And in my ever growing cheapness....(scratch that)....I mean..errr...effort to save money....(yeah that's it)....I have started making my own bread.
(Also...drum roll please...making my own laundry soap!
These things SOUND more ambitious then they are. They are easy and practical ways to save money. And lets face it...We all like to spend money on things, other then necessities....especially around Christmas time!
Easy Recipe for Bread:
1/4 C. Milk
5 t. sugar
1 t. salt
5 t. butter ( 1 1/2 T)
1 pkg of yeast (or 2 1/4 tsp)
2 1/2 - 3 1/2 C flour (unbleached white)
Put 1 C warm water in yeast and stir. Melt butter in microwave. Add it to milk, sugar, salt. Then stir it. Add to yeast mixture. Then add 2 C of flour to the mixture. Start stirring (its OK if some of the dough sticks to the bowl...) remaining flour in adding 1/4 C at a time(every minute or so.) Dough should be "slightly sticky" but not stick to hands.
Beat dough ball for 10 minutes. Then punch flat, and fold into ball again(repeat for 10 min or until you think your hands and arms might fall off!) I like to squeeze and twist it too!
After beating the heck out of it, put it into a greased bowl to rest 1 hour. (and give yourself a rest too!)
Punch down dough (3 or 4 whacks). Lay dough on floured area...shape it into a rectangle shape. roll it up tucked end underneath. Spray pan and cover loaf with towel. Wait ANOTHER hour. Put loaf in 400' oven for 30 minutes.
I had never learned to make bread, until I found this recipe. It is EASY enough to make with kids underfoot and it fills the house with that wonderful smell of baking bread! And I don't have to pay 3.00 a loaf!
Laundry soap:
1 c water
plus 3 Gallons of water
1 C borax (3.00 for huge box)
1 C washing soda (not baking soda) ( 3.00 for huge box)
1 bar of soap(dosen't matter what kind)
1 5 gallon bucket
Warm water in pan on stove, while shreading soap( cheese grater works well) then add shredded soap. DO NOT LET IT BOIL. Stir it until disolved.
In 5 gal bucket add borax and washing soda mix. Add 3 gallons water. Stir.
When pan of soap is disolved, add it to bucket.
let it sit for a day, then stir it again. Ours looks like leftover soapy bathwater. But the website that I got the recipe from said theres looked like slime...so it must vary depending on the soap used.
We poured it into old laundry soap containers, and use it a cup at a time.
Works every bit as good as laundry soap, maby better!
Just thought I would share. Hope these recipes might save someone a few bucks the way they have our family. Merry Christmas and God bless!
NOTE: Spell check hates me and won't do the last half of the page, so bear with me!
Still learning all of lifes lessions, one day at a time.
Wednesday, December 10, 2008
Wednesday, October 22, 2008
I am still alive...
I just thought that instead of reading about everyone elses 'oh so interesting' lives, I should go and live mine....and it's been one hell of a month! ('scuse the french)
~That was french?~
We bought two clunker cars as our other newer van could not be registered without major overhaul.
My Darling Dearest has been working weekends for the last month. That means, that I get to do EVERYTHING around here myself, because he is working his guts out, and when he gets home he melts into the couch from exhaustion.
We also had(and still have) a goat issue....
*(Here comes the long winded story/explanation)*
She got into the chicken feed and got bloat. I spent the next two(or was it three?) days force feeding her tums, massaging her stomach, and walking her around the pasture. THEN when she started to look like she felt better I decided that I should milk her so she didn't dry up. As I was doing this I noticed that she was bleeding from her privates..... SO
(back in time)
When we got "Nanny" we got her for a milk goat, and she had just been freshened. But when we got there to pick her up she was in with (and under) a billy, who didn't want to see her go. So we knew she had been "exposed". I read that you can't tell with goats until about the last month( unless you get the vet) if they are pregnant. And IF she was pregnant, she wouldn't be due until the middle of November. SO...
(back to the present)
After I seen the blood I assumed that the bloat had made the babies stillborn and that they were coming out. I ran to the store and bought anything and everything that I might need to help Nanny and her kids survive.( i.e. iodine, pads for the kids to be born on, floss for the umbilical cord...exc...) Then I read everything I could about delivering both live and stillborn kids for the next two days while running out there every hour to check on her....
That was last week.
Still no baby's.
She walks like they have dropped.( like she has a kid in her crotch), but she is getting around alright, and she has stopped bleeding.... I WISH I HAD MONEY FOR A VET...but I don't.
So I am just waiting. I don't know if , maybe she was just in heat...and I am dumb, or what???
But then why would she be walking like that? I just hope and pray that by some miracle that her kids are alright .
I dunno.
All that plus:
Getting my oldest boy glasses.
Getting my oldest girl to the dentist.
Getting a new niece...
Potty training
and trying to finally decide how to remodel our house. (with money we don't have)
I think I need a vacation! I guess that if life wasn't crazy we would get pretty bored though!
Thanks for checking on me! Still alive...Just need some ginseng....!!!! And a hot bath! :) One day when I finally find my long lost camera I will post some pics!
~That was french?~
We bought two clunker cars as our other newer van could not be registered without major overhaul.
My Darling Dearest has been working weekends for the last month. That means, that I get to do EVERYTHING around here myself, because he is working his guts out, and when he gets home he melts into the couch from exhaustion.
We also had(and still have) a goat issue....
*(Here comes the long winded story/explanation)*
She got into the chicken feed and got bloat. I spent the next two(or was it three?) days force feeding her tums, massaging her stomach, and walking her around the pasture. THEN when she started to look like she felt better I decided that I should milk her so she didn't dry up. As I was doing this I noticed that she was bleeding from her privates..... SO
(back in time)
When we got "Nanny" we got her for a milk goat, and she had just been freshened. But when we got there to pick her up she was in with (and under) a billy, who didn't want to see her go. So we knew she had been "exposed". I read that you can't tell with goats until about the last month( unless you get the vet) if they are pregnant. And IF she was pregnant, she wouldn't be due until the middle of November. SO...
(back to the present)
After I seen the blood I assumed that the bloat had made the babies stillborn and that they were coming out. I ran to the store and bought anything and everything that I might need to help Nanny and her kids survive.( i.e. iodine, pads for the kids to be born on, floss for the umbilical cord...exc...) Then I read everything I could about delivering both live and stillborn kids for the next two days while running out there every hour to check on her....
That was last week.
Still no baby's.
She walks like they have dropped.( like she has a kid in her crotch), but she is getting around alright, and she has stopped bleeding.... I WISH I HAD MONEY FOR A VET...but I don't.
So I am just waiting. I don't know if , maybe she was just in heat...and I am dumb, or what???
But then why would she be walking like that? I just hope and pray that by some miracle that her kids are alright .
I dunno.
All that plus:
Getting my oldest boy glasses.
Getting my oldest girl to the dentist.
Getting a new niece...
Potty training
and trying to finally decide how to remodel our house. (with money we don't have)
I think I need a vacation! I guess that if life wasn't crazy we would get pretty bored though!
Thanks for checking on me! Still alive...Just need some ginseng....!!!! And a hot bath! :) One day when I finally find my long lost camera I will post some pics!
Friday, October 3, 2008
Strong women
I have been very blessed to have so many strong women in my life to look up to, learn from and occasionally lean on.
My Grandma surprised me today by just dropping by. She is one of my favorite people in the world. And though only a few miles separate us we don't get to see each other as much as we would like. So, it is always a joy to sit for awhile and visit. We complain about the 'men folk' and the trail of dirty dishes and cloths they leave behind. We compare chili sauce recipes. And Grandma tells me of story's about when her kids were little. I love to imagine her as a mother and my Dad, and Aunt, and Uncle as children. My Grandpa is/and was a trucker, and was gone a lot lto while their children were growing up. So Grandma had to go it alone a lot of the time. She tells me of times when Grandpa was away at work and she, with no car and pregnant, would walk the older kids to school. She tells of a time when my Aunt, who had just learned to walk had fallen on the cement steps leading out of the house, and her two front teeth had just come out, Grandma had to 'hold them in' until my Grandpa could make it home (luckily he was working local that day) and they could make it in to the Dr's. She tells me of a time when they would have nothing to eat except macaroni and tomatoes for sometimes weeks, to make ends meet.
There is something magical when I imagine her as not a grandmother but a mother, like me. It makes her more human. More accessible.
Another strong women in my life is my Mother. She also raised four kids with a trucker Hubby.
She is one of my best friends.
I cannot imagine not having my husband here. Sure, he makes a mess and leaves his laundry all over the place...But he is adult companionship. And I would just plain miss him.
My Cousin, who is more like a sister to me then my own sister is, is a strong and successful business women. She is also compassionate and loving, and would do anything for the people that she loves.
My Best friend, who can set up a tee pee and start a fire faster then any man I know.
I can only hope that, having watched these strong women all of my life, some of their selflessness and determination have somehow rubbed off on me. And I am so very grateful to have all of them in my life.
My Grandma surprised me today by just dropping by. She is one of my favorite people in the world. And though only a few miles separate us we don't get to see each other as much as we would like. So, it is always a joy to sit for awhile and visit. We complain about the 'men folk' and the trail of dirty dishes and cloths they leave behind. We compare chili sauce recipes. And Grandma tells me of story's about when her kids were little. I love to imagine her as a mother and my Dad, and Aunt, and Uncle as children. My Grandpa is/and was a trucker, and was gone a lot lto while their children were growing up. So Grandma had to go it alone a lot of the time. She tells me of times when Grandpa was away at work and she, with no car and pregnant, would walk the older kids to school. She tells of a time when my Aunt, who had just learned to walk had fallen on the cement steps leading out of the house, and her two front teeth had just come out, Grandma had to 'hold them in' until my Grandpa could make it home (luckily he was working local that day) and they could make it in to the Dr's. She tells me of a time when they would have nothing to eat except macaroni and tomatoes for sometimes weeks, to make ends meet.
There is something magical when I imagine her as not a grandmother but a mother, like me. It makes her more human. More accessible.
Another strong women in my life is my Mother. She also raised four kids with a trucker Hubby.
She is one of my best friends.
I cannot imagine not having my husband here. Sure, he makes a mess and leaves his laundry all over the place...But he is adult companionship. And I would just plain miss him.
My Cousin, who is more like a sister to me then my own sister is, is a strong and successful business women. She is also compassionate and loving, and would do anything for the people that she loves.
My Best friend, who can set up a tee pee and start a fire faster then any man I know.
I can only hope that, having watched these strong women all of my life, some of their selflessness and determination have somehow rubbed off on me. And I am so very grateful to have all of them in my life.
Wednesday, October 1, 2008
I have been trying to find time to clean the house...before it gets too out of control. Our crazy schedule is still kicking our butts... My daughter fell asleep in the van on the way home from school on Friday...poor kid. Today is no-preschool day. I don't really understand why but apparently they don't conduct preschool on Wednesday...go figure. I am definitly not complaining though! In fact, I am still in my PJ's. And I have no big plans to really go anywhere at all today. I plan on wandering the house all day in my pj's, and gradually picking up all of the toys that get scattered from one end of the house to the other. In fact, my Darling dear hubby has traded me shifts on the 'goat milking' schedule. I now have the night shift!! Let me explain, I am by no means a morning person. And getting four kids up, dressed and fed is enough of a hassle by itself! Now add milking a goat in to the mix...
I don't think I have ever wrote much about the individual personalities of my kids....
My oldest is a rough and tumble boy, who's attention span lasts no longer then the commercials on his beloved TV. I love him dearly, but am sad to announce he has my stubbornness.
Then is my four year old. My leap year girl! She is SO sweet, and dear. She is my little helper, the little mommy. She always helps the little ones when I might not be able to at that exact moment. She will pick up toys and help clean without complaining!!! She is my own little Cinderella... and she is always happy.... I miss her so much when she is at school!
Next is Chuck...(short for Charlotte) She is a mix of Jared and Bella, the older two.
She is two. She is funny and at times very stubborn... and jealous of her little brother. She is still trying to decide if she wants to be a big kid or a baby. She has just recently decided she likes dolls. We now bring baby's everywhere we go.
Markie is the youngest. He is nine months old. He has always been an easy baby, and I think he will be easy going like his bigger sister(thank God!) He is trying to learn how to walk and basically has full run of the house exploring and deconstructing everything in sight.
I don't think I have ever wrote much about the individual personalities of my kids....
My oldest is a rough and tumble boy, who's attention span lasts no longer then the commercials on his beloved TV. I love him dearly, but am sad to announce he has my stubbornness.
Then is my four year old. My leap year girl! She is SO sweet, and dear. She is my little helper, the little mommy. She always helps the little ones when I might not be able to at that exact moment. She will pick up toys and help clean without complaining!!! She is my own little Cinderella... and she is always happy.... I miss her so much when she is at school!
Next is Chuck...(short for Charlotte) She is a mix of Jared and Bella, the older two.
She is two. She is funny and at times very stubborn... and jealous of her little brother. She is still trying to decide if she wants to be a big kid or a baby. She has just recently decided she likes dolls. We now bring baby's everywhere we go.
Markie is the youngest. He is nine months old. He has always been an easy baby, and I think he will be easy going like his bigger sister(thank God!) He is trying to learn how to walk and basically has full run of the house exploring and deconstructing everything in sight.
Sunday, September 28, 2008
We have water!
The back pasture area now has water!!! We might be able to actually grow SOMETHING!
When we bought the house, the lady we bought it from said that she had put sprinklers into the pasture....she didden't, and of course we didden't actually look. The garden area has a water spicket, that we(my darling dear) modified into a drip system...but the pasture has been without water and was just dirt and puncture weeds. My neighbor ( bless him!) rented a trencher for the day, and when he was done he sent it over our way. So the digging part was soo much easier then it would have been otherwise...thank god for modern machines.
Maby one day I will have the nice green pasture grass I drempt of when we first bought the house....
The weekend was spent filling in the afore mentioned trench. As well as canning a bushel, or so, of tomatoes so they didden't sit in my kitchen and rot. I will not claim that I enjoy canning. I dont. But I also cannot and will not let them go to waste. I guess there is something to be said for the fealing of accomplishment when you are done with an endless days worth of cutting, chopping, and juggling pots of scalding hot water around. Not to mention, the screaming children that just do not understand WHY they cannot circle my feet as I do this. BUT THEN AFTER i AM FINISHED, I can say " I did this!" And have something tangible (and tasty) to prove it.
That is actually a great accomplishment for me... I have no real talent. I cannot yodel ( wink, wink), I cannot draw, or play any instrument.... All I seem do do well is have cute kids..and I don't think that has as much to do with me as with genetics....But I will take what I can get...
When we bought the house, the lady we bought it from said that she had put sprinklers into the pasture....she didden't, and of course we didden't actually look. The garden area has a water spicket, that we(my darling dear) modified into a drip system...but the pasture has been without water and was just dirt and puncture weeds. My neighbor ( bless him!) rented a trencher for the day, and when he was done he sent it over our way. So the digging part was soo much easier then it would have been otherwise...thank god for modern machines.
Maby one day I will have the nice green pasture grass I drempt of when we first bought the house....
The weekend was spent filling in the afore mentioned trench. As well as canning a bushel, or so, of tomatoes so they didden't sit in my kitchen and rot. I will not claim that I enjoy canning. I dont. But I also cannot and will not let them go to waste. I guess there is something to be said for the fealing of accomplishment when you are done with an endless days worth of cutting, chopping, and juggling pots of scalding hot water around. Not to mention, the screaming children that just do not understand WHY they cannot circle my feet as I do this. BUT THEN AFTER i AM FINISHED, I can say " I did this!" And have something tangible (and tasty) to prove it.
That is actually a great accomplishment for me... I have no real talent. I cannot yodel ( wink, wink), I cannot draw, or play any instrument.... All I seem do do well is have cute kids..and I don't think that has as much to do with me as with genetics....But I will take what I can get...
Friday, September 26, 2008
.....Is there anybody out there????......
I feal as though I have been undiscovered in this vast universe, at least internet wise....
Not that I am complaining. Actually I started this 'blog' thing because I wanted to have an online journal. ( and possibly feedback?) I wanted to have 'somewhere' to go....where I could vent, and noone would know it was me. Isn't that terrible. How passive agressive is that? I think I may still have a shred of sanity left, and maby this Blog will help me hang on to it....
RAMBLING.....
ANYWAY..... My daughter started Preschool last week. She is a morning person and usually takes naps during the time she is now in preschool. ( I hope her head dosen't spin around, while she is there...) Suffice to say it screwed up our existing schedule beond repair. Now when the littler kids would have been taking their nap I get to drive 15 miniutes(each way) to go and drop off and then retrieve their sister. Their naps are now in the van, and then I have to wake them up to go in and get their sister, and then they fall asleep in the van again on the way home. Also, my new little preschooler is falling asleep in her dinner. SIGH. And nevermind if I actually have to go and 'pick something' up from the store....It is a nightmare.... WHY where they so scheduled again? I knew that it would come back to bite me in the butt, one day... Hopefully things will settle down into a routine again soon. Before I go crazier.... When I was alittle kid I used to think that my mom was so awnrey all the time. Little did I know, I was probably the one MAKING her awnrey.... Ahhh to be a kid again.....
Not that I am complaining. Actually I started this 'blog' thing because I wanted to have an online journal. ( and possibly feedback?) I wanted to have 'somewhere' to go....where I could vent, and noone would know it was me. Isn't that terrible. How passive agressive is that? I think I may still have a shred of sanity left, and maby this Blog will help me hang on to it....
RAMBLING.....
ANYWAY..... My daughter started Preschool last week. She is a morning person and usually takes naps during the time she is now in preschool. ( I hope her head dosen't spin around, while she is there...) Suffice to say it screwed up our existing schedule beond repair. Now when the littler kids would have been taking their nap I get to drive 15 miniutes(each way) to go and drop off and then retrieve their sister. Their naps are now in the van, and then I have to wake them up to go in and get their sister, and then they fall asleep in the van again on the way home. Also, my new little preschooler is falling asleep in her dinner. SIGH. And nevermind if I actually have to go and 'pick something' up from the store....It is a nightmare.... WHY where they so scheduled again? I knew that it would come back to bite me in the butt, one day... Hopefully things will settle down into a routine again soon. Before I go crazier.... When I was alittle kid I used to think that my mom was so awnrey all the time. Little did I know, I was probably the one MAKING her awnrey.... Ahhh to be a kid again.....
Thursday, September 25, 2008
stupid economy....
I am addicted to looking through house ads. I have no desire to move, I just like to look. Well, this morning I found a house down a couple of streets from my own. It had three bedrooms and 2 bathrooms and was on an acre. Ours is a small two bedroom with one VERY small bath. Suffice to say, they were selling it MUCH cheaper then we bought ours for last year. Hell, if I COULD I probably WOULD sell this one and move 2 streets away. But no onewould buy mine if the other one was cheaper and bigger......SIGH......
So I guess we will do what we always do...make do with what we have. And be greatful for it.
So I guess we will do what we always do...make do with what we have. And be greatful for it.
Wednesday, September 24, 2008
A LITTLE BIT ABOUT ME...
My favorite things are:
The sound of rain on our tin roof.
A nice warm fireplace when it is cold outside.
Hot chocolate.
Wind chimes.
BBQs.
Camping.
My kids when they are laughing and playing (as opposed to fighting).
A good book.
The fealing you get when you help someone.
Holidays where the family gathers together.
Good friends.
The simplicity of milking my goat.
Our small farm.
Watching our chickens peck around the yard.
Watching the leaves change color.
The fealing you get when the seasons are changing again.
Pie.
Flowers.
Any dinner that I don't have to cook.
I guess that is a start. I can't think of what else....
Except that I am a mom of four small children, a wife to a wonderful husband, a caregiver to a calf called Big Hunk, a goat named Nanny, a pygmy goat named Baby, 9 chickens 1 rooster and 5 baby chicks......and three cats and one dog.......and a chicken in a peach tree.......
The sound of rain on our tin roof.
A nice warm fireplace when it is cold outside.
Hot chocolate.
Wind chimes.
BBQs.
Camping.
My kids when they are laughing and playing (as opposed to fighting).
A good book.
The fealing you get when you help someone.
Holidays where the family gathers together.
Good friends.
The simplicity of milking my goat.
Our small farm.
Watching our chickens peck around the yard.
Watching the leaves change color.
The fealing you get when the seasons are changing again.
Pie.
Flowers.
Any dinner that I don't have to cook.
I guess that is a start. I can't think of what else....
Except that I am a mom of four small children, a wife to a wonderful husband, a caregiver to a calf called Big Hunk, a goat named Nanny, a pygmy goat named Baby, 9 chickens 1 rooster and 5 baby chicks......and three cats and one dog.......and a chicken in a peach tree.......
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