Homesteading: A Woman's Journey

Keeping Warm

One of the downfalls of an old home is when you have a lack of insulation in the walls.  Homes built in 1890 didn't have insulation as we know it today.  My Beloved's and my bedroom is one of the original rooms of our homestead home.  Like typical homes of that period, there is no insulation to help keep the winter cold out.  Nothing can be more "chilling" than to climb into bed in an unheated, uninsulated room and lay between two icy cold bed sheets!  Yes, we have other blankets in the bed, but the top & fitted sheets are still very cold.  Here is the solution that we have been using with great results.

The first step was to remove the top sheet from the bed.  We left the bottom fitted sheet on the bed, but covered it with a large fuzzy acrylic blanket/throw that we have.  This acrylic blanket/throw is what we sleep on.  Next, we took a second fuzzy acrylic blanket/throw and used that in place of the top sheet.  Last came another heavy acrylic blanket, comforter, and quilt.  Yes, it is alot of layers, but it worked!  The first night we did this, we had temperatures reaching the freezing point.  Typically, the bedroom was very cold but instead of sleeping in a cold bed, we were kept very toasty warm!

If you are having problems with cold sheets when you go to bed on a cold night, try sleeping between 2 layers of acrylic fuzzy blankets.  It may be much warmer for oyu and save on the extra heating costs.

Additional note:  if you come across old acrylic blankets like the fuzzy type I described using, consider using them inside your quilts as a batting.  The blankets are very warm and would make a nice, easy to launder batting.

Family Update

First, I want to thank everyone for the prayers and well wishes for the children.  They are doing very well and are recovered.

Last weekend, we got a new addition to the homestead.  We have a 3 month old female pup.  She has the black and brown markings of a rottweiler, but is a Sharpei/Blue Heeler mix.  One grandparent had a very small percentage of rottweiler, which is how she got the coloring.  The pup's parents however were only about 30-35 pounds in weight, so she will be much smaller than a rottweiler.  We had named her Gracie, which was close to the name the previous owners had given her & also easy for Abbie to say.   Well, Abbie has renamed the pup and it actually responds to the name Abbie gave her.  How she came up with the name is pretty cute. 

Joe bought a little beginning reader level book to read to Abbie called, "Hot Dog".  The story is about a little dog that is hot and gets itself into all types of mischief trying to cool off.  Well, this story has become one of Abbie's favorites.  She has now started calling the puppy, "Hot Dog".  Poor puppy answers to it and so the name will likely stick.  LOL

Over the past week. I managed to get 2 shawls crocheted to sell.  Both are made using a very soft & cuddly acrylic/polyester blend yarn.  One is done in earth tones of tan and other colors that remind me of a desert.  The other is in shades of blue, cream, and a little bit of a soft rose shade.  Both shawls are triangular and about 70 inches across at the top and 36 inches from the top to the tip of the point that the bottom.  I am so happy to get two done so quickly.  We have pictures of them on our website if anyone is interested in seeing them.

Time for a decision

I have been blogging at a couple of locations, here and at blogger.  I have been getting a lot of traffic at both locations, but there is a problem.  I need to prioritize my time as our lives here are getting busier. 

I have loved both blog sites.  It is really hard to choose between the two.  I have been here at homestead blogger the longest.  The blogger site however is easier for me, with my very limited knowledge of computer skills, to update and change the look of the blog page.

In order to simplify my life more, I am going to be posting to this homestead blogger account only about once a week or so.  The main thing that tips the scales for me to the blogger account is that I have more than one blog there and will be able to manage all the blogs at one site.  I have the blogs separated, one being a simple living theme and the other is a recipe blog.  I will also be starting a small blog there on homeschooling & early education resources. 

I am hoping that by keeping the majority of my blog posts in one area, it will be easier for the readers to navigate and find each of the blogs.  I love blogging here at homestead blogger.  As I said, the other account is just a lot easier for me to work with as I do not understand HTML and how to dress up the blog here.

Fleecing the Window, Part 2

Wow!  The questions I am already getting about my post this morning has me thinking I better do another with more details.  LOL

You can fleece the windows in a couple of ways.  If you have some tension rods that fit inside the window frame, you can make a little casing at the top hem of the fleece, blanket, or quilt material.  Then you simply thread the fleece onto the casing and place it in the window as close to the top of the window frame as possible.  If the fleece is a couple of inches wider than the window, then you can have it slightly gathered to be able to tuck the sides in and prevent cold air from coming around the sides of the fleece.

Another method would be to make the fleece about 6 inches wider than the window opening.  You can then thread it through a curtain rod and hang in place.  If you want it to fit snug, you can always tack the sides in a couple of places to keep it against the window trim.

For doorways we simply tack the blankets or fleece at the top of the doorway or entry and let it hang down.  You can always get a heavy tension rod to use also.  If you want it to look fancier, you can place a curtain dowel rod on brackets on the side of the entryway that most guests would see.  Add a pretty bracket on the side of the entryway to tuck the blanket in when you need the entryway left open.  This would be especially helpful in entries where you may have to walk through while carrying something such as a basket of laundry.

Entryway curtains were something often used in the previous generations.  They were especially used alot before the invention of the accordian doors.  They gave the privacy and function of a door without having to open and close a wooden door in small areas.  In our home, we have a very small bathroom.  A hinged door would never fit as it would bang into things whether it opened into the bathroom or into the laundry room where the bathroom doorway is located.  To solve the privacy issue, a curtain or an accordian door is used. 

I have often seen the same idea of a tension rod with a curtain used for kitchen cabinets or pantry shelving to keep the items on the shelves clean from dust.  If you have home canned items, the curtains also will help to protect the jars from direct sunlight which can cause the home canned foods to discolor.

Fleecing the Window

Last night the temperature dropped low enough that we had our first frost of the season.  My Beloved has been working on the bathroom as time permits to finish a wall.  When he took down the plastic tarp that had been there for quite some time, he uncovered an old window.  The top part of the window was broken, so while the weather was still warm, we put in a temporary screen so that we could take advantage of the natural light and breeze.  Now that the temperatures are colder, he put up plastic on the outside of the window to help keep the cold air out. 

Whenever I see polar fleece on sale, I try to pick up a few yards.  There are so many wonderful uses for it.  Today, I am using some of the fleece to make a window covering for that bathroom window.  A doubled layer of polar fleece made into a single panel curtain will help to reduce the cold coming in a window.  You can also take the fleece and use it as a quilt batting in the window covering or when making a quilt for the doorways to help keep the heat in a central area. 

Each year, we put blankets or other heavy material over our old single pane windows.  It makes a big difference in how warm the rooms are able to stay.  In the hot summer days, a heavy window covering like that will also help to keep the rooms cooler.  We have 3 doorways that also have blankets over them in the winter.  By doing this, we are able to best utilize the heat from our wood stoves by keeping the heat in the central 3 rooms: livingroom, kitchen/dining room, and the little ones' bedroom.

Earlier this week, I finished a crocheted shawl that I am going to sell.  I am trying to finish a second one so that I can have 2 for people to choose between.  I am also cutting out and preparing the sewing projects that I want to work on over the next couple of days. 

Prairie Mom's Kitchen

Yesterday, I worked on a new recipe blog called, Prairie Mom's Kitchen.  I have been getting so many requests for recipes that I wanted a central location to place them.  I added about 13 recipes to the blog yesterday to get it started.  I will be adding more recipes each day to get it built up.

In an update, Sunday I had an experience with our sheep.   I think that the ewe may be going into heat again.  She is getting aggressive and so is the ram.  It seems that each time she is in heat, she gets the sheep version of a PMS attitude I think.  LOL   Basically, she will lower her head and hit my hipbone.  She nearly knocks me over when it happens.  Her back is the same height as my hip, so we are not talking about a little small sheep breed.  She is approximately 20 months old and 150+ pounds in weight.  The ram, who was born last February is already her height and weighs as much as she does.  At full size, he will be about 250 pounds in weight.  I was helping out Joe by feeding the sheep since he was busy putting plastic on some windows in preparation for winter.  The sheep still had a bit of feed in their dish from the day before, so I only needed to add a small amount.  Well, as I was walking to the feed pan the ram ducked his head and bumped me in the hip.  I got hm to stop after the second hit, then turn to pour the feed in the pan.  Suddenly, I got hit by the ewe!  Naughty girl!  Unlike the ram, she kept it up hitting me 3 times before I could get away.  Such naughty behavior!  She only gets weird like this when she is in heat, otherwise she is very docile.  Thank heavens this breed doesn't get horns. 

It is now 3 days later and I am still very stiff and sore.  I had tried eating a bit of catfish on Saturday hoping ti would be a meat that I can eat without my fibromyalgia flaring up.  No such luck.  Between eating the fish on Saturday and the sheep being playfully aggressive on Sunday, my fibromyalgia has done a complete flare up causing pain throughout my entire body.  I am also stiff in the hip area since they both went after the same hip. 

Joe now wants me to not feed the sheep unless he is with me.  They don't get frisky with him as they know he would prove that he is the "Alpha" of this homestead.  LOL   The children are never in the animal enclosure at all unless Joe is right there with them for safety reasons.  I am hoping that the ewe will calm down once she has a lamb.  We will be separating her and the ram in December and we know she has been bred.  With them bumping and being playful, we can't risk the ram hurting her when she is bred.  Basically, they will only be together during the fall when she is ready to breed.

Abigail and Micah are doing great.  Abbie is enjoying the fall weather while she can.  Soon enough, the weather will turn too cold for her to play outdoors all day.  I am not looking forward to that time as she is definitely an outdoors person like her father.  Micah seems to be the same.  We toss a blanket on the ground and let him lay on it to get some fresh air and sunshine.  He loves it when the breeze is blowing.  He lays there cooing and laughing alot.  He rolls over and then tries to wiggle across the blanket.  I am looking forward to him being mobile.  By this time next year, he will be out there with his sister playing in the sandbox and enjoying the outdoors.

Our Electric Bill

We have had so many inquiries from those who read my husband's and my blogs about our electric bill that I wanted to post.  Yesterday, we received our first bill that has a full month of the limited usage.  Last August, when we started this journey towards cutting out the majority of our electricity usage, our electric bill was $250 for 1 month of usage!  That was the bill which had my Beloved reaching the point where enough was enough.  So, we started making changes.  These changes have paid off greatly.  We removed the air conditioners, TV, VCR, DVD, many of the small appliances from the kitchen, and much more. Granted, the air conditioners were the major contributor to our bill, but the other things also had an effect. 

So, what was the new amount for the current bill?  It was $51 for the month!  What a blessing it was to see that the changes are having such a pronounced effect.  The lower bill gives us also the drive to try and take it further, lower our usage even more.

Thank you to all who have emailed, sent messages, or left comments about our changing to a more simple lifestyle.

Pumpkins & More

I wanted to thank those who let me know of the broken link in my post about pumpkins.  I fixed it.  Here is the link to the article I wrote about "Cooking Fresh Pumpkins" in case you are interested by didn't read the other blog entry.  The problem with that link was the browser that I was using.  We have 2 internet browsers on the computer.  We love using Mozilla's FireFox browser, but some of the websites where you are adding links or when we are updating our family website don't function well with FireFox, so for those we have to use Internet Explorer.  When I wrote the blog entry and included the hyperlink to the article, I was on FireFox and the link came up as a java code.  I apologise to those who were frustrated with it.  Thank you again for letting me know.

The Lord blessed us greatly yesterday.  We have been without a family car for 15 months.  A semi truck totalled our car a year ago last June in a hit and run accident.  Praise the Lord, the car was off the freeway, disabled, and we were not in it when the accident happened!  Well, we were able to find another used car that is very similar to the one we had but in the 7 months we have had the car, it only has run 2 days.  My Beloved husband and others tried to repair it, replacing many of the parts, but to no avail.  Yesterday, a shop that we had the car towed to called.  It is only a small sensor that was not functioning and had disabled the car!  Praise the Lord!!!  The part, labor and towing are well within our budget and we will have a family car on Friday when we pick it up!    The second blessing came when my Beloved was leaving work.  His pickup truck wouldn't start.  The starter had gone out on it.  Again, the Lord provided.  The part was ordered and will be delivered today.  He was given a vehicle to borrow last night to get him home and again to work in this morning.  He will be able to repair the truck himself and bring the truck home after work today.

We are so thrilled about the car being repaired.  We have not been able to go to church since last February due first to my high risk pregnancy & being on bedrest, then after Micah's birth we could not all fit into the pickup truck as it is one of those little Rangers.  We have dearly missed being able to attend church and fellowship with our church family.  The church is 85 miles from our home.  Over the months we were unable to attend we have been doing home church, listening to recorded sermons and studying as a family.  While we love having the option of home church, we missed being at the church meetings. 

Sunday is a Communion Sunday and Micah will also be dedicated during the church service.  I have been looking forward to this so much.  No one at church has seen Micah, so he will be attending his first church meeting at 6 months of age.  Today I am going through my fabrics to find something that I can use to make him a church outfit.  Most of his clothing is sleepers and a few play-type clothes.  I want him to have a nice outfit for church.  Abbie already has a couple of new dresses that we were given.  I am having fun preparing for Sunday.  It feels so good to be doing this again.

Pumpkins!

Outdoor Kitchen

I am so thrilled.  Today I got some more canning completed. I canned up some mixed veggies and a batch of spiced pears.  I had alot of the spiced syrup left over so am saving it to use on apples.

My pumpkins are producing quite a few on the vines.  I am keeping a close watch on a couple of them as they are nearly full size.  Now they just have to turn orange and ripen.  I will be using them to make the pies at Thanksgiving.  If they happen to not be ripened by then, I will use them for Christmas instead.  I am thinking of doing up some butternut squash to use for pies in case the pumpkins are not ripe enough.  Once seasoned, there is little difference in the flavor.  Store bought pumpkin pies often contain the squash instead of pumpkin.

While Joe took Abbie with him to the store to do the shopping today, Micah nearly slept all day long.  He has been so tired and miserable with his teething.  Friday, we were out taking care of a few things so he didn't get much sleep.  He made up for it today though.

We have been rearranging the kitchen a bit today.  I had 2 long tables, about the size of a rectangular banquet table, that I was using as counters since our kitchen doesn't have any to speak of other than the narrow ones on either side of the kitchen sink.  Today, Joe took the folding table out of the kitchen, and moved the wooden rectangular table into it's place.  This has really opened up the kitchen floor space.  The 2 tables had been in an "L" configuration.  Now, the remaining table is against the wall leaving only the dining table in the middle of the floor.  Our dining table is a large rectangular wooden one that I had been using for a table to cut my fabrics on.  With 2 children, our round table just wasn't going to be sufficient.  This larger table is also much more sturdy and I can use it for kneading the bread or any other purpose.  Eventually, we are wanting to get a couple of benches to set along the table instead of using chairs.

Joe took the folding table outdoors and set it up as a picnic table.  We will be grilling many of our meals in the evening.  Yet another way to lessen the amount of electricity used.  Next year, we are planning to buy a larger grill that will allow room for doing other types of cooking also.  Our goal is to use the electric stove only for baking and canning.  All other cooking will be done on a grill or the wood burning cookstove.  Just one step closer to an outdoor kitchen! 

Our Simplifying

I am so glad that we had started simplifying our lives before we made the move to go without the non-essential electricity.  What a blessing it has been.

When we made this change, we had already been ridding ourselves of the non-essential things in our home & lives.  Many of the electronics and other "distractions" in our lives were purged.  The ending result was that we were beginning to have in our home only those things we truly needed to have.  Now that we have gone non-electric, with the exception of major appliances such as the refrigerator, we are simplifying even further.

I remember several years ago, Joe and I had toured a museum in Ohio that had a reconstructed period home.  The home was very sparsely furnished, having only the essential items needed for the family's daily lives.   You could look around and see so much about their lives, yet the home was very clean and functional.  Yes, I know it was a museum, but still it was a reproduction of the typical homes of that time.

Back in the early pioneering days, families didn't have all the clutter in their lives that we have now.  They had what was necessary, but not much extra.  They didn't feel deprived or the rush to have everything their neighbor owned.  I remember looking around that museum home and have thought of how easy it would be to keep and maintain such a home. 

With not having electrical lighting, I now have to complete my tasks indoors during the daylight.  Having less clutter is a benefit in this area also.  I am looking forward to when we have all the non-essetials out of the home.  With our plans to homeschool the children, having the non-essentials out of the home will make it easier to set up an area for their homeschooling supplies and also give me more time each day to focus on their education and not cleaning the home.

Blessings of no TV

If I could Turn Back Time........

That song has a new meaning for us.  As I have spoken of before, our home was built in 1890 with an addition added by 1910.  In living here, Joe and I have often talked about the remodeling that we would like to do.

This morning, the remodeling discussion took on a whole new turn that I am very excited about.  Last week, 2 of the 5 circuits in our electric box went out.  We have had no electricity in the kitchen, other than the 220 outlet for the stove.  The refrigerator is being run temporarily by having a heavy duty extension cord run from another part of the house.  The only other electricity that we have in the home is in the laundry & bath which share a circuit and the dryer which is on a separate 220 circuit.

This has been a very eye-opening week.  We have found that we don't need the electricity as much as we thought.  After the first 2 days, no one has missed watching TV.  That brought us to this morning.  I had 2 oil lamps lit and placed on opposite sides of the room.  Joe came in, getting ready for work, and noticed how much light those lamps provided.  He was surprised to see how well they did are providing enough light to do what needed to be done.  That was when he made the comment that changes everything.  Instead of replacing the circuit box with a larger one, we are going to wait another 2 weeks until next pay day.  If we are still finding that we don't miss the electricity, then we are going to a small circuit box.  We will then be putting electricity in only 3 rooms of the home.

Kitchen: In our kitchen, we have an electric stove (220 volt circuit) that I use when the weather is too hot for using the wood cookstove.  We also need a 110 circuit to run the refrigerator.

Laundry: In our laundry area we have our water heater and clothes dryer that share a 220 circuit.  There is one plug and we simply plug in which ever appliance we are needing to use.  We also have a 110 outlet for the washing machine.  We will keep these, but he plans to add a second 220 outlet so we don't have to switch out the dryer and water heater.  If they are not being used, we can unplug them. They will each have their own outlet however for the times when we do need both to be used at the same time.

Livingroom: This room will have a single 110 outlet to have available for the computer and my sewing machine.  The computer is a necessity since we will be using it as an income resource.  Eventually, I will have a treadle sewing machine, but until then the electricity will be needed.

This weekend when he makes a trip to get supplies, Joe will be buying a few more oil lamps and oil.  Making this change is a huge step for us. It is one that we are finding to be easier than we would have thought a few years ago.  As time goes on, we will likely find we can use even less electricity.  In the meantime though, this step alone is bringing us closer to the time when we will easily be able to manage our electricity needs with only a wind power system.

The clothes dryer & washer are appliances that are seasonal.  Whenever possible, I will be hanging the laundry on a clothesline to dry.  Days like we are having right now when it is raining, the dryer will have to be used.  The washer will be replaced with a wringer type as soon as we are able to do so.  While I still am wanting to hand wash as much as possible, I am being realistic about the arthritis in my hands and planning ahead.

We will always have the option of adding another circuit box later if we find that we have need to do so.  I am very optomistic however that it will be unnecessary.  It seems that the more time we spend doing things the "old way", the more we realise the modern ways are not as essential as we would have believed them to be.

Eventually, we will be using a wind-power system to provide our home with the electricity we need.  Cutting back now on our usage will be a good preparation for that time.  The size and type of system we use can be adjusted to fit the actual need.

A Chicken Little Moment

We have had a "chicken little" moment at our home.  Our home is in 2 portions.  The oldest part is the back 2 rooms of the home, built in 1890.  They have no electricity.  The front rooms are more modern and were added on by 1910.

Over the past few days, we have noticed that the ceiling on our bedroom was beginning to dip alittle in one corner - thankfully away from the bed.  Whether it was because of all the rain we have had or just because of the humidity, the ceiling tiles fell in an area of about 3' x 5' in size.  The tiles were a lightweight fiberous material.  I think that the high humidity and all the heavy rains were a major contributor.  So, our plans to work on the front of the house first are now changed.  The bedroom will get our attention before any other part of the home. 

Oh well, it will be great practice for us before we work on the front of the house that more people will see.  In the aftermath, I now have alot of laundry to wash.  The tiles brought down alot of dirt and dust from the attic all over my clothes that were hanging on a clothes rack in that corner area.  Tonight, I am making a new batch of laundry soap so that I can get the laundry finished as soon as possible.

Homestead Update

It seems like it has been a while since I last posted an update on the happenings here so I thought I would go ahead and do that today.

My husband is loving his new job.  Doing landscaping and maintenance is not something he would have thought of doing before, but now that he has this job, he has found that he loves it.  He enjoys being outdoors and his job has him working outdoors doing tasks that are the same as what he does here at home.  The maintenance portion of the job is also enjoyable and is giving him experience in repairing things around the workplace and also the landscaping equipment.

The homestead is making changes.  It seems that each week, there is something new happening.  We now have a Hampshire ram.  He was born last February.  We also have chosen to not raise Dwarf Nubians as our milk goats.  After talking to others, we have decided that a much larger breed of goat would meet our needs much better.  Joe loves the Alpine goats, so we will be buying a couple of them hopefully next spring.

After several tries and twice having the garden flooded due to spring rains, our garden is finally producing vegetables.The beans are flowering, as are the squash.  I have more plants still growing that will give us harvests throughout the fall.  A long growing season is one of the benefits that we have here.  Our last frost occurs in late April and the first hard frost doesn't occur until late November most years, sometimes not until December.  I have started new seed for zucchini and yellow squash, brussel sprouts, and other varieties that will be transplanted in late August or early September.  Those will have just enough time to reach a harvest before the weather starts getting too cold.

We already have plans for next year's garden.  As with this year, the garden will be large in size and palnted in raised rows or mounds.  Raising the height of where the seeds are planted will prevent the seeds from being flooded during the spring rains.  I found a variety of corn that we will try growing for our livestock.  It also is great for cornmeal.  If it works out well, we will plant a larger amount in future years.  We don't expect to grow enough to feed our livestock throughout the winter, but will have enough to give them a good start and help in our feeding costs.

Abigail has a pair of new kittens.  A lady gave us the momma cat and a male & female kitten to have up at our stables as barn cats.  Momma is gone.  We suspect that a coyote may have got her when she was out hunting field mice.  The kittens are old enough that they have been able to eat dry feed for some time now.  They made their way up to the house and now have stayed close to it.  Each time Abigail goes outdoors to play, the kittens are with her.  Even our large orange tomcat hangs around Abigail.  She just seems to draw cats to her.  It is cute to watch as the cats follow her around as she plays.

Micah loves being outdoors also.  I can't wait for the summer heat to lessen a bit so that he can be outdoors more.  I always feel hesitant to take a young baby out in the extremely hot temperatures.  He is growing so fast.  I am looking for patterns to make him some new clothing.  At 3 months of age, he is nearly big enough for size 6 months!  I would love to find a pattern for a broadfall type style pant in infant/toddler sizes but so far have been unable to.  It seems that most pant patterns for infant/toddler boys are either a sweatpant style with the knit cuff at the ankle or a bib overalls style of shorts or pants.  If I don't find a pattern soon, I may just get a pair of pants from a thrift store to cut apart and make a pattern from.

I have been busy as of late.  In addition to caring for the family & home, I have been baking loaves of bread to sell.  Last week, a co-worker of Joe's asked if I would bake cookies for him to buy.  I had not considered baking cookies, but find that it is much easier and less time consuming.  To bake bread, I have to set aside at least 3 hours of my day - longer if I am baking to fill orders.  It is also a process that once started, I am committed to having to finish, no matter what comes up.  With the cookie baking, I will be able to mix the dough anytime, then bake as I have time to do so.  I am setting a side 2 days a week (Monday & Thursday) to bake the cookies.  Surplus cookies will not go to waste since Joe loves taking them to work to snack on.  I also have the option of making dough ahead of time and freezing it to be baked later.  I am enjoying the fact that if the kids are more clingy and wanting extra snuggling on a baking day, I can be more available to them by baking the cookies.  I always felt bad if I was in the middle of mixing & kneading the bread dough and the baby would cry.  Especially when Joe was at work and there was no one else around to pick Micah up to hold him.

We have found a new use for our old storm shelter.  It is a stone structure built in the yard on the north side of the house.  The shelter is below ground with a stonework dome shaped roof.  The shelter has been unsafe to use for many years.  It is full of water most of the spring & summer due to a high water table.  Each spring, the shelter has nearly 3 feet of water standing in it for several months.  By mid-summer, it finally is dried out.  Joe has been considering tearing the shelter down and had even got a start on it.  Yesterday though, he turned it into a burn bin.  Our burnable trash was piled into the shelter and Joe lit the paper on fire.  It was great!  The stone on the outside of the shelter stayed cool, even though a roaring fire was built in the shelter.  Joe then added alot of small tree limbs that were too small to save for firewood.  The best part is that we will be able to burn trash in there even during a burn ban as the fire has no way of escaping the shelter.  In the early spring when the shelter is full of water, we can burn the burnable trash in a burn barrel with a grate covering it to prevent anything from coming out of the barrel and possibly starting a fire on the ground.  A side benefit to his using the shelter as a burn pit is that it destroyed the wasp nests inside the burn pit.  Hopefully the wasps will relocate somewhere away from the house this time.

Angel & Cloe

Angel and Cloe are the first livestock that we got for our homestead.  Both were born in the late winter/early spring of last year.  Angel is our Hampshire ewe, Cloe is a Dwarf Nubian doe.  In the picture, they are enjoying one of hteir favorite treats - stale homemade bread.

When we got Cloe, Joe was still truck driving and was out on the truck for one of his 4-week long trips.  A woman who bred the Dwarf Nubians asked me if I wanted a couple of the does to raise as milk goats.  I ended bringing them home in the back seat of our family car since we don't have anything to haul livestock in.  What a trip!  I got thirsty on the way home (it was a 2 hour drive) and I went to the drive-up window of a Wendy's fast food shop to get a drink.  The girl at the first window where you pay for your order was shocked to see a pair of 2 month old goats in the back seat of a car.  By the time I got to the 2nd window where you pick up your order, there were about 5-6 employees all trying to get a look out the window to see Belle and Cloe.  Belle was a preemie and failed to thrive despite our best efforts and died within 2 weeks of getting her.  Cloe on the other hand has done beautifully.  She is a very friendly goat and loves to get lots of attention.  Typical of goats, she is highly social and loves to be around us or Angel.

Angel is a funny ewe.  We bought her from a neighbor who breeds registered Hampshire sheep.  She and Cloe have been companions from the beginning.  We got them about a week apart.  Unlike Cloe, Angel is content to be away from Cloe.  Sometimes, I think she longs to be away when Cloe is in a playful mood and head bumps Angel.  They used to play alot together when they were young.  Now that Angel out-weighs Cloe and is much larger, Cloe has learned that it hurts when she head-bumps Angel in the head.

Both of them are grass-fed and receive only the occassional supplementing with grain.  In the winter when grazing is scarce, they are fed hay and grain.  This gives them the slimmer appearance.  Grain fed animals put on weight much faster than animals that are solely grazed.  The meat from grass-fed animals however is extremely lean, which is our goal with our sheep.

This spring, we got a young Hampshire ram for Angel.  He is only slightly shorter than Angel in height right now.  Full-grown, Angel weighs about 150 lbs. and Midas (the ram) will weigh about 250 lbs.  With luck, we will have our first lambs in the spring. 

We are having to find a new home for Cloe.  Next spring, we are wanting to get a pair of Alpine goats.  They Alpines are a large breed that is more than double the size of Cloe.  The does give much larger quantities of milk than Cloe would give and the milk is a very creamy quality.  Having 2 little ones, we would have to milk several goats like Cloe to get the quantity we would need each day.  Given the size difference of Cloe verses an Alpine, we can't risk the buck getting to Cloe and trying to breed.  It may not happen, but we can't take the risk.  If the breeding didn't badly injure Cloe, the pregnancy would kill her due to the size differences of the two breeds.  It will be odd not having Cloe around.  She is such a funny little doe.  We just can't take the chase of her being harmed by a larger breed buck.

Decluttering & Freecycle Weekend

Home Pantry: Lessons learned in an ice storm

I have had a pantry/root cellar all my life.  Growing up, we canned our vegetables each summer and made jams, jellies, and pie fillings from the fruits.  We also had 2 freezers, one for meats and the other for fruits and other items that we not canned. 

 Because of the way I cook everything from scratch, we shop at a grocery store about 35 miles from home.  There is a store closer, but it does not carry everything that we need.  We also buy from a health food store that is located 75 miles from home.    Because of the distance the stores are from us, we do the bulk of our shopping once a month.  I drive out to the health food store and buy enough for 2 or more months.  On the way home, I stop at the grocery store and buy everything else we will need for the month. As money is available, I buy extra of the staple items to build up the pantry.

 Each winter that I have been here in Oklahoma, we have had a major ice storm that made travel very difficult for a period of time.  One year, we were unable to get our car out of the drive for 6 weeks.  Thank the Lord, we had a good pantry and neighbors who had 4-wheel drive vehicles that could pick up what we didn’t have on hand when they went to town. For the most part, we were well prepared, but there is always room for improvement.

 I learned a lot during that winter.  Lessons that I now use to be better prepared.  Each spring, I begin the process of building up the pantry for the next winter.  I plan to purchase pantry storage items each shopping trip.  Once we are getting fresh vegetables from the garden, I am able to use that part of my grocery budget also to stock the pantry.  One of the things that I now store is powdered milk.  Not only can I use it in my cooking & baking, it is great to have on hand for our daughter just in case we run out of milk & can’t get to a store.  Likewise, I have extra cans of baby formula for our infant son. 

 It is also wise during the summer months to stock up on things like charcoal for a grill.  During a power outage, if you have an electric stove the charcoal grill may be your only means of cooking.  If your grill is propane, you may want to try and store an extra tank of propane for the grill for emergencies.

 Something that many people never consider when setting up their pantry is to have a section for non-food items.  Unless your family uses the flannel family wipes, you will find storing toilet paper very important if you get snowed in!  Likewise, you will want to store feminine products and extra packages of baby diapers/training pants if you don’t use the cloth versions.  Other non-food items would include soap, shampoo, toothpaste, toothbrushes, mouthwash, deodorant, laundry products, dish soap, candles or oil lamps, oil for the lamps, matches, extra batteries for flashlights, and bleach or water purification tablets.  Aluminum foil is essential if you plan to use a grill as your emergency back-up cooking method.  You can use it not only to line the grill, but for making the foil pouch dinners.  Foil can also be used to make a makeshift solar oven.

 If you have never stocked a pantry, some quick tips to keep in mind.  Only store what you know that you will use.  On the Internet, you can find lots of websites that have food storage calculators that will tell you how many pounds of wheat & other grains you will need per person.  If you don’t cook with the grains, nor have the means to mill them, storing the grains would be a waste of money & storage space.  A very simple way to start your pantry is to save your grocery receipts for 1 month.  Make a list of everything purchased and record the quantity of each item you purchased through the month.  This will give you a starting point.  Many people do not immediately consider their cooking styles when planning their pantry, only to be frustrated when an emergency happens.  If you mill a lot of grain for flour, cracked grain cereals, etc., consider having a small non-electric grain mill that you can use if there is a power outage.  One lesson that I learned the hard way was that while having an electric grain mill was a blessing most of the time, it was useless during a power outage.  Another common mistake that I have often seen made is people who store a lot of store-bought canned goods and only have an electric can opener.

 First aid supplies are vital in any home storage.  If there is a severe storm such as tornado or other natural disaster, the first aid kit will be essential.  One great way to store it is in a large fishing tackle box.  You can use the sections in the box to keep various items in an organized, easy to locate manner.  Be sure that you check the kit every 6 months to note expiration dates and restock anything that has been used from the kit.  If anyone in the family is on prescription medication, you should always have extras in the kit.  Keep a close watch on the expiration dates. 

 If you have family pets that require special feeds, you will want to store up a supply of that also.  While most animals can live on people food for a short time, you don’t want to have them eating it too long.  A medium to large sized dog will eat through your food supply rather quickly, for example.

 One family that we visited when I was a child had a great system for rotating their food storage.  They turned their garage into the storage area.  In the garage, they had metal freestanding shelves that were far enough away from the wall that a person could step behind it.  When they put away new supplies, they brought all the stems on the shelves forward, and then stocked the shelves from the back.  They also had some custom built shelving for the store bought canned goods.  The shelves had just enough space between them to allow 1 inch above the cans when laid down on their side.  The front of the shelving was ½ inch lower than the back and had a small strip of wood across it to prevent the cans from rolling off the shelves.  They stocked these shelves also from the back.  They used labels on the back at each opening to identify what product went in each slot. 

 I find it important to keep a written inventory of the pantry.  List each item you plan to store, the amount you will need for 6 months or a year depending on your intentions, and the amount you currently have on hand.  This makes your shopping list so much easier to plan.  It also helps you in not over or under buying pantry supplies.

Thanks & an update

I first want to thank everyone who contacted me and left comments with ideas for helping to soften the clothing dried on the clothesline.  I will give the ideas a try and see what difference they make.

I decided that because I need to make new diapers for Micah, I will make them with line drying in mind.  I am making covers with a flannel lining in them.  I am also going to make prefold diapers large enough that he will be able to use them for quite a while.  This will allow for fast drying on the line.  This winter, I will set up a drying rack near the wood stove to dry diapers overnight.  If I do end up having to run the prefolds in the dryer for a couple of minutes to soften them for him, that will be fine.  The main purpose of cutting back on the dryer usage will still be achieved.  The dryer is also a benefit in the winter as it helps to heat teh back of the house.  If I can find a soft fabric to use in his diapers that will dry on the line and still remain soft, I will let you know as this may be useful for others to know also.  I am going to take advantage of the windy days and try to do whatever laundry we have on those days. 

Friday night I was up late, until nearly 1:30am, getting the food ready for the weekend.  Friends are coming for a BBQ today and I needed to bake bread & some burger buns.  I ended up making cinnamon swirl bread to have with our breakfast.  Abbie loved the bread.  She kept walking around and showing it to us in between bites.  She seemed especially fond on the spots where there are abit more brown sugar & cinnamon.  I may start making this bread more often.  I am thinking that I may start my baking before dawn now that the days are getting so warm.  

On Saturday, the BBQ went very well.  We had a lovely visit with our friends, Kyle & Christee.  They brought us 2 A/C units that they no longer needed.  They had already replaced these with new ones.  Kyle and Joe put one in the front room and the other in the kitchen.  What a blessing!  They are keeping the house so much cooler.  Micah is doing much better now as he was having alot of problems with the heat.

While Kyle & Christee was here, our neighbor and his sons brought over a young ram for our ewe, Angel.  We had bought Angel from Mr. Maples last spring when she wa a couple of months old.  We had thought to have her go to "visit" one of his rams in the fall for breeding.  He had alot of new rams born this year, so he called and offered to sell us one of them.  They picked out the best one for us.  He breeds registered Hampshire sheep that his sons take to the livestock shows.  We have no plans of showing the sheep we have.  Ours are strictly for meat.  Next spring, I would like to get one more ewe lamb from him.  We will then have 1 ram and 2 ewes for breeding.  We want enough ewes to allow us to control the frequency of breeding as much as possible.  The lambs that we get from the ewes will be butchered in the fall/winter to provide meat for our family.

Our dwarf nubian goat, Cloe, who runs with Angel has been playing with the ram.  She bangs her head up against his and chases him around as she used to do with Angel before Angel reached full size.  Right now, the ram is slightly taller and much heavier than Cloe.  It won't take long for him to play too rough for Cloe and she will settled back down again.

Today has been a quiet & restful day for us.  We had planned to go have a family picnic at a park next door to where Joe works.  His boss is giving him all the scrap pallets, wood, and tree prunings to bring home for use in our wood stoves and some mulch material they have no need of.  We all ended up sleeping in this morning so we stayed home.  While the kids are taking their naps, Joe is out picking up a load of the wood & mulch to bring home. 

I am starting more seeds in little planters.  I hope to get a good start with them for my fall garden. Our current garden is very water-logged at this time.  We had alot of rain 2 nights ago.  Luckily, the plantings were done in raised rows which will prevent the plant roots from being too wet.  The garden is gaining alot of weeds starting to pop up.   With the ground so wet, it should make it easier to weed through the garden.  We have some weed barrier plastic to put down in the garden again.  Between the weed barrier and the mulch, we should be able to get the garden set up for little to no weeding.

Among the wood scraps Joe is bringing home, there are pallets and other pieces that are serviceable enough to be recycled and used for building our chicken coop and chicken tractor.  I am sure as time goes on, we will find alot more uses for them.

We are beginning to set our goals for next spring.  It is funny how in homesteading or farming, you have to set your seasonal goals a year in advance!  We are planning to add to our livestock next spring.  As mentioned before, I am wanting to get a 2nd ewe so we can stagger the breeding between the 2 ewes and hopefully prevent over breeding 1 ewe.  We are going to get the coop & chicken tractor ready this summer so that we can buy new chickens, guineas, and possibly turkeys next spring.  Another addition will (hopefully) be a pair of Border Collies.  Since we are planning to turn our homestead into sheep & goat farm, having the border collies will be a great asset.  Joe will train them to help in herding the animals.  We will have a pair so that we an also breed them. 

One of the primary goals, besides being able to support our family's needs through the homesteading, has always been to get ourselves set up in such a way as to be able to help others who are just getting started.  We have been greatly blessed by the Lord through the generosity of others who have given to us or have sold at a discount to us livestock to get our homestead started.  We would like to be in position to do the same for others just starting out.  As we gain knowledge in how to do things more simply and self-sufficiently, we hope to be able to share that information to teach others how to do it for themselves. Each season, I am seeing us becoming closer to reaching that goal.  There is so much yet to learn and do before we will be in a position to truly help others as we desire to do.  By and by it will happen though.

Long Overdue Update

Hello to all.  I apologise for all the long delay in any updates to my blog.  Last September, we had a lightning storm during the night.  A lightning strike near the house burned up our computer's power supply and motherboard, so we have been without a computer for 5 months.  Today is the first day we have had internet access again.

Things are going well.  Abigail is nearly 2 yrs old now.  Her birthday is 2 weeks before the baby's due date.  She is such a precious blessing.  Very chatty and curious about everything around her.  She has taken alot of interest in my growing stomach and pats my belly to get the baby to kick.

The pregnancy has been abit eventful.  Last October, I had to go to the ER because of contractions. I was told to take it easy and was not allowed to drive unless absolutely necessary.  Then, in late January, I was at the ER again with contractions.  That time the contractions lasted a total of 17.5 hours before they finally stopped.  The doctor says that my stomach is very sensitive to my activity level and I should avoid any activity that sets the contractions into motion.  Luckily, I have only 6 weeks to go yet before the due date.

The ultrasound last Tuesday shows that we are having a baby boy.  We are so thrilled!  We would have loved another girl, who would have made a good playmate for Abbie.  Having a boy however is also a joy in that this will likely be our last baby.

Our homestead is coming along and we have alot of changes that will be taking place over the coming year.  I will post more about them in a later blog.

God Bless.