We have a baby!

Our son arrived on Wednesday, July 14 at 2:51pm!!! He was 7 lbs 10 oz and 20" long. I thought he would be a big baby, but he actually was smaller than his sister! I allowed the doctor to break my water and insisted on no pitocin to induce labor. He agreed. Thankfully, because my body went ahead and started contractions on its own. After about 8 hours of all natural labor (no pain meds!!) he was born. I almost got the labor and delivery that I had always wanted. I wished for all natural with no induction, no pain meds, no artificial anything. The only thing that was not natural was the doc breaking the water. That made me very happy! We are both doing well. He and I get about a 4 hour stretch of sleep every night. Daytime has been a different story though. He seems very fussy and gassy during the day. He just can't settle down. That is frustrating, but I know it will pass. Big sister is very proud and loves on him all the time. She has decided she is a big girl now and doesn't want diapers! I knew it had to be on her own terms. She is a very stubborn and strong-willed child. I know because she takes after me. (Sorry mom and dad!)

The weather has been hot and dry - typical July weather. Today's heat index is supposed to be over 100. Thank goodness for air conditioning! (yes I know I am spoiled by it!) Because of the heat, our electric bill has gone up alot. Plus they decided to raise our rates. grrr! Today I made a phone call to a guy who does wind and solar energy. He is coming over next week to tell us what we can do. He says our area is good for both kinds of energy. I hope it pans out and we can cut our line to the grid! I will try to give updates on that.

The zuchinni is nearly done. At least I am done with it! I have put 21 quart bags of it in the freezer. The pumpkins are turning orange and the tomatoes are bearing alot of green fruit right now. My mother in law has given us lots of sweet corn from their patch. That's about all I have done so far this year. I am already thinking about next years garden!!

Still waiting on a baby

I can't believe I have neglected this blog since March!! All I can say is that I haven't done much to blog about!
We are still anxiously awaiting the birth of our son. My due date was last week Wednesday. I am hoping he doesn't wait too much longer. The doctor said he will push the issue of an induced birth if he doesn't arrive by my appointment on Tuesday. We want a natural birth and don't want to feel pressured into an induction unless there is a very clear medical reason to do it. Our daughter was induced due to medical reasons, but it was not an enjoyable experience with all the IV's and monitors, etc. So I have been praying, praying and praying...
As far as the garden here, we didn't put out near as much this year. We do have 12 tomatoes, several zuchinni and pumpkin hills, 100' of potatoes, garlic, onion and herbs this year. I tried cucumbers again this year, but once again, they just don't seem to like our soil. Another blueberry plant died this year even though I was using special fertilizer for it. That leaves us with one blueberry plant. My reading tells me they need 2 for pollination. I am really reluctant to spend money on another when we have lost several now. Sigh.
We had way to much rain this spring, and we lost alot of our strawberries. I did manage to pick about 6 quarts, but the rest just turned to mush or the ants ate them up. We never had the ant problem before. Something else to research before next years crop gets ruined by them.
I have done some periodic canning since my last post. I have done some beef roast that is absolutely delicious! Canning beef was a first for me. I wish I had tried it sooner! I did some blackberry jelly, beef broth and carrots. Then I also dried the last of the onions and have about 2 quart jars full of dried onions! We still have lots and lots of home canned goods on our shelves from last years harvest. So glad we had such an abundance since I'm not gonna try to can that amount while nursing a newborn.
Even with saying that, I still didn't feel right about not growing our own food. So in April/May I stocked up on store bought goods just to be safe through the year. I will add to it come October like I usually do. I just don't feel right not having stored food. I am so glad my husband built those storage shelves in the basement!
Hopefully, the next time you see me here, I will have had my baby!

Updated - Finally!

I have finally updated the garden and food preservation lists to the right. Sorry for the long wait!

New Granny Miller sites

I have been a huge fan of Granny Miller. I was so saddened when she ended her blog last year. But alas! She is back!!!! She is such an inspiration for me!

http://smallholdersdaily.blogspot.com/

http://homesteadgardenandpantry.com/

http://americanhomecanning.com/

Yay for Granny!!!!

How time flies and things change!

I know, it's been a LONG time since I have been here! I truly have wanted to post again, but I had a few things tying me down. Like the post title says, things change! So here's some explaining...

First off, the main thing that has changed in my life and that was holding me back from posting is that I became pregnant again! As of today, I am 16 weeks along. The first trimester does not treat me well. I have had long bouts of morning sickness that stayed with me all day long. When you feel that nauseous for 2 1/2 months it puts a damper on any plans you may have. I have struggled just to get basic housework done, let alone any computer time! Also during that stomach-turning time, I endured several sinus infections, strep throat, a kidney infection not to mention numerous holiday gatherings. That being said, it has also been a very exhausting time for me!
The nausea is over (except when I smell meat cooking), but I am still very tired most days. What a challenging several months it has been! Enough of the complaining - the pregnancy is actually going well. I have seen my midwife twice now, and each time the baby's vitals are well as are mine. I can't complain about that!! She has figured my due date to be July 7.

Winter has been here in full force. Not much snow yet, but plenty of cold weather. Makes me glad to have some food stored away! Looks like I need to update my gardening and canning columns on the right to show what I really put up this past year! And that reminds me, Andy built some wonderful shelves in the basement for some of our food storage. Those shelves have been such a blessing already! They are large enough that I have taken stuff out of our living spaces and stored them there. The next plan is to extend the canning shelves that we already have. I can't wait to have all that storage space! We live in a smallish old farm house. Anyone who has ever lived in an older farmhouse knows that there is no storage space! The basement was under-utilized so now it will be a great benefit to our lives. I will have to post some pictures of the shelves.

The outdoor wood-burner is working great. It is keeping us warm while keeping the mess outdoors. Since we are not bringing wood into the basement to burn, we have had only one mouse in the basement so far. Prior years, we caught many more than that by now. So glad to be rid of them! The basement is far cooler that it was when the furnace was housed there, but it is still warm enough to line-dry the laundry down there. Another added benefit, is that the stored food will last much longer in the cooler basement.

This is all the time I have for right now. I need to nap! Please be patient as I try to get back into posting and updating this blog.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Hope everyone has a wonderful Thanksgiving!

We will be going to my aunt's house Thursday and I will be bringing a yummy dessert called Cherry Jubilee.

Then off to my parent's home on Sunday. I get to bring the same dish there. :)

We celebrated with Andy's family this past Sunday. I brought Cheesy Chicken and Rice.

Busy, busy!

Try this perspective!

LOOK UP

How can I do it? I have too much to do,
I'm overwhelmed and feeling real blue,
I'm stuck in this house like super glue.
Don't look around--LOOK UP!

The dishes and laundry are piled up high,
When I look 'round the house, I have to sigh,
And for supper my husband's expecting a pie!
Don't look around--LOOK UP!

We can't pay the mortgage; bills are overdue,
I'm tired and have headaches, not a few,
These children are driving me crazy, too!
Don't look around--LOOK UP!

My husband comes in late; he doesn't care,
He doesn't help with the children; it's not fair!
I don't want to smile; I just want to glare!
Don't look around--LOOK UP!

Take your eyes off your problems, look up to Him,
God's presence is with you, even in the din!
Confess your bad mood and He'll cleanse your sin,
He is your God--LOOK UP!

He'll show you how to order your place,
He'll give you direction as you seek His face,
He wants to pour upon you His anointing of grace.
He is your God--LOOK UP!

Keep your eyes fixed on Him; He is your Stay,
He is your Wisdom for problems each day,
He will bring His presence right into your fray.
He is your God--LOOK UP!

Each morning He comes as the refreshing Dew
To revive your body, and your spirit too,
He is your Deliverer and He'll make you new,
He is your God--LOOK UP!

by Nancy Campbell

No posting, no worries

Sorry for the lack of posts here. Have some things going on here that is preventing me from having much computer time. Don't worry, all is fine! I do plan on being back to blogging as soon as I can!

Hope everyone has a wonderful Thanksgiving this week!

Recipes

A long while back I promised posting some of my recipes, well here I go! I will post the recipes that I regularly use. These aren't *completely* made up by me. I typically find a recipe that seems like something we would like, then I "doctor" it up from there and it turns into my "own" recipe. Since I have changed them, I don't feel I need to cite where the original came from. Anyways, most of them I can't remember where they came from! I try to make as much as possible from scratch. I cook for 2 adults and 1 toddler, but usually I make a meal that would feed 4-6 people. That way I have leftovers for the next days lunch.

Enjoy!

Frost Advisory!

I can tell the seasons are definitely changing in our neck of the woods. The trees are becoming more colorful, the tomatoes are finishing up (yay!), the days are getting shorter and the farmer's are beginning the big harvest. Top that off with our first frost advisory. The low is expected to be around 34 degrees tonight. Time to cover the tender garden plants!

We started our outdoor wood burner for the first time yesterday evening. Works great! No more indoor mess and there should be alot less dusting on my part! One cool thing about this wood burner is that it also heats our water.

Since the weather turned cooler this week, I needed to pull out our light-weight bed comforters and Audrey's footed pj's. Those pj's always look so comfy!

We also started wearing jackets this week. Looks like I better make sure our heavy coats, overalls, hats and mittens are clean and ready to wear!

I canned the last of the tomatoes yesterday. (HUGE sigh of relief!) I will pick whatever is left today and they will be dehydrated this week. I will not try to save the tomato plants from the frost. They have blessed me beyond expectations and anyways, I don't have enough sheets/blankets/anything! to cover all 24 plants. I will try to save the greenbeans, jalapenos and raspberries. The carrots and onions can handle slight freezing so no worries there.

With the major canning done (unless I find a great deal on apples) I will concentrate on getting the remainder of my pantry stocked. This would include things like oils, seasonings, baking supplies and toiletries. Here are some great links that have helped me stock my pantry.

Food Storage Made Easy

Food Storage and Preservation

and a great yahoo group called food-storage:LDS(and friends) Food storage

All three sites are extremely helpful to those wanting to start their own food storage and explaining why alot of us believe in doing so. In my opinion, it just makes sense. I look at it as another form of insurance.

Time to go stir my simmering chili soup and curl up with some sewing and enjoy the quiet while Audrey is still napping!

The Ohio Republic: President Obama: Ohio recovery to take two decades

The Ohio Republic: President Obama: Ohio recovery to take two decades

A must read for all, not just Ohioans. I like Harold's comments on this subject!

An Evening Picture

Looking across the farmland through a light rain shower.






I couldn't decide which one I liked better!

Updates...

Updated the 2009 Food Preservation Tally and How Our Garden Grows 2009 in the right hand column.
Still busy harvesting and canning, so much that I ran out of canning jars and I am now using my MIL's old ones!!

Today around the farm

Snapped a few pictures this afternoon while my little girl was playing outdoors.


The soybean field across the road is beginning to turn yellow.


The trees in our woods are starting to turn also.


View of the garden.


The pole beans have blossomed and set beans now.


Tater tires are about done. Crossing fingers for a good harvest!

A Birthday

Yesterday my little girl turned 2.


We had a family birthday party for her on Sunday evening. Here is the cake I made her:


I was a little leery of doing the cake. This was the first time I ever attempted to "decorate" a cake. I think it turned out pretty good!

Of course, she got spoiled by all the family! She is the only grandchild on my side of the family, so my parents really splurged and gave her this:


Where will I ever go with all the new stuff? And to think, Christmas isn't to far off!

A really big garden

Picture of an Amish garden. Their farms are so nice and neat!

What I did on my summer vacation

Anyone else remember going back to school and having to write a story called "What I did on my summer vacation"? Mine was always fairly drab. We lived in a very small town (population about 900), and there was nothing exciting about it. My stories usually consisted of me telling about riding my bicycle everyday, reading a ton of books in the summer reading program, going to the fair for one afternoon and maybe going fishing at the lake in the nearby town. I always hated writing about it because it seemed so boring. We never took family vacations like so many others did. But that's ok, I am not scarred for life over it. Looking back, they were really good summer vacations. I read ALOT, I got plenty of exercise and got to fight with my sisters everyday! To top it off, my mom was home with us everyday. Sounds like a really great childhood to me!

Anywho, we took a short trip to Ohio Amish country for our summer vacation this year. We didn't go to gawk and exploit the Amish. Seems alot of people do. It has become SO touristy in some areas. I don't like that. We stayed between Sugarcreek and New Philadelphia at a place called Clara's Country Cottage. It wasn't fancy, it felt like home. It was in the middle of the countryside and very cozy.

While over there, we stopped at Lehman's. Lehman's is a non-electric hardware store. The place is HUGE! It has become quite crowded with people since I was last there about 7 years ago. That was a bit dissappointing. We managed around the crowd and picked up some needed (and wanted) items for our home. Here is a wall oil lamp we put in our living room:

We have this in our living room and do plan on using it. We also stocked up on lamp oil and wicks for this lamp and for our table oil lamps.

I have been wanting a wooden clothes drying rack to hang the smaller laundry items on, mostly for our winter drying. We line dry all of our laundry year round. During the winter, it is hung in the basement. I have already used and really like how much fits on it. This will free up alot clothesline for things.



Lehman's also carries lye for soapmaking. I searched everywhere in my area for it and cannot find it. They sell a 10# jug of it.

Next on my list was bulk food. We found a great place (non-touristy) in Baltic, Ohio. It's called Baltic Mills. Stocked up on various flours, sugars, yeast, oatmeal and spices. We also stopped in Sugarcreek at Swiss Village Bulk Foods. Some things were more expensive in Sugarcreek, but not by much. An example of the Baltic Mills prices are: hard red and white wheat flours were $0.85/lb, and whole wheat pastry flour was $0.68/lb. Picture of some of my bulk food storage:


On Saturday, we visited The Farm at Walnut Creek. It was a nice place to see exotic and domestic animals. Our daughter really loved it. Here she is feeding a goat:


That was our summer vacation! It was very relaxing since we didn't do a bunch of running around. We were gone 4 days and the above is all we did. Of course we ate some really delicious food! Mrs. Yoder's Kitchen in Mt. Hope is SO good!

Going to Lehmans!

For those of you interested in homesteading and preparedness, you probably know what Lehmans is. For those of you who don't know, Lehmans is a non-electric hardware located in Ohio Amish country.

And we are going there!

This will be our second time there, but it has been years since our first visit. The plan is to get some oil lamp parts, soap making supplies(I can't find lye around here), laundry drying racks and possibly a few other small items. And of course we will look at the woodstove displays!

While in the area we will also be spending some time in the Amish bulk food stores stocking up on winter neccesities. Once again, we don't have any stores around here similar to what they have there.

Then maybe something that will interest our daughter, like some animals.

So we will be gone for a few days to relax and enjoy doing nothing. Then it will be time to come home and start putting up the sweet corn and tomatoes!!

The month of June

Looks like another month went by and I did not blog. Sorry for those who actually follow this! It's been quite busy around here to say the least! So for those of you who have been wondering what I've been getting into, here you go.


I have been enjoying spending time with my daughter, I love being a stay at home mom! She will be 2 in early September, time flies! In this picture, she is trying to help me with my baking. She loves to put on her apron and "help" like the big girl she knows she is!


I have made 2 batches of homemade laundry detergent. I haven't made this in years. We really like how well it works and it beats the outrageous price of commercial detergent! I plan on doing a seperate post on how to make this.


Found a wonderful multi-grain bread recipe in Backwoods Home Magazine (my fave mag!). I have tried for several years to find a recipe that hubby and I both like. This is finally it! I should do a sperate post on this also!


This is a Little Tykes play gym I bought for $5 at a garage sale. Had some wear, but that's to be expected! This has really helped me be able to work in the garden and keep my daughter occupied! I keep a list of household and individual needs throughout the year and scour garage sales for them. This year I am really crossing things off my list. I love garage sales!


We are working (slowly) on the landscaping around our house. I have lived here for 6 years, and hubby lived here for 3 years before that, and we never did anything with the yard except mow it! We decided it was high time to eradicate the weeds that took over the former flower beds. This is a planter I put together to help pretty up the porch. I can't stand the prices of pre-made planters, so I buy what I like and throw it together in a dollar store container. The milk can was saved from the metal scrap pile at my in-laws farm.


The strawberries didn't do too bad this year. Certainly not the banner year we had 2 years ago. However, I can't complain as I picked about 2 gallons from our small patch. They were so good fresh, but I froze quite a bit also.


Pea pickin has come and gone! This was my first year growing peas. I was very surprised at the size of these! I grew Early Frosty Peas. They had on average 6-8 peas per pod. There were quite a few with 10 in them! And none of these were tiny peas either. I will definately grow this variety again! I ended up freezing about 6 quart bagfulls.


Raspberries...yummy!!! I bought 2 raspberry plants (or do you call them bushes?) this year. They nursery said they were 2 years old already. I have been picking a steady small handful every couple days for the past couple weeks. They are so good! We are eating them as we pick them. I think my little girl has ate 90% of them!


Then came the greenbeans! The last couple days of June brought me about a 1/2 bushel of beans. I canned them up into 6 quarts and 1 pint.

Then the end of June came and we received some devestating news. I have had a miscarriage. I was only 8 weeks along. This is my second one, the first being before we had our daughter. Words cannot describe how it feels to lose baby. I pray that those around me never have to experience it.

So all in all, I have mostly worked in the garden weeding, picking and putting up the wonderful goodness God has provided us this year. Throw in some garage sales and lots of outdoor play time with my daughter, and it was a pretty good month!

Happy Mother's Day

Hope everyone is enjoying this Mother's Day, whether or not you are a mother.