Homesteading: A Woman's Journey

Making Home a Haven

I have been having alot of fun lately in our home.  It has been hard work, but I have been clearing out the unneeded/unwanted things in our home and reorganizing that which is being kept.  What a sense of accomplishment I feel at the end of the day as I look around and see the rooms gradually appearing more spacious as I work on them.  Some nights, I am completely exhausted when I go to bed, but it is a good exhaustion.  The kind that comes when you know that you have put in a good day's work.

Now, though I still have finishing touches to do on some rooms and still have yet to start on the last one, I am feeling free to start working at the decorating and arranging of the rooms.  Maximizing the space I have gained and bringing a warmth and welcome to the home.

I looked through my fabrics today and chose some to use to make my table linens.  I am also beginning to work on crocheting some dishcloths.  It feels so good to be able to sit down and work on these things, knowing that I am creating a kitchen items that will decorate our home.  I feel as though I am in many ways, preparing our home for Joe's return.  He works so hard and sacrifices much to support our family.  Creating a peaceful "haven" for him to come home to is a privilege and a joy. 

I am being very frugal in my decorating, using materials on hand to do it.  It is wonderful to beautify your home, but not at the expense of spending too much and putting a financial stress on the family!  I am so grateful to my father and grandma (dad's mother) for teaching me the importance of making due with what you have.  It helps me to honor Joe's sacrifices and hard work.  I can be a good steward of the income that he brings in.

Today, I went and got Abbie's goat milk and a gallon of raw cow's milk for myself.  I have been using the cow's milk for my on use and for any cooking that I do.  This saves the more expensive goat milk for Abbie, who is very lactose intolerant.  The cow's milk is very rich with cream.  Tomorrow, after the cream has had all night to rise to the surface, I will remove most of it to make some fresh butter.  I will then freeze the butter until Joe is home so that he can have the home churned butter also. 

Tomorrow, since I am working on laundry, I will be indoors doing alot of cooking.  Homemade vegetable soup, simmering on the stove, will be both a meal and the rest will be canned to place in the pantry.  I will also be making some vegetable pies.  These are similar to empanadas or the "hot pockets" that you buy in the store.  I found the recipe recently and loved it.  The breading part is very flavorful and stays soft.  The filling cna be anything that you want to use as long as it doesn't have so much juice or gravy as to cause the bottom crust to get soggy. I am going to use the crust recipe also to make little fruit pies, following the crust recipe & baking instructions.  The only change that I have made in the crust recipe is that I don't brush it with Olive Oil.  You can find the recipe on the Backwoods Home Magazine webpage at:  http://www.backwoodshome.com/articles2/salloum87.html .  Of the recipes that I have tried so far on that webpage,  my favorite is the Eggplant & Tomato one.  For those who love meat fillings, you can make your own recipe variations.  Some of the ideas that I have thought of are:  Pizza; Taco meat with cheese; Philly cheese steak; shredded pot roast with diced veggies & enough gravy to make slightly moist; Chicken pot pie filling; Broccoli & Cheese or a Chicken Divan filling; BBQ shredded beef or chicken with onions; and fajitas mixture.  If you try the recipe and come up with your own filling recipes, I would love to hear them!

Enjoy!