Homesteading: A Woman's Journey

Homestead Update

It seems like it has been a while since I last posted an update on the happenings here so I thought I would go ahead and do that today.

My husband is loving his new job.  Doing landscaping and maintenance is not something he would have thought of doing before, but now that he has this job, he has found that he loves it.  He enjoys being outdoors and his job has him working outdoors doing tasks that are the same as what he does here at home.  The maintenance portion of the job is also enjoyable and is giving him experience in repairing things around the workplace and also the landscaping equipment.

The homestead is making changes.  It seems that each week, there is something new happening.  We now have a Hampshire ram.  He was born last February.  We also have chosen to not raise Dwarf Nubians as our milk goats.  After talking to others, we have decided that a much larger breed of goat would meet our needs much better.  Joe loves the Alpine goats, so we will be buying a couple of them hopefully next spring.

After several tries and twice having the garden flooded due to spring rains, our garden is finally producing vegetables.The beans are flowering, as are the squash.  I have more plants still growing that will give us harvests throughout the fall.  A long growing season is one of the benefits that we have here.  Our last frost occurs in late April and the first hard frost doesn't occur until late November most years, sometimes not until December.  I have started new seed for zucchini and yellow squash, brussel sprouts, and other varieties that will be transplanted in late August or early September.  Those will have just enough time to reach a harvest before the weather starts getting too cold.

We already have plans for next year's garden.  As with this year, the garden will be large in size and palnted in raised rows or mounds.  Raising the height of where the seeds are planted will prevent the seeds from being flooded during the spring rains.  I found a variety of corn that we will try growing for our livestock.  It also is great for cornmeal.  If it works out well, we will plant a larger amount in future years.  We don't expect to grow enough to feed our livestock throughout the winter, but will have enough to give them a good start and help in our feeding costs.

Abigail has a pair of new kittens.  A lady gave us the momma cat and a male & female kitten to have up at our stables as barn cats.  Momma is gone.  We suspect that a coyote may have got her when she was out hunting field mice.  The kittens are old enough that they have been able to eat dry feed for some time now.  They made their way up to the house and now have stayed close to it.  Each time Abigail goes outdoors to play, the kittens are with her.  Even our large orange tomcat hangs around Abigail.  She just seems to draw cats to her.  It is cute to watch as the cats follow her around as she plays.

Micah loves being outdoors also.  I can't wait for the summer heat to lessen a bit so that he can be outdoors more.  I always feel hesitant to take a young baby out in the extremely hot temperatures.  He is growing so fast.  I am looking for patterns to make him some new clothing.  At 3 months of age, he is nearly big enough for size 6 months!  I would love to find a pattern for a broadfall type style pant in infant/toddler sizes but so far have been unable to.  It seems that most pant patterns for infant/toddler boys are either a sweatpant style with the knit cuff at the ankle or a bib overalls style of shorts or pants.  If I don't find a pattern soon, I may just get a pair of pants from a thrift store to cut apart and make a pattern from.

I have been busy as of late.  In addition to caring for the family & home, I have been baking loaves of bread to sell.  Last week, a co-worker of Joe's asked if I would bake cookies for him to buy.  I had not considered baking cookies, but find that it is much easier and less time consuming.  To bake bread, I have to set aside at least 3 hours of my day - longer if I am baking to fill orders.  It is also a process that once started, I am committed to having to finish, no matter what comes up.  With the cookie baking, I will be able to mix the dough anytime, then bake as I have time to do so.  I am setting a side 2 days a week (Monday & Thursday) to bake the cookies.  Surplus cookies will not go to waste since Joe loves taking them to work to snack on.  I also have the option of making dough ahead of time and freezing it to be baked later.  I am enjoying the fact that if the kids are more clingy and wanting extra snuggling on a baking day, I can be more available to them by baking the cookies.  I always felt bad if I was in the middle of mixing & kneading the bread dough and the baby would cry.  Especially when Joe was at work and there was no one else around to pick Micah up to hold him.

We have found a new use for our old storm shelter.  It is a stone structure built in the yard on the north side of the house.  The shelter is below ground with a stonework dome shaped roof.  The shelter has been unsafe to use for many years.  It is full of water most of the spring & summer due to a high water table.  Each spring, the shelter has nearly 3 feet of water standing in it for several months.  By mid-summer, it finally is dried out.  Joe has been considering tearing the shelter down and had even got a start on it.  Yesterday though, he turned it into a burn bin.  Our burnable trash was piled into the shelter and Joe lit the paper on fire.  It was great!  The stone on the outside of the shelter stayed cool, even though a roaring fire was built in the shelter.  Joe then added alot of small tree limbs that were too small to save for firewood.  The best part is that we will be able to burn trash in there even during a burn ban as the fire has no way of escaping the shelter.  In the early spring when the shelter is full of water, we can burn the burnable trash in a burn barrel with a grate covering it to prevent anything from coming out of the barrel and possibly starting a fire on the ground.  A side benefit to his using the shelter as a burn pit is that it destroyed the wasp nests inside the burn pit.  Hopefully the wasps will relocate somewhere away from the house this time.

Angel & Cloe

Angel and Cloe are the first livestock that we got for our homestead.  Both were born in the late winter/early spring of last year.  Angel is our Hampshire ewe, Cloe is a Dwarf Nubian doe.  In the picture, they are enjoying one of hteir favorite treats - stale homemade bread.

When we got Cloe, Joe was still truck driving and was out on the truck for one of his 4-week long trips.  A woman who bred the Dwarf Nubians asked me if I wanted a couple of the does to raise as milk goats.  I ended bringing them home in the back seat of our family car since we don't have anything to haul livestock in.  What a trip!  I got thirsty on the way home (it was a 2 hour drive) and I went to the drive-up window of a Wendy's fast food shop to get a drink.  The girl at the first window where you pay for your order was shocked to see a pair of 2 month old goats in the back seat of a car.  By the time I got to the 2nd window where you pick up your order, there were about 5-6 employees all trying to get a look out the window to see Belle and Cloe.  Belle was a preemie and failed to thrive despite our best efforts and died within 2 weeks of getting her.  Cloe on the other hand has done beautifully.  She is a very friendly goat and loves to get lots of attention.  Typical of goats, she is highly social and loves to be around us or Angel.

Angel is a funny ewe.  We bought her from a neighbor who breeds registered Hampshire sheep.  She and Cloe have been companions from the beginning.  We got them about a week apart.  Unlike Cloe, Angel is content to be away from Cloe.  Sometimes, I think she longs to be away when Cloe is in a playful mood and head bumps Angel.  They used to play alot together when they were young.  Now that Angel out-weighs Cloe and is much larger, Cloe has learned that it hurts when she head-bumps Angel in the head.

Both of them are grass-fed and receive only the occassional supplementing with grain.  In the winter when grazing is scarce, they are fed hay and grain.  This gives them the slimmer appearance.  Grain fed animals put on weight much faster than animals that are solely grazed.  The meat from grass-fed animals however is extremely lean, which is our goal with our sheep.

This spring, we got a young Hampshire ram for Angel.  He is only slightly shorter than Angel in height right now.  Full-grown, Angel weighs about 150 lbs. and Midas (the ram) will weigh about 250 lbs.  With luck, we will have our first lambs in the spring. 

We are having to find a new home for Cloe.  Next spring, we are wanting to get a pair of Alpine goats.  They Alpines are a large breed that is more than double the size of Cloe.  The does give much larger quantities of milk than Cloe would give and the milk is a very creamy quality.  Having 2 little ones, we would have to milk several goats like Cloe to get the quantity we would need each day.  Given the size difference of Cloe verses an Alpine, we can't risk the buck getting to Cloe and trying to breed.  It may not happen, but we can't take the risk.  If the breeding didn't badly injure Cloe, the pregnancy would kill her due to the size differences of the two breeds.  It will be odd not having Cloe around.  She is such a funny little doe.  We just can't take the chase of her being harmed by a larger breed buck.

Decluttering & Freecycle Weekend

Home Pantry: Lessons learned in an ice storm

I have had a pantry/root cellar all my life.  Growing up, we canned our vegetables each summer and made jams, jellies, and pie fillings from the fruits.  We also had 2 freezers, one for meats and the other for fruits and other items that we not canned. 

 Because of the way I cook everything from scratch, we shop at a grocery store about 35 miles from home.  There is a store closer, but it does not carry everything that we need.  We also buy from a health food store that is located 75 miles from home.    Because of the distance the stores are from us, we do the bulk of our shopping once a month.  I drive out to the health food store and buy enough for 2 or more months.  On the way home, I stop at the grocery store and buy everything else we will need for the month. As money is available, I buy extra of the staple items to build up the pantry.

 Each winter that I have been here in Oklahoma, we have had a major ice storm that made travel very difficult for a period of time.  One year, we were unable to get our car out of the drive for 6 weeks.  Thank the Lord, we had a good pantry and neighbors who had 4-wheel drive vehicles that could pick up what we didn’t have on hand when they went to town. For the most part, we were well prepared, but there is always room for improvement.

 I learned a lot during that winter.  Lessons that I now use to be better prepared.  Each spring, I begin the process of building up the pantry for the next winter.  I plan to purchase pantry storage items each shopping trip.  Once we are getting fresh vegetables from the garden, I am able to use that part of my grocery budget also to stock the pantry.  One of the things that I now store is powdered milk.  Not only can I use it in my cooking & baking, it is great to have on hand for our daughter just in case we run out of milk & can’t get to a store.  Likewise, I have extra cans of baby formula for our infant son. 

 It is also wise during the summer months to stock up on things like charcoal for a grill.  During a power outage, if you have an electric stove the charcoal grill may be your only means of cooking.  If your grill is propane, you may want to try and store an extra tank of propane for the grill for emergencies.

 Something that many people never consider when setting up their pantry is to have a section for non-food items.  Unless your family uses the flannel family wipes, you will find storing toilet paper very important if you get snowed in!  Likewise, you will want to store feminine products and extra packages of baby diapers/training pants if you don’t use the cloth versions.  Other non-food items would include soap, shampoo, toothpaste, toothbrushes, mouthwash, deodorant, laundry products, dish soap, candles or oil lamps, oil for the lamps, matches, extra batteries for flashlights, and bleach or water purification tablets.  Aluminum foil is essential if you plan to use a grill as your emergency back-up cooking method.  You can use it not only to line the grill, but for making the foil pouch dinners.  Foil can also be used to make a makeshift solar oven.

 If you have never stocked a pantry, some quick tips to keep in mind.  Only store what you know that you will use.  On the Internet, you can find lots of websites that have food storage calculators that will tell you how many pounds of wheat & other grains you will need per person.  If you don’t cook with the grains, nor have the means to mill them, storing the grains would be a waste of money & storage space.  A very simple way to start your pantry is to save your grocery receipts for 1 month.  Make a list of everything purchased and record the quantity of each item you purchased through the month.  This will give you a starting point.  Many people do not immediately consider their cooking styles when planning their pantry, only to be frustrated when an emergency happens.  If you mill a lot of grain for flour, cracked grain cereals, etc., consider having a small non-electric grain mill that you can use if there is a power outage.  One lesson that I learned the hard way was that while having an electric grain mill was a blessing most of the time, it was useless during a power outage.  Another common mistake that I have often seen made is people who store a lot of store-bought canned goods and only have an electric can opener.

 First aid supplies are vital in any home storage.  If there is a severe storm such as tornado or other natural disaster, the first aid kit will be essential.  One great way to store it is in a large fishing tackle box.  You can use the sections in the box to keep various items in an organized, easy to locate manner.  Be sure that you check the kit every 6 months to note expiration dates and restock anything that has been used from the kit.  If anyone in the family is on prescription medication, you should always have extras in the kit.  Keep a close watch on the expiration dates. 

 If you have family pets that require special feeds, you will want to store up a supply of that also.  While most animals can live on people food for a short time, you don’t want to have them eating it too long.  A medium to large sized dog will eat through your food supply rather quickly, for example.

 One family that we visited when I was a child had a great system for rotating their food storage.  They turned their garage into the storage area.  In the garage, they had metal freestanding shelves that were far enough away from the wall that a person could step behind it.  When they put away new supplies, they brought all the stems on the shelves forward, and then stocked the shelves from the back.  They also had some custom built shelving for the store bought canned goods.  The shelves had just enough space between them to allow 1 inch above the cans when laid down on their side.  The front of the shelving was ½ inch lower than the back and had a small strip of wood across it to prevent the cans from rolling off the shelves.  They stocked these shelves also from the back.  They used labels on the back at each opening to identify what product went in each slot. 

 I find it important to keep a written inventory of the pantry.  List each item you plan to store, the amount you will need for 6 months or a year depending on your intentions, and the amount you currently have on hand.  This makes your shopping list so much easier to plan.  It also helps you in not over or under buying pantry supplies.

Thanks & an update

I first want to thank everyone who contacted me and left comments with ideas for helping to soften the clothing dried on the clothesline.  I will give the ideas a try and see what difference they make.

I decided that because I need to make new diapers for Micah, I will make them with line drying in mind.  I am making covers with a flannel lining in them.  I am also going to make prefold diapers large enough that he will be able to use them for quite a while.  This will allow for fast drying on the line.  This winter, I will set up a drying rack near the wood stove to dry diapers overnight.  If I do end up having to run the prefolds in the dryer for a couple of minutes to soften them for him, that will be fine.  The main purpose of cutting back on the dryer usage will still be achieved.  The dryer is also a benefit in the winter as it helps to heat teh back of the house.  If I can find a soft fabric to use in his diapers that will dry on the line and still remain soft, I will let you know as this may be useful for others to know also.  I am going to take advantage of the windy days and try to do whatever laundry we have on those days. 

Friday night I was up late, until nearly 1:30am, getting the food ready for the weekend.  Friends are coming for a BBQ today and I needed to bake bread & some burger buns.  I ended up making cinnamon swirl bread to have with our breakfast.  Abbie loved the bread.  She kept walking around and showing it to us in between bites.  She seemed especially fond on the spots where there are abit more brown sugar & cinnamon.  I may start making this bread more often.  I am thinking that I may start my baking before dawn now that the days are getting so warm.  

On Saturday, the BBQ went very well.  We had a lovely visit with our friends, Kyle & Christee.  They brought us 2 A/C units that they no longer needed.  They had already replaced these with new ones.  Kyle and Joe put one in the front room and the other in the kitchen.  What a blessing!  They are keeping the house so much cooler.  Micah is doing much better now as he was having alot of problems with the heat.

While Kyle & Christee was here, our neighbor and his sons brought over a young ram for our ewe, Angel.  We had bought Angel from Mr. Maples last spring when she wa a couple of months old.  We had thought to have her go to "visit" one of his rams in the fall for breeding.  He had alot of new rams born this year, so he called and offered to sell us one of them.  They picked out the best one for us.  He breeds registered Hampshire sheep that his sons take to the livestock shows.  We have no plans of showing the sheep we have.  Ours are strictly for meat.  Next spring, I would like to get one more ewe lamb from him.  We will then have 1 ram and 2 ewes for breeding.  We want enough ewes to allow us to control the frequency of breeding as much as possible.  The lambs that we get from the ewes will be butchered in the fall/winter to provide meat for our family.

Our dwarf nubian goat, Cloe, who runs with Angel has been playing with the ram.  She bangs her head up against his and chases him around as she used to do with Angel before Angel reached full size.  Right now, the ram is slightly taller and much heavier than Cloe.  It won't take long for him to play too rough for Cloe and she will settled back down again.

Today has been a quiet & restful day for us.  We had planned to go have a family picnic at a park next door to where Joe works.  His boss is giving him all the scrap pallets, wood, and tree prunings to bring home for use in our wood stoves and some mulch material they have no need of.  We all ended up sleeping in this morning so we stayed home.  While the kids are taking their naps, Joe is out picking up a load of the wood & mulch to bring home. 

I am starting more seeds in little planters.  I hope to get a good start with them for my fall garden. Our current garden is very water-logged at this time.  We had alot of rain 2 nights ago.  Luckily, the plantings were done in raised rows which will prevent the plant roots from being too wet.  The garden is gaining alot of weeds starting to pop up.   With the ground so wet, it should make it easier to weed through the garden.  We have some weed barrier plastic to put down in the garden again.  Between the weed barrier and the mulch, we should be able to get the garden set up for little to no weeding.

Among the wood scraps Joe is bringing home, there are pallets and other pieces that are serviceable enough to be recycled and used for building our chicken coop and chicken tractor.  I am sure as time goes on, we will find alot more uses for them.

We are beginning to set our goals for next spring.  It is funny how in homesteading or farming, you have to set your seasonal goals a year in advance!  We are planning to add to our livestock next spring.  As mentioned before, I am wanting to get a 2nd ewe so we can stagger the breeding between the 2 ewes and hopefully prevent over breeding 1 ewe.  We are going to get the coop & chicken tractor ready this summer so that we can buy new chickens, guineas, and possibly turkeys next spring.  Another addition will (hopefully) be a pair of Border Collies.  Since we are planning to turn our homestead into sheep & goat farm, having the border collies will be a great asset.  Joe will train them to help in herding the animals.  We will have a pair so that we an also breed them. 

One of the primary goals, besides being able to support our family's needs through the homesteading, has always been to get ourselves set up in such a way as to be able to help others who are just getting started.  We have been greatly blessed by the Lord through the generosity of others who have given to us or have sold at a discount to us livestock to get our homestead started.  We would like to be in position to do the same for others just starting out.  As we gain knowledge in how to do things more simply and self-sufficiently, we hope to be able to share that information to teach others how to do it for themselves. Each season, I am seeing us becoming closer to reaching that goal.  There is so much yet to learn and do before we will be in a position to truly help others as we desire to do.  By and by it will happen though.

Long Overdue Update

Hello to all.  I apologise for all the long delay in any updates to my blog.  Last September, we had a lightning storm during the night.  A lightning strike near the house burned up our computer's power supply and motherboard, so we have been without a computer for 5 months.  Today is the first day we have had internet access again.

Things are going well.  Abigail is nearly 2 yrs old now.  Her birthday is 2 weeks before the baby's due date.  She is such a precious blessing.  Very chatty and curious about everything around her.  She has taken alot of interest in my growing stomach and pats my belly to get the baby to kick.

The pregnancy has been abit eventful.  Last October, I had to go to the ER because of contractions. I was told to take it easy and was not allowed to drive unless absolutely necessary.  Then, in late January, I was at the ER again with contractions.  That time the contractions lasted a total of 17.5 hours before they finally stopped.  The doctor says that my stomach is very sensitive to my activity level and I should avoid any activity that sets the contractions into motion.  Luckily, I have only 6 weeks to go yet before the due date.

The ultrasound last Tuesday shows that we are having a baby boy.  We are so thrilled!  We would have loved another girl, who would have made a good playmate for Abbie.  Having a boy however is also a joy in that this will likely be our last baby.

Our homestead is coming along and we have alot of changes that will be taking place over the coming year.  I will post more about them in a later blog.

God Bless.

Cooler Days......at last

I enjoy summer, but the heat is something that I have always struggled with.  What a blessing that the past couple of days have been cooler temps!  I have ben able to do without the air conditioner in the bedrooms for 2 days now.  Just using the fans have provided plently of cool air.

Today, I am making more laundry soap.  I still have to buy the Arm & Hammer type soap for Abigail's cloth diapers.  I found that using other soap gave her a diaper rash.  Poor girl had a bad rash for the first time in months.  The last time she had it was with a cheap brand of disposible diapers that I had bought to wear on her until I could get more cloth diapers after she had out-grown her other ones. 

With the cooler days arriving, I am working on the beginnings of the fall preparations for winter.  When Joe is home, he is going to be moving the heavier things from the front porch so that we can prepare it for storing our winter firewood supply.  Last year, the ice storm got the firewood wet and made it difficult to keep the house warm.  The front porch wraps around part of the south side of the house.  We are putting up tarps on that side to prevent the firewood from getting wet.  On the smaller porch behind the kitchen on the north side of the house, we will place wood pallets & make a box-type frame to store the kitchen cookstove's wood in.  It will make it more convenient for me and give more space to store the wood.  The wood boxes will be covered in tarps also.

I have been taking down the drapes and cleaning them.  I am also preparing the windows for putting up window quilts.  These will help tremendously in keeping the house warmer.  We already have the blankets up in the doorways as they have helped to keep the main areas of the house cooler. 

It is amazing how many times the topic of holiday preparations has come up already.   I am so grateful that we don't get all caught up in the insanity of holiday excess.  Joe and I do believe in celebrating Christmas, but we keep the celebration focused on the birth of our Lord.   We usually have just a couple of gifts, mostly homemade.  We have the holiday decorations, but most are Nativity themed.  Last month, I found a pretty printed panel of pieces to make a Nativity set.  The manger & stable are made like a little quilt, with batting inside to help them to stand up when put together.  The figures are all made like little stuffed dolls.  It is great for little hands to play with!  I have been wanting a Nativity set for Abigail.  This one will work beautifully.  As we read her stories about the birth of our Lord, she can play with the set. 

I am working right now to start getting my autumn linens made.  I bought fabric last year when it went on clearance and have been saving it until now.  I am making quilted placemats with coordinating cloth napkins.  I have found a cute little wall quilt to make & hang up.  It is a turkey.  The pattern is at:  http://craftandfabriclinks.com .  In their quilting area, they have many other great ideas for the holidays.   Another favorite website for quilting is:  http://www.quilterscache.com .  Quilters Cache has both patterns that you can purchase and a database of well over 1000 free quilt block patterns.  You can find free patterns by searching either the quilt block size or alphabetically.  It is amazing the variety that she has put onto that site.  The website also has tutorials available that you can print out.   One of the quick items that you can make from these blocks is to choose one block pattern and make it into a potholder.  You can take the smaller blocks and put together 6 of them to make a nice quilted placemat.

I hope that you all are enjoying your Labor Day holiday and the beginnings of autumn.

Red Wasps

I think they are in for the long battle.  The wasps have had a large nest in the attic crawl space for years.  We have used foggers and just about everything we can think of to rid ourselves of these pests.  Thank heavens, they don't get into the house except on the rare occassion.

There is one nest under the eaves in the front of the house.  We have sprayed it often.  Each time, some of the wasps are killed but not all.  We managed to rid ourselves of all the bluish-black wasps.  These red ones, however, are a real pain..........literally.

Three days ago, I was coming home from running a couple of errands and parked in front of the house as I always do.  There were a couple of red wasps buzzing around, but being used to seeing them around, I thought nothing of it.  I opened the passenger side door to take Abbie from her carseat.  As I started to unhook the clasps, I felt a quick, sharp burning pain.  Instantly, my arm felt as though it was on fire.  Sure enough, one of the red wasps had chosen to land on my arm & sting me without provocation.

When I was a child, I was highly allergic to insect bites & stings.  Many times, I would have to go to the ER after a sting to receive antibiotic shots.   I got back into the truck & drove to a neighbor's home just incase I had a bad reaction to the sting.  They treated it with Benadryl gel, which took out the sting.  The area swelled up and was bright red & painful.  After I was sure that I wasn't going to have a reaction that would need a hospital visit, I went to my in-laws' home for awhile.  I wanted to wait until the sun was going down so the wasps would no longer be active.

Today, I still have alot of swelling & pain, but the redness is going away.  Joe's Mom says that it takes a week or so for a wasp sting to heal.  I have been taking Benadryl and Tylenol to control the pain & itching.  Also using Benadryl gel on the affected area.  Poor Joe.  He has already said that had he been home, I would have gone to the hospital right away.  The area is healing very slowly, but it is healing.

On a happier note, Abbie had her usual "Wednesday at Grandma & Grandpa's house" today.  While there, when no one looked like they were paying attention, she took 8 steps without holding onto anything!!!!  Major event!!!!  She is getting more and more brave.  I am really excited over this as Joe is due to get home on Friday.  He will be home for 7 days this time since he was out on the truck for 5 weeks.   With Abbie getting this brave about walking, she is sure to do it while her Daddy is home.

Today, we were very blessed also.  On a local AM radio show called "Tradio", people call in to mention items that they have for sale or are looking for.  It is kindof like a classified ads, but on the radio instead of in the paper.   When I was at Mom & Dad's, Dad heard a guy call in with a great deal.  He was selling 300 lbs. of chicken feed, poultry feeders and waterers for $50.  Dad told me about it and I happened to have the extra cash in my wallet to pay for it.  I called him right away and was able to go to his home to pick up the stuff.  I am amazed!  I have 2 drums (50 gallon each) with the grain in them.  I also got 4 waterers (just one costs $35 new), and 4-5 of the large feeders.  In talking with him, he asked if we were going to have chicks.  When I said that we would be having some, he also gave us 8 of the long chick feeders.  In all, the supplies and feed would have cost us about $250-$300 if I bought it new.   I have enough feed for the poultry to last us for several months.  The 300 lbs. of grain alone would have cost me $48 at the feed store, if I bought the cheap stuff.  This feed is a mixture of cracked corn and a premium quality scratch feed.

What a blessing!  I am so grateful to the Lord for making this available to us and also for having the money needed to get it.  The Lord has helped us so much in our lives.  He continually showers blessings on us.  Many times, the blessings may not be easily recognised.  The blessings are always there though.  Blessings of opportunities to stretch and grow in our faith.  Blessings of health.  Blessings of family & friends.  And the greatest blessing of all..........the blessing of His unchanging LOVE for each of us.

Tuesday Update

Today is overcast after last night's rains.  We may be getting more later on.  This morning, Mom & Dad stopped by so that Dad could unload the feed and shelves off the pickup truck for me.  Mom helped me with the animals.  I am so blessed to have them stopping by & I appreciate their help alot.  They asked if there was anything else that I needed done, but I let them know that what they are doing already - helping with the animals and such - is the main thing I can use help with.

It is hard to believe, but even though I have lost 7 pounds, I am showing already.  Mom noticed it the other day when I took Abbie to their house to play in their pool.  I still had alittle bit of the belly left from when I had Abbie, but not this much of it!  Joe gets home the end of this week.  It will be fun to see his reaction as he always seemed to enjoy seeing my pregnant belly with Abbie.  I was showing early with her also, needing maternity clothes by the beginning of my 3rd month.  This time, I am needing them about a month earlier.  With Abbie, I carried her totally out in the front, looking like a fully popped Jiffy Pop.  LOL

I am canning nearly every day now.  Lots of squash.  Also making meals to can both for Joe to have on the truck but also for Abbie and I.  There are alot of times when the morning sickness is bad enough that I can't stand being around food that is cooking.  Those are the times when having the home canned meals will be helpful.  Also, I am building up a stock of meals so that when winter comes along, we will have plenty in the pantry.  December and January are tough months in the trucking industry as there are not as many good long runs.  So, I want to have as much as possible stocked for when that time comes around. 

Today, I am washing fabric that I am using for quilts and a new sunbonnet for Abbie.  I am finishing up a little outfit for her to wear when we pick up Joe from the terminal.  I am also finishing up a shawl that I am making for an exchange, in between loading & unloading the canner.  Once the pressure canning is finished, I will do some jelly.

This is such a blessed time of year.  Going out to the garden each day and seeing what vegetables are ready to be picked.  Yesterday, I found an eggplant that is about the size of a tennis ball.  My first!  I can't wait until the other ones are developing and growing.  I love eggplant and eat 1-2 of them each week.  This year, growing them has been a bit of an experiment as I have not grown them here before.  Next year, I will plant alot more of them.

I have my pumpkins planted.  I can't wait to have them growing & producing.  Planting them this time of year is another experiment.  According to the OK Cooperative Extension Service, they can be grown from seed this late in the summer.  So, if that is true, we should have fresh picked pumpkin to use for our pies this Thanksgiving.  I plan on canning alot of pie fillings of various types this year.  Pumpkin, Mince Meat, Apple, and whatever else that I can find at a good price.

Finally done!!!

Well, it is finally done!  After weeks of decluttering the house, it is finished now.  Yesterday, a guy came by and got a washing machine & 3 twin beds that we didn't need.  Just removing those things alone emptied out alot of space in the storage room.  There are still things in there that Joe will need to sort through with me.  Things that he may want to keep.  The house looks so much better.  Lots more room for Abbie to play and less for her to get into!  It has been such a blessing and so freeing.  The only things remaining in the home are the actual things we use and need. 

It is surprising how much stuff people can accumulate, thinking that they need the items or need to hang on to them.  Not realising that you don't really have to "have it all".  I usually go by a general rule:  Unless it is a seasonal item, such as winter clothing, if it isn't needed in 6 months, then you don't really need to keep it.  Seasonal items also get sorted through as their usefulness changes over time.

Now, as I look around the house, instead of seeing the clutter and feeling over-whelmed, I feel at peace.   I am the type of person who just doesn't function well in clutter.  I can handle the little things like  afew toys laid about, but a lack of organization and order in the home just sets me on edge.

I am thinking ahead.  With the house organized and easy to maintain, I will have alot more time to spend playing with Abbie and also for other pleasant activities.  Now, when Abbie is napping, I am able to sew or crochet.  I am building up a supply of headcoverings and other items that I am going to be selling.  Also some items that I am exchanging in swaps.

I love participating in exchanges with other Sisters.  Having the house organized is making it easier to find time to work on them.  This is such a blessing as I find alot of relaxation in creating new things through sewing & crochet.

There is much to be gained through the pursuit of a simple life.  The greatest of them being peace in your heart & the precious increase in time to devote to your family.

Trying Something New

Today, I am doing something new.  I am using some homemade laundry soap.  When I was at the store recently, I saw the price of laundry soap and just couldn't bring myself to buy it.  I just can't bring myself to pay nearly $12 for a large bottle of liquid laundry detergent.

So, I thought about the recipe that I saw on Quiverfull's, a fellow blogger here, website (http://www.thefamilyhomestead.com).  The recipe is extremely easy to make.  I am thrilled with the results also.  I really doubt that you can make a mistake in making it.  Her directions are very detailed and eaasy to follow.

Today, I am using the laundry soap.  I didn't have any essential oil on hand, so I haven't scented the soap.  I happen to have some dryer sheets, so that is the only scent they will have.  As for the soap getting the laundry clean, it works great.  It takes getting used to not having alot of suds in the washer, but that is a blessing too as you don't have to worry about getting all the soap suds rinsed out of the clothing.

I will be using this recipe from now on.  The recipe's ingredients for one batch (2 gallons) cost less than a dollar.  I have enough Washing Soda & Borax powder left over to make nearly a year's supply of this soap!  I also am thrilled to know exactly what is in the soap.  Seeing the ingredients used, I will be able to use it on baby clothing without concern of the soap being too harsh on the baby's skin.

Check out her website.  She has alot of great ideas and recipes for homemade cleaners.

By the way, once I get some essential oil, I will be making my own dryer sachets.  Using a large round cookie cutter or wide mouth canning ring for a template, cut out 2-3 cicles of fabric.  To prevent fraying, you can either stitch the edge or cut them out with pinking shears.  Next, using a good, heavy thread or DMC floss stitch a basting stitch about 1/2 inch from the edge.  Place a couple of cotton balls into the center and draw the thread to gather up the fabric around the cotton balls.  Secure the thread.  I usually take a couple of stitches, then tightly wrap the thread around the gather a couple of time, then take another stitch to secure, then tie the knot off.  Place a couple of drops of essential oil onto the sachet and let dry.  If you place of these into the dryer with your laundry, the scent of the essential oil will be left on your clothing.

Enjoy!

Finally.....the sun

We are finally having sunny days.  What a blessing!  While we have enjoyed having the much needed rain to bring us out of our drought, it has also brought alot of flooding and other problems. 

I lost quite alot of my garden over the past weeks of rain.  Seeds planted in my fall garden were drowned and many plants in my summer garden struggled with the excess water.  I do have a few varieties that are doing well though, so I am blessed to have them.  Ironically, the plants that survived are the same ones that would be pricey to purchase at the store.  The cheaper veggies are the ones that we lost.

I am already planning out next year's gardens.  Now that I have seen how well this weed barrier sheeting is (no weeds at all, even with all the rains), I plan to triple the size of the garden next year.  I will be planting some of the varieties in boxes, the rest will be in the traditional rows.  I love the main garden plot that I have right now.  The young adults from our church had come to our home last fall and helped us with clearing alot of brush and other outdoor work.  One of the projects that they did was to build a fenced garden area for me to prevent the armadillos & rabbits from getting in there and damaging my garden as the critters had done the previous season.  They cemented small posts into the ground and then wrapped poultry fencing up & over the posts to form the fencing sides.  It is about 1.5 ft. tall and provided just enough protection to keep the critters out.  Joe and I laid out the weed barrier sheeting after tilling the soil.  The weeds never grew!  What a blessing it has been!  The only caution is that we had to mulch around the plants to prevent the sun's heat from burning the roots. 

Next year, I will have at least 3 large garden areas.  One will be nothing but the varieties that need alot of space - squash, cucumbers, pumpkin, melons, etc.  A second area will be the things that need to be on a trellis or fence and the bush-type plants - tomatoes, beans, peas, eggplant, etc.  The third garden area will be all the root crops - potatoes, sweet potatoes, onions, garlic, beets, etc.  There will also be a separate herb garden.  I learned this year that with all the rain, I need to plant the seeds indoors and transplant eveyrthing.  Only exception being the root crops.  Beets, carrots, onions and garlic can be planted in the raised boxes as this will prevent the plants from being drowned.  The boxes have weed barrier sheeting or some other very porous fabric in the bottom to hold the soil in, yet allow for good drainage. 

The potatoes & sweet potatoes will be planted above ground.  It is very simple.  You make a series of cylinders from 4 ft. tall fencing.  I usually make the cylinders about the diameter of a car tire.  I have rows of these cylinders.  In the bottom of each, you place some weed barrier sheeting, with the sheeting also going up the sides partway.  This both holds in the soil, prevents weeds, and also lets the soil get plenty of drainage.  Place a good soil mix with compost in the bottom of the cylinders,  You only need about 4-6 inches of it to start out.  Basically enough to give the tuber sets a good start.  Then, as they grow through the top of the soil, you add more soil or hay.  I usually have soil until I reach about 1/3 the height of the cylinder to insure that the tubers are getting enough nutrients.  The rest of the cylinder is filled with hay.  Add more weed barrier to the inside of the cylinder as you need to to prevent the soil/hay from falling out.  This also prevents the tubers from growing out the sides.  You want to keep them growing vertical so that you will get more tubers in your harvest.  I keep adding hay until the plants reach the top of the fencing.  In the fall, I simply open up the fencing cylinder and knock over the mound of hay & soil to harvest the potatoes.  I have always had success with this method, no matter what the climate.  The main thing is that you have to make sure that they get plenty of water.  Also, if you plant the tuber sets early, have some large clear plastic trash bags around.  These can be placed over the top of the cylinders in the early spring to prevent frost.

You can also use this method with a shorter fencing to grow tomatoes.  One year, I grew tomatoes in a half-barrel planter.  I filled the planter with a good soil mix with gravel in the bottom for drainage.  I then planted 3 tomato plants in the planter and placed a 3 foot tall cylinder of fencing around it to use as a cage.  The bottom half of the fencing was lined with black plastic trash bags.  As the plants grew, I added more soil.  I had a clear trash bag over the top to provide extra protection and warmth whenever needed.  The fencing that I used had openings in it that were large enough that I could reach through it to harvest the tomatoes as they became ripe.  Living in Montana at that time, I was able to grow the tomatoes all season and not lose any to frost as many of our neighbors had.  My plants grew taller than the fencing and produced very heavily because of the good & strong roots they had developed.  When I pulled up the plants at the end of the season, the roots were nearly 2.5 foot long!

Abundant Blessings

Joe and I have been wanting to get our homestead up and running ever since I left the trucking industry in the fall of 2005.  During the first year, I was going through the last trimester of my pregnancy, then had chronic pain issues that prevented me from going forward with our plans.

This year though, with the great improvement in my health I am able to get busy here.  Still, the idea of having livestock was a dream for next year.  At the earliest, we would be getting a few animals maybe in the fall.  Mostly, finances were the issue delaying our plans.

The Lord, however, has His own plans for our lives.  When Joe left to go back out on the truck 3 weeks ago, we had no livestock.  When he returns later this month, he will be coming home to a running farm!

It started a couple of weeks ago when I spoke to a neighbor at the volunteer fire dept.  In our conversation, he mentioned that he had an extra ewe that hadn't yet gone to market.  If I wanted her, I could buy her at a big discount over the regular price he gets for his lambs.  "Angel" is about 2 1/2 months old.  She is a Hampshire, both parents being registered.  Needless to say, I told him that I would like to buy her and he held onto her until I could pay him and also have time to put up an enclosure for her.  She will be delivered tomorrow (Monday).  Next spring, when she is old enough to breed, he will take her back to his pasture to spend some "quality time" with one of his Hampshire rams.

A few days later, I was contacted by a woman who lives 1.5 hours drive from here.  She had heard about my needing goat milk for Abbie.  She offered to me a breeding pair of Nubian goats.  The doe is 6 months old and the buck is a 3 week old bottle baby.  On Wednesday, I will be driving up to her home to pick them up.  We don't have a livestock trailer, so since they are small I will be bringing them home in the backseat of our car.

A few days after I was offered the goats, I saw a sign in a feed store window advertising baby chicks & guineas.  I went inside just to take a look at them.  I ended up coming home with 8 Barred Rock pullets (3 roosters & 5 hens) and 4 Pearl Guinea (straight run) pullets. 

The next day, the feed store got their shipment of Broad breasted Bronze turkeys.  They are about 1 week old, so were sold as "straight run".  I bought 6 of them.  The first night, they dumped their water dish and 2 of hte turkeys got too cold and died.  They other 4 are thriving though.  They are old enough now that they are starting to develop tail feathers.  I believe at the moment that I have 3 tom turkeys and 1 hen.

This all happened within the span of 2 weeks.  Joe's parents have been coming down to our house and helping to build enclosures and put up a small corral for the animals.  The chickens and guineas are in a chicken tractor made from wood pallets and poultry fencing.  The turkeys are in a small brooder in my kitchen until they have feathered out better.

All the poultry will be ready to start laying eggs in the fall.  I am planning to let the hens hatch out the eggs they lay until next spring.  If necessary, I will set up the brooder in the kitchen to keep the new chicks warm until they are feathered out enough to be outdoors in the coop.  This will quickly build up our flock.  In the spring, I can start using eggs.  By the following fall, when the new chicks have grown enough to start laying, I will be able to sell the eggs.  Depending on how many roosters are hatched out, we could also be selling the meat.

All of our animals and produce are going to be organic.  Mainly to allow me to be able to eat them, but it will also open up a whole area of customer base.  There is such a demand for organic foods.  Even my organically raised herbs are being asked for.

When my gardens are ending their season, I will be harvesting the seeds for planting next year.  If I have surplus seed, that can be another sale-able item.

I am so grateful to the Lord for all these animals.  Joe and I would not have been able to gain them on our own.  It is only with the Lord's help that these animals have come to us.  I am also grateful for Him giving me the help and the energy that I need, both in my own health and in the generousity of Joe's parents in helping me.  I have 3 gardens this year.  One has all root crops, one has all other vegetables, and the third is my herbs.  Again, without the Lord's help, I wouldn't be getting all these done.

This is an exciting time for us.  A major goal that Joe and I have is to get past medical and other debts paid off and get the homestead running.  Once this happens, Joe will be able to leave OTR trucking and be home every night.  If possible, we are wanting to find a way to be earning our income from the homestead itself.  The ideas are there, but we are having to take it a step at a time.

Our dreams of becoming self-sufficient are starting to become a reality.  My gardens are growing, the livestock are arriving and thriving.  The Lord is being so good to us.  I am so humbled by His generosity and blessings.  We never imagined so much would happen so quickly.  Each day is exciting as I see the changes happening on a daily basis.  The days are long & busy, but also are very satifying.

Abbie loves the poultry.  She already, at 15 months old, helps me to toss the scratch on the ground for the chickens & guineas.  She giggles and tries to talk to them.  I am already referring to them as Abbie's chickies.  I will be taking pictures soon to post.

Thursday

I am making a few changes in the timeline for the livestock.  With all the building that needs done, I realised that there is no way that I can get it done in time to get the livestock before summer.  There is much to be done yet.  Since Joe is now gone so much of the time, it leaves alot to be done either by me or with Joe's help when he is home. 

I am really wanting to get a start on raising our own meat.  I am finding that if I eat organically raised meat, I am able to eat it in moderation without becoming sick.  One meat source that I ate when I was growing up was rabbit.  It has a wonderful mild flavor and can be prepared just as you would poultry.  I found some simple plans for building a rabbit hutch with nesting boxes.  I am going to recycle old pallets that I get from Ace Hardware for free to build the hutch & nesting boxes.  I plan to line the inside with the wire mesh fencing so that the rabbits cannot chew through the box.  The only lumber that I will have to purchase will be some 4x4 to use as stiltz to keep the hutch up off the ground at a safe height to protect the rabbits from any preditors.  I hope to start out with a buck and about 3-4 does.  These will give us a good start on our meat production.  Since it is just for our own use, that will be plenty for the 3 of us.

We are still having the cold nights.  Joe and I had the wood stove taken out of the house the last time he was home due to the warm weather we were having.  We forgot how cold it can get in April.  I have been using the kerosene heater.  Today though, I bought some untreated charcoal briquets like you use for grilling.  The charcoal is wonderful in the kitchen cookstove.  It burns hot and very slowly.  We learned this trick last year when we were low on wood for that stove.  The untreated charcoal is the type that you need to add fluid to in order to light it.  I get around that by using the fire starter sticks.  I light a piece of the stick, then once it is burning, lay the charcoal over it.  I don't use the charcoal very often but it makes a wonderful alternative when you need it.

Tomorrow, it is supposed to rain so I am going to work more on the housework and sewing some quilt projects that I am working on.  I also am making a surprise for Joe.  Since he reads my blog often, I won't mention what it is here.  But leave it to say that it is something I am sure he will enjoy.

Unexpected Blessings

It is amazing to me how the Lord works.  Ever since last December when we had the winter storm, the lower part of our property where our driveway is located has been under water to some extent.  After the ice storm, I was unable to use the driveway for about 6 weeks due to the ice, then later the water & mud.  We don't have a 4-wheel drive vehicle, so once were were able to get the car out thanks to some neighbors who pulled us out where the car was stuck in the mud, the car was parked along the street. 

The problem stems from the fact that the road dammed off the creek that ran across from the neighboring property across the road and onto our property.  The county has had a small pipe under the road to divert the water, but it was not sufficient.  Water would dam up on the east side of the road and spill over causing alot of erosion to the dirt road and then flooding our driveway and property.

Today, I woke up to a surprise.  The county had a small crew here in front of our driveway.  They dug out the old pipe, which was horribly clogged with dirt and other debrise.  It was replaced with a pipe twice the diameter of the old one.  They then re-graded the road, adding 2 truck loads of gravel.  When they replaced the pipe, they ended up totally flooding our driveway and property on the lower end. One of the workers and I talked about it.  His boss felt bad about the flooding and offered to have them dig out a trench with the backhoe going from the pipe to the creekbed in the woods.  He also laid an extra thick layer of gravel on the end of our driveway to make it easier to get the car out.  He purposely made the gravel thick enough that I can go out with a shovel and rake to spread some of it down further into the drive where we always seem to have deep puddles of water or mud during the wet seasons.

What a blessing!  We had thought about doing this ourselves and was quoted a price of $4,000.00 to have the trench dug and some gravel put down.  In a matter of about 20 minutes, the work was done at no expense to us.  Amazing to me since the contractor who gave us the price quote said the work would take 2-3 days. 

I am so thrilled to have this work done.  Since Joe is no longer bring the rig home on his days off, we have changed our plans for that area.  Since it has a good amount of water most of the year, we are going to plant berries, melons, and maybe some grapevines in that area.  It gets alot of sunlight and as I already said, it also has alot of water.  Having the trench dug out is putting us ahead of schedule for getting that area prepared.  Now, I just have to wait until it has a chance to dry out enough to have someone come in and help till the ground so that I can get it ready for planting.

What's new

It seems that winter is trying to hold on alittle longer.  After having a week or so of warm weather, our temperatures have dropped again.  Cold enough at night to have to take precautions to prevent the water pipes from freezing.  

This week, I finally was able to find homes for more of the puppies.  I am going to keep 3 out of the 10 pups.  The 2 males in the litter and one of the runt females.  There is another female that I am holding onto for a dear friend who is planning to travel here this summer.  At this point, I have only 4 more pups to find homes for.  Today, the ad for the puppies comes out in the local paper one last time.  With all the puppies and 3 adult dogs, I was going through 80 lbs. of dog food each week.  I am so happy to be finding homes for half of the dogs.  I know that once the pups I am keeping are full grown, I will be back to feeding at least the 80 lbs. of dog food a week, but it will still be alot less than if I had kept all of the puppies. 

It has been strange having Joe gone so long.  This will be my 2nd weekend without him coming home.  We were so blessed to have him coming home during the first few days of his orientation to spend the nights at home.  We enjoyed having that extra family time.  He still has another 3 weeks until he will be coming home.  This is the longest he will be away.  The orientation added another week onto his time from home.  During the day, I am okay most of the time.  I am able to stay busy and distracted.  When night comes around though, it hits me just how much I miss him.  I just keep focusing on the big picture though.  The Lord led us to this job for a reason.  Joe has so much faith and is a great example of what a Christian man should be.  Through his job, he will be able to share the Light of Christ with others, not by preaching, but by living the way that the Lord asks us to.  You can share that Light without ever having ot say a word.  Your actions do the talking for you.

Here at home, I am staying pretty busy.  I am working at trying to spring clean the house abit each day.  Abbie keeps me busy also. She is getting more mobile and is very curious about everything.

Today, I was playing a video, Disney's "Darby O'Gill and the Little People" I got through netflix.   Abbie was awake when I had the movie playing.  As the irish music played in the movie, she would pat her hand on her knee.  It was so cute!  She also will "bounce" to the music if she happens to be standing.  She gets that from Joe.  He always dances with her, so now she dances to music all the time.

Abbie is also chattering away quite often.  She is such a happy little girl.  I feel very blessed.  She doesn't have alot of new words, but she is making the sounds of new letters.  This past week, she has also gained 2 more teeth.  Like before, she went through the teething without alot of fuss.  This brings the count up to 8 teeth now.  It is hard to believe that Abbie will be a year old in about a week.

I have been getting more sewing done.  My sewing machine isn't working, so I got out the antique one.  This machine is so old it only does a straight stitch - no reverse stitch feature or zigzag.  I am amazed at how much it is limiting my sewing.  At least I can do some things though.  I just have to keep remembering to leave threads long enough that I can tie them off. 

The vegetarian diet is still working well for me.  I am still pain free of the fibromyalgia.  I have been without pain for a little over a month now...the longest  have gone in the past several years.  My arthritis bothers me abit at times, but by comparason it is only a nuisance.  I am so grateful to the Lord for leading me to the diet change.  This has made Joe being gone easier in that I am feeling good and able to take care of things.

A Blessed Season

Fawn's Puppies

Finally have a Webpage

Winter has arrived!