Another week of summer gone too fast

The garden is in full swing now! We sat down to a big garden dinner a few days back....





It was very rewarding to look around the table and see the product of all the hard work! We had sweet corn, tomatoes, cucumbers and onions, Green peppers, Raddishes and Kohlarabi. I ground up zuchinni today for relish and put up 2 more heads of cabbage to be used for soups this winter. I have pleanty more veggies to harvest and preserve for the upcoming winter and I look forward to the brocolli that is finally ready! Here are a few random shots from the garden.









I took a week's vacation last week to build the barn for the horse and maybe some goats. My horse is currently living around the corner at the sitters house. I want to bring him back to my home so I can spend more time working with him and begin teaching the girls to ride. Here the almost finished run-in shed...


The lady's of the barnyard are also working hard! I'm happy to announce egg production is almost 10 a day! The girls are 100% oragnic cage free hens with no added hormones or antibiotics. Evidently this makes for some pretty popular eggs! The kids are having lots of fun with the double yolkers too!! We get quite a few of those and usually throw 1 or 2 in with every dozen we sell!







I've been continuing my reading on the amish culture and I will leave you with some qoutes from a book I'm currently working on...


Modesty - Outward plainnes allows inward beauty to develop, otherwise one ACTS A PART with cosmetics and costumes. - Whose adorning let it not be that outward adorning of plaiting the hair and of the wearing of gold or of putting on apparel; but let it be hidden man of the heart, in that which is not corruptible, even the ornament of a meek and quiet spirit, which is in the sign of god of great price. - 1 Peter 3:3

Simplicity - Do not become slaves to machines, materialism and greed. Avoid outside clutter and baubles, so that a person can concentrate on the true meaning of life, which is to praise god, develop his or her own talents, help others, and to rejoice in being.


Blessings to you and yours..

Photo's....

I'm waiting on all the pictures from the past 2 weeks to upload so I can work on a new post. But while I'm waiting I thought I would offer a few of my favorite pictures taken recently. I'm no professional by far, and I don't enhance or modify my photo's in any way. I enjoy catching little moments of life, and if they aren't perfect off the camera then oh well.....life's not perfect, and photoshop is cheating! :) Since a picture is worth a thousand words I'll let them speak for themselves......(But I will post over the next few days :) on the nifty farm news!)

THE DAY HAS ARRIVED!!!!

Finally the weeks of feeding and cleaning and waiting hae paid off! The chickens have laid their first egg today!!!!! We are so proud of our little girls! :)



Sunday dinner was amazing! Fresh chicken, redskin potatoes (dug the previous afternoon) and fresh green beans! The rain kept everyone indoors this afternoon and we used the time to catch some much needed naps and quiet time. I was able to finish some sewing projects which have been nagging for a while. I will post the finished projects in a latter post. Since we were all very rested the kids got a great treat to stay up late and bake cookies. :) (The house smells soooo yummy right now!) The cookies are done now and I've got to catch some sleep. Tomarrow is laundry day and it promises to be an all day task!!! But I enjoy my wringer washer so I can't complain! Somehow laundry outside in the sunshine and the breeze isn't so bad afterall.




Blessings to you and yours....

WoW! It's been almost a month!

One more day and it would have been a month since my the last post! Sorry all, but summer is in full swing here! I've been busy taking care of the garden and the chickens. Sadly I lost two of my larger breed hens to heat stroke in the past month so I had to make some impromptu alterations to the coop. When I first built it my major concern was keeping predators out and making sure it would be warm enough for them in the winter. Unfortunatly I didn't think about summer! Well lesson learned, and large ventelation door made! :) The chicken's seem much happier now with the new abode.



The girls and I have been busy exploring. The oldest lost her training wheels and is now the proud owner of a shiney new bike! Which we put to good use riding around the block. We discovered some markings on the bridge down the road. Someone dated the concrete culvert with what appears to be orange field tile. The date reads 1911 and we also found 2 handprints one large and one small. I'm sure if I check the old maps I could find out who lived in the area during that time. But for now they made for an interesting discovery!






I butchered one of the roosters last night and took it to some family members. I heard the complaints from my oldest as she was disapointed we were not having Mom's famous chicken and dumplings I cleaned another rooster this evening for dinner tomarrow evening. I dug up the red-skin potatoes this evening to go with the chicken tomarrow night and I'm anxious to see how they cook up. I thought I had some sort of bug when the green portion of the potatoes died off! Silly me I later realized the potatoes just do this when they are finished growing! I've never actually grown potatoes so I was VERY suprised to discover a load of medium sized potatoes hidding under the dirt! Yummy!




Well it's time to get back to the family as it's almost bedtime and I promised to read a story! Blessings to all and well wishes to you and yours!

Homeade Granola Bars

The rain has kept us inside today so I've been hanging out in the kitchen. I'll share a family favorite recipe for homeade Granola Bars....

4 1/2 cups Rice Krispies
5 Cups Quick Oats
1 Cup Coconut
1 package cruched Graham Crackers

Mix the above together in a LARGE bowl and set aside

Over low heat melt

3/4 Cup Butter
2 Packages Mini Marshmellows
1/2 Cup Peanut Butter
1/4 Cup honey
1/2 Package chocolate Chips (optional may also add nuts or m&m's)

Once the marshmellow mixture has melted down, remove from heat and mix in the dry ingredients. Mix well until all is coated and transfer to a 13*9 pan. (Helps if you lightly butter the pan ahead of time) Cover with wax paper and press the mixture into the pan. Cut into bars 1" x 3" bars for a sweet snack!

Butter Making

Just thought I'd share how I make the butter for my girls. We don't buy or use margarine in our home. I much prefer the texture and taste of real honest butter. I usually keep a few store bought sticks in the freezer for cooking or baking. But for toast and other delights I keep home-churned butter on hand. If you are as blessed and live close to a dairy you can purchase heavy whipping cream there but you can also use one from the store. I have learned that store bought whipping cream will churn faster than the one bought from the dairy. It probably has something to do with the fat content. If you plan on doing it for the first time I would recomend store bought cream and use the mixer. By using the mixer you can see the 3 stages the butter goes through and get a feel for whats happeneing. It takes about 3 of the small cartons to make a good ammount of butter. It also takes some time and paitence!

You can use a hand mixer, a stand mixer, a mason jar, basically anything that will agitate the cream. Obvisously they are easier ways than others! :) I have an old glass jar butter churn that is on it's 4th generation as you might be able to tell in the picture. :) The kids, and I take turns while we sit on the porch turning the crank on the churn. I would estimate it takes about 45minutes to an hour of fast churning to get butter and another 15-20 minutes of rinsing to finish it off. This is why I say you may want to try it in a mixer for the first time.

The cream will go through 3 stages as it makes butter. The first is the inital cream stage. Make sure you shake the container well to get all of the cream blended before pouring it in. After blending for a while you will notice the cream turn to whipped cream. You can stop at this stage and add a little sugar for natural homeade whipped cream but that's not what I'm making today :)




So blend on and after some time you will notice the cream start to get an almost grainey appearance...


Keep pluggin along and it will turn into butter and buttermilk.


From here you drain off the buttermilk and save it in a jar for baking. (Makes lovely biscuits!)



Once that is done you will need to continue pressing the buttermilk out of the butter. You can do this step by hand, using two wooden spoons soaked in ice water. Use the spoons to roll a small piece of the butter into a ball and press the milk out of it. Once that has been done you will need to rinse the butter balls in ice water to continue to remove the buttermilk. This is important as the more buttermilk you leave in the butter the faster it will spoil. If you plan on using it quickly you can leave some of the milk in it and continue to mix it which turns it into whipped butter and will make spreading easier. You can also add salt to the butter during this step or you can leave it unsalted. I hope you try it and I hope you enjoy it!!!

Blessings to you and yours!

Adventures in chicken ownership

Cleaning a chicken was really not on my list of things to do today. However the family dog had other plans for me. Usualy I put the chickens to bed everynight and to do so you have to enter the coop and shut the pen door from inside. I have been thinking I need to put a latch on the outside door from inside for a while now but I just haven't got around to it. Well guess thats about to change as I had to stand in the rain with a flashlight plucking one of my lovely hens. Oooooh no he couldn't get the rooster that I already wanted to cull. He had to take out one of my big ol plump hens. I guess I get a chicken dinner out of it so I can't complain to much!

Farm Auction

Saturday was a first for me. I attended my first farm auction!!! It was a wonderful mix of livestock, hay, tools, and odds and ends. Unfortunatly I had a graduation in the afternoon so I wasn't able to see all of the auction but I plan to go back next weekend! I came home with a set of 3 old shutters for decoration in the garden and some baseball card sleeve pages for my kids to organize their bella sara cards. I also came home with an understanding to drive the truck next weekend as a compact car does not transport shutters very comfortably. :) And it prevented me from picking up a large set of shelves to hold my canning for $.50 !!

Next weekend should also see the arrival of strawberries in our area. Everyone is excited and ready for the annual strawberry day, though I have my reservations! I never get excited until the day is over and all the jam and jelly is resting on the dinning room table, and I'm resting in the chair with a nice book and aching feet! :) Every year I make more and more jars and it seems we still never have enough! In our house mom's homeade jelly is quite the commodity.

I've been sorely slacking in my updates as of late. I'm attributing it to a round of the flu which ransaked my home here. I can't seem to recall such a long drawn out season for colds and flu's in many years! Here's to hoping this is just an exception rather than an upcoming trend!

Many blessings to you and yours :)

Fabric rant..

Just a quick complaint to be logged into cyber-space. What in the heck is up with material prices!!!! I just got back from our local chain fabric and craft store and was dumb-founded by the cost of material! I bought enough material (cotton printed which was 30% off) for 2 kid's dresses and only MINOR notions. (Elastic, zipper, bias tape, 1 spool of ribbon, and 4 Rosettes) I also picked up a set of straight knitting needles for socks and a nifty lil wheeled yarn organizer (super clearenced for 24.97...I wouldn't dare pay the ridiculous original price of 59.00) My bill tolaled over $75.00. *&#%$^&! ABSURD! Oh and I had a 40% off coupon which went towards my needles. So on that note where does everyone else go for fabric? Sometimes I can find good deals on e-bay but unfrotunatly I needed the material to complete the dresses for next week.

No more lawn. And dandelion salad.

So last fall a thought occured to me. Why do I have so much lawn? What good does this stuff serve? I can't eat it...well I can eat the dandelions but then technically I'm supposed to kill all them. (Notice I say technically....I gave that fight up years ago) I was spending 6-7 hours mowing the lawn per week and about 3 gallons of gas per mow. (Someone stop me if they find logic in having a lawn.) Yes I'll admit that it's nice to walk around the yard and feel the soft grass under your feet but beyond that I see no purpose to it. So this year I have set out to reduce my lawn size. I've given back about 30% of it to the field for crops and the remainder is still being turned under for gardens, fruit plots and cut flower beds. I cut out a portion for the chickens and anothre for the dog. Now I'm down to a manageable area about 40% of what I had before, which can be maintained in a matter of 2 hours! I plan to let the horse graze on the open areas and help with the mowing as well. (Can't get much more green than that!) I'm happy with my little yard and I still have my dandelions only...a lot less by design! I encourage anyone out there to take a hard look at their prized lawns and decide does this benefit me or my family? If not then till away my friends!!!!



Dandelion Salad Recipe...(From the Miller Family Cookbook 2nd Edition)



4 c. fresh dandelion (washed and shreded)
3 Hard Boiled Eggs (chopped)
6 slices Bacon (fried until crispy and cut into small pieces)

{(Dressing)}
2 T. Flour
2 T. Sugar
1/2 tsp. Salt
Mix together then add:
1/4 c. vinegar
1 1/2c milk or water

Add the dressing ingredients together in a skillet and bring to a boil. Cook until thickened then cool and toss with dandelion greens, bacon and eggs.

Dandelions are rich in protein, iron, calcium, phosphorus and insulin.

I think I'm in Love....

I took a day trip with the munchins to Shipshewanna Indiana yesterday. I had an amazing time. It was so reassuring to see the amish with the horses and the children being so respectful. Obvisously they are doing just fine with simplicity and I can do the same with my level of simplicity. Though I did have some strong urges to put my house on the market and move there! If you've never been to an amish community I would strongly suggest you do. They are truly and amazing culture deserving of our respect and admiration! And if you make it to Shipshe make sure to get a pretzle in the merchantile and take home some carmel corn from the little shop on the boardwalk area! Both of which are little pieces of heaven! Oh and you can never go wrong with a good amish cookbook. I just learned you can eat dandelions from my new cookbook! So today I set the kids to work harvesting our ABUNDENT crop. I will get back to everyone on how the recipe turns out and if it's edible :) But for now I have laundry to hang and a garden to plant. Blessings to all and happy sunday.

Rainey days and fruity drinks.....

I really needed a rainy day today to match my mood. I've been off tilt all week, just not really myself. The grey clouds mirrored the grey inside I felt today. God and I have been having a lot of discussions lately most of which are along these lines... "I know you have a master plan and I know its for my greater good but ya think maybe you could give me a hint??? Maybe a road map?" Of course I know the answer and I accept the course that he lays for me, but this past week has been a roller coaster, and I've been leaning pretty hard on him. I'm sure he will lighten my burden in time and there will be a lesson to be learned so I keep on pluggin along.

I broke out the juicer monster this evening and fed it the odds and ends fruits I had in the drawer. 2 mango's, a box of strawberries, a few apples, and an orange oh and shhhhhh 2 carrots for good measure :). The kids loved it and never noticed the carrots I added! I kept a container for breakfast tomorrow and sipped the rest while I watched the rain run down the window. Over the last few days I've been taking the kitchen scraps out to the chickens in hopes they would eat them up and maybe cut back on the 50 lbs of grain they are eating in a week! So far they don't like mango peels....green onions or oranges. I'm not sure what they WILL eat, BUT they did seem interested in the pulp from the juice maker so we may have a winner!!! And I can't say I mind an excuse to make fresh juice for breakfast!

This weekend promises sunny weather and another round of battle against the weeds in the garden...I shall prevail!!! Or die trying! Okay well I'm not that ambitious :) but I'll make a good show of it anyhow!!


From all of us here on simplicity acres....
Blessings to you and yours!!!

Alone....?

I decided to give this topic it's own post. The more relaxed and content I feel in my new lifestyle the more I notice the lack of company I have on my journey. Don't get me wrong I'm not looking for validation or acceptance from the general population. But it would be nice if I could find someone in my imediate circle who shared my beliefs! I think the hardest and sometimes harshest critcism can come from family. I'm sure they feel their concerns about my children not having a "normal life" or that my children "work too hard" on the farm, are very valid to them. I however can't say I share that belief. Thats what makes life wonderful I know, the fact that we al have are different beliefs but really? When did it become okay to let kids sit in front of a TV or video games all day instead of going outside? When did it become the norm to eat out sometimes 3 times in one day? And WHY am I so strange when I buck the so called "norms" and choose to live a life with meaning!? Does anyone else deal with this? Anyone else feel that sometimes your one against a million?

V for Victory!

I almost feel like the rocky theme should be playing in the background for this one! I have tackled my closet and came out victorious! I'm not sure what inspires me to hold on to so many clothes, and I'm not sure why I bought so many in the past. Since I decided to live simply I haven't purchased many clothes at all, and those that I have I actually wear! (There's a concept!) When going through everything I realized a good portion of my wardrobe still had the tags on! How wasteful and foolish of me! I plan on taking them down to my local goodwill later today and I hope someone can get good use out of them!

Spring...or is it?

I think the hardest thing to endure is a michigan spring! The on again off again warm weather is enough to drive even the most seasoned Michigander insane! The kids suffer from cabin fever and I know I'm itching to combat the weeds that have already shown their pesky heads in the garden. I watch the grey rain clouds pass from my warm vantage point in front of the wood stove and continue along on my quilts dreaming of a summer afternoon when they can be put to good use laying on the grass. But for know I guess I should thank the good Lord for a peaceful day.

Prayers!

One of my fave blogs to read.....

Eclectic Culture Farm

Please send your prayers along to Ang as she is getting close with her pregnancy! But has to spend her springtime on bedrest!

God's Gifts

Saturday here was a gift from god, such a warm sunny day! I managed to get alot of things done around here. The garden has been tilled again and the garlic, onions, and potatoes are in! I also got the new raspberry, blackberries and blue berries planted in the orchard. I guess I kinda planted the horseraddish but there didn't seem to be anything in the package :) I guess time will tell on that one. The chicks are enjoying their new home though still aren't sure about the whole outside thing! I have them under 2 heatlights to combat the still cool nights but so far they seem just fine. I did however loose one to a disorder with her legs. The poor little thing's legs seem to weak for her to stand up so she getting along by scooting on her bum. It's sad :( but for the time being she seems to be developing just fine and she's very plump. I knew that could happen if they we standing on a very slippery surface when first born but took alot of precautions to prevent it. I was told that sometime it still just happens. So my plan is to watch her and let her continue to develop until she appears to be affected by it then off to the butchers with the poor girl.

Today promises an afternoon of rain and winds, god must know I need a day inside to work on the house chores. Speaking of which I'm late for a date with the wash!

Blessings to you and yours..

Busy busy bee's

Spring is in the air and taking off here at my little farm! I can't wait for the chicks to be in and the coop is coming along nicely! Today the farrier came to trim the horses hooves and you could tell they had spring fever! All 3 were antsy and not in any mood to be kept inside! The big man is shedding like mad and or course after a nice brush down had to find his way to a mud patch and roll in it. Oh well. Their blankets are clean and put up for next winter save a few minor repairs that are needed on two of them. The flower beds are 1/4 of the way done with spring clean out and I look to get more down this weekend in between tilling up the ground for the garden. I'm still deciding on weather to get a goat or a cow for next spring.. I hope spring is treating everyone well and I hope to be posting more as things quiet down here.

Typical Tusedays end

Start from the first post...



So those are the things I find I can get done when I'm not glued to the TV. THe kids enjoy time outside we spend more time as a family and it's generally a more peaceful house. I challenge you all to do the same turn off the TV for one full week!! It's not easy but you'd be amazed at what you can get done! Dust off the old boardgames and enjoy a family night in!

drying noodles

drying noodles
Originally uploaded by 10cent_star

Drying the dough to be cut into noodles for the chicken soup. My girls prefer homeade noodles to those in a bag and they aren't that hard to make! :)

Chicken Noodle

Chicken Noodle
Originally uploaded by 10cent_star

A big pot of chicken soup is on the stove to warm up the family after playing in the snow for a few hours.

Typical Tuesdays

When I tell people that I don't have cable and only watch about 1/2 hour of TV per week, they often get the same look on their face. It sorta resembles a look as if I just told them I was dying of a terminal disease. Horror mixed with sympathy. It's usually followed with the same question....Why? I respond why not? It's a fair question why would I spend 4-5 hours every night engrossed in the television? Constantly filling my mind with images of things I should want or eat. Or even worse with images of sexual promisquety. Speaking of what is up with that??? Why do compaines think if they show me some half naked women wrapped in ribbons I will be more inclined to run out an purchase their chemical filled product to slather on my skin??? And where did we as a society lower our standards enough to accept the crap that is available out there? Things are getting more and more expensive yet they are less and less quality goods? Somehow we just seem to take it with a grain of salt and keep gobbling up this junk because the TV gods say we need it!!! Stand up say NO! Buy local buy handmade! Stop buying the junk!


Okay now that I got that outa my system :)!

So what does a family of 4 do whent he TV is not on?? Well we do lots of stuff... See the next few posts for details :)

Quiet Day at home

The snows falling and it seems the whole world is quiet! I love these days, and even more so when I don't have to go to work! I have lots of stuff I could be doing like finishing my crocheting, my knitting, my quilting. I could make some soap for the family (we are getting low), or a could backe some bread (again we are getting low). But so far the most I have accomplished is laundry. Which isn't really an accomplishment. The first load is spinning away and soon I'll have to get to hanging it up. It's winter and snowing as I said so the clothes line outside is pretty much not an option, I need to pick up another drying rack cuz the one I have gets pretty crowded. I'm sure my house looks pretty funny to city people when it's laundry day but we don't mind. All the clothes hanging up around the house add's to the hummidity which is badly needed since the corn stove REALLY drains the moisture and I'm pretty sure the cat is going to move out if I static shock her again! It's still early in the morning so I may surprise myself yet today! Ya never know I might just get the ambition to finish some of my projects! I better get it done soon spring is around the corner and then I will be to busy.