lilith's dreams

A Gathering of Christmas Gift Ideas

In the past few years I've been making tea and coffee mixes, cookie and brownie mixes in jars, and lots of candy. You can do so much with the packaging to make the gifts really cute. My family members like gettng baskets filled with butter caramels, pralines. chocolate covered pretzels . . . Oh my goodness!! I can't wait for Christmas! I also like to make ornaments. When I was about 14 or so I got a pattern for a set of cross-stitched victorian ornaments and I think I've made a set every year since then. Of course they're always given away, but that's the fun part! This is my first visit to the front porch and I'm so glad I dropped by! My wheels are turning . . . gotta go make something!

Medicinal Herbs and Much, Much, More

Horizon Herbs has a huge listing of herb seeds and plants for sale.  So many it just about boggles my little mind.  It definitely makes me grab the wish list to add just a few more things to the ever growing list of new plants to grow. 

For the veggie garden they have the Hoedown Seed Collection, advertised as:

"Good Simple Food"
100% Certified Organic Vegetable Seeds
Germ-tested, fat and viable
Open-Pollinated (seed saver friendly)
Vacuum packed to last at least 3 years (store in fridge)
Easy to grow. 

If I hadn't already done my Fall planting, I would order this one! 

Herbs from A to Z, they have them all.   My birthday is ever so quickly approaching...guess what I'll be requesting this year!  Seeds, seeds, and more herb seeds.....

Blessings,

Catherine

Still Preserving

The kids are excited about the progress we are making on preserving.  They feel such ownership and pride in the hard work they have done this summer.  We still have a little ways to go – we are 85% of our needs for the year.  We have about 50% more to do to meet our goal of maintaining a surplus.  In numbers, we have completed 700 servings of fruits and vegetables and have 500 servings more to go.  We have completed half the pears and apples.  Still to do – the other half of pears and apples, peaches, tomatoes, peas, pumpkin, and spinach.  Peas and spinach did not do well in the spring garden, so we are trying them again this fall.

The children will be off school this week and probably on a minimum schedule – math and reading only for the following week.  We started early knowing that we would have a fall preserving break.  They have a long list of preserving to do every day to meet the last of our needs.  They are so proud of the fact that they are helping put food on the table.

I think we are all excited to take a break from the garden in another month or so.  As we head into October, our focus will shift to sewing – nightgowns are first on the priority list.  I hope this fall to spread my sewing wings and maybe make some shirts for the boys.  I also have a quilt to finish and the girls are planning to start one.  By then we will also need to make some more soap.

It is time to head to the forest and start collecting wild herbs, berries, and mushrooms.  We collect several medicinal herbs as well as elderberries for making cough medicine at this time of year.  Our favorite mushrooms to collect are chanterelles and we dry saute them and freeze them for the winter.

Our hope and prayer for the fall is a milk cow.  We know that in the fall people start getting rid of their animals for fair prices because they don’t want to feed them through the winter.  My husband is not so sure as he does not want to get stuck milking.  The girls are very excited to try milking.  We believe our milk goats are bred so we will start getting some milk this winter either way.  We believe the sow is bred also, so we’ll have Christmas pigs.

We transitioned to our new menu and have had very little to purchase from the grocery store.  We have stocked up on local honey that was collected by a friend on the property adjoining us.  We of course are purchasing wheat, oats, and rice.  I will at some point have to purchase baking supplies - baking powder, cinnamon, baking soda, salt, etc - but for now I am well stocked.  We are making all snack items from scratch.  This has gone lots smoother than I thought it would.  We have been making something almost every day.  We keep out what we need and put the rest in the freezer.  When we need it again, we take out what we need.  With snacks not just sitting in the cupboard, they are not just slowly disappearing.  LOL.

I hope you are enjoying the abundance of your homestead . . .

I am back, kind of, with stock info

Fall Fun

reposted from the archives:

Here's a little idea for some Fall Fun:

Plant bulbs for a springtime surprise!  Kids love to do this, so buy a few inexpensive packages of bulbs, and let them have fun planting them.  If you get "little things" like Crocus and Grape Hyacinth, they can be sprinkled throughout the lawn for a pretty carpet of color in the early Spring.  Rain Lilies are fun to plant for a little burst of color after a shower. 

On a more practical note, Fall is the time to plant garlic.  Though perhaps not quite as pretty as some of the other bulbs, they certainly do add flavor in the kitchen! 

One last thought on bulbs- plan ahead now for some bulbs you'd like to "force" to bloom indoors.  Those Amaryllis or Paperwhites will be a welcome sight in the dreary days of winter.

Blessings,

Catherine

Christmas Ideas

A busy time around here

Last I wrote we were getting ready to go crabbing with my folks.  We had such a nice time over there with Mom and Dad we went back the next weekend... 4 days the first weekend and 3 the second...just what my soul needed... we didnt do great the first weekend crabbing  we got enough to get a good taste... the second weekend we did better an brought quite a few home... we had a crab feed  Labor day for the whole family....

The sunday we got home the first weekend DH decided the beets needed to be picked...I wasnt quite ready but I made pickled beets that next day....

I went back to work on Sept. 2 I had to take a restraint training class, I learned lots of good ideas for helping to de escelate situations at school... on wens.. I spent most of the day helping get the room ready for the kiddos to come... and on Thurs was the first day of school...because its a combined 1st /kindergarten class just the 1st graders were there last week... they sure are cute... Tomorrow we will have everyone in class...I'm not sure what to expect...but should be interesting...

Right now I am listening to celtic music, I am going to take a few DVD's so we can play them during free choice hoping it will help keep the kiddos  a bit mellower.  Time to hang some clothes out... Have a great week.

Family Identity

Every night we share the most special time as a family – devotions.  We sit around the kitchen table and we read from the selection for the evening.  We are reading through the New Testament right now and are in Acts.  The children that are too young to read, repeat after Dad as he reads a scripture.  Then each family member who can read takes a turn.  We discuss the reading and then close with prayer.  Some nights we focus our prayer on our family, other times we rotate to pray for our church, friends, extended family, missionaries and other topics.  Occasionally we will also enjoy a time of signing before or after our devotion. 

The time we do devotions is 8:00 PM and it is a wonderful way to wind down the little ones before bed.  The children also get to practice sitting quietly, closing their eyes during prayer, and saying prayers.  As parents, this is a time as a family that we can offer spiritual direction but also correct our children’s behavior.  This is one of the ways we are establishing a family identity.

If you have followed my blog for long, you now that our six children are adopted.  We also have a niece that we are raising.  Our goal for our children is to be more influenced by our family than by others that may enter their lives.  Therefore, we want to create a strong family identity.  This is who we are. 

When my niece came to live with us, my 8 year old daughter told her, “we are a hard working family, we raise our own food, make our own clothes, we don’t watch television, we wear dresses, we go to church, this is just who we are.”  At 8 she already knows some of the core ideas of who we are as a family.  We have family sayings like, “Makaleas never quit!”  We have funny names that we refer to our family as, like the Makaneeta Monkeys. 

On this blog you read lots about what we accomplish on our homestead as a family.  This is all done as a family unit.  It is building our identity.  It is part of who we are and it connects us.  We don’t live this lifestyle just to have done it.  We live this lifestyle because it is a core belief that it enriches our family in so many ways. 

Granny Square Tutorial with Pictures

Alright my friends, I am going to attempt my first EVER sewing tutorial!   I told you that I was taught how to make a granny square while I was on my Ladies Retreat.  It was so much easier for me to learn from the ladies teaching than it was for me to look at a book and try.  The picture quality is not wonderful, I just saw some of the pictures I took last night, but hopefully you will get the hang of it as easily as I did and you will be turning out some beautiful squares as well!
If you are a Newbie to Crochet HERE is a site to help you with basic stitches, you will see me refer to several in this tutorial... Chain, Slip Stitch, Double Crochet.

Step 1: Chain 5
Cool, you got that! Alrighty we are on our way!

Step 2: You want to turn that chain into a round so you will go to the first chain and slip stitch...
Now we have our center, we will build on from there! Woohoo!

Step 3: Chain 3
Here we are building out from the center and we will begin making a larger circle to build on from here

Step 4: Two(2) Double Crochets and chain 1
Alright, here we are in process of making our circle, so what we are going to do is we are going to double crochet 2 times and then chain 1.  The chain will make the space we need to help us along in future steps...

Step 5: 3 Double Crochets and chain 1 (3 more times) slip stitch to complete the circle
Now we have a circle!! Yippee... but wait I told you we were making Granny Squares right?  Ok, bear with me we will get to the square in a minute.
So to make sure we are cool to this point, counting the first 3 chains as one DC (double crochet) you will have 4 sets of 3 double crochets with one chain in between.... clear as mud??

Step 6: Chain 3 and then double crochet 2, chain 1, double crochet 3 and chain 1 in the same hole
If you will look at your round you will see 3 double crochets and then a hole/space in between each set of 3.  This space is where you will go into to make your next layer or sets of 3.  Does this make sense... I am trying!
What you are doing now is building your edges... we can't make this granny square stay a circle any longer, we are going to put some corners on it!

Step 7: Look for next hole, double crochet 3 and chain 1~ 2 times in each hole.  (You will do this in each hole till you meet back up with your first set.  This will form your first square. Slip Stitch to complete the square and now you are ready to build on. 

Step 8: Chain 3, double crochet 2, chain 1
You will notice that there is now a hole between each of the four edges, you are going to do almost the same thing in each hole... meaning you don't want an edge you just want a set of 3 dc's to fill the hole.
So dc three times and chain one and move to your edge.

Step 9: Double Crochet 3 times, chain 1, Double Crochet 3 times, chain 1 in corner hole.
Again, you are making corners for this square, you should be catching on to a pattern if I have successfully portrayed this to you.  So in each of the corners you are making 3 dc's, chain 1, 3 dc's, chain 1.  Simple!

Step 10: Slip stitch to join the square together

Step 12: All the way baby... go all around just as I told you, come together again, slip stitch and tie off your end. 
The lady who taught me only does 4 layers, but of course you can do more if you like. 
Now you want a bunch of these... so get to it!
I don't have nearly as many as I would like to have had done by now, but remember I am teaching myself to hold the crochet needle/hook in the proper way, so I am SLOW JOE right now. 
Once you get several made you can do all kinds of things with them...
Make them into an afghan by stitching them together, make potholders out of them by putting several layers together on top of each other and stitching, use them as coasters, make a pillow cover, make your dd a doll blanket out of a few... whatever you like.
I hope you enjoyed and understood my attempt of spreading the knowledge that I received this past weekend.  If you see a mistake, feel free to email me or message me and I will change it, and now go get your yarn and your hook and go for it!  If I can do it YOU can do it!

With Love From My Homestead to Yours,
~Chas~
Chasity L. Burrell
Senior Editor Homesteadblogger
Heritage Acres Farm

Flavored Vinegars

I recieved these in my inbox today . They sound so fresh and inviting I wanted to share them.

Grandma Rosie

Blueberry Vinegar

3/4 cup fresh blueberries
white vinegar, to fill

Crush blueberries and put into half pint jar. Fill with white vinegar. Cover and
let stand in a cool place for 3 days.

Strain and fill bottle or leave in for a stronger flavor.

Makes: 1 half pint
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Chive Vinegar

chives, length of jar height or 1" lengths
1 lemon peel, 1" square
4 peppercorns
3 mustard seeds
white vinegar, to fill

Fill pint jar loosely with chives. Add lemon peel, peppercorns and mustard seeds.
Fill with vinegar. Cover.

Let stand in cool place for 4 weeks. Strain into pretty bottle. Two or three
lengths of chives can be left in botle for looks.

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Herb Vinegar

2 cups white cider or wine vinegar
1/2 cup chopped fresh herbs, basil, rosemary or tarragon thyme or oregano
3 to 4 whole garlic cloves, optional
1 fresh herb sprig per bottle, optional
1 whole red or green chili per bottle, optional

Place the vinegar in a non-aluminum saucepan and bring to a boil. Place the
chopped herbs in a clean, hot glass jar. Add the garlic. Pour the hot vinegar
over, cover and place in a cool, dark place for 5 days, stirring once a day.
Strain. Add the sprigs of fresh herbs and chili for a zestier taste and garnish.

Store in a cool, dark place for up to 2 months. Refrigerate for longer storage.

Makes: 2 cups
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 Italian Vinegar

2 sprigs fresh rosemary
2 sprigs fresh oregano
1 sprig fresh sage
2 sprigs fresh basil
1 garlic clove
1 tablespoon black peppercorns
1 pint white wine vinegar

Sterilize a glass bottle.

Insert spices in bottle. Add vinegar.

Let the mixture rest in a dark cabinet or closet for at least a month.

Makes: 2 cups
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Tarragon Vinegar

4 sprigs of tarragon, about 5 inches each
1 garlic clove, peeled
2 lemon peel, 1 inch square
2 black peppercorns
5 white vinegar, to fill

Fill pint jar carefully with tarragon, without bruising. Add garlic clove,lemon
peel and peppercorns.

Fill jar with vinegar. Cover. Let stand in a cool place for 4 weeks. Strain.

Return 1 sprig of tarragon to bottle for looks. Keeps at least 1 year.

Makes: 1 pint