Faith Farm

Thank You Jesus For Everything!

Take an interest in life and you'll find it to be an infinite source of richness and value. Become fascinated with certain aspects of this world and you'll find an endless source of treasure and possibility.

There is nothing in life that's boring. There are only people who choose to see things as boring.

In fact, wherever you are and whatever you're doing can be truly fascinating when you decide to make it so. Life in any moment is as interesting as you wish to make it.

When you're truly interested in what you're doing, you'll do it much more effectively. When you choose to take an interest, you'll discover whole new worlds of opportunity.

You are immersed in a truly amazing and fascinating universe. With just the slightest spark of interest, you can begin to travel a path of discovery that will lead to beautiful places you cannot now imagine.

Instead of complaining about how dull life is, truly take an interest, and follow that interest with passion. There is no limit to how far it will take you.

-- Ralph Marston

My gem of the day.
May we follow our dreams for it is unlimited where they will lead.
Lovingly, rilda

Beautiful Music To Praise The Lord!

Handy Substitute Recipes For Baking

Handy Substitute Recipes For Baking

• Cake Flour Recipe:
If you're running short on cake flour and need it now, here's a tip
for making your own: Add two level tablespoons of cornstarch to a
one-cup measuring cup, then fill with bread flour. Sift three times
then use as needed.

• Self-Rising Flour Recipe:
In a one-cup measure, place 1 1/2 tsp baking powder and 1/2 tsp salt,
then fill to top with flour. Mix well and store in an airtight
container if not used right away.

• Half And Half Cream Substitute:
In a one-cup measure, place 3 Tablespoons + 1 1/2 teaspoons of melted
butter. Top up the cup with whole milk. You can also use an equal
measure of evaporated milk as a half and half-cream substitute.

• Buttermilk Substitute:
You can substitute 1 cup of buttermilk with the following quick
recipe–In a one cup measuring cup, add 1 TBS of vinegar or lemon
juice, then top up the rest of the measuring cup with milk. Set aside
for 5 minutes, stir, then use as buttermilk in the recipe.

• Graham Cracker Crumb Crust Substitute:
In a pinch, you can use crushed corn flakes in place of graham cracker
crumbs. Recipe for crust: 2 cups crushed corn flakes*, 1/3 cup melted
butter, 2 TBS sugar. Gradually add the melted butter to the crushed
corn flakes and sugar. Mix well and press into pie plate (8″ or 9″).
Bake at 350° for 10 minutes. *Use the non-frosted corn flakes.

• Chocolate Squares Substitute:
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa & 1/4 cup melted Crisco (Substitution for 4
ounces unsweetened chocolate squares).

Baking Powder Substitutes

•Try 1/4 tsp baking soda & 1/2 tsp cream of tartar to substitute for 1
tsp baking powder.
•1/2 tsp baking soda per 1 cup of buttermilk (substitute for 2 tsp
baking powder–use buttermilk already called for in recipe).
•1/2 tsp baking soda per 1 cup of sour milk (or use 1 cup milk soured
with 1 TBS vinegar or lemon juice; use milk already called for in
recipe)–substitute for 2 tsp baking powder
•1 cup of milk with 1 3/4 tsp cream of tartar, add 1/2 tsp baking
soda–substitute for 2 tsp baking powder (use milk already required in
recipe)
•1/2 tsp baking soda per 1 cup of molasses (use molasses already
called for in recipe)–substitute for 2 tsp baking powder

Kitchen Tidbits:

•1 stick of butter = 1/2 cup
•1 cup of whipping cream = 2 cups whipped
•1 cup uncooked rice = 3 1/2 cups cooked
•1 envelope Gelatin = 4 leaves = 1/4 ounce
•1 pkg. yeast = 2 1/4 teaspoons active dry yeast

Pig Sty....

My children are, shall we say, less than neat. As such I am frequently telling them to "clean up your pig sty." The less than stellar consequence of this is that now the Little Man thinks "pig sty" is the word for bedroom.

Just moments ago he asked his brother to get him something from "mommies pigsty"

Carnival of Homeschooling...

The 3rd Anniversary of the Carnival of Homeschooling…

I thought I would post about the 3rd anniversary of the Carnival of Homeschooling that is being hosted at Why Homescool, it’s birth-place. It is the 158th week that the Carnival of Homeschooling has been hosted.

You can check out the Carnival for this week by clicking on the link above. There are some great posts in that Carnival, very educational ones too. I sure hope you will! I am sure you will find this Carnival to be very informational, very educational, and very fun to read.

You can take the man out of Texas.....but you can't take Texas out of the man...

STOP NAIS! We have one more way to stop it...

Call 911

Not something any of us wants to have to do! On New Years eve about 9:30 or so, I was working in the kitchen frosting some cinnamon rolls and finishing up some dishes, getting ready for the dinner at Mom's the next morning. I happened to look out the west door and noticed the birdbath that stands at the end of the sidewalk was glowing.......what in the world is that?? I stepped out onto the deck and saw big smoke. I hollared at hubby that the garage was on fire which is where it looked like it was coming from. Actually it was our grainary and 10 big bales of hay next to it! While waiting for the fire trucks to get here we got the hoses out and hooked up and started to spray it down a little. Let me tell you my heart was racing!

Fire departments came from 3 towns and there were 9 trucks here! Quite an exciting New Years Eve celebration we had here. There is an open shed just a few feet from the burning hay bales that also contained hay, small bales. They were able to keep it contained so that did not catch on fire, we are so thankful for that!

Our garage is not far, and the siding is melted on it and the shingles have damage. A small chicken house on another side had the siding melted as well.

So..........we have a tremendous amount of things to be thankful for in this ordeal! If we had been gone, or in bed, or I had not looked out the door when I did.........it would have only been a few more minutes until I believe both of those buildings would have gone up and then the house is just on the other side of the garage, it would have been next along with 2 other chicken houses, and the shed containing the small hay bales too. We could have so easily lost everything except 1 barn and 1 chicken house that are on opposite sides of the farmyard.

God's timing is always perfect! We have no idea why he allowed this to happen, but his timing is perfect and we are giving thanks that more was not lost and no animals were hurt.

We did lose all of the feed for all of the animals, the 10 big bales of hay, feed barrels and buckets, some feed tubs, chicken feeders and waterers, the scales I weigh baby goats and feed with, catch nets, chicken leg catcher, dog chain, 3 pet carriers, fan, shop vac, some tools, cooler, electric roaster, some storage tubs..........I am sure a few other things. I was worried about Snowball the cat that liked to sleep on a pillow in there, but the next morning he came to greet me!

Other than the shock of that night, the worst part has been keeping an eye on the hay burning. It finally burned down enough by last night, that we could relax and go to bed without too much worry. There was a danger of it flaring up enough to start something going again and we had to continually check on it and hose it down when we didn't feel comfortable. The night time hours have proved to have me feeling unsettled and anxious...........it is all in God's hands, but I know human nature brings these feelings when something like this has happened. If you would, please offer a little prayer for me to feel peace and safety, thank you!

The house a mile away that burned 3 days before was determined to be arson, however ours is listed as undetermined as far as I know now. The hay and all the water made it difficult to tell exactly what had caused it. It is hard not to think it may have been set as well. Which is hard to think about too. We have dogs and yard lights and we were home when it happened??

Back to being thankful! Our friends and neighbors have been so generous and thoughtful to us. One has promised to replace the hay we lost, another brought over a bale the next day, the man who's house burned brought up 2 bales! Hubby went and had the folks open up the elevator so he could get a few bags of feed on New Years day. Then today he went and picked up a mix of goat feed and to our total surprise they said it is paid for! Wow! A good friend from a nearby town had called and told them she would pay for the entire feed mix for our goats. The same man who is replacing the hay is bringing his skid loader over to help clean up the mess after the insurance adjuster has been here. Others have offered to help and come by to see if there is anything they could do. Folks in rural America are still kind and caring people and we are blessed to live here! Thank you to everyone who has helped in our time of need.

I had put off bloging since this happened, but am glad I finally sat down and put it on paper, or I guess on computer...........

Productive Day - mostly!

We started school again today. It felt so good to have a couple weeks off!! We had to run a bunch of errands, but made it to 6 difference places and back home in two hours! That's mostly because I left the girls in the car with hubby while I ran in and did whatever I needed to do at each different stop.

In addition to school and errands, I got two loaves of bread made, two loads of laundry done, tidied up the house, and made 6 pints of cinnamon peach syrup from peaches off of hubby's aunt and uncle's peach trees. It is so delicious I'm tempted to make pancakes and eggs for dinner tonight! I think I'll have time to make a new pair of flannel pajama pants before I start dinner though. I split a huge hole in the knee of my other pajama pants!

On the not-so-productive end, I completely forgot about my dentist appointment today!

~Just Today~

Well I thought I would sit down and write on my blog, I just finished makeing Chili for supper for dh and I and Jarred too, Jack will get something else. Poor dh and the boy's are sick...Well dh has a cold and Jarred has a raw nose that I am trying to get too heal and poor Jackie is yet again getting some teeth, So they are giveing him a hard time. All my poor guy's eh?? I have so much cleaning I really should be doing...But Im dead tired, dh had a hard time sleeping last night so I didnt get much eather but Im sure tonight I will be able too. They are fixing the pillers on the buildings on the street, Im not sure if they will be doing our's today but Im sure sometime this week, Most are rotten so they want too get them fixed befor well the frount of the places fall in or down that would not be good at all! The weather has been not too bad just cold mostly and some snow here and there but I am allready wanting spring that's for sure and I'm sure the boy's are too so that they can get out and get some nice fresh air and play in the back yard. Right now both the boy's are up and crazy as ever, So I should probly end my post for now, I just want too say God bless you all!!

Take an Interest

Beautiful Music To Praise The Lord!

Handy Substitute Recipes For Baking

Pig Sty....

Carnival of Homeschooling...

The 3rd Anniversary of the Carnival of Homeschooling…

You can take the man out of Texas.....but you can't take Texas out of the man...

STOP NAIS! We have one more way to stop it...

Call 911

Productive Day - mostly!

~Just Today~

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