A New Collar

Our pup broke his old collar the other day and Hubby decided to make him a new one out of some old leather he had here. We let the girls stamp his name on his new collar. He is very proud of it and I must say it definitely looks better than his old one did.

Today was ladies bible study day. Our study today was about Elizabeth. It was a really nice study. We only have 2 more lessons in this book. We have decided to do Kelly Minter’s “No Other Gods” next. I will show you all a picture of the study book soon.

Hubby is gone to a deacons meeting at church tonight and I plan on watching a movie. A blogger friend of mine had recently watched this movie, “The Lightkeepers”. I rented it from Netflix and got it in today.

Enjoy your evening and God bless.

February 4, 2011 5

Sam

Baby Sam LOVES food. Yesterday, he discovered blackberries. This boy loves every type of food he has sampled so far. Brother Daniel, however, is a totally different subject. Whereas Sam eats and loves everything, to Daniel almost everything is YUCKY. Jess has to disquise all the fruit he eats. They eat a lot of “purple snack” (blueberries combined with other fruit and pureed into total smoothness). He can’t even suspect he is eating fruit.

Today temperature is not near as nice as yesterday. Wind chills around zero this morning when we go up. It has warmed up some though-mid 20’s with wind chill around 10 degrees. Needless to say, I did not hang clothes on the line outside today. We are doing school as usual, working on history now. They are learning about Egypt. Tonight’s menu is undetermined at this time. I know, though, it will revolve around a deer roast, which is cooking on the wood stove as I type.

Enjoy your day and God bless.

February 3, 2011 7

Jerky

Monday we made jerky. Jerky is one of our favorite things to dehydrate. As some of you may remember, we were blessed last year to have a beef given to us. As it was an old bull , we made hamburger out of most of it. Above is a picture of our dehydrator, our jerky shooter and the type of jerky mix we use. All this came from Wal-Mart. There a lots of jerky mixes out there, this is just the one we use.

This is what it looks like after it has dried. The rack is not necessary. I just put it on it to take the picture. I thought it would show the jerky better.

When finished, it all fits neatly back into this basket and off the the attic it goes to be stored until next time. We have dehydrated apples and peppers too, a few bananas and grapes. We used to dry our green beans on a string in the attic when we lived in Grundy. I wonder how green beans would be dried in a dehydrator. Anyone out there ever tried this? I think I will try it this summer and see how it turns out. We just called them fodder beans but I have heard them referred to as leather britches. I know they are good no matter what you call them.

We did get a storm last night but it was only rain. YEAH! Temperatures are very nice today. Mid 40’s already. Lots of sunshine. I have clothes outside on the line. The wind is supposed to pick up after lunch, about 30 mph with gusts in the 50 mph range. Typical wind for Floyd. It helps the clothes dry and makes them soft as long as you can keep them on the line.

Enjoy your day and God bless.

February 2, 2011 5

A Nice Surprise

Last night during our fellowship meal, one of the ladies told me she had something for me out in her car. She had gotten me this beautiful material. She found it a Wal-Mart. Our Wal-Mart does not sell material but they had this on clearance, probably from another store. Each bolt has 5 yards of material on it. Lots of aprons! Sometimes God amazes me, the way He leads us to encourage each other. I was feeling a little down about messing up the other material and then He surprises me through a generous friend. God is good.

Temperatures here have changed drastically from yesterday. Mid 20’s with lots and lots of cloud coverage. We are not getting any snow yet but it definitely feels like snow.

Time for school. Enjoy your day and God bless.

January 31, 2011 4

Having Fun

Fishing. Such great fun for two little boys on a warm Sunday afternoon. Temperatures here today are amazing. Mid 50’s. The sun is shining beautifully. The mother of these two boys had called while we were at church. She wanted to know if she could bring the boys to fish for a while. They had a great time.

I fixed a new recipe for lunch today. I got it from a blogger friend. It is called Amish 13 Bean and Sausage Chowder.

2 cups of 13 Bean Blend
1 qt. fresh water
2 tsp. butter
1 tsp. lemon juice
4 tsp chicken broth
4 cups potatoes (diced)
2 cups onions (diced)
1 1/2 cups celery (sliced with leaves)
1 can (15oz) yellow corn
1 tsp garlic salt
1 tsp sage
1/2 tsp black pepper
1 qt whole milk
1 cup light cream
1 egg
3 Tbsp. Corn Starch
2 Tbsp. Flour
2 lbs of smoked sausage (sliced 3/8″)

1. Soak Bean in water overnight and drain.
2. Simmer the first 5 ingredients together in a heavy kettle for 30 minutes
3. Add the next 5 ingredients and cook another 15 minutes till potatoes are tender. (Do not stir much)
4. Add garlic salt, sage, black pepper & milk (Do not let boil)
5. Blend light cream, egg, corn starch & flour together in a bowl with a whip till smooth.
6. Slowly add the step #5 mixture and heat gently to thicken. Add sausage and Serve.

We liked it very much. I am taking the rest of it tonight to church for our fellowship meal. We will be having the soup, cornbread, pigs in a blanket, cake and ice cream. We have 3 more weeks after tonight on our study of II Corinthians.

Enjoy your evening and God bless.

January 30, 2011 4

Finished Health

We are finished with health! Isn’t that great? The girls decided yesterday that since we were so close to being finished, they would just work on through to the end. (This decision was made all on their own, I didn’t even suggest it) I think that is amazing in itself but so typical of homeschool kids.

Today is a very nice day. Lots of sunshine. Temperatures are in the low 40’s. Amazing! I have clothes on the line, I love it. The girls and I have been walking down to the barn to get milk this week. Today’s walking should be fairly nice except for the mud. I know, complain, complain. But I really do not like walking in mud. Good exercise though.

Tonights menu will be kielbasa with sauteed mushrooms, onion, garlic and green peppers served over brown rice. I haven’t decided what to have for dessert yet , maybe a peach cobbler. I have made little progress on the matching aprons. I am very frustrated with myself. I made an unfixabe error on the little girl apron. I will have to transform it into a doll apron. At least, it will be usable for something. Well, that’s how you learn, I reckon.

I hope you all have lots of sunshine today and warm temperatures and that you are able to go outside and enjoy the beauty of the day. God bless.

January 29, 2011 3

New Homemade Laundry Soap Recipe

Today I am making laundry soap. I am trying a new recipe. I have experienced some problems with the old recipe I have been using. I have been making my own laundry soap for about 2 years now. The problem is that my towels, dishcloths, washcloths, napkins etc have become very non absorbent. It is like they have a water repellent on them. I am not joking. I can have a spill, put a napkin down on it, leave it and come back in about l min. and the spill is still there. The napkin is just laying there on top of the spill. I have tried lots of different things to solve this problem and none of them seem to help. I have used vinegar in the rinse, used fabric softener, not used fabric softener. It is still the same. I came across this recipe at the Hillbilly Housewife. It is a little different from my old one. We’ll see how it works. Hopefully this will fix my problem.

Homemade Laundry Detergent Recipe

1 bar of Fels Naptha soap, shaved
4 cups of hot water to melt the soap
3 gallons of hot water
1 cup of borax
2 cups of washing soda
1 cup of baking soda
1 large Rubbermaid container about 4-5 gallons size

Heres what you do:
Grate the soap into a saucepan. You can use either a box grater or a food processor for this. I recommend you do not use whatever tool you use for grating soap with food. I was able to buy an extra food processor very inexpensively at a thrift store.

Add 4 cups of hot water to the pan. Simmer on low until the soap melts completely into the water.

Add borax, washing soda and baking soda to the hot water. Simmer on low until it desolves with the soap. If the mixture is not melting, add more water if needed.

Add 3 gallons of hot water to the large container. Add the mixture to the hot water. Mix with a large spoon until it
completely dissolves.
Let cool overnight. You will notice that it turns into a thick gel. Use 1 cup of this homemade laundry detergent per load of laundry.

Enjoy your day and God bless.

January 28, 2011 4

Evening Sky

Yesterday after the snow stopped, our sky was gorgeous. I tried to take a picture of it. This does not really do it justice but it was the best one I took. The wind picked up considerably after the snow stopped, 30 to 40 mph. We have wind here almost always but after snow storms it usually kicks up quite a bit. This wind is a blessing though in the summer as it keeps our temperatures cooler than surrounding areas.

We have decided not to have bible study tomorrow due to road conditions. I miss those ladies when we don’t meet. Today will be school as usual. We hope to finish health by the end of next week. Then we can double up on another subject and get it finished. I have already been looking at next years books. So exciting! How blessed we are to be able to homeschool. I love teaching my girls, spending time with them. We have so much fun.

Enjoy your day and God bless.

January 27, 2011 4

Snow

We are getting snow today. It started out as rain, changed to sleet and now it is all snow. Predictions are 4-6 in. We’ll see. Anyway, it looks pretty coming down.

Tonights menu is meatloaf, cheesy pototoes, home canned green beans and fresh rolls. The recipe I use for the meatloaf is:

2 lb hamburger, 2 tbsp bbq sauce, 1 cup milk, 1/2 tsp chili powder, 1 sleeve crackers crushed, 1 egg, 1/2 cup chopped onion, salt and pepper to taste. Bake for 1 hr 15 min at 400 degrees. Topping for meatloaf- l cup ketchup, 1/2 cup brown sugar.

Cheesy Potatoes:

In a casserole dish, layer sliced potatoes, chopped onions, salt, pepper, sprinkle on 1 tbsp flour, shredded cheddar cheese, shredded mozzarella–repeat layers pour 1 cup milk over the entire dish and bake at 400 degrees for 45 min or until pototoes are done.

It certainly will smell good in your home while these are baking. Our rolls are baking as I type. I think I am getting hungry. Enjoy your day and God bless.

January 26, 2011 5

Geese

This morning as Hubby and I were having our morning coffee together, we saw what we thought were tracks on the pond. Then we thought maybe it was just where the wind had blown the snow in swirls. Later in the day, Grace took these pictures.

They look like they are having fun!

Maybe this is a sign of early spring. They do seem to be here kinda early this year. Maybe it is just wishful thinking on my part.

Yesterday, for dessert I made an oatmeal pie. This is one of my favorites, also Julie and Jess. The recipe is:

2 eggs beaten, 2/3 cup sugar, 2/3 cup uncooked oatmeal, 1 tsp vanilla, 2/3 cup melted butter, 2/3 cup corn syrup, 1/4 tsp salt. Mix all ingredients together and pour into uncooked pie crust. Bake at 350 degrees for l hr.

Okay, so my crust is not too pretty but I promise you it tasted delicious! It tastes a lot like pecan pie. Temperatures here are warm-mid 30’s. We have some sun right now but a storm is supposed to be moving in. One forecast said 4-5 in of snow. We’ll see. Right now though it is nice. I have clothes on the line outside, hopefully, they will dry before the clouds come in.

Tonights menu is deer bbq, made from the roast yesterday, home fries and slaw. We still have some pie left for dessert. Enjoy your day and God bless.

January 25, 2011 6