Finding My Way Home
They're Coming!
Can you see it? Way in the distance, between the tree and the flag. They are taking my beautiful corn! I can't see it either... but it's there. I can see it in real life. My beautiful front porch view will turn into stubble. It won't be long now...
Timber
This tree was in the middle of no where, doing nothing important. It only got in our way.
So, with our new used chainsaw, down it went.
I do NOT like that chainsaw. It's handy, yes. But, boy, is it scary! I used it one time, and I will never use it again. I watched. And pushed. And grimaced. And prepared to run. It came down the way we planned.
Hubby was proud.
His hands were sore for quite some time. He cut off all of the branches and we piled them up next to our shed to dry out for firewood. Gotta stock up for future wienie roasts.
Step 1
{ 12:28, Thursday, October 9, 2008 }
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Frugal Tip - Hang Dry
I had been wanting to hang my clothes out for a while, but never put up a clothesline. Well, my new house has a clothesline. And I have been putting it to good use. I must admit that my mom hangs up most of the clothes. But I do my share, and when she was in CA, I did it all by my self. I actually find it very relaxing. The younger kids can go out and get some fresh air, or they can stay in and I can get away from them for a few minutes. That's always nice.
They are either napping, or I put a video on to keep them in place and I make sure the older kids know to keep an ear out for them.So here is me hanging up the diapers.
My mom was hanging over the front porch trying to take this picture. I don't have many laundry baskets, so I grabbed a bag instead. It worked well. I didn't have to keep bending over to pick up more laundry. If I do use a basket, I will pick up a bunch and drape them over my shoulder. I have a bag for clothespins, but when that was broke, I clipped a bunch on my shirt so I had easy access.
I have found that on windy days, the clothes come out nice and soft. But if there is no wind, they come out rather starchy. To remedy that, I throw the clothes in the dryer on air dry for a time. The kids don't mind having stiff clothes, so I don't bother doing that to theirs.
I always thought that I didn't have time to hang up clothes, but like I said, I do enjoy it. Especially when the sun is shining. And I enjoy thinking about all the money I am saving on Propane.
Now, if only there was a way to enjoy putting away the clothes.... yuck...
Don't You Hate Surprises?
{ 07:46, Tuesday, October 7, 2008 }
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Today we are going apple picking. Tomorrow we will be preparing for.... well, you'll just have wait and find out!
Chainsaw
This is the third time I am trying to write this post. The first time, I hit the wrong button and everything disappeared. The second time I was interrupted by my cat chewing on something on my bed. I thought it was a hairball. Upon further inspection, I realized it was a baby mouse! I my bed! EEK! I'm not so sure about this country life anymore....Anyway, here are some pics of what we did with a chainsaw. I don't think I need to explain. Except I will say that we did it because we are lazy.
That trellis will go in the opening to make it look purty. (Don't you love where we keep the gas cans? Don't worry. They aren't there anymore. )
Frugal Tip - Laundry Soap
I was a laundry detergent snob. I only used Tide. It was the only thing that got my clothes clean. Until I discovered Borax. And then I could use cheap detergent. Borax is awesome!Although I could now use cheap detergent, I knew that making my own, would still be way cheaper. Especially since homemade detergent is made partly out of Borax. If I made my own, I wouldn't have to add the extra Borax.
So after months of the recipe sitting in my notebook, I finally took the plunge and made the detergent.
It was fun! Especially when you have a future homemaker helping you:
I doubled the recipe so I wouldn't have to make it again right away.
HERE is the recipe. Go try it. I dare you.
Don't be scared. It's really very easy. I found Fels Naptha and washing soda at my local grocery store. Walmart doesn't carry them.
Wienie Roast
For dinner on Saturday, I decided to have a wienie roast. It was a blast! We normally eat around 5, but due to pirate bugs, we had to wait until they went to bed before we could eat.
Our first wienie roast was at our neighbor's house. They had safe hotdog forks that were bent backwards so if you are a kid running with one you won't poke someone's eye out.
So when we went to Big R - which by the way is such a cool store - we of course had to pick some up. 
We built a fire in our driveway. Our driveway! I love the country. Except of course, for the bugs.
The secret to a perfectly roasted wiener is sticking it deep into the fire. It gets nice and black and oh so yummy.
Template Question
{ 03:36, Monday, September 29, 2008 }
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Anyone know how I can get my top picture to only be up there once? I mean, I like the picture and all, but one is good enough.
Frugal Tips Coming
I love saving money. Who doesn't? It has come fairly easy to me since I am a... um... I don't know the right word for it... scrooge? I used to love hearing about frugal tips until I realized, they were all the same tips, and I already did them. Like, don't wash laundry until you have a full load. Same with the dishwasher. Umm... with a large family, is it possible to have small loads?With hubby driving 3 hours, at least twice a week, I either have to get really frugal, or start selling children. I do have a lot of children... but, I don't really feel like going through nine months of... well... I've been getting creative and doing things that I swore I would never do.
I like the Grocery Cart Challenge blog. She feeds her family on $60 a week. While I am not willing to do some of the things she does, she is inspiring. (For one thing, I can't go to multiple stores to shop. There aren't multiple stores around!)
So, I hope to post here and there about the different things I do to save a buck or two. So, keep checking. I know you're excited! HA!
We're Trapped
Today's post is brought to you by the letter P - for pirate bug. And the number bazillion - for the amount of pirate bugs I have.Ever hear of a pirate bug? Have you ever been bitten by a tiny black bug and it HURT? That's a pirate bug. They are swarming out of the corn fields and attacking us. I can't wait for frost. Did I just say that? I did not just say that. Yes, I did. We are trapped inside! We were outside a few days ago, and we all ended up running back into the house yelling. Seriously. Today, we were able to stay outside. They only semi-attacked. But they were all over our screens. We had to close the windows of our house so they wouldn't get in. And now, as I sit here, they are coming to my computer screen. Help me...
History
We went to our neighbors house for a weeny roast. I had never been to one before, and now I want some sticks so we can have our own. And often. Weeny roasts are great! I love the country, outdoors, fire, and hotdogs. Put them all together and you have great memories.Anyway, that's not the point of this post. As we sat and chatted we got to hear some history of our house. The neighbors have lived there for some 30 or 40 years, so they knew a lot. And then, Jim's family have always been in the area so he really knows a lot. One of Jim's boys, now a grown man, was telling us that he used to be best friends with one of the boys who lived in our house. He told us a story of a big lean-to that they built. And he also mentioned a platform they built in a tree.
Yup, that's the platform. It's 20-some years old. Not in the best shape. Pretty rotted. But still there. Pretty cool, huh?
Book Giveaway
{ 01:47, Friday, September 5, 2008 }
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Over at A Pondering Heart, she is giving away the newest addition to the Kingdom Series. D read the first book and loved it. He keeps begging me to get the next one from the library. 
Click here, or on the button to go enter.
Sunset
I don't have a west facing house like I would love to have. In fact, I only have one window that faces the west, and it is all the way upstairs. But, I still get a beautiful view out of my front window:
Who knew that corn could hold the beautiful colors of a sunset?
As I opened the door to take this picture, a hawk flew out of the tree across the street. He is our resident hawk. I walked all over in my bare feet trying to get a picture of him to no avail. But I did get this picture:
I live there!
Cricket?
Any one know what this is?
I was sweeping out my garage of all the crickets and this was with them. I don't know if crickets have queens? The wings are so tiny. I also saw a big grub. Like the size of a cricket. Do crickets start out as big grubs? I can't seem to find any info on the internet.
The Bus Driver
One morning, a truck pulled into our driveway, and the guy who got out introduced himself as Don, our bus driver. He had heard that there were kids living in the house and he wondered why there were no new kids on his bus route. After we informed him we homeschooled, he let us know that was "fine". Umm... Thanks. We chatted with him for awhile. He asked hubby if he was still working up north and he said, "yes". And then hubby asked, "How did you know I was working up north?" To which he informed us that our neighbor, Don (is everyone named that around here?) let him know. That was quite interesting being that we've never even met him! Apparently, we are the talk of the town.
Oh, and another thing. The people who lived here before us weren't very well know. Even though they lived here for 12 years, when people find out where we live, they don't say, Don's place (yes another Don). They say the old Marty place.
Our Neighbor
{ 09:47, Monday, July 28, 2008 }
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Our neighbor has stopped by three times now. Just to chat. He and his wife are real nice. We have drive down to see them some time. Did you catch that? I said drive. We all have to pile in the car and drive to our neighbors! How great is that? His name is Jim and I keep wanting to call him Jim Nabors. His wife said she knows of a place to get fresh honey by the bucketful. She said all you have to do is freeze it, and it won't sugar. I've got a whole list of questions for her. I think I'll start with, "Just what is that strange creature?"
Ever See Amityville horror?
And that's only half of one window....
Sunset
{ 09:31, Monday, July 21, 2008 }
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We get some beautiful sunsets here. Tonight, D came running down stairs telling me I "have to see the sunset!" He has a great view from his bedroom and his bed even is faced right so that he can lay in bed a watch the sunset. I ran outside to "sunset corner" to get some pictures.
Strange Animal
We saw our first wildlife on our property.
You see it peaking? My mom was out hanging up the wash, when this thing just wonders out of the trees, past her, and into the hostas. She started baning on our window to get our attention. It then wandered out of the hostas and into the back of the property where the overgrowth is.
It had a gimp leg. Is it a really pathetic looking raccoon? Or is it something else? I can't tell.
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