My Farm & Home

reinventing my blog soon.

2011-12-18T13:07:00.000-08:00

Just to warn everybody. I will be deleting this blog at some point this coming year. I have a plan for something a little different and more interesting that reflects our current interests.

~ Jo

Norcia Documentary

2011-11-19T12:16:00.000-08:00

http://osbnorcia.org/2011/11/01/new-video/

Interesting documentary about the monks in Norcia.

Fiber Festival

2011-10-28T07:11:00.000-07:00

http://www.uppermidwestalpacas.com/FleeceShow.aspx

3rd Annual

UMA Fall Fiber Festival

Come celebrate your local fiber producers

Mark Saturday, November 5 on your calendar!
Upper Midwest Alpaca breeders are holding a fall / holiday fiber fair at
Eisenhower Community Center
Conference and Event Facility
1001 Highway 7 Hopkins, MN 55305

Hours 9 to 4. Doorprizes & free admission!
Come support the American fiber producer, join a spinning or knitting circle & try alpaca. Learn how the fleece gets from the animal's back to a sweater on your back.
Join a spinning or knitting circle!
Hands-on demonstrations

Classes & Work Shops
***************************************
Looks like there is another fiber festival coming up. I'm trying to get there for the felting classes.

My Daybook October 14,

2011-10-17T11:30:00.000-07:00

Outside My Door...The cold is coming. I have enjoyed the warmer months this summer so much, so it's sad to see them go. But I also look forward to the cold months and the changing of the seasons.

I Am Grateful For...a week off, pets and little ones.

I Am Reading... A Wilder Life, To Say Nothing of the Dog, the 10 Habits of Happy Mothers, Calico Captive, Goerge Washington, by Harness.

I Am Pondering...what is the use of making plans?

I Am Creating...Hmmm, yarn, a happy goldfish eco-system, soup in the crockpot, and ...plans.

My Children are.... downstairs making tea and outside playing.

Towards life in Christ... I am so tempted to leave this out, which just about sums it up...

A Humble thing I learned this week... Goldfish die when you have them over crowded, and under tanked and overfed. And let me say- under researched. How shocking it is, you can't just stick goldfish in aquarium and expect them to live. They actually grow, they produce more waste than the tank can handle, and they die, poor babies. I now know enough to write a manual on gold fish care and I have enough equipment to supply a pet store. We are currently looking for a 55 gallon tank and sturdy stand for it. RIP, little goldfish!

Towards Simplicity: I cut down on the outside trips. Running around every day, is not for us. We seem to have more stress with each other, and get less done during the day. It's also cheaper to do less outside the house during the week, less gas and less wear and tear on the vehicle. I like our days to be centered on just getting our schoolwork done, and taking care of the necessities of life. This gives us time to create things, appreciate books, and go outside to be in nature. I'm finally getting most of the stuff done with the kids. ( I still have trouble with finding spelling time. oops.) The last couple of weeks have been nice.

Bangur Ban my cat and I

2011-09-01T12:27:00.000-07:00

The below is from the margins of an Irish manuscript of a latin commentary on Virgil. CIRCA 9th century.

====================================
I and Pangur Ban my cat

Tis a like task we are at:

Hunting mice is his delight,

Hunting words I sit all night.

Tis a merry thing to see

At our tasks how glad are we,

When at our home we sit and find

Entertainment to our mind.

'Gainst the wall he sets his eye,

Full and fierce and sharp and sly;

'Gainst the wall of knowledge I

All my little wisdom try.

So in peace our task we ply,

Pangur Ban my cat and I;

In our arts we find our bliss,

I have mine, and he has his.

It's July!

2011-07-26T16:21:00.000-07:00

I can hardly believe I haven't posted for months. Have I been that busy????

Well, yes.

Most of the time I'm hiding from the heat but I have been getting a lot of things done lately. This is my mental list of to-do's.

Cleaned the school room. (check!)
Cleaned the pantry. (check!)
Organized school books. (Started...much more to do!)
Begun canning.
Cleaned garage (check!)
cleaned office.
remove downstairs carpet
washed wool (started..3 fleeces to finish!)
put away childrens clothes
organized clothes
buy more children's clothes (started...)
weed gardens (never ending job!)
re-do garden (half the flower garden is done...woo-hoo!)
order school books (check!)
order lesson plan books
create lesson plans
create preschool library lists
finish preschool projects (check!)
order used books on amazon
order costumes (check!)
go camping
buy new family car
de-clutter and clean like mad (because I want it to be done before school starts!)
dry herbs
pick berries at park

Ha, ha- I'm crazy. Oh well, I'm really just putting this here so I can kind of keep track of it and so I stop feeling like I'm forgetting something.

I have just started to plan the next school year out and order books.

I have found time to take the kids to the beach at least once a week since it got warm here. All our new school books and craft kits are going to arrive in August. How exciting this is. Another school year to look forward to. I'm excited even if the kids are not so enthusiastic.
But truthfully this is the busiest part of the year for me. There are so many things to do and think about. School next year, lesson plans, home organizing so we can make a clean start, pantry planning, and canning so we have a supply of good clean healthy foods for the next year.

I'm probably going to take time off and go to the school library when it comes time to actually write lesson plans out. We are going to be doing the Prairie Primer this year and it looks so fun. We are also going to be studying American History and the American Revolution. I'm looking forward to this especially after seeing the HBO series "John Adams." this was pretty good series for adults ( For adults only-due to some mature themes.)

Well it's time to make some dinner. ~ Jo

Happy Easter!

2011-04-21T13:58:00.000-07:00

we are cleaning house, the little kids are napping, quiet as a mouse, nothing much is happening, just the regular old stuff, getting ready for Easter, lot's of treats to make, but first we clean the house and do the laundry, then we get to bake....

Enough rhymes.

We are off from school this next week. I have lesson plans to make for the next 6 weeks, cleaning and putting away of many toys, wardrobe switching, yard work, garden clean up and planning and probably more to do.

We can see the light at the end of the tunnel. The kids are very close to getting several subjects done all the way. That's so cool. Once we get a little bit more done, I get to start planning for next year.

The kids have been swimming on Saturdays, reading a lot. Lady M has been reading a few books here and there, Bobbsy Twins, and some adventurous books like My side of The Mountain, Sign of the Beaver. She wants more books like that, too. Having a hard time finding ones that are o.k. for her. I guess she likes adventurous books. Master G has been listening to Tom Swift books and he really likes them. Little Ginger likes Little Pear and even the baby has his board books that he wants to listen to. Papa has been reading The Merry Adventures of Robin Hood to us in the evening.
Master G is doing well in the choir. I can't wait for the big spring concert that is coming up on Mother's Day. He actually sang some of a song to me the other day! We are eagerly awaiting the Sheperds Harvest where we will get to meet some friends and spin on our wheel and take a few more classes here and there and just have some nice textile fun.

Blessings, Jo

Notes From an Old Prayer Book

2011-04-21T13:30:00.000-07:00

opened randomly I read:

"Where there is no rule there is no order," says Father Hanson. "We live by caprice and fancies. With a rule of life, on the contrary, all is done in an orderly manner; each duty has it's proper time set apart for it; nothing is forgotten; nothing is done in haste or in a careless manner. Thanks to a rule of life, all is done well; and that which is true in regard to order is equally so in regard to practices of piety. With a rule of life they are done with exactittude; without a rule of life they have no fixed hour; we defer them, and then again we defer them, and we finish by ommitting them entirely."

We have some good old proverbs on the value or order and method:
"Order is heavens first law." Pope
"To him who does everything in it's proper time one day is worth three."
"Method will teach you to win time."-Goethe
there is a time to fish and a time to dry nets." -from the Chinese pg 194

Happy Feast of St. Joseph

2011-03-20T08:17:00.000-07:00

Foster-Father of the Son of God

Spouse of the blessed Mother

chaste gaurdian of the Virgin

diligent protectorof Christ

Head of the holy Family

Joseph most strong

Joseph most faithful

Glory of Homelife

Pray for us, and pray for our families and and ask Jesus to Bless all those under your special care. Amen!

******Prayer request****

Please pray for Bonita, an elderly lady who took a very serious fall yesterday right in front of me as I was coming out of a store. God allowed me to be the first one who reached her, and I held her hand until the first responders got to the scene. Please pray that her injuries would not be severe and that her head will heal quickly.

Notes From an Old Prayer Book

2011-03-14T18:15:00.000-07:00

Opened randomly:

Simon of Cyrene was compelled to assist Jesus in carrying His cross, and Jesus accepted his assistance. how willingly would He also permit you to carry the cross. He calls, but you hear him not; He invites you, but you decline His invitation. What a reproach it is to bear the cross reluctantly! pg. 446

My Day Book March 9, 2011 Ash Wednesday

2011-03-09T07:15:00.000-08:00

Outside My Door...It's cold and it isn't spring yet, but every once and a while I hear the voice of a returning bird sing. Right now we have some snow steadily drifting down.

I Am Listening To...Gregorian chant, the sounds of breakfast and waking up.

I Am Wearing...Black pants, purple shirt and a sweater vest.

I Am Grateful For...Friends and family, for little boys, toddlers that say "maaa-maaa!" so cutely, husband that work, crafts to do, children to teach, books to read, a lovely home and a God who loves me.

I Am Reading...Marriage: a Path to Sanctity, Writing Dialogue, Sally Clarkson's Heart of the Home, the Book of Psalms

I Am Pondering...Pride. My own, of course. Quibbles about books, the language people choose to use, Lenten music, motivation for students, family members who choose not to communicate with me any more, and some more pride. I think that pretty much sums it up.

I Am Creating...Kool-aid dyed yarn, spun on my spindolyn. Hopefully a video about it, too. (someday, not promising.)

My Children are....waiting for friends to come for Art today.

Towards life in Christ...participating in Lent. Holy Mass in the evening.

I Am Hoping and Praying...for family and friends.

From the Kitchen...My oldest is learning to make bread.

One of my Favorite Things...Caribou Coffee, Organic Ethiopian, from Finlay. Best coffee ever.

I am teaching....(sigh...) as much as I can, but our lesson plans took a nose dive a few weeks ago, and we are still trying to pull out of it before we crash. We are getting more reading time in lately.

Towards Simplicity: Well, I got one long curtain and one short curtain. So what are the odds that pottery barn will send me 2 short curtains or two long curtains when I go to order again? I'm planning to call them and order over the phone and tell them what happened...
We are staying on our chore schedule!

Notes from an old prayer book

2011-03-07T10:45:00.000-08:00

I have an old prayer book I dearly love. It's written by Fr. Lascance, Imprimatur, September, 9, 1908. It looks like it was printed in 1908, 1936, and 1944. It had belonged to my mother as a girl and she gave it to me when I was 14 years old.

It has worlds of knowledge and wisdom in it. Lovely little snippets and jewels and meditations that one can read quickly and think about during the day.

Randomly opened, I read:

Look at the bright side of things.

Two men looked out through their prison bars;

The one saw mud, and the other stars." - Stevenson

" A poet," writes Fr Russel, "Was gazing one day at a beautiful rose-tree. 'What a pity,' said he, 'that these roses have thorns!' A man who was passing by said to him: 'Lets us rather thank our good God for having allowed these thorns to have roses.' Ah! how ought we also thank him for so many joys that He grants to us in spite of our sins, instead of complaining about the slight troubles that He sends us!" pg. 49

Today...

2011-03-07T10:13:00.000-08:00

We will work on what we can. One of my children has a sore throat and fever, so she gets to have a sick day and just listen to me read schoolwork to her. We have a lot of snow on the ground. Yesterday, we were going to have some friends over and then the fever showed up and the snow became dangerous and we were called to sacrifice the evenings fun and put off the visit we were all looking forward to. Sometimes life is hard.

I am very glad it's March and even though there is snow on the ground I can think of spring and Easter. Even though it's cold out, the sun shines brightly most mornings and promises that spring will soon be here in the frozen North. I know some folks are already planting gardens, but for most of us up here the garden is still a day-dream. It won't even be warm for another two months.
During Febuary, I had a strange virus attack that took away my energy for about 3 weeks and let me feeling tired and gloomy. I struggled through it all, trying to work, trying to teach, trying to cook, although I didn't have much of an appetite and wondered what was wrong with me. This week I'm feeling so normal and fine I'm amazed that I didn't realize I had a problem going on with my health. Even though I am committed to taking care of my health, I can still be so busy that I don't pick up on the clues that tell me when something is going wrong. Anyway, that's why I haven't posted for a while.

I've also been trying to read more to the kids and that takes up lots of time.
I've started Little House in the Big Woods with my 4 year old.
The Dark Frigate with the 9 year old, and 7 year old.

We also read a few other books a few times a week to the kids. Safari in Your Backyard is almost done. We have really enjoyed this book as part of our nature study, and I'm going to look for another book like it to continue reading about our natural world.

The hubby is reading The Hobbit to us at night. I haven't read Tolkien in a long time and I love sharing him with the kids. I'm glad we waited to share the books until the kids could appreciate them more.

The kids have been binging on Herge (Tin-Tin) for a while. Today I'm enjoying the clean house, our new furniture set, the thought of my spinning project I'm starting when I have a little extra time, new ideas for the blog, being with my family.

After Mass yesterday we had a chance to share catholic fellowship. I appreciate the fellowship time we have after the EF Mass on Sundays. I hope it remains open and friendly, and that the Latin Mass community continues to grow.

My 4 year old chattered the whole day after Mass. We watched "How to Train your Dragon" last night. I wasn't really drawn to the story, but I know someone who really liked it. I'm glad he told us about it.
So I think that catches us up. ~ Jo

Gratitude

2011-03-06T17:49:00.000-08:00

The catechism says the most profound act of thanksgiving we can express is the Holy Mass:

“The Eucharist is a sacrifice of thanksgiving to the Father, a blessing by which the Church expresses her gratitude to God for all his benefits, for all that he has accomplished through creation, redemption, and sanctification. Eucharist means first of all 'thanksgiving'" (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1360).

The French philosopher Jacques Maritain once said that "Gratitude is the most exquisite form of courtesy."

Cicero, the famous Roman senator and orator once wrote, "Gratitude is not only the greatest of virtues, but the parent of all others."

A nudder vinter in Minnesotta

2011-02-04T07:59:00.000-08:00

Anudder vinter in Minnesota

Government surveyors came to Ole's Minnesota farm and asked if they could do some surveying. Ole agreed, and Lena even served them a nice meal at noontime.

After their work was done, the surveyors told Ole, "You were so kind to us; we wanted to give you the bad news in person, instead of by letter."

"Vat's da bad news?” asked Ole.

"Well, your farm is right on the state line," the surveyors said, "and after our work was completed, we discovered your farm is not in Minnesota. It's actually in Iowa."

"Dat's da best news I'f had in a long time," said Ole. "I vas yust telling Lena dis morning dat I don't tink I can take anudder vinter in Minnesota."

Minnesotta women are sissies....

2011-01-22T15:24:00.001-08:00

Minnesota women are sissies .

I just got off the phone with a friend in Minnesota .

He said that since early this morning the snow has been nearly waist high and is still falling.

The temperature is dropping below zero and the north wind is increasing.

His wife has done nothing but look through the kitchen window all day.

He says that if it gets much worse, he may have to let her in.

10 Commandments for Minnesotans

2011-01-19T18:38:00.000-08:00

1. Der's only one God, ya know.
2. Don't make that Stuffed Walleye on your mantle an idol.
3. Cussin ain't nice.
4. Go to church even when you're up nort.
5. Honor your folks.
6. Don't kill. Catch and release.
7. There's only one Lena for every Ole. No cheatin.
8. If it ain't your lutefisk, don't take it.
9. Don't be braggin bout how much snow ya shoveled.
10. Keep your mind off your neighbor's hot-dish.

( I didn't write this and don't know who did! )

Wordless Wednesday

2011-01-19T10:58:00.000-08:00

Video- Planet Earth BBC

2011-01-18T13:44:00.000-08:00

My hubby bought this series for us for Christmas. It's really wonderful. We do not have TV, nor do we regularly watch t.v. or DVD's, so it's really been a long time since we have watched any modern nature shows. So I was stunned at the quality/clarity of the video on these dvd's. The camera they use was very powerful. A few other neat things about them:

The use lovely classical music to go along with the shows.
They don't seem to be pushing agendas, rather focusing on the subjects of the films. (Very refreshing!)
The filmed footage is awesome. They managed to find footage that has not been seen before.

So these can be really good for adding to the science program. So if you get these, keep you globe handy as you watch them. Let the kids look up the places they mention. We were really impressed when we watched the video on the Mountain ranges.You might think a mountain is a mountain, but when you see oh, six or eight ranges right after each other you will really notice a difference in the rock formations. Very impressive lesson about rocks for 7 year old boys!

Daybook Jan 11'

2011-01-12T12:30:00.000-08:00

My weekly journal

Outside My Door...The Sunshine is bright, intense and beautiful! It floods our living area downstairs and warms us with it's glow. Winter sunshine is such a gift from heaven. I want to be like a cat and lay in it. (But I'll refrain from licking myself...)

I Am Listening To...Geography lessons, the dishwasher, and Song School Latin.

I Am Wearing... A navy blue skirt, tights, green shirt and white sweater with my favorite mules.

I Am Grateful For...Lately, I've been grateful for feeling better. Part of the reason I am feeling well is because I'm night weaning my 18 month old. No more night nursing, although his is still waking up and fussing at night. I must be getting some extra sleep. Another thing I am doing is taking a sub-lingual B complex and I've been trying something called Gaba-Calm and a L Typtophan both of which help with getting better sleep and staying calmer through stress. There are days when I am nervous and short tempered, or a little too OCD but these things seem to help. I read about them in a book called the Mood Cure and decided to try them after talking to my Chiropractor.

I Am Reading...Organised Simplicity and I am once again confronted with language so holistic I think they may actually be speaking a foreign tongue. Well, maybe it's not quite so bad but the book does have somegood ideas and some pretty awful ones. I am also reading the same things as last week. (It takes me a while to read through books...)

I Am Pondering...Am I really called to be a homeschooling mom? I think so, but some people think that if you have a sharp temper then you shouldn't be homeschooling. Or if you don't 100% enjoy your children- then you shouldn't be homeschooling. So in other words you must have already achieved perfection in order to homeschool. But is it possible to achieve perfection as I homeschool? Can I enjoy my kids 80% of the time and still homeschool? Is it possible to not be perfect and still homeschool? Is it possible to do the best you can and be humble before your children if you make mistakes?

I think the Lord can call someone to do something that is very difficult for them to do, and though we stumble and fall, we can pick ourselves up again and try again.

The only perfection is in Heaven!

I Am Creating... Um.... On Saturday I made lesson plans, does that count?

My Children are...Learning. Actually, they are learning. We are still working on our piano challenge although I missed a few days of practice. Monday and Tuesday we worked from the lesson plans and are also working on getting up earlier and doing our morning chores before breakfast. We are all about getting back into school here.

Towards life in Christ...Well, the family went to Confession on the weekend and I took some time to pray before the Tabernacle in our local Church. It's a great thing to do at the start of the new year!

I Am Praying for...my family and my hubbies job. My friends. For patience and kindness, too.

From the Kitchen...We are still gluten free and still working on getting back to normal. Pinto bean soup is on the menu again.

A Humble Thing I learned this week...I need to commit in the small things. The dirty dishes, the crying baby, the endless rounds of schoolwork, the floor sweepings. These ordinary things are my vocation. Oh well, God still loves me!

I am teaching...the usual.

Towards Simplicity... Over the last few weeks I worked on the laundry room a little. I painted over some of the walls, so when I walk into it I see a nice soft green paint instead of yucky stained walls. I need to continue with de-cluttering though. I ordered one set of curtains from pottery barn. We'll see how they are, I guess. And if I like them I'll order some more.

Me and Master D

One of my Favorite Things... My babies!

shhhhh!

This is neat!

2011-01-11T12:19:00.000-08:00

I'm enjoying a new series. A British Reality Show called Victorian Farm. I didn't think much of it at first but the use of the antiques and the historical information is just fascinating! So this episode deals with doing laundry and provides a interesting comaprison to modern laundry methods. (Can I be more thankful for my washing machine? I think not.)

My Day Book

2011-01-05T20:02:00.000-08:00

Wed January 5, 2011

Outside My Door... It's cold and snowing lightly.

I Am Listening To... The quiet house....(when I started this) and now I'm listening to piano practice.

I Am Wearing...Pink shirt and long unfashionable but comfy black skirt, black tights and black and pink legwarmers that my dear mother in law made for me for Christmas.

I Am Grateful For... The warm house and my hubbies good job, quiet times during the day, older children and younger children who can be buddies, and the graces that help me get through every day.

I Am Reading... Mrs, Sharps Traditions, For the Childrens' Sake and Seasons of a Mother's Heart. The Twelve Days of Christmas with the Kids, Johnny Chuck with the Kids and still various Christmas books. We are also reading The Fatima Story to the children.

I Am Pondering...Contentment. Just what will make me feel content with what I have now, and with what I do with the kids? Will adding more lessons outside the house help us or will it make it more difficult? Will we be able afford them?

I Am Creating...New hair for our Rapunzel doll that was chopped off by a 4 year old with to much time on her hands and not enough supervision!

My Children are...playing the piano for 1/2 hour every day for 14 days. After which I will hand out some prizes.

Towards life in Christ...Trying to say my prayers in the morning and wake before the children do. Reminding myself that self denial will help me, and thus I should start calorie counting again. Moderation and temperance are such struggles after Christmas.

I Am Praying for...My family and my hubbies job.

From the Kitchen...We are going non gluten for a few weeks while we get our eating habits back on track. Baked beans with hot dogs in the slow cooker today.

A Humble Thing I learned this week...Don't try and do too much when I haven't had enough sleep. It will end badly.

I am teaching...Piano and good sportsmanship and game playing. We are not quite ready for the full school schedule yet.

Towards Simplicity...I made a few more chore charts for the kids rooms and I am working on a music game for our piano practice. We have also moved a coat hook in the laundry room and added another for the childrens' coats. I am thinking about buying window treatments for the bedrooms upstairs rather than making them. That will certainly save me time and energy and I have found ones I like here at Potterybarnkids. I'm a little nervous of some of the reviews of these though.

One of my Favorite Things... my children.

Daybooks...

2011-01-03T11:47:00.000-08:00

My weekly journal

I've been enjoying OPB's (other people's blogs) for a while now and I have been enjoying the Simple Woman's Daybook, and other personal variations. So I made a variation for myself. I'm hoping to get it in once a week, and I don't know if I will commit to a specific day or not. This is my format:

Outside My Door...

I Am Listening To...

I Am Wearing...

I Am Grateful For...

I Am Reading...

I Am Pondering...

I Am Creating...

My Children are...

Towards life in Christ...

I Am Praying for...

From the Kitchen...

A Humble Thing I learned this week...

I am teaching...

Towards Simplicity...

One of my Favorite Things...

Christmas at the B's

2010-12-29T10:55:00.000-08:00

We started with a yummy (and SO healthy) breakfast of pigs in a blanket. These are little smokies wrapped in crescent roll dough.

Do you see the interesting nutcracker? It works so well and is gorgeous, too!

Master G is rejoicing over the long begged for marble run, and Little Ginger is already plotting to "borrow" the marbles...

Big, naturally colored candy canes from China Berry.

Little hamsters and little cars and little kids

Exciting presents! Santa brought Little Ginger a stove, but it is really popular among the younger than two set around here.

Canning convienience meals this week

2010-12-28T17:05:00.000-08:00

The kids are off school and I have a little extra time on my hands so we are going to do some canning here this week. I'm also hoping to get a holiday picture done of our family and send it out in Christmas cards. It's a matter of organization, of timing (the kids all need to be clean, in clean clothes and not grumpy, whining or cross, have runny noses...etc.) It takes a miracle for all of that to happen around here.

It's pretty sad that I've not been able to do hardly ANY canning this year. So I'm going to try to sneak some in. It is really wonderfully convenient to have home canned beans, and a few soups and sauces and stew in the pantry to eat when you are short on time. Also, I get more beans in a pint jar than I would from two store bought cans and they taste much better! I love canning. I hope to get a lot done.

I'm trying to figure out how and when I can make some more videos. It's a matter of organization, of timing (the mom needs to be clean, in clean clothes and not grumpy, whining or cross, have a runny noses...etc.) It takes a miracle for all of that to happen around here.

I'm also trying to figure out if we are ready for the next step in Master G's choir experience. They want him promoted to the choir that's next up, and as always I'm freaking out about the next level of commitment. But-we knew this was coming and I'm happy for him. I'm just pondering the "how" in "How do I do all this?"

I'm also trying to figure out what we need to change about Lady M's piano practicing. A certain attitude is holding her back so I need to brainstorm about what we can do help her achieve this skill.

Towards the end of this vacation I will put in a few days of planning for school and then get back on the bandwagon with homeschooling.

We are reading:
Lots of Christmas books
including: Christmas with the Mouskin's
Tin Tin : Secret of the Unicorn and Red Rackam's Treasure
The Barrowers
Johnny Chuck by Burgess (Master G and Little Ginger Love this book.)
Lights Out (a self published EMP Disaster cult classic.)

We are watching:
Beauty and the Beast (Disney)
The Princess Bride
Amal and the Night Visitors
and Merry Christmas Charlie Brown

We are creating:

....uh...a messy kitchen?
working on Primitive woolcrafting techniques
putting together a Christmas nativity craft

I am also thinking about The Simple Woman's Daybook. Should I or shouldn't I?? I do like the format, but I wonder if I would be able to get to it often enough.

I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas. I enjoyed ours. Blessings, Jo

Spindle spinning angora and merino

2010-12-18T07:52:00.000-08:00

I'm talking in this video with Esteban in the background.

test post

2010-12-17T08:45:00.000-08:00

Chit chat for December

2010-12-15T09:18:00.000-08:00

Well,

We are all recovering from a long vacation to my family that we made over the Thanksgiving holiday. Now It's nearly the Christmas holiday and I'm astounded at how fast time is going for us here. School with the children takes up a great deal of my time, cooking ordinary healthy meals and driving the kids to their activities. We are leading full and busy and happy lives right now. Our little toddler keeps us hopping. The Jolly Good Fellow is growing and understanding us by leaps and bounds, and oh do we love him!

So while I was at my folk's house in November I made a few videos of myself spinning and we have a few other videos to share. I get very nervous when I'm in front of people and videos are just as bad, I'm afraid. So take them as they are- an amateur video. Not perfect by any means.

I'm going to keep this letter short so I can post a video in the time that I have right now.

Blessings, Jo

Someday....I will make these

2010-11-12T13:11:00.000-08:00

Leg Warmers

Convert this to knit EASY Crochet
These leg warmers will be most appreciated in the dead of winter when temperatures plummet and winds wail, but be sure to have them crocheted and ready to wear.

Directions are given for size 9-11. You will need two 4 ounce, skeins of 4 ply yarn and sizes I and K crochet hooks.

Gauge: 3 hdc equal 1 inch

Starting at lower edge with smaller ,hook, ch 30, join with sl st to form ring, ch 2, do not turn.

Row 1: Sc in each ch, join with sl st in top of ch-2, ch 2, do not turn.

Rows 2 through 8: Repeat Row 1.

Row 9: With larger hook, ch 2, hdc in each sc across, join with sl st in top of ch-2, ch 2, turn.

Repeat Row 9 to length desired, after last sl st, fasten off

(Ohhhh, how I drool over these leg warmers. Someday..... Someday.... )

Checking in....

2010-10-28T12:33:00.000-07:00

Hi there,

I thought I had better write something for the month of October. We are enjoying the week off and will be going to a magic show later today. I think the kids will love it! I plan to at least think about planning for the next quarter today.

Yesterday, we went to a goat farm to pick up some yummy goat milk. Then we drove around in the wilds of MN for an adventure; I met another midwife (Hi, Sylvia!) and had a great time with a good friend. We saw the west branch of the Rum River totally flooded and wild. (Wow!) and got to see a lot of wind damage. They lost a lot of trees in Milaca, too.

We also have had some trees and large branches come down because of the wind here at our place.

Since I saw some goats yesterday, I have been thinking a lot about why we sold our herd. Isn't strange that you can make a good decision and yet regret it completely? Ugh, the long and short of it is that I miss my goats and their milk. It's hard not to be down in the dumps about it. There was so much I really loved about having them. I have always been drawn to animals, and I just love the ruminants. I love their beauty, their mothering, the domesticity connected with milking them. Life with them was rich and fulfilling even if it was also more complicated at times. I miss them.
Anyway, that all I wanted to say. I'm going to go outside and clean the garage and think about planning to plan for next quarter, now.

Michaelmass

2010-09-29T18:55:00.000-07:00

Tonight we will have a Feast in honor of the Sts. Michael, Gabriel and Raphael. These three great Angels stand before the throne of God, honoring Him, singing His praises always and carrying our prayers to Him.

I don't think we can really understand Angels. Each one is unique to himself. Each one is mighty and strong, and yet they are humble and obedient to God's will. Each one has a purpose, a place to belong, and yet they pray for us, and even help us, poor, weak, imperfect human beings. We can't really understand Angels and yet they have a great understanding of us and love and help us even though we offend God constantly. Do you wish to be a friend to Angels? Then pray to them and trust that they will do all they can to help you, according to God's will.

We always say the Guardian Angel prayer at night, and we say the very powerful prayer to St Michael nearly every day, or when we sense we are in some danger. But how nice it is to actually have a Feast day set aside for these three Holy Angels! In fact, it's kind of a fun day, because not only do we celebrate the Angels, we celebrate the triumph of St Michael over the devil.

We are celebrating by getting to know these Angels a little bit more by reading about them from a few books. We have also made a proper Feast for tonight. We will talk about the Angels, ask the kids questions, say a special Chaplet prayer to St Michael before we go to bed and maybe even sing a song. I'm thinking of "The Angel Gabriel." Eyes of flame and wings of snow is such potent imagery...

Our Feast is going to be: hot Diablo wings, deviled eggs with anchovies (to remind us of St Raphael healing with the fish.) We will also have fish shaped crackers, carrot sticks (St Raphael again) Red Wine (for St Michael) and for desert I am making Devil's Food Cake Cupcakes with Angel frosting. I couldn't find much to Honor St. Gabriel with in terms of food, so the song will have to do.
Happy Feast Day!

This week

2010-09-29T07:13:00.000-07:00

We are taking off this week and enjoying it. This year I am experimenting with a 4 week on and one off method of schooling. Hopefully this will let us get some other things besides schoolwork done, and let me keep up with housework. Somehow I am to finish my lesson planning, but truth be told, I haven't started that kind of planning yet. I've been doing the funner kind of planning instead; planning for Feast days and Name days, planning for field trips, menu planning, etc....I guess I have to do something along the lines of homeschool planning especially for G. Planning and thinking things through is a personal goal I am working on this year.
Today is Michealmass, the feast of the Arch Angels. I plan on making hot wings, deviled eggs, carrot sticks, and devils food cupcakes with Angel Frosting. We also found a special St Michael the Archangel candle for today. I've been reading about the 3 special Angels to the kiddos, too.
Tomorrow we will make St Theresa Pins to wear to our First Friday Homeschooling Mass and get together with some Homeschooling families in our parish. The fact that the Mass falls on her feast day is awesome. She's a great patron Saint for children.

And now the little children need me and that cuts short my blogging time. Blessings, Jo

More pictures

2010-09-17T17:17:00.000-07:00

Removing the carpet was a huge job. My dearie worked on the childrens' rooms the night before the Carpet Guy was to come and start the job. We found that the stairs matched the pine boards and trim that is present in the rest of the house. Maybe one day when the children no longer go bumpity-bump down the stairs we will re-varnish them.

Nice new pad is laid.

Mr C stretching out the carpet. He did a fine job, we think.

Small family room with the new carpet. In real life, I'd say it was more brown than this.

Pile of old carpet waiting to be taken away. So those are the pictures I have so far.

Chit chat

2010-09-16T19:30:00.000-07:00

I hardly know where to begin, it seems. The blog and I are a little out of touch with each other lately. I've been busy and preoccupied this whole summer. I guess I'll begin with my latest project. We sold our herd of goats during part of the summer. We made the decision to not have a hobby farm after this year so we won't have any more farm animals after my remainder die. We have been selling some of the equipment. Once I had some of the money from these sales collected I bought paint for the house and have been painting and fixing up since the beginning of August. I have a few pictures to show you of what my progress looks like. I began thinking about new paint and making things cleaner and less cluttered since I read Simplicity Parenting. I decided to use a single color on the bedroom walls. I think this provides a sense of calm. I love the color for the bedrooms; it's cheerful and warm and looks nice with the trim work. I also like the plain walls. Busy walls are not calming (as we have found.) So hear are a few pictures to show of our recent fix ups.

This is the small family room, where we like to watch family videos and sit most often. Look closely at the walls. Both the old and new color are on the wall. Not too different, eh? Just a little more golden. I like light colored walls. I found myself enjoying the painting. There's nothing like sending the kids off to bed and the hubby off to do something else and relaxing in the quiet of the night to paint and achieve something so exciting as clean walls!

Here's the hallway of the bedroom area. Old berber carpeting in a dingy gray shade. The Room the Jolly Good Fellow is looking in is the room my huby and I usually sleep in. We are thinking of moving out of that room down to the one downstairs, but it's not painted blue yet and we haven't really decided to move either. I will have to do that room still.

The blue with the sunlight coming in on it. I think it something like a robins egg blue, or maybe like a sky blue. It's called Land of the Free. Oh, and I'm using the new Dutch Boy Odor control paint. It seems to work really well so far. I think of it as the Free of Clutter blue.

Master G's room. His is a northern facing room and is a little dimmer. So the next round of pictures I will show you what the new carpeting looks like with the walls. It's quite pretty!

It's getting cold here already...brrrrr

2010-09-16T08:11:00.000-07:00

So many new things to post about. But first this picture. Can any one i.d. this guy for me??? My children met him on a Nature Explore, not too far away from home.

and just for scale. these are Master G's size 13 boots...

My Little Book About God

2010-08-18T07:40:00.000-07:00

A while back we encountered this delightful little book at Walmart (of all places!) I like both the art work and the storyline of the book. It's great for pre-schoolers. Emmanuel Books also carries it.

http://www.amazon.com/Little-Book-About-Golden-Treasures/dp/0307203123

Pickles and more

2010-08-13T15:58:00.000-07:00

Canning days are here again.

Today the kids and I made 12 pints of pickles using the favorite Dill Pickles recipe in Small Batch Preserving book. ( I tweaked the recipe. I'll let you know how it turns out.) We then went out and picked the wild plums that line our driveway. I will prepare them for wild plum jelly. I'm looking for a way to make it without pressing the skins as this lets out too much of the bitterness of the skins. I don't know why they are so bitter. The juice and pulp of the plums is very sweet and nice...

I began painting a week ago and have managed to get the small room almost done now by myself. If I am not too tired I will work on the final coat of blue paint tonight. I wanted to yesterday but I ran errands all day long and was very tired by night time.

I'm still working on de-cluttering the house. On Wednesday I decided to remove all the mis-matched dishes in the kitchen and cut down on the amount of china bowls that I had until every thing fitted in the cabinets nicely. I then cleaned the inside of the cabinets and washed everything up. I decided to go ahead and start using the Currier and Ives set of dishes we have because they are so pretty, and I like the idea of using something that is nice and will be more visually appealing in my kitchen. I then got the idea that I should go and pick up some more so I went to the local Antique shop on Thursday and found another 6 plates and 3 bowls and a serving platter, too. I kind of like it. Antique shops are so refreshing. I love to go in and think about the stuff people used to use and how the world has changed.

I'm thinking about trying to find a Hoisier cabinet to go in the kitchen.

Before we canned today I made the family a nice Tea Luncheon. We made fancy sandwiches with cucumber and dill, and tomato and mozzarella cheese, fresh fruit and ice tea and brownies for desert. We had thunder storms and rain showers off and on today and practiced for our piano recital which will be in less than two weeks.

Well, all for now. ~ Jo

Actually,

2010-08-07T13:11:00.000-07:00

I changed my mind. I'm not going to close it yet. I'll just change it around some.

We are in the middle of projects like painting the small bedroom upstairs, washing carpets, repairing holes in the wall.

Next week I might start canning if I have the energy. I plan on doing peppers, chow chow, a couple of jams, and lots of beans.

I'm thinking lots about carpets these days and wondering if we could buy new carpet.

We also are thinking more about Ikea furniture and wondering if we could buy the kids some nicer beds. I guess there is a store in town. We might visit during the weekday when we have a baby sitter.

I'm in the middle of selling used goat equipment and supplies we will not need anymore.

I'm recovering from a fall down the stairs and a cold gone bad so I hope I can finish all the jobs.

All for now, Jo

This blog will be closing..

2010-08-03T15:07:00.000-07:00

I'm not sure if I'm going to be putting another one up or not. Thanks, Jo

ugh

2010-06-10T08:33:00.000-07:00

Struggling with energy these days.
Too much work!
We'll never make June 25 (end of school) I thinnk I'm going to quit!
I hate my long hair. Will I cut it? Oh no! I hate that feeling!

Tooo many animals!

To much rain.
Garden.
Mosquitoes

Not enough excersize and too much coffee!
Not enough spinning, either.
No time. sigh!
O.k. I'm off to hurry my daughter to get ready for her music lessons.

(Isn't that a delightful post? But who has time for blogs anymore?)

More pictures

2010-05-24T09:19:00.000-07:00

2010-05-20T08:56:00.000-07:00

Chit chat for May!

2010-05-20T08:45:00.000-07:00

Homeschooling. Houscleaning. Reading to kids. Cooking. Baby goats. Milk, we are drowning in milk! Wool. Crochet, Leaking fridge. Broken lawnmower, really TALL grass, legos, math, letters, misquitos and june bugs, baby smiles, warm sunlight, kittens playing, wildflowers and good friends, gardens and growing herbs, fresh eggs, hot coffee in the morning, music lessons and pianos, poetry, activity bags for preschoolers, the rosary together with the family and much, much more....

How to make your own Kombucha

2010-05-10T07:00:00.000-07:00

you will need:

a half gallon jar,
abottle of store bought kombucha

white sugar

black tea

cheese cloth to cover the jar

Fill jar to 3/4 full. Bring to a boil, add bags and 1 cup sugar. Allow to cool. Pour it into the jar, add the store bought Kombucha bottle. Cover, and use a rubber band to keep the cloth on the jar. Let it sit on the counter for 2 or 3 weeks until a mother grows on the top. There should be no blue or black mold, but you will see brown yeast colonies and some bubbles.
When you think you have a mushrom that is big enough you can feed the kombucha by repeating the steps of brewing the sweet tea, reserve some of the kombucha in the jar and add the sweetened tea, then add the mushroom on top of all that. It will get stronger and larger as it grows. Eventually you can move it to a gallon sized jar.

Getting better....

2010-04-23T21:07:00.000-07:00

I'm getting better. I'm so thankful. It really hasn't been too bad. The Lord is very good to me.

I've been enjoying some interesting movies loaned to me from my friend Mrs.D.

I was particularly impressed with the movie Miss Potter. I thought they did a really good job with this movie with one small exception. (They had a rather negative comment about men expressed by a friend of hers. I suppose this could have been explained by rise of the feminism and perhaps the suffragette movement, which was happening during those times.)

Anyway, it's been a while since I have seen a movie that has really been captivating on so many levels. I love the fashions of the period, although our main character is plainly (drably?) dressed for much of the film. Well, I'm not going to analyze the whole film, but I can't helping noticing the clothes because I love period dress. I also liked how they portrayed the romance between Norman and Beatrix. They did a good job of showing the sweet, precious feelings of a new love without emphasizing the physical aspect of it. Good job. I think my family will like it.

I've been doing a little spinning in the evenings. Last night I and my littles watched a spinning video and they mentioned spinning dog hair. So this morning I washed Kasey with my goats milk soap, and rinsed him with a bit of vinegar and some conditioner. Then I took him out to dry. As he dried I went and "harvested" his undercoat which has a nice long staple. I have a good bit of it. I should be able to spin it if I can comb/card it. He was shedding anyway, as the dogs do during the spring, so he needed a bath anyhow. I didn't know I had a fiber animal on the farm! Isn't that exciting! I have a fiber dog!

Today the children and I cleaned the house. It's pretty plain that I'm going to have to get used to things being messier as spring comes roaring in. There's just so much to do. We have to work in the garden, we have to do lawn care, we have to start barn cleaning, we have to butcher rabbits, we have to clip the chickens claws, we have to scoop the chicken coop and the rabbit house. We have to vaccinate goats and finish hoof care and buck care. We have to get the kidding area ready for my goat mommies, and get the supplies ready for bottle babies. (Hopefully, please God, just a couple little does, pretty please???) I have to get the milking machine and the dairy ready and cleaned out for use.

And I need to keep schooling the kids. Sometimes I really think I'm crazy, you know?

I want to plant some more perennials flowers and perhaps get some more coneflowers growing, or black eyed susans for the butterflies. The entire garden by the dog kennel is a mess. It needs to be weeded and dug again. Maybe I should edge it this time. It doesn't look like my dames rocket is growing very well by the chickens. Sad! Those are my fave's. We are enlarging the back garden so we can have room for melons and cucumbers. The children also wanted fruit this year so we ordered some strawberries, yellow raspberries, currants and a dwarf cherry. I'm really excited to be getting the fruit plants! So are the littles especially because they were able to buy them with the money they have earned taking care of their animals.

I love making lists of things that need doing, or things I want to do. Somehow it calms my worries down, and it becomes fun when I start checking them off.

I made up my mind to get some beef, and some chickens from local, grass fed farms this year. Last year we couldn't fit it in the budget, and I was a little mopey about it, so this year the hubby said we would use some of the tax return money to pay for some good quality meats. I would be happy to share sources with those who are local. Just leave a comment and I'll get back to you. Mom and Dad, if you want some chickens send me a email.

There's a new CSA in the Neighborhood!

2010-04-23T19:44:00.000-07:00

I was pretty excited to read about this catholic family in their new CSA adventure. You can find their farm blog here Little Flowers Farm.

The Catholic Spirit had an article about Shane and Chiara and that can be found here:

How exciting to have a young catholic family farming sustainably in our community. At the same time, they will need support in terms of prayer and subscriptions.

Here is some info from thier blog:

* 18 weeks of seasonal vegetables delivered to a local drop site
* 30% discount on little flower farm free-range eggs
* first dibs on pastured poultry, pork, and lamb
* Opportunities to participate in farm tours and workshops

~ Blessings, Jo

Getting ready....

2010-04-19T14:34:00.000-07:00

...for my surgery. ( Removal of wisdom teeth.)

Today I'm making bread and a couple of dinners for the next few days. Probably I won't be able to eat any of them, but that's o.k. because I will have my goat milk shakes and the good vitamins from Standard Process. My stomach is bothering me a bit, because I am so nervous about it. Kombucha seems to help a little. I'm starting an experiment with kombucha right now. I know I've seen instructions on the web about making a 'bucha starter by using a bottle of raw kombucha so I'm going to take the plunge and do that today. I have the tea and sugar water cooling. Once it is cool I will add it to the jar then pour the 'bucha in and cover it tightly. I will place it in a cool spot for a few weeks and see if I can grow an actual kombucha mushroom. It would be really neat if this works. I also have to feed the desem today. Poor thing. I haven't been taking good care of it recently.

My spindolyn came last week, and today the wool came that I ordered. Oh, boy! I have several books from the library about spinning, as well as the two I got for Christmas.
I ordered the period piece "The Young Victoria" from amazon and I also plan on seeing Food, Inc while I am down on Tuesday.

Blessings, Jo

More Angora spinning

2010-04-08T09:19:00.000-07:00

Here is another video of someone plucking an angora rabbit and then spinning the long fibers. Angora rabbits are not harmed by harvesting the wool, nor hurt in any way. Most of the angora breeds shed their wool several times a year and if it is not groomed or plucked out, then it will felt together in a terrible mat. They usually need regular grooming to keep them mat free. Anyway, you can see the lady pulling the hair out to keep the staple all going in one direction. This make it easier to spin.

Spinning tutorial

2010-04-08T07:23:00.000-07:00

This a video of a top whorl drop spindle.

Spinning angora on a wheel

2010-04-08T07:17:00.000-07:00

This is an interesting video of what the fiber looks like (in this case it's rabbit angora fiber) when it's in the loose bundle of fibers. Rabbit angora is a slippery, long fiber without much crimp to it. It's super duper warm. I hope to be able to use angora someday. This lady is spinning on a wheel.

Here is another supported spindle

2010-04-08T07:11:00.000-07:00

Another interesting supported spindle.

Handspinning Videos

2010-04-08T07:06:00.000-07:00

Here is a video on spinning. Looks like I will be able to learn how to do this in April and May this year. This is an interesting old Tebetan technique of using a supported spindle.

This April...

2010-04-08T06:34:00.001-07:00

I'm supposed to be getting my wisdom teeth out on April 20. How terrible for me. Poor me. Poor, poor me.

Anyway, I'll need to do something wonderful to make up for all the pain and misery this will cause me though so I think it will be an excellent thing to start a new hobby.

I think I'll learn how to spin yarn. I've mentioned before that I want to do this. making yarn is so interesting. You can use many different kinds of spindles to spin it, many different kinds of animal wools to use, different ways of preparing it, and then there are different ways to to dye it and use it. Lot's of utube videos to watch.

I put up some interesting ones, not necessarily my favorite videos. Not sure if I have any favorites. Although I do like that little spindolyn. I will be going here to the Shepard's Harvest in May to take classes with my daughter on spinning and angora care.

The goats are due that weekend in May. I'm praying that they will come before or after, not during that weekend.

We are on spring break now this week. I've been cleaning like crazy over here. There's no time to really deep clean when you homeschool so it has to be saved for times when you are not homschooling. o.k I'm off to make breakfast now.

Easter Blessings!

2010-04-04T19:25:00.000-07:00

May the Lord Bless you this Easter Season!

Traditional Foods Warehouse

2010-03-28T12:22:00.000-07:00

The Traditional Foods Warehouse is a place where you can buy traditionally made nourishing foods, wholesome whole grain products, grass fed meat, milk, and eggs. There is kombucha, and kefir, yogurt and fermented vegtables all made by local farmers and producers. You will also find locally made soaps (including some made by me) and other artisan products. They have maple syrup and local honey, too.
This is the website here

Some directions:

WHERE: The 7500 square foot warehouse is located at 302 W. 61st St, Minneapolis, MN 55419. Come through the gate to the back warehouse. This is a commercial property in a heavy industrial area with a cement processor to the west and an iron works to the east. We are right on a private railroad spur with our own large parking lot which can easily hold 20 vehicles. We are located halfway between Lyndale Ave. and Nicollet Ave, about 2 blocks from 62 Crosstown and about 6 blocks from 35W. There is extensive reworking of these highways at the current time but access is still quite easy off of the 66th St exit, the Portland Ave exit, and the Diamond Lake Road exit. MAP/PHOTO = (Google address above)

Some of the highway work is done now and it's easier to get there. ~ Jo

Little Ginger

2010-03-27T09:30:00.000-07:00

Time to do some housekeeping for the blogs

2010-03-26T09:39:00.000-07:00

(Thursday) I'm going to be doing some housekeeping for my blogs this next week or two. I will move my soap information to my LaudoDeum Farm blog or I may make a page for it. I have not yet tried making any pages so that might be fun to try. I will also remove the sale page from My farm and Home. I will probably leave my contact information on a sale page.

(Friday....) I find that as I go through notes and pictures from this last year I have so many things I could blog about, so many pictures, and so many links to share. I hope I have time to get through everything!

The Feast of St Joseph prayers

2010-03-25T14:39:00.000-07:00

This is the hymn to St Joseph that we used for the March 19 Feast day. You can find more traditional hymns here with midi files, which are wonderful if you can't play the piano very well, or haven't an ear for music. (Like me.)

The prayers we said came from the book (one of my favorites) My Nameday, Come for Desert By Helen McLoughlin. I abbreviated the prayers a little. I was happy to see that there were a lot of things we could do for St Joseph. In some ways, I'm surprised that devotion to him has fallen by the way side, but considering anti religious times we live in, I guess I'm not surprised that much.

********************

Thank you for joining us for the feast of Saint Joseph

All:

O glorious St. Joseph, spouse of the Immaculate Virgin, obtain for me a pure, humble and charitable mind, and perfect resignation in the Divine Will. Be my guide, father and model through life that I may merit to die as thou didst, in the arms of Jesus and Mary. Amen.

++++++++

Father: Christ the Son of God, who deigned to be considered the son of Joseph, come let us adore.: All: He made him the master of his house and ruler of all his possessions.; Father: From a homily of St. Bernard. From the great honor of being privileged to be called and considered the father of God (though of course he was only the foster father) we may judge the character and spirit of Joseph. Here we must not forget that great patriarch Joseph who was sold into Egypt, and to whom St Joseph was heir not only in name, but also in purity, innocence and grace. To the former was given the gift of knowing the mysteries of dreams; the latter was graced not only with the knowledge of, but even participation in, the mysteries of heaven. We dare not doubt that Joseph, to whom the mother of the savior, was espoused, was a prudent and faithful servant, for the Lord appointed him guardian and consoler of his mother, nourisher of His own body, and coadjutor on earth in the incomprehensible designs of Heaven.; All: Thanks be to God; Father: Let us pray. We beseech you oh Lord, that we may be helped by the merits of the spouse of your most holy Mother, so that what we cannot obtain by ourselves, may be given to us through his intercession. You live and reign forever.; All: Christ Conquers, Christ Reigns!; All:; Hail Joseph, Image of God the Father,; Hail Joseph, foster-father of God the Son,; Hail Joseph, temple of the Holy Spirit,; Hail Joseph, guardian of Virgins; Hail Joseph, model of humility and obedience; St Joseph patron of fathers and workers, protect and pray for all those present. Help us to grow closer to your Son Jesus. Amen.; Close with Hymn O Blessed St. Joseph.

St Isadore the Farmer and St Maria de Cabeza the Farmer's Wife

2010-03-23T09:21:00.000-07:00

(Proof that even Farmer's can be Saints!)

Born in Madrid, Spain, 1070; died there in 1130; canonized in 1622; feast day formerly on May 10 and March 22, and October 25 in the U.S.A.

Saint Isidore's feast is celebrated in Madrid, Spain, with ringing church bells and streets decorated for a procession in his honor. The saint was born .into a peasant family. He was baptized Isidore in honor of the famous archbishop of Seville. His unreliable biography was written about 150 years after his death. Much of it deals with miracles associated with his name.

Isidore was a day laborer, working on the farm of the wealthy John de Vergas at Torrelaguna just outside Madrid. He married a poor girl, Maria de la Cabeza. They had a son who died while still a baby. The couple took a vow of continence to serve God. Isidore's life is a model of simple Christian charity and faith. He prayed while at work, and he visited the many churches in Madrid and the area while on holidays. He shared what he had, even his meals, with the poor. He often gave them the more than he had for himself.

He was steady and hard-working, but a complaint was made against him to his employer that he arrived late to work because he attended early morning Mass each day. When charged with his offense, he did not deny it and explained to his employer: "Sir, it may be true that I am later at my work than some of the other laborers, but I do my utmost to make up for the few minutes snatched for prayer; I pray you compare my work with theirs, and if you find I have defrauded you in the least, gladly will I make amends by paying you out of my private store."

His employer said nothing, but remained suspicious, and, being determined to find out the truth, rose one morning at daybreak and concealed himself outside the church. In due course, Isidore appeared and entered the building, and afterwards, when the service was over, went to his work. Still following him, his employer saw him take the plough into a field, and was about to confront him when, in the pale, misty light of dawn, he saw, as he thought, a second plough drawn by white oxen moving up and down the furrows. Greatly astonished, he ran towards it, but even as he ran it disappeared and he saw only Isidore and his single-plow. Read of this article here.

Lent, the Biblical basis and Traditions

2010-03-21T18:08:00.000-07:00

Here is a link about Lent from Wikipedia. Fasting and Abstinence (I know some folks don't consider Wikepedia to be a good source, but I believe that the info comes from catholic sources, so that is why I use it. Besides, it's easy for me. )

For most Catholic's eggs and milk would be o.k substitutes for meat, and would be o.k. to eat during lent. In times past, all animal products would be given up by those who were old enough to fast or abstain. Over time, rules have changed. Remember, Christianity is over 2,000 years old. The exceptions would be on Sundays, or Feast days or Solemnities. Sundays are not part of the 40 days of Lent.
I think it's funny that so many folk on (a particular forum) keep saying that there is no Biblical support for Lent. Jesus himself spent 40 days in the desert fasting and praying before He began His public ministry. This is at least one example in the Gospels that is Biblical support for the practice of observing Lent. I'm sure there are more. Lent continues to be observed as part of the traditions of the Catholic Church, as well as some other sects like Anglican, and maybe Lutheran, too.
Because God acts through the Church I wouldn't be surprised that Lent has other benefits for people. Lots of folks do house cleaning during Lent, giving away possessions to those who might need them. Many will take on extra spiritual reading, or penances to learn more self control. For many, Lent becomes a time to think about their lives, and a time to think about what Christ did for them. I have a hard time seeing anything suspicious in that.
America has lost a lot of the traditions of the ethnic regions that our families have come from. This is why different areas have slightly different spins on what to do for Lent, if they do anything at all.

In The Good Master, there is a really good explanation of what they did with the hard boiled eggs as part of the customs of that region. I think they were in Hungary. Basically, they would exchange them with friends after decorating them. Some would be eaten. The eggs are a symbol for the new life Christ brought us. It's a good example of the cultural traditions of that particular time and region.

So do you know of any other Biblical support for Lent? I know some of my readers must. What other Traditions do you practice during Lent? What do you think about them? Do you think they help you?

As an adult, I have begun to seriously look at my life. Lent has always been a time of examining my self in regard to the way Christ would want me to be living. It gives me time to really think and pray about what I'm doing, and what directions I am going and leading my family.

Little Ginger and the Jolly Good Fellow

2010-03-21T13:40:00.000-07:00

Pictures of the season

2010-03-21T13:35:00.000-07:00

Hopefully, one of last times we will have to use his big suit! He doesn't like it. We were blessed to be able to meet up with some friends at a maple syrup demonstration.

We've been experiencing warmer weather but colder nights. Just perfect for maple sap to run. Lady M's favorite thing about warm weather is running barefoot.

We listened/watched a slideshow with pictures and then went outside to see a demonstration of how to identify, select, and tap a maple tree. The kids are all watching as they explain how to drill it.

Except for Master G. He's trying to convince me to give him the camera!

This is what a sap bucket looks like. We enjoyed some sap tea, and a taste of maple syrup and maple sugar. I quite liked the sap tea. It made me think of the drought of water the Ents drank in Tolkien's books.

I tried to get a picture of the sap. You can see a drop falling. It really comes out quite fast.

Had to take a picture of this cast iron! They didn't know how much it weighed, but I'm sure it must be over a hundred pounds. They don't tip the pot to get the syrup out, they use a dipper.

A dipper and some syrup. Nice and dark, just the way I like it.

Simplicity Parenting

2010-03-13T08:17:00.000-08:00

The book Simplicity Parenting came out in the beginning part of this year. I found it by mention from the 4real forum. I bought it because the premise of making changes to our homes, and the rhythms of our lives, to protect and bring peace to our children, was intriguing and something I am pondering this year. Protecting the peace in my home is very important to me. This is how my home becomes a place of refuge and renewal for my husband and family. A peaceful home is also vitally important for homeschoolers because physical chaos can become mental chaos and mental chaos inhibits learning and our prayer life. Holly Peirlot says that "sloppy bedrooms can often mean sloppy schoolwork." This is a phrase that sticks with me whenever we are having a rough period for schooling.
For instance, this February was virtual waste of time, or so it seems to me. Barely any school work was done, so much time was spent cleaning and re-cleaning rooms and doing laundry. The children had too many toys out that had too many pieces; blocks, legos, connex, a big train set, art supplies, etc. Finally, at the last week of Febuary, I made an effort to put away these toys and help the children clean up their rooms again.

I also had way too much mental clutter going on in my own head. As I looked around the house, all I could see were things that needed to be done and changes I wanted to make. I was stuck. I would clean, I would pick up, I would bring out the school books but other things got in the way of schooling or finishing jobs. The days seemed dreary, and winter felt reeeeeeallly long. Depression and discouragement came back. Mental clutter is what makes it difficult for me to do what I need to do. It can be noise, and it can be mess, it can be physical clutter, it can be disarranged furniture, or dog hair on the floor that calls to be vacuumed up. Mental clutter makes me irritable and crabby. I do not like mental clutter. For me to be at peace in my home, I need to have less mental clutter, and I need to stay on top of physical clutter. This is one realization that I got from this book. This lack of simplicity and having too much "stuff" negatively affects me.

But if it negatively affects me, an adult, what is it doing to my children?

So I began to think about simplicity of environment, of possessions, of mealtimes, of clothes, in regards to our children. What do my kids have trouble with? What are the areas where we have conflicts? I think one of our major areas is in the matter of toys. Too many toys means messy rooms and messy common areas in our house. Too many toys means that toys have been destroyed, mutilated, ripped apart, "lost" etc. A waste of money especially when we buy the nicer wooden toys. Feeling bad that presents weren't really cared about. Feeling irritated to have to be picking up these darn toys again. Too many toys means that mama is going to be unhappy if they start invading the house. Too much room mess sometimes means that walls and furniture are not respected. Mama doesn't like plastic, brightly colored, beeping toys. Those kind of toys are meant to be noticed, and they become mental clutter. They like to scream "Hey, see me! I'm out of place!" when I'm walking by trying to get things done, or trying to prepare myself for a day of teaching. Too many toys are overwhelming for my children, and irritating for me.
I think the same can be said for too many clothes. Having too many clothes is very difficult when you are trying to teach your children to be responsible about them. How can they take care of mountains of laundry? So much laundry that even I have difficulty washing, folding and putting it away in a reasonable amount of time?

Another problem is that we have is a child who simply can't focus well. She doesn't focus enough to be able to get a whole room cleaning done when there are many things to take care of. Too much "stuff" means she's becomes overwhelmed by the amounts of things to pick up. She can't do it herself! It becomes too overwhelming for her. She looses things. I have never thought that a young child should have so many possessions that they can't easily take care of them in a half hour time period. When room cleanings stretches to several hours, it's really not fair for them. Just having too many "things" is a burden rather than a joy. I think the sheer amounts of "stuff" just sort of crept up on us, and now that we are schooling much more than before I just don't have the same amount of time to care for everything like I have done in years past.

We sometimes fall into buying things that are not needed for the children, and sometimes family members give us things that we do not really need. I'm stressing the word "need" because there's a difference between wants and needs. This does not help us. Starting last year, I began to question myself about exactly how much of this "stuff" do they (in particular) and us (in general) really need? We were having so many conflicts over room cleaning and the "stuff" that I began to realize it was taking something away from our lives.What a burden all this stuff is!

And so I began to eliminate stuff. And we began to have less conflicts, less scolding, less breaking and more neatness. Pretty soon, with several major cleanings and givaways, the children's room began to be cleaner more often than messy. The most interesting thing, was that my daughter's ability to focus began to change as well. I really noticed a huge difference in her school work and in her helpfulness around the house. Around this time, I was re-reading Holly Peirlot's book and thinking more about schedules during the day. Payne mentions this in Simplicity Parenting in his section on Enviroment. I began to implement a general schedule for school and we changed the incredible laundry mess that would grow from the bedrooms and into the hallways, to every room having only one laundry hamper that would be washed on only one day of the week. Still- after purging more than 9 bags of clothes, I still think we have to many clothes.

Oddly enough, after reading this book, I finally felt like I was doing the right thing by getting rid of all these extra toys, and clothes and de-cluttering. (I started purging sometime last year, in preparation for the birth of my 4'th baby.)

The book made me realize that we would benefit from more rhythm during the day. So I began to plan school time from 9 am to 3pm and have regular chore times in the day and at the end of the week. There's still a lot I want to do to help the rhythm and schedule to be more regular, but we can't do it all at once. Changing things when you have children must come slowly, a little at a time. This is hard for me, too. It's making me become more thoughtful, less whimsical, more deliberate, and more tuned in to my children. It's making me change my shopping habits, and my housekeeping.

I think many of the ideas of the author can compliment many good books about homelife, homeschooling, and creating a beautiful and peaceful homelife. One of the only blogs I follow is Lady Lydia's blog, Homeliving. I think the ideas from both resources are complimentary. Simplicity Parenting is written from a Waldorf perspective, so it is not a catholic book, however I don't find that there is any weirdness in this book at all. (O.k. except his sometimes vague language.) Much of the ideas and advice are simply common sense, at least as I see it. After I read this book, I began to really understand why "Less is More."

As I was thinking about our home life and rhythms, I also realized that it was time we began to bring the Liturgical year into our home. The Liturgical year is basically the seasons of the church. We've begun to follow them (in my own way) and I am even adding some Saints days in as well. Saints days and Feast days are important to us and these provide a rhythm to the year that the children will be comfortable with as they become adults.
We are also doing more crafts as a family, and I am encouraging my children to be creative in art. Crafts are important for children as they encouraging thinking and planning skills, and can lead to an appreciation of Beauty.

So these are just some of my thoughts on Simplicity Parenting and my home life. I might add some more later. I also might break this up into a couple of posts because this is really long!

Hair update March 4 2010

2010-03-04T19:50:00.000-08:00

Crazy hair pictures. I got these waves by doing two, little infinity buns on the top of my head. Cold water rinses, clarifying and using a mix of coconut oil and olive oil makes for some really shiny hair!

This is what it looks like right after I wash it. It's just finger combed. It looks like I have all the dye trimmed off it now so I plan just on letting it grow. I'm doing a 6 month updo challenge until July, when I will evaluate if I need to trim it or not.

Some pictures

2010-03-04T18:35:00.000-08:00

The Jolly Good Fellow has been standing and walking for a month now. He started right as he turned 8 months old. His brother did the same thing at his age. I no longer have a baby now I have a toddler! Argh, babyhood flies by around here! He's starting to eat solid foods. (Eating crumbs from under the table. Eeeew!) We are starting to teach him signs. More, eat, milk, all done, owie, drink, ect. Right now we are working on more and eat, and milk. Home education begins early around here.

My two special girls. They are wearing nightgowns sewn by both their grandmothers.

I am thinking about this post from Lady Lydia this week. Her writings are so interesting. I'm also enjoying this book which I recently bought.

Coconut milk

2010-03-04T17:51:00.000-08:00

I first started using this coconut milk about 5 years ago when I was trying to follow Nourishing Traditions and Sally Fallon's dietary advice more strictly. This was also when I started cooking Indian food and more recently Thai food for my family. We love spicy meals so it's a blessing to be able to cook this way for them. This is the canned coconut milk we like. (And, oh yeah, we don't get anything from them by mentioning this product on our blog.)

We can do a lot with this milk. We can use it in cream sauces, or in puddings. I can make a very thick kind of pudding from it that resembles chocolate mousse. I can use it in soups that need milk like potato soups. I can make an alternative milk from it to drink or use on cold cereal.

To make the cream sauce you will need your can of coconut milk and a half cup of water. Mix these two thoroughly, and then use as milk in a cream sauce recipe of your choice. You may need a little extra salt to go in it as coconut milk is on the sweeter side. It is an excellent product to use if you are having to abstain from dairy foods. If you want to use it as a drink you can dilute this and sweeten it with a little agave syrup or stevia based sweetener. Or you could add chocolate syrup or powdered mix for a chocolate drink. Chocolate reminds me of another coconut milk product that I like quite alot. This is coconut milk powder.

This is what the powder looks like. I buy it from Wilderness Family Naturals, a local company that is actually in our own state! This milk powder is very yummy, rich and doesn't make one feel deprived of having rich things like cocoa. I use it to make my peanut butter candies, and protein balls. I also use it to make cocoa and sometimes smoothies. I have used it in curries, too. It works best if you blend it in hot water so it melts more easily. When I use it in a smoothie, I always blend it first in a bit of warmish water to melt it then I add my cold stuff. I can make some really great chocolate milk with this cocoa powder, too. It has only one drawback. It very rich! I have to remember to use it sparingly when I am dieting.

A very good cocoa:
2 Tbs coconut milk powder
1 tbs mollasses
a packet of stevia (or a teaspoon of sugar equivalent)
plus cocoa and cinnamon to your liking

Mix these together on the stove using a whisk. the powder will melt as soon as it gets warm. Heat it till you like it and enjoy! You can also use sugar in it but we try and keep off sugar as much as we can.
Enjoy~ Jo

St Valentine's day party pictures

2010-02-15T14:34:00.000-08:00

We decorated the downstairs a little bit, spending some time during the week on crafts.
We invited some good friends over to play games and enjoy some sweet treats. One of the games was a relay race. The kids had to slide the hearts on the floor and step on them. Quite fun!

After the relay race we played a variation of a circle game called Musial Hearts. I told the kids about St Valentine first (There were two St Valentine's. One was a Bishop and one was a Priest. They were both martyr's.) So, when I was speaking to the children, I linked the fact that both were martyrs and that to die for Christ means that we love Christ and to love Christ we must also love our neighbors and our friends and enemies and one of the ways we show our love is to do good things for each other like Sharing. Musical Hearts is a sharing game.

We sat in a circle and passed the boxes of candy to the music. When it stops, the person to the right of the one who has no box of candy "shares" it with them and they get to take it and sit down and eat it. This continues until everybody has a box. There needs to be one less box of candy than people in the game.

After that we had our cake and goodies. We had one more game to do. That was a guess how many Hershey kisses are in the jar game. Do you know how many will fit in the jar? (It's more than you think.) At the end of the party, we told our guesses and I passed a few out to the kids.
It was very fun!

Hearts Conversation (with a Catholic flavor)

2010-02-12T21:22:00.000-08:00

First, you will need some super excited kiddos, like mine. Then I guess you will need some construction paper hearts as well. Some glue and glitter will also be useful. Cut the hearts out, preferably having the little children help you, hinder you, climb on you, and ask many questions at the same time. (Most of these questions should be the same, or nearly identical. Example: What are we cutting out? Are these hearts? ) Allow at least one child to get glue in their hair and all over the table.

Take the glue away from the child and do what I'm doing in the picture above. (I like the "Be God's" heart. It's my favorite! )

Glitter all over everything! Glitter the table! Glitter the sweater! Glitter the floor! Glitter the cat! But save a little for the hearts, o.k.?

Pretty, huh?

Hearts Conversation Wreath.

Chit Chat for Feb 11

2010-02-09T08:29:00.000-08:00

Hi Everyone,
We are much better. Last weekend we were able to go to Confession as a family and then to Holy Mass. I felt so thankful to come through the illness with no problems. It was very nice to be out of the house again after 3 1/2 weeks of being cooped up with sick children!

Did you know that we are having a lot of snow? Oh yes, lots and lots of lovely white snow. I believe we have about 8 inches now. We spent along time shoveling it out from the paths to the barns and the driveway yesterday. This has been one of the snowiest years I remember. My goats don't think it is lovely at all. They just poke their heads out of the barn and shiver. We can almost hear their complaining thoughts. " All that wet snow! And she still hasn't shoveled a path for us yet! We have to walk through all that wet snow." Oh how they grumble about it. When they do finally get out the barn, they plunge around wildly as if they expect to be swallowed up by the fluffy white stuff. Silly goats.
What have I been doing lately? Mostly cooking, cleaning and homeschooling. I'm trying to encourage the children to stay on task and even do a little extra work here and there so we can catch up some time. Lady M is doing extremely well with her reading. She just needs to practice and practice at it. Master G is doing well, too. Making progress. I don't do much with Ginger right now mainly reading and trying to encourage her to draw and color things. This is because the scissors, the paper and the crayons will all become little people to her and she will soon have an interesting little game going with them. For example:
When coloring:
"Are you a blu-blu-blob?" She asks as she takes a crayon out of the box.
The unlucky crayon answers. "No! I'm not a blu-blu-blob! "
"Then you will go to jail!"
"Oh, no! No jail!" The crayon cries as she puts it crayon back in the box.. and takes out another. "Are you a blu-blu-blob?" She asks.
"No! I'm a good guy!" Happy to find a "good guy" she uses the crayon on the paper...

Anything is a person to Little Ginger, no matter how small or how odd.

I've been de cluttering this year quite a bit and it's been a while since I've been able to dump stuff at the Salvation Army store in town. So things have been building up. The other day she noticed that an old baby's toy was sitting in the Salvation Army pile. Very alarmed she looked at me. "Are you going to get rid of that, too?" and burst into tears. Apparently, this was a "good guy", too.

But a few weeks ago at Mass, Little Ginger noticed that something wasn't right. Some thing wasn't fair. As we were coming back from Communion, she turned to me and said, "How come all the grownups get the food, and NOT ME?!" and burst into tears. I had to explain that she couldn't get the "Special Food" until she was old enough. She didn't feel better until I pointed out that Master G also didn't get the "food." Then, she was happier.

Well, it's time for school and crafts. Blessings, Jo

update

2010-01-30T18:55:00.000-08:00

I just want to say thanks for the prayers. I know they are helping us cope with this illness. I can truthfully say this is the first time in our lives where we have had all of our children flattened by fevers at the same time. Flattened by fevers, stricken by coughs- in general feeling very bad.
Little Ginger had a coughing paroxism last night that quite scared us. We couldn't help her to stop coughing. Nothing worked so we finally made her a cup of warm tea and put a lot of honey in it and that seemed to help her. After a while, she calmed down.
Now last night, in between holding the Good Fellow and walking the Good Fellow, I managed to get a little sleep. At some point during the night I had a dream where I kept hearing my voice saying "whooping cough. They have whooping cough."
At the same time, I was watching and listening to Ginger again. I couldn't get that out of my mind in the morning, so I went online and did some research and found a site that had an audio recording of whooping cough. Well, last night Ginger certainly sounded just like one of the recordings. My mommy instinct says that this is what it is. ( But of course, I'm not a doctor.) I'm not sure if we are going to get every one on antibiotics for it yet or not. The research doesn't say that it helps much. It's very likely that we are contagious still and will be for several weeks more. So I know we won't be going out for a week or more.

It's important to know, the "whoop" is not really like "whoop"; it's more like hiiiiip, or huuuuup, as they inhale. So Master G, Little Ginger and the Good Fellow all have the coughing symptoms, but I would say that none are severe. I'm not feeling 100%, but the hubby is doing o.k.

We are coping o.k. Tonight I made a great SPICY curry using stuff I had on hand including some tasty lean beef from Silver Nickel Farm. Wow.

So keep us in your prayers. We are right in the middle of this with a couple more weeks to go, I think.

Chit chat

2010-01-26T18:26:00.000-08:00

Squash from my garden. These were some of the heirloom squash we grew this last summer. They are so good! I have a great squash soup recipe that I have been making with them.
We painted my kitchen green during the summer, and ever since then I keep noticing how many different greens there are. I liked the green of the squashes and of the kale we grew. Green is restful, I think.
I moved my computer and my desk into the kitchen. I now have a station for myself here. If feels nice to have a little space for myself. I like it.
Well, what I really came on to say is please keep us in your prayers. Everyone is sick here. All my little children including the Jolly Good Fellow, and I'm feeling poorly, too. Elderberry works pretty well, but not every sickness is viral so we are bound to get something once and a while, I guess. Master G broke out in hives, and they have all had high fevers and heavy, yucky coughs.
I could blog about so many other things but have no time now. Mommy duties are calling me! Blessings, Jo

Marmalade recipes

2010-01-25T10:56:00.000-08:00

Recently, we were able to buy some organic citrus from a farm down in Texas. This is the place http://www.stxorganics.com/. We know someone who drives a truck down there to get the citrus in the winter time. If you are in our local area and want to know about him, just drop me an email and I will pass the contact info on to you. We ordered a lot of oranges and split boxes grapefruit and lemon with another family. The oranges were very sweet, but I really enjoyed the lemons. I have eaten a few plain peeling them like an orange. You could dip them in sugar or sprinkle with stevia. (But it can be hard on the teeth. I don't eat very many like that. Just once and a while.) Lemon can be very healing, but that's a post for another day. Since we had so many and because they were organic and I didn't have to worry about spraying, I decided to try making some marmalade.

Marmalade is a sweet citrus spread, very much like jam. I was able to make a few batches.

These are the recipes I used:

from The Complete Book of Small Batch Preserving:

2 medium oranges
1 lemon
3 cups water
2 cups frozen cranberries
4 cups granulated sugar
Remove the thin outer rind from oranges and lemons with a vegetable peeler and cut into very fine strips, or chop into small pieces. Place in the water and boil gently for 20 minutes.

Meanwhile, remove white rind and remove seeds from oranges and lemons. Finely chop in a food processor, and chop cranberries. Add to the sauce pan and bring to boil. Boil gently 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Add sugar to fruit mixture. Bring to a boil and boil rapidly over high heat until mixture form a gel. About 20 minutes. (It took much longer than this.) Remove from heat.
Ladle into hot jars, and process (10 minutes in a boiling bath canner.) according to safe canning standards found in the current Ball Blue book.

Or this could be made and then stored in the fridge. It only made 5 1/2 pint jars.

This is a very good recipe.

We also did a citrus marmalade using oranges, grapefruit and lemons.

This is from the Ball Blue Book: ( I did not follow the recipe exactly.)

It calls for:
1 1/2 cups thinly sliced grapefruit peel
1/2 cup thinly sliced orange peel
3 quarts water divided
1 1/2 cup chopped grapefruit pulp
3/4 chopped orange pulp
1/2 cup thinly sliced lemon
Sugar

(What I did)
As in the above recipe, I boiled the rinds for 20 minutes. Added the pulp and cooked for 10 minutes, then added 8 cups of sugar. I had approximately 10 cups of water and fruit in the pot. I used 1/2 the water with was 6 cups. I had to cook it down for 40 minutes at a boil before it began to gel.

The original recipe called for the fruit peels to be boiled for 5 minutes in 1 1/2 cups water. This is discarded. Then the fruit pulp sliced lemon, and other 1/1/2 cups water is added brought to a boil for 5 minutes and then soaked over night, 12 to 18 hours.
Cook rapidly until peel is tender. Measure fruit and liquid. Add one cup of sugar for each cup of fruit, stirring until sugar dissolves. Cook rapidly almost to gelling point. As mixture thickens stir to prevent sticking. Remove from heat. Skim foam off. Ladle hot marmalade into hot jars, leaving 1/4 inch head space and process 10 minutes in Boiling water bath.

As you can see, marmalade uses quite a lot of sugar which is then boiled down until it is a syrup.It is not the healthiest kind of jam to make but it does make a nice treat.

Quote by Chesterton

2010-01-22T17:40:00.000-08:00

This is just something to ponder:

"The average man cannot cut clay into the shape of a man; but he can cut earth into the shape of a garden; and though he arranges it with red geraniums and blue potatoes in alternate straight lines, he is still an artist; because he has chosen. The average man cannot paint the sunset whose colors be admires; but he can paint his own house with what color he chooses, and though he paints it pea green with pink spots, he is still an artist; because that is his choice. Property is merely the art of the democracy. It means that every man should have something that he can shape in his own image, as he is shaped in the image of heaven. But because he is not God, but only a graven image of God, his self-expression must deal with limits; properly with limits that are strict and even small. (Gk Chesterton)

It's almost Christmas

2009-12-21T09:47:00.000-08:00

We have learned most of O Come, O Come Emanuel, On Jordan's Bank, and we are trying to learn The Angel Gabriel. Lady M is working on The Holy and The Ivy. I am learning to play O come, O Come Emmanuel on the piano. For next year, I want to make a list of songs for Advent, and have a schedule to work by so we keep on track with them.
This last week we haven't been singing much in the evening because the kids have been too tired and crabby. I need to change the singing time back to the morning.

Some of our Christmas books are these: We Saw Three Ships, The Crippled Lamb, The Christmas Garland, Mary Did You Know, A Medieval Christmas, Great Joy, While Angels Watch, The Most Beautiful Tree, The Legend of the Three Trees, Bridget's Cloak, All for the New Born Baby, The Miracle of St Nicholas, The Quiet Little Woman. I hope to get few more for next year.

We never got around to starting Jothams Journey again. However, we have been very diligent with our singing and playing, we have said the O Antiphons, we are saying the Christmas Novena. Pretty good so far, I think. I have had the kids do a few Christmas crafts and will do few more before Christmas for some easy gifts. I would like to have a the crafts on a schedule for next year, too. It would be best to have them planned before Advent.

Most of the Christmas Wrapping is done. This is my least favorite chore! I'm very Grinchy about wrapping presents. When I'm an old lady I'll just stick everything in a big ole' bag and plop it in their lap for Christmas.

Like it or lump it kids, there ya' go. (Grinch! Where, oh where is our copy of the Grinch who Stole Christmas! I haven't read it yet!) Note to Self: Find the Grinch, so I can read it in my most Grinchy voice....

We listen to a lot of Music during this season. Some of our favorites: Annehiem Steam roller (Lady M's absolute favorite!) Rejoice!, Sneaks Noyse Christmas time is Drawing Near, The Legend of St Nicholas Annonymous 4, Midwinter Night's Dream Lorena Mckennitt, and about 2 dozen others who I can't remember.

I have succeeded in staying out of the stores this year! We finished all the shopping online this year. Next year, I might try and get most of this done before Advent because I noticed that it does interfere with the Advent season a little.

O.k. enough chatter...I'm going to go mangle (practice) "O Come, O come Emmanuel."
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Several people have written me thank you's for my last post. I want to say thank you for responding to me privately and taking the time to share your story and experiences with me. I do greatly appreciate it. May God Bless you always. ~ Jo

We are making goodies for Christmas

2009-12-18T17:18:00.000-08:00

For someone who is dieting (me) or for folks who just have a hard time with eating too much sweets (also me) Christmas can be a very hard season to get through. In times past, I have eaten way too many sweet goodies at our Christmas celebrations. I am a sugar addict, but I'm trying very hard not to be. Why? Because my health and body are harmed by over indulging in it. Because my children don't see a model of virtuous moderation and prudence. Because my family has a history of diabetes and obesity. Because I dislike being controlled by the demands for more sugar in my body. I want my reason to control what I eat. I don't want my body to demand that I eat sugar because it is addicted to it. Christmas celebrations that are centered around sweets are dangerous for the sugar addict.
One of my children has my weakness for sugar, and I'm scared for her. I suffered enough in my youth with low blood sugar, craving sugar, over eating and being at the mercy of "cravings" and the low self esteem and bad feelings that come from eating too many sweets, goodies, snacks and just plain too much food. I don't want them to go through what I have gone through. I don't want them to be the butt of "fat" jokes. I don't want them to avoid looking at themselves in mirrors because the image there is so different and shocking from what you think you really look like. I don't want them to avoid excersize and social events because they are so fat they can't walk, or run or do other fun things without acute embarrassment. I don't want them to become socially isolated, with a book and a snack for their only company.

Do you get the picture? Do you understand what I'm talking about here? Did you know that the habits that are formed in our youth will influence us for the rest of our lives? If we don't learn good habits as children, it becomes really difficult for us as adults to change the way we think about food and eating.

Which brings me back to Christmas and our celebrations. Cookies and sweets are not bad by themselves, however having lots of them for a meal is a bad thing for sugar addicts. I am going to be providing low carb, high protein alternatives to sweets for my family and myself this Christmas. Party food doesn't have to be a desert, thank goodness.

I've been working really hard since the Jolly Good Fellow was born to get my blood sugar back under my control. I've also lost a few pounds and I don't want to gain them back. These reasons have made me realize that I need some new ideas for our holiday celebrations. So I thought of a few ideas: http://whatscookingamerica.net/Appetizers/StuffedCherryTomatoes.htm

and cheese balls which can be eaten with veggies and crackers: http://www.thatsmyhome.com/mainstreetdeli/cheeseball-recipes.htm

and these: http://lowcarbdiets.about.com/od/snacks/r/spinachdip.htm

There are also things like stuffed jalapenos, meat balls, little sausages. Cold, crisp veggies, and a simple dip. Or a platter with some cheese and olives. Fresh fruits. Sliced chicken, ham, or beef.

There is a family tradition of having lots of (to use a word from my hubbies family) "loot" in the Christmas stockings. I think it's fun to have a Christmas stocking, and yes I like the loot in it, too. Traditionally, what we do is wake up in the morning and begin eating said loot, then once everyone has their coffee, or eggnog, or whatever we begin opening presents one by one until the large pile of presents has diminished. The loot sustains us until we can have the Christmas dinner which is usually pasta.

The loot is usually an orange, maybe some nuts, or chips, and candy. This year I have peanuts and cashews ready, cheese crackers, and a lower carb version of peanut butter candy, and fruit and nut balls instead of candy. I might give the kids a peppermint stick, too. This is how I make the peanut butter candy:

You will need:

1 cup of peanut butter
1/4 cup of agave syrup
several packets of Truvia or SunStevia sweatener
powdered coconut milk (or powdered cows milk)
flavorings: vanilla, orange, anise, almond, cocounut, maple....
orange zest, coconut, rum or other liquer for flavor, or jam for flavor

Mix the peanut butter, agave, and flavorings in a bowl. You can use a mixer for this. Then add the coconut milk powder until it is stiff enough to form a ball. Then you can form it into a ball or use a tiny cookie cutter to make pretty shapes. You can also make molasses and spice balls and chocolate balls, too.

Another kind of more natural candy are fruit and nut balls.

For these you need to have dried fruit and walnuts, almonds, or pecans. Cashews and hazel nuts might also work. You can combine any of these nuts.

I used dried cherries and apricots and craissons for one batch and prunes, craisons and dates for the second. Measure out the dried fruit so that you will have a bout a cup and a half. Cover them with warm water for 15 minutes. Chop the nuts in a food processor, then add the fruit and process until it is a paste. Or until it is finely chopped and sticks together. In the apricot batch I added vanilla, a little salt and some orange flavoring and nutmeg. In the date/prune batch I added a little rum, vanilla, and pineapple juice. I mixed these thoroughly. Tommorrow I will roll out the apricot batch and use a tiny flower shaped cookie cutter to make pretty shapes. I will roll the other batch into logs.

These balls can also be covered with white or dark chocolate.

When I use chocolate to cover something this is what I like to do:

Chop bars of bakers chocolate up, melt in a double boiler. Add a tsp. of cocunut oil or maybe 2 tsp (now I forget what I did) and mix together.

My children and I made chocolate covered pineapple. I used canned pineapple but I dehydrated it for about 3 hours. This is just enough to take most of the moisture out of it but the inside was still juicy. When it was cooled, we melted the chocolate and then dipped the pineapple chunks in it and rolled them in dessicated coconut. I put them in the freezer to harden. This is a low sugar candy. In fact, you can vary how much sugar is in it by using unsweetened chocolate, semi sweet, sweet dark, or milk or white. You could also chop walnuts and use those instead of coconut.

So that is what we did today for our low carb, healthier holiday....

Jeff Foxworthy on Minnesotta

2009-12-17T08:15:00.000-08:00

if you consider it a sport to gather your food by drilling through 18 inches of ice and sitting there all day hoping that the food will swim by,
you might be a Minnesotan

if you're proud that your state makes the national news 96 nights each year because International Falls is the coldest spot in the nation,
you might be a Minnesotan

if you have ever refused to buy something because it's "too spendy,"
you might be a Minnesotan

if your local Dairy Queen is closed from November through March,
you might be a Minnesotan

if someone in a store offers you assistance, and they don't work there,
you might be a Minnesotan

if your dad's suntan stops at a line curving around the middle of his forehead,
you might be a Minnesotan

if you have worn shorts and a parka at the same time,
you might be a Minnesotan

if your town has an equal number of bars and churches,
you might be a Minnesotan

if you know how to say...Wayzata...Mahtomedi...Cloquet...Edina...and Shakopee,
you might be a Minnesotan

if you think that ketchup is a little too spicy,
you might be a Minnesotan

if vacation means going "up north" for the weekend,
you might be a Minnesotan

you measure distance in hours,
you might be a Minnesotan

you know several people who have hit deer more than once,
you might be a Minnesotan

you often switch from "heat" to "a/c" in the same day and back again,
you might be a Minnesotan

you can drive 65 mph through 2 feet of snow during a raging blizzard without flinching,
you might be a Minnesotan

you see people wearing hunting clothes at social events,
you might be a Minnesotan

you install security lights on your house and garage and leave both unlocked,
you might be a Minnesotan

you think of the major food groups as beer, fish, and venison,
you might be a Minnesotan

you carry jumper cables in your car and your girlfriend knows how to use them,
you might be a Minnesotan

there are 7 empty cars running in the parking lot at Mill's Fleet Farm at any given time,
you might be a Minnesotan

you design your kid's Halloween costume to fit over a snowsuit,
you might be a Minnesotan

driving is better in the winter because the potholes are filled with snow,
you might be a Minnesotan

you know all 4 seasons: almost winter, winter, still winter, and of course, road construction,
you might be a Minnesotan

you can identify a southern or eastern accent,
you might be a Minnesotan

your idea of creative landscaping is a plastic deer next to your blue spruce,
you might be a Minnesotan

if "down south" to you means Iowa,
you might be a Minnesotan

you know "a brat" is something you eat,
you might be a Minnesotan

you find -10 degrees "a little chilly,"
you might be a Minnesotan

2009-12-03T19:51:00.000-08:00

We are in the season of advent. Advent is not “pre-Christmas,” it’s a separate, distinct, important liturgical season that deserves the same attention and reverence as Lent. Like Lent, it’s a penitential season where we have yet another opportunity to reflect on our lives, and the meaning of our Savior's sacrifice for us. During Advent, we do this as we wait for the birth of Jesus, who is not yet our Christ.

We also have an opportunity to contemplate the vast meaning of Mary’s humble words. " I am the handmade of the Lord. Be it done unto me according to your word."

Advent is a season of discernment, of thought, of reflection, of drawing closer to our families, of anticipation of the birth of our Savior.

Many Americans will buy a Christmas tree righter after Christmas, and decorate and begin the Christmas season right after Thanksgiving. The day after Christmas they tear the tree and decorations down and go on with their busy lives. The Holy Catholic Church encourages us to look at this season a little differently. Advent is meant as a period of preparation for the Birth of Christ, which is our second greatest feast day. After Christmas, we celebrate the real Christmas season through the Baptism of our Lord in January. During Advent it especially useful to have a period of introspection and examine our lives. Are we going the way we want to go? Are we growing closer to Christ? If not, how can change? How can we prepare for Him?

For our family, we focus on doing things that anticipate Christmas. We make gifts and crafts for people. We say special prayers before the meals that bring our minds and thoughts back to Christ. We use an Advent wreath. Our children enjoy simple crafts like coloring pages, making advent chains, and similar things. As we get closer to Christmas we begin making the special cookies and cakes that will be eaten during the Christmas celebrations.

This year we are going to start learning Christmas carols to sing together as a family. I've always wanted to start doing this and this is the year we start. So far we are working on "O Come, O Come Emmanuel" and "On Jordan's Bank." I'm trying to learn to play them on the piano.

We will be using a version of the "O Antiphons" starting on December 17. (I might make a Antiphon house.) Although we don't have tons of seasonally appropriate books I went ahead and pulled out some of the ones we have so we can read them. Next year, I hope to be more organized and actually be ready for Advent before Advent starts.

Twas the month before Christmass...

2009-11-08T15:49:00.000-08:00

Twas the month before Christmas*

*When all through our land,*

*Not a Christian was praying*

*Nor taking a stand.*

*See the PC Police had taken away,*

*The reason for Christmas - no one could say.*

*The children were told by their schools not to sing,*

*About Shepherds and Wise Men and Angels and things.*

*It might hurt people's feelings, the teachers would say*

* December 25th is just a ' Holiday '.*

*Yet the shoppers were ready with cash, checks and credit*

*Pushing folks down to the floor just to get it!*

*CDs from Madonna, an X BOX, an I-pod*

*Something was changing, something quite odd! *

*Retailers promoted Ramadan and Kwanzaa*

*In hopes to sell books by Franken & Fonda.*

*As Targets were hanging their trees upside down*

* At Lowe's the word Christmas - was no where to be found.*

*At K-Mart and Staples and Penny's and Sears*

*You won't hear the word Christmas; it won't touch your ears.*

*Inclusive, sensitive, Di-ver-si-ty*

*Are words that were used to intimidate me.*

*Now Daschle, Now Darden, Now Sharpton, Wolf Blitzen*

*On Boxer, on Rather, on Kerry, on Clinton !*

*At the top of the Senate, there arose such a clatter*

*To eliminate Jesus, in all public matter.*

*And we spoke not a word, as they took away our faith*

* Forbidden to speak of salvation and grace*

*The true Gift of Christmas was exchanged and discarded*

*The reason for the season, stopped before it started.*

*So as you celebrate 'Winter Break' under your 'Dream Tree'*

*Sipping your Starbucks, listen to me.*

*Choose your words carefully, choose what you say*

*Shout MERRY CHRISTMAS ,

not Happy Holiday !

Please, all Christians join together and wish everyone you meet MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Christ is The Reason' for the Christ-mas Season!

(Somebody emailed me this. It's not mine...)

Just some comments

2009-10-30T08:56:00.000-07:00

I woke this morning at 8 am and made myself get out of bed. Wasn't too hard. I've been trying to get up earlier than my body would like me to. The Jolly Good Fellow keeps me up so much at night sometimes I feel like I haven't really fell asleep at night. Hence the need to sleep in-but that doesn't really work very well for order in the home.
I have put up a few more good links on my blog. I like to do that so I remember to read those blogs or go back to those sites. Otherwise I forget about such things. My memory is getting worse and worse...I realized I forgot when I bred the two rabbits, now I have no idea when they are going to deliver. Darn, I did that ealier in the year and obviously forgot to learn from my mistake.

Oh, well. A little drama on the homestead.

I'm taking a break from sewing right now. I have to make some costumes for The All Saints Day party at the Church. I'll take pictures; hopefully I'll remember to put them up.

Homesteading today has been down forever, and I've just realized how addicting that forum is. I was planning to ask how to make a cape/mantle thing but obviously couldn't-because they are down. Sigh.....I'm going through withdrawls. Oh well, I've been browsing the 4 real learning site instead when I get the chance to. Probably better for me.

I'm still working on cleaning up the house and de-cluttering. We did take a huge amount of stuff to The Salvation Army store in town. We have much more to do. I want to wash the walls. I want to paint my foyer a nicer green. I don't like the dingy avocado anymore. My kitchen looks so nice and clean it makes the rest of the house look sad.

Oh, I have some really awesome news! My dear hubby's brother is going to be ORDAINED to the priesthood on Saturday. Pray for him as he begins this vocation. He is a monk in Italy. He will be Fr. Thomas. (right now he's Brother Thomas.) Amazing, isn't it? May God Bless him!

I told my children that the Priesthood puts a special Mark on his soul, and all the Angels in Heaven would be able to see that mark and see that he is a Priest. They were suitably impressed.

O.k. all for now. I need to make cookies for a friend and go sew some more as well as get the kids doing some crafts....before I leave today.

We made applesauce

2009-10-21T10:05:00.000-07:00

Applesauce

(to the tune of "Yankee Doodle")

Peel an apple, cut it up, cook it in a pot. When you taste it you will find it's applesauce you've got.

Here is Lady M, cutting the apples with me. She's such a good little worker. Canning and bulk cooking can be fun for children to do with mom and dad. It seems to me that children recognize when their contributions (helping out) are needed and they can take a very special kind of pride in doing so. Helping out isn't just busy work for them. This is teaching them real life skills. This is great for developing self confidence and independence, and planning skills (logic.) I try to have the children help me as much as I can get them to do. They like canning with me. They see the mountains of food (apples, in this case, but it could be anything) and it's an adventure to wash, rinse and cut the apples and put them in the pot. They are happy when their part is done especially if they persevered through it when it became tiring or boring.
Here they are working together at washing the apples. We had about 6 grocery bags full of them. Our friend Lynne allowed us to pick them from her tree. (Lovely Lynne, thank you so much!)

A Little Red Apple

A little red apple
Hung high in a tree.
I looked up at it,
And it looked down at me.
"Come down, please," I called.
And what do you suppose?
That little red apple
Dropped right on my nose!

My dear husband, agile man that he is, climbed her tree and shook them down so they literally fell like rain.

Apples

Apples, apples, one, two, three,
Apples for you,
Apples for me.
Apples for big,
Apples small,
Apple trees tiny,
Apple trees tall.
Apples sour,
Apples sweet,
Apples, apples, are nice to eat.

It was beautiful to watch the children diving for them and see their awe at the bounty of apples. It was a new experience for them. Fruit trees are lovely things.

I like this picture of the apples in the wash water. The apples were not perfect grocery store apples, so we had to wash and trim away any bad spots.

A squiggly little worm into my apple bit. He chomped and chomped until the core he hit. I asked him why he did it, And thought it sopunds absurd, He said, "I love apples." Now that is what I heard.

We were left with 5 pots of good pieces to use for apple sauce and apple butter. I'm so thankful for this fruit and for the experience of making the applesauce. My children blessed me as we worked together. It was special sharing of time.

I don't have a picture of the finished applesauce but it came out a lovely, rosy pink. I was just thinking that apples can make a metaphor for life. The Lord can trim our bad spots away until we are left with the good parts of the apple. When processed, they make a sweet applesauce. So if you have bad spots- don't despair, there is often enough unblemished flesh to make something that is "good."
It is good to enjoy the simple things in life. Right now I can't do a lot of fancy projects and curriculum with my children, but I am learning to have a spirit of adventure with them as we do what we can do together.

I Like Apples

Red apples,
Big apples,
Good apples,
Yummy apples,
Any kind of apples,
I like apples!

An apple on the tree,
An apple in the basket,
An apple in a fridge,
An apple in a store,
I like apples!

Things I've been doing lately...

2009-10-17T16:23:00.001-07:00

Nothing...................................just kidding.

bit it feels like nothing.

Well, besides homeschooling...(thinking, thinking.....) Oh yes, Let's see. We made some medicinal tinctures. I tried video blogging about that but I was making a cayenne and jalapeno tincture, and did you know, that when you blend hot peppers together like that they become something very close to a pepper spray? (Do you know how I learned that? The hard way, of course.) So my video went like this:

(in my normal squeaky voice, while blending the peppers.) Hi, this is Jo-...choke-gasp....I'm make- cough, cough, cough!... (blow nose, wipe eyes...) medicinal...cough....arrgh!

Not a very good start at video blogging. I'll have to try some other subject.

Let's see. What else have I been doing? Not too much online these days. No time....A few weeks ago we painted my kitchen green. A nice lovely soft green. I really like going green. It goes well with the cabinets and my Frank's Sourkrout cans. I have an aloe in one can and I tried lavender in the other but it died after getting frosted. So maybe I'll try something else instead....The sourkrout cans were what made me think of green as a kitchen color. Now I'm noticing Green Things everywhere...and I'm even thinking of making some Green Things for my kitchen.

Currently, I'm going through a spasm of de-cluttering. And then hopefully I'll go on to organizing some messy areas up. This is in my spare time, what little there is of it, right now. If I'm not cleaning something then I'm crocheting. Right now, I'm working on a leg warmer pair for Little Ginger.

We stopped milking the goats for this year about 3 weeks ago. I'm working to get thier hooves trimmed and pretty soon I'll be giving them the pre-breeding care they need. It's really sloppy at the barn right now and not very pleasent. The kids and the man of the house cleaned the rabbit house and chicken coop up today while I visited with a friend.

So...that's all I've been up to besides the usual things...

What I really need to do is complete a video blog or do a project for this blog, or for the farm blog. I haven't even been taking pictures lately. Gosh, I have so many plans but haven't been doing them...well that's typical Jo, I have more ideas and projects than I'll ever complete....

I've done more Saints day and name day parties the last few months than I have for a number of years. I even invited a friend and her children over and we made a giant Rosary, complete with frosting and decorations for Our Lady of the Rosary. It was a lot of fun! It was one step closer to bringing the Faith alive for all the children present.

Well, I need to go and make dinner. Bless Up, Jo

September 25 Hair Update

2009-09-26T10:11:00.000-07:00

O.k. Family and frinds. Someone asked me to update.

I haven't taken any pictures for a long time. I haven't had time to do anything special with my hair for a LOOONG time. That's what happens when I have a baby. Since I knew I couldn't keep my routine up I elected to cut off the died ends about 6 weeks after the Jolly Good Fellow was born. This was a great blessing as I felt it was just enough to keep my hair from driving me insane. The postpartum shedding also started and I've been shedding a ton for a while now. So I'm getting thin again...it's really interesting how our hormones affect us this way. I've been using my regular goat milk soap to wash my hair. And it works perfectly fine! I don't understand why or how this is working now, so in times past I have tried my soaps and my shampoo bars and they would not seem to do as well as (non-sulfate) shampoos. Now it's the opposite. Hmmm, must be hormones again. My favorite is the green tea bar. I also need very little conditioner when using the soap and I haven't needed to use a vinegar rinse...All weird and the opposite from what I have heard about natural soaps and hair care...Pretty soon I'll get a little trim and then take a picture. Well, I'm enjoying the shorter hair at this time anyway, and I even trimmed Lady M's hair as well. Much easier to take care of- it can be a good thing! Oh yes, I was going to tell you I cut off at least 5 inches of my own hair, and I trimmed 4 1/2 off of Lady M's and a month later trimmed her again, taking off 2 1/2 more inches. So it goes up any which way, and if I remember I use the cocunut oil on the ends before I wash. I need to get back into my routine then I'll see better results.

Silly jokes....because I don't have time to post today.

2009-09-24T15:43:00.000-07:00

Why we love children

1) NUDITY
I was driving with my three young children one warm summer evening when a woman in the convertible ahead of us stood up and waved. She was stark naked! As I was reeling from the shock, I heard my 5-year-old shout from the back seat, 'Mom, that lady isn't wearing a seat belt!'

2) OPINIONS
On the first day of school, a first-grader handed his teacher a note from his mother. The note read, 'The opinions expressed by this child are not necessarily those of his parents.'

3) KETCHUP
A woman was trying hard to get the ketchup out of the jar. During her struggle the phone rang so she asked her 4-year-old daughter to answer the phone. 'Mommy can't come to the phone to talk to you right now. She's hitting the bottle.'

4) MORE NUDITY
A little boy got lost at the YMCA and found himself in the women's locker room. When he was spotted, the room burst into shrieks, with ladies grabbing towels and running for cover.. The little boy watched in amazement and then asked, 'What's the matter, haven't you ever seen a little boy before?'

5) POLICE # 1
While taking a routine vandalism report at an elementary school, I was interrupted by a little girl about 6 years old. Looking up and down at my uniform, she asked, 'Are you a cop? Yes,' I answered and continued writing the report. My mother said if I ever needed help I should ask the police. Is that right?' 'Yes, that's right,' I told her. 'Well, then,' she said as she extended her foot toward me, 'would you please tie my shoe?'

6) POLICE # 2
It was the end of the day when I parked my police van in front of the station. As I gathered my equipment, my K-9 partner, Jake, was barking, and I saw a little boy staring in at me. 'Is that a dog you got back there?' he asked.
'It sure is,' I replied.
Puzzled, the boy looked at me and then towards the back of the van. Finally he said, 'What'd he do?'

7) ELDERLY
While working for an organization that delivers lunches to elderly shut-ins, I used to take my 4-year-old daughter on my afternoon rounds. She was unfailingly intrigued by the various appliances of old age, particularly the canes, walkers & wheelchairs. One day I found her staring at a pair of false teeth soaking in a glass. As I braced myself for the inevitable barrage of questions, she merely turned and whispered, 'The tooth fairy will never believe this!'

8) DRESS-UP
A little girl was watching her parents dress for a party. When she saw her dad donning his tuxedo, she warned, 'Daddy, you shouldn't wear that suit.'
'And why not, darling?'
'You know that it always gives you a headache the next morning.'

9) DEATH
While walking along the sidewalk in front of his church, our minister heard the intoning of a prayer that nearly made his collar wilt. Apparently, his 5-year-old son and his playmates had found a dead robin. Feeling that proper burial should be performed, they had secured a small box and cotton batting, then dug a hole and made ready for the disposal of the deceased.
The minister's son was chosen to say the appropriate prayers and with sonorous dignity intoned his version of what he thought his father always said: 'Glory be unto the Faaather, and unto the Sonnn, and into the hole he goooes.' (I want this line used at my funeral!)

10) SCHOOL
A little girl had just finished her first week of school. 'I'm just wasting my time,' she said to her mother.. 'I can't read, I can't write, and they won't let me talk!'

11) BIBLE
A little boy opened the big family Bible. He was fascinated as he fingered through the old pages. Suddenly, something fell out of the Bible. He picked up the object and looked at it. What he saw was an old leaf that had been pressed in between the pages.
'Mama, look what I found,' the boy called out.
'What have you got there, dear?'
With astonishment in the young boy's voice, he answered, 'I think it's Adam's underwear!'

Carding wool video from Nancy Today

2009-09-10T21:08:00.000-07:00

Can you tell what Nancy is doing in this older video? Answer: She's carding wool.

Chit chat

2009-09-03T17:38:00.000-07:00

I thought I would post a quick chit chat. This week has been very busy! We started our second year of home school on Monday. I am using the Catholic Heritage Curricula, which is a really lovely program. The work is not too hard for the children, or me to follow. The thing I really like about it is that they have a great lesson plan that brings everything together and there is lots of room for adding different stuff to enrich the plan. So I can still do a lot of nature study with the children and crafting. I think that's very nice.

The only negative thing I can think of so far is that I am having more trouble doing all the different subjects with both of my students, and incorporating my usual tasks in the day as well. I've been several kinds of tired out this week. But the good thing is that I can see that this is going to work for us, and I'm so glad we bought the program.

Reading is coming along very well for Lady M. I can see that we are over the hump (so to speak) with teaching her and now all she needs to do is practice, practice, practice! Yeah! That's so cool! I have actually taught a child to read. I'm now using 100 Easy Lessons on my son and I can see that it is working. According to CHC both children are behind their grade levels in reading. This is because CHC starts their reading and phonics instruction in their preschool and kindergarten programs and we don't really do a formal program for those here. Pretty soon, Lady M will be reading up to her level and we will do what we can to get Master G reading this year.

On to other stuff:

I had a great soap class today! What fun that is. I love teaching Cold Process soaping. Usually I teach small classes of one or two people and I get to do lots of talking as I teach. Anyway, I had a great lot of fun today...

Hmm...I'm still thinking of doing some movies for my blogs. I've taped a few-mostly for the desem bread blog. Maybe I'll put one of them up. I've also been searching for modest clothes again and I found a few more websites that look really nice. I'll add those to the side bar when I can.

We are "doing" music lessons, too. About a month ago we went to Kids for Keys in Minneapolis and bough a nice piano and we have a very nice and gentle teacher that lives right in town
and now Lady M is taking lessons. Of course, I am also learning about piano and I am even trying to pass on some of this to Master G. Some Uncles are staying with us (just a few of my dear husbands brothers) and I asked one of them to play for us. How lovely the piano sounds in our house! Oh, I can't wait until Lady M really starts to play.

I have a batch of pear butter cooking downstairs and I think I'll go can it now. Blessings, Jo

I'm trying to learn more about videos...

2009-08-28T15:33:00.001-07:00

I want to be able to make some videos for the blogs. My inspiration is Nancy Today. I think this lady is the best! Let me see if I can find a video to link to here. (o.k. I found out how to do it! what fun!)

She has LOTS of other videos...and I'm going to watch them all! ( Just pick a video-any one will do and watch it. I just randomly grabbed this one.) You know what's really nice about Nancy? She's real! and she's funny and she cooks just like I do (except for the fact that I don't use margarine.) She is also a soapmaker. So far I've watched a lot of the baking videos and I'm just starting on the others. Master G and Ginger also love her.

Way to go Nancy! You are so sweet and thank you for being on youtube! ~ Jo

learning about videos....

2009-08-20T18:28:00.000-07:00

I am posting my first videos! These are our first Kinder kids

Update for this summer

2009-07-21T19:54:00.000-07:00

I had the baby on June 2! We had lots of help and visitors and now things are going back to normal. As normal as they can be around here anyway. The baby was a boy. At 7 weeks he weighs 12.8 oz.

Obviously, I am busy, busy, busy! And tired most of the time and I haven't really had much time to devote to my blogs. I hope to be able to start posting soon.

Some things that are going on...I'm selling most of my animals. I hope to have them sold by August.

We are planning our next home school year and I'm trying to get some things done over the summer here to prepare for the next year. So I'm going to close now. Blessings, ~ Jo

Jane Austen

2009-05-24T05:24:00.001-07:00

Jane Austen (16 December 1775 – 18 July 1817) was an English novelist whose realism, biting social commentary and masterful use of free indirect speech, burlesque, and irony have earned her a place as one of the most widely read and most beloved writers in English literature.^[1]

Austen lived her entire life as part of a small and close-knit family located on the lower fringes of English gentry.^[2] She was educated primarily by her father and older brothers as well as through her own reading. The steadfast support of her family was critical to Austen's development as a professional writer.^[3] Austen's artistic apprenticeship lasted from her teenage years until she was about thirty-five years old. During this period, she experimented with various literary forms, including the epistolary novel which she tried and then abandoned, and wrote and extensively revised three major novels and began a fourth.^[B]

From 1811 until 1816, with the release of Sense and Sensibility (1811), Pride and Prejudice (1813), Mansfield Park (1814) and Emma (1816), she achieved success as a published writer. She wrote two additional novels, Northanger Abbey and Persuasion, both published posthumously in 1818, and began a third, which was eventually titled Sanditon, but died before completing it. (From wikipedia)

More laundry soap information

2009-05-24T05:10:00.000-07:00

I use a handy dandy green funnel to pour the soap into jugs.
It stores best in a thick plastic, old bleach or vinegar bottles and cat litter containers.

This is what it looks like when it's done.

When doing my laundry I use a paint brush to scrub the soap into food and dirt stains on our clothes. I find this works well on most things except for grease spots and tomato stains.

Laundry Soap Recipe and tutorial

2009-05-24T04:43:00.000-07:00

Here is what we need to make a liquid version of homeade laundry soap. We need 8 oz of grated soap, 1 cup of borax and 1 cup of washing soda, 3 gallons of water, and two teaspoons of pure lye (not pictured here.)

The grated soap is put in a large stock pot and 2 quarts of water. This is heated until the soap is dissolved. You can also leave the soap in the water for a few days before moving to the next step in the recipe.

2 more quarts of water are added and the mixture is stirred. When the soap pieces are dissolved add your lye to a quart of water and stir this so the lye does not clump up. The lye is important if you are using goat milk soap scraps, but it may not be important if you use Fels Naptha or another soap that is not super fatted. I think this comes down to a personal choice. (Please understand how to handle lye carefully and be sure to use gloves and goggles when mixing and pouring it. Above all, be careful if you have pets and children around!)

Add the lye water carefully to the pot on the stove and stir. You might get some bubbling action and this is normal. Add another quart of water.

Once it is thoroughly stirred you can add your borax and washing soda. Stir thoroughly so it all dissolves together. Add the rest of the water to make 3 gallons.

Melted, grated goat milk soap scraps. ( Any soap scraps can be used, so if you save your soap scraps or buy Fels Naptha or Ivory you can use that kind of soap for this recipe.)

After everything is in the pot you need to stir once and a while as it ages. I find it takes about a day for it to look like it's done aging. The soap will have a custard like gel on top and a more watery layer under. This can be stirred together but will usually form again. the hand blender works really well for combining both layers and will make it easier to pour from a jug.

Poems

2009-05-22T16:13:00.000-07:00

Good to read to children!

"I love you, mother," said little John;
Then forgetting work, his cap went on,
And he was off to the garden swing,
Leaving his mother the wood to bring.

"I love you, mother," said rosy Nell;
"I love you better than tongue can tell;"
Then she teased and she pouted full half the day,
Till her mother rejoiced when she went to play.

"I love you mother," said little Fan;
"Today I'll help you all I can;
How glad I am that school doesn't keep!"
So she rocked the baby till it fell asleep.

Then, stepping softly, she took the broom,
And swept the floor, and dusted the room;
Busy and happy all day was she,
Helpful and cheerful as child could be.

"I love you, mother," again they said-
Three little children going to bed;
How do you think that mother guessed
Which of them really loved her best?

-Joy Allison

and this one, too....

The rain it raineth on the just
And also on the unjust fella;
But chiefly on the just, because
The unjust steals the just's umbrella.
- Lord Bowen

School

2009-05-15T22:15:00.000-07:00

We actually home school around here sometimes. I've been keeping up with the lesson plans. I'm happy to be able to write that. It seems so often I post on here just to complain that I can't make my lesson plans, or we are falling behind, or I'm finding it difficult to keep up with it. So anyway, genuine proof that we homeschool.

Actually, this week we have been taking it easy (with school.) I have a lot to do to get ready for our new baby so nesting came first this week. Carpet cleaning, switching clothes, moving furniture, getting out the baby stuff, bringing out the cradle and working to eliminate clutter and extra clothes and junk, washing walls. In between that I've been cooking, baking, doing laundry and tending to the outside chores that are taking me longer to finish now.

In between that we have managed to do what is necessary for school as well as some fun things.

Lady M is getting lots of reading practice in. She has a number of good resources for beginner readers. The Bob Books, Little Folks readers, McGruffy readers and I also use stories that I have written and many other simple books. Lately I have been letting her read the stories from a Book called The Ordinary Parents Guide to Teaching Reading. I picked this book up at the Homeschooling Conference last year. I hope that soon she will be able to pick a book up by herself and realise that she can read it. Her progress is steady and she is learning. It's really very exciting to see her progress.

She is practicing spelling words. She has some audio strengths so she remembers how to spell things pretty well. I like her to do creative writing using the spelling words. She does math on Mondays. She usually does a Draw Write Now story once a week. Lately, we've been doing a lot of science and nature study. Spring is great time for that.

She and Master G have been crafting allot. I finally got the art supplies organised a little so it's been easier letting them do things. A week or so ago we did a neat art project. We had pressed a number of flowers last year, so we finally completed the project. We made "pictures" by laying a tissue paper over the flowers on wax paper and gluing them down. Then we framed them. When they are hung on a window it's really pretty.

Lady M and Master G have been reading the Bobbsey Twins with their Uncle. I don't even know which book it is. Sorry, I just can't read those books, or the Five Little Peppers....too sappy. But the kids really like them. The dear hubby has started a book called "The Wheel on the School. " This is a really good book. I've been reading Fabres Book of Insects to the kids for part of school. This is also a good book to read. I'm afraid that's all. We just haven't been reading as much as usual lately.

Master G is being drilled in numbers and letters. I realised some time ago that he doesn't know his letters or numbers very well, and this is making impossible for us to do simple workbook exercises. So he is getting some drill. I've also been having him make a pot holder as part of his schooling. We are also doing Language Lessons for Little Ones, and How to be a Christian Gentleman periodically, too. And catechism for both children.

We do all this and much more through out the week. ~ Jo

What is it?

2009-05-15T22:06:00.000-07:00

A bird? a plane? A blob hanging from a tree?
Brave explores spot an unidentified object.....
Turns out it was a drunk squirrel. Actually it's a thirteen line ground squirrel in a tree. We usually see these scurrying around on the ground, stealing grain. I've never heard of one climbing a tree before.

2009-05-15T21:52:00.000-07:00

The Three Adventurer's stop for some travel rations.

Easter picture

2009-05-15T21:41:00.000-07:00

Fresh Eggs

2009-05-15T21:38:00.000-07:00

From our banties...

More soap pictures

2009-03-25T22:31:00.000-07:00

O.k. this is the last batch of soap swap pictures. I loved this soap and right now it's in one of our bathrooms.
This round bar is really pretty. Has a green tea fragrance. This is a fragrance I have recently soaped. It is a very interesting and refreshing fragrance.
This scent is to die for! And I love the coloring.

More soaps from the swap

2009-03-25T22:21:00.000-07:00

Look at how cute these bars are!
This was a honeysuckle fragrance and it is soooooo lovely. I am definitely going to investigate this one!
This soap is from a wonderful lady down in Texas. Her bars are huge, beautifully straight, hard and this soap smells and looks lovely! Isn't that little glass bee just absolutely cute???

O.k. Why do I like bees so much? Because they make honey? Honey is just one of my favorite things...

I am having so much fun with the different soaps. It's really amazing to participate in this with a lot of other soapers and share the enthusiasm and ideas. I love seeing all the many different ways we can make, scent, wrap and market our soaps. If you can participate in a swap -do so. It's worth it. Too bad I can't share the scents with you. Some of the bars are just sooooooooo nice!