The days have been rainy and I have tried to make bread for 3 days to no avail (part of learning) it does'nt rise in humidity and rainy weather. My mind has been blue with thoughts and havent slept much in the past few days. Satan has been trying to have a hay day with me! I am much better today!

We made another batch of butter this time filling 2 butter molds. The first butter was good but needed more salt added to it.. I have plenty of supply of buttermilk for bread, buscuits and pancakes. My girl wanted a taste of it, she had never tried it! She quickly said EWWWEE! I am glad it was only a tablespoon of it!

Today my 10 year old daughter made a batch of chocolate chip and peanut butter chip cookies all by herself and they were good! I am so proud of her! Of course her brothers and daddy quickly gobbled several warm ones, Cookies just dont stay around with teenagers and hungry boys!

I am taking the two smaller kids to Patch the Pirate club tonight. I need out of the house. I have been cooped up in here since Sunday afternoon..I dont like to go to much to town but it rained for 2 days and cold weather is coming in this weekend.

Friday will be shopping day for us and I am planning to go to our local organic merchantile to see what wheat berries, spelt flour and some other different flours are going for these days. I will be shopping for a special friend of mine who is home from the hospital. She has had lymphoma and is recovering. But she has had several set backs with infections and such.. I try to help her and her husband by getting things for them if I am at the Merc.. I want to get some different spices also for baking and cooking. One of our favorites is Spike! Its great seasoning for alot of veggies and meats..

I am trying to think up ways to help even more with saving energy and so forth. I want to put up a temporary clothes line somewhere in the house or back porch for rainy nasty days... The woodstove project is taking more money than we thought to get it into the house (the heat piped in) but I know that it will pay off in the long run~ Propane would be a killer on us this year! I am grateful for the under 2.00 a gallon gas that we have around here! I am hoping that it goes lower like what I heard it was in Missouri 1.68 a gallon..

I also started an Amish Friendship bread starter for some of my friends. I thought this was a good time to do it with Thanksgiving and Christmas coming.

Well I must be off and running again to get ready for church! I have enjoyed reading so many of the blogs on here and getting great ideas for the holidays and other things! God Bless!

I have currently read a series of books that are interesting by Linda Hubalek

Trail of Thread

THimble of Soil

Stitch of Courage

I have taken so many ideas from these books and I have really learned so much from these homesteaders who lived only 20 miles from our farm. Its Kansas History!

Charessa (Kansas)