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Nathan & Jonathan's Birthday Celebration
Wednesday | September 30, 2009
Before the storm set in...
Nathan and Jonathan were born exactly two years and 41 minutes apart. Dad takes them camping each year on their birthday. We all look forward to their adventure even though the girls stay at home and do the guys' chores! Samuel also goes camping with them since he is a male unit in our family, plus it is usually too cold to camp outside on his birthday in February.
Breakfast: cooked on a camp stove
The girls cook homegrown potatoes and our grass-fed beef with gravy for them to put on the fire in the dutch oven for their dinner. Their traditional birthday breakfast is Nathan's potatoes and Samuel's farm-fresh eggs. This year was no different - except about 8 p.m. a lighting storm moved in; a second storm was predicted at 1am, so they packed up all their belongings and came inside. The kitchen stove is not exactly like a campfire nor is the living floor similar to sleeping under the stars, but they still had a great time.
Nathan, with his new Mosin Nagant: the boys enjoyed shooting together
This year all three received Mosin Nagants (ask them what that means!). They still cooked their breakfast outside the next morning in our backyard, and went out to shoot their new birthday guns.
Rachael decorated homemade "Whoopie Pies" for the boys' dessert
May the Lord grant you, Nathan and Jonathan, wisdom and maturity in this year ahead. Keep seeking to be men of God and He may He abundantly bless you!
Nathan and Jonathan
September 2009
Nathan and Jonathan, happy 14th and 12th birthday, respectively!
Fun Night With Friends
Friday | September 25, 2009
Enjoying a delicious meal together: homemade spinach lasagna, salad with homegrown vegetables, sprouts, goat milk feta cheese - and Rachael's newest creations, Chocolate Chip Orange Shortbread. It was good, indeed!
We enjoyed a night together with some friends this week. We appreciate their hospitality and fellowship!
The guys talking about deer hunting
We played a great game: random questions that we had to answer
The crew
Making Goat Milk Soap
Tuesday | September 22, 2009
Mixing the goat milk into the soap
We are out of soap
so it was time for me to
resupply it! I freeze extra
goat milk in 8 oz. containers
so when I make soap, it is ready to use.
Goat milk soap is good for the skin.
Pouring into molds. This batch did not thicken as quickly as it should have, so we are hoping it turns out
This is the mold Tom made for us and it works well. The ends come off and we always line our molds with wax paper. This cuts into about 20 bars of soap
Oatmeal soap
Camping Under The Stars
Monday | September 21, 2009
The other night, us children camped out in "tepees" and "shelters." I was persuaded to join my siblings and slept out under the stars with them. Ok, well, it would have been under the stars if the tree leaves would not have been looming overhead. We had fun together...late-night chats, jokes, tickles, stories, teasing, and laughter of course.
Samuel in his tarp tepee
Rachael and I...we were comfortable despite the lumps of grass underneath our sleeping bags and chilly weather.
Guess what gave me an untimely awakening? The dog, leaping across me to lay down beside his buddy Nathan.
I am rarely without my camera...but I will admit that I did leave it inside for the night. When I woke up, yes, I fetched it first thing...then settled back into my camping bag to finish waking up [I am not an early riser]. As I was doing so, I had a very close-up view of the grass at my side...and found another early riser, a tiny spider, was already busy at his work making his web. Unfortunately I didn't have a macro lens to get a closer shot.
"The spider
taketh hold with
her hands, and is in
kings' palaces."
~Proverbs 30:28
[One of the latest things I have learned about webdesign is the "PRE" code - you other designers already knew about it I am sure - but I just had to put it to use!]
Jonathan looking out at the other creatures enjoying the morning
Canning Tomatoes
Thursday | September 17, 2009
First time ever, we were successful starting tomatoes by seed this year! We were not as successful getting them in the ground, though; the plants were planted a bit late. Our business took over our lives and the garden was placed on the back burner. Then, this summer was abnormally cool, so the tomatoes are not ripening.
We grow tomatoes to can for future use. We want good quality tomatoes in our soups and stews and the ones at stores do not meet our criteria. I had resigned my self to not having any to can this year, but what a pleasant surprise! I have canned 28 quarts thus far and if any of the green tomatoes ripen, we will have plenty more. We are thankful for them.
I wash and core the tomatoes and blend them in the blender and heat as the jars and canning water is heating. They all need to be approximately the same temperature. If the jars are cooler than the canning water, the jars will break. Some things I just know, by experience...
Pour the hot tomatoes into hot jars and I add 1/2 teaspoon citric acid to each quart
To ensure proper sealing, use new lids and have them waiting in hot water to place on the full jars of hot tomatoes. I place the rings on the jars and place into the hot water in the canner. After the water comes to a boil, I boil them 50 minutes. They can also be pressure cooked. After the appropriate time, turn off and let cool. Carefully remove the hot jars and place in a draft free place. Enjoy!
These small tomatoes are for dehydrating for use on our salads this winter - my favorite. The children are very eager to cut and dry these for me: Thank you Jonathan, Sarah and Rachael!
Dried cherry tomatoes
Our Annual Shopping Excursion
Tuesday | September 15, 2009
Time for our annual fabric shopping adventure!
We sew most of our ladies clothing, for practical reasons, since modest clothing is difficult to find, and to ensure we are efficient in our sewing skills. Dad's opinion is that it is a necessary homemaking skill. Not only is it difficult to find modest clothing, but it is becoming more and more difficult to find decent cotton fabric. The closest fabric store is an hour away, so we usually stock up when are traveling through big cities near a fabric store. In fact, it was exactly a year ago that we bought material in Wichita.
Last week, Hancock Fabrics had a 52% off sale on some of their material, so we decided to make the trip to buy material; this entailed doing our chores early and making dinner to eat on the way. It ended up being a fun and worthwhile adventure and we bought plenty of material to keep us busy sewing for a while.
"What do you think about this print?"
Meanwhile, the boys explored every nock and cranny of the store...taking a break...
I loved this beautiful material
After our big shopping excursion, Dad treated us to ice cream!
One way to eat a cone
Dad and Mom
Plenty of work to do now...
Looks like I have plenty to do in the next few weeks! We bought enough fabric for eight skirts, four jumpers, two jackets, two blouses, one vest, three nightgowns, two aprons, and various other projects. We buy much of our clothing to match each other. I often do not even use a pattern; if I do, I usually alter and redesign the pattern styles, sometimes changing to match the season or purpose: winter skirts are longer, harp performance skirts are more full, and so on. I will share several of our favorite "base patterns":
~Simplicity 9001 (girls' skirt)
~McCall's 8879 (Mom's favorite straight jumper pattern)
~McCall's 3541 (ladies' blouse)
~Simplicity 3527 (my favorite jumper/dress pattern, pictured above)
WHITE: I bought material for Rachael and I matching blouses. I hope this batch turns out; the previous attempts had a few glitches.
KHAKI: I am entering the total unknown here to make a princess-seamed jacket. I have made a similar style blouse before. Hopefully this endeavor turns out well since I have been wanting this type of jacket; they are fairly expensive to buy, and making it myself will allow me to be creative to suit my needs. I did a pattern for this project, and the number is McCall's 5668. It is so fun being able to make your own clothing to fit your family's style and needs!
GRAY: I thought this was a calm, pretty color to make a skirt from; and I actually purchased another skirt pattern - for 99 cents! - which I am planning on trying with this suede/cotton material. That pattern number is Butterick 4136, and it has a zipper at the side waist and gored, flared panels.
Who needs to wonder "what to do after graduation"?! It seems that there has been rarely a dull moment for me since finishing school. I will hopefully be starting college soon - I guess I'd better get to sewing...before the books arrive! We'll pictures of the sewing projects results as they are complete.
Traveling, Friends and Goats
Wednesday | September 9, 2009
On the road
We met the Whitakers five years ago at a Farm Trade Show and made fast and lasting friends with this loving and giving family. Our family usually visits them once a year, to celebrate our summer birthdays. We were late with our visit this year, and eagarly anticipated seeing them. We enjoyed the time together! Thank you for your hospitality, friends!
The Whitakers knew of a family that had female goat kids and since they live more than three hours from us, we picked up the goats on the way home from our visit.
Helping navigate with the trusty map: our GPS has the reputation for not giving the right route...
The men, sharing many farm-related ideas
Jane and Mom have numerous things in common; there is never enough time to talk about them all!
Cassie and Sarah talking on maiden-like musings
Time together with the Whitakers over a meal is always interesting and informative
Daughters
After a delicious meal, we said good bye and drove the hour to pick up our new goats.
Getting the goats ready to travel and visiting with our newly-made friends
The owners have a beautiful garden and live self-sufficiently off the grid
We are very thankful for these kids; the Lord replaced the females we lost this summer. They are pure Alpine and match the marking of our existing herd. We trust Nathan will be milking them next spring!
Last week, we had a phone call from a friend that has goats, who called to see if we wanted to buy her buck. We also lost a much-needed buck kid this summer, so this was a blessing, as well. This new buck is our old buck's "grandson," so we know his lineage!
Making Pens
Saturday | September 5, 2009
Dad and Nathan, building the door of a new portable goat pen
We are picking up more goat kids soon, so we need another pen. The men are hard at work building today. The great thing about this style pen is that "one size fits all" - our chickens, turkeys, pigs, goats - everything except the cows - reside in them!
Dad's work is very exacting: and animal pens are no exception
Wire-ties are great little things
Reconize the fellow? We don't either, but thought he was cute enough to take a picture of!
Fresh Eggs
September 2009
The layers Samuel has raised and cared for are producing lots of eggs!
The Sheriff Is Here
Wednesday | September 2, 2009
When a Sheriff comes to the door there may be cause for concern...
But NOT this time, oh, happy day! It is Joshua!
Showing us all his gadgets on his belt
The boys were so excited to see their good friend and mentor Joshua, again! It has been months since we have seen him. He's been busy with first a new job, then a new bride, now awaiting a new baby, and finally, a new house. Whew, no wonder he has been busy. Congratulations!
Demonstrating how to use the handcuffs...
Samuel showing Joshua his own belt and "weapons"
We're Here!
Tuesday | September 1, 2009
Our fall batch of broilers arrived safely today and are chirping happily in their new home. They are enjoying fresh water, non-medicated, specially mixed feed and lots of warmth! This chick is keeping a sharp eye on the photographer! Maybe he knows what is in store for him in the future...
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