NJH Homestead

My great find

I had to quickly share my wonderful find today. I don't know if many of you know, but I am a former hair dresser and salon owner, it all seems like a past lifetime now, but that was me a few years ago.

Since then, I no longer work in a salon, and quite honestly have no desire to ever go back to that, but having the knowledge I have from that job, I am able to do all of my family's hair, (not that it takes a special education to learn to do hair, but it does help). And boy, do I do a lot of hair. I cut all of my family's hair, hubby's and kids, but also my parents, siblings, in laws, cousins, friends, etc. I always do it for free, or for the cost of the materials, perm, color, etc, and always enjoy helping my family out.  Anyways I've always just pulled out a kitchen chair, which works, but always thought it would be nice to have my own barber chair for such things.

I would never run out and spend the money it costs to buy a barber chair, but today, I was at Goodwill and I found a really nice barber chair for only 7 dollars! It wasn't anything fancy, but it pumps up and down, and it looks nice enough to sit in a corner in my family room. I was so thrilled and my dad was so happy about it, that he gave me the money for it.

It's not something I have to have, but it's definately something that I will appreciate!

Blessings, sara

Busyness

I seem to remember once upon a time when I actually managed to put up a post on my blog at least once a day. Now, I'm lucky if I get on here more than once a week. But, I realize this is actually a good thing. I've found my priorities and although I enjoy my time on the internet chatting and reading, how am I ever going to put into practice all these wonderful things I've learned on here if don't get my fanny off the computer. lol.

So what has been going on? A lot of unpacking, cleaning, and decluttering, and most of all enjoying our new home. My two oldest children are spending the week on a mini vacation with my husband's parents, and although I've missed them so much, I've really put my extra time to good use. My youngest has been going down to my parent's house and having fun with her aunt jessi. I haven't had a lot of time to do fun stuff with her like her 15 year old aunt, and it's given me even more time to work. And since my parents only live 2 blocks away now, she can come back home whenever she's ready to.

So I spent all day yesterday and today going full force around the house, and what did I learn, I'm burning myself out. Between the heat, my ever growing belly, and the piles of work, by the time I got halfway through the day, I don't want to do anymore. So I've decided to pace myself just a bit more. I'm going to attempt to slide back into my flylady routine with a few modifications. It's what works for me, and for some reason, whenever we go through a change in routine for any length of time, I slip out of the flylady routine and get lost in the madness.

I really like the idea of routines, zone cleaning, 5 minute room rescues, and the old saying "you can do anything for 15 minutes". The emails that you get bombarded with never have helped but to sidetrack me, but having a control journal or a home management binder is what keeps me on track. So for the next few days I will be working on getting back on the flylady bandwagon and taking my time and doing my 15 minutes of work and zone cleaning.

We're nearly done with the kitchen, at least our part anyways. We still need to save up and have the new linoleum put down, but that may take a couple of months. We also are going to have an electrician put in a couple of new plugs and a plumber to come and plumb in our dishwasher, which will take a couple of weeks. Hubby is going to help me finish painting the cabinets, (just the top left), and do the final touch ups and decorate this weekend so I can start cooking our meals again. I've been cooking over the last few weeks, but because of the chaos, I've been having to do a lot of sandwiches and convenience foods and boxed meals. And I do so enjoy cooking from scratch. And I think my family is missing my cooking too, which always makes me feel good. 

Well, I'm off of here to go over my home management binder/control journal, and plan my day for tomorrow. My kids will be arriving home from their little vacation, and I can't wait!

Have a blessed weekend!

sara

Woo Hoo the Winters Wood is In!!

Tobin and I were both quite proud of the youngest three kids as they worked to help with this task. Jacob especially has really done a lot of maturing in the last year. He is a hard worker and knows how to put in a man’s days work, not a bad thing for a 14 year old to know. He is even sought after by the neighbor to do work for him. This year Jacob has learned to use a chainsaw (it is a smaller electric one).. he used it to cut up all the small pieces of wood that were brought in (and there was a LOT of them). He made a stand to hold the tree limbs in so he could easily cut them.  He also learned how to drive Tobin’s tractor and use it around the property to bring in wood, move piles of leaves and sticks and any other task Tobin needed his help with. He is proficient with mowers, weed wackers and a host of other tools. Just had to take a moment here and share with you about my boy   Here are some pics of him driving the tractor during one of the wood gathering days. Sierra and Jacob are also helping with the clean up of a tree that Tobin took down..

 

 

 

This was the first year he mentioned that maybe getting a log splitter in the future might be a good idea!

Winter may still be a ways off.. but it is great to know we can look forward to warm cozy days and evenings inside while the wind and rain and the snow do their thing outside! 

 

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.)

The Perseids are coming. Enjoy the show!

Click HERE to subscribe to the NASA Science email updates

Stupid pigs ate my chickens

Ok...what do you do with pigs that eat chicken?

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.

Simple Meal: Pinto Bean Tacos

I used ww organic tortillas and had a salad leftover from the night before for the greens, a small amount of cheese, a dollop of organic sour cream and some yummy fire roasted salsa. It was a delicious meal and no one minded eating the leftovers! 

Here is a picture of Emily’s taco.. she has to get creative with all her food! Haa.. haa! 

 

Making Kefir From Powdered Cultures

Kefir is a cultured milk product similar to yogurt only thinner and much easier to make and reculture. If you would like to know more specific information on kefir I have an article written by a friend of mine on my site to give you more info. You can read that HERE. It has all the wonderful qualities of yogurt with the good probiotics your body needs to stay healthy.

Kefir can be made in two ways. One is to purchase kefir grains (you can read more about this in the above mentioned article). You soak milk in the grains, strain the grains and put the grains back into a clean jar and fill with milk, let it sit on your counter overnight and the next morning it is ready. I have made kefir with grains in the past. There were a few things I did not care for. One was it was a lot of maintenance. Unless you stop making kefir you have to strain it out daily and that adds up to a lot of kefir to use every day. Also the longer I made it the stronger the taste became and my family was not too thrilled with it. So I purchased some powdered kefir cultures and made it and was so much happier with the results. This is the method I will show you how to make.

I like making kefir because it is so easy! It is much easier to make than yogurt. You don’t need a lot of equipment other than a large stainless steel pot, a thermometer and a few canning jars. I use 2 2-quart jars but you can use 4 1-quart jars if that is what you have.

Besides that you will need one gallon of milk (I use whole milk) and a package of powdered kefir culture. You can purchase your cultures online at Leeners http://www.leeners.com/cheesesupply.html#buttermilk . I have purchased cheese cultures and rennet, kefir cultures, yogurt starter, buttermilk starter and more from them many times. They are a GREAT company with excellent prices and I highly recommend them.

After your cultures arrive in the mail you can gather your needed items together and get ready to make kefir!  This pictures shows the jars with their lids (I buy plastic lids from Walmart or Azure Standard, they are made by Ball), a thermometer, the packet of culture and one gallon of milk.

Pour your gallon of milk into the stainless steel pot and put it on the stove.

Set your oven at medium high IF you will be watching the pot. If not you can set it on low and stir occasionally as it heats up. In any case stir now and again and check the temperature of the milk

As soon as it reaches 86 degrees remove the pot from the stove.   Open the packet of kefir cultures, sprinkle over the milk and stir until dissolved

Now it is time for pour the mixture into your canning jars. I like to use a canning funnel for this job. It is not absolutely necessary but helps keep the mess at a minimum.

Fill both jars to the top

Put the lid on them and let them sit out on the counter for 12 to 18 hours. I try and make this in the later afternoon and then just let it sit on the counter till morning.

When the time is up you can open the lid and there is your kefir! As you can see it is nice and thick.. but not as thick as yogurt. The consistency is more like thick buttermilk.

When you start to run out of kefir it is even easier to make more.

Fill a clean canning jar ¼ full of kefir. Pour milk to the top of the jar. Cover and leave out at room temperature for 12 to 18 hours. And that is it!!
 

Kefir can be used in place of milk or yogurt in smoothies. That is how I like to use it most often. I have used it also in place of buttermilk for baking. But my favorite use is in smoothies.

Here is a delicious and simple strawberry kefir smoothie recipe that is perfect for these warm summer days.

Strawberry Kefir Smoothie
Crystal Miller


1 heaping cup fresh strawberries (frozen will also work)
1 cup kefir
Honey to taste, optional

Gather your ingredients together

Put kefir and strawberries into your blender.

Turn your blender on high and mix until all is smooth (taste to see if you want to add a little honey for sweetener at this point).

Pour into a glass

Serve to your eager and appreciative family!  :)

And enjoy!


 

75 Cost Saving Tips....

Good Cheap Food

1. Buy raw ingredients instead of prepackaged foods. If you don’t know how to cook, learn. You’ll save on food bills, and your body will thank you for it in the long run.

2. Buy in bulk from a local health food store, or place bulk orders directly with mail-order companies. If you can’t meet their minimum order size, go in on an order with another family, or organize a larger food buying club.

3. Avoid the middleman and buy directly from farmers. Look for farm stands, community supported agriculture programs and farmers markets.

4. Eat fruits and vegetables in season, when they are least expensive. (Once, we found organic watermelon for three cents a pound!) Stock up when they’re cheap and freeze or can any excess for later use.

5. Keep up with what’s in your refrigerator and make sure nothing spoils. Once a week, make soup or casseroles to use up vegetables and other leftovers.

6. Calculate the price of food per pound when you visit supermarkets. Doing the math will help you spot good deals.

7. Don’t overeat. When you do, you’re flushing money down the drain.

How to Avoid Rent

8. Find a live-in elder care position and help someone stay out of a nursing home. There’s always someone desperate for reliable help, and often there are no qualifications needed other than compassion.

9. Help renovate a house in exchange for lodging. This is how we came into our current home.

For the rest of the article, click here....Mother Earth News

Piggies on The Homestead and other chat

We have a bred sow coming to the homestead tomorrow afternoon and I'm hardly ready for her.  She is due within the month, so we'll work on a suitable section of the barn for her, ready for piglets.  Hmmm....how many piglets might we have here soon?

Our Miss Kitty came up from the barn Tuesday to eat, as she usually does.  She weaned her Easter morning kittens a while back, and has been looking just this side of side-splitting the past couple of weeks, so we've been watching her to see when she might drop her newest litter of kittens.  Well, after her meal, she stretched out, lounging in the sunshine of the front steps, and all of a sudden one of the youngers came running in -- "Miss Kitty pooped on the porch".  Gee...nice.  Upon walking outside, the comment changed, though, to "Miss Kitty didn't poop poop...she pooped out a kitten" complete with lots of eeeewwwwws and a couple of awww, gross.

See the benefits of living on a homestead and homeschooling?  Yeah...neither did I.  I think we need some new lessons in how babies, baby kitties at least, are born. 

Either way, Miss Kitty seemed a bit caught off guard this time around.  This is her 3rd litter...first she had only 3 and none made it to 2 weeks old; then her latest batch, our Easter kittens, numbering 5.  This time, however, Miss Kitty was large enough for way way more....she had 8 total, losing one very tiny weak girl within an hour.  I think she's a bit over whelmed with so many.  She's a great momma, but she's just a bit weird about it all this time around.  She feeds them a short while, then comes out of her 'nesting area' and sits away from them for the longest time.  So far, everyone seems to be doing well, so we haven't intervened.  Guess I'd have been overwhelmed had all 9 of mine come together at once, too.

We will be starting to set up a table at the local Farm Market here, I'm thinking August 1st.  I spoke to the man who runs it and he has no problems at all with our selling baked goods and the like.  Our market is very small....only 3 or 4 set up weekly for the most part, but it's a place to wet our feet with all of this and see how it goes.  Truthfully, it won't take long for word to spread that "that Amish family with all the kids is selling baked goods" and we'll see if it's worth the time and such to get there.  They are open Wednesdays & Fridays, but we'll start with Fridays I think.  Well...with school starting, maybe Wednesdays would be better.  We plan to sell our loaf bread, maybe some quick breads, assorted cookies and some homemade jellies.  I'm not sure about pricing -- what do you think?  I know folks around here jump on homebaked goodies, and loaf bread seems to be a treat to many.  We thought with school starting, the cookies might go well for lunch box treats.  We printed a flyer up to take along as we won't have all these things with us each time unless things go really well...

Rug Making

I have been busy in my down time making a rug for my kitchen. I wanted one that matched the colors in my kitchen and one that would be comfortable to stand on while doing dishes. I bought a bit of fabric, mixed with some that I already had and tried out several methods of rugmaking. I started by trying to braid it, but the fabric I had was just too thin for braiding. I tried making a toothbrush rug, but I'm afraid it would have taken me too long, and I wanted to get it done pretty quickly.

So I finally settled on crocheting it. And it is working up quite quickly. I'm making an oval rug and will probably make it about a 2'x3' or a little larger. I'm only having a few minutes here and there to work on it, but I'm sure I'll have it done by week's end.

So I got to wondering, are there any of you who enjoy the past time of rug making? What are your favorite techniques? Favorite fabrics to work with?