Well I have been missing in action lately.  I don't know what happened I was doing so well keep an account of what I was doing around our little homestead and then life took over and I didn't take the time.  Well I am going to try harder to keep this up to date.  A lot has happened.  I am trying to change our eating habits around here.  We are trying to eat more whole foods and not use processed foods.  That has been a challenge but fun to learn something new. 

I am currently thinking of buying a grain mill and I am having a hard time figuring out which one to buy.  There are so many choices and they cost so much so I don't want to make the wrong decision.  If any of you have any advice I would love to hear from you. 

School has been going good.  WE are doing a study on Laura Ingalls Wilder and reading the little house books.  That has been so much fun.  I am learning a ton.  I hope my dd is also learning.  HEHE I know she is.  She loves the little house series and it has been fun to compare things.  We learned that Mary was never married and that Carrie was born when they were in Kansas.  Almanso and Laura met in Desmet South Dakota not Walnut Grove.  So as you can tell it has been fun.

I think one of my goats are bred.  The other one hasn't showed signs of heat so I don't know if I will be able to breed her.  It is a little late in the year.  I actually think she might be in heat right now.  I don't have a vehicle available today to take her to where her boyfriend is.  We will see how she acts tomorrow.

Well that is a breif update on how things are. 

God Bless.

Jenni

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Posted by crewchief

I have a Whisper Mill and love it. I *have* had one issue of it getting clogged, but that was my own fault. I followed the directions and it unclogged and works fine now. (I've heard of them completely dying from clogs) With this one, you have to turn the machine on before you add the grain and can't stop in the middle. You have to let all the grain through before you turn it off. I chose this one because 1) it was cheaper; and 2) it was supposedly quieter. If this is quieter, then the other much be really loud!

I think whatever direction you take, its a great purchase! I love love love my grain mill!

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Posted by Anonymous

We started a small group in our little town in SC this year using the Prairie Primer which goes along with that series. It has been wonderful. Did you know about the Yahoo group for the Prairie Primer. I think it is PrairiePrimerPluses@yahoogroups.com. If I'm wrong about the site, do a search on it and I'm sure it will pop up.

Cathy
SC

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Posted by morningsunshine

I have a vitamix "dry canister" - not worth the money. (the wet, "smoothie" canister is great for everything you could want, but the dry is not. I do use it for cracking wheat for breakfast and sometimes to knead my bread, but even that latter is a pain...)
I used my mom's old grinder, and I loved it. it looks similar to the Deluxe Golden Grain Wheat Grinder (pictured at Waltonfeed.com under "grinders") but they are very expensive and took up a lot of valuable counter space.
I got a Wondermill (new name for the whisper Mill) and I like it well.

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Posted by mulberrylane

Hmmm, that's always a good question! I had a kitchen aid grain mill attachment. I didn't like that at all. It worked ok for hard wheat, but not soft grains like soft wheat... they would get stuck and it was noisy and slow going.

I bought a K-Tec grain mill, got a really good deal on ebay and I like how it mills. I've been very happy with it. Although, the filter is funny shaped and I still get a bit of powdery flour blowing out from the side despite the filter being there. It was suggested to mill outside...less noise, less mess. But inside is fine, I just try to make a big day of baking to make the clean up worth it. *grin* It is noisy, but I have a mudroom where I grind and I can shut the door to that between the kitchen while it is milling. Now it isn't blowing flour all over... I hope I didn't give you that impression. It is actually less messy than my kitchen aid attachment. I put it on my freezer for example and had it about 9 inches away from the wall. I pointed the filter spot at the wall and had a circle of flower that attached itself to the wallpaper about the size of a golf ball. If I let it sit away from the wall and point the filter just to the side, it will get powdery flour about a foot to the one side that will need wiping up... not thick, just a dusting. HOpe that explains the mess better.

The K-tec grinds quite quickly and is the impact type miller, rather than a crushing grinding type mill. The grain doesn't get as hot and I like that. When I milled with the KTec the first time, Dh was very impressed at how quickly it ground and how fine as well...compared to the kitchen aid attachment, of course.

I'm looking forward to getting back to baking! I just got a new oven, my last one has been giving me fits since September... it finally died on Christmas day. My daughter is trying out the oven with cookies tonight. Tomorrow I hope to bake some bread.

Warmly, ~Melissa

Edited by mulberrylane on Thursday, January 10, 2008 at 09:06

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Posted by gabbie427

Popped by your blog by chance. Just wanted to tell you how adorable your girls on in the pictures!!!

God's Blessings,
Amy Jo

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