Some Good Things

Lately I've been finding some pretty good things over at Nourishing Days.

First, let's start with this apple pie.

It's gluten free and honey sweetened.

Now I know, for those of you who aren't gluten free or sugar free, your initial response goes something like this, "Um, no. I'm pretty happy with my sugar filled, wheat crusted, delicious pie, thank you very much."

 

And that would have been my response too, just 6 months ago. After all, if you have something that works, why change it? But since going (almost) gluten free thanks to this, I have found that I actually enjoy being gluten free. There are some wonderful recipes out there that taste phenomenal and are actually easier on your body.

So really, if you have the chance, try this recipe.

 

It will knock your socks off. Not only will you only eat apple pie like this for the rest of your life (and your body will thank you with each bite) but you'll decide that the amazing crust recipe must go into the family book to be used for all future pies as well.

 

 

My second good thing found over at Shannon's blog are these.

Even if you're not off-grid and you just want to have a few reliable, battery free flashlights around, for when the power goes out....or when the power grid finally fails...ya know, whatever reason, then these little gems are great.

While these are great for indoor/outdoor regular flashlight use, they also work well for general room lighting when stood up on the flat end, with the light facing the ceiling.

I charge ours on our windowsill and haven't had a problem with them yet. Plus, they are reasonably priced. I like that. You can read Shannon's review of them here.

 

A few more good things...

{Clearing brush and burning it}

 

                      {A brother and sister on a tree daddy fell}                     

 {A seven year old boy with a torch. Wait, is that a good thing?!}

 

And a 7th birthday celebrated.

{A Filson hat just like daddy's}

(Sorry for the low light but my phone camera and oil lamps don't make for great photos. Oh, and by the way... yes, Shannon's pie was so good that I not only made it for a church function, but also for Layton's birthday!)

Last but not least....

I got this idea from Tonya over at Plain and Joyful Living. We had no where to hang our stockings this year and I haven't yet put anything up on our walls, so this fit perfectly. Thanks for the inspiration, Tonya!

The County Fair & Camping & Everything Else

Wow. Over a month since a post. You know it's summer!

Here's what we've been up to........

 Layton and his ribbons from fair.

 Miss Timber Ann and hers.

 Our county fair was the first weekend in August and we entered a number of things. Our most exciting entries though were our chickens! Both Layton and I entered hens this year in the fair and Layton also entered our drake Magpie. We had a great time. As with every fair, there were things that we entered that we were sure would be first place winners.......which got nothing! and then things that we didn't even expect to be noticed that won first! Each year is a surprise!

We've also been camping.

 Picking blackberries from a small patch in the field.

 Cooking hot dogs for our second nights meal. The first night we were treated to....

TROUT! Caught by the world's best 5 year old fisherman! (And yes, the barefoot 2 year old is flailing a hatchet. Thankfully it's rather dull.)

Watching Daddy gut the fish and then cooking it. After it was cooked and we divied it up, I asked Layton if he wanted any. He looked at me and said, "No Mom, I caught that for my family to eat." His heart just melted mine. What a sweetheart.

We spent 4 wonderful days in the back woods and loved every minute of it. Well, except nap time in the tent when it was 90 degrees outside. Thankfully our tent was mostly shaded. And the creek was less than a 1 minute walk from camp.

I took a survey of all the trees there and found that most of them were very straight. I mentioned that to my husband and told him that we could probably easily build a cabin with what was available there. While he liked the idea, the hour and a half drive to work everyday turned him off slightly.

The garden is finally producing. We're eating peas and green beans and broccoli along with some strawberries and spinach. The hoop house is like a jungle and we've been getting lots of cherry tomatoes and a few plum size ones too. I have a huge Brandywine in there that I am waiting on so very patiently. I can't wait till it's red! The Delicata squash is also looking great. I can already taste the buttery nuttiness of it paired with some wild rice this fall.

And speaking of fall........are we already almost there?! Hunting season starts this month. Archery begins this weekend and rifle starts next month. Here's hoping we'll have some venison to butcher too!

 Last but certainly not least, Wyatt and his BMX bike. He's 14. Have you had a teenager? O.k., then you know what it's like. He specifically asked me if I could post these pictures on my blog. He also wanted to know if I could upload videos. I think he may be thinking of hijacking it and turning it into a blog all about BMX.

 Ya gotta love that kid!

I hope that your summer has been wonderful!

For Lack of a Better Post

Ya see, I have about 3-4 posts that are half written. And I just haven't had the time to finish them to publish! So, for lack of a better post, you'll get a whole lot of pictures and not so many words. A picture is worth a thousand words anyway so I'll let them do the talking for me.

In no particular order.........

Enjoy your week!

Twirl Skirt

Timber has been begging me to sew for the last few days. Each day I have felt overwhelmed with the tasks that need done and have been putting it off. So last night when she asked after supper, we began.

She said she wanted to make a skirt.

And I said, "One that twirls like your dress?"

"YES! YES!" she replied.

So with no pattern (as evident from the photos!) we began cutting fabric. Fabric she had picked out of my stash. We almost got the entire skirt sewn before bedtime. This morning we put the elastic in the waist and it was complete.

Then she asked if she could wear it outside. Wyatt said as she walked out the door, "Mom, are you sure Timber can wear that skirt outside? It's her new one!" I thought about it for a minute. After all, it did rain yesterday and the day before and all we have around the property is gravel, grass and MUD.

"Yes, it's o.k. that she wear it." I replied. After all, how fun are twirling skirts if you only get to wear them once in a while? It's going to get already dirty. Now it's officially broke in. And she loves it.

Can I Call it Spring?

It is March after all. We are so ready for spring to be here. How about you?
I think I am going to work on a spring banner for my blog. Because if it says "Spring!" then it should surely be here sooner!

We're riding bikes....

Waiting to till under the cover crop in the garden....

Watching plants and fruit trees bloom...

Planting new crops.... This is Timber's garden. It was part of her birthday present.

Baking chocolate cakes after Amanda shared this recipe..... Anne Bibby, are you reading this? Make this and you'll never give that Pillsbury box a second glance!

And raising baby chicks... This is another part of Timber's birthday present. Meet Daisy. She's a Golden Sex Link. And she's the only chicken we own with a name.
I'm going to go out now and soak up as much of the sun as I can because our 10 day forecast is showing nothing but rain starting tomorrow. Here's to spring coming in right after that!

Winter is near

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