Once a week baking day

She willingly works with her hands.

She also rises while it is yet night,

And provides food for her household.

Proverbs 31

The Virtuous Wife

One of the most important skills I have learned in my hearthkeeping/homesteading journey is how to bake wholesome tasty breads.  Growing up I taught myself how to cook but baking yeast breads was something I didn't even think of until a fateful day in Wyoming when a blizzard blew in and I didn't have any bread.  Rather than brave the roads (they don't put down salt or shovel the roads in Wyoming because they're too tough) I decided to try baking bread. 

It was the beginning of a love affair between me and all things yeast.

Knowing how to bake your own breads is a cornerstone of homesteading.

Now I try and have a baking day once a week to provide all our rolls, cookies, coffee cakes, breads, and cakes for a family of six.  Several of my selections are must haves because they are delicious and always turn out  but I also try out new recipes weekly.  It makes so much more sence for me to bake all of this rather than buy cookies, breads and cakes at the store.  This way my children and husband have pleanty of snacks and we don't feel tempted while grocery shopping.  I also have to figure in numerouse neighborhood children that come over to play every week.

So why should we as hearth keepers bake our own breads?  Well there are allot of good reasons as to why we should try. 

First its much cheaper.  I can make better tasting foods than at the store for a fraction of the price. 

Second its healthier.   I use higher quality ingredients than a mass manufacturer with none of the health giving chemicals and food preservatives they add.    I also  can do things like cut down on fat  and sugars and sneak in things like whole wheat fruits and vegetables.

And third it builds amazing memories for my family.  I know some of my happiest memories are of coming home to good foods.


If you've never tried baking your own bread fear not!  It's actually very simple and fun and the end product is worth the work.  Plus it gets better as you do it more and gain more experience.

So what I did today

A Bountiful Table

Breads and rolls

these are much lighter looking in real life

Peanut butter, chocolate chip, gingersnap cookies and old fashioned drop donuts

Hide It Cake that I should have hid because it got raided before I could take a picture

Country Morning Coffee Cake

A must have every week

Viking Boy plotting a raid

Putting up privacy window film that looks like stained glass

We have a window in our stairs going up to the second level of our house that is clear glass.  Now I don't like the idea of people peering in at any time.  Unfortunately its also too high to put up a curtain and try and open and shut it every day to let in light.  Finally after much research I came across these very nifty window films that apply in minutes and look like real stained glass!  And they are inexpensive too!

So today I put it up.  It took about 15 minutes total and that included cleaning a very dirty window.  The company is Artscapes and there is a link to the side where you can check out their products.

It was so easy and it made a very ugly window look pretty!  Now light comes into the stairs without sacrificing privacy.

The Importance Of Being A Hearthkeeper

"No ordinary work done by a man is either as hard or as responsible as the work of a woman who is bringing up a family of small children; for upon her time and strength demands are made not only every hour of the day but often every hour of the night. She may have to get up night after night to take care of a sick child, and yet must by day continue to do all her household duties well; and if the family means are scant she must usually enjoy even her rare holidays taking her whole brood of children with her. The birth pangs make all men the debtors of all women. Above all our sympathy and regard are due to the struggling wives among those whom Abraham Lincoln called the plain people, and whom he so loved and trusted; for the lives of these women are often led on the lonely heights of quiet, self-sacrificing heroism."




~ Teddy Roosevelt, 1905 


Wow what powerful words of a hearthkeepers life and struggles.  But at the same time what a great encouragement and affirmation of all we go through.

And the Raven Said

An injured raven found a place to nurse its wounds today in the window of an abandoned building. We saw it while driving past and I snapped a picture with my cellphone. When I see the coming inevitable death of an injured animal it always gives me an awful feeling. Poor thing, we tried calling several agencies but none would have anything to do with it.

After School Tea

Is there anything better than afternoon tea?  I love tea, but not that stuff in bags.  No no no!  I mean the real stuff, the good stuff.   Wonderful loose leaf Ceylon or blends for all occasions.  It puts Lipton to shame (ug lipton).  But for all my tea aficionado love I have never owned a real matching tea set.  So this year I buckled down and bought one just for me.  It is pretty and elegant but still great for every day use.  And of course in celebration of it coming in the mail I put on a nice afternoon tea for the family.

My new tea set with homemade chocolate cake iced with sour cream chocolate frosting, fresh scones, and a fruit and jam selection.

Homemade grape jelly, strawberry rhubarb jam, and mandarin orange sections.

The best scones ever with jam and butter

And the perfectly brewed cup of tea!

Ahhhh bliss

I bought my lovely tea set from Victorian Trading Company and just love it!

LOL Tuesday

One of my new years resolutions was to laugh hysterically (in a good way, not in the way I laugh after reading Drudge Report) once a day.  So every morning I go to pintrest which always has some hilarious stuff on it. 

My poor husband had to get used to periodic streams of uncontrolled giggling coming from the computer room.  He found it slightly unnerving at first! Laughter truly is the best medicine.

Cats vs. Dogs thoughts when you come home

The Chickens Are Coming! The Chickens Are Coming!

Its hard to explain why I love chickens to people who have never owned them.  It's not that they have complex personalities.  Frankly a chicken is pretty disappointing if your looking for companionship.  But there is something fascinating about watching them.  They are always busy with something and they do have an endearing way of following people around to see what they are up to.  This can be intimidating to people who haven't had allot of experience with chickens.  Most people think they are going to get pecked or something.  But really the chickens are just hoping that you are about to either throw some sort of edible item to them or uncover some sort of edible item.  They're kinda single minded like that.

We just did our order to Murray Mcmurray Hatchery.  After trying several hatcheries out it's the only place I will order my chicks from.  They are of the best quality and have a huge selection.  We should be getting them by March 5th.  Horray!


So what did we order?  Well you have to do a minimum order of 25 so everyone got to pick a variety.

Daddy's pick

Colombian Wyandotte

Mommy's Picks

Black Australorps

Cuckoo Maran (chocolate colored egg layer)

White Orphingtons

Captain Submarines Pick

Black Giants

Eldest Daughters Pick

White Cochin's

Princess In Waiting Pick

Golden Polish

Viking Boy Pick

Araucana

 (easter egg layer)

Next Door Neighbor Girl Pick

Silver Spangled Hamburgs

With all these chickens we should have plenty of eggs. I cant wait to get them!

How To Color Tint Mason Jars

I know on my previous posts on Mason Jar DIY projects they always show the neat antique blue or green ones.  But I would hate to have the few I own break so I found a way to tint regular clear mason jars different colors for lighting projects!  And its super easy and cheap.  Enjoy

http://www.momtastic.com/diy/168908-diy-tinted-mason-jars-in-rainbow

Growing a Garden with Canning in Mind

Our main reason for growing a garden is to produce as much food as possible for our family for year round use.  Whatever surplus we have I can or freeze up for the long winter months.  I try to plan our garden to produce food for canning and freezing so it's a little different than someone who just want stuff for fresh eating.  Last year was a unprecedented flop garden wise.  I was so sick all summer that I just managed to clean the house.  This year we are praying that no one gets sick or injured and I already have my garden plan sketched out.  The idea is to plant tons and rotate crops as possible so I that I have plenty left over to can up.


Here is my rough plan for the garden this year.

In the big garden

Carrots
onions
beets
green beans
peas okra
radishes
lettuce
zucchinis
broccoli Rab
garlic

In the six raised beds

tomatoes
squash
melons
peppers
eggplant
lettuce
spinach

We are also planning to plant two plum trees and a cherry this year to complete our mini orchard.  We already have five apples and two peaches.