Homing

Ignore the dirty oven.  :)

Had a case of homing and nesting tonight.  Love it!  Made a honey-orange glazed ham with sweet potatoes, kale and broccoli for dinner.  Do I have to tell that broccoli was ruined because my steamer ran out of water?  Smoked broccoli is NOT appetizing, trust me!  lol.  :) 

I also had a hankerin' for a pecan pie.  I was so thrilled to find this recipe that does NOT use corn syrup.  I just finished a piece and it is soooo yummy.  And fairly easy also.

A cozy fire is roaring and tonight I will stay up late (after the kids are in bed) to watch one of my favorite Christmas movies....Prancer!  The kids don't appreciate it as much as I do so it's best enjoyed while they slumber and the house is as quiet as a mouse. 

What nesting projects have you been up to?

Not Just Christmas Lights

I have been so blessed by my kids' desire to tackle the project of hanging the outside Christmas lights.  Last year, my oldest did them all on his own.  This year, it was a collaborative effort, from getting the lights out of storage, checking them, replacing bulbs, and finally hanging them.  They have let the true Light shine and I am so pleased.

A Tree is a tree is a tree, NOT!

Before

Tree hunting is serious business.  It is a process and takes careful examination, from all angles.  That's why it was so surprising that we found a tree so quickly this year!  It maybe only took 15-20 minutes!  And it is beautiful. 

The last couple years we purchased a $10 permit to go up in the mountains to cut one.  The kids weren't too thrilled about it because the trees just aren't as lush as the ones at the u-cut farms.  But it was so fun and quite an adventure.  We just weren't prepared this year and we've had quite a bit of snow in the hills already so we just went to a local u-cut place. 

Enjoy your Christmas season and I pray that you will take LOTS of time to reflect on the real meaning of it.  And may we all be lessed consumed by the sticky fingers of consumerism.

After

Happie Locks Are Here



In process



For quite some time, I've been fascinated by dreadlocks.  It started a few years ago when Sara took the plunge in her own dreadie journey.  Growing up in a town that, in large part, is stuck in the hippie era, I saw a lot of dreadlocks and thought some were interesting and some, not so much. 



Today @ two weeks



Sometime in the first week



From Sara's blog, I found all kind of other pictures and information.  My fascination grew and it totally fit with where I was at in my desire to simplify my life.  Never one to be too fancy in my style and certainly not liking to spend too much time on it, it seemed to be a perfect fit.  It took a while to get my nerve up.  But finally, I was ready and the appointment was made.  I chose to have a "professional" do it using the crochet method to help speed up the "locking" process. 

When I would mention to people that I wanted dreadlocks, any negative responses came because of the name and what myths or misinformation they may have associated with it.  My very smart hubby suggested renaming them to "Happie-Locks" and it stuck. 



Today, freshly washed and still damp



Today marks two weeks since I had them done and I couldn't be happier.  They have a journey of their own and it's fun to watch them change.  They are a bit fuzzy now, but I like it.  :)  My hubby seems to like it too, which is a HUGE bonus and the biggest decision-maker or breaker.  I am so thankful to have his full support.  I'll probably write more about them in the future, but don't want this post to get too long.  Enjoy the pictures and feel free to ask questions! 



Fun & Frizzy!





Burger in the House

Real, honest-to-goodness beef burger has been somewhat of a rarity around here. The prices are outrageous and turkey burger is leaner. I would also like to have some ground chicken to make healthier breakfast sausage, but it's expensive also.

A couple months ago, my hubby bought the grinder attachment for my Kitchen Aid mixer. I finally put it to use today and it was sooo cool!  The grocery store had ground round on sale for $1.69 lb!  Pretty cheap for good, lean burger. Only took minutes to complete. So now I have nearly 6 pounds of fresh ground burger in the freezer! And the men in the house couldn't be happier.  :)  I would prefer it to be grass-fed beef raised ourselves, but it's a step.

Girls Just Wanna Have Fun

Here's a picture of my girls enjoying themselves in the yard the other day.  I thought I had all seven when I snapped the picture, but Miss Ethel (see sidebar) escaped.  She must have thought she was having a bad feather day.  I just love watching them and it is so much better than TV! 

We are only getting 2 or 3 eggs a day now due to less daylight.  I keep going back and forth on whether or not to use artificial light to keep production up through the winter.  But much like deciding what we will do with Jesus, choosing to do nothing is the same as saying no.

There are sure to be more chicks in the spring and though I don't want to wish time away, I can't wait for those fuzzy little girls!  But until then, I plan on enjoying the slower pace of winter.  :)

Fireside Chat

First night of the season for a fire! Love it. No heat source can compare to the warmth and comfort of a fire. And it's sooo beautiful! We could have used one last night as we had a light frost this morning. The forecast calls for 30 degrees or below tonight. Brrrrr....

As much as we would love to heat our home solely on wood heat, it's just not feasible without a woodstove/insert (and that's not in the budget right now). We do try to rely on it as much as we can since the other source is oil heat and it can get VERY expensive. Our routine for the winter is to build a fire in the morning, keep it going during the day, if necessary, stock it up at night and let the furnace kick on if it gets below 61 after the fire goes out. Of course, this isn't fail-proof. Some days, in all honesty, we're running errands, get home late, or are lazy.  Hey, just being honest!  :)  Our home is small enough that we can keep the main living areas quite comfortable with the wood heat. Our weather is fairly mild through the winter so that helps. Our goal is to use that oil furnace as little as possible!

We have been very blessed to get free wood the last couple years (this will be our 3rd winter here, 2nd using the fireplace). The 42-acre parcel we live on has several wooded acres. We have been allowed to help manage the forested area by removing dead trees, injured trees, etc. And this year, we've helped a friend who has a tree-removal business on the side in exchange for free wood!  We'll probably end up with about 5 cords out of that. Not enough for the winter, but we haven't harvested any from the property here.

Do you use wood heat?  If so, how many cords to use for the season?  Winter is fast approaching.  Stay warm, friends!  :)

Elderberry Syrup

Elderberry Syrup. I've heard of its powerful properties for quite some time. While lying flat on back and fed up with this cold, I decided to finally check it out. Aw, YouTube. It looked easy enough and I had the ingredients on hand, but didn't get the gumption until about 10:30p.m. to finally mix up a batch.

The kids, recently sequestered to bed, began calling out, "What's that smell?!". I suppose it may have had a funny smell, but my smeller wasn't in working order. I finished steeping it, added the honey and took a dose, several throughout the night, actually. I think it is rather yummy. Never listen to a kid when it comes to something that will help them feel better. It's all bad to them.

Give it a try yourself! (click on the link above to watch the video) Take 1 tablespoon daily for good health or 1 tablespoon every hour while sick.

Sick

A cold has been going around and it finally landed on me. It's a doozy! It's probably been 5 years since I've been sick to the point of it keeping me down. Moved out to the couch at 3:45 a.m. and have pretty much been here ever since. My head feels like it is going to explode!

I'm tired of sitting here. I can see and think of so many things to do! I guess I should grab a notebook and write them down when I think of it. Hopefully, I'll have a more interesting post after I'm better....which better be tomorrow! :)

Dish Pan Hands

Visit here often enough and you'll soon learn that I have a great desire to live a simpler, slower life. Recently, I've been thinking about what more I can do to slow things down, save a little money, and enjoy life more.

Some may find it funny that I would choose doing dishes by hand as a means of enjoying life more. But it's true! Our very gracious landlords blessed us with a new dishwasher awhile back when the previous one went on the fritz. Unfortunately, it doesn't seem to clean very well. We were constantly re-washing dishes and (gasp!) complaining!

Remembering that we had survived, quite nicely in fact, for about two weeks with no dishwasher while we waited for the new one, I decided we could do it again. And it would be FUN! Oh, what wonderful opportunities of deepening the family bond while we wash and dry together! I can picture long talks with my girl and fun towel snapping contests with my boys. And since I refuse to let the dishwasher merely take up useful space, I will be looking for things to store in it, after a thorough cleaning, of course. Let the dish pan hands commence! :)

Faith of a Mustard Seed

There are big changes happening in our backyard. Dirt-movers have been around throughout the summer, taking all they wanted for a building project down the road, leaving behind a big bowl. Dirt-movers #2 came in to shape what was left behind and boy, did they make a mountain! It was amazing to see this huge pile of dirt appear in just a day. The motive for the mountain is to increase "privacy" from the major state hwy that is just a stone's throw away. Something tells me this isn't what Jesus meant by having the faith of a mustard seed to move mountains! :)

The home we rent is part of a 42-acre parcel of land owned by a club of Swiss folks. Our home has been allotted 3 acres, however, only about an acre is currently usable. We hope to have full use of the 3 acres by spring. All the dirt being moved around is in preparation for more forest to be planted as a tax break for the non-profit club. Watching those big machines makes for cheap entertainment! It does make me wonder what my house will look like all winter with so much dirt around. An opportunity to sharpen my housekeeping skills, eh?

Grandma's Best

My Grandma had a lot of "bests". But the turn of weather to fall had me hankering for one of her "bests" in particular. She made the most comforting and warming pot of minestrone soup and I couldn't wait to have my home filled with its mouth-watering aroma. This was my first batch since she went home with Jesus last May. I am so thankful that she left a legacy of "bests" that allow me to drift off to memories that fill me with joy.

I hope you'll check back as I share more of these "bests", especially as we approach the Christmas season! My sisters, other family members and I are hoping to have a lefse making day soon. I'll be sure to post when it happens!

Basic contents of Gram's Minestrone Soup:

Browned ground beef w/onions, celery, carrots and garlic
Rutabaga
Potato
Cabbage
Rice
Tomatoes
Basil & Thyme (I often cheat and just use Italian seasoning with same great results)

Grate a little Parmesan cheese on top and accompany with bread. Grab a blanket, a good movie and ENJOY!

Long-Overdue Project

About three years ago, my daughter and I picked these aprons to make, one for each of us. We got as far as cutting her fabric. *sigh*. Then a minor flood in the basement ruined the pattern so had to reorder. Now I am determined to get this project done. Kayden is pretty proficient in her sewing, me, not so much.

Today was a perfect rainy day (and Monday night football) to make a dent. The pattern pieces are cut (the part I like least) and ready for the next step. I'll try to keep you posted, if the results aren't too embarrassing! :)

But now, I'm full of apple crisp and in need of my bed. What fall projects do you have?

Back To School

Today marks the end of the first week of school. Actually, it wasn't a full week since we didn't start until Wednesday. I didn't feel ready and definitely needed to sort out a master plan, but after 10 years of homeschooling, I knew enough to get us started. All has gone well and now I have the weekend to get the rest prayed over and straightened out.

It is good to be back on a "sort of" schedule. The kids are now in 9th, 8th, and 6th grades. We look forward to seeing all that God holds for us this school year, mostly knowing Him more.

Hopefully, the picture isn't an indicator of how our year will be! lol. Just a little photo fun after the traditionally obligatory first-day-of-school photo shoot. Silly kids.

A Good Book

Finding time to read can be difficult in life. After all, there are the daily chores of keeping house, cooking, tending the garden, raising kids, schooling, etc. But I do believe it is important. Though I found myself in a habit of not making time for it. My husband inspired us all with the idea of reading just 10 pages a day gets you through even a 300 page book in just a month!

I've kept that in mind, but haven't always been successful everyday. But it has definitely inspired me to make reading more of a priority again. It is so exciting to see that mountain of books-to-be-read beside my bed get smaller and smaller.

Here's what I've scratched off since June:

Crazy Love by Francis Chan
Radical by David Platt
The Pursuit of God by A.W. Tozer
The Great Divorce by C.S. Lewis


I'm currently reading:

The Soapmaker's Companion by Susan Miller Cavitch
Little House on the Prairie by Laura Ingalls Wilder :)

I need to get back to and finish:

You Can Farm by Joel Salatin
Instruments in the Redeemer's Hands by Paul Tripp

A few waiting in line next to my bed:

Big God by Britt Merrick
The Basket of Flowers by Christoph Von Schmid
The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver
Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver
L'Abri by Edith Schaeffer
How Should We Then Live by Francis Schaeffer

Favorite references and glancers:

The Chicken Health Handbook
Storey's Guide to Raising Chickens
The New Goat Handbook
The Complete Works of E.M. Bounds on Prayer
Beekeeping for Dummies

Of course, other books will pop up that will cut in line straight to the top. And there are always tons of magazines to keep up on. Right now, I have browsers and study books for seed saving and food storage. Can never have enough farming and homesteading books to peruse. So what are you reading?! It feels great to keep the mind in shape. There is so much out there to learn!

P.S. I know there is a fancy way to get the picture of the books listed beside the title, but I just don't know how and don't feel like spending the time on it right now. If you know how to do that, please pass those tips along this way!

Pizza Night and the Hope of the Dawn of a Nice Day

There's just something great about knowing that Friday night's dinner is a no-brainer. On occasion, we'll order out, but generally, it's homemade and YUMMY! The pizza on the left is the "parent" pizza with ALL the fixin's and the one on the right, what's left of it, is the kids' with pepperoni and sausage. Guess I waited too long to take my picture! lol. :)




Our weather has been in a HUGE rut and taken me right along with it, but the forecasters are saying that tomorrow, a Saturday to boot, should be quite promising! Things have gotten way behind around here so we'll be whistlin' while we work. Some whistles have been whetted with the promise of payment for weeding the front flower bed and spreading bark. If it's a job you don't want to do yourself, just offer money and it'll get done in a hurry! :)

This white board is my life-line and 2nd brain. If it ain't written here, it won't happen, can't be bought, and must not have been very important to begin with (at least that's what I try to tell myself). Need to add tending to the raspberries to that list and we're sure to be pulling weeds out of the veggie garden too. Have a great weekend!

Lefse in Heaven

My previous post was written while my 97 1/2 year old grandmother was in the hospital with an infection. Though she was strong, stubborn, and fairly healthy, her small frame was no match for MRSA. We lost her on Wednesday, May 12th. It was such an honor to be by her side as she took her last breath.

Tomorrow will be filled with emotion as we attend her memorial service. Though there is sadness for a time, we rejoice in knowing that she is with her Father in Heaven. No doubt, she is serving up her AMAZING lefse for all the saints. Brings a smile to think of Jesus enjoying some. I wonder if He likes His with butter and cinnamon and sugar too. :)

Never to be replaced, but cherished in our hearts forever more. We love you, Gram, and can't wait to see you again!

These Hands

These hands, always busy.
Knowing not the ways of idle.
Strong and beautiful.
Etched in my mind.
Countless ways, the love they've made.
Grasped in "Let's say grace".
Secretly lifted to the Father's face.
Now delicate as her fragile home land bread.
These hands, a legacy makes.

Sunshine!

It's been a long wait, but we finally had a GORGEOUS day here! My garden received some much needed attention. But first, my girl and I had our first visit of the season to the local Farmer's Market. Picked up several tomato plants (3 romas, 2 brandywines, 2 early girls, and 1 sungold), a cilantro plant, lemon verbena, and some climbing trumpety thing just to pretty up the chicken run. A productive visit, indeed! Those almond filled croissants weren't bad either. :)

The rest of the day found us hanging clothes on the line, tending the strawberry patch, digging another row for more raspberries, and watching my wonderful son build an adorable fence around the garden. Hopefully, a picture will follow soon. So what's going on around your place? For now, I think I'll go bury my nose in that pile of freshly folded, line-dried clothes. It's like heaven in a basket.

BIG & Cheap

Oh, Winco, your overflowing parking lots, grand opening banners, and wonder of what could possibly lie inside those ominous four walls lured me in and wooed me. You'd be more accurate to plaster "BIG & Cheap" on the facade. Your prices are impressive, but your size overwhelms.

I will do my best to resist your temptations for mine eyes have been opened and I commit to making changes where I can. Though the pocketbook may squeal, I'll make my vote count where I can, for as long as I can.

But herein lies the quandry: Can I be thankful for the 250 jobs you bring and not want to grace your doors at the same time? For an instant, I live in a Utopian world, and I say YES!

Farewell, Mrs. Pleasantview!

I think it's been about 2 years since I stumbled across Mrs. Pleasantview's blog (not her real name, but what I've come to affectionately call her). She has seemed like a dear, reliable friend ever since. She posted faithfully most everyday, except Sunday. And if the joys of life kept her away, she was sure to let us know when she would return.

Hers was a blog filled with beauty and grace. Sure to inspire all who entered. So thank you, Mrs. Pleasantview of Pleasantview Schoolhouse, for sharing your life with us over the last 5 years. Blessings to you in whatever journey the Lord leads.

I hope the rest of you will take time to explore her many pages of beauty and come away refreshed and inspired.

Killer Cat

I LOVE this little farm cat. We got him about a year ago from Dalyn. Well, we actually started out with three, but the food chain will have its way. Anyway, this little guy is such a lover, sticks close to home, and just generally thinks he is king of all. And to top it all off, he is awesome at what we got him for! Rats, mice, and even the occasional chipmunk (as pictured above in its last rights) can't escape his clutch. He is truly the perfect "farm" cat. The last feline standing.

Check Out This Giveaway!

Looks like I'm back to blogging! Not sure why I let it go to the wayside, but with a fresh name, I'm hoping to be inspired with lots of new posts and to meet many of you in blogland. :)

For my grand re-opening, I'm inviting you to head over to "Walk Slowly, Live Wildly" with Sara for a great giveaway. I have enjoyed her blog for a few years now and love her funky style and dreads! Her life is intersting and filled with excitement. So enter the drawing and take some time to get to know Sara.

Walk Slowly - Live Wildly