It's been a wonderful weekend, but like all weekends, they must come to a close....

We had a great time yesterday at a friends' cookout for Independence Day. Even met a new family...who is seriously considering home education for their five children! It was nice to be able to answer their questions about homeschooling in our fine state. I hope I was able to calm their fears and help them make their decision. We had a very pleasant hay ride too. Love living in the country where things like that are even possible! Like shooting off bottle rockets and other such booming things in the road! Not one car passed by while we were having fun!

On the way home, we saw some fireworks going off. Thinking there would be just a few, we slowed down to watch a bit. They kept going...so we drove down a back road and found a place to park. The children and I got out to watch. It turned out to be a 45 minute show! We so enjoyed it!!

This week is shaping up to be a busy one. Honey goes to the dentist to have the pins removed from his former crown. One of the pins is bent over and causing him to scrape his tongue with each bite of food. Not cool. I hate that this crown didn't work out..but it has been re-applied three times...there's just no keeping it in place.

Moms' night out is this week too! I missed last month, so I'm really looking forward to this month's outing! The new Mom I met may be joining us, so I look forward to seeing her....as well as my long time friends!

We have another creek day planned this week. Should be quite the crowd! The new family is joining us with some other friends. Looking forward to that!

After that, life should calm down a bit.

I had a cooking bug bite me today. So....simmering away on the stove is spaghetti sauce with meatballs. In the crock pot is BBQ pulled pork for sandwiches. We had a very filling supper of meatloaf, mashed potatoes, collard greens (for Honey) and peas & carrots. I totally forgot to make gravy until I was serving plates and realized I had nothing to put on the mashed potatoes! Oh well....they are yummy even without gravy....love potatoes!!!

Think I'll go do a bit of cleaning so I'm ahead of the game tomorrow. The kitchen needs to be swept and mopped, as do the living room, piano room and office. The vacuum needs to be run in our bedroom. Okay...that might be more than I want to tackle here at 6:45pm....

Guess I'll go see what I actually accomplish and what I leave for Monday morning...to go along with the normal Monday wash day....

Moles are such a huge nuisance in my garden. They dig tunnels all through and wreak havoc with my veggies, uprooting them and such.  The watering we do sometimes ends up down the mole hole instead of the plant roots.  I was getting very tired of fighting them for another year.  So I started doing a little research on how to get them out of my garden.  Poison was my first thought..  but I didn’t want that stuff in my garden.  Traps are effective but expensive. So I looked for more affordable remedies.  I came up with one that is easy to do.   You make a mixture of castor oil and Joy dish soap (2:1 ratio).  You add a few tablespoons of this mixture to a gallon of water and pour it down their holes. 

I have been doing this with some success.  The reason it can work is that moles have a heightened sense of smell and can’t stand the smell of castor oil.  They also don’t like the feel of it on them.  After a couple of applications some of the holes were not bothered any more but I still had some.  So the next time I put in more of the castor oil mix into my gallon of water and made the applications a little stronger.  I had been using 2 to 3T tablespoons per gallon..  so I doubled that.  Well I am happy to say that yesterday while in the garden I saw that all my mole holes had not been disturbed again..  so success maybe?  We will see.     

If my pesky mole just makes holes in other areas of the garden I will try another solution I read the other day and that is bubble gum.  You drop pieces of bubble gum (or Juicy Fruit I also read they like) into their holes.  The reviews I read said this was effective and will end the problem permanently!  I guess their digestive systems can’t handle gum..  they are eaters not chewers.. haa.. haa.  So if castor oil does not solve the problem..  I will try bubble gum.   

Just thought I would share this bit of mole info for anyone else battling them in their gardens this summer..  

Each evening, we take a ride up top to check on our cows. Last night, we were rewarded with seeing a new bull calf! Had we been there 10 minutes sooner, we could have watched him being born.

What an amazing thing birth is. I am in awe of it. Animal births are so different than human births. We treat animal births as a natural event, and very few need any help or intervention. Human birth, on the other hand, is treated as some sort of illness that simply must be treated and have intervention. Whether the intervention is to "move things along with pitocin", or to "monitor to be sure all is well" or to "take the baby". God designed the female body to reproduce. I think we'd do well to let His design do the work, not the medical community.

I digress...sorry...birth is such an incredible event...I hate to see women give that time of their life over to the medical community. God is doing so much more than just bringing a new life into the world...though that's awesome in and of itself....He can use that time to grow you as a person. As a couple. As a child. As a parent. But, if you're all doped up, can't feel the labor pain, and can't move....you kind of remove Him from the situation, don't you?

Okay, okay....moving on.....

We're going to a cookout tomorrow for the 4th. Thomas wanted fireworks, so we may have to have our own private show another day. Wish our town put on a fireworks show. I remember living in NY, there was always a big show to go see. Even in FL, there were fireworks on the beach.

Honey starts a new schedule soon. He'll be working on the inventory prep crew. Instead of his normal 5am to 2pm shift, he'll work 2pm to 11pm. We all see this is a really good thing for the summer. It's light out so late that it makes getting to bed on time difficult. And it's too warm to sleep comfortably...course, in the morning, it's quite cool and pleasant, so sleeping in is really easy to do. (ask me how I know this to be true?!)

Mom's night out is next week. I didn't go last month, so I'm really looking forward to going this month. It's always a good time with fun friends. Sure, some seem to have their own agendas......and that I surely don't understand....but I do like my time out with friends.

Mary has a couple of loose teeth. So does Natalie. They just keep growing up....

Rebecca is going on a trip with my family later this year. My folks, Aunt Nina, brother and his family and cousin and his family are going to Cozumel, Mexico over Thanksgiving. Aunt Nina invited Rebecca since my niece will be there too. She's footing the entire bill, from her passport to her flight to her time there. How incredibly generous of her!!!! Rebecca is quite excited about this opportunity...and I am too....though I know I will miss her terribly.

Natalie and Mary have decided we need to do something special while Rebecca is away. They've tossed out some wild ideas....we shall see what the future holds...

Honey is stopping at the sawmill on his way home today to get the rest of our lumber for the corral. This needs to be finished up for so many reasons....one of which being just to cross off a HUGE to do on the never-ending list. What a blessing it will be to have this finished!!!

I need to get my July menu finished up so we can do our big monthly grocery shopping tomorrow. The cupboards are looking a bit bare. The pantry needs re-stocking. I will have a most happy family to have cheese in the house again. We ran out of all but mozzarella earlier this week....and I've heard many a comment about this tragedy.

I'm off to work on said menu.....Happy Fourth of July!!!

Is it just me or is this year flying by with lightning speed??

We're having a fun, busy summer. We've really enjoyed spending time with friends, gardening, going to the creek, reading, and just generally enjoying our time together.

I'm realizing how short my time with Rebecca is getting to be. Not that I expect her to go anywhere right after graduation, but she's going to be in 11th grade this coming year....who knows what the Lord has in store for her. I want to soak up every minute with her...and her siblings, of course.

Rebecca and Mary were discussing how old each of them would be in "so many years". When Mary turns 16, Rebecca will be 26. If she's anything like me, Rebecca will have a couple of children by that time. Strange to think about it that way....

If she did follow me...Rebecca would be married in 5 short years..and a Mama in 7. Doesn't seem that far away....

Okay...I'm going to get all teary-eyed if I keep on...so I'll stop and just love the time NOW.

Rebecca and I taught Natalie and Mary how to play Dutch Blitz. We have two more girls who love to play this game! Mary is the Uno girl..but she likes the Dutch Blitz too! What fun we have playing. We should get another deck of cards, since there's only cards enough for 4 players....

We're all getting nice tans. I'm loving this weather. Could be cooler for my taste, but I'll take it. It's not overwhelmingly hot as it has been the last few years. The a/c isn't running non-stop. It's not unbearable outside. Most days, we've had a nice breeze which makes such a difference. It's warm enough to make me want to swim, yet not so warm that makes me want to stay indoors. I'm quite thankful for this weather!!!!

Honey is going to the dentist next week. He's lost one of his crowns for the 3rd time. The dentist told him if it comes off again, there was nothing he could do to put it back on. It started out with one pin holding it in place...he now has 3 pins...and it still comes off. So, he's going in so the dentist can remove the pins....one less tooth for my beloved. I feel badly for him. I so wish someone had taught him...and emphasised to him...the importance of taking care of your teeth.

We've done some organizing and re-arranging...with more to be done. I have a pile here in the office....quite the pile...of things to sell. I'm not sure I want to deal with the hassle of eBaying them...but then....I've done two book sales and am left with this pile. The pile was MUCH larger before the sales, so I've done pretty well at downsizing it...but I want it GONE altogether!

Guess that job won't do itself.....I should spend some computer time taking care of such things....

Today I finished clearing the last bed, yeah! Of course this doesn't mean there are no more weeds on my allotment, but it does mean I am on the winning side.
I sowed green and runner beans, a lot more than last year, hoping to meet my canning goals.

The weather has been hot this week and I don't really like hot weather, but the forecasts say it will cool down after tomorrow. We'll get some rain too and that's badly needed, because I have to water the garden almost everyday.

I have some pictures for you to enjoy, of my allotment and some of my home garden.
This is the last bed I had to clear, but over half of my garden looked like this.

My onions, chard and lettuce:

My pumpkins, corn, cucumbers (far right) and my little greenhouse with pepper plants:

My kohlrabis and cauliflower in the front:

As you can see there is still some grass on the paths and on the edges of the beds, but I'll take care of that in the coming days.

A few pictures of my girls, first Clarabella and Betsy taking a dust bath:

and then in contrast, Henrietta the mud queen :

My elder tree in the back garden:

and the blackberry bush in bloom:

Foxglove, one of my favorite flowers:

Herbs drying in the kitchen:

Well I hope you enjoyed the little tour, see you soon.

blessings, Ellen

Simple Hospitality......It really can be simple!!

I have been reading the book written by Jane Jarrell, titled, "Simple Hospitality". I thought I might share a little of it with you.

I really enjoyed reading this one thing that she wrote about using the letters that spell out the word "hospitality". So today we look at the H.

H--Hospital for the Soul

Why does one go to the hospital? To visit, maybe, or to welcome a new person into the world. But oftentimes it's because our bodies are broken. A hospital can be a place to go for healing and repair.

So the word hospitable is taken from the word hospital, which means a charitable institution, a repair shop, a hospice, or a shelter. Hospitality is a shelter for the soul, healing for the spirit. So when we open our home in the true spirit of hospitality or when we bring our gifts of hospitality outside of our homes, we are offering hospitality!!

The Bible states it this way: Romans 12:9-13, "Let love be without dissimulation.....v10, Be kindly affectioned one to another with brotherly love; in honour preferring one another;. .vs12, Rejoicing in hope; patient in tribulation; continuing instant in prayer; vs13, Distributing to the necessity of saints; given to hospitality."

So real Christian hospitality isn't an option, it is what God commands.

O-Obedience

Some may think focusing on hospitality is frivolous or a waste of time. But in reality it is nothing less than obeying God's clear command in Scripture. Hospitality was not Martha Stewart's invention; it was God's!! Romans 12 paints an incredible picture of what it means to truly give our lives to God......In these selfless acts, we serve not only those in need but Christ Himself. Hospitality is obeying God by cheerfully serving others.

S-Simplicity

If we don't approach hospitality simply, most of us won't do it at all. When we exchange the harried hoopla for the heartfelt, everyone is blessed. Can we be comfortable when everything is not perfect, or do we always need to put on a show for people? As one lady states "I don't want to buy your house, I just want to visit." Simplicity brings us closer to having authentic relationships. Our focus is on our guests, not on the "stuff" that surrounds us.

P--Prayer

Hospitality involves prayer. Ask God to show you who and how to show hospitality to. God will show you the when, the how, and what that someone might need. I may not know what a person needs at the time but God knows!! You should always ask God for His blessing on the gathering you are about to have with someone, no matter how small or large the number will be.

I--Intimacy

Intimacy is sharing who you are and what you are to others. You need this type of relationship with your husband, your family and your friends, but nurturing genuine intimacy takes time and effort.

Cell phones and emails are nice, but we need to take time to sit quietly with a friend sometimes. You never know where they are at or what they may need.. Time plus realness plus genuine caring equals intimacy.

Simple Hospitality......It really can be simple!!

T--To Go

Are you ready to take your kindness on the road? Do you have a plan or list of ideas that will work in a hurry?

Keep a few recipes with the ingredients on hand so that you can prepare a meal or a welcoming treat for someone in need.

There is something extra-special about busy people who take the time to reach out and help others.

A--Acknowledge and Appreciate

We all have our own gifts, but what about those who are known for the hospitality? They also need a "dose" of hospitality sometimes. They need to be acknowledged for their kindness, appreciated for the efforts and recipients of the hospitality of others.

Most of us are "takers' by nature and unless we make a conscious effort, we’ll always take and forget to give back. Those who are more "givers", either by nature or intent, often get taken for granted.

In our busy lives, gratitude is often felt yet not expressed.

L--Lifestyle

Hospitality is a lifestyle, a ministry lifestyle. God weaves it into our hearts. We all need each other to make the body of Christ its best. You are making the commitment to a lifestyle of opening up your heart to others on a regular basis.

You will need to start small, perhaps by committing to one act of hospitality each month. Gradually you will see how easy it is and move towards once a week and before you know it you will be asking God to show you someone in need every day!!

Take time to ask God to show you how He might use you today, this week or this month. You are allowing God to work through you and when He is working, we cannot fail.

I--Ideas

When looking for ideas for hospitality, scan your favorite magazines, talk with your friends or keep a simple notebook or card file with your favorite recipes, holiday decorating ideas, party themes, or anything else that spurs your hospitality thinking. Just keep it simple, and honest. Let God's love show through you and that will be all that you need to make any time a good time to visit.

T--Time

We are all short on time for the things that we want to do or need to do. That is why hospitality is such a valuable gift to others. It means we gave them our most precious resource: our time.

Think of things to do for hospitality for others when you are doing for your family. Double a casserole for dinner one night and freeze the one for a family that may be in need, or a mother who may be sick at the time.

When baking cookies for your family, bake a few more to brighten someone's day. Out buying groceries? Cut back on one thing or two for snacks and make up a meal for a new mom.

If your time is limited, begin your quest to hospitality with small things and think about other ways that you will want to show it when your time allows for it.

Y--You

To show hospitality to others, you must first love yourself so that you are capable of loving others. This means taking care of yourself so that you are able to take care of others. When we've taken the time to put our own hearts in order, we are freed to reach beyond ourselves to meet others where they are.

I made a yummy salad tonight from the garden.  It had green onions, red sails lettuce, swiss chard and beet greens.  I made up some ranch dressing from scratch and threw in some chives.  I had a few leftover cooked shrimp that Rod had caught and sent down for me.  Fresh shrimp are SO good!  This is the first time I've had swiss chard and I really like it!

Tonight I started moving dirt into the last two garden beds.  I filled up the skinny one first to satisfy that part of me that needs to have immediate gratification.  Then I hauled a few loads into the big bed - I have a ways to go on that one. 

Once the skinny bed was full, I planted eight of the red currant bushes that I rooted from thinnings this spring.  I just had them in water to see if they would get roots - which they did!  I have 18 more of them that I think I will plant in pots for now until I decide where they should go.

Last night I potted up some strawberry starts.  The runners take over the garden paths pretty quickly - I and just hate to pulll them up and throw them in the compost, seems like such a waste.  So I dig up the ones that really have roots and plant them in little 3" pots.  I also try to pot as many extra runners as I can.  I set out a bunch of little pots on a bench at the end of the strawberry bed.  I picked up some runners that had little plants starting and put one in each pot, using a rock to hold the runner down until the plant establishes some roots.  Once the plant is secure, I will cut it from the runner.  Then I will start again with more pots.  Strawberry plants make a good barter item  :o)

I've been thinking about trying to propagate some blueberry bushes.  There are some really productive ones over by one of the storage buildings.  I have some powdered rooting hormone that I could use, or I may trim some willow branches from the tree across the street and try that.  Maybe I should try both and see which one works best.  There are blueberry bushes everywhere along the side of the road, but it would be nice to have a good, productive patch of my own.  Then I won't have to worry about someone else finding my favorite picking spot  :o)

Things look pretty good in the garden.  The red currants are just starting to turn pink.  I have two baby zucchini.  The potato plants look good.  I pulled up some radishes and green onions and sent up to Rod in Skagway.  The strawberries are loaded with unripe berries and more blossoms.  The raspberry patch is buzzing - lots of bumble bees on the blossoms.  The new rhubarb patch looks great - I think the plants must have reached down into the layer of chicken manure I put in that bed - they have really taken off in the last week.  In the greenhouse, I have one little green pepper and a bunch more babies just starting to form.  Nothing on the cucumbers yet, but they are getting bigger - I need to put up a trellis for them.  The 3 tomato plants are getting huge - there are 6 little fruits forming now.  I notice though that some of the leaves are turning yellow, brown and dry on the ends.  I need to look that up and see what is going on with them - must be something about being too cold, too much water, or not enough ventilation is my guess.  I picked some mint leaves and calendula blossoms and dehydrated them to use in my soaps.  The chickens are doing good - getting only 3 or 4 eggs per day though.  If they don't pick up soon, we will be putting them in the freezer.

I recently made vanilla ice cream and it was delicious!!  I wanted to share my recipe with you.   You can now find all my ice cream recipes (eggless recipes and non dairy too) and ice cream making directions here:  http://www.thefamilyhomestead.com/makinghomemadeicecream.htm    If I have more recipes to post I will be adding them to that page.   

Vanilla Ice Cream

6 eggs
3 cups cane juice crystals
2 T vanilla (only the real stuff)
2 c. whole cream
Whole Goat Milk, as much as needed to fill ice cream maker container (whole cow milk will work too.. :)
1 T arrowroot powder (helps make the ice cream smooth.. but this is optional if you don’t have any) 

In a big mixer (like a Kitchen Aid or Bosch) mix together (with the wire whip) the eggs and cane juice crystals until light and lemony colored. Add vanilla and mix again. Add cream and arrowroot powder (if using). When all of this has mixed together completely pour it into your 1 gallon ice cream maker container. Add whole milk until you reach the "fill line" on your ice cream maker container.  Follow the instructions that came with your ice cream maker or click on the above link for general instructions.

We are having taco salad for dinner tonight.  I always cook up my hamburger and add taco seasonings to it before adding it to my salad.  I realized this morning I was out of taco seasoning and it was time to make more.  This is another product that I make myself now.  We are not real big fans of the taste of the taco seasonings I use to buy from my health food co-op and I wonder about MSG in it as well (the grocery store stuff definitely is full of yucky things typically).  I recently was reading an article (wish I could remember where now.. maybe Dr. Mercola? If I find it I will give the link).  It said that if a product lists “spices” in their ingredient list and they purchase bulk mixed spices from a supplier that adds MSG to their spice mix then the company that uses the spice mix does not have to claim that it contains MSG. So basically something can say it is MSG free but still may contain MSG if they have the word "spices" listed in the ingredients.  If you have MSG sensitivities like my hubby does or you just want to avoid it for health reasons …  read your labels carefully!   

Taco mix is so easy to make. It takes less than 15 minutes to make up a batch, the recipe doubles easily.  I usually make a double batch but today I did not have enough dried onion, so I settled for a single batch.   

Bulk Taco Seasoning Mix

¾ c dried onions
½ c chili powder
¼ c salt
3T garlic powder
3T cornstarch
3T ground cumin
1T to 3T cayenne pepper (depending on how hot you like it) 

Combine all ingredients in a bowl and mix well.  Store in plastic or glass container with a lid. 

It takes approx. 3T of this mix to equal one packet that you would buy in the store.   

This recipe makes about 2 cups.  I store it in a canning jar in my cupboard.

We have been blessed with an abundance of squash this year, so I have been trying to find some inventive ways of using it. I am in the middle of trying this recipe, but so far it looks beautiful with all its different colors blended together. As of right now it is in my refrigerator after sitting all night, I plan on canning it this evening. I would love to hear other ways you use your squash.

Anyway, here is the recipe.

3 lbs. yellow summer squash, finely chopped

3 lbs. zucchini, finely chopped

6 large onions, finely chopped

3 medium green peppers, finely chopped

3 medium red peppers, finely chopped

1/4 c canning salt

2 c sugar

2 c packed brown sugar

2 c white vinegar

4 tsp. celery seed

1 tsp. ground turmeric

1 tsp. ground mustard

In a large bowl, combine the first six ingredients. Cover and refrigerate overnight.

Drain vegetable mixture. Rinse in cold water and drain again. Place vegetables in a large pot. Add remaining ingredients.

Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring occasionally. Once boiling reduce heat and all to simmer for 10 min. stirring frequently.

Immediately fill hot pint jars with mixture leaving 1/2 in. head space. Carefully run a nonmetallic utensil down inside jars to remove trapped air bubbles. Wipe jar tops and threads clean, then adjust two piece caps.

Process in boiling water canner for 15 min.