The Mennobrarian

I have seen a few other blogs today entitled Thanksful Thursday, so I thought I would join in and do one of my own as well!!!

1. I am thankful for a forgiving and loving Heavenly Father who saved me from my sins and continues to guide and direct me in the direction that my life should go. I look back in the index of memories in my mind, and remember rough times, and even rougher times I have experienced and endured. I could have never made it without God. I remember talking to mom after dad died, and she said, how do people do this without God??? I said I have no idea, and I don't want to find out either!!!

2. I am thankful for my hubby, that God hand-picked especially for me. I was married before, and I THOUGHT I was in love, and I thought he was "the one". What I found out later was, I was walking on my own understanding, and I had made one of the biggest mistakes in my life. My current hubby is nothing like that! He is aa Godly man, and he uplifts me, encourages me, loves me unconditionally, and is the best friend and father to our son, I could ever ask for. Now, that doesn't mean we don't have our diffrences once in a while. Some think if your marriage isn't PERFECT all the time, you should get out. NO! I have made a commitment to God, and to this man. And I made a commitment to our little Noah when he was born as well! Sure, we have rough times, and we fight, but not near as often as we did that first year. (Am I the only one who had a rough first year of marriage getting used to their spouse and the new family, etc.??)

3. I am so thankful for our 2 year old Noah. He was an unexpected blessing, and I didn't know exactly how excited I was when I became pregnant with him only 2 months after our wedding date, but I found out later, he was a blessing, we not expecting, but a blessing all the same. You see, God knew that I needed this baby!!!! He knew that this unborn baby was about to change our family, and I mean our whole family, for the best. My mom was dealing with stomache cancer, and was given 4 weeks to live at the most, when I was about 7 weeks from delivering!! She was tired and ready to give up!! She didn't want to endure the pain of cancer and the hospitals and treatments, chemo, etc. But that little unborn baby gave her the reason to fight, and fight she did! She died the next year after going into remission for months. My father died when Noah was 6 months old, and mom died when he was 11 months old. But you see, everyone was brought closer than ever during that time, to help out with mom and dad. Relationships with us 3 kids towards each other and mom and dad were all miraculously healed. Now that they are gone, us 3 kids are trying our hardest to still be close! This little boy has brought so much sunshine and smiles and giggles into my life since he was born. After mom died, I didn't have much reason to get up and go on with life. I was sad and depressed and grieving. But Noah, he was my reason for getting up every day!!!! He is a miracle baby!

4. I am so thankful for a wonderful home!! It isn't expensive, and it isn't huge, but it is a wonderul home filled with love, joy, and laughter! We bought it right after Noah was born, to move here closer to mom and dad. It needs some work (I hate the kitchen cabinets and sink, so we want to replace it when we have the money), and it is old, and has alot of querks, but it is ours!!! LOL We no longer have to ask the landlord if we can paint, or lay carpet. We just save up for a bit and do it!!! We have had fun redoing this and that, sewing curtains here and there, etc.

5. I am thankful for not new cars, but cars that run and run well. Cars that can get us to and fro without much problem. (OK, I wish Matthew's car which gets Great gas mileage had air conditioning, but it could be worse) And I am thankful that they are paid for!!! Praise the Lord!!! They are comfortable and hold the family and lots of groceries when we go for our monthly or bi-monthly grocery runs.

6. I am thankful for AIR CONDITIONING!! Now I have heard on several blogs lately how the weather in your area is nice and breezy and you have turned off the air conditioning, but not here. Not only is it hot, but now we are having lots of rain and some flooding in certain areas, which means more humidity!!! I know some of you have no air conditioning and would never have it if you could, but I am not one of you. I am a pansy when it comes to the heat, and it doesn't take much for me to get overheated and sick. So thank you Lord for air conditioning (and that it works great as well!)

7. Thank you for my stocked pantry!! I am so thankful we used part of our tax incentive checkc this year to get a freezer, a whole hog and lots of other veggies and needed items. I could estimate right now, that if we didn't go to the store for anything, we could probably survive for at least a month (except for buying bread, milk and eggs) We love fresh produce, but we have lots of canned and frozen, so we could get by if needed.

8. I am thankful for our church family. This probably should be higher up on the list! We absolutely love our church and our church family. Matthew and I met at this church, and have been attending there ever since. We have a great pastor and some wonderful encouraging Christians friends there as well that we see often, inside and outside church. I haven't been going to Bible Study with them as often as I would like since gas is so expensive now, and I miss them when I can't go. (Matthew is able to go since he is already in the same town as the Bible Study because he works there)

9. I am thankful for friends and family who live close. One friend in particular has been there in the middle of the night even when I needed her. I called her late at night, after midnight I believe one evening crying and saying, they don't know if mom will make it through the night, and we are going to the city to see her (in the hopspital, 2 hours away), and I need a babysitter. She threw some clothes on and was at my doorstep in 10 minutes as we were dashing out the door to hold mom's hand that evening.

10. I am thankful for freedom. We live in the United States. We have the freedom to worship as we please. We have the liberty to vote for our leaders, and we have a voice here. We dont' have to ask the government what we can name our child (isn't that Norway???), or if we can keep our baby girl (China). No, in the United States, we don't have to do any of those things. USA is not perfect by any means!!!! And sometimes I wish I lived somewhere much more glorious! LOL But we aren't scared to be killed in our beds by the malitia here, and we can call each other Christian without being hung or shot!!

Raspberry Cobbler

I finally made the raspberry cobbler..I asked for help..Now here is a picture.. It came out great.I aslo have raspberry swirl ice cream on the side..

Already to eat with raspberry swirl ice cream.. that was dessert tonight and we also had the burgers with homemade buns..

Homemade hamburg rolls..(Picture's)

Today I made my first hamburg rolls. They didn't come out to bad ..Next time I think I will make them alittle fatter..It made seven rolls..What I did was take my favorite bread recipe put it in the bread machine on dough cycle. When finished shaped the rolls somewhat and baked them in oven for 30 minutes on 350.

Second they are all baked off. Once they are baked cool and put alittle butter on top and split in half

Backyard Sustainable Agriculture

This is a good video for those interested in sustainable agriculture. It is particularly helpful for those of us who are renting or have limited space.

Anyone here with advice on this subject, please share it with us, too! This is something our family and a few good friends are looking at putting into practice in the very near future.

Daily Devotion 206

July 24

True Humility

And be clothed with humility: for God resisteth the proud, and giveth grace to the humble.

1 Peter 5:5b

Humility may be described as a righteous estimate of ourselves as God sees us. It is not a cast-down, self-despising spirit, but a simple feeling of unworthiness, a sense of our own insignificance. Never does it leave room for pride and self exaltation.

A drunkard came home at midnight with a crowd of his drunken friends. He demanded that his Christian wife make supper for them. She promptly complied. After they were done eating, one, who was more sober than the rest, and knowing of her disapproval of their conduct, asked how she could respond so kindly to their unreasonable request. She said that if her husband had died in this miserable condition, he would be miserable forever. It was through this woman’s act of humility to these unreasonable and corrupt men that her husband was saved.

Jesus in His humility stripped Himself of His rightful dignity when He gave Himself up as a servant and became a man. This was not the end of His humiliation; He stooped still lower, in obedience. He went to the shameful cross where He suffered much abuse by His own people. Because of His humiliation, God was so well pleased that He gave Him a position, “That at the name of Jesus every knee shall bow.”

We may say it was only right for Jesus to give himself like this, but what should our attitude be to humility? “Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus” Philippians 2:5). Unless we are converted, we cannot experience true humility. Humility brings with it a childlike spirit that manifests itself in meekness, submission, and

lowliness in heart (Matthew 11:29).

As we make our pilgrimage here, may we also be clothed with humility and take opportunities to serve others for the kingdom of God’s sake.

Lester Stoltzfus, Honey Brook, PA

God hath promised to lift on high, he who sinks himself by true humility.

Bible Reading: Philippians 2:1–11; Matthew 18:1–6

One Year Bible Reading Plan:

Acts 24

Psalms 41—43

Used by Permission of Vision Publishers

PO Box 190, Harrisonburg, VA 22803

Phone: 877-488-0901

E-Mail: [cs@vision-publishers.com]

Freezer bread and butter zucchini chips

Another recipe from the classic zucchini cookbook.. Note I haven't tried these recipes yet but will soon..I might do these this weekend..

1~Combine the zucchini,onion,and salt in a large bowl.Toss to mix and set aside for at 2 hours.Drain but do not rinse.

2~In a nonreactive saucepan,combine the vinegar,sugar,turmeric,celery seed, and black pepper.Heat just enough to dissolve the sugar.Pour over the zucchini mixture . Toss to mix.

3~Pack the zucchini and brine into freezer containers,leaving about 1 inch of headroom.Label for up to 6 months.

Please note!!!!! Slice Zucchini as thin as possible A food processor or mandoline yields the best results..

Zucchini pancakes Recipe..

I know its that time of year where we all have zucchini ..I've had a few folks ask for recipes and I got thinking..I have a cookbook its name is The Classic Zucchini Cookbook..By Nancy C Ralston, Marynor Jordan,Andrea Chesman..

My plans is to start listing recipes here to share..Now I haven't made any of these myself ..But I plan too..I will share a recipe now ..And plan to do more tomorrow.. Enjoy..

1~ Comine the zucchini and salt in a colander. Toss to mix and set aside to drain for 30 minutes.

2~In a medium sized mixing bowl combine the eggs,milk and oil . Beat well,stir in the pancake mix and set aside torest for 30 minutes.

3~Squeeze the zucchini to eliminate any excess moisture.Fold the zucchini into the pancake mixture. If neccessary add a little more milk to think the batter.

4~Preheat a griddle or large skillet over medium -low heat.Pre-heat the oven to 200F.

5~On the griddle melt a teaspoon or two of butter.When the foam subsides,ladle the batter onto the griddle.Adjust the heat as needed so that the pancakes brown on the bottom in 2-4 minutes.Flip the cakes and cook on the second side for 1-2 minutes.Place on an ovenproof plate and keep warm in the oven while you use the remaining batter to make more pancakes. Continue until all the batter is used.

Variation:To make savory zucchini pancakes. Add 1/4 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese to the batter and proceed as above.

2008 Perseid Meteor Showers are coming!

Mark your calendar: The 2008 Perseid meteor shower peaks on August 12th and it should be a good show.

"The time to look is during the dark hours before dawn on Tuesday, August 12th," says Bill Cooke of NASA's Meteoroid Environment Office at the Marshall Space Flight Center. "There should be plenty of meteors--perhaps one or two every minute."

The source of the shower is Comet Swift-Tuttle. Although the comet is far away, currently located beyond the orbit of Uranus, a trail of debris from the comet stretches all the way back to Earth. Crossing the trail in August, Earth will be pelted by specks of comet dust hitting the atmosphere at 132,000 mph. At that speed, even a flimsy speck of dust makes a vivid streak of light when it disintegrates--a meteor! Because, Swift-Tuttle's meteors streak out of the constellation Perseus, they are called "Perseids."

(Note: In the narrative that follows, all times are local. For instance, 9:00 pm means 9:00 pm in your time zone, where you live. )

Serious meteor hunters will begin their watch early, on Monday evening, August 11th, around 9 pm when Perseus first rises in the northeast. This is the time to look for Perseid Earthgrazers--meteors that approach from the horizon and skim the atmosphere overhead like a stone skipping across the surface of a pond.

"Earthgrazers are long, slow and colorful; they are among the most beautiful of meteors," says Cooke. He cautions that an hour of watching may net only a few of these at most, but seeing even one can make the whole night worthwhile.

A warm summer night. Bright meteors skipping overhead. And the peak is yet to come. What could be better?

The answer lies halfway up the southern sky: Jupiter and the gibbous Moon converge on August 11th and 12th for a close encounter in the constellation Sagittarius: sky map. It's a grand sight visible even from light-polluted cities.

For a while the beautiful Moon will interfere with the Perseids, lunar glare wiping out all but the brightest meteors. Yin-yang. The situation reverses itself at 2 am on Tuesday morning, August 12th, when the Moon sets and leaves behind a dark sky for the Perseids. The shower will surge into the darkness, peppering the sky with dozens and perhaps hundreds of meteors until dawn.

Above: The eastern sky viewed during the hours before sunrise on Tuesday, Aug. 12, 2008.

For maximum effect, "get away from city lights," Cooke advises. The brightest Perseids can be seen from cities, he allows, but the greater flurry of faint, delicate meteors is visible only from the countryside. (Scouts, this is a good time to go camping.)

Critters critters everywhere...

Our meat chickens and several of our other chickens are scheduled for the processor on August 15th. Just 2 days before we leave for Disney. I was just glad to get them in before we leave. I think it would be good for them to grow a week or two longer, but I didn't want anybody to have to care for them while we were gone. So they might be a bit on the small side, but we won't have to worry about them while we are gone.

We have 19 meat chickens and 6 misc other chickens that we are sending to the processor. Plus 5 turkeys. The turkeys will also be on the small side, but they'll be gone and we won't have to worry while we are gone on vacation. We'll only have about 12 chickens and 5 guineas for Lance's brother and SIL to care for while we are gone.

Ok, maybe less than that. I have to do a head count today. Something attacked them last night just before they went to roost. I'm not sure how many are missing as I couldn't find them all last night. The girls and I went out after dark and rescued the turkeys and several chickens from the girl's playhouse, where they decided to roost after the attack. We put them in the coop but we couldn't find several of our laying hens. I see them out there this morning, so it looks like most of them are ok. I figure whatever it was caught 4 or 5 of them altogether. There were feather piles in several places but it was dark and I could have missed something.

I sold our baby goat last week. A guy came to the door asking for a goat and I told him I had one baby and one doe. He said they were going to eat it so he wanted the baby (he was 3 months old and ready to wean. That's the age they like them for eating). Anyway, I sold him for $40. The guy wanted more so he went to the fair and bought 5 wethers that were a little larger. He said he'd sell me one of them if they didn't eat them all. I would like a companion for my milk goat now that her baby is gone.

We had to milk her for about a week since selling the baby. We just didn't want her to stop cold turkey and get mastitis or an infection. I'll check her today, but I think she's fine now. Lance milked her Monday night and she didn't have much, so she should be fine now. She gave me almost a quart the first two times I milked after the baby was gone. She is such a good milker, she'd give me a gallon per day if I'd milk twice per day. I just can't milk right now. We'd have to have somebody to milk her while we were at Disney and that isn't probable at all. PLUS I want a home pasteurizer before we start milking again and that costs $400. I could just put it on credit, as it really is an investment for us, but it's just not a good time for us right now. Hopefully I'll get one before next year when we start milking again.

The steers are holding their own out in the field. We still have the heifer but she's going to auction as soon as we can arrange it. She is just not nice to the other steers. We are also going to sell the other doe I have and get a companion for my milk goat. I don't like that doe with the horns, she's hard on Violet (my milk goat).

We brought home a kitten from my mom and dad's and he's doing well. He's adjusting to life on the farm and seems to like it here. Lilli had named it Boots, but now changed it to Smoky. I haven't seen him since we returned from GWL so I hope he's ok. ?

Our other Tom cat, Socks is doing well and hangs around all the time. He's a hambone and loves to cuddle against your legs when you walk.

RC and Biscuit are doing well. Biscuit just keeps getting bigger! He still tries biting your ankles when you walk outside but he is getting a bit better about it.

The big dogs are doing good but I think we may be selling them soon. They eat a lot since they are so big and we no longer have a goat herd for them to watch over. They need a home with a job. LOL. We have one goat in there with them and they all get along great. LOL

The turkeys continue to be the most entertaining critters. They are just so funny. They are almost as tall as Lauren so they love to run up to her and see what she has in her hands. They peck at her clothes and it makes her so mad. She hollers, "NO...NO BITE". LOL. This, of course, does nothing to deter them and really just calls the rest of them over to see what the fuss is about.

Poor Lauren also has to deal with Biscuit who is getting quite big now. He starts pulling on her her clothes and won't stop until one of us goes and rescues her. She gets so mad at that dog. I don't mean to laugh, but it's hard not too. He just wants to play and he thinks she is the perfect size. LOL

Lilli is enjoying the critters and loves her puppy and new kitten. She gets frustrated with Biscuit when he gets to pulling at her clothes and won't stop, but he really is getting a bit better about that...sort of. The kitten is quite lovable but has scratched her several times when she was holding it and it got spooked by one of the dogs.

I don't know what everybody pays for processing, but we go to an amish place in Indiana and they charge $1.25 per bird! That is so cheap that it is worth the drive down there. We drop off the night before and then pick up the following evening. It's worth the drive. The chickens come ready for the freezer. We do put them in individual bags, as they bag them 5 to a bag usually. They are clean and we have always been happy with them.

They charge $3 per turkey under 20 pounds and $5 per turkey over 20 pounds. I am sure our turkeys will be under 20 pounds. LOL. They don't even have all their adult colors yet.

I was going to keep one male and one female turkey but we decided to just process them all rather than try to keep them through the winter.

That about covers our critters lately. I'll be glad to have the meat chickens gone...they are getting to be a lot of work now that they are eating so much. LOL

Stupid pigs ate my chickens

I know the obvious...put them in the freezer. But, in this instance, that isn't the best answer, although I am seriously pondering learning the butchering trade right now! UGH!

Our new pigs, those pregnant sows we picked Saturday, they ate 2 of my laying hens. Didn't have a chance-- just attacked them and then proceeded to pull them apart like some warped game of tug-o-war or something.

Our chickens have their home in the barn, and a nice, fenced yard. I have 3, however, who are definitely roamers. If we clip their wings any further, they won't have but a bare bone frame over on that side, yet they still manage to climb that fence and roam the yard. They have a route...they ceck out the goats and puppies for a day or so, even roost in the puppy pen with them. No one has ever cared (athough those blasted puppies have enjoyed playing with the younger pullets....and have killed a handful of them as well).

But, the pigs...they are in the other side of the barn, along the outside pens. The chickens go through the horse lot there into the timber to wander. A couple ended up in the pigs confinement and well....tug-o-war time.

I can break those puppies of playing tag with my chickens, but what do you do with a pig who has a taste for chicken now? It rather worries me that the children don't typically think much of getting into the barn, and they help with the feeding and such. As far as I'm concerned, these are dangerous pigs. You know, around here, the standard was that when the Revenue men cam poking around and causing trouble, you just tossed them into the pig pen and let the hogs have them. Nothing left to dispose of.

Now I have pigs that have shown a very dangerous side to themselves. I'm not really interested in the additions to the freezer menu anymore, no matter how wonderful the other tastes.

The Mennobrarian

Thankful Thursday

Raspberry Cobbler

Homemade hamburg rolls..(Picture's)

Backyard Sustainable Agriculture

Daily Devotion 206

Freezer bread and butter zucchini chips

Zucchini pancakes Recipe..

2008 Perseid Meteor Showers are coming!

Critters critters everywhere...

Stupid pigs ate my chickens

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