Budget Talk and More…
Tightening the budget belt has been on my mind lately. With the cost of gas continuing to go up as well as the cost of food and other items it is requiring an extra degree of thought to how the money is spent. One of the things I have been doing is instituting a “No Leftovers” policy. In the past if I had a few leftovers from a dinner I would not think to much of it. But now I have started to scale down how much food I make (especially with Leanne gone and Emily not always home for all meals) and make sure the kids eat what leftovers we have for lunch the next day… or I even serve them for dinner the next night if there are enough. I did this yesterday. I made Yummy Pinto Beans the day before and used 4 cups of dry beans (and a pound of hamburger added to the recipe) so it made a large pot of beans for us. We had enough for dinner last night too. I also will examine all leftovers that aren’t enough to serve a second time and see what new creation I can make from. Stir fry from leftover rice, chili over baked potatoes, goulash from a small amount of leftover spaghetti sauce, fried potato patties from leftover mashed potatoes, adding leftover pot roast to noodles or potatoes and adding a cream sauce to make a casserole. It is amazing how much I can save by thinking creatively with leftovers! I am also watching what I buy so it does not go to waste.. like too many tomatoes or fruit or whatever it may be. I am keeping my meals simple to make with a minimum amount of ingredients. So far my efforts have been noticeable on the budget! And I am still able to buy various organic products and still save.
The next area we looked at was how many cars we have on insurance policies that we don’t drive. My husband has a truck he only drives occasionally and we have a full size 12-passenger van we now only drive occasionally due to that $125 price tag at the gas pump fill up. So we talked with our insurance man and he said it was fine to put the cars on a comprehensive policy only as long as we are not driving them. IF we would want to drive them we just call the insurance company up and let them know we need the vehicle for the day and they adjust the policy for that day. The cost has been about $10 every 6 months for each vehicle.. which has been a huge savings. I have heard that not every insurance company will do this but I do know State Farm is one that will.
Driving with multiple purposes is also one way we are saving money. We live quite a ways from town so combining errands and shopping trips and not going into town more often than necessary is helping. Although things seem to come up some weeks that make this hard to do. So if I need to grocery shop I will also use that trip to go to the bank, the post office, combine the trip with appointments and so on. If Emily needs to go to the local college to take a CLEP test then afterwards we will grocery shop and I try and buy my gas at the lest expensive gas stations in the city when I am out rather than the more spendy ones that are closer to home.
In the home I am working harder at reusing as many things as possible like plastic zip bags or my bread bags. Also when I think I need something I stop and ask myself if there is something I already have that would work just as well. As an example a few weeks ago I made up a batch of homemade disinfectant cleaner and used some paper towels that my husband had sitting in the shop (he got them from cleaning out his dad’s house as normally I don’t buy paper towels). I needed a container to put them in but did not have one big enough to work. So instead I used a gallon size zip lock bag and have been reusing the bag since then. It works fine.
Another thing I already do to save us money is use cloth napkins. They are easy to make and I have a ton of them now. I purchased the fabric from Walmart on the $2 a yard table. I can get 50 napkins made for less than $3. I wash them once a week or so.
On the homestead:
Well my daughter’s trip to the west coast is almost over and I am happy to say I have had several opportunities to visit with her, Jonathan and my grandbaby Caden. We celebrated our holiday a few days early since Tobin had to work on the 4th. Here are a few pics of our time together…
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Leanne sent us another letter.. I think she is feeling a bit homesick and that makes my mama heart sad for her. But I know this will be a wonderful experience when she looks back. She is a real homebody and I figured before she left she would have some difficult adjustments to make. So we continue to keep her in our prayers daily. We all are missing her so much. She has 6 weeks left to go and this week her team leaves for Egypt. I hope to have more pics from the Teen Missions website to post soon.
Hope you all are having a great holiday weekend on your homesteads! 
Saturday Psalm & Praise: He Hath Delivered Me
 I chose Psalm 54 this week for my Saturday Psalm & Praise because it speaks about being delivered, free, and since the celebration of our nation’s independence has just past, I thought it suited.
There have been so many things that have dragged me down this past week, including some of the comments and reviews I’ve received. I was so low that I even questioned if what I believe is ludicrous. I pray everyday that God would continue to work in my heart and not let these kind of people put doubt in my mind. I know I believe it in my heart, and I have the promise and proof of God’s existence and love for me. I have the leading of the Spirit, and I am looking towards the goal that has been set before me.
I found this chapter in Psalm so appropriate for this week because it speaks about God delivering me when “strangers are risen up against me, and oppressors seek after my soul“. The Bible tells so clearly why they do though…”they have not set God before them“… and that gives me comfort. They are ignorant of God’s awesome power. They may scoff and say in their hearts “there is no God”, but the Bible says people who do are fools (Psalm 14:1), and it will not prevent what will happen in the End Days when every knee shall bow and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord (Romans 14:1012).
Psalm 54 (King James Version)
1Save me, O God, by thy name, and judge me by thy strength. 2Hear my prayer, O God; give ear to the words of my mouth.
3For strangers are risen up against me, and oppressors seek after my soul: they have not set God before them. Selah.
4Behold, God is mine helper: the Lord is with them that uphold my soul.
5He shall reward evil unto mine enemies: cut them off in thy truth.
6I will freely sacrifice unto thee: I will praise thy name, O LORD; for it is good.
7For he hath delivered me out of all trouble: and mine eye hath seen his desire upon mine enemies.
The passage tells of God’s rewards for David’s enemies will be of evil as they had done. He says that God will cut them off in His truth. I praise God that I have that promise that He will take care of my enemies. I have no need to worry, because whatever false statements or situations I’m in, because God will take care of it in His truth. When strangers, those who don’t seek him, and oppressors seek after my soul that God, my Saviour, will rescue me and take care of them in His TRUTH.Verse 6 says that David, after stating how God faithful is, will freely sacrifice unto to Him and praise His name. I’m not sure if David meant he would freely sacrifice offerings or his life, but I hope that I will always be willing to sacrifice my life to Him and praise His name all the time. I’m looking towards that heavenly crown that no un-Believer (or those who call themselves Believers, but do not seek Him truly) will ever understand.
God has delivered me out of ALL trouble and my eyes have seen God’s desire or want after my enemies… He will take care of them (verse 3), whether it is now or not until that trumpet sounds. For now I will freely sacrifice myself for His glory, and always hold onto the promise I have in Him of the Crown of Righteousness (2 Timothy 4:8).
Ultimately what this passage says to me is that God will always deliver me when I pray and seek Him (verse 2), Amen.
Please join us this Saturday as we end the week… join us in praising the Lord for the things He’s given, healed us of, and taught us. If you would like to participate in the meme, you will find the guidelines HERE.
Blessings!
Gone On Before Us: Rachael Emily Kligmann
It with a sorrowful and heavy heart I write this and bring you this news. I hadn’t update too much about Rachael for the past few days because she was getting better. She had brain function. She was moving. She was responding to her mother’s commands and everyone had hope that she would live, but the end is so much closer than we realize. 12 year-old Rachael’s was far too near and her family, friends, and other like me who didn’t know of Rachael until now, are grieving the loss of her. I hope it some comfort to her family and friends that she is no longer in pain. No longer unable to move as she normally did. She is no longer in this sinful world. She has gone on before us and is in peace.
THURSDAY, JULY 03, 2008 02:19 AM, CDT
Our sweet little girl Rachael Emily Kligmann died at 11:50 pm on July 2, 2008.
She is at home with the Lord and we are not. We don’t know how to go on. But we will find a way. We will somehow find a new way to do everything with a hole in our family, right in the middle.
Rachael died very peacefully and 2 someones tonight are in the middle or receiving lifesaving kidneys. I hope someday to know who they are.
We don’t know when a funeral will be yet.
We just want to finally sleep now that she is finally okay. We will face tomorrow when it comes.
I know her family’s hearts must just be aching right now, knowing they’ll never get to see her again. Never get to see her grow up and become the woman God made her to be. Please pray for them right now. Prayers for her parents, Pete & Corinne. Prayers for her 11 siblings, especially the young ones as they may not understand where she’s gone. Prayers for her older sister, Amanda, who was with her when the accident happened. Prayers for her grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins.
Pray for comfort. Pray for peace. Pray that they will all continue to to trust in Him. You’re welcome to go sign Rachael’s guestbook and leave your own words of comfort there.
grieving with you Kligmann family,
Miss Jocelyn
Hello Friends
 It's amazing that July is here already! I seem to stay so busy lately and have not had much time for the computer. My mother and stepfather are coming tomorrow to visit a couple of days. It's been a long time since they've been here and we're looking forward to a visit. I went to the grocery store today and found some bargains, thankfully. The menus in the days to come will include homemade bread, my favorite chicken salad recipe, chips with homemade onion dip, a blueberry coffee cake, spaghetti, french bread and salad, smoked ham, cornbread, fresh corn and peas and green beans, chicken pie, cauliflower, cabbage, grilled burgers and sausage, sweet potato fries.....etc. I found that new Kraft Olive Oil lower fat/cal mayo 32 oz on sale for 2 for $5. Well each jar had a $1 off coupon too! What a deal! They had 5 left and I grabbed all of them. I've got lots more to post but I'm running out of time. So more later! Oh, here's a peek at the new chicks. There are 6 in all but the others are under the mothers' wings. Yes, instead of one hen wanting to be the mother we have FOUR that have taken on the role from the very beginning! They even sat on the eggs together. ~Sweet~
Berry Pickin' Days Again
We had a busy day today. My sister and I took the children to a museum that they have wanted to visit. In the meantime, my poor oldest son came home very ill from work. He is never sick, so we worry when it happens. Flu like symptoms in the summer are certainly no fun! He felt bad that he was unable to get his work completed, but his boss certainly understood. I wanted to get home to care for him and thankfully, he has improved as the day has gone on.
The black raspberries are on and we picked our first this evening. The boys headed out with buckets and came back with purple teeth! I made this cobbler, which is our favorite. I took a picture of it last summer and added it to show you how beautiful the cobbler is. (Yes, that is a scoop of homemade vanilla ice-cream, which makes it even better!) I will be making this for our July Fourth celebration. Looks like I'll also be making jam tomorrow.
Black Raspberry Cobbler
1 stick of butter
2 C. flour
1/2 C. sugar
2 Tsp. baking powder
2 to 2 1/2 C. fresh berries, sweetened to taste
3/4 C. milk
Melt butter in small baking pan. In a bowl mix flour, sugar, milk and baking powder. Spoon batter over melted butter. Add sweetened fruit on top. Bake @350 until lightly browned and bubbly. Serve with whipped cream, ice-cream, or a pour of fresh milk.
Quick update...gardens, surgery, et al
Hi, long time, no blog... Knee surgery went well and am on the road to recovery. Feels much better now than it did before. Although I am glad I waited to get the gardens in before I went, the relief almost makes me wish I hadn't.
I have pics of the garden that I'll try to get on in the next day(week) or so...it is in the "pre-spurt" phase. I'll be taking some new pics soon, it's growing like mad!).
Season started a little later than usual here ~ last frost was June 10th ~ lost my first set of basil cuz I'd laid them in on the 8th thinking it was safe...grrr...
But, all is well in the plots now ~ garlic is just about ready to pic, I have Music, Russian Red and Yugoslav ~ depending on how they come out I may make a market garden to supply local restaurants. A local co-op recently formed, and I was asked about supplying herbs...so I may seriously look into it.
I recently harvested chive flowers, and I have a batch of chive vinegar steeping in the kitchen. This weekend I will strain it off and bottle it up for Christmas gifts and personal use. Marjoram is ready to harvest, as is the first batch of spearmint and bee balm (time to dry some teas). The elderberries have taken off, hope to have a start on two decent bushes by fall ~ it's nice to see the sticks come to life. Calendula should be harvested this weekend too, then I'll put them in the dehydrator for quick drying.
All the veggies are doing well except the spinach (which I never have luck with), and the radishes which bolted ~ just the cherries and the white ~ (the watermelon radishes and the black seem ok so far). The potatoes experiment is really neat. The plants in the 55 gallon trash barrel are doing amazing, followed by the tires, and then the traditional furrows/hills. If spud production meets expectations in the barrel, we may grow all our spuds in barrels next year. Tomatoes and peppers are flowering, all the string beans and peas are nearing production, all the cukes/squash/melons are up and beginning to vine. The corn is just about knee high, which is right here, corn has to be "knee high by the fourth of July" to ripen before frost here. Broccolli and cabbage are starting to firm up, broccoli should start heading off soon, and I have the fall batch plan```ted and sprouted. Brussel sprouts are growing slow but steady. Okra is beginning to take off as are the soybeans, kidney beans and cranberry beans. The sunflowers are amazing, but I know I'll be whining about preparing them in the fall. The Jerusalem artichokes are doing great too...hoping God will bless the crop and we will be able to preserve enough for us and share with friends and neighbors.
Our early blueberries have green berries on and ready, and the valiant grapes have set a lot of clusters, maybe enough to make jelly this year without "borrowing" grapes from Janet! But most of the fruit orchard won't start producing for another year or two. UGH! I have no patience to wait...lol. Same with the asparagus...all 21 plants made it ~ but no picking until next year the ferns reached over 6 feet tall though!
I do need to find some wild raspberry or black raspberry patches to pick over. Hannah has been squirreling around and scavenging wild strawberries ~ we are going to try and "tame" a patch eventually ~ they are certainly little berries, but have hundred fold the taste and sweetness of cultivated strawberries! Just where to plant them...hmmm...
The balsam firs look great in their neat little row, becoming the second row of the eventual windbreak...we have 25 blue spruce and 23 balsam firs planted in two rows, alongside each other ~ as they grow they will provide a much needed windbreak for the property. All the chrry bushes survived, but won't produce for another year or so, but the highbush cranberry has surely reached it's stride, it has doubled in size since spring, hope to see it produce mext year (if not this fall).
Lost the rhubarb, though, the crowns never settled in well, so I'll be planting two more next year (unless I can scab a crown from someone this summer)
Ahh, well, time for bed, got to be up early for work ing the AM, will try to get the pics up soon,
val
FREEDOM!
Oh man, oh man, it’s July 1st and people have already begun to put up patriotic decorations, and signs. Not to mention the big signs that say “FIREWORKS SOLD HERE”. Everyone wants to celebrate, but do they really know what they’re celebrating for? What freedoms they are personally thankful for or are they just celebrating because Wal-mart has signs up about the 4th of July?
I don’t think freedom is what it used to be. I really think that Satan has taken a hold of what that word means to a lot of people and is twisted it like the way he does with tolerance of other religions. However as a Christian freedom means to me that I’m free in Christ to do anything I please because I’m saved by grace, but it also means that I’m free from sin so I don’t have to. I am free to follow Jesus with my whole heart, no matter what people tell me. I recently found this verse in Romans, which really got me. A lot of people really do think that because they’re saved by grace that can do anything they please, but the Bible teaches that we are free from sin and are to be servants unto Christ, to live unto holiness and live forever!
I thank God I am free of sin and free to follow Him! Christ has set me free… no matter what people might say about having Freedom Or Chains!
As you have imagined this month’s issue of GGM is all about freedom, and I think most if not all of the article are written about different aspects of freedom….Do we really have as many as we think? In our government? In Christ? See what the writers are GGM think about some of the hot topics about FREEDOM FOR ALL! And, I hope you’ll leave your thoughts and opinions about what you believe when you stop by.
Blessings!
Miss Jocelyn
Crafts Crafts and more crafts
Here are some of the note cards I have made over the weekend. We are going to put them in a craft show after the 4th of July. I can't wait to make more! hhehe
Blackberry Winter...Revisited
My Gram always called the cold snap in May when the blackberries are in bloom "Blackberry Winter." Sounds poetic, doesn't it? It seems that a "berry winter" has fallen on us yet again. It feels like the fall of the year! My sister and I worked out in the front garden until the cold rain chased us back in, and then we worked on our menu for our Fourth of July festivities. It will be typical summer fare--grilled and chilled. :-)
It's just as well that we didn't pull many weeds today. I did so much gardening yesterday that I've been very sore. Oh, and we got the first taste of sweet fresh snow peas today! Now that makes everything so very worth it.
We received a call today from our neighbor who has the orchard and the cherries are ready. I can't wait to make cherry jam; it's my favorite. I plan to make some pies to accompany our homemade ice-cream on Friday. I also received a call from a friend who wants to give us a puppy! I have always wanted a Yorkshire Terrier, and she just so happens to have just one little guy left who needs a good home. We're going to have a family meeting tonight to discuss this possible addition. Our youngest, of course, is all for it! I'm not quite sure that I'm ready for the "baby stage" again (unless of course, it would be of the human variety) but we'll see. :-)
Monday on the Homestead
Well the weather is just beautiful here in the PNW! We have had several days full of sunshine and heat and I just love every minute of it. I think summer has finally come to our little corner of the world.
For the last few days I have been cooking with my crockpot.. or should I say crockpots.. I have 2 of them a big 6qt and 2 or 3 qt.. I think that is the size. It is an old one that use to be my moms many years ago, but it works like a trooper. I love being able to put both of them to use for a meal. One day I put a beanless chili in the big crockpot and cooked pinto beans in the small one. When the beans were done cooking I drained the liquid and added a little more salt and some butter and smashed them up right in the crockpot to make refried beans (not that they were fried at all..lol..).. Sierra made a salad and the combo was delicious. Another favorite combo is meatballs in the big crockpot and mac and cheese in the small one and serve with a fresh green salad. I have been taking the crockpots out to my husbands shop to plug in and cook for the day to keep the house from getting hot. It has worked great! I make the meal while it is still nice and cool and then enjoy the day working around my home and the afternoon swimming and sunning with the kids..  dinner is ready to go when the family is hungry.
Updates from my daughter Leanne. She is now on week 2 of her two week boot camp. We have gotten one post card from her and the phone call she gave me when she arrived in Orlando and today I got a letter from her. Sounds like Boot Camp is rigorous and full of lots of hard work. She is a hard worker and I am sure she is handling that just fine but I think she is feeling home sick. They have them up at 5:30am and doing KP to prepare for breakfast and then the days are long and hot and sweaty and very busy. The Teen Missions website has been giving updates and posting pictures of the kids and what they are doing. We have been checking in to see what is going on. Emily was so excited today to find a picture of Leanne!! She was swinging across some water with a rope.. Leanne is very strong and from the time she was a little girl she would grab onto the rope swing that is out over our pond and swing and climb that rope, she loved doing that.. So we all had to smile to see this picture of her:
If you want to see more pictures of the 2008 Boot Camp at Teen Missions you can see that here
This last week my daughter Carolyn and her hubby Jonathan and my grandbaby Caden came to town for a visit. They are still here. I have seen them a couple of times and over the weekend they headed to the Oregon coast with Jonathans family. This week we plan to get together again. The highlight of the visits so far was when my little grandson Caden called me “grandma”.. just melted my grandma heart..  Another highlight was going out shopping with all my girls, except for Leanne of course, and she was very missed by all of us! But it was a fun afternoon and it was cute to get a couple of baby belly pictures of Carolyn and Hannah my two mommies to be. Here is a pic of all of my girls:
Tobin and the boys have been working like crazy around the property. They have been trimming trees, mowing, clearing out weeds and I have to say the front of our property is looking like a park! And the great side benefit from this work is that we have about 1/3 of our winter wood already. Jacob has done a lot of cutting and Isaac has been helping with the stacking and clean up. Tobin split all the wood that needed to be split and it is all stacked neatly in the bins… we all smile at it as we walk by.. knowing how important that wood is to our winter time comfort (even in the midst of summer heat  ). Here is a pic of our pond and some of the surroundig area..
Tomorrow Tobin and I celebrate our 24th wedding anniversary! We are going to go out to dinner tonight to celebrate. I have to say that the more years that go by the better marriage gets and the more in love and committed I am to my man.  Maybe I need to follow the lead of my friend Laurie (Abundant Blessings Farm blog and mod of my board and very loved friend of mine )… she takes the number of years married and lists that many things she loves about her hubby.. if I have time I may do that and post it tomorrow!
That is all for today. I need to get some laundry going and get think about getting ready for my evening out with my hubby.. 
Have a great Monday on your homestead!
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