Best Book For the Modern Homesteader

If there is one book I would recommend that covers almost every subject on homesteading it has to be The Encyclopedia Of Country Living by Carla Emery.  I discovered this book at the local library when we lived in Wyoming and found it so helpful that I had to get it for my own personal reference.  Carla became my friend and example through her writings because as you read it feels like she is chatting with you over a nice cup of tea.  Her book is full of information, recipes, and funny stories that are uncommon or being lost as more people give up on growing their own food.

 Much of the information is unique because it has been compiled from people who have actually done the things that are written about and have vast experience in it.  It was the only book that had a recipe for crab apple jelly when I was looking to find something to do with crab apples.  Just of few of the subjects she covers in great detail and with an entertaining twist are:

 How to raise chickens, goats, cows, bees, and any other farm animal

How to grow most of your own food with sections for every garden variety

How to give birth alone in the wilderness

Keeping children warm in an unheated home

Canning and cooking recipes for every form a produce, meat, and fruit that you raise yourself

Cooking on a wood cook stove

Choosing a place in the country

Stories from other homesteaders and how they adapted and realized their dreams

How to make butter, cheeses, yogurts, and fermented milks

How to bring home a pig

There is just so much more in this book.  Even though I no longer live on acreage (I still am dreaming to someday)  I still use this book frequently for the recipes and ideas.  It is an encyclopedia of frugal living and how to make a dollar stretch.  Almost every library has at least one copy.  Sadly Carla died a few years back.  I had so wanted to meet her and thank her for her book.  What an amazing heritage she passed down to her children.  Their mothers voice continues to speak to us all through this lifework she created.

Wash Day

There is nothing like sheets and blankets dried in the warm sun. They are crisp and smell wonderful.  Every week I strip and I wash all the blankets and linens in the house.  They look so pretty fluttering in the breeze. This is not just for my pleasure though.  I wash at least two loads of laundry a day and by hanging out most of our wash I save up to 30% on our electric bill.   Also the sun is a natural bleacher and germ killer. 

This will probably be about the last wash I can hang out before it gets too cold.  If it's not moderately warm the clothes will stay damp no matter what.  Maybe I can get Husband to make me an indoor clothes frame for the winter.

The Last Flush of Summer

September is almost over and the garden will soon be under a cover of frost thereby killing almost all the plants.  As with most gardeners I take this time to go over what varieties did well and which ones fizzled.  This year was unseasonably cold and wet so my hot weather crops did poorly with just a few exceptions.  I didn't get one eggplant.   My tomatoes took forever and now I have a ton of beautiful green ones on that will probably not ripen before the frost.  My melons didn't make a showing and my beets wouldn't even sprout.

The winners this year were the Black Cherry tomatoes, Amish Sugar Pie pumpkins, Yellow Wax and Green beans, Assorted Lettuces, Purple Bell Peppers and assorted herbs. 

The top winner was a new variety of tomato that I tried on a whim called German Cream Sausage.  It is pictured above and I have never seen such a prolific tomato.  The plants were literally covered in tomatoes.  The flavor is citrus with apple tones and I don't care for them!  Sad but true, however husband loves them so I guess they won't go to waste.  All in all it was a good first year for a garden at our house.  I can't wait for next year to come!

Pouring out Blessings Like Rain

This has been a week of blessings on our family.  Now those reading this may wonder about my level of expectation when it comes to blessings and think I'm pretty sad.  They would laugh and say that a blessing would be winning the lottery.  And yes that would be amazing.  The things that have been happening are not big to most people but I have learned to appreciate the smallest appearance of God in my life.

On Friday I found free cedar fencing on craigslist and called.  I prayed that the owner would call me back because we are in desperate need of a fence for our dog and children.  I also know that any moderate condition free fencing goes fast on craigslist so I had little hope.  The owner called me right back and said that although others had called first she wanted to give it to us because she was moved by our need for the children.

We also went to Silverwood for our eldest daughters birthday this weekend.  We had two free tickets and the admission was on a half off deal for fall but it was still a lot of money for us!  Right as we got to the ticket office a lovely lady approached me and said that she had three free children's tickets and one free adult pass that she wanted to give us.  Well I almost broke down and cried right there because God was showing his presence in our life.  This lady went on to say that she had been praying to find a family to bless and was so happy she could give it to us. She exuded kindness and love as she spoke to us and all my worries ceased as I praised God for his blessings.  That one act made the whole day golden and continues to humble me.

If we as Christians could see that these simple gestures of kindness and giving could change a persons whole week, month, or life, would we do them more often?  If we glorify God by just showing a small aspect of His loving kindness to a stranger that can change a persons life.

Gods Path Not Mine

There are times when I have felt very discouraged in my spiritual walk with God.  Times that CS Lewis called spiritual wastelands when I didn't feel Gods presence in my life.  These were times of growth and maturing in my walk as a Christian where I learned about Faith.  Just recently we went through one of these times.  My huband lost his job and through the lies of his old manager he was denied unemployment.  Suddenly we were faced with no money coming in. We prayed and prayed for a job as my husband applied for countless positions.   Nothing panned out.   Then our tub got a crack in the bottom and we could no longer use it or fix it so we resorted to the downstairs "unique" tub which looks like it was made for Lilliputians.  Our small amount of savings was gone and we felt as if we were at the end.  That night I prayed (as I had for weeks) that God would bring a job opportunity to husband and I added a new prayer.  I prayed that it was His will he would bring me children to watch for extra money.  I would not advertise or even tell people I was open to watching children because I wanted it to be God's Plan for me.  Not my own will.

The next morning I got a call from a women who had heard of me and asked if I could watch her two sons.  She had found out about me through her sister talking about meeting me and being impressed.  Later that day husband got a call from a local farmer looking to hire drivers for harvest and offering a very good wage.  The job lasted much longer than expected but still was only temporary so husband kept applying.  Nothing was happening and when his temp job ended we again felt the fear of unpaid bills.  Just when we were getting to hopelessness a job that we weren't looking for was advertised.  Husband called and in less than a week was hired.  As apposed to all the jobs he applied for that ignored him no matter what he did this job went through as smooth as cream.  And it was not a job we would have wanted for Husband.  However after one month working there he says it's the best place he has ever worked.  The people that he works for are fair and moral managers.

As I look back on all the  hard times we have had I realize that Gods plan is not always what we have planned.  Sometimes its exactly what we do not have planned.  Sometimes it is going in a direction that seems really frightening, but God works all things to the good.  And the direction that seemed so hopeless in fact is the only path that could take you to a place of amazing blessing and hope.  Every hardship I have experienced has refined my relationship with the Lord.  Would I be the person I am today if I had not gone through these trials?  I know I would not have grown and matured if left in a comfortable and easy place.

Many Christians believe that if you are a good Christian then God will only bless you and trials and tribulations will never occur in your life.  But this is absolutely not Biblical!  In fact Christ says that we will be persecuted and tried because of our faith.  Most of these ideas comes from Western churches.  Go to Africa, Asia, or South America and you will see Christians suffering from horrible conditions in life as well as outright persecution for faith.  Only in our very decadent western civilization do you see this idea that life contains no suffering.  I think this is because as Americans we have seen so little real hardship and this has translated into some churches.  The time is ending for easy living, but how many people will loose hope in God from being told that only those bad Christians suffer.

Before opening my Bible I always pray that God will give me understanding and wisdom for what I read and also that He will guide me to what He wants me to think about.  Sometimes this takes me to uncomfortable areas on my own life and what I need to work on.  But it also says in the Bible that God disciplines those he loves as any father does.  Here are passages that stands out to me today.

James 1:2

Profiting from Trials

My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produce patience.  But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing.  If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him.  But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind.  For let not that man suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord, he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.

1 Peter 4:16

Yet if anyone suffers as a Christian, let him not be ashamed, but let him glorify God in this matter. 

This is my favorite verse

Romans 5:1

Faith Triumphs in Trouble

Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, ² through whom also we have access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God. ³ And not only that, but we also glory in tribulations, knowing that tribulation produces perseverance; ⁴ and perseverance, character; and character, hope. ⁵ Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us.

Eldest Daughters New Musical Instrument

Eldest daughter decided to switch from trumpet to French Horn in band. I had never heard French Horn before, but now I am in love. Listen to this peace and see if you like it. So much more depth filled and mellow that the trumpet. Maybe someday we will be seeing a young women playing in this symphony!

A Baking Day

Back in the day women had different tasks that they did on different days.  Monday was wash day, and every house would have sheets and clothes on the line cheerily fluttering in the sun.  Saturday was baking day and from dawn till dusk the heavenly aroma of baking breads, cookies, pies, and donuts filled the air.  The purpose of baking day was to get all that cooking done in one fell swoop.  In the summer this was even more important because it makes so much heat to bake even one batch of bread in a wood cook stove.

I had decided to bring the old fashioned baking day back to our home.  We have recently switched to as much organic food as we can.  The only problem is that it is so expensive!  So one way we can save money and have organic breads is by me baking them.  I try to bake all our bread, rolls, cakes, pies, muffins, and cookies for one week on the baking day.  I am also trying out different recipes so its more fun.

Here are some of this weeks selections

Two batches bread, Pumpkin gingerbread cake and muffins, Dinner rolls, Swedish coffee cake, molasses sugar cookies, chocolate chip cookies, corn meal mush

Many of these items are for breakfast and for husbands lunches.  After school snack  always includes slices of coffee cake or quick bread with a thick layer of butter and a glass of milk.

Living in Small Towns

There is something you should know about living in the country or a very small town.  You either love it or hate it.  For some people the quite sleepyness, close community where everyone knows who you are and what is going on in your life, frequent run-ins with wildlife (sometimes with your car) and lack of close shopping or entertainment is heaven, for others it's hell.  I personally am in the love it category.  After living in the country in Wyoming  I found going back to city living intolerable.  I hated the noise, the lack of any view besides your neighbors house, and the restrictive city codes that said that it was OK to have a hysterically all-day-long-barking dog outside but heaven forbid completely silent rabbits in hutches.

Now living in a very small town we seem to have the best of both worlds.  We can have meat rabbits, chickens, and a big garden.  I can see wheat fields and church steeples from our home.  It is dead silent at night and quiet during the day.  And yet we are within walking distance of a wonderful shady park, new pool, grocery store, old movie theater, and even a few country diners.  There is a wonderful school system within two blocks and my children have friends nearby for the firstime.

After living in our town for about 6 months I had a conversation with someone that opened my eyes on how some people not only hate small rural towns, but don't understand them either.  I was on an evening walk when I happened to notice a "free" sign on some wood boards in the yard of a house.  I knocked on the door and when the lady of the house answered I politely asked if I could take them off her hands.  She agreed and we fell into friendly chitchat.  She told me that she had bought the house sight unseen to "flip" and had moved down from a Seattle suburb town to do the work.  she then went on to whine and complain about how few services the town had.  Her long list of deficiencies included a lack of theater (the Shakespearean kind), no taxis, no nightlife, and no good restaurants.  She also hated, her words not mine, the nosie rude people.

I was surprised not only by her violent dislike, but by her laughably illogical expectations of what a small and remote town could provide in big city luxuries.  After all taxies?  Really?  In a town where everything is within walking distance and there are less than 1800 people.  And night life?  Well if you love to look at the stars and listen to crickets small towns are for you.  She found the people to be invasive because they liked to talk to her and not ignore her like in a big city.

I have been told the same story about every small town we have moved to.  "Oh" says Sally such and such, "The people of (fill in the blank) are rude unless you are born there."  Well I have always found small country towns to be the friendliest places.  People love to chat, find out who you are, and will bend over backwards to help you out.  To a big city resident this sort of behavior is only present in stalkers or criminals.  The culture shock is just too much.  Here are some experiences of our small town adventures.

When we lived in Wyoming my husband was testdriving a truck to diagnose a problem when it broke down.  Before he even got out of the vehicles 2 separate men had pulled over (good old boys in cowboy hats) and asked if he needed help.

My battery went dead late at night in the parking lot of our town grocery store.  A blizzard had just started and I couldn't get ahold of my husband.  A local sheriff saw my distress and took me and all my groceries in his patrol SUV out to our home.

Our neighbor who farms came over and tilled our large garden plot for free. 

Another neighbor patrolled around our property for skunks and "took care of them".  As he put it.

After giving birth to our fourth child our local church ladies brought me meals every day for a week to help out. And when my son ended up in the hospital from jaundice they brought gifts and prayed with me for his healing.

While on my way to my daughters basketball game in a unfamiliar town I needed to stop for gas as I was almost out.   But the station was closed (on a Saturday!) and the only way to fill up was with a credit card and I only had cash.  Two different gentlemen farmers vied for the privilege of pumping a few gallons into my tank so we could make it to the town where the basketball game was with an open station.

I could list many more simple interactions that make living in a small country town so nice.  So as for me I prefer the country.

Fun at our small town Fair

We have finally gotten done with our local town fair.  It was alot of fun and the kids did great showing rabbits and chickens.  Eldest daughter won best of show and best opposite in rabbits and eldest son won best of breed for his Red Star chicken.  Momma won some ribbons for her jellys, dried flowers, and dress.  And our family won 3rd place for the giant pumpkin contest!  There was also a lovely quilt section as patchwork quilting is very big in our area.  We got to see civil war reinactments from our local civil war society.  We listened to breathtaking accepella singing from some local hudderite girls.  And we generally just had a great time. It was also very exhausting for us though, especially because school starts the week of fair.

Here is a pig after a long day at the fair.  I can sympathise!

Youngest daughter and youngest son playing in a "cabin" during the rabbit show.

Eldest daughter with Best of Show Rabbit

Champagen de Argent- Stormy

Enjoying the fair food before the rodeo

The children with the money they won looking for rolled up bills in a haystack

Eldest son petting the 4-H pigs.  Almost all the 4-H animals are so friendly because the kids lavish so much attention on them.

The best fair I've ever been too