exhausted - Plant your garden today
- First, plant 3 rows of peas;
- Patience
- Promptness
- Prayer
- Next, plant 3 rows of squash;
- Squash gossip
- Squash indifference
- Squash criticism
- Then, plant 4 rows of lettuce;
- Let us Obey the Lord
- Let us be Loyal
- Let us be true to our Obligations
- Let us be unselfish
- Finish, with 4 rows of turnip;
- Turn up when Needed
- Turn up with a Smile
- Turn up with a Vision
- Turn up with Determination
Monday, August 11, 2008
weekly preparedness challenge -- week 6 for me already!!!
Things are a little crazy here, with school prep going on – mine and the kids’. Add to that our regular appointments and errands, the cleaning and the packing we’re doing now that we’re looking at possibly moving (and believe me…if we are I DON’T want to wait ‘til the last minute to pack up eight people and ALL our stuff!!!!)…Well, I think I accomplished more than I thought I would…
Preparedness Challenge: Week 6
1. Plant something: Not a thing here…Except that I did some seed savin’ while I was working on a few other things. I have three varieties of pepper seeds all saved and neatly packaged! And it feels like I didn’t waste ‘em by carefully setting them aside. Now…I am hoping to get them in the ground next spring since we’re about outta’ time for this season. I don’t think peppers can be grown in autumn…But if someone has other knowledge on it, please let me know. We live in south central PA, so we do get cold weather, and sometimes lots and lots of snow.
2. Harvest something: Once again I benefitted from someone else’s harvest efforts. We made it to the farmers’ market on Tuesday and I spent $10 at one stand, buying three varieties of peppers: purple, orange, poblano. Aside from that I got pickling cucumbers there. Then at another stand I spent $10 on a whole box of zucchini (I know, some people give it away, but no one has been giving us anything and I wanted to get some canning done)…Then at yet another stand I spent $2.50 – two heads of lettuce for $1 and two bags of those baby carrots (my kiddies snack on ‘em) for $1.50. Les ended up buying cantaloupe – 3 for $2. We made out pretty good! I know I have to get back into our garden. We did manage to pick about 16 or so cherry tomatoes that were ready. And my herbs are just everywhere. I guess I don’t really know how to save them overall…I kinda’ sorta’ know how to dry them, but we’ve been running around and I haven’t really had the time or patience to cut and bundle them to dry. I’ll work on it this week, really I will…I know the dill is all ready to pick, and I think I let the chamomile get away from me. The mint (chocolate mint and spearmint or peppermint, can’t remember) is really flourishing…I shoulda’ planted it in containers, but at least it is all still somewhat contained in my square foot garden plot. I hate to pull out runners…I feel like I’m wasting…And we have more sunflowers blossoming, so I’ll have to try to salvage some seeds before the birds eat them all. The pears are still doing nicely, as are the few apples on the tree, and I am looking forward to harvesting them soon too. A few more weeks yet, though, or so it would appear.
3. Preserve something: Well, I have to make a list of what I actually canned so far…I made zucchini relish and sweet bread & butter pickles, but I have to record the actual amounts. Since I’m still working away at the zucchini (I might make some zucchini pickles and maybe another batch or two of relish, the relish for Christmas gifts), I haven’t written it down yet except on the jars. But I am pleased that I at least got something done in this category! Peaches here are selling for $16.95 per half bushel. If I knew approximately how many pounds in a half bushel, well…I could calculate how much I need to make peach preserves and maybe peach pie filling. I also have recipes for peach conserve – more Christmas gifts maybe, since this year will be somewhat lean…But I refuse to let the peaches get away from me yet again. What I wish is that I could remember how my friends and I made freezer jam with peaches a few years ago. It had the best color and taste ever, like summer right in a jar! Unfortunately those friends moved and I can’t find an address or phone number…So I guess I’ll need to seek out a recipe. That was probably the most successful batch I’ve made to date, so it’s worth looking for again. As to other preservation…well, I’m still seeking a pressure canner. I need one in a specific size with a specific bottom because of my stove. Wal-mart doesn’t carry what I want (not at either of the two stores, they were both sold out), so it’s off to other sources…I hope before beans disappear. And I’m taking a class on canning tomatoes this coming week, so I’m hoping to have all kinds of great recipes from that!
4. Prep something: I cut strips of the peppers I bought and froze them for the time being. It saves time and effort – not to mention some money – when I want to make something like fajitas. Well, it was a step in the right direction anyway.
5. Cook something: I took some of that zucchini and made two loaves of zucchini bread through the week. I really want to try some stuffed zucchini, since I have a plethora of the stuff to use up before it starts to go bad on me. Other than that, I got a great deal on chicken at the local little bulk store and cooked up the breasts one night in chicken broth, which we had with roasted green beans and mashed (instant – because it was free, given to us by sister-in-law) potatoes. Then the next night I made my famous chicken and dumplings. I still have three huge (cooked) chicken breasts that I will cut up into chicken salad for this week yet. It stretched a lot, so not too shabby! I also bought 5 lbs. of ground beef and will use that up, probably dividing it up and making meatloaf and meatballs, or maybe even doing what I did last week – brown it and add cream of mushroom soup, serving it all over rigatoni. The kids couldn’t get enough of it. Odd because I’d tried it before several years ago and no one would eat it! We also bought hot dogs, because we had rolls that won’t last much longer, plus my fresh batch of zucchini relish. Only one kiddie didn’t care for the relish, so that wasn’t too bad. This week I’m working on new menus, but I do better if I make them after shopping at the farmers’ market on Tuesdays and then filling in with this and that. We really only spend about $25 a week for fresh fruits and veggies during the summer/fall, which isn’t bad for a family of eight. If it wasn’t for the high prices of dairy, meat and toiletries, we could probably eat very, very cheaply – as long as flour and other grains keep from getting too pricey. I find I like shopping that way so much better, then trying to stay in the perimeter of the supermarket.
6. Manage your reserves: We’re researching options in this category. I found the number for Crown Financial and hope to call tomorrow. Until that time, not quite sure we’re making any progress…yet.
7. Work on local food systems: Still trying to watch the gas gauge, as usual. This week it was a little more difficult. Three kiddies have sports practices – cheerleading and football. We’ve tried to really group errands better, and I am not making any jaunts to the bookstore (well, we stopped in tonight as a family after we visited with my parents, but it was on the way home anyway)…I was happy with our spending at the farmers’ market. I also took about 5% of our weekly budget and stocked up on more staples like pop-tarts, instant oatmeal and olive oil. During the week I hit the last day of a sale on peanut butter and jelly. I don’t bother making grape jelly yet, so I bought three jars for $2. The peanut butter was 2 for $3, but with the 10 cents rule (add a zero to the ounces to determine if it’s a good buy, and the jars were 18 ounce, so $1.80 or less a jar was a good buy), I managed to do alright. We just about have a week’s supply of food, so the next goal will be a month’s supply – while rotating what we’ve got so nothing gets stale, etc. I saw some great shelves to rotate canned goods at www.shelfreliance.com, but we will have to wait a while to be able to afford them. I am pretty pleased with the way that I’ve been able to just spend a few dollars here and there to build up a week’s worth of food though. I did add one tube of toothpaste and some deodorant, as well as two boxes of Emergen-C vitamin powder as well. I am going to start working on a first aid kit too.
8. Learn or work on a new skill: My sewing and soap-making books came, so I need to sit and look through them now. I’m trying to dig out some of my other books on things like quilting, knitting and so forth – oh, and most importantly, the budgeting book by Mary Hunt – “Debt Proof Living”. I had also gotten Carla Emery’s “Encyclopedia of Country Living” and am trying to also dig up my old copy of “Tightwad Gazette” by Amy Dycyzyn. The next thing I want to buy, though, is a book on cheesemaking and a book on cooking with grains. I have a huge cookbook collection that I need to pare down, but I think eating more healthfully – grains, veggies and legumes, in addition to some dairy and meat – is going to prove important, so I want to know how to really work with specific food groups.
9. Serve someone: At this point in our lives I feel like we’ve been more on the “being served” end of things, but I think it’s coming at a time where we really need it ourselves. I’ve been trying to serve my family by being a better blessing to them, trying to do more and accomplish more and complain less – I guess I complain and vent on my blog so I refrain from complaining to them, lol! I really want to make this whole situation as painless as possible for everyone involved. This whole challenge has really helped me in that it’s encouraged me. And, of course, challenged me out of my comfort zone a little. And it’s given me the opportunity to really consider things a little more deeply, and enabled me to work with what I have and start where I am. I still have so many plans and ideas, but I’m taking it one step at a time, with lots and lots of prayer.
I am not sure where we’ll end up when all is said and done, so even as I’m gathering information and knowledge and ideas, in addition to materials, I feel more confident that I’ll be able to bless my family and friends and neighbors in a way I might not have considered before setting off on this challenge. It’s really helped me to think more about those I love and about others rather than focusing solely on myself, and that’s helped me get through a lot of things right now. I think that in the giving, the focus always shifts from our own selfishness and desires and that can be eye-opening and a blessing in and of itself. I’ll feel much more comfortable about facing the storms ahead knowing that I’ve done more to prepare for any trouble. It’s actually a relief to know that if something were to happen we would be okay for a while because of my efforts now…Reminds me of the story about the ants and the grasshopper…I always wanted the easy life of the grasshopper, but being prepared like the ants means that my family will not go without, and that gives me peace of mind more than I can say.
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Saturday, August 2, 2008
Preparedness Challenge - Week 5
Preparedness Challenge: Week 5
1. Plant something: I have not gotten around to doing a fall planting, but I’ve been looking through some seed catalogs for heirloom seeds instead of the normal seed company packets. I heard that most seed companies are now owned by the same company, and that a lot of the seeds they sell are not able to be saved from the resulting plant to be used again…which makes you dependent on buying seeds over and over from the same company! It would not surprise me. But to be on the safe side, and to enjoy some variety and some heirloom fruits and veggies, I am looking at traditional seed-saving companies that grow organic. So I’ve got a little shopping to do online tomorrow! Which is fun…I love when we get packages in the mail! It’s almost better than Christmas presents!
2. Harvest something: Well, we didn’t get many sunflower seeds because the birds got to them first! I do have ripening cherry tomatoes that I’m going to start picking on, I think, Monday. I wish we’d planted more. My next peppers look close to ready, so I will be checking on them again tomorrow. I usually pull them off and if I’m not using them that day, I chop them up in whatever we need – strips or dice – and freeze them. It comes in handy when making so many things, because most of the chopping is done! I was thinking of going to pick peaches next week, but I have to call ahead on Monday to get some prices first. If not, it’s the farmers’ market. I can’t afford to NOT go again…
3. Preserve something: Tonight I purchased some liquid pectin in anticipation of peach preserves. I am determined that I won’t let the peaches get away from me, since I missed strawberries. Also got a book (with 30% off coupon!) on pickling and am thinking about getting some cukes at the farmers’ market to try this too.
4. Prep something: Well, with most of the kiddies gone I had some extra time to really hone my lists. Tonight at Wal-mart I was looking to buy a pressure canner, but they didn’t have a single one! I was kinda’ sorta’ disappointed…because if I don’t get one soon it will have to wait til next month.
5. Cook something: Well, managed on pantry stores and stuff in freezer for the most part yet again this week. We had a delicious London broil on Wednesday. With most of the kiddies at camp, though, we did eat out more than once…We had dinner out on Thursday (but with 20% off coupon I got online) and today when everyone came back we celebrated Emma’s 8th birthday by going to the pizza buffet place. Still looking for dishes that stretch what we do have. Since we have a lot of things going on this week, I think I’ll make some bread on Monday.
6. Manage your reserves: Well, as I mentioned above, I tried to use coupons when possible for the things we did end up doing. Although I’ve known this for a long time, the local museums offer family memberships. I talked to Les about getting family memberships to two museums for Christmas instead of the usual barrage of toys that end up broken, missing, etc. within the first week or so. If we get the memberships, we’ll spend soooooo much less than we would, plus the gift will be a continual gift, because the membership is for one whole year from date of purchase. Not only that, we can take advantage of other affiliate museums where we can get in free (except for special exhibits). For instance, if we purchase a year membership at the North Museum in Lancaster, we can go there all year – every day if we wanted! – plus, we could go to other science & technology centers, like the Franklin Institute in Philly (only an hour and a half away) or the science museum in Baltimore (also only an hour and a half away). The same is true for the Hands on House, where I took Will and Sammy yesterday. There are affiliate museums in Philly and Baltimore. Not to mention that if we end up being able to go on a family vacation in the summer next year, we can see if there are museums where we’re headed and get free admission to those. It seems like a more reasonable way to spend our dollars and give the kiddies a lot of education in a fun way. Aside from that, we’re still determining how to come out of this mess. A guy Les knows is going to buy 30 homer pigeons from him, and he’ll be taking more to the farmers’ market on Tuesday. But that still leaves us with soooo many, and I just am heartsick that the PKI company’s bankruptcy might force us into bankruptcy as well. We’re not the kind of people who don’t pay their debts…It’s really hard to work with some companies though because some of them won’t agree to accept what we can actually afford to pay them. I am reading Mary Hunt’s “Debt Proof Living” and have gotten so many great ideas. The only problem is that we’re starting in the negative sort of, so how do you get out of that first?
7. Work on local food systems: Still trying to watch the gas gauge, as usual. So we’ve done pretty well avoiding all unnecessary trips this past week insofar as running out for just one thing here and there. Since I’d started working on my lists, when we went to Wal-mart tonight I took about 5% of our weekly budget and stocked up on some staples like pop-tarts, instant oatmeal and peanut-butter crackers. Those are some comfort foods that everyone would eat in an emergency. I also bought two jars of peanut butter on sale last week. All of these things went into a Rubbermaid storage container for now. When I get more of each thing, I will separate them into separate bins: like peanut butter in one container, pop-tarts etc. in another. I want to have enough on hand so that we build up our three-month supply quickly, then work on rotating as we add to our stores for a one year supply. The first goal is to be able to feed our family of eight plus my parents and my sister and her family if necessary, then branch out from there. I am pretty sure, after visiting with my in-laws today, that Les’ parents, sister and brother-in-law would be able to survive pretty well. My ideal would be having enough on hand to feed maybe 30-50 people if necessary, even if that reduced our family’s on-hand food to a six month supply rather than a year. I want this to be a way for us to, in the middle of disaster, be a witness of the Lord’s provision and mercy.
8. Learn or work on a new skill: I am still working on some cross-stitch for Christmas gifts. As I noted above, I bought a book on pickles and relishes, so that will be an experiment for later in the week. Also, I am enrolled in a cooperative extension class on tomatoes – I am not quite sure what kind of things we’ll learn, but I always come away from those sessions with recipes and whatnot. There is just so much helpful information! And I’m enrolling in a cooperative extension class on salsas for September. After that, we’ll see. It’s such a reasonable price for so much helpful information! Oh – I ordered another book on soap making and one on sewing, so I have plenty to read up on.
9. Serve someone: I have really tried to be a better friend. A neighbor has a grandson who is going to be playing football, as is Zachary. She wondered if there was the possibility that we could carpool from time to time. I thought it was a great idea! I really hope that it is helpful to her and her family. Other than that, I had sent a note to each of my kiddies at camp, but they didn’t get there in time. I sent them care of my in-laws’ church, though, so I’m sure my mother-in-law will be able to pick them up for us and just bring them the next trip down here. They were such a blessing to us because they did all the camp laundry – towels, sleeping bags and clothes…It saved us a trip to the laundrymat! So today I took her shopping with me because I had two homeschool books at the bookstore waiting to be picked up. She likes to go there, so I hope it was a nice thing for her.
I am reading www.survivalblog.com and www.familyprep.blogspot.com and getting a lot of great information about preparedness. Other than the above, I am still cleaning out my house. Will helped me go through a huge pile of stuff that was a mix of kids’ clothes, magazines and trash. We gathered a huge bag full for Goodwill and another bag of magazines that I will either take to the library or the hospital. I felt like I got some things done, even though I know that there is still so much to get through. If I sorted one box in the basement, attic or garage a day, it’d still take me forever to get through them all…Sometimes I know why we have some of the stuff stored that we do (fabrics, sewing stuff, etc.), and sometimes I wonder what in the world I was thinking!!! I hope I continue to have a lot of good things to report next week! I’m feeling like I’m getting somewhere, albeit slowly. But accomplishment is accomplishment, so I’m not gonna’ complain!
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Wednesday, July 30, 2008
Another Challenge...and Plea for Advice
I recently found this challenge too (okay, it was today, lol!!!!)....
I am excited to see so many like-minded people concerned about preparing for their families. I think that it is so important to be prepared, but it's not something anyone thinks about until disaster strikes. I am really grateful to have found these ideas, because quite honestly it's not something I was taught as a child. We basically just drove to the store and purchased whatever we needed. But there may be a day when that's not possible -- for whatever reason -- and we may need to rely on the preparations we made when times were good. There are a lot of things I just didn't think of -- like a 72-hour kit for each member of the family, or food storage to last a really, really long time (I am in the habit of shopping for a month when possible, but that may not always be long enough), or keeping the car full of gas or having an alternate heat source...Some of it may seem like common sense, but unless you've actually been in an out-and-out emergency situation, you may be like me and take so many things for granted. So having these ideas and finding others who make this a way of life has been a blessing. Thanks!!!
Above all, I know that the Lord will provide, and I'm not worried about what may come inasmuch as that I am concerned about protecting and caring for my immediate family, and extended family and friends. Not everyone is concerned about preparedness, and I know that if there were certain emergency situations, others would benefit from the help that we might be able to provide solely because we were open to taking steps to prepare. The goal is to be an outreach of His arms, His mercy, His provision. And I hope that I can accomplish that as I take these steps and learn new skills and stock up on the every day normal things that we all take for granted.
So that's basically why I'm in this "mode" of preparedness lately. I just feel it strongly in my spirit, and I know that He will bless my efforts. I'd love to hear from more like-minded ladies, especially those with large families (we are a family of 8). I'd especially like suggestions on how you stretch your dollars while preparing - for things like food, clothing, the "other stuff"...
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Wednesday, July 30, 2008
Finally Caught Up -- Preparedness Challenge Week 4
In the busy-ness of trying to get four of six kiddies ready for a week away at summer camp, as well as keep the remaining two kiddies calm and busy so they didn't un-do all of my efforts, I forgot to post my update. So…here it is for ya'll to look over. I think things are at least progressing, but there's always room for improvement!!! Especially since I watched some preparedness videos on youtube and realized that I am waaaay behind in things I should have been working on long ago...
Preparedness Challenge: Week 4
1. Plant something: Well, amazingly enough I did not plant anything this week…but God did! Right where they were last year, and this year in the middle of my expanded herb garden, I have three cherry/grape tomatoes coming up, all with oodles of blossoms! In fact, those plants have more blossoms and greening tomatoes than the two we actually did manage to plant! So…now we're blessed with a LOT of "mini-madoes" as one of my kiddies likes to call them!
2. Harvest something: Got two green bell peppers this week. The pimiento peppers are growing, but not ready to harvest. I actually had one small, ripe cherry tomato. It was slightly sweet and slightly sour. I had to pull the peaches (all three) off the tree because they were starting to look sad. The lettuce bolted overnight and now I don't really know what to do with it. Guess I'll have to read up on all that. I do have lots of pears and a few apples. They're now large enough to be visible from the kitchen window. As long as my kiddies don't knock them off while they're playing, we should have some fruit to eat too! I didn't get many raspberries – maybe a handful before the birds finished them off. Since I'm new to raspberries I guess I wasn't quite sure when they were ripe enough. The grape vines have two huge clusters of green grapes. I know they're concord so I have to wait til they darken. The bad thing about the grapes has been the Japanese beetles. Those things are such an annoying nuisance. If we could, I'd have guineas here to eat them up…but that's another story. Have herbs I need to get out and pick. Thought we'd have some sunflower seeds, but the birds really got most of them…fine with me, though…We had a new bird in our yard, drawn by the sunflowers. It was a small yellow and black bird, which I haven't had time to look up in our guide. I saw three or four of them at one time, so that was really an unexpected benefit. I didn't even remember planting sunflowers, although the kiddies have wanted some for a while. Next year I plan to plant a sunflower house for them to play in. You just outline one with twine and plant your flowers accordingly. Don't forget to leave a door! I read somewhere that you can plant morning glory alongside each sunflower and then vine them over the top somehow to make a roof. I'll be happy to just get the outline of the house finished. It will make for nice play, and hopefully extra sunflower seeds!
3. Preserve something: Nothing preserved because we skipped the farmers' market. I noticed corn at the grocery store, so will check for that. Right before 4th of July we'd gotten a pretty nice deal on some by waiting til close to closing to hit the farmers' market stands. Les fared well with plum tomatoes that way too, so we're going to try to do it again this week – well, tomorrow!
4. Prep something: I have been working on a major pantry list and that's about as far as I got in prepping anything.
5. Cook something: Well, managed on pantry stores and stuff in freezer for the most part. I also found a recipe for oatmeal pancakes that I made for breakfast yesterday. We were close to out of eggs, and we had no regular milk or bread, so I was wondering what I could come up with. The recipe used milk or buttermilk, and I'd just enough buttermilk left to make it work. Even in lean times I really need to find some dishes that stretch what we do have, but I need to remind myself to always keep eggs, butter and milk handy. We can make bread from scratch, but those three things are things that I can turn into other meals with just a little.
6. Manage your reserves: We're trying to find a way out of our financial mess. Les was approached by someone he knew while he was dropping the kiddies off at summer camp. The guy wants to buy 30 pigeons. It was a blessing out of nowhere! I'm really glad that we're still managing to give an offering at church. It's not the 10% tithe it should be, but when you have negative nothing to work with, well…at least we're trying to be faithful in giving something! I did well at the grocery store last night. I bought milk, eggs, bread, butter, the Sunday paper (because we were looking at want ads and rentals – just in case) and a special snack for the boys for today since the two little guys are too little for summer camp. If I had the money this is usually when I would try to do something special for them. Last year I had three at home during summer camp and we went to Chuck E. Cheese (with a coupon of course!!!). This year my two little guys want to go to The Hands On House Museum, which is $7 a person. I think I can manage it for Wednesday, so that will be a nice treat for them. Other than that, have been trying to avoid the book store, because that seems to be my weakness as far as spending goes. I did get some things for back-to-school from Wal-mart, which is good because that stuff is so much more expensive during the school year than it is if I buy enough now to last. I have to go back though and pick up a few more things before we're set for the year. It's a little frustrating though, because until I was in junior high the school supplied most of the things I needed, except for a book bag. My mother just sent us. Now I get lists for the three I do have in school (the other three are homeschooled)…which includes sending them with tissues, hand-sanitizer, crayons, fancy calculators, etc….School is expensive!!!
7. Work on local food systems: Still trying to watch the gas gauge, which includes avoiding all unnecessary trips. I have been making a list of foods we currently eat on a regular basis, as well as a pantry staple list and a list of things that we would eat. I'm really blessed in that out of the whole family of eight, I am probably the pickiest eater. So I'm figuring on buying some of the ingredients for meals that might use little-to-no water or be somewhat ready-made or something we could store for emergencies and testing out recipes. There's no sense in waiting until an emergency to see if the family will actually eat something. Plus, I'm not wasting food dollars stocking up on stuff no one wants anyway. I also made a list of comfort foods and toiletries that could be stored long-term, and a list of things we'd need for a 72-hour bag.
8. Learn or work on a new skill: The only thing I've really done in this area is work on some cross-stitch for Christmas gifts. There are so many things I do want to learn, and (as is my habit!) I am making lists of skills that would be helpful if we had to live off the grid or something. For instance, it helps to know how to sew, knit, crochet. How to cook, of course, and purify water. Those are just a few areas. I guess the one that I am currently more involved in is how to garden, because I didn't inherit my Pop's green thumb. I did take a class in overcoming the fear of pressure canning…Now I just have to find out if I can use a pressure canner on my glass-top stove. I signed up for a tomato class in August and am looking into taking a refresher on CPR/First Aid. I was once an EMT (almost a lifetime ago) but it's always a good idea to refresh your memory. The local county's cooperative extension agency is also offering a class on making salsas in September, so I have to register for that. My family loves salsa, and in an emergency situation we could eat it with veggies or meat, TVP, pastas, rice or crackers or chips for variety.
9. Serve someone: I am not sure how well I am faring here. Out of necessity I have been trying to serve my family in learning to adjust to a preparedness mindset. I am hoping to get to the point where this will not only bless our immediate family, but some extended family and friends or neighbors as well. I heard that when you make preparations for emergency situations, it is important to consider that others might need your help…I am hoping that once we get our food storage together we can add enough that we do serve and bless others.
The advice I read about (and I've read so much lately about preparedness that I have no idea where I read it, but I'm guessing the LDS church…) is to start with enough for your family for one week. Then expand to three months. Then a year. And when you do this, you have to constantly rotate your stores so that you are eating the oldest things first. There are even cool shelving systems for this at www.shelfreliance.com that I saw on one youtube presentation about preparedness. There are more people involved than I originally thought!
Other than that, I listed a bunch of stuff on craigslist, including some old scrapbooking magazines. So far I have not had good luck, but I'm really hoping to get rid of a lot between now and September. I worked on cleaning one of the kiddie rooms while everyone (almost!) is away. It was a mess and I got one huge load of laundry ready (hiding under dressers and bed) and one full trash bag full of broken junk and just plain trash. The room still needs to be swept and organized a little (I did one dresser and culled more clothes for Goodwill that snuck by me somehow, and arranged the books nicely on the book shelf). Tomorrow I'll work on one more room, then the next day maybe one more. I hope to have all that done before Saturday, when four kiddies return. I hope they're enjoying themselves…but I confess that I do miss them, even with all the chaos. It's almost tooooooo quiet, lol!!!
Now to get back to work and get more accomplished!
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Wednesday, July 30, 2008
To Catch You Up...Preparedness Challenge Week 3
Preparedness challenge - week 3
Current mood: 
focused
I was a little disappointed that we didn't get zucchini from the farmers' market, but since we didn't go…Well, here's my week 3 report…I don't know how productive, but I'm really motivated and have been planning more than anything. I have lists, have culled a lot of stuff from the house and have been trying to get organized, so that's something – well, maybe, lol!!!
Preparedness Challenge: Week 3
1. Plant something: Nothing planted this week…But the summer is not over, and there's always time to plant for the colder weather – stuff like spinach and brassicas (cabbage, Brussels sprouts and the like) can usually do well according to the gardening books I've read…We'll see!
2. Harvest something: Still waiting to harvest some things. I was soooo excited to see that I have one sole bunch of grapes on our vines – and they may be harvest-able if the darned beetles leave my plants alone…I think we need some guineas to eat up some of those pesky garden bugs!
3. Preserve something: This last week was so hectic that I overlooked everything. I did pit and slice cherries and have 8 cups waiting in the fridge. I am hoping to finish those up and get working on something else.
4. Prep something: I guess that would be the cherries…? Oh – and as I stated somewhere near the beginning (hmmm – maybe at the beginning?)…I am making lists, starting to move things around in a way that makes more sense, get myself organized, etc.
5. Cook something: For all the good I did last week, well…I sucked this week! I was, um, a little indisposed for several nights due to, ah…feminine problems. So Les, to his credit, did the cooking a lot. It ended up being stuff like hot dogs and beans (I had an omelet) and frozen pizza (I had soup), but it got done and we saved money by NOT going out.
6. Manage your reserves: I returned two books to the bookstore… because, much to my embarrassment, they were books I already had that I found sitting in plain sight on my bookshelf while I was moving stuff around to make room for the duplicates! Ouch!!! So…needless to say, I got some of that cash back.
7. Work on local food systems: Not much to report here since we didn't go shopping. We've been trying to watch the gas gauge, and that includes avoiding unnecessary trips to the store.
8. Learn or work on a new skill: I've been reading up on quite a few new things. I have been really planning my reading list around some preparedness and skills. So…I've read about making soap. I just haven't tried it. Yet.
9. Serve someone: Once again I failed in this area, much to my chagrin. I had purposed that I was going to write a few letters, but being a little under the weather and then having other issues to deal with involving the family (this past week was full of appointments and such), I didn't get to them. Ouch!
What else did I accomplish? Well, I did sort through eight of eleven baskets of girls' clothes and made an actual appointment at a consignment shop. I am looking forward to maybe getting some cash or store credit back for the nicest things that the kiddies have outgrown. The hardest thing is getting rid of Sammy's clothes…I also cleaned up the kitchen a little and managed to print out a few homemaker-style newsletters that I had saved on my hard drive so I can free up some memory…Except that I'm always so nervous about erasing anything I might need later…I re-set some email preferences for my egroups so I'm not always inundated with email right now. I find I'm getting so much more accomplished. And…we did three days of school, actually sticking to the assignment schedule I created the week before. Now I am working on next week's assignment schedule and I'm pleased with the way things are going as far as homeschool goes. I even remembered to send notes for the girls' cheerleading coaches about their missing one practice due to summer camp. I like being more organized at home. It's kinda funny – I normally do much better organizing at an office or when it comes to school…when it comes to being home, well…not so much. But since I've been making a huge effort to do it, it's been going much better for a change.
Thank goodness, too…something should go right once in a while, right???!!! And next week I'm sure to do better!
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Wednesday, July 30, 2008
Belated Post of Preparedness Challenge Week 2
Saturday, July 12, 2008
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Preparedness Challenge - Week 2
I guess I'm still hanging in there trying to work on this challenge. I have to say that I don't feel that I accomplished a lot, but hey -- in my defense it's been a busy week filled with appointments in and out of my house, so we've spent a lot of time working on other things. Needless to say I'm not where I had hoped to be, especially after working on Week 1 (to us anyways) of the challenge and feeling accomplished...I do not feel that way this week...But there's always next time, right???Preparedness Challenge: Week 21. Plant something: Do seeds of kindness count? That's about all that I was able to get in this week...I don't know who wrote this poem (if you do, please let me know!!!), but I always like it: Plant Your Garden Today 2. Harvest something: I checked on the garden and though the herbs are getting there, nothing was really ready this week...I wouldn't be surprised, though, to find myself needing to bundle a lot of them to dry next week. 3. Preserve something: I bought cherries, and they're waiting for me...! So now that I'm working on all these things I have noticed that I have been getting up a little earlier, planned a little better and gotten more accomplished in some things like cleaning and organizing. I put 36 books for sale on amazon, took a huge bag of kiddie clothes to GoodWill (and remembered to get a receipt), picked up 5 sacks of feed for Les' pigeons, kept most of the downstairs clean and tidy (which for some reason was MUCH easier the few days Kayla was staying overnight with my parents), managed to pack lunches for Sara every day while she was at day camp last week, remembered to get Sara and Emma to cheer clinic today - with water bottles and with their hair up - and spent time with my family. We even went to church. I feel that we're making a lot of progress in some ways, and at least not going backwards in others. I have a to-do list ready for Monday, as well as a homeschool schedule all mapped out and ready (especially since no one has day camp next week), found my new 2008/2009 calendar and started getting appointment information on it and cleaned off an entire 5 shelf book case to move into the kitchen to hold pantry items! Whew! I think I had a better week than I even gave myself credit for, because if you add that to all the numerous appointments, well -- it's a wonder I had time to sleep...or be on MySpace, lol!!!
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Wednesday, July 30, 2008
Okay, I am behind...again. Archived Preparedness Challenge Week 1
When life gets busy, I somehow neglect some of the important things -- like blogging. I actually love blogging because it is a diary of sorts for me, and I can go back and read and see that, yes, we made progress, or no, that didn't happen quite the way I remembered.
I am in the middle of a preparedness challenge, so I am copying/pasting a blog I wrote elsewhere (I have too many things going on sometimes, lol!!!) and I'll catch ya'll up in the next couple of posts. So here's week 1:
Preparedness Challenge Week I (for us anyway!)
I came across this on Melonie Kennedy's Preparedness blog: http://familyprep.blogspot.com/search/label/Preparedness%20Challenge. She found the original challenge on another site, but you'll be able to read that if you click on the link.
Ya' know...with the food crisis it kind of makes a lot of sense, especially for my family of eight...So I am going to attempt to work at it. Being realistic, it's probably somewhat late to accomplish everything, but if I go at it a little bit at a time, weekly, well...I'm hoping it will make a huge difference in our pocketbook as well as the cupboard. So this might be a regular feature in the upcoming weeks -- at least through harvest season. Beyond that, well...we'll see how it goes. It does make sense though, so maybe even those of you without a green thumb (and I really don't have one myself) will give it a go...The worst thing that could happen is that you'll be a little more prepared.
Preparedness Challenge: Week 1
1. Plant something: I have to say that I was pretty pleased with our efforts earlier in the season. We basically only planted herbs, garlic, lettuce and two pepper varieties, and all are doing rather nicely - considering that I'm the one doing the gardening (which means minimal effort and no green thumb). But just the other day Les planted two grape tomato plants. So hooray, we accomplished this part of the challenge!
2. Harvest something: I was surprised to find a nice green bell pepper ready to be picked. I also clipped some rosemary to dry, along with mint (for fresh mojitos and iced tea), and some lavender that I want to make into sachets for my drawers.
3. Preserve something: Well, the only thing I did that was close to preserving anything was to start drying my rosemary. Other than that, I bought some ground beef on sale and divided it into freezer bags. So at the moment I have about five 2lb. packets of ground beef in the freezer. Maybe not what I had hoped for -- those strawberries are still calling my name, and hopefully I'm really not too late already!
4. Prep something: I don't know that I accomplished much here, except that I sliced up some red and green bell peppers and stuck them in the freezer so they wouldn't go bad on me before I was ready for them -- I like to cut strips for fajitas and then little diced pieces for various other dishes.
5. Cook something: Well, not knowing what to make because of the heat suffocating me in the kitchen this week, I ended up doing pretty well. Monday I baked one loaf of sourdough bread (the rest of the starter is in the fridge) and made a chicken dish for dinner. Tuesday we had homemade pizze (I cheated with store-bought crust) and Wednesday we had spaghetti with bacon and a creamy cheese sauce of sorts...It ended up not being thin enough and I drained all the spaghetti water before I was finished, silly me. Then Thursday Kayla had her turn to pick a dish to make. She opted for cold noodle salad, which was spaghetti, cabbage and carrots with scallions and an Asian-inspired peanut-butter dressing. We still have three containers of leftovers, so it was a pretty cheap dish overall. We added fortune cookies (store-bought at the bulk store, so pretty cheap) as a dessert for a nice touch. Tonight we were supposed to have a barbeque, but it has rained almost all day. So Les took us out to a pizza buffet. Not too bad, really, for the week. I hope next week turns out just as good.
6. Manage your reserves: Well, this is where we're experiencing a lot of trouble. Since the pigeon company filed for bankruptcy, we're just trying to hold on. We were looking forward to a lot of relief with that monthly income and now there is no monthly pigeon income, but we still have the pigeons (almost 400 of them) and barn rent and feed. Right now the market has been flooded with pigeons, so it really does not pay to start getting rid of all of them, and I'm sorry, but I just can't see destroying the eggs. I think if we shop around maybe we'll be able to find a market for squab. We'll see. Other than that, paid the cell bill, some other small things, made a list of total debt (that almost gave me a heart attack) and tried not to splurge or add any new debt. One credit card is being paid in full and that will help a little. It means we can try to pay off another one next month, and go from there. I am going to take scissors to the majority of them...Monthly payments seem so foolish now, especially when you get interest and such tacked on. I want to try to follow Mary Hunt's Debt-Proof Living advice. Seems like a good plan -- I mean, who can't use more of their own money every month?? So that's where we're at for the moment...Trying to stay above water and avoid bankruptcy...which we feel should only be used in the most dire circumstances. And even though financially it seems pretty **** dire, well...We'd rather honor our debts if possible...The bad thing is that not all companies will even work with you. The health care scenario is the WORST for that...I called to make payment arrangements on a hospital bill and told them what we could afford. They were not willing to accept that arrangement -- in fact, they wanted 300% more than what I could pay. I mean, should I just die next time and avoid the trip to the ER or what??? So...as I said, we're working on it...
7. Work on local food systems: Well, as far building up our own pantry...I hit a sale and got a few things. But I've been really trying to shop the perimeter of the store and avoid the isles of processed and unhealthy foods. Sadly, that's more of what we can afford right now. I did use coupons to purchase deli cheese and meat on sale this week -- Usually that is one of the first things we cut out when life gets a little expensive, but everything was on sale, plus the coupons too. I am hoping to work out a menu based on the sale fliers and use coupons where possible to stock up our meager pantry. Aside from that, though, I've found that I've been able to feed our family of eight a lot more healthy produce from spending a mere $20 at the farmers' market every week. There is a huge difference when I go versus when I don't. The kids are even enjoying a variety of fruits and veggies that are fresh and local without too much complaint...I've found that Les and I grumble more about the cookies, chips, ice cream, etc. we miss than the kids do!
8. Learn or work on a new skill: Well, not sure if this counts, but I have been working on my bread-baking a lot more, despite the rising cost of flour. I still find it more satisfactory to eat something on a homemade slice or two of bread than to buy that squishy air-inflated stuff they try to pass off as bread at the supermarket. And quite honestly, we're trying to use other grains in our diet anyway, so it's not like we're constantly going through the bread now. Aside from that, I just found a recipe for ricotta cheese that I want to try out, because I want to do some bulk cooking. I have some recipes for things like lasagna and even stuffed shells that I can freeze ahead of time to save on time during the upcoming busy cheerleading/football season. And...I want to try yogurt again too. So I'm working on "skills". Outside of the kitchen I'm working on two cross-stitch projects, a quilting project and hoping to learn crochet with Sara early next month.
9. Serve someone: I don't know if this counts, but...I gave my parents my first green bell pepper, a packet of homegrown and dried rosemary and a bunch of lavender. We have a whole bag full of clothes to go to Goodwill as well. Sometimes it just is hard to get into a serving mindset when I'm here all day with six kids plus Les, but I'm really trying to be less selfish with the things I do have. I hope that this challenge really keeps me in check as far as serving others.
I didn't do all of this in one fell swoop...It was a little here, a little there. One small thing every day for the week. And I hope to really keep up with it. It's pretty nice to look at your pantry shelves and see a variety of stuff -- that you actually eat or use -- there all ready for you.
Well, I don't know if/how many of you will join me in this challenge, but I think that with the food prices going up and the gas prices going up and all the natural and other disasters world-wide, it's not a crazy or far-fetched idea to be prepared. That can mean just buying an extra can of tunafish or whatever you eat every time you go to the grocery store or see a sale, or making sure your flashlights and smoke detectors have batteries or that you have a whole "kit" ready for any kind of disaster. It doesn't have to be consuming or make you scared or crazy, but you can do it sensibly. FEMA has information online at: http://www.fema.gov/ and it doesn't hurt to look at it once in a while.
Ya' know...with the food crisis it kind of makes a lot of sense, especially for my family of eight...So I am going to attempt to work at it. Being realistic, it's probably somewhat late to accomplish everything, but if I go at it a little bit at a time, weekly, well...I'm hoping it will make a huge difference in our pocketbook as well as the cupboard. So this might be a regular feature in the upcoming weeks -- at least through harvest season. Beyond that, well...we'll see how it goes. It does make sense though, so maybe even those of you without a green thumb (and I really don't have one myself) will give it a go...The worst thing that could happen is that you'll be a little more prepared.
Preparedness Challenge: Week 1
1. Plant something: I have to say that I was pretty pleased with our efforts earlier in the season. We basically only planted herbs, garlic, lettuce and two pepper varieties, and all are doing rather nicely - considering that I'm the one doing the gardening (which means minimal effort and no green thumb). But just the other day Les planted two grape tomato plants. So hooray, we accomplished this part of the challenge!
2. Harvest something: I was surprised to find a nice green bell pepper ready to be picked. I also clipped some rosemary to dry, along with mint (for fresh mojitos and iced tea), and some lavender that I want to make into sachets for my drawers.
3. Preserve something: Well, the only thing I did that was close to preserving anything was to start drying my rosemary. Other than that, I bought some ground beef on sale and divided it into freezer bags. So at the moment I have about five 2lb. packets of ground beef in the freezer. Maybe not what I had hoped for -- those strawberries are still calling my name, and hopefully I'm really not too late already!
4. Prep something: I don't know that I accomplished much here, except that I sliced up some red and green bell peppers and stuck them in the freezer so they wouldn't go bad on me before I was ready for them -- I like to cut strips for fajitas and then little diced pieces for various other dishes.
5. Cook something: Well, not knowing what to make because of the heat suffocating me in the kitchen this week, I ended up doing pretty well. Monday I baked one loaf of sourdough bread (the rest of the starter is in the fridge) and made a chicken dish for dinner. Tuesday we had homemade pizze (I cheated with store-bought crust) and Wednesday we had spaghetti with bacon and a creamy cheese sauce of sorts...It ended up not being thin enough and I drained all the spaghetti water before I was finished, silly me. Then Thursday Kayla had her turn to pick a dish to make. She opted for cold noodle salad, which was spaghetti, cabbage and carrots with scallions and an Asian-inspired peanut-butter dressing. We still have three containers of leftovers, so it was a pretty cheap dish overall. We added fortune cookies (store-bought at the bulk store, so pretty cheap) as a dessert for a nice touch. Tonight we were supposed to have a barbeque, but it has rained almost all day. So Les took us out to a pizza buffet. Not too bad, really, for the week. I hope next week turns out just as good.
6. Manage your reserves: Well, this is where we're experiencing a lot of trouble. Since the pigeon company filed for bankruptcy, we're just trying to hold on. We were looking forward to a lot of relief with that monthly income and now there is no monthly pigeon income, but we still have the pigeons (almost 400 of them) and barn rent and feed. Right now the market has been flooded with pigeons, so it really does not pay to start getting rid of all of them, and I'm sorry, but I just can't see destroying the eggs. I think if we shop around maybe we'll be able to find a market for squab. We'll see. Other than that, paid the cell bill, some other small things, made a list of total debt (that almost gave me a heart attack) and tried not to splurge or add any new debt. One credit card is being paid in full and that will help a little. It means we can try to pay off another one next month, and go from there. I am going to take scissors to the majority of them...Monthly payments seem so foolish now, especially when you get interest and such tacked on. I want to try to follow Mary Hunt's Debt-Proof Living advice. Seems like a good plan -- I mean, who can't use more of their own money every month?? So that's where we're at for the moment...Trying to stay above water and avoid bankruptcy...which we feel should only be used in the most dire circumstances. And even though financially it seems pretty **** dire, well...We'd rather honor our debts if possible...The bad thing is that not all companies will even work with you. The health care scenario is the WORST for that...I called to make payment arrangements on a hospital bill and told them what we could afford. They were not willing to accept that arrangement -- in fact, they wanted 300% more than what I could pay. I mean, should I just die next time and avoid the trip to the ER or what??? So...as I said, we're working on it...
7. Work on local food systems: Well, as far building up our own pantry...I hit a sale and got a few things. But I've been really trying to shop the perimeter of the store and avoid the isles of processed and unhealthy foods. Sadly, that's more of what we can afford right now. I did use coupons to purchase deli cheese and meat on sale this week -- Usually that is one of the first things we cut out when life gets a little expensive, but everything was on sale, plus the coupons too. I am hoping to work out a menu based on the sale fliers and use coupons where possible to stock up our meager pantry. Aside from that, though, I've found that I've been able to feed our family of eight a lot more healthy produce from spending a mere $20 at the farmers' market every week. There is a huge difference when I go versus when I don't. The kids are even enjoying a variety of fruits and veggies that are fresh and local without too much complaint...I've found that Les and I grumble more about the cookies, chips, ice cream, etc. we miss than the kids do!
8. Learn or work on a new skill: Well, not sure if this counts, but I have been working on my bread-baking a lot more, despite the rising cost of flour. I still find it more satisfactory to eat something on a homemade slice or two of bread than to buy that squishy air-inflated stuff they try to pass off as bread at the supermarket. And quite honestly, we're trying to use other grains in our diet anyway, so it's not like we're constantly going through the bread now. Aside from that, I just found a recipe for ricotta cheese that I want to try out, because I want to do some bulk cooking. I have some recipes for things like lasagna and even stuffed shells that I can freeze ahead of time to save on time during the upcoming busy cheerleading/football season. And...I want to try yogurt again too. So I'm working on "skills". Outside of the kitchen I'm working on two cross-stitch projects, a quilting project and hoping to learn crochet with Sara early next month.
9. Serve someone: I don't know if this counts, but...I gave my parents my first green bell pepper, a packet of homegrown and dried rosemary and a bunch of lavender. We have a whole bag full of clothes to go to Goodwill as well. Sometimes it just is hard to get into a serving mindset when I'm here all day with six kids plus Les, but I'm really trying to be less selfish with the things I do have. I hope that this challenge really keeps me in check as far as serving others.
I didn't do all of this in one fell swoop...It was a little here, a little there. One small thing every day for the week. And I hope to really keep up with it. It's pretty nice to look at your pantry shelves and see a variety of stuff -- that you actually eat or use -- there all ready for you.
Well, I don't know if/how many of you will join me in this challenge, but I think that with the food prices going up and the gas prices going up and all the natural and other disasters world-wide, it's not a crazy or far-fetched idea to be prepared. That can mean just buying an extra can of tunafish or whatever you eat every time you go to the grocery store or see a sale, or making sure your flashlights and smoke detectors have batteries or that you have a whole "kit" ready for any kind of disaster. It doesn't have to be consuming or make you scared or crazy, but you can do it sensibly. FEMA has information online at: http://www.fema.gov/ and it doesn't hurt to look at it once in a while.
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Thursday, February 28, 2008
starting sourdough...i hope!
I recently had the opportunity to join The Good Cook, which is a book of the month type of club featuring cookbooks. My list of "to buy" was getting a little lengthy, and some of the books I wanted were available, so I figured I would actually save money overall if I joined and stuck to a plan. Their special at the time was something like 4 for $1, and you could buy another at a huge discount that went toward your commitment (I think 2-4 books, can't recall). At any rate, while I was looking through the list I noticed that Joy of Cooking had an updated version out, and I've had my version since I got married about 15 years ago. About two years ago I had promised my daughter, Sara, that she would inherit my well-loved and well-used edition (I even know exactly what page features certain recipes!!), which started an argument of sorts with oldest daughter, Kayla. So I thought I'd pick up the updated version, give Sara the well-used one, and then once a year or two goes by give Kayla my new updated copy and then find another one for me...and probably one that I will use for another two or so years because I still have one daughter, Emma, left without a copy, lol!!! Anyhow...
I got the new version and found that they have so much updated information that I am a little overwhelmed! But in my recent quest to eat differently, I noticed a sourdough bread recipe with a fairly easy starter. This is still yeast starter, but since I have a huge package of yeast to get through before I try something new, I figured I'd try out the recipe and see if my family liked it. Well, it made two loaves. But out of experience with this family of eight, when it comes to recipe experimentation some things go to waste, so I passed the extra loaf along to my mom (I actually gave her the dough to bake for herself so it would be fresh). Well -- the family liked it so much they were upset that there was not a second loaf ready!!! I was really happy with the results. The only thing I wasn't sure about was that the recipe called for all the starter, so I didn't have any leftover to add to, and I thought that was the whole point of sourdough?? Maybe I'm in error here, but I hope someone will enlighten me!
Since I'm still not sure about all of this, I ended up making two batches of sourdough starter. One is for supper tonight and the other for tomorrow -- unless I learn how to stretch it beyond, I guess I'll be repeating the process. It is a fun and delicious experiment anyway!
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Thursday, February 21, 2008
Trying Yet Again...
Well, dear friends, I stumbled upon this -- my own blog -- after several months of absence. "Ah, I remember!" I thought to myself as I re-read the sole two entries I'd made...I longed to simplify and change some things in the pattern of my life. Why the long absence, you may wonder? What changes have occurred since the last time we spoke?
First of all, you may remember from reading my last post that my dear husband - Les - and I had been expecting our seventh child (although only second biological child). Shortly after I posted that last blog about the lovely markets abounding in Lancaster County and my cravings for chocolates and such, I started bleeding profusely. Sadly we lost the baby and I slipped into a long period of depression over the loss. I did not feel I had support from my family and friends. They were not outrightly mean-spirited, but the majority felt that we already had six, so it was not really a big deal. We have five adopted children and one amazing miracle of a three year-old who is our biological child. The L-rd has blessed us with three sons and three daughters to raise for His glory.
I found myself on that sad and terrible day trying to praise G-d and I repeated "The L-ord give, the L-rd takes away - blessed be the name of the L-rd" over and over. It is not that I do not believe it -- on the contrary! Yet the devil seemed to have taken my sorrow as a weakness of faith and tried to fling his arrows at me and the family when we were going through such a dark time. July approached and the miscarried child was buried in a share-burial plot at a cemetery. The whole experience was surreal to me, and I had nightmares for months. As we were expecting at Christmas time, the joy of His birth was tinged with a sorrow I could not shed, and I found myself finally at the point where I could no longer try to deny the overwhelming grief I felt -- There would be no infant in my arms at Christmas. And my one precious grandmother passed away after Thanksgiving, so that the whole season was difficult. I ended up in the hospital for a short time for stress-related issues and found myself unable to find comfort though I prayed and read the Bible faithfully to find it.
Finally He spoke to me and told me that He had not left me nor forsaken me (which I knew but yet still needed to hear for the value of its reassurance). To help myself through the grieving process, I made a shadow box with the ultrasound pictures I had and one precious crocheted set of baby booties and hung it as a reminder that the baby had been real...It was difficult for others to join me in my grief, in part because I was still fairly early into the pregnancy (about 10-12 weeks) and so I felt very sad and alone (as far as earthly companionship and frienship went) in my experience. Another thing I found was that there were not many books that addressed the loss from a Christian perspective that gave me words of comfort. An avid reader, I was disappointed and frustrated. I have it on my heart to one day fill this need for others -- so (side note here) if you have gone through this experience and are willing to share your story with me, please e-mail me. I think that it would be such a balm and benefit to others. It has been a long process of recovery. I still ache for that precious baby, but I am comforted that my child will greet me one day and for now is safely in His care.
Aside from all of that difficulty, my dear husband and I have been having issues with so many other things from finances to children to extended family and the like. We truly feel like we are under some sort of spiritual attack. So if you ever consider us in your prayers we would truly appreciate it and be blessed by your remembrance!
Dear friends, the last time we spoke I was speaking of a heartfelt desire to eat locally grown produce inspired by Barbara Kingsolver's book "Animal, Vegetable, Miracle". We have not gotten to that point yet, but I am pleased to say that we had some measure of success with our little square foot garden attempt. The weather seemed to be unusually wet, so our tomatoes often "cracked" -- but they were still delicious! We even had cucumbers for the first time. My herbs did beautifully and my rosemary has even survived so far -- usually it dies very early on and I get discouraged. But as we love fresh rosemary - especially with "stick chicken", a dish my mother concocted - I keep trying! I had an abundance of parsley and cilantro too. I need to know what to do with it all -- ie, how do I dry it or freeze it? I feel like such a novice, but I am determined to learn. In the spirit of trying to organize my home and prepare for spring cleaning, today two of my children helped me organize our pantry shelves, which are full of canned goods that I will not be replacing (well -- except for maybe a thing or two) once they are used up. Thankfully with things currently lean budget-wise, I think we may just have enough on the shelves and in the freezer to avoid the grocery store til the farmers' markets start offering spring produce!!!
In my quest to learn to do more and be more self-sufficient, I have been making bread at least once a week. So far it is yeast bread, with store-bought flour, but I am hoping to save money to purchase a grain mill and grind my own flour, then graduate to making sourdough breads from my own starter...Once I learn to do that! Last year my dear friend, Joan, came over one day to teach me to make yogurt. After I got pregnant and was on bed-rest and so forth I, of course, did not do it. I want to try it again. In addition, I've subscribed to the New Homestead Harvest newsletters -- and absolutely had to purchase all of the back issues -- so that I am now even more convicted that the L-rd wants me to change many things from the way I've always done them so that I am providing the best for my family. I have even looked for upcoming workshops at the two closest county cooperative extension offices so that I can develop more skills. This is such an exciting adventure...
The other thing that has been going on -- as if this post is not already long enough! -- is that my dear husband felt led to raise pigeons. He has a contract to sell all the chicks, so it has been a sort of "safe" way to be introduced to farming. Neither of us come from a farming background per se, though he came from a much more rural area that did I...So this has been an interesting experience. We rented a barn about 1 1/4 miles away (the next road actually) and my dear husband spent many of his free hours laboring to make nesting boxes. He has 89 pair of breeders. We did start with 90 but lost two of the birds. So far we estimate that we have about 75 or so chicks. They grow so fast! It has been absolutely amazing to see the changes that occur even within the first few days! They are such tiny, naked little things at first, then get fuzzy little pinfeathers. Then they just grow! We have not sent any chicks in yet, as they have to be at least 20 weeks old. So we have pigeons everywhere. One of the things I found most fascinating was that they are so beautiful! We have brown ones, black with purplish or greenish feathers around their necks, grayish ones, white ones...We have one white one that looks like someone flecked black paint onto her! It really has been a learning experience, having to get up and go over to the barn that is not on our property, feed and water the birds, clean up the floor, count eggs, count chicks, band the birds (they get a numbered band), watch for hawks in the barn (which eat pigeons), and so forth. Even though it is not what I envisioned when I thought about one day owning a farm, it is really giving us practical experience raising animals on a large scale.
So although this has been a really hard year, there have been little blessings along the way that have kept us somewhat encouraged. I continue to learn and try to ask for His guidance in these things, as I truly feel He is calling us to a simpler and more fulfilling life. Thank you for stopping by! I hope you'll come again soon, and I hope that it won't be too long before I have the opportunity to write again.
Many, many blessings!!!
~mary
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Tuesday, June 5, 2007
A Beautiful Day for a Trip...
Even though I haven't checked the weather report yet -- something I am infinitely bad about, by the way -- right now it is cool and a little breezy...The perfect day for a quick trip to the local farmer's market. In Lancaster County PA I am blessed to choose from several different markets. For instance, the closest to me in Manheim, Root's, is open every Tuesday. Ephrata boasts the Green Dragon on Fridays. Bird-in-Hand has a market open different times seasonally, and I think it's gearing up for Wednesday through Saturdays soon, if it's not open those days already. One of my favorites, Central Market in downtown Lancaster is one of the oldest farmers' markets in the country (it claims) and is open Tuesdays, Fridays and Saturdays. Living around here I can pretty much buy fresh produce nearly every day through the spring, summer and fall.
I'm in the middle of reading Barbara Kingsolver's book "Animal, Vegetable, Miracle", which is a lovely book about food -- where it comes from and how her family devised a plan to eat only what they could grow/raise themselves or get locally for one full year. I am so interested in her obvious passion for this subject and, even though I'm barely through the first few chapters, have determined that I, too, am going to try to only put on the table what can be gotten locally, with very few exceptions. One exception is that I'm currently pregnant, and some cravings I can't help...such as my strong and almost insatiable desire for all things chocolate. Well, not all...There are certain chocolate delicacies I've heard of that I don't care to try. But my favorite right now is chocolate-covered oranges. Oranges are certainly not local to PA. I wonder if it counts that I live near Hershey and Wilbur Chocolates? I'm going to stretch it a bit, but I'm afraid I have to count them. As to other things, I have been needing -- yes, literally -- some kind of mint chewing gum to cut down my nausea. I suppose I could try using actual mint, but I'm not quite sure about it, so that will require a bit of research before I cut out the mint. Other foreign things that will stay on the menu for now include things like spices, grains and ginger. For now. Perhaps once I'm safely delivered of this precious little cargo I can for-go some of those treats and special things, but I just can't do it yet.
So today we're going to make a quick trip down to Root's and see what things are in season and yummy to eat. Then maybe we'll make some fabulously healthy "from scratch" dish that showcases our finds - provided, of course, that the "morning" sickness doesn't make it impossible for me to get in the kitchen, as it is starting to do to my frustration. But I'm so excited about this trip and can't wait to see what we find!!!
~mary
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Monday, June 4, 2007
Hello
Well, today I joined Homestead Blogger so that I can share my feeble - and much human - attempts at homesteading-where-I've-been-planted with others and hopefully glean some helpful and useful knowledge along the way. I'm pretty excited because we got in two 4x4 squre foot garden beds this year, and most of those squares are now filled with herbs and veggies and seeds waiting to sprout up. I've never really been a gardner, this is only our second year of trying it out, but we did manage to have a wonderful small-scale garden of tomatoes, peppers and zucchini last year, and the yeild was enough to pay for the plants as well as save us on some grocery money for a while. We planted two bartlett pear trees last year, two seedless grapes, and two red delicious apples. Sad to say but one of the apple trees died somehow -- I think one of the kids knocked the young thing out of the ground a bit and didn't quite get it put back together. The others are doing great, with little buds of fruit starting to pop out ...well, except for the grapes. They're still busy vining up and twisting their slender tendrils around the wire my in-laws set up to support their growth. I'm looking forward to the future, when the harvest will be plentiful. Until then, I need to learn what to do to grow things and then what to do with the fruits of our labor! I'm so thankful to be able to be part of a community like this, and I look forward to sharing and learning! God bless, everyone!
~mary