Blessings From Home

Getting Ready for Camp

Next week I'll be going to Preteen Camp with my church as a counselor.  It's the only way Luke would agree to go, and it is so much fun that I didn't want him to miss the experience.  I do dread the heat, though!  My job is to take care of the kids that need medicine.  Thankfully, I don't have to administer it; I just take them on a golf cart to the camp nurse and she does the rest.  I think I can handle that!  This will be my first trip as well as Luke's, and I look forward to seeing what the Lord has in store for us.  Keep us in your prayers!

Blessings,

Carol

Thinking about the Fall Garden

I know, Summer just started, and I'm talking about Fall already! 

But, in order to have a Fall garden, some things should be done now- planning, ordering seed, planting seeds to transplant into the garden when it is time, adding compost or any other needed soil builders, etc.   

In my area, July 1 was the suggested date for planting tomato, pepper, and eggplant seed.  I'm a few days behind schedule, mainly because I'm trying to keep up with harvesting the tomatoes that are ripening like crazy right now!   

Most of the Fall planting for my area comes a little later, since July and  August are always HOT.   The bulk of  planting comes from September to November.  But, if I don't at least make a plan now and make sure I have seeds ready, I may miss my planting date when it arrives. 

Many of the same vegetables that grow in the Spring garden can be replanted for Fall, they like the cool weather and will do well if they have time to mature before a frost gets them.  You can probably get a list of what grows well in your area in the Fall either online, from a local nursery, or from your County Extension Agent. 

Here's a little chart to show when the first predicted Fall frost date is:

Zone 3 - Sept 1st - 30th
Zone 4 - Sept 1st - 30th
Zone 5 - Sept 30th - Oct 30th
Zone 6 - Sept 30th - Oct 30th
Zone 7 - Oct 15th - Nov 15th
Zone 8 - Oct 30th - Nov 30th
Zone 9 - Nov 30th - Dec 30th
Zone 10 - Nov 30th - Dec 30th
Zone 11 - Frost Free

If you aren't sure what zone you live in, here's a map that will show you.

With that information you can see how long it takes a particular crop to mature and then count backwards to get an estimated planting date.  Of course, it all depends on the weather, and it is good to give your plants at least a week or two of a head-start if your area often has early frosts.  I live in Zone 8, and sometimes we don't even have a frost until close to Thanksgiving.  Fall is a great time for growing here. 

Please share what you grow in your Fall garden and any tips you have.  Those of you who live in colder climates, please share your wisdom, as this Texas gardener has never had to garden where it really gets cold !

Hope you have a great holiday weekend, and maybe next week, spend some time planning (and perhaps planting) for the Fall garden!

Blessings,

Catherine

Germs and The Days Plans

 Today and everyday!

Good Friday afternoon Friends and Family~

I pray this day finds you all well and healthy. We are doing well today but some of us are not so healthy. This has been a *germy* week around our house. There is a nasty cold going around and it all of the kids have it.

DD (18) picked it up from the camp she is working at. She said that there were A LOT of sick staff there last week. Some so sick that they couldn't get out of bed. She just managed to to get the sore throat and cold symptoms from it. She was able to keep going the rest of week with it and did a good job of not complaining.

The other 2 kids have had a harder time with it. Dd (15) has been really tired and just wore out from it. DS (10) had a really bad night of it last night with his asthma. All head colds always end up in his chest and it just brings on the asthma.I took him to the Dr. this morning and they gave him some antibiotics for it. Prayerfully he will be better soon as well as DD (15).

Hubby is off today. A good thing and a bad thing at the same time. It means less money for next weeks paycheck, but more time with his family. I'll take the time with us over the hours lost. GOD will take care of our needs and always does.

Hubby is also out visiting with some shut ins from our church. He took them some butter and milk. The lady he is visiting is about 80 years old and always had a cow when she was able to get out and about. He thought she might like some *old fashioned* milk and butter. Nothing is better than that in my opinion. 

I've had to change my plans for the 4th. We were to go to the beach tomorrow (a 4th tradition.) With 2 sick kids, we will have to forgo the beach for the weekend. We are blessed though in the fact that we can go when they are feeling better, seeing we live about an hour away. We'll just stay home and take care of some *undone business* around the house (there is ALWAYS UNDONE BUSINESS AROUND HERE.)

Here is what the rest of the day holds for me:

 ~Cook and debone chicken for Sundays dinner
~ Make a dessert for tomorrows dinner
~Make butter
~ Cut grass and weed eat
~ Make a Homemade pizza for dinner tonight
~ Then there are the *usual* days activities to deal with

Have a blessed day in THE LORD! Stay safe this July 4th weekend! Pray for our country and for our President's salvation!

A song stuck in my head & new school books

There's greenbeans in the garden,

Clean clothes on the line,

There's little ole' barefoot children playing beneath the grapvine.

The sun is shining bright

And the creeks a' bubblin' too

We've got alot to be thankful for

And Lord I want to thank you.

Today is another hot one here on the little bitty homestead.  I do have my dryer running but it's just to dry the undergarmets.  The towels & the rest are out on the clothesline. 

My husband & son are gone fishing and Abigail is still sleeping.  So even though it's a little after 9:00 it is very quiet here. 

I got my package from Rainbow Resource in the mail yesterday.  It feels like a holiday when those crisp, clean schoolbooks arrive....To me anyway.  Abigail came running in from outside yesterday evening with the package the UPS just delivered.  Here was our conversation:

A- "Mama, mama, we got a package & it's got your name on it."

M- "Oh great it's from Rainbow Resource."

A- "What is that?  Is there anything for me in there?"

M- "Yes a few things & a couple for your brother."

A opens package up and pulls out a couple of books.

A-" Are these school books?"

M- "Yes aren't they neat.  Come look at this one for you all about animals."

A- looks at cover & looks back up at me not too happy.

A-"Next time can you please order something useful."

M-

Hope everyone has a good 4th of July.

Thankful Thursday

It is a very hot one indeed outside. I an thankful for the gentle breeze . I woke early to get  some chores done. The heat is great drying cloths on the line . Which I very thankful for. I am thankful that I can afford to have AC on in my home to keep cool . I couldn't afford to run the dryer even if I wanted to . So for me the choice is simply "Solar Dryer " . And it does a great job !!! Very Frugal !!!

I have been canning tomatoes and salsa small batches at a time . This is much easier on me . I used to wait and do large batches of tomatoes . But this got to be way to much to do in one day . Plus ,trying to keep up with other household chores .  I dried some bell peppers and froze some . I have been cooking with them everyday . They are very crispy and crunchy this year !! Great for dipping in Ranch !!!! I almost have enough okra to fry some(I hardly fry anything ) . This is the first batch , just coming in . I plan to freeze the rest for gumbo in the winter .

Here is a Tip from the Tiptionary : Crystal Light , make your own product with these ingredients . 1 cup lemon or lime juice ,5 cups cold water ,5 packets of sweeterner (any brand or type you like ).Mix in a pitcher ,serve over ice ,and enjoy !!!!

Cooler : Keep a cooler in the trunk of your car .You can stop for groceries with out having to to straight home. This is also a great idea during the summer months for keeping  bottles of water and snacks on hand while running errands . You will save lots of money from the convenience of your own cooler . And skip the high prices at the Convenience Stores .

Have a Happy and Safe 4th of July !!!!  Shaune

Leaving tomorrow for vacation

We are leaving tomorrow to go to Ohio with a stop in horse country.  My in-laws live in Northern Ohio so we go to see them only twice a year (Thanksgiving week and 4th of July week).  We leave tomorrow morning and will stop in Lexington where my sister and her family are meeting us.  The kids love to stay in a hotel so they are anticipating that!  Then Saturday morning we will head up to Buckeye state.  I hope to have pictures and details of our travels after we return on the 11th.  Y'all take care! 

Happy Independence Day!!!!

***If you are on Facebook, feel free to join me on my travels because I have it loaded onto my phone.  If you're not my friend on there let me know and I'll add you.  You can find me under Farrah Cook Ginter.

Godly, Uplifting Reading Material

"A frequently overlooked or oft times neglected necessity in the proper training of our children is monitoring what our children read and providing in the home good Christian literature which will guide them to faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, encourage them to serve Him and obey His Word, and will teach them honesty, kindness, purity, self-control, faithfulness, etc.  It is also important to inculcate in our children the life-long practice of reading good Christian literature and the knowledge needed to discern that which is not Christian and biblical."

~~~~~

"However strong and exalted your character, never read a bad book. By the time you get through the first chapter you will see the drift. If you find the marks of the hoofs of the devil in the pictures, or in the style, or in the plot, away with it. You may tear your coat, or break a vase, and repair them again, but the point where the rip or fracture took place will always be evident. It takes less than an hour to do your heart a damage which no time can entirely repair. Look carefully over your child's library; see what book it is that he reads after he has gone to bed, with the gas turned upon the pillow. Do not always take it for granted that a book is good because it is a Sunday school book. As far as possible, know who wrote it, who illustrated it, who published it, who sold it."

T. DeWitt Talmage (1832-1902) 

Now, I have to admit that several of the books listed are ones that have been on my Want to Get list for awhile, I just haven't done it.  Shame on me.  Once we have knowledge we are also responsible for what we do with it and so I am using this new knowledge/instruction/exhortation and will place an order today!

If you have children at home, I hope you will take a few minutes to read Christian Books for Christian Homes and give your young ones the very best not only in reading material but also the best example and testimony for their Christian walk.  I'm also compelled to ask - What do you spend your free time reading?  Serial books?  Magazines?  Do your children see you reading your Bible?  Do they know from watching you that reading the Bible is the most important book they can read?

"Give the Bible the honour due to it every day you live. Whatever you read, read that first. And beware of bad books: there are plenty in this day. Take heed what you read. I suspect there is more harm done to souls in this way than most people have an idea is possible. Value all books in proportion as they are agreeable to Scripture. Those that are nearest to it are the best, and those that are farthest from it, and most contrary to it, the worst."

J.C. Ryle (1816-1900)    

The Harvest Is In!

Good Thursday Morning Fellow Homesteaders! What a beautiful day it is today. Not too humid but still pretty hot. We will be in the lower 90's again today. Such is the season here in southeastern NC.

The harvest here at Piney Woods Homestead is in. The corn is all picked and put up. We ended up with about 200 ears. I left it all on the cob because the ears were so small. It is a far cry from the 500 we were expecting. It is on the other hand the most corn that has come out of our garden in at least 5 years. I am most thankful indeed. 

I am praying that the guy down the road from us will have a good supply of corn up for sale soon. I got about 3 bushels from him last year and it was really good corn. I will be thankful for whatever comes my way. A little or a lot.

The beans are also gone now. I ended up with about 10-12 gallon sized freezer bags. That is also the most our beans have produced in years. Again, I say," Thank you LORD!" for meeting our needs.

The tomatoes we planted have just started getting ripe enough to pick. I chose Romas this year because I wanted to learn to make my own spagetti sauce with them. Well, they seem to be getting black spot on them just as they are ripened. We have managed to pick a few, but not many. What we are getting will be used just to eat with dinners.Again, we have learned A LOT from this garden.

The taters are great! I picked some over a month ago and they are still on my cabinet with none rotting or sprouting. I am seeing how long they will last in my house without having to can them. Once I get a good idea of how long they wil last, we will dig the rest of them up and store them in our *tater box*.

Here is what didn't do so well at all;

Peanuts (A few plants came up, not enough though.)
Popcorn (a bust)
Cucumbers (enough to snack on as needed)

Our field corn that we wanted to use for chicken feed turned into squirrel feed! The little buggers dug up the kernels and ate them as the stalks were first coming up. We thought it was the birds at first. I found out it was the squirrels when I went down there after hearing crows in that area.( I thought they were the problem.) When I got there, I saw the little buggers feasting on the small stalks (seeds.) THAT little experience has also taught us a lot. Live and learn has become the motto for this Homestead. Experience really is the best teacher.

All in all I can say that this is the best garden that we have had in years. It has also taught us A LOT in the way of farming for a small family. Oh well, its now time to start thinking about the Fall garden.

Thank you LORD for meeting our needs and thank you LORD for all that YOU have taught us this summer season!

Blessings,

Pickles, pickles, pickles

I started early this morning due to the heat.  I got 16 pints of dill pickles canned & made a double batch of the refrigerator pickles & put those in the fridge. 

We are watching my niece (the 2 year old one) today.  She was apprehensive about our swimming pool the last time she stayed.  However today I put on my suit and got in with her.  She LOVED it.  I'm watching her again on Friday & then next week too so I'm going to get some floaties and things to play on.  Our dog Carly (Should have been named "Dog that chews everything to bits") Has squeezed on the pool deck and popped every float we have. 

Well, I have a little while until she wakes up from her nap so I think I'm going to get a couple things done. ~Take care

Excellent Home Making Article

When I read the following excerpt from Managing A Home by Crystal Miller in the Homestead Happenings newsletter this morning, I just had to e-mail her and ask permission to post it here on the Front Porch.  Some of our new bloggers may not be familiar with Crystal's newletter or her Country Store, and I don't want anyone to miss out on the blessing of what she has to offer!  The article spoke to my home-maker's heart and was both an encouragement and a reminder that I need to be diligent in caring for my home and family.  Hope you enjoy the article as much as I did.

Blessings,

Catherine

Home Management and Making a Home
By Crystal Miller

When I think of the word “Homemaking” I think of the word as “Making a Home”. Homemaking is all that goes into making my house a home. Due to my home being a priority to me and perhaps because I have a large family I feel like much of homemaking is good home management. I have felt that it takes a well functioning home to feel like a comfortable home. A home where your family enjoys the time spent and others like to come to your home for refreshment and encouragement. I personally feel like it is hard for me to nurture my family and reach out to others if my life and home are not functioning as they should.

In order to manage a home you have to have a plan. You have to have a basic daily plan on how to keep the home flowing and the work done. A plan consists of routines, good time management, chores maintained, systems of organization, and tools to help you keep it all in order and keep the wheels moving forward in your home. Remember that one of the most important aspects of being a homemaker is creating a loving and peaceful environment for your family.

The housekeeping plan you use needs to be one that works for you and your life. I have read lots of books and read many ideas and used different plans, but ultimately these plans and ideas were not the end in themselves, they were the means to creating my own plan. My home is unique and so is yours. I don’t believe we could follow someone else’s plan exactly and have it work for us. We will tweak it and modify and then find something else and say, “Oh that might work” and try it and tweak that, etc., until after a time what you have is “your” plan.

Obstacles to Planning

Our Attitude
There are obstacles that can make a home management plan difficult. One is our attitude about cleaning a house. Being a homemaker is hard work and it takes a positive attitude and a lot of energy and determination each day. The beauty of it all is that with the right attitude caring for our home can be one of those areas in life where we can learn to get into the rhythm of the tasks and learn to appreciate things like warm soapy dishwater on our cold winter-time hands, the soothing hum of a washing machine going, the smell of dinner wafting through the home, the beauty of a shiny clean kitchen floor, the peace that comes from a home where all is clean and in order.

Any woman can choose to believe that their job is drudgery or they can choose to view it as a service to Christ. I believe that being a homemaker is a ministry of service and love unto Christ to those the Lord has given me to love, nurture and care for. My husband and family are the ones that mean the most to me; they are the closest to my heart. They are the first and foremost ministry in my life. If I begin to think of other things I would rather be doing then laundry, cooking, cleaning, etc., I realize that I have neglected to view my role from God’s perspective and that is as His servant. There is something humbling about serving others, washing the feet of our loved ones in these tasks; something that can, if we allow it, help to put our heart and attitudes in the right place. It can change our view of the work we do each day. If Jesus walked into your home you would do everything possible to serve Him while He was in your home. Well ladies, He IS in your home and you are serving Him each day as you go about your task of raising up godly children and caring for and keeping a home for you husband and family (Matt. 25:40 And the King will answer and say to them, ”Assuredly, I say to you inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me”).

Busyness
Many years ago when I began my quest to manage my home better I evaluated all the busyness in my life and looked at what things might be preventing me from managing my home better. I decided that if I am not able to take care of my home in such a way that shows that I have control over my domain then I may need to lessen what I currently have going on and not add any more to my schedule.

I have always been a person who would bite off more than I could chew so to speak. I don’t think I am alone with this either, as I talk to other women who deal with the same issue. I would take on more projects than I could handle, I volunteered for more than I should have, and I made plans that were beyond my abilities or time. The end result was always the same; something would suffer.

When I am too busy the first thing to suffer is always my home. It becomes a mess, laundry backs up, and clutter is a big problem. Then my children are next; attitude problems, discipline issues not being handled well, little ones not getting enough mommy time. Of course meals suffer; boxed cereal, instant, expensive and typically unhealthy food is served. All for the sake of not having my home under control.

The dividing line for outside busyness and effectively managing a home will be drawn in a different place for each of us. I am not saying that all outside activity needs to stop, that would be unrealistic. But rather when life has too much going on, it is much more difficult to manage a home as it should be managed. I had to make very different choices in my life in order to achieve my goals.

Time Management
Problems in good home management can also come from our time not being used as efficiently as possible. I know that it can be somewhat depressing for someone to look around and see that they don’t have control over their home or don’t have as much control as they feel they should and think it is hopeless, I might as well just continue on because I can’t ever get it under control. But let me encourage you that my experience is that as I have worked to organize, deal with clutter, create and implement systems of operation in my home and learn to use my time wisely that my skill level in these areas has increased, my efficiency has increased and I am able to train my children to work along side me and eventually move beyond the basics and accomplish other things in my life.

The first thing to remember is that there are only 24 hours in a day. We can’t expect to find anymore time available than this! We need to sleep a certain amount of those hours; we need wake up time and unwinding time and personal time. That calculates into only so many available hours to do all the other things we would like. These available hours should be viewed as precious time to accomplish the work the Lord has given us!

Be realistic about what you can do with the hours you have. Know your limits, your strengths and your weaknesses. I remember planting a huge garden one year. That was great except for the fact that I was due to have my 5th baby at the beginning of September. The same time all my tomatoes were ripe and ready. I personally did not have the energy to go from birth to canning in the same week! I was still struggling to care for my new baby (which was the 3rd baby in less in than 3 years) and recover and regain some energy. I was not very realistic about what I could accomplish. I wanted to do it all and I physically could not.

Recognize the things in our life that rob time from us. Over commitment, the telephone, the computer, laziness, hobbies that need to put off until the house is in order. Once you have a good handle on time management you will find it much simpler to accomplish the basic priorities.

In Summary
Time spent making and managing a home for my family will be a value passed on not only to my children but to future generations too. I think of the legacy left to me by my hard working, home loving, dedicated grandmothers and I know I can leave this same legacy for my grandchildren.

Managing my home is a mission that the Lord has given me. I always want to remember that homemaking is not a job to be avoided but a job to embrace and live to its’ full potential. This is one major area that is so easy to run from. It can be hard work to run a well managed home. This is a challenge that we as homemakers can embrace and be successful. It requires a determination to succeed and a plan. I don’t mind hard work and I don’t mind working towards these goals when I know that my hard work and my goals are for the purpose of something worthy. And certainly raising a family in such a way as to honor Christ is a worthy purpose.

An excerpt from:
Managing a Home: Tips, Organizational Advice and Practical
How-To’s from a Mother of 8
A new eBook from The Family Homestead