A Good Monday

Monday was a good day for us here on the "old homestead."    We were able to continue working on the "ongoing" list of projects that need to be done, as well as keeping up with the laundry and other "normal stuff." 

I was able to put up quite a few jars of strawberry jam, in addition to working in the garden awhile.  I have to admit that I also took time to sit and watch the chickens and goats.  There is nothing any more relaxing to me than sitting on the porch and watching the goats graze and the chickens scratch and peck their way around the yard.  Throw in a couple of "strutting" roosters and you have quite a show. 

While I was busy with my various activities, my middle son, Caleb, was working on a trundle bed for my youngest grandaughter.  Due to the limited space in Amanda's home, she asked if Caleb could help her find a solution to three babies, one bedroom.  They settled on a trundle bed that will roll (with locking wheels :) under Rachel's daybed during the day and can be pulled out at night.  He built it in such a way that if she is later able to purchase bunk beds for the girls, then the trundle will serve as a big drawer for storage.   I'm very proud of the job that he did and Ellen is loving her "new" bed.

Rachel got in on the work as well by "helping" me work in the garden and also "helping" wash dishes.  It really blesses my heart to be able to "work" alongside these sweet babies as they learn and grow.    Later, after all of Rachel's hard work, we let them play in their little wading pool for an hour or so.  

Rachel is learning to be very watchful and protective of her little sister and yesterday I noticed that Ellen is beginning to look to Rachel for help with the things that she can't do yet.  It is so sweet to watch them play. 

I have had a great start to my week.  I hope you have too.

Winging It

We will be "winging it" as far as meals go this week.  I haven't had time this weekend to plan for them, but I do have a few things in the freezer so, hopefully, it won't be too bad. 

This past Saturday was very productive and I am so thankful to my hardworking boys who spent the majority of their day working on projects for me.   One of the big projects was yard work. 

I know that doesn't sound like a big project, but we have about 10 acres that has to be mowed and weed-eated.  That includes my parents and daughters yards, but since we all live on my Dad's place it makes for one BIG yard.   (That doesn't include the bush-hogging that has to be done in the pasture and woody areas.)

Thankfully, we have a finishing mower that is pulled behind our Deutz tractor and also a riding mower and a couple of push mowers.    My youngest son took care of the mowing close to the house while the older boys did the tractor work.  While one of the older boys was on the tractor,  the other was helping with various other projects that were going on at the time.

After mowing, my two youngest sons weed-eated around all of the fruit trees and flower beds and then did the ditch banks.  My yard looks soooo good now. 

In addition to the yard work, my middle son bought the materials to begin working on a trundle bed for Amanda's youngest daughter and my oldest son replaced a fuel pump in his Dad's surburban. 

We also did quite a bit in the house Saturday and I was thankful for the help in lifting and moving things around.    I'm really hoping to get most of the household projects completed by Thursday of this week so that I can focus on soapmaking and sewing the latter part, but I'm not sure if it will work out that way.   Mainly because my sweet husband bought 16 pounds of strawberries at a really good price and I am hoping to be making jam today.  He mentioned that he may be able to get more if I wanted them, which I do, so I may be spending the next couple of days making jam.  

I have two nursing cover-ups that need to be finished by Wednesday, because the lady I'm making them for has a baby shower to attend this upcoming weekend and that's the only day I will be seeing her to deliver them.  

All in all, I'm looking forward to another busy, but productive, week and am so thankful that God has blessed me with hardworking helpers :)

Not So Bad After All

Even though yesterday started out bad and I continued to drop, spill, run into, etc things for the rest of the day it ended up not being so bad after all.  

I took the time to enjoy my coffee (wet backside and all) and then proceeded to enjoy a bowl of chocolate pudding.  I think it was the pudding, but suddenly things started to look better.  I decided that it really didn't matter how many "accidents" I had, because I was still blessed.   I have a wonderful family, a great life, and gracious Heavenly Father and absolutely NO reason to be complaining. 

After my coffee and pudding revelation, my daughter, youngest son, two grandaughters and I spent most of the day in town running errands.  We had to get feed for all of the critters, groceries for the family, and while we were out we took time to deliver quite a few Avon books. 

My daughter, Amanda, is an Avon representative and since she desperately wants to homeschool her children and desperately does not want to have to work outside of the home while trying to do that, she is making a big effort to increase her customer base.  Soooo, if you or anyone you know would be interested in checking out her website you can find it here www.youravon.com/asibley.    When ordering online there is a minimal shipping fee (free for orders over $30) and the website includes any sales items and also the outlet store. 

By the time we finished running our errands, Amanda was really getting tired and the babies were really getting cranky, so we called it a day and headed home.   I think we were all ready for an early bedtime.  

I'm not sure yet what the day holds for us, but my plan is to work on my house cleaning "To Do" list and hopefully spend some time in the garden.  I also have a couple of errands to run this afternoon that I didn't get to yesterday.  All in all, I'm expecting to have a productive day.  I guess we'll see how it goes.

A Foot in the Bucket Kind of Morning

Have you ever had a "foot in the bucket" morning?  Well, anyone that's ever milked knows exactly what I'm talking about and I'm having one of those days today.  

To begin with I overslept which is never a good thing.  I usually try to be up and moving between 6:00 and 6:30 every morning.  This morning it was 8:00 before I got up.  That automatically puts me two hours behind and the day hasn't even started. 

Ferrell and I went out to milk and everything was going well, when all of a sudden the dear, sweet, goat that I'm milking, for no apparent reason starts stomping (I realized later there was a fly bugging her). 

Since I was daydreaming and not paying attention she managed to get her foot in the bucket and dump all of the milk.  It would have been ok if she had dumped it at the beginning, but NO she waits until we're almost finished.  

As we come in from the barn I walk into the kitchen to clean up the milking supplies and realize SOMEONE had a midnight snack evidently and I now have a sink full of dishes to wash as well.  (We don't have an electric dishwasher).  

By this point I'm getting slightly aggravated with myself and the way the day is going, so I decide to go on the porch with my coffee to "simmer down" before tackling anything else.  Guess what!  My swing cushions are wet due to the rain we had last night!   Guess what else is wet?  

 I think I may go back to bed and start over.   Probably not though, since I have quite a few errands to run and I'm seriously thinking, that to get anything productive done today I will have to incorporate my "15 minute rule."  Maybe that will make me get motivated to re-start my day. 

I hope everyone else is having a better start to their morning!

Making Soap and Enjoying Life

I am really enjoying my week so far.  It's been busy, but it's a normal kind of busy and that I can take delight in.  I've made a start on my "To Do" list for the company that we have coming in a couple of weeks and have also kept up fairly well with our "day to day" things (like the never ending laundry :).  

Today's plan is to make more goat's milk soap.  I made some last week and am planning to make a couple of batches today as well since I sold the last of what I already had on hand yesterday.  (I did keep a few bars for my family). 

Soapmaking is one of those things that I really enjoy doing.  I enjoy playing around with new recipes and learning what works and what doesn't.  I've been learning to add herbs and colorants to some of my soaps, since I have had a few people request that and it's been fun.  Some of my "experiments" have turned out well and some just haven't, but they're all fun.  

I usually make my experimental batches in a smaller (one pound) quantity, so that there is not as much waste if it flops.  It's fairly easy to adapt the recipes to larger quantities later using http://www.soapcalc.net/ if the recipe is one I want to continue making. 

Today I will making a plain, unscented, goat's milk soap, because I am totally out and I have a few people that really like it for their children dealing with eczema.   I also plan to make the same recipe with Lavender scent  simply because I like it :) 

Well, I guess if I don't get started, I won't get finished so time to go.  I hope all of you are enjoying life as much as I am at the moment!

A Normal Routine

Things have finally started to settle down and I am able to establish a routine of sorts.  For me, routines equal normal.   Even if our routine periodically changes or gets interrupted I still function much better if I have one.  Things have been so crazy around here the past few months that I am really thankful to finally have a routine in place that allows me to feel like I am accomplishing something instead of just "spinning my wheels".

So far today I have done the milking, washed & hung four loads of laundry, spent an hour playing in the yard with the grandbabies, made a double batch of plantain/comfrey/aloe salve, made a quick trip to town, spent an hour in the garden, made homemade deoderant, filled the hummingbird feeders, fixed snacks and lunch for the grandbabies, cleaned house (nothing intense just dishes, sweeping, straightening, etc.), put beans on to soak, and am now about to begin supper preparations.   That is the most I have accomplished in one day in a long time.  I think I am finally re-learning how to work around toddlers in the house and maybe, just maybe, I will be able to finished today's list tomorrow :) 

Menu Plan for 5/22/2011

In case you haven't noticed I've been a very inconsistent blogger lately :)   Spring and summer are always a busy time for us and this year has been busier than usual.  I have discovered that I need some sort of weekly plan, since I absolutely do not accomplish as much without one.   So here's the plan for the week!

Sunday - Leftovers and Sandwiches

Monday - Bacon, Eggs, Grits and Biscuits

Tuesday - Sphagetti, Salad & Homemade Bread

Wednesday - Soup & Sandwiches

Thursday - Deer Meat with gravy, Rice & Steamed Vegetables

Friday - Beef Stir Fry & Rice

Saturday - Hobo Dinner



Breakfasts - Cheese Toast, Muffins, Hot or Cold Cereal, Fruit, and Smoothies

Lunches - Sandwiches, Soup, Leftovers, Fruit, and Smoothies

Snacks - Cheese & Crackers, Fruit, Smoothies, Muffins, and Cookies


Other things that I will be focusing on this week are:

Soaking and cooking beans for the freezer
Dehydrating strawberries
Making more plantain salve
Making two nursing cover-ups for a friend
Working in the garden
Making more plum jelly
Making goat's milk Soap
Making plain lye soap


In addition to these projects we are also hoping to give our house an overall deep cleaning over the next couple of weeks.  My middle son is having a friend come spend a week with us in June and I would like to have several things done before this visit.   I won't attempt to post that list here, but there are quite a few things that have been "let go" the last few months and I am hoping to catch up on those areas before our guest arrives.  That will free us up to relax and just enjoy the visit with (hopefully) fewer distractions.

I am also still spending quite a bit of time helping my daughter since she is continuing to have problems with her pregnancy.  She is seeing the doctor again this week and hopefully will be able to begin resuming normal activities.  

In the meantime, Rachel and Ellen spend most mornings with me.  I take them home for lunch and a nap (their Mom naps during this time as well) and after their nap they come back over for a couple of hours to play outside.  After playing outside they go home and watch a movie or play inside while I prepare supper.   Amanda and the girls usually eat supper with us and after supper, Ferrell does the dishes while I take the girls home to get baths and into their pajamas.   At that point I go home and finish anything that I didn't get done during the day and hopefully sit down with a cup of tea to unwind before bed. 

So what's your week looking like?

Mornings on the Homestead

I love early mornings on our little homestead!

For me, that is the perfect start to the day.  There is such a feeling of peace in my spirit during the mornings while I milk and Maybelle is the perfect goat for milking.  She stands quietly and eats while I milk and it gives me time to think and sometimes NOT to think, but just a time to enjoy the peace and quiet.  

Now anyone that has livestock knows that by quiet, I don't really mean silence, I just mean no pressure, no stress, no real chaos, and no immediate demands on my time.  While I'm milking I can hear Ferrell moving around the barn feeding and watering the horses, moving the young goats to the pasture area, and cleaning whatever needs to be cleaned at the time. 

For some reason, neither of us really talk while we're in the barn.  I think he enjoys the peacefulness as much as I do (or maybe he's just too sleepy :).   In the background we can hear the horses softly nickering, the rooster crowing, and the goats gently bleating.  

After our time in the barn we quietly move back to the house and really begin our day.  The quiet time is over and real life begins to intrude.  Yep, I love mornings on the homestead.

Week at a Glance

Sorry I haven't had time to post yet this week, but for some reason this week has seemed a little busier than usual.  When I think about it, it probably hasn't been, but it definitely seems that way :). 

As you have probably figured out I have no menu plan for this week.    I have been meeting myself coming and going this week and we have been eating whatever I happen to have in the freezer or can prepare quickly.   Some of the combinations have been strange even for me.  An example would be last nights supper.  We had an egg and smoked sausage "crustless" quiche (aka frittata) and bean dip with tortilla chips.   We have an abundance of eggs at the moment and lots of beans cooked and in the freezer so it seemed like a good idea at the time :)

Sunday I wasn't feeling well and still wasn't feeling great yesterday, but as you know life goes on.  I spent most of yesterday keeping my sweet grandaughters which does not help my productivity level any.  By the time they went home I was "wore slap out" as my Daddy would say.  We had a good time though and I am so thankful they live close.   

Today, my daughter called me at 6:00 a.m. to tell me she was having trouble breathing and was taking a breathing treatment.  That's usually a sign that I need to be prepared to take her to the doctor, which I did at 8:00 this morning.  When we got home, since Amanda had been up sick most of the night, I kept the girls at my house so that their mother could sleep.   Now it's about time to start getting things together for supper since the kids bluegrass gospel band will be practicing here tonight.   

I think that tomorrow should be a slow day and I am hoping to make some soap and work in the garden a little bit.   I guess we'll have to see though.  It greatly depends on how Amanda is feeling and whether or not I have the girls.  I absolutely am not brave enough to attempt soap making with two toddlers underfoot :)

Thursday I will be taking Amanda to a doctor appointment at 9:00 a.m. and taking Caleb to a doctor appointment at 1:20 that afternoon so I'm not thinking I'll be doing much around the "old homestead" that day.  Especially, since they will be having practice again that evening.   (They are working hard to get ready for their concert at the First Baptist Church in Eupora on Saturday night.)

Friday should be another slow day with another practice that night and Saturday is their concert in Eupora with The Red Roots Trio.   I guess that about sums it up.   So how's your week shaping up?

Our Two-legged AND Four-legged Kids at Play

Thought I would share some pictures of  the "kids" (both two legged and four legged) at play!

All of our kids enjoy playing in this old culvert.

Ellen loves the culvert, but isn't too sure about the goats :)

Ellen crawled in, but I don't think she realized Dottie was behind her!

This was right after she realized Dottie was in the culvert with her.



My oldest son Heath and his friend John decided that big kids like to play too :)



Heath & John "walking" the culvert

Heath & John falling off of the culvert :)

John was a little sick after his ride ;)



I Wouldn't Trade it for the World!

I don't know about the rest of you, but my life really didn't turn out the way I expected.  When I was young and still living at home with my parents I always imagined my life would include lots of money, a well-ordered house with EXTREMELY well behaved children (mine were never gonna act like the ones I usually saw in Wal-mart or the grocery store :).  A maid to help out 3-4 days a week, every recipe I tried would turn out simply awesome, I would always be the perfect weight, I would only work on projects that I personally chose too, we would live in the country, but I would never really have to get my hands dirty (unless I wanted to).  You get the picture, right? 

Well, my life did not turn out like the dreams and fantasies of a young girl.  We don't always have money for the things I want (or even some of the things I think I need), but I've learned a lot about patience and working hard for what we have.  I've learned to appreciate it more for the time and effort that goes into earning it. 

My home is definitely not always well-ordered, but it's full of love and quite often full of people.  I've been in houses that were VERY well-ordered and clean, but I felt SO uncomfortable there, because there was no true hospitality.  

My children have not always (and still aren't) extremely well-behaved.  They're human and they have me for a mother, enough said.  

I never could afford the maid, but I have hard working, intelligent children that know how to cook, do laundry, clean house, tend babies, change oil and tires on the car, milk goats, butcher rabbits and chickens, mow the yard, build fences, and the list goes on and on (and yes, I know all of that doesn't fall under the category of maid, but I also dreamed of gardeners, chaffeurs, etc.  If you're gonna dream, dream big, right?)   

Quite often my recipes do NOT turn out as planned, I'm definitely NOT the perfect weight and I consistently work on projects that I don't personally choose.  Sometimes I think my hands are dirty more often than they're clean and I've done things I never could have possibly dreamed about. 

Things like milking goats, butchering chickens and rabbits, shearing sheep, changing oil and tires, bringing baby goats into my house and warming them in the oven of my stove to keep them alive, bottle feeding orphaned animals (kittens, puppies, goats, rabbits, etc.),  stacking hay, building fences, sewing clothes, homeschooling, managing an old time gospel all acoustic band, making homemade soap, learning to cook gluten, dairy and egg free, and the list goes on and on and on. 

You know what I've discovered along the way?  I love my life!  It's not uncomplicated and it definitely requires hard work.  There are always unexpected interruptions and projects that require immediate attention and sometimes it still blows my mind that, by todays standards, my chosen homesteading, homeschooling, hardworking lifestyle is referred to as simple.   Then I get to thinking maybe it is.  Maybe if I look at my life the way other people do, it really is simple.

During my daily activities I can take the time to appreciate the little things, like the smell of clothes hung on the line, the sounds of the rooster crowing in the morning, and children giggling in the yard.  

I'm not bogged down with committees or club meetings.  I don't always feel like I have to look picture perfect, because of who I am going to be seeing or what I'm going to be doing.  I don't have to be at an outside job five days a week to pay for my new car or the wardrobe that I need to do my job.

We have no outside school activities unless we choose for there to be and I can spend time sitting on my porch in the evening listening to (and sometime participating in)  the music my children play.  I can enjoy watching my grandaughters play in the yard with our dogs, goats and rabbits and later cuddle with them while reading a story together. 

I have time to do special things for my family (like oven drying freshly painted car parts, Lol.  (And yes, I have done that :). 

I will never be rich and it's pretty much a given that I will never have it all together.

 I am a simple person with a simple life and I wouldn't trade it for the world.

Bees

I've been "kicking around" the idea of getting some bees and was wondering if anyone has any information about getting started?  I have never raised bees and don't know anyone that does, but I was thinking that it would be interesting and also beneficial for our little homestead.  I would appreciate any information about beekeeping that you would be willing to share.

So far this year, we've added rabbits, chickens, and goats to our little homestead so I'm thinking about the bees for next year.  That way I've got a little time to learn before just "jumping in" like I usually do and also the opportunity to figure out if it's something I really want to do or not :)

Plan for the week

My menu plan for this week is very tentative and includes more salad/slaw than usual.   This is mainly because my daughter's pregnancy has been classified high risk and her doctor wants her to take it easy and that means I will be spending a lot of my time making sure that Amanda is eating and resting.  I will also have two sweet little girls spending a LOT of time with their RoRo for the next few weeks.

 I know that I will thoroughly enjoy the girls, but due to the fact that one of them is not quite three years old and the other is 16 months old it will be a little difficult for me to get much accomplished.  That's okay though, because building relationships is far more important than cleaning house :)   

Rachel loves to work in the garden so I'm sure that will be on the agenda for the week.   She also enjoys the goats so I'm sure we will also be spending some time "working" in the barn as well.  (Now, if we can just convince our "little Ellie girl" that the animals are not trying to attack her everytime they come close, we'll be doing good :)  

If Amanda is feeling fairly well, I am hoping to make some mozzarella cheese with some of my goats milk and I have a few recipes I want to try for soft cheeses as well.   I also need to make some gluten free bread for Caleb and hopefully make up a few more meals for Amanda's freezer so that she will not have to worry about cooking.   

Tuesday I will be driving my Dad to his doctors appointment which is over an hour away and we will be taking the girls with us so that Amanda can rest.  It should be interesting, don't you think?  I'm hoping to be able to work in a little bit of shopping while we are in Tupelo, but it depends on how my Dad is feeling and how well the girls are cooperating.   We'll just have to see how it goes, but for now here's our tentative meal plan.

Sunday - Roast with potatoes, carrots and green beans

Monday - Tuna Casserole and salad

Tuesday - Bar-b-que Chicken (crockpot), salad, and rice

Wednesday - Smoked Sausage, Rice, and Beans

Thursday - Chicken Enchiladas and salad

Friday - Hamburgers, Homemade Baked Beans, Cabbage Slaw

Saturday - Leftovers



Breakfast  - muffins, smoothies, fruit, hot cereal, eggs/toast/bacon

Lunch - leftovers, soup, muffins, sandwiches, smoothies, fruit/cheese

snacks - cheese/fruit, smoothies, jello, homemade chocolate/vanilla pudding

Not as Planned

As happens quite often around here, this week has not gone as planned.  So far I have not managed to get any cooking done for the freezer and have barely seemed to get supper on the table.   Why?  I have NO idea.  I don't think that we've really been any busier than usual, but for some reason this week has been a struggle. 

Part of it may be the fact that I've been spending a lot of time with my grandaughters this week.  My daughter, Amanda, is really not feeling well this week and has actually come VERY close to fainting a couple of times when trying to be outside with the girls.  I am so thankful that the Lord has allowed us to live close so that I can help her.  

I have great admiration for all of the young (and not so young) mothers of little ones.  It has been a long time since I've had a little one in my house for several hours and for several days at a time.  My youngest is sixteen and my house is geared toward older people. 

I have stocked up on water colors, crayons, wipes, playdough, coloring books, and story books.  We also have some DVD's, but I try really hard not to make visits to "RoRo's" about television.   We've also spent a good bit of time outside playing with the goats.  

I have thoroughly enjoyed my time with the girls, but they do require quite a bit of energy.  When my children were younger, I always had older ones to help with the younger ones, but with my grandchildren, quite often it's just me and I'm not as young as I once was :)

I'm thinking that, with Amanda not feeling well, AND this being her third pregnancy in three years, AND the fact that her husband isn't home much, I maybe better work on restocking my closets with inexpensive toddler friendly learning toys and games.  I'm pretty sure I will be enjoying quite a bit of their company over the next few months :) 

Maybe, I better work on organizing my schedule (you know, the one that I don't have) to include easier meal preparation, easier cleaning routines (yeah right!) and homeschooling priorities.  Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

Mary may have had a little lamb, but Rachel has a goat!

Mary may have had a little lamb, but Rachel has a goat and everywhere that Rachel went the goat was sure to go. 

Dottie has attached herself to Rachel and it is hilarious to watch.  Everywhere that Rachel goes, Dottie is a step behind.  If Rachel starts running, Dottie is running right behind her.  The two of them have played all morning.  Here's a few pics.



And Yet Another Homestead Addition

Do you get the feeling that this homesteading way of life is an ongoing project?  At least for us it is.  We have to do things a little at a time and decided that this year we would get goats and rabbits.  Today I picked up another goat for our little herd.  She is a purebred (non-registered) nubian doeling and very pretty.  The family that we got her from have twelve children and those children had already named her Dottie. 

Even though her "official" name is Dottie, I'm thinking it should have been "Little Miss Houdini!"  So far she has gotten out of the barn three times.  That wouldn't be an issue except that there are some non-goat friendly dogs in the area and I really would not like them to get my goats.  We typically let the goats out during the day when we are here, but at night (or if we are gone) I put them in the barn. 

I have spent most of this evening trying to "rig up" ways to keep "Little Ms. Houdini"  IN the barn when all she really wants to do is be OUT of the barn.  This is the first goat I've ever had that has gotten out of the barn.  I thought it was "goat proof", but evidently I have a lot to learn :) 

Oh well, I like a goat with personality and that 's a good thing, because she definitely has personality :)

Here's a picture of our new addition.  It's not very good, because it was taken while I was trying to keep her penned in a small area while I worked on "goat proofing" the rest. 

Dottie aka "Little Miss Houdini"

More Homestead Additions





Maybelle and Sunny Wether



Maybelle & Sunny Wether didn't quite know what to think about Rachel 

Saturday afternoon Amanda and I picked up our new "Homestead Additions".    We bought a purebred (unregistered) Sanaan doe (Maybelle)  and her baby boy (Sunny Wether).   (The previous owners said that it was a sunny day when they wethered the little guy, hence the name "Sunny Wether").   

We are so excited about our new additions and are looking forward to having fresh goats milk.   The previous owners had left Sunny on his Mama so it will be an adjustment for the little guy to switch to bottle feedings.  We thought we would give them a couple of days to settle in before we start milking.    

Menu Plan 5/1/2011

This past week I used up most of the "already cooked" food I had in my freezer so I'm hoping to fit in some "freezer cooking" at some point this week.   We're also planning to continue helping with storm clean up whenever possible. 

Here's the menu plan for the week:

Sunday - Potato Soup & Crackers
Monday - Stir Fry & Rice
Tuesday - Smoked Sausage Pilaf, Salad
Wednesday - Breakfast
Thursday - Chicken & Dumplings, Salad & Cornbread
Friday - Leftovers
Saturday - Bar-b-que Chicken, Rice, Green Beans

Breakfast - Muffins, eggs & toast, fruit, smoothies

Lunches - soup, fruit, smoothies, sandwiches, leftovers

Here's a list of things I'm planning to prepare for the freezer:

Muffins
Pancakes
Meat Loaf
Sphagetti Sauce
Turkey Rice Soup
Hamburger Steak
Taco Meat
Ground Beef for Casseroles
Bar-b-que Chicken Chunks
Meat Balls