Amazing Provision

Sometimes I feel so spoiled by my heavenly Father!  Earlier this week my husband was offered a job - he knows up front that it is for one year, but in this climate we’re grateful for any employment.  Every job he had applied for had a salary that was less than half of what he had been making.  THIS job will pay the same AND his new employer has offered to pay for our health insurance as well!  We are amazed at God’s provision for us - we always knew He would provide for our needs, but this is far more than we could ask or image

This will be a year of getting our finances in better order, and to continue working toward living a more simple, deliberate lifestyle.   For the moment, we are taking a preplanned trip to visit family.  In fact, I’m writing this “on the road”.  While traveling I’m hoping to use some of the down time to read and do some hand-sewing.  My current read is “Simpler Living Compassionate Life”, which contains essays by various authors regarding voluntary simplicity from a Christian perspective. 

I’m hoping to post some photos during our travels.  I’m especially looking forward to visiting my mom’s place in Arkansas.  It sounds like she has a huge garden, and they also raise goats and sheep.  I’ve brought a notebook, and hope to pick up some recipes and other homestead advice from her.  She was raised on a farm in Indiana, but we’ve never talked much about farm life.  We lived in the suburbs when I was growing up :-)  Sadly, I’ve not really had much interest in home skills for much of my adult life, so I’ve missed lots of opportunities to glean from both Mom and her mother, who passed away several years ago.  Although I acknowledge missed opportunities, I’m resolved to continue learning and move forward from here!

I’m sure I’m not the only one who wishes they’d taken an interest in the “old paths” sooner.  It is important both to be willing to share our knowledge with others, as well as, be willing to learn from the older, wiser women in our lives.  I know I’m grateful for those who chosen to share their journey with me, both in person and on blogs.

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Let there be light!

A year ago I was blessed with a complete Aladdin Lamp, and the components for at least one more.  I had instructions, but it seemed a bit involved to get one going, so I put it on my “someday” list.

With a quiet house and some extra time on my hands, I decided to make a go of it.  I did some reading about Aladdin Lamps, watched a video from Lehman’s, then took the plunge.

The lamp I wanted to light has a metal finish and beautiful shade with pink flowers.  The body of the lamp had some damage (which is one of the reasons my dad got such a good deal on it).  Unfortunately, I was unable to get the burner to screw on securely enough.

So, I went with plan B and got out the Genie II shelf lamp.  I don’t think they’re meant to have as large a shade, but I like it anyway

After getting it lit, I realized why these oil lamps were so prized by the pioneers.  When turned up all the way, the lamp shines forth with the equivalent of a 60 watt bulb!  Last night I turned off all the lights, shut down the computers and spent some quality time in the Word and in prayer by lamp light.

Part of my motivation for learning homemaking and other “survival” skills, is to be ready for more difficult days.  I want to learn and know how to do things BEFORE I’m in a situation where I HAVE to do them.  Living in a hurricane-prone area, we face a reality of being without power for days at a time.  Having such a bright, easy-to-use light source will be a blessing.  Of course, I’ll need to keep oil and an extra mantle (the part that glows so bright) on hand.  But one quart of oil will last 2 - 3 hours.  If you’ve ever considered buying a quality oil lamp, I highly recommend the Aladdin!  I did learn that they burn very hot, so they should never be left unattended.

Another off-grid lighting solution I’d like to get are solar panels to charge a battery w/inverter so we could use a lamp or a fan.  In the event of a prolonged power outage, I also wonder how solar yard lights would work - they could charge up during the day, then we could bring them in to provide light at night.  I think some models come with an on/off switch, but I’m not sure.

Even as I focus on learning skills, living a more simple life, and preparing for the future, I was reminded again last night to not become dependent on the things of this world and my own abilities, but to stay close to my heavenly Father; trusting Him to light my path.

“Thy Word is a LAMP unto my feet, and a LIGHT unto my path.”
Ps. 119:105

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Recycle or Upcycle?

A week or so ago I read a great post about “Upcycling” over at the Lizzy Lane Farm blog.  Although I didn’t know that it had a name, we have been working on doing more upcycling as part of our journey toward simplicity.  I actually find it fun to figure out how I can reuse or repurpose items instead of being so quick to send them off to the recycling center.  Like Karyn, I too have a collection of mint tins, and have a few ideas to reuse them.

One thing I like to do is keep my own herbal tea bags with me.  These tins work great for keeping little things like tea bags safe in my purse.  However, I hadn’t thought of using felt to make them more beautiful, as well as functional.  Another project to add to my list!  I also plan to cover and line a tin with felt, then label it “My Treasures” as a gift for my niece.  You could also use a lined tin to keep jewelry when on a trip.

My goal is to only give homemade gifts for holidays and birthdays this year.  Planning ahead is not one of my strong suits, so I’ve already been caught once not having time to put something together for a good friend’s birthday.  Today I put reminders in my calendar program, so I can keep on track this fall when I will have several gift-giving occasions.

I actually have several projects I’m working on this week.  My husband and boys are off at youth camp, so I’m enjoying a quiet house!  Although it is refreshing to not have to prepare meals, and to be able to leisurely sip my tea while watching the chickens, I’m glad my guys are only gone a few days.  I love being a wife and mother, so I feel a little lost without them here!

I’m hoping to write on my blog quite a bit this week as I tackle some of the items on my list.  Sewing projects are definitely in the plans, as is getting my Aladdin Lamp functioning.  Of course, I’ll also be making time to do some reading and maybe even a little napping

If you’d like to read more of my thoughts on recycling vs upcycling, head over to the “Oh My Aching Debts” blog.  I was honored to write a guest post while Cindy spends time with her mom following the death of her father.  I’m sure she would appreciate your thoughts and prayers during this difficult season.

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Is that safe to eat?

In our family, we ask ourselves this question often - a little too often!  As I make the move to more whole foods, I sometimes find myself looking at food that’s been on the shelf or in the refrigerator and wondering how to fix it, and if I waited too long, wondering if it is still edible!

Today I stumbled onto a site that provides an answer to our oft uttered question - www.StillTasty.com .  Click on a category, then find your food item.  You’ll find the recommended place and amount of time to store, and tips for helping your stored food last longer.  You’ll also find answers to questions like, “Is it better to store bread on the counter or in the fridge?” and “Is it safe to refreeze meat that has already been thawed?”

This is definitely a site to you’ll want to add to your favorites!

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Dream and Do

Recently I made a list of the things I’d like to either finish, continue or do for the first time. I consider myself a life-long learner, and have an interest in many topics. Of course, my main focus over the past year or so has been learning homestead skills, frugal living, and just generally trying to bring my focus more toward home and family.

So here is my list - in no particular order

• Experiment with growing salad greens indoors
• Make yogurt
• Make cheese
• Make herb infused oils and vinegars
• Sew more - possible projects: table runner, reusable bread bags, tote bag
• Make herbal tinctures
• Finish weaving a complete rag rug
• Bake with my fresh ground grains regularly
• Try Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day
• Plant another raised bed
• Figure out and use my Aladdin Lamp
• Use solar oven at least once a week
• Install and use a clothes line
• Study and take first CLEP test
• Start learning Hebrew

There are so many things I need to improve upon, and many more I want to learn! I guess this is really a list of goals, some easily attainable, some that will have to broken down into baby steps.

I’ve been tearing old sheets for my first rug - my cat seems to approve of the color!

My small garden is getting a bit unruly, but still producing enough tomatoes for us to eat each week, along with basil.  A couple volunteer tomatoes have popped up in the second raised bed, so I moved them to a better spot in that bed and will see if they make it.

Some of my garden plants are growing in containers.  Most of them are herbs, but I do have strawberries and Sugar Baby watermelons growing as well.

My dear husband is now out of work.  He spends most of his day looking and applying for jobs on line.  I have been able to take advantage of having him home to get some little projects done.  We’re also realizing that the steps I’ve taken to be more frugal and learn homemaking skills are a real help now that we have very little income.  With the job market the way it is down here, the jobs that are available pay much less than he was making before, so we’ll be constantly adjusting our budget so we can live within our means and (hopefully) be able to keep our house.

Through this challenging time, we are so glad to have been taking steps to cut back and be more self-sustaining.  Although it might not seem like we’ve come very far, just not having to buy tomatoes, bread and herbal tea is a help to our budget.  I have over a hundred pounds of wheat and other grains, so homemade pancakes, breads and muffins cost very little to make.  I love collecting fresh eggs, but they do have a cost (we buy feed for the hens).  My ultimate goal is to grow enough food for both us and our livestock, but that will take some time.  Still, on our current budget, we would not be able to afford as MANY eggs as we now use, and we certainly could not buy farm, fresh eggs like we get everyday from our backyard!

So, do you have a list?  I’d love to hear what is on YOUR “Dream and Do” list!

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Soap Making Photos…finally

The last several days have been a blur!  I feel like I’ve hardly been home, and I’m really missing spending time working on the many projects I’d like to continue or start (more on my “list” later).

As promised I’m posting my soap making photos below.  This is not meant to be a lesson in soap making, rather just illustrating the process I use when making cold process soap.  I’ve interspersed a few comments that will provide some helpful tips, or at least explain the step shown.

Lye and Water must be measured exactly. TIP - Always add lye to water, never pour water in lye container.

Oils (also called "fats") ready to be weighed. When reading a soap recipe, the measurements are by weight, not volume, unless otherwise stated.

Any solid oils, such as coconut, are added to bowl and then heated to liquid state. You can use a stainless steel pot on the stove or use safe container in microwave.

Most books reccomend checking to see that the heated oils and lye/water solution are both around 100 - 110 degrees.

I usually don't bother to check the temps - just feeling the sides of the containers works. I also don't stress about the temps, as long as the lye solution isn't super hot, and the oils are at least warm, I just move on.

In this case, my lye solution was MUCH warmer than the oils, so I decided to speed things up by putting the container of solution in a bowl of ice water for about 10 minutes.

While waiting for the lye solution to cool, I checked on my hens who were free ranging in the backyard! One of the girls made herself a nice, cool resting spot :-)

Lye solution added to oils. Notice - both the lye water AND oils are clear.

As soon as the lye is added, the oils get cloudy - chemistry is already happening to turn these different ingredients into soap!

I love my immersion blender! As you blend, the consistency will change to a pudding-like substance.

Checking for "trace" - when the soap dribbles from spoon or mixer and stays on top of the soap, that is trace. At a "thin trace" the soap won't stay on top as long.

When I get a thin trace, I add any additional oils, my essential oils, and any other additives, such as oatmeal or dried flowers. For this batch, I only added Sweet Orange Oil. Notice that the oil is orange, which means my soap will take on that color (not as dark, but still a yellow-orange).

When adding oils, be sure they are completely incorporated while also watching that the soap doesn't get to thick to pour. A slotted spoon is great for mixing in the E.O., and you can see I've got a good trace, so it's time to pour into the mold!

Mold lined with freezer paper, this mold doesn't have a lid, so I used plastic wrap. It's okay if the wrap touches the soap.

Wrap mold in towel to insulate, and let chemistry do the rest!

A few hours after you pour the soap into the mold, you can peek and see what it's doing. It should be starting to go through the "gel" phase. The gel starts in the center and eventually the whole loaf will be a hot squishy consistency. Don't worry about color changes - when it cools, the hard soap will be close to the same color it was when you poured it.

After 12 - 24 hours, your soap will be cooled, solid and ready to be removed from mold.

After removing from the mold, I usually allow the loaf to sit for a hour or so. Then it's time to slice! This batch made 10 - 1 in thick bars.

I hope these photos and comments are helpful to your soap making efforts!  I am still learning this craft, but I’m happy to try to answer any questions

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Tea Tree Soap

Today I made soap - “Citrus Fresh” (orange and lemon).  I took photos, but will wait until the soap is ready to be cut tomorrow morning to get the last pics, then I’ll post them here.

Emily and Christine, I’m happy to share my Tea Tree Soap recipe.  I usually use the same two base recipes all the time, then I change the essential oils, and any other (healthy) additions such as extra Sweet Almond Oil, or oatmeal for exfoliating.   This recipe is similar to the one I often use -  you can get the ingredients at any grocery store, so it is an easy one for beginners to “dive in” and get started.  It fits fine in a 9 x 5 loaf pan.  When figuring out my recipe, I rely on advice from other soapmakers and a handy program called SoapCalc.  All measurements are by WEIGHT.

2lb Basic Soap

Water               12.2 oz
Lye                      4.5 oz

Olive Oil          22.4 oz
Coconut Oil      9.6 oz

At trace add 4 Tablespoons Tea Tree Essential Oil.  This is more than most recipes call for, but it is the amount that works well for us.

I sometimes make my soap with Olive (50%), Coconut (30%) and Palm Oil (20%).  You can plug those percentages in for any amount of soap you are wanting to make using the SoapCalc program.  There are also many websites (just do a search for “cold process soap recipe”) with free recipes.  Your library probably has books on the subject as well.  If you haven’t already, I highly recommend watching online videos, visiting websites and reading as many books as you can get your hands on.  Soap making is not terribly difficult, but there are lots of great tips, recipes, and instructions available, so why not take advantage of them

My son recently requested I make Tea Tree - Peppermint, so that’s what I’ll make next.  Two pound batches work well for us - we get about 10 bars per loaf.  I have a few people who buy soap from me, so I’m finding that making one batch a month is enough to supply my family and keep up with orders.   The soap I made today was a special request by a friend/customer - my house smells yummy!

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Daily Harvest

I was out of town over the long weekend and really missed spending time outside with my chickens and the garden.  With the weather having turned terribly hot and humid, I only go out in the morning and early evening.  My garden is really just two small beds and a bunch of containers.  Still, I find myself at such peace as a water, snip, and gather a small harvest almost daily.

Urban Garden Harvest

These are not the first veggies I have harvested, but they’re the first I’ve photographed.  So far I’ve harvested about 4 pounds (mostly tomatos) from my little patch.  I’m hoping to have some Sugar Baby watermelons, but I’m afraid I don’t have enough bees or other pollinators to do the trick.  We’ll see!

While I was out of town a good friend came daily to check on the chickens.  I knew the first eggs should be layed anytime.  Of course, two of the girls decided to lay while I was gone.  On Sunday afternoon, my dear friend called me excitedly to share the news, and even took photos in a rain storm with her cell phone to put on Facebook so I could see them while on the road.   I was hoping to come home Monday afternoon to more eggs, but the nest box was empty.  When hens first begin to lay they are a bit sporadic, and the eggs are smaller.  This morning, one of the girls made another deposit, so it’s just a matter of time before we have two or three eggs a day.

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Catching up, finishing projects

With my husband’s job coming to an end soon, we decided to declutter some more and I had a big book sale yesterday at my home.  As a certified book-addict, and a homeschooler for more than a decade, I certainly had a lot of books that I could get rid of.  Of course, parting with them wasn’t easy.  The day before the sale I spent a lot of time reminiscing about my homeschool journey.  Most of the books, games and other resources were used when my boys were much younger.  Now I find myself with only 4 (or 3 if my dear son has his way) years left on this journey!  I’m so thrilled to see my boys grow into responsible young men of great character, yet sad thinking that something that is such as huge part of my life - my identity - will be coming to an end before I know it.

The sale was a huge success - I was blessed to have many friends (old and new) stop by to shop and to lend their encouragement during this season of our lives.  Most of my shoppers brought their children with them, and it was fun to see them run to the patio door to watch the chickens

Getting ready for the sale took most of my time and energy this week, so today I slowed down a bit.  I’m still catching up on paper work and emails.  Even though there is a lot of work to do at my desk, I longed to spend sometime at my loom, and in my garden.  So, scattered throughout the day I managed to do some weaving, and tonight I transplanted some herbs.

I also finished a purse/bag I had started a couple weeks ago.  After making one purse for my niece, I decided I liked the texture of the yarn so much, I just had to make a couple for me too

I was hoping to make a batch of soap today, but I couldn’t fit it in to my schedule.  We’re getting ready to go out of town for the long weekend, so my “Citrus Fresh” soap will have to wait until next week.  Some of my husband’s co-workers have asked to see my soap and other items I make, so he’s taking a basket to the office tomorrow.  One of my readers was asking about the kind of soap mold I use.  I like using a wood loaf mold for my cold-process soap.  Covering the soap helps to reduce the amount of soda ash that sometimes forms on the top of the loaf during drying/curing.  I either use a piece of wood, cardboard, or (when I first started) plastic wrap.

It is such a joy to make soap for my family!  My oldest son has requested that I always keep Tea Tree soap on hand - it is the only thing that helps his acne.  I’m happy that he’s not using harsh chemicals to deal with a skin condition.  After reading Rhonda Jean’s post answering questions about her soapmaking, I tried using my bar soap to do dishes today.  I still like liquid better, but I’m going to try to get used to using the bars until I can make my own liquid dish soap.

My busy-ness this week, has shown me more areas where I need to simplify, and driven home the fact that “life” still must go on, even if I’m ready to slow down.  As we are purposeful, and choose to live more deliberately, we can slowly change the direction and “speed” of our lifestyle - but it all takes time.  Although it was hard to part with those elementary books yesterday, I have wonderful memories of our homeschool years, and now I have more shelf space for yarns, jars, fabric, etc.  My home will change as our family dynamics change with the boys growing up and moving on to work/college.  I’m thankful to be learning new skills, discovering a part of myself that I really didn’t know existed.  I’ve never thought of myself as especially creative, but I find the more things I attempt to create, the more creative I become.  I’ll never be a Martha Stewart, but that’s okay, I’m happy being me….and that’s a good thing

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And then there were three…

Thought I’d give an update on my journey with the chickens!  After a series of unfortunate events, I find myself going from six chicks to three.

My Three Girls

As I wrote before, a predator managed to get a hold of one of the Rhode Island Reds.  I had to “baby” the other one as the older chicks were not accepting it.  Imagine my disappointment when I realized that my RR was a rooster!  One of my black stars ended up being a roo a well.  That one was my fault - I totally missed a tiny white feather on its head when I got the day-old chicks.   Living in a suburban neighborhood precludes my having roosters, so they both had to go - especially when one of them woke us up crowing a couple weeks ago!  Thankfully, I have a country friend with a neighbor who was happy to take both birds off my hands.

The girls are doing fine - I’m hoping to have eggs soon.  My dear husband continues to remind me just how expensive those eggs will be :-)  As the rainy season has come back to us down here, I’ve found there’s a bit more odor and a few more flies than I had anticipated.  Thankfully I was able to get some good advice at the Backyard  Chickens website, so we’ll be cleaning out the “downstairs” run, adding pine shavings and diatomaceous earth.

I never imagined how much I would enjoy having chickens.  We can’t let them free range, but I do try to let them out to forage around the yard in the evening after dinner.  I will sometimes take a book and cup of tea outside for some quiet moments.  It never fails that the book doesn’t get read because I’m too busy watching the girls!  My husband just shakes his head when he peeks out and finds me sitting there grinning from ear to ear.  I guess if watching fish swim in an aquarium can lower blood pressure, why can’t watching chickens run around the back yard do the same?!?

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