Home Is Where My Heart Is

Recipes to share...

Cleaning the oven......yuck!!

Today I did one of my least favourite jobs.....cleaning out my oven. It's a job I keep putting off and off but today I finally did it......because I had no choice!! LOL!! Last night I made my own tear and share garlic bread and although I thought I was careful the garlic butter oozed out of the baking sheet over my oven. Yuck! It was truly horrible. Gas masks were almost necessary in the kitchen because of the smoke from the burnt butter and it was really stingy in my eyes!! Needless to say the oven was a horrible mess, so before it could be used again it HAD to be cleaned. Bicarb of soda made into a paste did the trick. It cut through the grease and once cleaned off I was left with a shiny, sparkly oven. That should do it for another wee while.

By the way.....the garlic bread still baked beautifully and was really scrummy!!!!

Catherine

Tuesday Visit

The First Day of September

"The breezes taste
Of apple peel.
The air is full
Of smells to feel-
Ripe fruit, old footballs,
Burning brush,
New books, erasers,
Chalk, and such.
The bee, his hive,
Well-honeyed hum,
And Mother cuts
Chrysanthemums.
Like plates washed clean
With suds, the days
Are polished with
A morning haze."

John Updike, September

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>><<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<

I just love pears. They are one of my favorite things to paint! Most any of my folk paintings will have a bowl full if I can sneak it in. :-) I spent the morning making tomato sauce, spaghetti sauce and tomato juice. Tomorrow morning, we go pick up our new freezer and with a heart full of gratitude for the continued harvest, I'll begin to fill it.

If You're Still Visiting Here, Occasionally...

I have been wrestling this past month with many issues.

I guess this entry is a montage of various thoughts.

EARNING SALVATION

One must simply love the Lord to find heaven at the end of the road. It matters not if you die with pants on. Dresses don’t save you.

Furthermore, God doesn’t cast you down if your head isn’t veiled.

And, if your children are public schooled, that’s alright too.

Modesty is important. But you don’t need to be in a cape dress to be modest.

The Lord knows your heart. That’s all that counts. Is it resting in Him alone? Is He your one and only?

Amazing, isn’t it!? God is so good!

MARRIAGE

Marriage is also laid out in the Bible. But a man and woman can only have a godly marriage if they BOTH die to self.

For a long while I tried to make “sense” of what I lived with underneath my own roof. I did this many times, through various entries, here.

On days when my husband was particularly harsh or demeaning, I wrote about the importance of loving an unloving husband.

On days where I felt more anger than love, I chose to write about the task of loving when it wasn’t felt.

Submission is a Biblical issue. It is a topic that touches every woman. But, I’m afraid there is indeed a form of submission that is wrong.

We should not enable the ungodly individual.  Someone who could very well be your husband.

There are a few books on domestic abuse and Christianity that are worth mentioning: “Behind the Hedge” (a book in “story” form, telling the experiences of a woman and her children in dealing with verbal, emotional, and financial abuse), “Woman Submit” (the experiences of a Christian woman in coming to terms with the physical and mental abuse her husband incurred), and “Keeping the Faith” (a book for battered women, caregivers and church clergy).  Also wonderful: “The Breakable Vow” by Clarke.

When you live under an authoritarian rulership… four walls that lock you within a world of abuse… you do not experience freedom. Your only recourse is to determine to bear with extreme tension, adjust the best you can, change your thinking to match the abuser’s and tread carefully.

Always, you try and make sense of what you’re enduring. You’re constantly trying to blame yourself for the agony that is your life… because you can ONLY control yourself.

You cannot control an abuser.

When you live with domestic abuse:

1. All the books on being a better wife won’t aid you in getting mistreatment to stop.
2. You can read every parenting book written and still have problem children – because they’re still going to be reacting to the abuse they endure on a daily basis.
3. You can keep the nicest, cleanest, most organized home… and still wish you could run away because even the best homemaker cannot clean away the sting of domestic violence.
4. On the other hand, abuse can make you so depressed that you don’t feel you have the energy or strength to tackle ANYthing.
5. You try to project an image of normalcy. You don’t want anyone to know what is going on in your home. You want everything to look perfect and fabulous.

Now that I, myself, am out from under a paradigm of tyranny … I am learning that I do still have a “voice” down deep inside me. I do still have interests, opinions, and strength. I am capable, not stupid.

These things were squished down inside me for so long, I find I feel weak more often than not, and push away any positivism or kindness because it feels awkward and uncomfortable. I don’t feel I deserve it.

This is not right.

If you are in an abusive relationship, submission is not the answer.

Get help, now.

DISCIPLINE

Another issue that has been on my mind is that of discipline.

I still hold fast to the importance of having your children nearby at all times for both training and togetherness. We need to be constantly “tying strings of fellowship”, working together as a unit as the Pearls advocate.

But spanking, I feel, is not necessary. There are a myriad of other techniques that bolster and don’t tear down.

There have been times I have spanked a bottom as I uttered the words, “We do not hit sister.”

What an irony. I am telling a child not to hit… while doing similarly.

Is this not a mixed message?

Am I saying spanking is abusive? Not necessarily. But it isn’t exclusive. It’s not required in training. There are alternatives that work, too.

WHAT THE FUTURE HOLDS FOR “HOW I LOVE THEE”

I love words. Communication is such a treasure to me.

I’m working on an ebook on domestic abuse, as I believe it is an important issue to share and get out to the public.

By sharing my story, the warning signs I chose to ignore, and the truth about abuse, I desire to aid others who are attempting to pretend normalcy, as well as concerned others.

Furthermore, you might soon see some changes to this blog. When I'm given the legal "go-ahead" I would like to delete/change some of my previous articles to fit some of the mindset I've shared above.

In closing…

Please accept my forgiveness if I have ever caused you to feel inferior while visiting, here. And thank you for remembering I am only human and am living my life day by day the best I know how.

God bless all of you as you walk in Him.

Cutting the grocery bill down by half! 10 tips for saving BIG TIME!

Large families, like mine really have felt the rising costs of food lately. We have 10 children ages 15 down to 4 yrs old and they all are blessed with a hearty apetite, including dad!

I thought I would share with you all some things we have done around here that has literally cut my grocery bill down by half.  These are simple things that have made a huge difference , and my husband and I are thrilled and we are also a bit frustrated that we had not done this before! It took a recession to hit our home before we had to take a hard look at how we spent the money on food.

For some of you , this may not be anything new to you. Kuddos to you for your frugality!

Our family has gone from spending approximately $1,400 to $800 for food items!!

Here are 10 easy "tips" for cutting back on the food bill without really sacrificing the quality of meals or your health and nutrition.

1. PLAN YOUR MENU!!!    I can not emphasize how this has helped!!!  I plan my menu for the week and print it down and then keep a copy in the kitchen.  This has been a help not only for saving so much on  $$ but it helps with being more organized with meal time prep. I don't feel as stressed around the dinner making hour anymore. My menu is planned and my ingredients are purchased and ready to go!

2. MAKE A MASTER GROCERY LIST FOR THE WEEK. Some of you may do a master list for the week or 2 weeks or even month or more. I place all my needed ingredients on the list and take that with me to the grocery store.

3. CUT BACK ON MEAT AND MAKE MEATLESS MAIN DISHES!!  Not only is this good for your body's health but great on your pocket book too!! There are so many meatless dishes out there that are delicious and healthy too! One of my families favorite is black bean burritos,  or baked potatoes. Healthy & yummy! Now with cooler weather coming around the corner, legumes, soups & chilis will also be on the menu.

4. GO TO THE GROCERY ONCE AND DO NOT RETURN!!  Even if I forget an item I do not return to the grocery store -- reason being is I will usually end up purchasing more than the "one item" I went for!! Going to the grocery just once a week has also helped cut back on the gas bill for my big van.

5. GIVE UP EATING OUT !!  Nothing destroys the budget faster than eating out!! That includes fast foods and drive thrus.  Send your husband a packed lunch from home -- or prepare him a plate of leftovers from dinner to send with him.  It will be better for his health overall and save you so much $$!! If you do eat out -- PLAN IT - into your budget. We purposely choose to eat out on nights where kids can eat free out our favorite restraunt or we don't take the kids, and really we don't eat out hardly at all. It is a SPLURGE to eat out - so we really do it sparignly.

6. Consider GIVING  UP shopping at Sam's Club or Costco -- I for years shopped costco and Sam's club. I would average spending about $300-400 a month there and then I would need to go to the local grocery store as well!  I have successfully given up shopping at Sam's club! I didn't think I could do it -- but we are doing it and saving hundreds of $$ each month!  It is hard to shop Sam's and not spend a bundle. It is tempting to purchase things that are not needed.

7. GO NO NAME BRAND on cleaning products and canned goods:   I Purchase all my cleaning products and paper products from the dollar store and save $$ each month.  I do not calculate cleaning products into the monthly grocery/food bill. It is seperate.   When I purchase canned goods like peanut butter,  honey or canned veggies I look for no name brands or what is on sale.

8. CHECK YOUR PAPER AND SEE WHAT YOUR GROCERY HAS ON SALE AND BUILD YOUR MENU AROUND SALE ITEMS : You will save so much $$ by doing this!! If hamburger is on sale -- purchase hamburger or if chicken is on sale go for that! Sticking to sale items and building your weekly menu around that will save you $$!!

9. USE WHOLE GRAINS VS. REFINED GRAINS:  Reason being if your family consumes whole grains, like brown rice, or whole wheat breads vs. white they will be satisfied and not go hungry away from the table!   Consider making your own breads and baked goods , if you are not doing so already.

10. AVOID PACKAGED FOODS LIKE COLD CEREALS, FROZEN FOODS, ETC. :  Not only are they not healthy for you or your family, they do not fill your kid's tummy up like a pot of hot oats or creamy wheat cereal! Consider making your own granola and save  $$$ .  We eat oats and wheat cereals. It is rare to see cold cereals around here. Frozen foods are not only hazerdous for your health, they are $$ and usually do not include large portions or servings.

I hope this is helpful to some of you struggling with getting a grip on your grocery bill!

We got to the point in our family where we were "forced" to take a good hard look at what we were doing and make some major changes and adjustments.  We are so pleased with the results, we only wish we would have done this sooner!

Like I shared earlier, many of you may already be doing this , but it's new to me because we have not had to do this before, financially speaking.

We are down to feeding a family of 12 for $800 a month and I am thrilled!

I hope this helps someone else who is struggling with keeping a lid on the food budget!

~ gloria ~

*** Palin says 17-year-old daughter is pregnant ***

In my process of researching Sarah Palin, I'm finding more and more about her "human side".

I've been hearing rebuttle to my blog post on my general blog from bloggers who have legalistic views about women needing to be at home with their children so that they can be "good mothers"

I even received an anonymous post containing crap (not information) pertaining to feministic views of women from a skinhead website which is not only racist in origion, but contains hatred toward women, minorities and religions other than their own.

After deleting that paticular comment (any comment in my blog is subject to deletion ESPECIALLY if they don't have the gutts to put a name) and not responding to such hatred to give it more fuel, I decided to relax a bit and figure out what I could say.

In my recent findings today, Sarah revealed to everyone that her 17 year old daughter is pregnant and plans to wed.

Here comes the uproar I thought for a minute!

It's a shame that not only is there hatred left in this world, but that people would hide behind legalistic views to condemn people in Jesus name.  I am NOT one of those people.

I am a hardworking homemaker who after talking with my husband, is able to stay home and work for the needs of my husband and home...with one day having the blessing to stay at home with my own children.  I don't take that for granted one bit!  I came home during a tough time in our lives when Doug needed me here.  We learned how to live within our means on ONE INCOME and have since never turned back. I understand that there are many other women who would LOVE to do so and can't OR just feel their calling is in the community to make an impact on the world.  Whatever the reason, I respect that.

But as a Christian woman, there's one thing I WILL NOT DO.  I will not judge those other women who choose to work for the common good of their families and in Sarah Palins case, she's also working for the common good of America.

Like any nurse, poliece officer, pastor, soldier, Dr., Trash man and other workers who leave their families daily to work odd schedules so that people can live according to custom, and have the healthcare and emergency needs, it is NOT my job to judge another. I am also reminded by God Himself, when He tells us in His word that only HE can judge. That we will one day be judged by Him.  I can only imagine what He'd be saying to those who blatently judge based on their own idea of what people should be doing. 

~ Knock, knock. "Who's There"?  God says at the door.  It is I God, You know me!  "Ah, The one who felt compelled to take my place" says God.  Well Lord, You say here, here and here that I, um, erm.  "Did I not say Love thy neighbor as you love yourself?"  "Do you not know that if it weren't for me, you'd be in hell?"  "Do I not say in my commandments there is no other God accept for me? " God says.  "Then Why my child have you condemned others?"  ~

It makes me MAD when people hide behind legalistic views in the name of Jesus to spread hatred and belittle working women (or anyone else for that matter)  who in most cases these days, MUST work to keep their families afloat.  The book of James talks about each child of God having a God-given gift. Not everyone has the same gift.  Some have the gift of teaching, some the gift of giving, some a gift of ministering, and the list goes on and on and on. 

If we do not know what Gods conviction and will is over another, who are we to think that He hasn't a plan for Sarah Palin.  Maybe her gift is not only her family, but to share her testimony of trial and triumph with a hurting nation.  Someone who will listen.  She is human and is NOT God.  But she sure has a heart of compassion for the people in her community and country.

So back to her 17 year old daughter.  There is no doubt that this will be a tough road for her.  But she has something many other girls her age may not have.  The support of a loving mother and father. 

Sarah can understand what it's like to be a "working mother" . She also can understand teenage pregnancy first-hand as well as raising a child with special needs.  She wants whats best for her family and her country and is willing to tick her own party off if that means they're using taxpayers money to pay for frivolous things.

Does she have issues in her family right now?  Yes!  Is there any one person dumb enough to say they're absolutely perfect in every way?  I don't think so.

I absolutely LOVE to educate myself on candidates.  Truely there is no perfect candidate out there that agrees with ALL of my beliefs.  Until Palin was nominated as a possible VP nominee I was actually thinking of voting third party because I'm so sick of two parties that represent NONE of "We The People".

Now, I am more interested in educating myself on Palin, NOT because she's a woman (I'd have rather of had Condy Rice as President if that was the case) but because she fights for Us.  Granted we'll be learning more before we actually make a choice, but darnit!  I'm not going to make my choice based on false Biblical beliefs.  I know He wouldn't want it that way.

***In closing, Sarah Palin is dealing with reality right now.  I do not condemn her because as many with teenage children understand, you can't control their outcome. You can give them great morals and a loving home as well as a God fearing one, it's up to them to make the right choices.  What I'm focusing on, is how Sarah handles this in hopes that she will use these obsticles as a testimony to others.  It is without a doubt a teaching moment.  I'm sure one that her dear daughter would have loved to learn outside the media. 

And to all you working women out there.  I'm proud of you all and lift you up in prayer for each hard day you fight.  I'm not a feminist.  But I believe in femininity. I'm proud to be a woman and proud of the accomplishments God has enabled us all to accomplish.  We each have such a different gift and what an honor it is to individually use them in His honor.

Blessings everyone!

Rebekah

A Simple Woman's Daybook

 

Please stop by to visit Peggy to peek into the lives of other "Simple Women," and to read the guidelines for creating your own Daybook!

Wonders never cease!

Blessings!

   Well, it seems that wonders never cease and God's provision still staggers me:P

   About two weeks ago we noticed that another one of our hens was missing. Not having caught that rascally racoon yet we assumed the worst. She was a favorite Silver Laced Wyandotte. Knowing that this coon was still around we have been very diligent about keeping the rest of the hens locked up tight at night, taking headcounts (or beak counts:P) and making sure that everyone is accounted for.

   This morning, while Miss Mary-Ann was making her usual rounds to check on the littlest animals after the big chores are finished, she came flying in the back door. I was "indisposed" (sitting on the pot) when she comes dashing into the hall calling something about the Wyandotte and quick as a flash she and Miss Sarah are outside again.

   Gathering myself up and making myself presentable enough to dazzle the goats and chickens:P I get outside to see what the excitement is all about. Well, well, well. Our wayward hen was back! Not eaten at all and what do you know?...she brought company!:P

   I THOUGHT I had heard Miss Mary-Ann's ravings but wasn't sure what she meant. After all our duck has been hatching out chicks and ducklings lately so who knew! Yep...Our miss Wyandotte mystery hen had brought 15 babies with her! No wait...(counting again) 17! Still not sure how many because she won't let them all out from under her so it's quite possible she's hiding more beneath her feathery backside:P

   About 15 minutes later Miss Sarah comes in with a not so good looking chick. It's head was tilted to the side, it couldn't stand, it wasn't able to move it's head without flipping itself literally over on it's back. Sad little thing. I told her we would have to drown it. She insisted that she keep track of it for a little while first to be sure. Knowing full well she was going to have to give up and let it go I agreed but told her that the baby wouldn't live and we were going to have to drown it by the end of the day since I refuse to allow any of the animals to suffer.

   Guess what?...We have an orphaned baby chick that doesn't show any signs of EVER having been upside down or backward:P It's absolutely perfect! God has showered a tremendous blessing on us as usual. And as usual I am amazed:)

   Now I won't have to put in that order for the 2 dozen baby chicks for our fall order so we can have spring layers! Saving us nearly 70 dollars in chicks and shipping costs! We don't have babies in the house cuz there's a momma to take care of them! So no heat lamps, no noise, no dust and no smell! God is amazing! And we have nearly 2 dozen babies that will be laying in spring:) Provided they are all little hens in training:P I'm assuming that God is amazing enough to pull that one off for us too:) Any little roosters will end up in the freezer so I'm really praying hard that at least 80% if them are hens:)

   I will take some pictures tomorrow if momma is willing to let us that close. Right now she's so protective that it was hard enough trying to count them from across the yard:P

   She was unprotected for so long and with new babies I was worried that the coon would soon find them and they would all be gone! Sooooo, the girls and I took the hen fencing down so we could pull the chicken tractor out, put the fencing back up and dragged it over to the momma hen. She was out in the yard having a nice time just scratching, pecking and protecting her babies so we just lifted the tractor over the top of her and her babies and now we can rest tonight knowing that nothing will get them:)

   Miss Mary-Ann and Miss Sarah put some straw in so she could make a nest for her and her babies, filled the portable waterer and feeders (one for momma and one for the babies with organic starter feed) and they seem quite content now:)

   The little orphan? It thinks Sarah is it's mommy:P Between that and the duckling thinking Mary-Ann is it's mommy we have quite the petting zoo these days:)

   Will wonders never cease?

God be with thee!

Sister Lori

Pieces of the Past

"The true economy of housekeeping is simply the art of gathering up all the fragments, so that nothing be lost. I mean fragments of time, as well as materials. Nothing should be thrown away so long as it is possible to make any use of it, however trifling that use may be..."

--Lydia M. Childs, The American Frugal Housewife

I mentioned back in Spring that when we work ground, bits and pieces of the past resurface. Once a useful household saucer and cup, butter crock or bottle. Blue Willow, milk glass, Fine China and Mason jars now reduced to lovely bits...

It may be my sentimental nature, but I gathered them as we went along in hopes of creating something with them. This farm has been in our family for nearly seventy years, but was originally established in 1803. I can't help but wonder who these belonged to and what their lives were like. There are many years of occupants. Who were they? What was life like for them here? Perhaps someday, someone will find and gather the evidence of my days on this ground and treasure the fragments that remain of my life here.

You may obtain your own copy of The American Frugal Housewife here.