Baby Blessings!!!

I cannot leave you today without sharing my

latest little Blessings!!!!

I am sooooo happy to have chickens again.

When we thought we were leaving the

country for a year, (by the way

that story is on our other blog

"Bendites in Cornwall" that you

can find by going to my profile)....

we got rid of many,

many things. I gave all my chickens to

a neighbor. So, sadly for some time

we have not had our own fresh eggs.

I love having eggs to

1) use for ourselves,

and 2) sell some to pay for ours and

3) give to others who may need them.

Just one of those little

things I can do to

help with the state of our household.

Garden Beginnings.......

I took a day awhile back

and layed out a calender

and planned my garden backwards!! I looked at when

I wanted things to be harvested and counted back to

when I would need to start them. I did this because

last summer we had a killing frost in August. (GRRRR)

It was actually an enjoyable

process, I had my seeds and

I had a couple of books to determine what things

were cold hardy and how long things took to

grow and I also threw in the idea of planting

some things together that help the growth of

the plants they are near.....

all with a cup oftea and "Pride & Prejudice"

soundtrack in the background.........

Very lovely time indeed :)

This year I want to work really hard for the couple

of months that we can garden and get the harvesting and

preserving done before we have frost. So, I have planned

what can get started inside now and what

could possibly go outside while it is still cold.

Since my husband still does not have much work,

I cannot just go get little starting pots, so have

been making several different types

with whatever I have on hand......

Newspaper pots.....

and below I was blessed to find in my shed these
starting pots.....and I had these plastic lids from
some pans I bought at an Outlet store. The pans
were for taking meals to the Shepherd's House, but
I did not use the lids, I did however save them!!
as well as these little starter pellets........

I also used some toilet paper rolls......

This is what I rigged up for the seeds that needed

higher temperatures to germinate. I used my roaster

oven as a container only (not turned on) and put

our heating pad in the bottom of that. Then I

used some baking cooling racks first to hold

the bottom layer up off the heating pad, then

to hold the second layer up off the first pots.

I also used egg cartons......

I lined the lids with a bit of plastic to hold the

water. At night I put the lid on the roaster,

but kept it off during the day when it was

warmer so the plants would get some light.

Did not take long and there were

baby sprouts everywhere!!!

and they just kept growing and growing!!!

Now they are ready to be

transplanted into a little

bit bigger pots. All I have to do is plant the whole

thing into a bigger pot. All of my starts are this

way so as not to disturb the roots.

Some of what I started has to stay inside until

the beginning of June, then I can put them out

but still have to watch and cover at night.

The cabbage and the broccoli I started inside

because the germination temperature was a bit

warmer than outside is right now, but as soon

as they are growing well and established

I can put them outside as they are both cold

hardy. I will probably put out one little

plant first to be sure. Wouldnt

want to kill them all at once. :)

How is your garden coming???

Easy Granola

Low fat and very tasty......

1/3 C oil

1/2 C honey

1/4 C water

1 tsp vanilla

7 1/2 C uncooked rolled cereal

(wheat, oats...above I used a 7 grain

cereal because that is what

I had on hand)

1/4 C shelled sunflower seeds

1/4 walnuts

1/2 C powdered nonfat milk

1 C raisins or other dried fruit

(I used coconut instead)

You can easily play around with the

ingredients, incorporating what you

like in granola and the flavor

you want.....like, how about maple??

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

• In a saucepan, heat oil, honey, water and vanilla until well blended.
• In a large bowl, combine cereals, nutsand powdered milk.
• Pour liquid ingredients over dry and mix well.
• Sread mixture on two jelly-roll pans or cookie sheets or whatever you have.
• Bake for 10 min. stirring occasionally.
• Remove from oven; add raisins.
• Let cool until crisp before storing in airtight container.

(Makes about 10 cups)

We enjoy this with yogurt for breakfast

and snacks!!

(Homemade yogurt coming soon...:)

Winter Preserving

Well, I guess technically it is Spring!! But it is still very

cold here like winter!!

I enjoy canning in the winter when it is not so hot.

Here is my recipe for some easy Spaghetti Sauce to can

and have on hand. Very nice to open a jar for spaghetti or

pizza or chili or soup or.........whatever you like!!

Spaghetti Sauce
1 can Tomatoe Paste

(the large almost gallon size, I get this at

Costco for around $3)

2 cans of water

1/4 C Italian Seasoning (to taste)

(I buy this in bulk from my food co-op, so

it is not very expensive)

2+ T Salt (to taste)

(also in bulk from food co-op)

Mix all together and warm in pan on top of stove,

stirring occasionally to keep from scorching.

Warm your jars and lids.

Fill jars, wipe rims, put lids on.

Cook in boiling water bath for 20 minutes.

This makes 8 or 9 quarts.

I have not calculated the cost of my seasonings exactly,

but this comes out to be right around 30-40 cents

for a quart. I do not know about your area

but we do not ever see a sale like that!!

TIP: When you bake your bread, roll out a couple

pizza crusts for the freezer, nice to be able to just take

those out, use this sauce, do some toppings, have

grated cheese in the freezer and VOILA! Easy Pizza!

Other things that are fun to can in the winter are

soups, beans and meats and things that you do not

have to do something with right now because it

is ready in the garden.

Titus 2 Day

I am sad to have no pictures of our day together....

but we just started up our meetings again now that the

holidays are over. We are only going to

meet once a month, that way we can meet just

a little longer and do more.

This month we focused on:

"Peace in Perilous Times"

Everything we did was in an effort to help

bring peace to our own hearts as well as

our families and in our home.

As they arrived I had bread dough ready to go and

each rolled out Cinnamon Bread. The point was, when you

make a batch of bread, once in awhile do a cinnamon one for

a treat, nothing like Cinnamon Toast with a bowl of

hot cereal on a cold winters morning. Sounds

peaceful right?? Making our families happy and

contented brings PEACE.

Then I had our soup done to a point, meat browned, veggies

chopped, and it had to be boiled for just 5 minutes

before you could can it in the pressure canner.

Food ready to go in the pantry keeps us at PEACE.

So, we enjoyed lunch together and then had a short devotional

about peace in our lives. Peace comes when we draw

closer and closer to God. When we are close to

Him, we will be able to trust Him more

and that brings PEACE to our whole household.

Then we did a project that is fun to use with homeschool

curriculum or just for a fun scrapbook project idea. We made

a Lap Booklet with Minit Books inside.

Lap books are a file folder folded to the center so it

opens like shutters and you put different bits of

information or pictures or whatever on the little

booklets that you glue inside. Fun for all

ages. Once the older kids master the little

books, they can help the younger ones.

Busy children on a cold winters day

is very PEACEFUL indeed. :)

Then I showed them how to use a fabric pen

and write a verse on a piece of fabric to

embroider. Scripture on your walls is a

very good thing.....it reminds us of God and

who He is and keeps our minds focused

on Him throughout the day. Which brings

more PEACE to our homes.

The verse I chose is one that has ministered to

me ALOT lately.....

"Thou wilt keep him in perfect PEACE,

whose mind is stayed on thee."

Isaiah 26:3

So, some knew embroidery and some learned that day

as we moved on and learned how to do a granny

square. Some knew crochet and some had to

learn. So, at that point we just spent the next

bit of our time crocheting or embroidering

and encouraging one another. :)

All in all it was a very PEACEFUL day. :D

Next month, we will do two more embroidery stitches

and possibly work on crocheting a bit more. And

some other fun things I have up my sleeve. :) Our

theme next time is PREPAREDNESS.

(But not to an extreme, just some things we

can easily do).....which also brings PEACE!!

If you are ever interested in doing your own Titus 2 group,

Lisa at New Harvest Homestead

on my side bar will send you a free meeting

guide. It has some fun ideas and encouragement

for how to start a group.

Good Bye Autumn!!

Hello December!!

I Love Autumn and all it's colors and all the Fall dishes there

are to enjoy with squash and nuts and putting things up from the

garden or locally bought produce, I love it all.But I am always

happy to enter December. December is full of so much.

Celebrating the birth of Jesus Christ!!

That He came, only to give His life for me!!

Without Him I am nothing!!

e

Giving to those we love and care about as an expression of Him

giving Hislife for me. His coming to earth was a gift

for anyone willing to take it.

e

Taking time to find those people that may be without or not have

loved ones to share with and blessing them in some way.

This of course always depends on how we are doing, this year it

will be homebaked goodsor something handmade. We do have a

neighbor that keeps to himself out here and we take him a plate

of Christmas dinner at the end of the day. He is always

happy aboutthat. He prefers that to sitting at our table. :)

e

Everything is so beautiful in December, I love all the lights!! I wish it could look like that all winter long. In some parts of our town, they do keep lights up through the winter. :)

e

I love the smells December brings, cinnamon

and spices, pine, cedar....mmmmm!!

e

Every year, I try to slow down and focus on why we do what we do. This year that is even easier because we really have $0 to spend.....so I am having fun thinking of things to make

for my family with what I have. I am so happy that

I have a stash to build from.

e

I love creating memories, still today with grown children.....I have so many happy memories from Christmas with my Mom and Dad, I will cherish them always.

e

It is my prayer for you all to enjoy this season and remember to take time to reflect on Christmas's past and the present and how we can share the love of Jesus to those around us.

Bless You All!!

Blessings.....

Blessings of the fruits of our labor....

dilly beans and dill pickles.....

Blessings of simplicity........
I made my rolls the day before, let them rise once, made into balls put in the
pan and put them directly into the refrigerator. They raised a bit, I put them in the
oven straight from the refrigerator............
Mixed and matched my dishes so that I could use

my two apple plates above :) .......

Blessings of more preparedness.......
Plum Juice Punch......

Not even attempting sales today!!! Staying home, taking down Autumn decos to make room for Christmas decos. Tomorrow, we will go to a quaint little place in the woods where there is a Christmas Bazaar and tree permits. We will cut down a tree, and peek at the Bazaar. Usually, we have a cup of soup at the Bazaar, but this year we will take a picnic. Turkey sandwiches perhaps..... :) We cannot put the tree up yet, it will be at my tea first then we can bring it home to decorate next weekend. I might do some of that today with what I do not need for my tea.

There is a chance I will not get to do my really fun and lovely Nutcracker Tea!! Have not had very many calls.....and today is the deadline.....it is a very busy weekend in our town, too much going on. If that is the case, I will quickly switch gears to put some of these things I have been making into my Etsy shop. As much as I just love doing teas and do them for others enjoyment, this one was going to help with our house payment.....that is why I would quick do Etsy. If you feel prompted, please pray about that......Bless you all on this day after Thanksgiving!!

Consider the Ants.......

"Take a lesson from the ants, you lazy fellow. Learn from their ways and be wise! For though they have no king to make them work, yet they labor hard all summer,

gathering food for the winter."

Busy, busy times. Putting up food for the winter, catching up on outdoor chores before it is too cold to be outside,

planning ahead......

Times are hard for alot of people right now. We are all having to stretch our dollars and pinch our pennies. I am so glad I can be home to work on those very things. It takes more "home time" on my part. Doing things like baking our bread, making good meals that may take just a little more time.....keeping our home bright and cheery and comfortable.

It is a great time of year to eat more soup...that is a good dollar stretcher. Buying basic things in bulk or through a food co-op saves money, things like flour, rice, sugar....Knowing ahead what we are eating also saves me time and money of last minute purchases.

Being content and happy is a big part of my family being comfortable, especially my husband. Keeping him well fed and making our home a place of retreat for him helps him to not worry about us and

wishing he could do more.

What message are you sending your family and husbands today?? Trust God and lean on Him and do your best with what you have........send a message of Love, Contenment and Gratefulness!

Thank God for His provision

and what we do have!!

Lovely Shade of Green......

My daughter and I layed these 20 rolls of sod yesterday....I LOVE and am so THANKFUL for every bit of green we can ad to our desert landscape! AND it was FREE!!

From Cake to Cookies......

Mmmmm.....Harvest Bars for the guys last night!!

I took a Carrot Cake recipe and poured it into two pans, so instead of cake we had bar cookies. Sometimes there is pineapple in a carrot cake, well this recipe called for mandarin oranges. I had neither. So, I used some apple/pear sauce that I had in the pantry and remember back a few posts?.......I had grated carrots in the freezer!! Made some very good bars.

Great Deals.....

OK, so we were just innocently driving along on our way to see Aunt JoAnn after her hip replacement...fresh loaf of bread in hand for her.....and what should appear but a PRODUCE STAND!!!! with a deal on peaches toooooo good to pass up......

So, guess what I am doing this week?!?

PEACHES...YAY!!!!

After, the Harvest Bars for the Shepherd's House tonight, laying the sod my son just set aside for me today (He gets it for FREE), having breakfast with a friend tomorrow, and I really needed to clean out the shed before the rain comes next weekend so I can get to my garage sale stuff and have a garage sale!!!

Peaches WILL get done!!!

I am so happy when God provides in such fun ways....we are trying to stock up on certain things that can get us through the winter and foods we just need to have on hand because hubby's jobs are not coming so fluently right now, so I am very grateful and thankful that God happened us upon this produce stand Saturday. :)

Beautiful Picture!!!

Muffins Anyone??

Do you remember the "Barrel o'Muffins" recipe from way back in the 80's?? Well, I made that ahead and just scooped it out for our brunch that day.....easy, easy.

Barrel O'Muffins

2 C Boiling water

5 tsp soda

1 C shortening or 1 C oil

2 C sugar

4 beaten eggs

5 C flour

4 C All-Bran Buds (Kelloggs)

Optional: 2 C raisans or dates

1 C chopped nuts

1 Qt. buttermilk

1 tsp salt

Mix water with soda and let cool. Crem shortening or oil, sugar and eggs in large 10 qt. container. Add other ingredients and mix.

Put batter in lined muffin tins, bake at 400 degrees for 20 minutes.

This mixture can be kept in the refrigerator for up to 6 weeks (with shortening), about 4 weeks (with oil).....Scoop out and bake as needed!!

How easy is that!?!?!?

However, upon mixing this and buying the ingredients I did realize, I have seriously changed my families eating habits since that time and will have to experiement with some more natural ingredients and see how long it would last.....for example the Bran Buds have all kinds of junk in them I do not normally eat (high fructose corn syryp, hydrogenated fats, etc)....so would start with looking for a natural cereal alternative. I have already changed the shortening to oil which helps and I do not use white sugar, I would

love to try this with honey???

Now!!! I must get busy, very full day of tea prep......mmmm.....Peach Ice Cream, Raspberry Scone Dough, Boysenberry Tarts.....Rhubarb Jam to sell.....Oh My!! Better get busy!!!

The Blessing of Zucchini.......

Yes!! The day has arrived, zucchini is ALL done!!

6 bags of grated for the freezer, 12 pints of soup base for the freezer, 8 pints of sweet relish and 8 half pints of sweet relish to sell at my tea this Saturday.

What a Blessing!!

Fun Finds.......

Every once in awhile I like to check the Free ads on Craigslist......look what I found there!! Can you believe it?!?!? I couldn't! It needs some work, but things do move, so it would actually be usable with a new belt, then it needs help in other ways... ;) But, I like rustic, actually matches my old beat up Hoosier very well. :) And it was FREE!! Just had to go get it.

Labor of Love..........

Today as I was in town, I picked up my son to bring him out to the farm as he had offered to help me with a couple spots that needed landscaping. We made a quick stop at Trader Joe's for some goodies for a BBQ lunch ...........after I paid, the cashier handed me this little potted rose!! It was the last

one and they had been

giving them away for "Customer Appreciation"!!

Made me one happy shopper!!
Isn't it gorgeous! It is in a nice metal pot too! Made me happy!! :)

This is one project my son helped with.....this is what we had before,

just dirt and weeds.

This is my son laboring in love..........
These are the stepping stones in the middle part, that is a rock in the middle with cement molded around it. The man who owned this property before us made them.

This is the end result!! My son's very own creation with what I had laying around. I saw these and realized it was something I "had right here in my hand".....what could I do with them? This is a spot from our deck stairs by the hot tub over to the grass, the rest of it will be something someday to create a small patio area. I think he did an awesome job!!!

Dinner Tonight.........

I really thought I was done blogging for today.....and then......I started putting together our dinner for tonight. Ok, you might find this disgusting, but I hope not....let your imagination sore as you consider an idea......Maybe some of you already do this sort of thing,

and that is great!

Whenever I have leftovers, first we may just eat them again, but then if there are still left overs, I cannot stand to throw food away, so I freeze it in ziplocs, doesn't matter what it is.

Just like today, in my freezer I found......

1. A bag of frozen chicken soup, might have had noodles in it, not sure, noodles pretty much disappear when frozen......Voila!.....chicken goop!

2. A small bag of BBQ Beans........just ad some Mexi flavors and Voila! Chicken and Beans!!

3. Corn tortillas, which I keep stocked up on in my freezer.

4. A bag of enchilada sauce (I had bought a gallon size can and split it into ziplocs, way cheaper this way, unless of course you make it from scratch, but nice to have some on hand for when you do not have time to do that).

Getting the idea??? :D

Creamy Chicken Enchiladas!!!

When I make enchiladas, I put some of the sauce in the bottom of the pan, then layer about 6 small tortillas, then spread the meat, beans and sometimes rice, a little more sauce......

Then layer more tortillas, sauce and cheese on top (You can also freeze grated cheese in smaller portions, which is also cheaper to buy big blocks and grate it yourself). Then bake it. Some have called this Enchilada Casserole.

My husband affectionately refers to this type of meal as "sink trap" casserole.....or soup.....or whatever.....believe me it does not sound very nice AT ALL....but he always loves it!!! :) I just believe in practicing "waste not want not" within reason of course and I love the concept "what do I have in my hand?"

Today I did both! :)