content to sit on Layton's legs. Maybe it's because on the way home from the feed store Layton told them, "Don't worry little guys, we're on our way!" and then proceeded to sing them, "You Are My Sunshine."

This is Freddy.

This is Ferdinand. (Names compliments of Layton)

Layton told them he would build them something out of his Legos.

Layton said that he is going to be in charge of taking care of them because he is a good "Farmer Boy." I think that Almanzo Wilder is one of Layton's hero's. (By the way, spell check did not recognize the name Almanzo....what is the world coming to?)

Next, piggies.

Two gilts to be exact. They came home yesterday and while I'm thinking that they're the cutest little things right now, all of that will change in about 4-5 months when they're 220lbs and stinky.

The piggies don't have names. As I've said before, it's better not to name things you're going to eat. Unless you're naming it Pork Chop or Bacon.

The little ones are happy in their new home. The post below has the tour of our little pig barn if you'd like to see it.

These pigs will be ready to butcher come August/September. It's amazing how fast they grow. They're an ideal animal to keep for meat. The time you keep them is relatively short and they grow to produce quite a bit of meat in that time. Two pigs keeps us in pork for about 8-12 months.

I'm keeping full records this time on these two so I'll be able to break down the cost for you after all is cut and wrapped!

Did you add any new animals to your homestead this Spring?

This post is linked to The Barn Hop.

pig barn tour

2011-04-29T09:47:00.000-07:00

Here's a little video I did this morning, between the rain showers, of our pig barn. My husband built this about a year ago.

One thing that I forgot to add in the video was that we made the floor out of wood instead of cement. I believe that most folks use cement because it is much easier to clean. We have an abundance of lumber here though (hubby being in the tree business and all) so it was NOT cost effective for us to pour a cement slab.
Also, the window in the barn was recycled. A contractor friend of Gavin's had a bunch of windows that he had removed from homes that were just up for grabs!
We're hoping that by raising hogs now from May-September that we won't be dealing with the amount of mud that we had to by raising them last fall and into winter.

Hope that you enjoy the video!

the experiment

2011-04-28T08:47:00.001-07:00

With the wet weather that we continue to have (although the weather man does seem to be promising sunshine, after today's rain, for over a week) I decided to start my green beans indoors this year.

I normally don't start anything indoors. I just plant my seeds into the garden directly. Last year taught me a lesson though. I re-planted my pole beans 3 times thanks to slugs. We'll be adding 2 ducks to the homestead this weekend so hopefully that will help with the slime predators.

I'm not taking any chances this year and so I planted about 40 pole beans the other day. I don't have any creative set up for starting seeds indoors (like a UV light) and we hardly have room to place the little flats but starting them indoors may mean the difference in canning 50 Qts of green beans or 6.

Here's what I came up with....

Seeds like sunshine so I placed them on the kitchen counter somewhat near the window (which is about the most sun we're going to get in this house unless the seeds were in a bedroom.) Then I placed a heating pad underneath the flat to warm up the soil. I read that warm soil is what keeps the seedlings from growing tall and spindly.

I'm not sure that this really is going to work but it is worth experimenting with and everything I used, we already owned. It didn't cost a dime.

I'll let you know how it all turns out!

A Simple Woman's Daybook- Wk 2

2011-04-26T06:31:00.000-07:00

It's Tuesday again! Where did the last week go? Here we go again with a daybook entry.
Outside my window...the sun is coming up. Wow- I had the same weather as last Tuesday. SUN! The angels are singing! The grass is green and all is quiet.

I am thankful for...my parents. They are here visiting right now!

I am remembering...Layton as a baby and trying to remember each and every day that my kids being "kids" is just a quick moment in time- savor it!

On my mind...my dentist appointment this morning.

From the learning rooms...that patterns aren't as intimidating to sew if you just START the sewing.

From the kitchen...peasant bread and baked salmon for dinner.

I am wearing...truthfully? Um, I'm still in my nightgown. As soon as I get dressed? A skirt and a top.

I am creating...dresses for Timber! Oh, and I did start working on the apron I mentioned last week. Plus, I'll have to figure something out for Layton because he keeps asking me to sew something for him!

I am going...the dentist (as mentioned above) and then to Freddy's (also known as Fred Meyer.)
I am reading...Having a Mary Heart in a Martha World and to the kids, lots of My First Little House Books.

I am hoping...that I can have the patience that the Lord asks me to have.

I am hearing...Layton and Timber sharing their Lego creations with Grandpa.

Around the house...my kitchen is amazingly clean (thanks to my mom) and I'm thinking of purging some more stuff.

One of my favorite things...squeezing and kissing my children all day!

A few plans for the rest of the week...spending some time cleaning an elderly neighbors home, starting my pole beans indoors, waging war on slugs, getting back into meal planning, possibly getting 2 more piggies, and looking at a piece of property that just came up for sale

Here is a picture thought I am sharing... Words aren't necessary here.

The Easter Dress and Colored Eggs

2011-04-25T09:04:00.000-07:00

Just before Easter I realized that Timber didn't have an Easter dress. I had actually thought about it a few weeks ago and decided that one of her regular dresses would do just fine and that she didn't need anything new. Then I changed my mind. I sewed this dress up last Thursday.
The dress is from this pattern.

The dress went together quickly and was easy to sew. I have found that I really enjoy sewing clothes. It's not like quilting. While cutting fabric for quilting you don't even want to be 1/8" off otherwise your points don't line up and your blocks are off. While I'm not suggesting that cutting clothes is just a bunch of hap-hazard cutting, it doesn't seem to need to be as precise. It seems more stress free!

We had a great Easter. I hope that yours was enjoyed!

Jesus Paid It All

2011-04-24T12:33:00.000-07:00

I hear the Savior say
Thy strength indeed is small
Child of weakness....watch and pray
Find in me....thine all in all

Jesus paid it all
All to Him I owe
Sin hath left a crimson stain
He washed it white as snow

Lord, now indeed I find
Thy power and Thine alone
Can change the leper's spots
And melt the heart of stone

Jesus paid it all
All to Him I owe
Sin hath left a crimson stain
He washed it white as snow

And when before thy throne
I stand in Him complete
Jesus died my soul to save
My lips shall still repeat

Jesus paid it all
All to Him I owe
Sin hath left a crimson stain
He washed it white as snow

Thank you Lord, not only for taking my sin upon yourself, but for proving that death has no hold. May your Easter today be blessed as we celebrate the resurrection of the King!

a little homemade skirt

2011-04-20T09:07:00.000-07:00

I tried this simple, modest skirt tutorial last night for Timber. It went together really, really fast and would be a perfect skirt to sew for your daughter if you're new to sewing. Plus, it's adorable! The only way I may modify it a little would be to taper the top while I'm cutting my fabric so that there isn't as much gather at the waistline when complete.
Here are the photos that I took this gloomy, rainy morning.

I only had 1 yd of fabric (or maybe a little less) to make this so my back ties didn't come out to be as long as in the tutorial- or even as long as I'd like. But they'll do.

I would certainly make this skirt again. It's a winner!

Simple Woman's Daybook

2011-04-19T06:55:00.000-07:00

Outside my window...the sun is coming up. It is so nice to see the sun today!!

I am thankful for...my amazingly wonderful husband.

I am remembering...the Resurrection.

On my mind...garden plans, generators and solar power.

From the learning rooms...that off-grid living doesn't mean moving to where there is no power and trying to live as though there is.

From the kitchen...breakfast burritos this morning with left-over tortillas from last nights dinner.

I am wearing...a jean skirt and a polo shirt.

I am creating...I'm getting fabric out and deliberating on making this.

I am going...to town later this morning.

I am reading...Having a Mary Heart in a Martha World, The Family Cow, and the Charlotte Mason Companion.

I am hoping...that it will stop raining enough to get the garden in. And that it will for once, NOT rain on Easter!

I am hearing...Layton and Timber talking in their room, playing with Lego's and Mason's sweet little breathing at my side.

Around the house...cast iron that needs to be cleaned and laundry that needs folded.

One of my favorite things...Having a baby on my hip.

A few plans for the rest of the week...go to the dump, visit with good friends, weed the garden and prepare for family to arrive on Friday.

Here is a picture thought I am sharing... All babies are precious, even baby turkeys.

Katie's Mercantile

2011-04-05T09:04:00.000-07:00

There's a shop in Mount Morris, New York, population 4,500, called Katie's Mercantile. I wanted to share a little about this shop with you today because I truly love shopping there. Shopping there??! Aren't you in California? Do you own your own jet? That I do not, but I do have a computer and I do have a phone and if I did live in NY you can bet I'd be making trips to the actual brick and mortar shop! I place my orders via the telephone and I have been more than impressed by their friendly customer service and well made garments.

"Our family friendly cottage industry features ready made, practical, modest clothing. Run by mother and daughter farm wives, we try to provide helpful customer service and quality garments at reasonable prices."

The statement above was taken from their online shop home page. And it's true! If you make a call to them, the sweet voice you'll hear on the other end is Cindy. She is extremely knowledgeable and one of the nicest people I've ever spoken to at a business. She'll be glad to help you "find" the perfect item.

The seamstresses at Katie's mercantile do an amazing job. All of the garments I have purchased have been made with high quality fabrics and have been perfectly sewn.

Whether you're looking for plain clothing like this basic dress:

(Available for both women and girls.)

Or if you're just looking for a good quality skirt or apron at a reasonable price. What homesteading woman doesn't love a good apron? And we're not talking about one type of generic apron- they have a wide selection! Here are a few of my personal favorites.

Each time I've received a package from them, I've always been impressed. There was a time that what I'd ordered didn't fit. No problem, the ladies at Katie's Mercantile want you to be happy with what you've purchased so they're more than willing to accept returns or exchanges to make it right. I know first hand.

See something that you like on their site but want your own custom version of it? They're happy to oblige! That's one of the great benefits of a family run business. This isn't some factory churning out the same dress after dress after dress. This is ladies sitting down at a machine and hand creating a piece just for you!

Not only do they carry dresses, skirts and aprons, but dolls, syrups, quilts, jams and jellies, clothing for expecting mom's and babies, head coverings, swimsuits.....and the list goes on!

This really is a fantastic shop and I hope that you'll take some time to check it out. They have made a lifelong customer out of me! Thanks ladies!

You can find them on Facebook here. Also, if you're in the NY state area they'll be having an open house on May 14 from 1pm-4:30pm.

For reference, their website is always on my list of links on the left hand column.

*This is an honest review based on my experience with the above shop. It is not a paid endorsement. I'm more than happy to share reviews of products or services that I find useful.*

a simple homestead breakfast

2011-04-03T11:43:00.000-07:00

We've got quite a few eggs around here right now. Our girls are laying like crazy (I've got 3 dozen in the fridge to prove it.) So, we eat eggs quite a bit for breakfast these days. This recipe is really one of my favorites. Super easy to make and it can use leftovers so that you're using up what you have! I don't have exact measurements on everything that goes into this because I usually end up just throwing in the amount that I have on hand.

Homestead Egg Bake

*1 dozen eggs

*cooked chopped ham, bacon, sausage or the meat of your choosing

*cheese, of your choosing

*some type of bread....english muffins, leftover cornbread, leftover biscuits, peasant bread, or even just the heels leftover from that loaf you've been using for sandwiches

-First, I would recommend toasting the bread to add a nicer texture. In the case of cornbread though, its not so easy so toasting is something that is completely optional.

-Next, chop the bread up into bite sized pieces and lay it in the bottom of an ungreased 13x9 pan.

-Grate the cheese (maybe using somewhere between 1-2c of grated cheese depending on how cheesy you want it)

-Beat the eggs in a large bowl and add in the grated cheese. Then add whatever type of meat you have, again, the amount it to your discretion.

-Pour egg mix over bread, cover and bake for 15 minutes at 350, then uncover and bake for another 30-45 until cooked through.

If I have cream on hand I'll make gravy to pour over each serving. And when it's just the kids and I, if Gavin has already left for work, I'll scale the recipe down and bake it in an 8" round pie plate. If you're a little shy on eggs you can add some milk to the egg mix as well. Add veggies if you'd like! Really, this recipe is one of those "no fail" recipes that is easy to whip together.

I hope you enjoy it!

Our Homestead Update

2011-03-31T08:14:00.000-07:00

It's almost Spring!! Dare I say it? The rain may come back in full force if I actually said it aloud! The kids are begging to go outside each and every day and I've been weeding one of the gardens and pulling up raspberry starts to giveaway. I don't know where all the weeks go. They slip by way too fast. Fast enough for me to have a hard time keeping up with it all!

So here's what we've been up to.... We recently made a family trip down to Calaveras County to visit my grandparents. Or as all of you Mark Twain fans would call it, Jumping Frog Country. It was my grandfather's 85th birthday and we had somewhat of a family reunion for it. Creeks, baseball, shooting, family, food and great fun! Hubby and I have still been debating on when we should get our next hogs. Getting them in April is better, weather wise, but it probably means that we'd have to take them to a butcher in the end since fall is too busy with tree work and hunting season. Taking meat to a butcher and having it actually leave my sight always worries me slightly. Am I really getting all of MY meat back? Is it someone elses? Mixed with someone elses? *shudder*

Getting them in July would mean worse weather for butchering but we can do it ourselves. We'd then end up butchering 1 hog in November (along with the turkeys) and one in December.

Turkey's you say? Yep, they're back. Well, one is. We got one of our turkey chicks this week and the other will be coming early next week. We have them set up in the garage. We've been using this little brooder system for years and it works great. Plus, it's easy and inexpensive to make.

Requirements:

1 Rubbermaid tote

1 heat lamp

Feeder and waterer

bedding

a couple pieces of scrap wood

some type of small fencing (we used 1/4" fencing)

small U nails or smaller straight nails that can be bent

With the wood, make 1 box, sized to fit over the top of the Rubbermaid container, similar to if you were making a raised bed box. Cut a piece of fencing to fit over the top. Nail it down securely on all 4 sides using U nails or straight nails that you can pound 3/4 of the way down and then bend over to secure the fencing. Attach another piece of wood, anywhere on the box, to use as a "post" for attaching your heat lamp.

There you have it! We store the top when it's not in use and then wash out the tote and use it as well for other things.

This little brooder works well for maybe 6 chicks or 2 turkeys, since turkeys are larger, until they really feather out. The nice part about using the wood for the top frame is that it's heavy. Not too heavy for a person to lift but much too heavy for any little critter, wanting to make your poultry dinner, to budge.

I'm excited about doing turkeys again this year. It will be nice to compare last year to this one. I've also started a file to keep track of all of our livestock expenses so I'll be able to share just what our animals and the food they produce are costing us!

Wyatt is off to the Portland Swap Meet with his grandpa this morning. They'll be in their element- surrounded by car stuff until Sunday!

I've really been trying to carefully examine our gardens this year and what we are going to grow. With the economy like it is, I want to make our garden as productive as possible. Of things we actually eat. While it's nice to have a beautiful garden full of all kinds of different produce, if we're not eating all of one type of produce then it's a waste of space. I don't need two 10' rows of carrots...we just don't eat them all! If all my garden ends up being this year is full of green beans, then so be it! Trust me, we eat green beans. (That may be a slight exaggeration.) But I do need to realistically think of what are we going to actually consume besides what it is going to be the most aesthetically pleasing.

Guess what I didn't do yesterday? Build a fire. That really hints of spring! It was warm enough not to have any heat going in the house. This morning though I did break down and build one. Even if I let it die off later, it still was nice to have.

I guess that's about it here. Beyond the normal day to day that is.

What have you been up to?

the proof

2011-03-21T17:11:00.000-07:00

Made today. Inspired by my last post.

the food police

2011-03-20T16:34:00.000-07:00

People that know me personally know that I'm pretty picky about the foods that my family eats. Some may even say worse things than that. (I'm not pointing any fingers though!) But the truth is, I AM. And unfortunately, I think the way we eat seems quite foreign to most folks.

In one of our more recent conversations, hubby and I were trying to figure out how many families in our community, that we know, eat the same way that we do. We could only name 5. No wonder our health food store is itty bitty! No wonder Safeway's organic produce section is only about 1/8 of the produce department! There's no demand for it here.

I've heard folks talk bout the 80/20 rule. It's where you eat "healthy" 80% of the time and then you allow for 20% of the time to be "not so healthy." The occasional, "We're on the run so let's hit McDonald's" or "Corndogs at the baseball game are just going to have to be our lunch." In my mind, I guess I can find that reasonable. Reasonable if you're not part of my family that is.

See what I mean about being picky?

I like to abide by the 95/5 rule. I'll skip Mc Donald's- AT ALL COSTS and really? I'll pack a lunch for the baseball game ahead of time so we're not caught hungry without healthy food to eat.

How do we abide by the 95/5 rule? Well, for starters we don't eat out. At all. I think the last time we did (actually, I know) was at a friend's son's birthday party. It was at a pizza place and the pizza was great! That was back in August of 2010. Meal planning helps tremendously with this. I'm usually never caught in the "hmmm, it's 4pm, what's for dinner tonight?" scenario. Then we pack food where ever we go. We pack a lunch for the drive home from church. We pack food to go up to the snow. We pack food for the long drive down to Grandma's. It's really not that hard. Then we buy healthy food. Grass fed meats and butter. Raw and non-homogenized organic milks. Organic produce......and so on. We don't do juice. We try our best not to do processed foods, and if we have to, we buy organic ones.

So, what's the 5% then?? DONUTS and the occasional trip to the ice cream shop.

But mostly, donuts.

I love donuts and guess what? So do my kids...and my husband. I'll happily turn my eyes away from things like brownies, even "homemade" out of a box Betty Crocker ones. I'll turn a cheek to pies made with partially hydrogenated soybean oil (yep, that's Crisco.) But some things, like a sweet, round glazed donut should never be left uneaten. Ever.

What do you give in to?

Fall Field Trip

2011-03-16T14:49:00.000-07:00

I know, I know, it's not quite even Spring yet and I'm already planning a homeschool field trip for the Fall! I got wind of this expo yesterday and can't wait till September. The National Heirloom Exposition!

Here's what the exhibit has to offer:
Join seed companies, farmers, gardeners, chefs and food organizations for the National Heirloom Exposition in Santa Rosa, California, at the Sonoma County Fairgrounds. This will likely be the largest event for heritage agriculture ever held. Learn from America’s top growers and food celebrities! Enjoy workshops, demonstrations and great music.

See over 2,000 varieties of heirloom produce on display. Growers and seed companies alike will display the diversity of heirlooms at this historic exhibition of our culinary heritage.

Enjoy our heritage livestock show brought to you in part by the American Livestock Breeds Conservancy. Dozens of heritage poultry and small livestock breeds will be on display.

Bid on art, farm products and produce at our Garden Benefit Auction!

Vote on your favorite works of art during our Garden Art Show.

Participate bring your produce, animals and art to display at this historic event!

All profits from the National Heirloom Exposition will be donated to school garden projects and other food and garden-related charities!

This is going to be a fantastic day of learning about seeds, plants, gardening, food and animals for all of my kids (and me too.) If you're within driving distance to Santa Rosa, CA, I'd love to see you there!

talk about rescourceful!

2011-03-09T10:55:00.001-08:00

I'm currently in the process of reading 4 different books. I'm not sure that's a good thing. I'm feeling slightly overwhelmed by it all and realize that if I really want to get as much out of one book as possible then I should limit my reading.

On my list right now are:

Having a Mary Heart in a Martha World (this needs to be my first priority since it's also my Bible study)

The High School Handbook

The Charlotte Mason Companion

The Little House Cookbook

(which technically was a birthday gift for Timber but I didn't realize how much good info was in it when I purchased it from Amazon used books!)

I'm only 1/4 of the way through the last 3 on that list but while reading The Little House Cookbook last night, I was inspired. When I told my husband of my inspiration he said I was crazy. I'm going to let you be the judge.

Do you recognize this bird?

I'm sure that most of you do. It's a Starling, also commonly called a Blackbird. Right now and throughout the summer we'll have a lot of them here; attempting to make nests in the bucket on Gavin's bucket truck and in the eves of our house. I've read that they are very pesky birds to farmers as well. Some may say that they're overly abundant. This idea seemed like a win-win situation to me...

Blackbird Pie

(from the Little House Cookbook)

Serves 6

12 Starlings, plucked and dressed

1 medium yellow onion

2 whole cloves

2 Tb browned flour (recipe below)

Salt and pepper

Sour Milk Biscuits (recipe below)

Needed utensils: Meat cleaver or scissors, 2qt. saucepan, bowl, rolling pin, 10" milk pan (or some type of pie-ish plate for baking)

With meat cleaver or scissors, cut birds in half along the breastbone or backbone. Put birds, giblets, onion and garlic in a saucepan with 2 cups of water and simmer covered about 2 hours, or until leg can easily be pulled from bird. About half the liquid will cook away.

Preheat oven to 400. Prepare biscuit dough, just moist enough to hold together in a ball.

Put the dough on a surface and roll out, with as few strokes as possible to a 10" circle, 3/8" thick.

Remove Starlings and giblets from broth to milk pan. Discard onions and garlic. Stir browned flour into the broth and heat it to boiling for a minute or two, stirring the while. Salt and pepper slightly thickened broth and pour over the birds. Cover the pan with the biscuit crust.

Bake pie at 400 for 10 minutes, then lower heat to 350 and bake for 10 minutes more, or until crust is cooked through.

Browned Flour:

In a skillet, over medium heat, toast the flour until it resembles cocoa powder, stirring constantly to prevent burning. It will take 10-15 minutes.

Sour-milk Biscuits:

2 c white flour

1 tsp salt

1 tsp baking soda

3/4 to 1 c cultured buttermilk

3 Tb drippings

Preheat oven to 425. Use oven to melt dripping sin pan or baking sheet. In a bowl, mix dry ingredients well. Turn pan to coat it with fat, then pour drippings into bowl and work into flour mixture. Add buttermilk and mix quickly to make a ball of dough. Turn onto floured surface and roll dough, lightly out to 3/8" thickness. Arrange biscuits side by side in pan, inverting them to grease tops ans well as the bottoms. Bake in upper half of oven for 12-17 minutes or law raw dough on top of Blackbird pie!

Now really folks, talk about self sufficiency! We've got these birds all over our property on a daily basis. We're talkin' free meat! But alas, Gavin isn't too excited about it. Maybe I can convince him to try it? We'll see!

Disclaimer: *Before shooting any wild birds on your property, please check with you local fish and game department. Unless, of course, you're one of those "live on the edge" kind of people*

Homemade almost Organic Hot Fudge

2011-03-02T06:57:00.000-08:00

I'll admit it, ever since I was pregnant with my daughter I've been a sweets junkie. Before I had her, I liked sweets but now I LOVE them. My hips can attest to it! I try to blame the extra padding on "3 kids in 3 years" but I really think it's just the cheesecake and the peach cobbler, the cookies and the brownies.
Here's one of my favorite recipes that is easily made at home and beats any brand you can buy in the store.
Homemade *almost* Organic Hot Fudge:

1- 14 oz. can organic sweetened condensed milk
4-1 ounce squares semisweet chocolate (if you can find organic, great!)
2 tablespoons organic butter
1 teaspoon organic vanilla extract

In a double broiler (I just put a glass bowl into a saucepan 1/4 of the way filled with water,) combine the milk, chocolate and butter. Cook and stir over medium-low heat until chocolate is melted. Remove from the heat; stir in vanilla. Pour into warmed mason jar and seal with lid. Keep refrigerated until used completely...which may only be a couple of days. :)

One Reason We Homestead

2011-03-01T14:43:00.000-08:00

In light of a short conversation I had and one overheard today, I felt compelled to share just one of the reasons we homestead. The conversations had to do with our government and food, specifically food prices. (Let's not even go there on recent GMO approvals!!) The talk got me thinking, one of the main reasons that we homestead is independence. Now I know that may sound cliche. We are living here in America right? The land that was founded on independence! The land where you could escape from the religious and lifestyle laws that we imposed onto you? For freedom! And yet all I really see is America becoming more and more dependent on it's government. Democracy? Pssh. Freedom? Ha. Why don't you ask the farmer in Wisconsin who's farm has been raided by the government time and time again about how free he feels. Raided by the government. Shut down. And for what? Because they're selling a wholesome, nutritionally sound product?

As far as I'm concerned (and you can call me crazy if you want) I'd love to take my family off to a place where the government no longer knows we exist! I'd be glad to hand in my social security number for someone else to use. Really, by the time Gavin is old enough to even draw social security it will be gone anyway.

Our current home is still run heavily on the help of the government. We have power and a phone, health insurance and vehicles. We have a mortgage! But we are working towards moving as far away from the support as possible. Doing what you can- at your home, with what you have available to you, is the first step in the right direction. So we have a garden, which I want to expand this year. We raise chickens, turkeys and hogs. We make our own soap and detergents. I sew some of our clothes (although I'd like to do more.) We're self employed.

Small steps in the right direction. On my to do list: get a milk cow, raise honey bees, raise lambs, raise beef, move off grid, grow a HUGE garden, and have a HUGE orchard. Some issues we just won't be able to get around, like having vehicles. My husband needs his work truck for...work. I don't know how many trees he'd be able to trim with a horse and buggy. We can't grow our own grains at this point so we have to buy grains to mill into flour and for our animals. Building supplies for the house. We can mill our own wood but, nails, screws? I guess it all just depends on how independent from the world you want to be. There are luxuries that I do appreciate- like gas stations and my dishwasher. But the further removed we can be from it, the better off we're going to be in the future.

*I am now stepping down from my soap box. Thanks for listening!*

A Homestead Update

2011-02-28T09:02:00.000-08:00

Things around the homestead have been busy, but I've been trying to figure out just what we have been actually doing. The days all seem to run together in the winter as we're stuck inside most of the time. Here's what we've been up to:
1. Thinking of spring. Our Santa Rosa Plum is already starting to bloom and the Shiro is right behind it. The peaches and blueberries have their little buds but the apples and pears won't start to blossom until March or April. I've already ordered my tomato plants from Territorial Seed. While I grow every other vegetable or fruit from seed, I do tomatoes from plants. I've tried the seed and failed- miserably. We have a very short, cool growing season here (from about late May until September- that's just over 4 months) and attempting to get tomatoes from seed just doesn't happen. If everything goes just perfectly then I'm lucky to get tomatoes from the plants.
I decided not to order many seeds this year since I have quite a few left over from last year. I'm hoping that the rain will stop before June this year.2. We are hog free at the moment and it's somewhat strange not to have the pigs here. The homestead doesn't feel complete without them. Gavin and I are trying to decide whether we'll be getting more in April or if we'll wait until August.
3. I'm debating the turkeys.......again. Get them? Not get them? No one really enjoyed having them but they were great for Thanksgiving and Christmas! I'll have to make a decision soon as the chicks will be arriving in just a couple weeks.
4. I just started a new Bible study with a small group of ladies about a month ago. We reading "Having a Mary Heart in a Martha World." It has a short study, for each chapter, in the back of the book. It has been a great read so far. I was desperately craving a study and this book and our little group of 6 women has been an answer to prayer.

5. Binding quilts. I'm trying! I'm going to plan on sewing the binding onto my quilt today and taking photos of how I do it to share. Have you joined the bind-a-long? How is your quilt binding coming along?
6. We've had to learn to "do without" the past couple of days. My van has a major steering problem that needs to be fixed. It is not safe to drive right now so we're all packed in like sardines into my husbands truck. Our power was out yesterday morning and my husband made a terrific breakfast on the wood stove. Being without lights and an oven is one thing but when our power goes out we also lose water. The pump from the well doesn't work without power. Thankfully, the next place we'll live will be off grid so we won't have to worry about ever losing power. Hopefully.
7. We've also been trying to take advantage of the snow. I'll take the kids during the week and it's fun but not as much fun as when daddy gets to come!

8.Then there's the usual, laundry, housework, chopping fire wood as the wood stove has been going every day, schooling, church, youth groups, taxes, year end paperwork, etc. In other words, life is busy! A very busy blessing.

See what everyone else is up to on their homestead over at the Barn Hop!

Homeschool Giveaway Winners

2011-02-22T08:12:00.000-08:00

Yes, I said winnerS. I decided to give away two copies of the "Building a Winning Curriculum" from Vision Forum instead of one! So here we go...
Random.org did something this morning that I don't think I've ever seen it do....it selected #1 as one of the numbers. #1!! Most folks think that if they are the #1 commenter, they have a less chance of getting chosen. Why? I don't know. The chances are just the same. I guess just because no one keeps track of how often #27 or #89 is chosen.

Random Integer Generator
Here are your random numbers:

1, 25

Timestamp: 2011-02-19

That means that, Tricia from Mommyx12 and Andi from Declared Unto Him are our winners!
Congratulations! Please email me your mailing info: mountainhomequilts@charter.net

Butchering the Homestead Hog

2011-02-19T09:27:00.000-08:00

Last weekend we butchered our second hog. Having done the same thing only a month and a half before, the process was streamlined and went much smoother this time around. It didn't hurt either that we had some of our best friends here to help us with the process.
We started at about 9am and were finished by 4pm. Everything was cut, wrapped and cleaned up. We did take the bellies and one leg to Taylor's to have them smoke the meat into bacon and ham. Taylor's offers a celery salt cure which is chemically nitrate/nitrite free. There are naturally occurring nitrates in celery salt. While we would like to be able to smoke our own meat and some point (Gavin has a smoker that is out at his parents) we just don't know much about it to feel knowledgeable enough to start. *There's a whole nother homesteading skill I'd like to acquire!*
Here are some pictures of how our day went. Warning: these may be graphic to some, totally normal to others. If you don't like the sight of blood or gutting an animal then please do not proceed.

Getting started: Gavin had already shot the pig and Ida is getting it nice and clean. Timber is looking on.

Gavin digging the hole for the guts. You can just take your guts to the dump but if you have the room on your property to bury them it certainly saves money and time.
Gavin and Rob beginning to gut the hog.
This is what the kids did for the gutting part. They built a fire and played. Once in a while they'd come over to see how it was going. We feel that it's important not only for our children to know where their meat comes from, but to have an appreciation for the animal and to know the work that goes into getting that meat to your table. With grocery stores now a days, I think we are far too removed from how the food we are eating, especially when it comes to meat, got to our plates.
Gutting the hog.
Removing the heart and lungs.
Skinning the hog. Now, most people don't skin hogs, they scald them. We are very new to the process of processing hogs so Gavin has just went with what he knows how to do well from hunting, and that is skinning. We could get the large drum of boiling water and scald it but we haven't ventured there yet. If you have any good tips or experiences with scalding hogs that you can share, pleas do share!

After the guys had skinned it, Ida and I went over the carcass and trimmed as much fat off as we could to make lard.

Removing the forelegs. Ida and I then went into the house and started cutting up meat. The guys continued outside taking the hog apart piece by piece. At that point I got a little sidetracked with it all and forgot to take many more photos!

Our backwoods butcher shop.

Some ribs and one belly reading for wrapping.

We buy butcher's paper at our local hardware store to wrap our meat. We cut the shoulders and one leg into roasts, the bellies go for bacon, the tenderloin, ribs, and chops are cut and wrapped, the other leg goes for smoking, and the rest is ground for use in sausage patties, tacos, etc. I have read a bit about making head cheese but I think my husband is too grossed out about it for me to try. Have any of you ever eaten head cheese? Or made it yourself? What did you think of it?

The Foxfire Book is a fantastic backwoods homesteading book that we've used as reference quite often when it come to butchering hogs. If you don't already own it, I'd recommend investing in it at some point.

If you have any good hog butchering tips or stories, I'd love to hear about them.

Bind-A-long; Binding a Quilt- Part 1

2011-02-16T09:41:00.000-08:00

Once your quilt is pieced, basted and quilted, you're ready for binding! I'm going to assume that if you've already made a quilt you're fairly familiar with how to use things like your sewing machine, a rotary cutter and mat and ruler so I won't go into any detail there. Here's how I make mine.

You'll first need to calculate how much binding you'll need to make. Measure the perimeter of your quilt. (I'm going to use the numbers from the quilt I am binding to help you in visualizing this.) Take the # of inches you've measured and divide it by 42. That will tell you how many binding strips you'll need to cut. Then take that # and multiply it by the width you'd like your binding. Most people cut between 2" and 2.5" wide strips for their binding, depending on the thickness of your batting and the type of fabric the quilt is made up of. I personally like around 2.25". So, for my quilt:

472" (perimeter)/42" = 11.24" That means I need at least 11.24 strips of binding cut.
11.24" x 2.25" (desired width) = 25.29" That means I need just under 3/4 of a yard of fabric to make my binding.

I'm going to cut 12 strips and then trim off the selvage from each strip. If my # of strips had came out closer to 11.90 I may make sure that I have enough fabric to cut one additional strip, if needed later, bringing the total to 13 instead of 12. We're going to be mitering the corners of our binding and you'll loose a little length in sewing the strips together so we want to be sure our binding isn't going to end up just inches short of completion. It's always better to err on the side of caution here. We're talking 1 extra strip, maybe $0.45 of fabric here folks, don't hesitate to cut an extra one. You can add it to your scrap pile later if you end up not using it.

Once my strips are cut, I'll start sewing. You can sew your strips together with right sides together like this, making a regular straight stitch down, using a 1/4" allowance:

But I prefer to angle my fabric like this and stitch from one corner to the next:
When you're folding the binding over and stitching it, it doesn't leave such a big wad of fabric (from the seam allowance) in one section.
Stitch it on the diagonal, stitching each strip to the previous one. I like to chain piece my biding since it goes quicker but do whatever is comfortable for you. You can also pin this if you feel like it may slip to much while running it through your machine.

Then trim off the little triangle that's left using a 1/4" seam allowance.
Press your seam allowances and then fold your binding in half and press on the fold.
I like to then roll my binding up to keep it tidy until I'm ready to attach it to my quilt.

That's it! Wasn't that simple? You just made your binding- congratulations!

We'll work on sewing the binding on to our quilts in the next post. I'm going to take my time with these how-to posts for 2 reasons. One, to allow ladies who haven't made a binding before to not get left behind. And two, because I am binding a Cal-King quilt and it's just going to take a bit for me to get it done! Maybe I should have started with a table runner. ;)

Remember that if you have any questions you can leave a comment here. I'll answer them here as well just in case someone else has the same question. Or if you need more in depth help, you can email me mountainhomequilts@charter.net.

The First EVER Bind-A-Long!

2011-02-15T11:43:00.001-08:00

Question: What's wrong with this picture?
Answer: Nothing is wrong with the picture itself, the problem is that it depicts 6 quilts that aren't yet bound! 6? How did I get this deep in? I think it's time to get to binding.

Has anyone ever done a Bind-A-Long? It would be like a Quilt-A-Long but instead of piecing the quilt top together, we'd be binding the quilt. Probably never been done. Mostly because it seems silly. Really, how much fun is binding a quilt? Putting a quilt top together is one thing, but the binding? I usually loathe it- hence the 6 quilts not bound. And that's why I'm going tobe hosting a bind-a-long! No special buttons to put on your blog, no signing up- just bind with us! Get out that quilt that needs to be bound and get it done! Whether you're an experienced quilter or a beginner, it will be encouraging to know that there's a group of ladies working on the same thing you are.
2 of the above quilts have been sitting on my dresser for over 6 months! Do any of you have a quilt like that? Or do you have a quilt that you're just finishing up? Maybe it's your first quilt and you don't know how to do a binding. Help is on the way! Along with the bind-a-long, I'll be posting a tutorial on how to bind a quilt. We'll take it in steps so that you can follow along and bind your quilt with us.

In the next few days I'll be making the binding for one of my quilts (I'm going to start with my largest) and then I'll post the instructions on how to make your own. From there we'll move to attaching the binding to your quilt, and finishing the binding by hand sewing it to the back. I'll give you some alternative methods for binding too in case you'd rather use your machine for the entire project instead of sewing part by hand.

So join in on the fun. Who's with me?

1 reason why I homeschool+giveawayCLOSED

2011-02-09T08:40:00.000-08:00

If you're a follower of my blog then you've probably gotten the impression that I adore Vision Forum. Such great stuff for personal and homeschool use is available on their website and through their catalog. I'm a avid Vision Forum shopper (when money allows of course.) I had ordered the book below to get some inspiration for homeschooling next year. I'll be starting Layton in kindergarten, Timber in preschool and Wyatt in.......9th grade! Yikes!
Wyatt has been attending public school (with 1 year of private school thrown in there around 5th grade) and Gavin and I have decided that next year I will start home schooling him. This has been a decision that I've been praying about for a while. For those of you who don't know already, Wyatt is my stepson. Gavin and I married shortly after his 7th birthday. At that point, I really hadn't given much thought to school. Wyatt went to a public school and that was that. Over the past 4 years though I have begun to think about what I wanted to do for Layton. It has just been a natural progression that I've come to the conclusion that I wanted to homeschool my little kids.

I started to wonder, "What are my little kids going to think about Wyatt going away to school everyday and them staying home?" I guess I just figured I'd have to explain to the little ones that Wyatt had been going there for a long time and there was no sense in pulling him out so late in the game. Then it hit me (don't ask me why it took me so long to realize this) why would I not be willing to send my little kids to government school but I'd feel o.k. sending Wyatt? Why wouldn't I be as vigilant guarding his heart and his mind? I must be crazy!
Of course, it then hit me that I'd be starting homeschooling, beyond preschool, with a high school kid! At that point, fear set in. How am I going to begin in high school?? It sounds much easier to start at kindergarten and work your way up rather than be thrust into a 9th grade curriculum. So I prayed, and prayed and prayed. And Gavin prayed. Was this the right thing to do?

God was so gracious to show me very clearly that homeschooling was indeed what I needed to be doing with Wyatt. From the stories he'd come home with, to the sick to my stomach feeling I'd get when I'd drop him off at school in the morning occasionally. See, Wyatt usually rides the bus to school but once in a while I'll actually drive him there. I realized that not taking him to school directly was making it easier for me. The bus was a crutch. After all, he just got on happy as a lark and then drove away. I wasn't making the direct correlation between him and school. Once I had to actually take him to school, as we drove up and waited in line to drop him off, this heavy knot feeling was welling up in my stomach. I wanted to just keep driving through and not drop him off. I wanted to just say, "You're not going to school there today" as I drove back home.

I am now very excited to be starting high school with him next year. The Lord has really given me a peace about it, a confidence that yes, I can do this!
A terrific little help to me has been the Vision Forum book, "Building a Winning Curriculum." This book puts together ideas and suggestions for you through each subject using the resources available on their web site. I have decided that I will be using this curriculum for Wyatt's history next year and I can't wait to start it!

If you'd like to win a copy of "Building a Winning Curriculum" for yourself, or someone you know that may be new to homeschooling then please follow these rules:

This giveaway is open to everyone!
Giveaway ends February 18th at 8pm PST
For 1 entry, please leave a comment below; any kind of comment is fine.
For a 2nd entry, please Facebook or Tweet about the giveaway and leave another comment telling me that you did
For a 3rd entry, please blog about it and leave another comment telling me that you did
Winner will be drawn randomly by Random.org on or around the 19th.

Buck Meat- it's what's for dinner!

2011-02-02T13:24:00.000-08:00

Stephany asked if I could chat about venison and how I use it, here on my blog. Sure! I'd be happy to, although unfortunately, I don't think it's going to be blowing many minds.

When it comes to cooking venison we primarily do it 3 ways; roasted, fried and in anything that calls for "ground beef." This year was the first year that I canned it and we have been super happy with the results. The canned meat we use mostly for sandwiches (kind of like you would use tuna.)It is exceptional on a sandwich with lettuce, tomato and cheese! This year was also our first year eating venison roasts. Our normal routine for cutting up buck has been steaks and ground...and that's it, but as I said, we've tried a couple new ways this year and have been very pleased with how it's tasted.
For the roasts: I don't do anything different than I would for a chuck roast, I simply brown the meat in a pan on the stove top and then add a little water, seasoning, cut up potatoes and carrots, pop the lid on and bake.
For fried steaks: I dip the steaks in a egg/milk mixture and then roll them in a seasoned flour mix. I fry them in coconut oil or lard (depending on what I have on hand.)
For ground venison: I use it in pretty much everything, lasagna, hash, spaghetti, hamburgers, tacos, or anything else you need a ground meat for. This was the first year that we ground our venison with added pig fat. In years past, we have just ground it up and used it the same.
For stew: I treat it just as I would a beef stew...and use all the same ingredients. I wish I had some fabulous recipe to share but the truth is that I usually just end up throwing whatever I have on hand into the crock pot and cooking it for hours.
I know that some folks talk about venison being a very lean meat but I haven't personally noticed any different types of preparation needed because of it. Or maybe we just have some fatty black tail around these parts!
A blog I follow just posted this recipe, from a blog that she follows- does all that make sense?- about a great venison recipe. I haven't tried it, but it looks good so give it a go!

Does anyone have a tried and true vension recipe they could share with Stephany (and me?)

Passionate Housewives Winner!

2011-01-30T06:53:00.000-08:00

And our winner is:

Random Integer Generator
Here are your random numbers:
36
Timestamp: 2011-01-30

That means that: Laura of Harvest Lane said...
If only we could buy and find time to read all the books we wish to read!
Laura

Congrats Laura and thank you to all who entered. If you didn't win then I would urge you to purchase a copy of this book and read it yourself. Vision Forum often has sales on it- it will be money well spent!(P.S. The book is currently on sale, right now, for a great price!!)
Blessings to you this Sunday!

Passionate Housewives GiveawayCLOSED

2011-01-20T08:40:00.000-08:00

I purchased "Passionate Housewives, Desperate for God" by Jennie Chancey and Stacy McDonald over a year ago. I don't even know how I got the email ad for the book. I figured it must have been though something else I had signed up for. Apparently God works even through emails. That was something I wasn't aware of.

The book was just coming out and for promotion, it was only $7. The description intrigued me and I figured, "$7? What do I have to lose?" Well, except for the $7. When it arrived I think I set it aside to read at a later date. After all, there isn't much reading going on around here unless it's a book geared towards ages 6 and under.Once I did finally get a chance to open it and start reading, I was hooked. I "passionately" read the pages every day and by the end of the book I had multiple new feelings. My first was of deep conviction. This book plainly tells it like it is with no foo-foo and frills to make you "feel good." It shares God's plan for mothers and homemakers. It's calls out all the women who are so caught up in "me" time and other "priorities." My next feeling was of pure joy! I thought, you mean to tell me that the desires of my heart are truly God's plan for me? That the way I have been thinking all along, those gut instincts and maternal feelings are right? And the world is wrong? Yep. Praise God!

Here's a little about the book, in it's own words,

"Have you struggled to reconcile God’s vision of virtuous womanhood with worldly myths that marginalize and mock the role of the homemaker? Do you wrestle with cultural messages that demean the homemaker’s calling and exalt instead the emotionally androgynous power-woman — the wife whose worth is measured only by the degree of her ambition, the shape of her body, or her money-making skills? Such is the image of the “desperate housewife” that the modern media, culture, and feminism are promoting with great energy.
In a delightfully fresh and honest way, this book addresses these issues head-on and provides fresh vision for the hopeful homemaker. Hear a former “Christian” feminist share how she went from a die-hard homemaker-in-training to a dedicated career woman and then back again — after God gripped her heart. See the hollow counterfeit of whitewashed feminism and “me-ology” destroyed. And consider the beautiful picture painted in Scripture of the truly fulfilled homemaker who glories in the hopeful calling God created for her."

I honestly wish that ALL mothers could read this book and learn from it. It is certainly a book that I will read again and again, gleaning the truths that it presents each and every time!

If you'd like to win your very own copy then please follow these instructions:

Rules:
This giveaway is open to everyone!
Giveaway ends January 29th at 8pm PST
For 1 entry, please leave a comment below; any kind of comment is fine.
For a 2nd entry, please Facebook or Tweet about the giveaway and leave another comment telling me that you did
For a 3rd entry, please blog about it and leave another comment telling me that you did
Winner will be drawn randomly by Random.org on or around the 30th.

Vision Forum sells this book, in case you can't wait to see if you've won! I purchased this book to giveaway with my own money, it's not a promotion through them. I honestly believe in this book and it's message and I know it will be an uplifting encouragement to the woman who reads it!

Bull! Fat Quarters: Wholesale!

2011-01-17T15:24:00.000-08:00

A few years back I purchased 34 Fat Quarters from Maywood Studios from their Bull! collection. I'm not going to do anything with these though. My original plan for them didn't work out and so I want to sell them. I purchased them wholesale for $40.00 and would like to sell them for that price + shipping. The fabric is out of print and has been for some time. There are quite a few online quilt shops that still have the fabrics though. You can see samples of the collection here. FQs are in new, unwashed condition. If you're interested please email me at mountainhomequilts@charter.net. Thanks!

"Country Wisdom and Know How" Winner!

2011-01-16T07:51:00.000-08:00

This morning random.org said:

Random Integer Generator
Here are your random numbers:
10
Timestamp: 2011-01-16

So that means that,
Mica said...
Happy New Year, Thanks for the offering. May you have a blessed year! Mica/The Child's Paper........is our winner! Congrats!
Email me at mountainhomequilts@charter.net with your information and I will get the book out to you!

Stay tuned for the next book giveaway. I'm thinking I'll put a post up for it at the end of this week. The book? "Passionate Housewives, Desperate for God" and man, is it a GOOD book!

Oh, and Stephany, I'm working on a venison post for you! :)

book giveaway

2011-01-10T08:01:00.000-08:00

One of my most treasured hobbies in the winter is reading. I don't get to do a whole lot of it sometimes but when I do, it's a simple quiet moment that I love. Before Spring hits I'd like to share with you some of my favorite books! So over the next few months I'll be giving away books with topics such as homesteading and being a Godly wife, to name a few! If you haven't already, make sure you enter the "Country Wisdom and Know How" book giveaway in the post below. Happy reading!

Happy New Year and a December Recap

2011-01-01T09:33:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year to you all! I pray that God blesses you abundantly this 2011!

December has been a super busy month for us and I, obviously, only blogged twice the entire month! Here's a quick re-cap of what went on at our homestead in December.

We started the month finding our tree and getting ready for Christmas. We gave away a lot of handmade gifts this year which included canned goods, like applesauce and jams along with homemade soaps. The older boys love to help make applesauce. I think it's the peeler/corer tool. If you don't have one of these, invest in one and watch your children enjoy helping with ever last apple!

We also spent a lot of time baking. Seriously.

On our holiday baking list this year were, Gingerbread cookies, peppermint brownies, raspberry jam thumbprint cookies, peanut butter and chocolate truffles, mexican wedding cakes, cranberry snow candy, black bottom cupcakes and yes, more gingerbread cookies! We even had a day where we decorated gingerbread with some friends.

Our animal count, here on the homestead, dropped by three this month. One was unplanned and sad, the other two were planned and worked out great. The first, unplanned one was having to say goodbye to one of our dogs. He was 13 and I'd had him since he was 6wks old. We had found out in October that he had bone cancer in his left foreleg. Just before Christmas he was barely walking and we decided that it was time to put him down. My eyes still well up at the thought of that day but I am glad that he is out of pain now.

Our two other planned losses were a rooster (we had two and only have 8 hens!) and one of our hogs.
After butchering the turkeys last month, I have to say this chicken was CAKE! It went super fast and easy. Maybe starting off with a big bird is the way to go- it makes everything else seem like child's play. We ate him (our first home raised chicken) 2 nights later. While he was young, (only about 7months old) his thighs were a little tough but everything else on him was great. Since he was a Buff Orphington, his breasts weren't as large as you'd find on a meat chicken but still turned out all right.
Our hog experience was slightly.... a mess. I'll spare you the details and any photos. This was our first home raised, home butchered hog. Gavin did it on one of the worst days of our most recent storm. We'll be butchering our other hog at the end of January. Hopefully the weather will be better and the process will go more smoothly. I'll share shots of that one later. But for now, there's one hog in the freezer!

A special little someone turned 4 this month and we also celebrated both my Dad's and my MIL's birthday.

Layton is a big boy now so he gets to cut his own cake!

He was thrilled to get his very fist gun this year. A Daisy pellet gun. He's been out back shooting a couple times a week trying to improve his aim. For just turning 4, I'd say he does pretty well.

Mason has taken to reading all the books he can get his hands on. Well, maybe not really reading, but at least pretending to. We read through "The Courage of Sarah Noble" as a family in the evenings. While it is a book geared towards 3rd or 4th graders, even my 8th grader was eagerly waiting to hear "what happens next" each night.

Christmas was a blessing. We enjoyed the time together as a family and of course, attempted to snap another family picture. Ya know, one where everyone is smiling at the same time and all looking at the camera? This one didn't turn out too bad I suppose.

One great thing about winter? Being forced to be indoors. Not that I enjoy having to be inside all the time. Actually, I'd much rather spend my time outside but with all the rain and hail and storms we've been having, inside time allows for more inside tasks....including quilting! I've been trying to work on a few quilts here and there and I'm proud to say that I'm actually making progress. Being cooped up also allows more time for reading. Another favorite past time of mine. Do you enjoy reading? Would you like to have another book added to your collection to read through this winter? Well, if you've actually stayed with me though this entire post then you're more than entitled to entering the giveaway for "Country Wisdom and Know How." Really, if you've made it through all of this I wish I could just give each of you a copy for being so faithful! But I only have one to give away so here we go:

Here's a brief description: "Reminiscent in both spirit and design of the beloved Whole Earth Catalog, Country Wisdom Know-How is an unprecedented collection of information on nearly 200 individual topics of country and self-sustained living. Compiled from the information in Storey Publishing's landmark series of "Country Wisdom Bulletins," this book is the most thorough and reliable volume of its kind. Organized by general topic including animals, cooking, crafts, gardening, health and well-being, and home, it is further broken down to cover dozens of specifics from "Building Chicken Coops" to "Making Cheese, Butter, and Yogurt" to "Improving Your Soil" to "Restoring Hardwood Floors." Nearly 1,000 black-and-white illustrations and photographs run throughout and fascinating projects and trusted advice crowd every page."

Rules:
This giveaway is open to everyone!
Giveaway ends January 15th at 8pm PST
For 1 entry, please leave a comment below; any kind of comment is fine.
For a 2nd entry, please Facebook or Tweet about the giveaway and leave another comment telling me that you did
For a 3rd entry, please blog about it and leave another comment telling me that you did
Winner will be drawn randomly by Random.org on or around the 16th.
Enjoy!

nifty recipe holder

2010-12-20T07:58:00.001-08:00

Now why didn't I think of this before? Actually, I'm sure I'm not the only woman to have figured this out.

Yesterday afternoon I was doing some Christmas baking and I pulled a recipe card from my recipe box. I wanted to hang it somewhere so that I could easily and quickly refer to it.
I thought of using tape and putting it up on a cabinet but then as I pulled out my kitchen aid mixer to add my ingredients, it hit me. Use the attachment cap!
So there you go, an easy and quick recipe holder.

Plus, here's my recipe for Mexican Wedding Cakes, which I made yesterday. I usually add chopped walnuts to my recipe too, it just isn't on the card. And as Mary Jane Butters would say, "use organic ingredients, of course!"

finding the tree

2010-12-07T08:34:00.000-08:00

Last weekend we headed out to find our Christmas tree. While the tree we cut down from the mountains isn't as "pretty" as the one you could go buy at your big box store, it sure was a great adventure!
Getting ready to head out...

Searching for the tree.
Loading up the tree.
After we'd found our tree we headed a little further up to find snow. Jackpot.

Yep, that's the stuff.

We had a great day. I have to say that it's taking some getting used to for me to be o.k. with a tree from the hills. I've always been one of those people that has to have the perfect tree and will spend hours at a tree lot opening and examining multiple trees before choosing the right one, much to the dismay of my family. Then we end up paying about $50 for the tree that will be going through the chipper in less than 3 weeks. Silly, isn't it? I had been pondering this and wondering how in the world I got so caught up in the commercialism. Christmas isn't about the perfect tree or emptying your pocketbook till there's nothing left. It's simply about the gift that God graciously handed down to everyone, the gift of His Son.

We're doing a much simpler Christmas this year. Less spending, more handmade, simpler things. We're going to focus more on what Christmas is supposed to be a celebration of, the birth of a Redeemer!

MPM- The Thankful Edition

2010-11-29T06:27:00.000-08:00

I didn't even do my menu planning till this morning. Talk about last minute! We're off to Eureka again today for Wyatt's follow up to his knee surgery. The surgery went well and I'm anxious to see what the doctor has to say today. Our visiting family left on Saturday, it was so nice to have them here for Thanksgiving.
At 6:29 this morning (which is the current time as I type,) I can already feel a negative attitude coming on. Lack of sleep last night, too much to do today=my bad attitude. I'm thankful that I can recognize it coming because it gives me the opportunity to do something about it; to change my heart.
So today, I am going to try and think on all the things I'm thankful for. If I made a list here of all of them it would take pages and pages and go on and on, so instead I'll just share a couple (in no particular order.)

Today I am thankful for my Lord. His graciousness and patience never cease to amaze me.

I am thankful for our pig barn which is finally complete. I am thankful that I can walk into the barn instead of the pen and that I'm now not having to hand feed pigs 2x/day!

I am thankful for my children, each one! What a honor it is to raise them. Someone at church asked me yesterday how many children I had (she's new to our church) and when I said 4, she exclaimed, "4?? WOW." That caught me off guard. I guess it just shows how everyone is different. My though is, "4?? that's not enough!" Children are a gift, not a burden.

I am thankful for our home. That may sound cheesy but having a warm, dry home is a luxury that many don't have. Although it may be small, it keeps us warm and close.

I am thankful for menu planning! It keeps me more organized and helps to make our day run smoother. So, without further ado, here's this weeks plan:

Monday
Soaked Oatmeal
Grilled cheese and tomato soup
Pork Chops, homemade applesauce, buttermilk biscuits, broccoli, kraut
Tuesday
Soaked Oatmeal
Brown Rice cakes with raw honey and peanut butter, banana slices
Hash, cornbread, green beans, kraut

Wednesday
Soaked Oatmeal
Chicken and brown rice soup
Whole Chicken, brown rice, broccoli, peasant bread, kraut

Thursday
Soaked Oatmeal
Mini Pizzas, sliced apples
Chicken and dumpling soup

Friday
Soaked Oatmeal
Peanut butter and Jam sandwiches, yogurt, apple slices
Meatloaf, mashed potatoes, buttermilk biscuits, home canned corn, kraut

Saturday
Soaked Oatmeal
Packed lunch with leftover sandwiches to eat on our Christmas tree cutting adventure!

Dinner out for my SIL's birthday

Sunday
Eggs, Sausage, Toast
Sandwiches and apples for the drive home from church
Individual chicken pot pies, kraut

Have a fantastic week!

Raising and Butchering the Thanksgiving Turkey

2010-11-22T08:40:00.000-08:00

This was our first year raising turkeys and let me tell you, it was an experience! I guess raising a new animal always is but I found with turkeys that there was a lot I didn't know. I was not aware of how much they ate. Granted, they can be 4x the size of a chicken but I guess when I purchased them as little baby chicks, that reality hadn't set in. These gals were hungry 24/7. Even watching them eat grass was amazing. I think if you had a small lawn then you could just own a turkey instead of a lawn mower. They work fast.One of our turkeys back in June.

We raised Bronze turkeys and they were about 1 month apart in age. Even though they were the same breed of turkey they both grew very differently and had very different personalities. Our larger turkey was much like a chicken while our smaller one was more like a overweight pig. She'd just lay around, eat and when she felt like it, she'd roam the grass. She also laid eggs for us while the larger one did not.
We raised them for about 7 months and butchered them yesterday. Before I go any further, let me warn the squeamish that there are some graphic turkey photos below. If you're a homesteader and butcher your own animals then it'll be nothing. If you don't even like to look at live animals and blood makes you faint then just go ahead and skip to another post. I've spared you the beheading shots!

The place where the magic happens. This is our friends home. He and his wife own the local feed store in town and are turkey butchering experts! They raise goats, sheep, pigs and have chickens, a horse and a huge green house. Normally, they raise turkeys as well but this year their turkey dinner became raccoon dinner.

The killing tree. Hanging the turkey up.

Time to take a dip in the 160 degree water (turkey has been beheaded already.) Gary had a nice large barrel that he had cut in half to use- certainly big enough for a turkey. Out of the pot and onto the table.

Plucking feathers. It was actually very easy to remove the feathers once the bird had been dipped. Gavin and Gary did the big turkey and Wyatt and I did the smaller one.

Gavin doing the dirty work.....cleaning up the smaller turkey.

Cleaning the gizzard to be fried in coconut oil and added into the stuffing.

One finished bird.

Our larger turkey ended up being fairly lean. She weighed 25lbs finished and had very little fat on her. Our smaller one had quite a bit of fat (remember I said she was like an overweight pig?) and weighed out at 17lbs.

Cost wise these turkeys were expensive. The chicks were about $8.50 each and then feeding them organic, soy free food for the last 7 months has been pricy as well. While they were free range and did get to eat grass and bugs and other squirmy things, they still ate a lot of purchased food. My guess is that each turkey ended up costing about $60 when all was said and done. Pricey? Yep. But in reality I'd much rather spend the time and the money and know what my food has been eating and the conditions it's been in rather than getting a free turkey from the store if I spend over X amount of dollars. There is something very satisfying about raising and eating your own meat.

Thanksgiving MPM

2010-11-22T06:53:00.000-08:00

This is going to be one crazy week at the homestead. My folks are driving up today (as I type) and are staying for a week. Tomorrow is Wyatt's knee surgery. Thursday is Thanksgiving which equals, spending all day in the kitchen. (Wait, how is that different than most days?) Any other spare time this week will be spent working on the pig barn. We have "Swine Lake" in the pig pen right now and it's not pretty.

My menu plan is a little different this week. I can already tell that it's gonna be a doozy seeing as last night I forgot to soak our oatmeal. Looks like we're having eggs this morning......good thing we have over 3 dozen in our fridge!

Monday

Eggs and spouted toast

Tomato soup and grilled cheese

Whole Roasted Chicken, peasant bread, broccoli

Tuesday

Soaked Oatmeal

Brown rice cakes with peanut butter and raw honey, sliced bananas

Whatever my mom makes! (We'll be out of town for Wyatt's surgery)

Wednesday

Soaked Oatmeal

Chicken and brown rice soup

Lasagna, peasant bread, green salad with homemade dressing

Thursday

Soaked Oatmeal

Mini Pizzas with sliced apples

Thanksgiving Dinner (with homestead organic, grass fed turkeys!)

Friday

Soaked oatmeal

Peanut butter and jam sandwiches, sliced apple, yogurt

Thanksgiving leftovers

Saturday

Soaked Oatmeal

Tuna Sandwiches with apples

Chicken Pot Pies

Sunday

Eggs, uncured bacon, buttermilk biscuits, gravy

Leftover sandwiches, yogurt

Venison Roast, baked potatoes, green salad with homemade dressing

Remember, if you ever have any questions about my meal plan or the food specifically, leave a comment and I'll be sure to respond.

May you have w onderful, blessed Thanksgiving!

weird sounds coming from the kitchen

2010-11-18T12:32:00.001-08:00

While it's fermenting in a sealed jar, sauerkraut can make all kinds of noises. Just today while I was cleaning the kitchen I thought, "What in the world is that noise?" Then I remembered the kraut on the counter. Those high pitched sounds of the air escaping as it bubbles from between the little cracks of the lid- they may be strange but they are the sounds of cabbage being transformed into a food that it full of vitamin C and beneficial bacteria!

I realized too that I completely left sauerkraut off of my dinner plans on MPM! It's something we enjoy every night- how could I have forgotten? I shared my quick way of making kraut here if you're interested.

turkey friend

2010-11-17T15:31:00.001-08:00

Layton's got a buddy.
This banana is good.
Would you like to try some?

Soaked Oatmeal

2010-11-15T07:43:00.000-08:00

We eat soaked oatmeal almost every morning for breakfast. It's fantastic! We change what we top it with and that keeps it interesting each morning.
Soaked oatmeal is super easy to make plus by soaking it, you are releasing the vitamins and minerals to be absorbed by your body rather than blocked!
Sally Fallon, the author of Nourishing Traditions, said in her book, "Phosphorus in the bran of whole grains is tied up in a substance called phytic acid. Phytic acid combines with iron, calcium, magnesium, copper and zinc in the intestinal tract, clocking their absorption. Whole grains also contain enzyme inhibitors that can interfere with digestion. Traditional societies usually soak or ferment their grains before eating them, processes that neutralize phytates and enzyme inhibitors and in effect, predigest grains so that all their nutrients are more available. Sprouting, overnight soaking, and old-fashioned sour leavening can accomplish this important predigestive process in our own kitchens. Many people who are allergic to grains will tolerate them well when they are prepared according to these procedures."

Soaking grains isn't difficult either. All you need is some water and a neutralizer. In the case of Soaked Oatmeal I use our well water and yogurt. The recipe below feeds both my husband and I, and all of our children each morning (a 13yr old, 3yr old, 2yr old and 1 yr old) If you have more or less people in your family then you can adjust the quantity as needed.

Soaked Oatmeal

2 c water

2 c organic oats

4 Tb whole milk yogurt

1 1/2c water (for cooking the next day)

The night before, place oats in a glass or ceramic bowl and pour in water and yogurt. Stir until well combined.

Grains should be soaked for at least 12 hours so I usually make mine up while I'm preparing dinner.

Cover your bowl with a cotton dishcloth and allow it to remain on your counter until the next morning.

When you're ready to cook it, place the oats into a saucepan with the 1 1/2c water and cook on medium heat until water is absorbed (about 8 minutes.) I stir mine often because otherwise it tends to stick to the bottom of the pan.

I then portion out our oatmeal into bowls, add organic butter, maple syrup and cinnamon. We then top it with what we have on hand. This morning it was canned peaches and sliced banana. Add some organic whole milk (raw preferably) and enjoy!

Menu Plan Monday

2010-11-14T15:34:00.000-08:00

I've been inspired. By a few different ladies. Menu planning.

I've actually been menu planning (half way) for over a year. I was planning our dinners but that was it. I've been encouraged though to plan all meals now. I'm not sure why I didn't do it before? Menu planning has always been helpful for me at dinner so why not at breakfast and lunch too? I was so organized in the afternoons preparing for dinner but at breakfast and lunch I was always scurrying around wondering, "What can I make? What do I have?"

Menu planning not only helps me to be more organized at home (which is something I can seriously lack once in a while) but it helps me grocery shop so that I'm making less trips to town. Less trips=saved money. Less time, less gas.

This sweet lady gave me the idea to plan my kids lunches. I have the week planned out and we eat the same thing every week. Easy for me, easy for the kids. She also inspired me with these.

Here's my meal plan for this week:

Monday

Soaked Oatmeal

Tomato soup and grilled cheese

Hash, buttermilk biscuits, home canned green beans, sauteed mushrooms

Tuesday

Soaked Oatmeal

Rice cakes with peanut butter and raw honey, sliced bananas

Chicken and Dumpling Soup

Wednesday

Soaked Oatmeal

Chicken and brown rice soup with carrots

Pork Chops, spinach raviolis, homemade applesauce

Thursday

Soaked Oatmeal

Mini pizzas with homemade buns, sliced apples

Spaghetti, peasant bread, green salad

Friday

Soaked Oatmeal

Peanut butter and jam sandwiches, sliced apples, whole milk yogurt

BBQ chicken, baked potatoes, home canned corn

Saturday

Soaked Oatmeal

Tuna sandwiches with apples

Meatloaf, mashed potatoes, canned corn, cornbread

Sunday

Soaked Pancakes, uncured bacon, maple syrup

Meatloaf sandwiches

Venison roast with potatoes and carrots, peasant bread

As you can see, we eat a lot of oatmeal for breakfast. We like it and it's easy. I'm thankful that I don't have a picky family to feed. Over the next few months I'll try to get up as many recipes as I can so that you can link to them if you'd like to try them out. I always love trying someone's tried and true recipe. It rules out the question, "Will this even be good??!"

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