Kansas City MPE Homeschool Conference for 2014

"The 2014 MPE (Midwest Parent Educators) Conference and Curriculum Fair will be held at the KCI Expo Center on April 4 – 5.  The purpose of the 2014 Midwest Parent Educators (MPE) Conference is to provide information on homeschooling techniques and curriculum choices, besides offering refreshment and encouragement for homeschooling families. Attendees will include both experienced homeschoolers and those considering homeschooling. Students of attendees cover all age ranges.

There will be up to 180 exhibitor booths. MPE changed its dues structure in 2004 so that there is no additional charge for members to attend the MPE Conference.

The 2014 MPE Conference and Curriculum Fair will be at the KCI Expo Center at 11730 North Ambassador Drive, Kansas City, MO 64153, very close to the Kansas City International Airport."

There will be sessions, workshops, curriculum fair and more.

For more information, visit the MPE website.

2014 Money Challange

Several times I have posted the yearly money challange.
It can be started at any time, but as most people make New Year's resolutions this time of the year, here it is again.

Week	Dep amount	Balance	Week	Dep amount	balance
1	$1	$1	27	$27	$378
2	$2	$3	28	$28	$406
3	$3	$6	29	$29	$435
4	$4	$10	30	$30	$465
5	$5	$15	31	$31	$496
6	$6	$21	32	$32	$538
7	$7	$28	33	$33	$561
8	$8	$36	34	$34	$595
9	$9	$45	35	$35	$630
10	$10	$55	36	$36	$666
11	$11	$66	37	$37	$703
12	$12	$78	38	$38	$741
13	$13	$91	39	$39	$780
14	$14	$105	40	$40	$820
15	$15	$120	41	$41	$861
16	$16	$136	42	$42	$903
17	$17	$153	43	$43	$946
18	$18	$171	44	$44	$990
19	$19	$190	45	$45	$1,035
20	$20	$210	46	$46	$1,081
21	$21	$231	47	$47	$1,128
22	$22	$253	48	$48	$1,225
23	$23	$276	49	$49	$1,275
24	$24	$300	50	$50	$1,326
25	$25	$325	51	$51	$1,326
26	$26	$351	52	$52	$1,378

I have had people tell me that they can not afford to do this.  If you truly can't, then just do what you can do.  

I have also had women from 2 income families tell me that they do this and also their husbands do it.  So by year end, they have double the amount.  One told me she and her husband make a contest of it to see who can save the most. 

I don't do mine in this order.  I put my November and December months during the spring time--April, May and early June, because that is when we don't have any A/C or heat bills. In November and December we have the propane bills, Thanksgiving and Christmas (gifts and a slightly higher food bill).  So, for us, this rearrangement of the schedule works.  I also put my "found money" in as well.  We have one grocery store where I always find at least 10 cents on the ground in the parking lot, several times I have found bills, and once I even found a twenty dollar bill.

If you think you can't afford it, look at what you can cut.  What about that morning coffee you get on the way to work (make it at home)??  Or a magazine subscription that you take but don't read (read it for free at the library),  or that pack of cigarettes, or that junk food??

One year in March a woman wrote in and told me she could only afford to do this by giving up her vending machine habit at work.  By March, she had already lost 8 lbs (she went walking on her breaks instead of buying a soda and candy bar) but had saved $122 thus far.  Her method was a little different.  In the early months she was putting what she would have eaten out of the machine at work into a jar.  By the end of March, she had $122 in there.  In November she told me she was still saving and losing weight and her doctor had removed her off of some of her medications as a result of the weight she had lost.  So, she was taking that money (saved from her prescription co-pay) and adding that to her money jar as well. 

Many banks require you to have a specific amount before you can open an account.  Others don't.  So shop around.  I put ours into an old money market account.  If I need to get it out, I do.  But with it in an account other than what I carry a checkbook for, I'm not going to spend it.

an idea....

What if for the Christmas season, everyone were to try more presence, instead of more presents???

Baby update....

My friends at Nash Gas continued to ask around and get info about my stove.  Wednesday night, they got her going at 100%.  Turns out, there was a valve that needed to be opened.

Last Tuesday, I bid on an ebay auction and won--and today in the mail I received my prize.  It is the original installation manual and the cooking guide and care and operation booklet for my 1941 stove.  It would have been helpful to have had that at the time we installed the stove!

She did good.  She cooked for 41 people on Thanksgiving, and several more on Friday and today.  If today's appliances were made like this 1941 Roper, their would be a lot less repairmen out there....

Pretzel Wreaths

☆✻ღ✻☆ Pretzel Wreaths ☆✻ღ✻☆...

Ingredients
3/4 cup white vanilla chips or 5 oz. vanilla-flavored candy coating
72 miniature pretzels twists
6 (24-inch) pieces red string licorice

Instructions
1 Line 2 cookie sheets with waxed paper. In small saucepan, melt vanilla chips over low heat, stirring constantly.
2 Using 6 pretzels, form a circle on waxed paper-lined cookie sheet, placing side of pretzel with 1 hole on outside of ring. Remove 1 pretzel from circle; dip inner section (side with 2 holes) halfway into melted vanilla chips. Place dipped pretzel back into circle formation. Continue with remaining pretzels in circle.
3 To form top layer of wreath, dip 6 additional pretzels, one at a time, in coating. Place over first circle so that coated holes overlap 2 pretzels.
4 Repeat to make 5 additional wreaths. Refrigerate wreaths 15 minutes or until coating is firm.
5 Weave 1 piece of string licorice through coated holes in each pretzel. Tie bow with licorice ends.
MICROWAVE DIRECTIONS: Line 2 cookie sheets with waxed paper. Place vanilla chips in 2-cup microwave-safe measuring cup. Microwave on MEDIUM for 2 to 3 minutes or until melted, stirring once halfway through cooking. Stir until smooth. Continue as directed above.
By photo and recipe by http://www.pillsbury.com/

My New Baby

Not that kind......

But this kind.

A 1941 gas Roper, with 6 burners, 2 ovens and 2 broilers.  I still need to find a couple of parts (actually 2 of the same part) for the ovens and broilers to work correctly, but the top is working perfect.  Later, I am going to have the clock and light housing re-chromed.

I should be able to get 3 or 4 canners running on it at the same time next summer during canning season.  That will sure speed up the canning.  My stove that this replaced, was a glass top, and did not let me use a large canner.  It took 2 hours to heat the canner, then I could not do back to back batches or it could crack the glass as it would tend to over heat.

Now I am set.

I stole this post

I'll admit it--I stole this post from Betsy over at her blog, located at
 http://mrspriceisrighthomeschooling.blogspot.com/.  But, it was so good, I had to share.  To see the original post, go visit Betsy's blog by clicking on the link.  It contains a link from Laura Ingalls Wilder:

 “I believe it would be much better for everyone if children were given their start in education at home. No one understands a child as well as his mother, and children are so different that they need individual training and study. A teacher with a room full of pupils cannot do this. At home, too, they are in their mother’s care. She can keep them from learning immoral things from other children.” 
~Laura Ingalls Wilder

So true.  I wonder what she would think of today's schools and education system, and common core. Would she see it as an improvement or as a decline in the system?

Yum...

A friend had this posted on facebook.....I will be trying this one.

Bacon Wrapped Asparagus

Preheat oven to 400

Divide asparagus into bundes of 3-4 spears. Wrap each in a slice of bacon.

In a saucepan, melt a stick of butter, 1/2 c. brown sugar, 1Tbsp soy sauce, 1/2tsp garlic salt, and 1/4 tsp black pepper and bring to a boil.

Pour mix over bundles and bake until bacon looks done.

How my morning went.....

Today was my ONE AND ONLY day this week I could sleep in-until 8 ish this morning......

0640 doorbell rings--A guy tells me our white horse is out--but its not our horse-I tell him to go to 240th, 2nd house on the left or third--its theirs I think, .....I go back to bed

0715....ding dong...."we have your shed to deliver from Sutherlands". Where do you want it......well, we didn't order one, but if someone else got it for us (would be nice, huh?) you can put it... by the chicken coup. Darn, delivery tag says it for Gerkes, so go back down the road, to the brick  house.....and I go back to bed...

0732......ding dong.....I have your propane, but I can't find your tank.....that's because you are on the wrong road (and blind, cuz my tank is right there). This is 228 and your ticket says 222......I go back to bed (again).

0759....ding dong.....Sutherlands is back--thinking yee haw--maybe Gerke did buy us that shed???--nope-guess they are stuck in our yard while turning around and wanted to let me know.  I go back to bed...again. 

0810....ding dong....ok, we are unstuck now, but left some ruts--here is my card and you can call with any damage reports........really mister??? This is a FARM. As long as the ruts are not in the hayfield and you didn't take out a fence, I really DONT care.  I go back to bed  (AGAIN)

0813...FEDEX just came and delivered a box.....,,,wrong house.....why am I not surprised?  I am supposed to get a package today, but he knows nothing about it.  I climb back in bed...AGAIN.

0815....I get comfy in bed...Yep, my alarm just went off. Husband doesn't understand why I got up before the alarm.....BECAUSE NO ONE ELSE IN THE HOUSE BOTHERED TO ANSWER THE DOOR!!!! I hit the snooze.

 0820..DING DONG...I refuse to get up and answer the door.  Husband doesn't understand why.  I hear a truck drive off.  He goes outside and checks--it is my expected package--so, I guess either 2 Fed Ex trucks were in our area, or the guy found it after all.  (Really don't know how he could miss it--its a huge red box)

0825 Snooze goes off--have to get up now for sure.  It is homeschool co-op day...

When I got back from co-op, I went and checked out the "ruts"....It is actually more like a mini grand canyon.  After it dries out, I will need to smooth it down with the tractor or bobcat, and reseed it.  But, Sutherlands says they will pay for the damages, which is good.

But, at least my package came!!  Its my new Hoover Steam Vac Carpet Shampooer that I got with my swagbucks!!

Common Core Meeting in Raymore MO

Momentum is growing to stop common core, but it can only continue to grow with your help. There will be a public meeting on the truth of Common Core next Monday in Raymore MO.

Date: Monday, November 4th
Time: 6:45pm
Location: Community Bank of Raymore, in Raymore MO
Sponsor: Jeremy & Tonya Long

cookie drama

Ugh.

Daughter #3 is baking cookies.  While that sounds like a good idea......

From the kitchen she yells "I need a fire extinguisher.  STAT."

Fire is out, and I quiz her as to what happened.  And, she tells me she set an onion on fire.  Really?  An onion?  What does an onion have to do with making cookies??

I don't even want to know.

Snakes!

This event is on the campus of the Missouri Western State University in St Joseph MO.....

"Good Morning All,

 

I will give a presentation, "Snakes Alive! It's the Year of the Snake"   in Agenstein Hall Room 224 on Saturday, Oct. 26, at 10:00 AM. This talk is free, open to all ages, and is being sponsored by the Pony Express Amphibian and Reptile Society, MWSU Dept. of Biology, and the Missouri Dept. of Conservation. We will have live snakes for people to view and touch. 

 

Notice the change in location.  Earlier announcements indicated that this talk would be at MDC.

 

Thanks,
--

Mark S. Mills

Department of Biology

Missouri Western State University

St. Joseph, MO 64507"

 

816-271-4384

mmills3@missouriwestern.edu

The garden that wouldn't quit

I keep thinking the garden is done....then, it grows some more...

So, this past week, 7 jars of hot peppers,  7 trays of bells dehydrated, and 1 tray of onions and tomatoes dehyrated.

Our main producer right now is the horticulture beans.  They have been slow, but steady.  I am drying those as well.

And, our little red headed adopted pride and joy is learning to pray at church.  So sweet.

Hay was cut for the final time this weekend, and they are raking it right now as I type.  Hopefully the rain will hold off until after it is baled and brought to a dry barn.  Our leaves are starting to turn.  Fall has arrived.

My daughter...the queen

Miss Emily did it....She was crowned Miss Plattsburg 2013 tonight.  

With her crown, comes a $1000 academic scholarship.   She plans to go into medicine.

She has been involved in Girl Scouts, 4H, and church.  She does volunteer work at church camp, has helped rebuild Joplin from the tornado damage and does some tutoring at the local schools.  She is a pretty talented young lady, having been a winner in spelling bees, science fairs, speech contests.  She is a very good volleyball player, avid reader, decent horseback rider, A student and the "middle" sister of the 5 girls (also the only one to not have a twin!)

She is a senior in highschool this year, and also 5 college classes.  And, she is mine!

Homeschool Co-op

I love our co-op.  We have classes on Tues and Thurs, but you don't have to sign up for both days.  You can pick one or the other, or both.  This semester we are doing both, as they meet just a few miles from our farm.

On Tuesdays, I am the lead teacher for Science Lab.  So far, the only thing the kids ALL share an interest in is to blow something up.  So, each week, we try to blow up something, then we do another lesson.

Today, we did the diet coke and Mento's thing.  We have already done it twice where it did not blow up (I am trying to get them to learn that experiments don't always come out the same, so each time we did the experiment we used different mints, and different sodas, and got different results.)  Today it blew--and, being kids, the messier it is, the more they liked it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LjbJELjLgZg

Then, we followed through on an experiment we started last week with eggs.  We soaked eggs for a week in different solutions.  the vinegar solution ate through the shells, leaving squishy eggs held together only by the membranes.  Of course they wanted to smash them, but I was mean and didn't let them, knowing I or my aides would have to be the ones to clean it up.

Our last lesson for the day was to start a unit on bacteria.  Each student got a petri dish with nutrient agar in it.  The dishes were made with 3 compartments, so, they each got to swab 3 items of their choice.  Next week, we will see what we are growing.  For health reasons, the dishes are now sealed shut, and we washed hands first and then made the rule of no swabbing in the bathrooms.  I'd rather we NOT grow a batch of e-coli.  We talked a little about good bacteria vs bad bacteria, and the 3 types shapes of bacteria.  Next week we will finish up on our bacteria unit, unless they really seem into it--if so, we will do another week of learning more about them (after we blow something up, of course).

More Peppers

This afternoon Elizabeth picked a peck of peppers (I just had to say that) from the pepper bed.  It yielded 4 trays of diced peppers for the dehydrator.

One of the red bell peppers had a green baby pepper inside it.  I thought that was rather weird.

She also picked several hot peppers.  The last time I tried to dry those in the dehydrator, it about killed me. They were so hot,  that it put off fumes that burned my eyes and made it hurt to breath--even after I tried to move the dehydrator to the garage.  So, I will have to come up with a different plan for the hot peppers.

5K to Support the Pregnancy Resource Center

5K Run and 1 mile Family Fun Walk 

Saturday, October 12, 2013

Run for a Child is a benefit event for Rachel House Pregnancy Resource Centers. Rachel House has three locations in the Kansas City area: Lee’s Summit, Paseo Bvld. and the Northland. They are dedicated to helping meet the physical, emotional, and spiritual needs of those who seek assistance when dealing with an unplanned pregnancy. Their focus is to protect the unborn and provide spiritual guidance in a Christ-centered environment. They administer free pregnancy tests, perform many life-affirming ultrasounds and provide for material needs such as diapers.

• Event Details

Date:  Saturday, Oct. 12, 2013 (rain or shine)

Location: Penguin Park, Kansas City, MO 64119 

• N.E. Vivion Road and North Norton
• Visit us at www.runforachild.com 

• Entry Fee
• Registration until 10/9 - $30
• After 10/9 & Race Day registration - $35
• Child 0-12 years old - $15

• Registration
• Online at www.runforachild.com until October 9, 2013
•     By mail, postmarked by October 5, 2013
•     On race day: registration is available 7:15 to 7:45 a.m. Race day registrants are not guaranteed a t-shirt, to be in the results or to receive a packet.

Rachel House – Run for a Child

4605 Paseo Blvd. Suite 200

Kansas City, MO 64110

816.921.5050

• Questions
• Contact us at runforachild@gmail.com

__._,_.___

State 4H contest

This past week has been busy.  Very busy.  I taught Tuesday, watched kiddos Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday.  Saturday was also the state competition for 4H .22 for Rebecca, and speech contest for Emily.  (Rebecca also qualified for state speech, but for some reason this year 4H did both contest on the same day, so she had to pick and .22 won).  So, Friday night, Emily, Rebecca and the little one I am watching loaded up and went and spent the night at my parents .  By staying there, we are 1 1/2 closer to Columbia, which made the Saturday early morning drive more enjoyable.  My mom went with us, and went to the speech contest with Emily while Rebecca and I headed to the range.

The range is outside of town, and a long hike from where you park to where you shoot .22.  A very long walk, as in a mile hike through the woods on a gravel path.  Last year I learned a trick--many families take a wagon to pull their stuff in to the range (gun, lawn chairs, food, drinks, shooting mat, ammo, diaper bag and baby).  That worked well going downhill to the range.  Then, we had to come back uphill to the car.  Lets just say my thighs were screaming by the time we got back to the car.  I also am developing a bone spur on the bottom of my left heel.  I was feeling that too.  Of course the two year old loved it.  "I love wagon rides.  This is a long wagon ride".  Yeah, a real long wagon ride.  I tried to get her to pull me, but she told me I was too big.

I still managed to get a couple more jars of tomatoes canned, and some peppers dehydrated.  I still need to get some more onions dehydrated as well.  The garden is slowing down, and the fall beans and peas are getting closer to being ready to pick.  I also went in and volunteered a shift at my fire station as well.  Between the canning and poison ivy, I had not been in for quite some time and was missing it.  With the garden slowing down I will be getting back into my routine with that fairly soon.

Thursday, my aunt passed away.  She was 94 years old  Please keep my cousins (her children) in your prayers, as well as the rest of the family.

The OffGrid Homemaker: My First Post

She is back!  I know some of my followers also followed agodlyhomemaker blog.  The internet ate it....so, she is back, with a new blog and I just wanted to share her first post and her new link.  It is below. 


The OffGrid Homemaker: My First Post: Welcome to my blog. The name says it all- I live off grid, meaning no electricity, and I am a homemaker. I am married to a truck driver and ...

Missing girl from my home county in Missouri

Please check this out, and pass it on.
This young lady has been missing now for 4 days--since Sept 8, 2013.  She lived in the area where I grew up and lived for almost 40 years.

MISSING

Elizabeth "Lizzy" Roseberry
DOB 6 May 1997 Age Now 16 years
Missing 8 Sep 2013 Sex Female
Height 5' 4" Weight 102lbs...
Eyes Blue Hair Red
Missing from Centerview, MO
Elizabeth has taken a small, brown and cream mixed breed/daushaund dog with her. 

She has been known to dye her hair coal black. 

If you have seen or have any information about Elizabeth please call the Johnson County Sherriff's Office at 660-747-5511 or 1-800-THE-LOST.

Her friends and family are desperate for her return.

Lizzy, if you can see this-please call your family, or a friend, or the sherriffs department and let them know you are ok or go to a police department, fire department or hospital.,  If you can't get home by yourself, they will help you. 

Not quite....

Poison ivy is not quite gone, but its finally ALL off my face now, and most of the places where I scratched it open and raw in my sleep are starting to finally heal.  After almost 6 weeks of it, its about time.

And, the lima beans, not quite ready, but getting close.   (See I can where my rings again!!  My fingers were broken out and swollen to the point I went a couple weeks without wearing my wedding rings and that just felt strange).

They just need a little more rain, and little more sunshine and a little more time.  Most of the lima beans I will freeze.  My husband prefers his lima beans frozen over canned.  And, since he is the biggest lima bean consumer of the house, I will grant him that wish.

Any idea where the lima bean originated????

Probably not where you think.

Lima beans have a long history.  They have been grown commercially in the United States since around the 1800's.

But, the earliest record of them, has them being grown in what is now coastal Peru by the Moche people in 2000 BC.  There are pictures of lima beans in their pottery.

Next weeks project

Next, I need to move the last canning spree pile from this week to the basement pantry from the dining room table....Our table is a large (14 foot) heavy harvest table.  Even as large and heavy asmy table is, I was afraid it was going to make the table start to bow.

That is 13 dozen jars filled of food.  There are a couple dozen more that I canned today (green beans, spaghetti sauce and tomatoes), but they are still cooling in the kitchen.  But, at least I got these moved to the top of the basement steps.  That's a start.

We need to get more shelves up--I am almost to the point that we are out of shelves.  And, I am almost out of jars again as well--down to just a few dozen left.

So far, all my jars have sealed (although some of the Main Stay brand from Walmart had to be reprocessed for seal failures).

I also decided that I know the real reason women had summer kitchens in the past years.  It really wasn't to keep the heat out of the house.  I think it was to keep the family out.  While I am canning today....my sterilized jars got moved by dirty hands, my sterilized sink to wash beans in got dirty dishes put in it, husband knocked over a glass and broke it, someone put dirty dishes in the dishwasher that had clean sterile jars in it, a plate of pizza got put on a hot burner, and an empty cat food can appeared on the counter, oh-and someone wanted to boil and egg in with my jar flats....  Next week I am sending them all out when I can.  Of course, when I asked who wanted to help snap beans, no one was to be found....

Green beans

Thursday I read the post on the Farming on Faith blog  about Jamesport MO and told my husband I would like to visit Jamesport, as I had never been.   His response was to take me this morning.  I can say I will be going back, and soon, and have a couple of friends who are interested in going with me.  We spent several hours shopping, and I got pectin and clear jel in bulk, as well as red hot candies to make some spice apple rings.  We also bought some produce, visited the harness shop (next time I will take a suitcase with me to have the leather handle replaced).  Since the bulk store in Cameron closed, I have had no place to purchase my flour and sugars in 50 lb bags.  I found 3 places that sold it in Jamesport--a 50 lb bag for LESS than what Walmart wants for a 20 lb bag.  We also visited a couple of auctions as well.  I was on the hunt for green beans, but found none....

But....daughter #2 lives near Clark MO where the Amish have a produce auction every Tuesday and Friday.  And, she was wonderful enough to go for me.  She got me 3 boxes of green beans and one of tomatoes.  She told me the green beans were 15 pound boxes--but, the one I weighed (after I had already snapped quite a few of them, weighed 22 lbs).  Green beans normally come out to 1 quart per half pound.  The first box has yielded 13 quarts, with the last batch in the pressure canner now.  I am going to have her pick me up some more the next time she comes up.  They received more rain and the produce in that area is more abundant and going much cheaper.  I was told that the same size box in Jamesport was $45 at the last auction.  She paid around $5 I think. (husband paid her, so I am not 100% sure on the price).

If you can green beans--remember they are a low acid food and must must must be pressure canned--not hot water bathed.

This box was actually around 26 lbs. before it was snapped.

All that was left after the ends were snapped off....

Outcome from the first box was 13 quarts.

I also cooked down several pounds of tomatoes that I picked from our garden last night.  I think I will do spaghetti sauce with them.  Since the stove was busy for the beans, I cooked them down in the electric roaster, and it worked out very well.

Kearney MO Mt Gilead School Days Programs for Septemer-November

All events will take place at the historical Mt Gilead school house on Plattsburg Rd in Kearney MO.  You need to call for reservations and for payment info.  Payment is $10 per person.

The School Day programs are traditional 1800s style school days with a focus on different topics.

   September 23 - War of 1812

   October 21 - Oregon Trail

   November 18 - Our Nation's Flag

It is a 4-hour program, 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m., for children in grades 1 - 8. Children will need to bring their own lunch. There is no microwave or stove to heat food.

Advanced reservation and payment are required.  For more information, call the James Farm & Museum at 816-736-8500.

Waiting on the Canner

Waiting on the canner to heat back up for tonight's last load to be canned.  Before next years canning season, I will get a new stove...I say that every year, but I will do it.  This one is the one my husband had in the house when we married.  The burners are sized so that I can only run one canner at a time, and I can only do a 16 quart canner.  It won't heat up my 23 or my 30 gallon ones--the burners are just too small, and according to the book with the stove, if the hot canner hangs over too far, it can crack the glass top.  I have my moms old stove in the basement, but we still have not gotten an outlet to it.  That is also on my list to do before next years canning season--then, I won't be heating up the entire ground floor and taking over the main kitchen.

My ideal stove is an old gas 5 burner stove--1950's style.  I used to have one and loved it.  I could run 2 canners at the same time and still cook a meal.  I have found a couple on craigslist, but someone always beats me to them.  So, the search continues.

As of tonight, I now have canned tomatoes, corn, dill pickles, bread and butter pickles, peaches, peach pie filling, apple pie filling, applesauce, apple jelly, and apple pancake syrup.  This weekend daughter #2 is bringing me a bunch of  green beans from an Amish market.  Those will also be canned.

The fall garden still looks good, so I also will be adding pumpkin pie filling, horticulture beans, peas, carrots, potatoes and lima beans.

Of course there is also the food I dehydrated as well--onions, potatoes, mint, spiced apple rings and more.

When all done, I will head to Aldi and purchase by the case where we are lacking.  The pantry will be all stocked for the next year, except for what we have to get or bake weekly, such as bread, milk, lettuce, eggs and such.

I will also be canning some soups and chilis-but not until it is cooler out.

I must admit, it will be nice to have the kitchen free of apples and peaches now--they were starting to draw in fruit flies, and I am getting tired of always wiping down the sticky it causes.

Tomorrow I also have to take everything canned so far down to the basement pantry.  I have been stacking the jars back into boxes and have piles of canned food on my table, kitchen bench and floor.  Then I can start all over this weekend with the beans.

Apple Jelly

Last night (actually more like very very early this morning) I added 9 pints of apple jelly to the pantry (well actually to the dinning room table as I have not made the trip downstairs with them yet).

I first cooked the apples down and mashed them, then they dripped through jelly bags that I had set all through the kitchen.   Then, the juice was processed into jelly.  It isn't the cleanest adventure....Kind of sticky--I think apple residue could double as kids glue.

What is left will become applesauce, but not until I run into the city to get a couple more bags of sugar (I get mine in 40 and 50 lb bags).  Since we lost Bob's Super in Kearney, I can't find it in large bags at a reasonable price, so as much as I hate it, I have to get it in Liberty or St Joseph at Walmart.

On a poison ivy update, I can now open both eyes, have good vision, and I think I can again venture out into public without scaring young children.  Yes, it was that bad on my face.  I even had a little kid at homeschool coop ask me what happened to my face.  He thought it was mosquito bites....