Lessons Learned On The Farm Too

Nutted Popcorn

This recipe is best saved for a low-humidity day (as is any kind of candy making). Dry conditions help the caramel become and stay crisp, not chewy.

Spiced Pumpkin Seeds

KIds and Frugal Living

I so enjoy talking with moms about ways they find to be frugal while raising their families.  Some topics that come to mind are toys, games, clothes, shoes, curriculum, field trips, chores, art projects, and car schooling.  Here are some tips on stretching your dollar with children from my vault.

• Kids only require 2 glasses of milk a day.  Less if they are eating cheese within the same day.  Instead of giving milk every time they ask for a drink (or juice for that matter) give them water.  It is good for them; it's FREE; and it creates an excellent health habit for their future.
• Next time you make pancakes, make extra.  You can freeze these and reheat in the toaster.  Pancakes rarely last out the day in our home, unless I make a Pancake Cooking Fest.  Why?  I have taught my kids to use pancakes for treats.  Spread on jam, peanut butter, honey, or fluff.  Make chocolate chip pancakes and serve the leftovers later in the day cold. 
• Fresh fruit and veggies are less expensive than premade processed snacks AND they pack a powerful nutritional punch.  Get kids to eat these as snacks by cutting them into small pieces.  My kids especially love veggies cut on an angle.   Kids, who aren't required to eat fresh food on a regular basis, often don't develop a taste for it. 
• Buy nuts in bulk at a whole foods or bulk store.  These are a great source of protein, and your kids will enjoy the crunch. 
• Change these nuts into an even more fun snack by baking in the toaster oven with honey or brown sugar drizzled on top. 
• Make your own granola.  It is not only so easy, but it is SOOOO CHEAP!  It keeps for a long time, travels well, and is a great source of nutrition.
• Make homemade versions of playdoh, glue, and paper mache paste.
• Try thrift stores for play shoes.  You can often buy a few pairs for the price of one new pair (great if you have a fashion conscious child). 
• If you don't want the kids to take toys outside, thrift stores again, come in handy for cheap options.
• Check your local stores for end of the season items at rock bottom prices.  I always go to Old Navy the week after Halloween for really cheap costumes.  My kids have a HUGE box full of dress up clothes that probably cost me no more than $20....mind you some of the costumes have been around since my oldest was a littleton (he's 15 now).  Oh dear, there are even a couple of costumes left from when I was a kid!
• Kids begging for an evening treat, try making smoothies.  It's not just a good way to get your kids to eat more fruit; it is an excellent way to use up fruit that is past its prime, thus saving you from throwing it out. Also great for breakfast on the go!
• Use old newborn baby clothes for dolls.
• Instead of buying toys for gifts, consider making some.  I have actually done a few Christmases in which I have made all the toys by hand (i.e doll high chair, horse head on a stick, doll house, blocks, fun pillow cases, puppets, puppet stage, etc)  Start by looking around your home for items that you would like to use for a cause and let your creative mind go to work on how to turn them into something special for your children.

Being frugal with children can be difficult at times.  Don't fret if you give in and buy a DVD from time to time.  Like any other area of saving, if you are keeping your goal and your focus on being a good steward of your money, a splurge here or there is nothing more than that. 

These are my thoughts. 

Leslie Valeska

~Contributing Writer~

Leslie Valeska is the lucky wife of Thomas.  With children ranging in ages from 4-16, she has had a lot of time to learn and experience much of the fine art of homemaking.  

For FREE daily tips and a FREE E-zine on simple and frugal living visit her blog Journey to Simplicity. Need a source of encouragement, inspiration, and support on your journey to Godly womanhood? Visit Simple Journey Ministries (she has a FREE E-zine too!) Of course, don’t forget to visit the Simple Journey Bookstore!

Mmmm.... Turkey, Sweet Potatoes and What else?

Autumn Activities

"I cannot endure to waste anything as precious as autumn sunshine by staying in the house. 
So I spend almost all the daylight hours in the open air."
-  Nathaniel Hawthorne

Oh, how I can relate to those words!  I love Autumn and the blessed relief it brings from Summer's often scorching heat.  I find myself slipping out of doors the moment the sun begins to lighten up the sky in the mornings, and having to force myself to go back indoors to attend to the daily duties that need my attention inside: breakfast, homeschool, the inevitable laundry, dishes, and so forth.  As soon as the "must-do's" are done, I pop right back outside to find some other enjoyable tasks outdoors. 

Here are a few things that I enjoy doing during the lovely days of Autumn:

Planting and tending crops for the Fall & Winter gardening season.  We have a nice garden growing right now, a blessed improvement over our sad Spring/Summer garden.

Planting herbs that enjoy the cooler Autumn & Winter weather here in Texas, such as Parsley, Cilantro, Dill and Calendula. 

Planting flower bulbs for Springtime blossoms.  I like to plant Crocus, Daffodils, Grape Hyacinth, & Tulips.

Planting Violas (my favorite), Pansies, Ornamental Kale & Cabbage for Winter color in the garden and on the porch.

Repotting my Rose Geraniums before bringing them inside for the winter.

Dividing perennial herbs and flowers and sharing the divisions with a friend.

Harvesting the leaves of Lemon Verbena, and drying them for a wonderful Winter tea.

Collecting seed from the annual herbs, flowers, and veggies to dry for next year's plantings and to share with others.

Making a scarecrow to decorate the garden.  I doubt it is very effective at scaring crows, but he (or she) always makes me smile. 

Putting out seeds and other goodies for the birds and other little creatures that visit our yard. 

Decorating the front porch with a pumpkin, Fall flowers, and perhaps a basket of gourds, corn and other pretty Autumn decorations.

Last but definitely not least, sitting on the porch with a cup of tea, a notebook, a few seed catalogs, and planning and plotting my gardens for the Spring!

Please share your favorite Autumn Gardening activities with us!

Now, I'm off to wander about the yard and see what I can find to do this evening.

Blessings,

Catherine

Todays Quote....Alphonse de Lamartine

Concerning Self Denial

Concerning Self Denial

Then Jesus said to his disciples, "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will find it. What good will it be for a man if he gains the whole world, yet forfeits his soul? Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul?

Matthew 16:24-26 NIV

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For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men, Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world;

Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ.

Titus 2:11-13 KJV

__________________

Now those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit.

Galatians 5:24,25 NASB

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Do you not know that if you present yourselves to anyone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin, which leads to death, or of obedience, which leads to righteousness? But thanks be to God, that you who were once slaves of sin have become obedient from the heart to the standard of teaching to which you were committed, and, having been set free from sin, have become slaves of righteousness.

Romans 6:16-18 ESV

Todays Great Quote......George Müller

God delights to increase the faith of his children. We ought,
instead of wanting no trials before victory, no exercise for
patience, to be willing to take them from God's hands as a
means. Trials, obstacles, difficulties, and sometimes defeats,
are the very food of faith.

      -- George Müller

Hubby Found a Job

Tasty Turnips

I am crazy about turnips. My kids think I am odd!

Tasty Turnips
4 strips bacon
2 cups diced white turnips
1 cup diced potatoes
3/4 tsp salt
1/8 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp sugar
1/4 cup cream
Fry bacon until crisp; chop and set aside. Combine vegetables, 1 tbsp
bacon drippings, seasonings and sugar; add water just to cover. Cook
until tender, then drain. Add cream; mash. Add chopped bacon; mix well.
Serve immediately. Makes 6 servings

submitted by Mrs Walter Sager
Orchard Park Grange, No 1335
Orchard Park, New York
National Grange
Bicentennial Year Cookbook (1976)