Not a productive Day

Despite the fact I have tomatoes and a bushel of apples to can....I've not done it today.  About all I have managed to do today has been to eat and sleep.  I missed a training today at the fire department, and I may be missing a family dinner tomorrow.  My eyes continue to be very sensitive to the bright sunlight.

The poison ivy has spread, and the worst of it is on my eyelids.  I have been taking benadryl for it, then I fall asleep.  Today has basically been a series of naps.

With my luck however, I am sure that when bedtime rolls around, I will most likely be wide awake.

I get poison ivy every year, usually more than once.  But this time is by far the worst-mainly because of where it is located.

Poison Ivy and Peaches

My poison ivy has worsened.  I tried to be outside today and it was very very uncomfortable.  It is hot, I sweat, and it really stinks the poison ivy.  I also have it around my eyes, and my eyes are very sensitive to sunlight as of the afternoon.

Gala apples on the tree.  The Jonathans are not ready yet.

This afternoon, Rebecca and I went to Weston to the Red Barn Farm, for a field trip with a bunch of other homeschoolers.  It was hot. Very hot, as in 102 degrees, with heat warnings out.  As a result we didn't stay long.  I was already itching pretty bad, and it got worse being in the heat, and then my eyes really started to bother me.  So, we only picked a few apples and skipped the petting zoo.  But, I found out that the prices of the apples are the same, regardless of if you pick them yourself, or purchase them picked and out of the cooler.  Since it was too hot to pick very many, and I am canning, I went ahead and got a bushel of gala apples and a lug of peaches.  If you go after $2, there are no school groups and admission is free.  For a field trip for younger kids, I highly recommend it.  They also have a nice market-and serve the best apple and peach slushies.

One lug of peaches.  A lug is about 3/4 of a bushel and weighs at least 25 lbs.  Usually its about 50 average sized peaches.  Peaches and grapes are normally sold by lugs, because if they were stacked in a bushel they would smush.  A lug is lower and flatter than a bushel, thus the fruit can't be stacked as deep and smash.

The second out of 4 batches of peaches.  The third is in the canner now.  The husband has been sampling and is impressed with them.  I may have to go back later on for another lug.

First group of cans out of the canner cooling.  I used wide mouth jars on these as some of the peaches were huge.

The apples I will start on tomorrow.  I was going to go to the fire department for school bus training, but with my eyes hurting so badly from light, I don't see how I can be in the sun for 8 hours and see what I am doing.

More Maters....

Picked another 3 gallon bucket of tomatoes early this evening.

"Most" of them are in the canner now.  I held a few out to ripen on the window sill, as they were not quite ripe enough--but close enough that I thought the turtle (who has discovered the tomatoes within the last few days) would find them.  He seems to like to take 1 bite out of several, instead of just eating an entire one.  Not sure if he thinks he is quality control, or a taste tester or just plain ornery, but I wish he would move on to someone elses tomato patch.  I have one jar left over that I will need to run through later.  I DO NOT like the Walmart jars.  My canner should hold 10 pints or 7 quarts.  But, the mainstay Walmart brand are wider at the bottom.  Just enough that they won't all fit in the canner.  I will NOT buy them again.  Also, their flats do not seal as well.  I have never had any jars fail to seal before--until I got these. I can have ball, kerr, mason...and Walmart flats in the same canner at the same time.  If one fails, it will be the Walmart one.

My peas are coming up, and the beans are blooming.  A couple weeks ago I planted a fall crop of peas, lima beans and horticulture beans.  So far, they all look real good.

My cucumbers didn't fair too well.  They gave me 4, then quit.  I think they just didn't like the heat.  Meanwhile, I found watermelon that I didn't plant--and it looks like it will give us a couple.  I think my volunteer pumpkin plant is done--in fact, the vine is gone, not a bit of the vine left, just its pumpkins left behind.

Tomorrow, I plan to get back on the apples again....after I finish the last of the weed eating.  I got the lawn all mowed today, and most of it weeded, but a little is still left (Mowing alone takes over 8 hours-so I ran out of daylight.)

We also have a homeschooling field trip planned for tomorrow, to Weston MO to the Red Barn Farm, where we will meet up with other homeschooling families.  I'll probably get some apples there as well, depending on the variety and their prices.

With any (good) luck...tomorrow will be a little smoother than today....My poison ivy has spread to my eye lids, I accidentally got bug spray in my eyes (yeah-watch which way its pointed before you spray...duh), and almost tipped the big John Deere tractor over (big tractor--not my little tractor mower).  While that isn't the first time I have had it on only 2 wheels, it was the scariest....and, silly mistake on my part--I moved the joystick the wrong way on the front loader and pushed the front wheels up...(however, that is a good way to get it out when stuck in the mud or snow, but I wasn't stuck...)

BOOKSALE

• TEXT BOOK SALE! RECENTLY A SMALL, PRIVATE SCHOOL CLOSED. K-12. This would be great for homeschooler, churches wanting to start a school, libraries, or just to get an extra boost in education. LOCATION - Lees Summit,Mo. Call now for appt. 816-377-8205 or feel free to come by 688 Bayberry Lane Suite 104 Thursday or Friday this week 9-4. please share as we want them all gone. MOST PRICED UNDER $3.00

TV?

Hi there!

My name is Nicole Ford and I'm a Casting Producer with Punched in the Head Productions. We are an Emmy award winning company located in New York City that has produced several shows for networks like MTV, Bravo and Cooking Channel.

We are producing a docu-series on parenting, have several families with different styles of parenting, but one topic that we have not represented on our show is Unschooling. 

This is going to be ground breaking new series and a great opportunity for the right family. I know that we have contacted you before, I wanted to check in to see if you know of a family that you think would be great for this. We are still casting for this topic and won't give up! Please let me know if you have any leads.

 

Thanks for your help!

Best of luck to you,

Nicole

: )

Nicole Ford

Casting Producer

Punched in the Head Productions

(718) 422-0704 ext. 125

nicole.ford@punchedinthehead.com 

guidetoparentingtv@gmail.com 

http://www.punchedinthehead.comtv?

Homeschool Seminar in Columbia MO

You are invited to attend the Sixth Annual Post-Secondary Education Fair for home-schooled
students. This event will take place Friday, October 18, 2013 from 1:00 -– 3:00 p.m. at Woodcrest Chapel, 2201 Nifong, Columbia, MO. This fair is a wonderful opportunity for home schooled students and parents to visit with many different universities, four-year colleges, community colleges, and vocational-technical/trade schools at one time. The 2008 -2012 fairs included 45 different types and styles of schools, not only from Missouri, but also from states as far away as Wyoming and Tennessee. The schools in attendance will showcase their degree and certification programs and the relaxed environment encourages students to converse with the school representatives. The fair not only gives students and parents information concerning schools and their offerings to our home- schooled students, but it also allows home schooled students to explore the variety of opportunities waiting for them in post-secondary education.

We will again offer the mini-seminar, "Preparing your High School Home-schooled Student for Post-secondary Education," led by Cindy Campbell, a home school mom of three. Mrs. Campbell's seminar was much appreciated by the families that attended the past two years. She guides and advises home schooling families as they prepare their home-schooled high school student for college. The seminar will address what subjects and records are needed to assist your students with their college preparation. Mrs. Campbell's oldest child is working as an ASL interpreter and on a master's program to prepare for a career in speech pathology, her middle son is a full-ride-scholarship graduate of Westminster College and is now earning his doctorate at MU on a full scholarship, and her youngest has attended Westminster and is now attending MU to pursue a career in Occupational Therapy.

Hart Career Center, will again this year be offering free of charge, "Education and Career Interest Assessment." This will be offered to each student that would like to take advantage of this service. It is voluntary and only for your personal benefit.

Woodcrest is located in an area that has many types of restaurants close at hand. The church has been very good to us and we would like to respect their building by asking that you eat away from the building and do not carry food/drink into the building. Closed water bottles would be fine to bring.

Field Trip Review: Sea Life, Kansas City MO

This morning, Rebecca and I went to Kansas City to visit the new Sea Life Aquarium.  Currently in science she is studying oceanography, so it fit right in.  It was our first visit.

If you order your tickets offline, you save around $4 per ticket.  You need to order your tickets in advance, to reserve your spot, because if they are sold out, they won't let you in.  I would allow about 3 hours to go through the aquarium, longer if you have small children with you.

It wasn't too much walking, and there were plenty of places to sit and rest if you wanted to.  You can take photos, but flash photography is not allowed.  The flash is harmful to the fish.

 Jellyfish.  There are over 2000 types of jellyfish, only 70 types are poisonous to man.

This star fish was in a tank where you could actually touch some of the crab, shrimp, fish and other salt water creatures.

Proof she was hatched!  Rebecca in a turtle egg....

There are several places where you can actually go under the tank, and come up in a bubble in the center, so that the fish swim all around and over where you are.

This guy, was Rebeccas friend.  He was in a large tank, that actually went through several rooms.  He followed her through each of the rooms, and when she would stop, he would stop.  If she changed directions, so did he.  She got a video of him watching her, that is 15 minutes long.  It was kind of fun to watch.

We got home in time to load up the car and head to our monthly 4H meeting.  Early start and late night, but a fun day.

For our next trip, I think we will head to the Nelson Art Gallery.

Homeschooling Stats

I have seen this article several times in the past.  A home school site on facebook that I belong to, just had a mom post a link to it, and I thought I would share it.

It gives a lot of interesting stats of homeschooling, some history of schooling in the United States, and some test results of homeschooling vs other schooled children.

Check this out. 

Some very important and interesting people in our history have been  homeschooled.

Constitutional Convention Delegates

·  Richard Basseti - Governor of DE ·  William Blount - U.S. Senator ·  George Clymer - U.S. Representative ·  William Few - U.S. Senator ·  Benjamin Franklin ·  William Houston – Lawyer ·  William S. Johnson ·  William Livingston - Governor of NJ ·  James Madison - 4th U.S. President ·  George Mason - Justice of VA ·  John Francis Mercer - U.S. Rep. ·  Charles Pickney III - Governor of SC ·  John Rutledge - Chief Justice ·  Richard D. Spaight - Governor of NC ·  George Washington ·  John Witherspoon ·  George Wythe - Justice of VA Presidents ·  John Adams ·  John Quincy Adams ·  Grover Cleveland ·  James Garfield ·  William Henry Harrison ·  Andrew Jackson ·  Thomas Jefferson ·  Abraham Lincoln ·  James Madison ·  Franklin Delano Roosevelt ·  Theodore Roosevelt ·  John Tyler ·  George Washington ·  Woodrow Wilson Statesmen ·  Konrad Adenauer ·  Henry Fountain Ashurst ·  William Jennings Bryan ·  Winston Churchill ·  Henry Clay ·  Pierre du Pont ·  Benjamin Franklin ·  Alexander Hamilton ·  Patrick Henry ·  William Penn ·  Daniel Webster Military Leaders ·  Alexander the Great  - Greek Ruler ·  John Barry - Senior Navy Officer ·  Stonewall Jackson - Civil War General ·  John Paul Jones - Father of the American Navy ·  Robert E. Lee - Civil War General ·  Douglas MacArthur - U.S. General ·  George Patton - U.S. General ·  Matthew Perry - naval officer who opened up trade with Japan ·  John Pershing - U.S. General ·  David Dixon Porter - Civil War Admiral U.S. Supreme Court Judges ·  John Jay ·  John Marshall ·  John Rutledge ·  Sandra Day O'Connor Scientists ·  George Washington Carver ·  Pierre Curie ·  Albert Einstein ·  Michael Faraday - electrochemist ·  Oliver Heaviside - physicist and electromagnetism researcher ·  T.H. Huxley ·  Blaise Pascal ·  Booker T. Washington ·  Erik Demaine - Popular Science Mag: One of the Most Brilliant Scientists in America Artists ·  William Blake ·  John Singleton Copley ·  Claude Monet ·  Grandma Moses ·  Charles Peale ·  Leonardo da Vinci ·  Andrew Wyeth ·  Jamie Wyeth Religious Leaders ·  Joan of Arc ·  William Carey ·  Jonathan Edwards ·  Philipp Melancthon ·  Dwight L. Moody ·  John Newton ·  John Owen ·  Hudson Taylor ·  John & Charles Wesley ·  Brigham Young Inventors ·  Alexander Graham Bell - invented the telephone ·  John Moses Browning - firearms inventor and designer ·  Peter Cooper - invented skyscraper, built first U.S. commercial locomotive ·  Thomas Edison - invented the stock ticker, mimeograph, phonograph, and perfected the electric light bulb ·  Benjamin Franklin - invented the lightning rod ·  Elias Howe - invented sewing machine ·  William Lear - airplane creator ·  Cyrus McCormick - invented grain reaper ·  Guglielmo Marconi - developed radio ·  Eli Whitney - invented the cotton gin ·  Sir Frank Whittle - invented turbo jet engine ·  Orville and Wilbur Wright - built the first successful airplane Composers ·  Irving Berlin ·  Anton Bruckner ·  Noel Coward ·  Felix Mendelssohn ·  Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart ·  Francis Poulenc ·  John Philip Sousa Writers ·  Hans Christian Anderson ·  Margaret Atwood ·  Pearl S. Buck ·  William F. Buckley, Jr. ·  Willa Cather ·  Agatha Christie ·  Samuel Clemens (Mark Twain) ·  Charles Dickens ·  Robert Frost - Pulitzer Prize-winning poet ·  Charlotte Perkins Gilman ·  Alex Haley ·  Brett Harte ·  L. Ron Hubbard ·  C.S. Lewis ·  Amy Lowell ·  Gabriela Mistral ·  Sean O'Casey ·  Christopher Paolini - author of #1 NY Times bestseller, Eragon ·  Isabel Paterson ·  Beatrix Potter - author of the beloved Peter Rabbit Tales ·  Carl Sandburg ·  George Bernard Shaw ·  Mattie J. T. Stepanek - 11-year-old author of Heartsongs ·  Mercy Warren ·  Phillis Wheatley ·  Walt Whitman ·  Laura Ingalls Wilder Educators ·  Amos Bronson Alcott - innovative teacher, father of Louisa May Alcott ·  Catharine Beecher - co-founder of the Hartford Female Seminary ·  Jill Ker Conway - first woman president of Smith College ·  Timothy Dwight - President of Yale University ·  William Samuel Johnson - President of Columbia College ·  Horace Mann - "Father of the American Common School" ·  Charlotte Mason - Founder of Charlotte Mason College of Education ·  Fred Terman - President of Stanford University ·  Frank Vandiver - President of Texas A&M University ·  Booker T. Washington - Founder of Tuskegee Institute ·  John Witherspoon - President of Princeton University Performing Artists ·  Louis Armstrong - king of jazz ·  Charlie Chaplin - actor ·  Whoopi Goldberg - actress ·  Hanson - sibling singing group ·  Jennifer Love Hewitt - actress ·  Yehudi Menuhin - child prodigy violinist ·  Moffatts - Canadian version of Hanson ·  Frankie Muniz - child actor ·  LeAnne Rimes - teen-prodigy country music singer ·  Barlow Girl - Alyssa, Rebecca, and Lauren Contemporary Christian Music ·  Jonas Brothers - Kevin, Joe, and Nick Performers ·  Jacob Clemente - Broadway Actor    Business Entrepreneurs ·  Andrew Carnegie - wealthy steel industrialist ·  Amadeo Giannini - Bank of America’s founder ·  Horace Greeley - New York Tribune founder ·  Soichiro Honda - creator of the Honda automobile company ·  Peter Kindersley - book illustrator and publisher ·  Ray Kroc - founder of McDonald's fast food restaurant chain ·  Jimmy Lai - newspaper publisher; founder of Giordano International ·  Dr. Orison Swett Marden - founder, Success magazine ·  Adolph Ochs - New York Times founder ·  Joseph Pulitzer - newspaper publisher; established Pulitzer Prize ·  Colonel Harland Sanders - started Kentucky Fried Chicken ·  Dave Thomas - founder of the Wendy’s restaurant chain ·  Mariah Witcher - founder of Mariahs Famous Cookies ·  Daniel Mills - founder of Salem Ridge Press Others ·  Abigail Adams - Wife of John Adams; mother of John Quincy Adams ·  Ansel Adams - Photographer ·  Susan B. Anthony - reformer and women’s rights leader ·  John James Audubon - ornithologist and artist ·  Clara Barton - Started the Red Cross ·  Elizabeth Blackwell - first woman in the U.S. to receive a medical degree ·  John Burroughs - Naturalist ·  George Rogers Clark - Explorer ·  Davy Crockett - frontiersman ·  Eric Hoffer - social philosopher ·  Sam Houston - lawyer; first president of the Republic of Texas ·  Charles Evans Hughes - jurist; Chief Justice ·  Mary D. Leakey - fossil hunter; wife of Richard Leakey ·  Tamara McKinney - World Cup Skier ·  Harriet Martineau - first woman sociologist ·  Margaret Mead - cultural anthropologist ·  John Stuart Mill - Free-market Economist ·  Charles Louis Montesquieu - Philosopher ·  John Muir - naturalist ·  Florence Nightingale - Nurse ·  Thomas Paine - political writer during the American Revolution ·  Bill Ridell - Newspaperman ·  Will Rogers - Humorist ·  Bertrand Russell - Logician ·  Jim Ryan - World Runner ·  Albert Schweitzer - Physician ·  Sir Ernest Shackleton - Explorer ·  Herbert Spencer - philosopher, sociologist ·  Gloria Steinem - founder and long-time editor of Ms. magazine ·  Jason Taylor - plays in the National Football League ·  Mary Walker - Civil War physician; recipient of the Congressional Medal of Honor ·  Lester Frank Ward - "Father of American Sociology" ·  Martha Washington - wife of George Washington ·  Frances E. C. Willard - educator, temperance leader, and suffragist ·  Frank Lloyd Wright - Architect ·  Elijah ben Solomon Zalman - Jewish scholar ·  Balaram Stack - Award winning Surfer ·  Lia Del Priore - Award Winning Gymnast ·  Taylor Gladstone - Ballerina Famous Homeschool Parents    Will Smith - singer, actor ·  Michael Card - singer, songwriter ·  Mike Farris - lawyer and co-founder of Home School Legal Defense Association (HSLDA) ·  Robert Frost - Pulitzer Prize-winning poet ·  Christopher Klicka - attorney and Senior Counsel of Home School Legal Defense Association (HSLDA) ·  Len Munsil - attorney and President of The Center for Arizona Policy (CAP) ·  Paul Overstreet - musician, songwriter ·  Kelly Preston - actress, wife of John Travolta ·  Mike Smith - lawyer and co-founder of Home School Legal Defense Association (HSLDA) ·  John Travolta - actor, pilot ·  Lisa Whelchel - former actress, "The Facts of Life", now a pastor's wife and author ·  Darrell Waltrip - NASCAR Racer  http://homeschoolacademy.com/famoushomeschoolers.htm

Another readers question answered

I got an email from a reader asking me how do I determine how much to can, freeze or dehydrate.

Well, basically, as much as I can!  I wish I could freeze more, but my freezers are full at the moment (we lost one freezer earlier this year-motor went out) and I have not replaced it yet.  I don't want everything in the freezers, because it is too easy to loose food if the power goes out for an extended amount of time, or if the motor goes out.  With that being said, I tend to dehydrate and can more than I freeze.

Food that is dehydrated, takes up less shelf space than food that is canned.

Years ago, I stayed at an Amish Bed & Breakfast in Indiana, run by Mrs Yoder.  (yes, half the Amish of Indiana are named Yoder, but this one was on Scott Road out of Shipshewanna, Indiana--that narrows it down to maybe 40?)  I asked her how she knew how much to can and grow, and I pretty much have gone with her answer.  If you eat corn once a week, then you need to can at least 52 pints or quarts (depending on your family size) to have once serving of corn a week.  If you have a large family, then you may need to allow for 2 quarts of corn per meal, so can at least 104 jars....If you often serve company, then you need to add to that.  Her general rule was 60 quarts of each vegetable and fruit that her family ate once a week as the bare minimum.  Double that if they eat  it twice a week.  Also, don't forget you have both lunch and an evening meal to account for.

I still have my notes from my visit, and her wonderful huge basement pantry included, corn, carrots, peas, green beans, lima beans, pinto beans, tomatoes, greens, potatoes, sweet potatoes, okra, beats, squash, pumpkin pie filling, cherries, peaches, pears, strawberries, applesauce, apple rings, numerous jellies and pickles, relishes, catsup, pickled green tomatoes, salsa, horseradish, pickled eggs, various canned meats, and then she had buckets of nuts and flours, oats, rice, vinegars and oils.  She also grew year around, in a south window of her basement herbs, carrots and greens.  Her basement was made out of thick stone walls, and stayed nice and cool year around.

Sadly, I lost my notes where she had figured how many plants or how many feet of plants to grow per person in your family, plus guest.  She had it down to a science.  She bought very little in the way of fruits or vegetables, although she did do some bartering and trading with other ladies to even out what she needed. She grew apples, but not peaches, so she traded with a lady who grew peaches and not apples.

She also had the rule that no food went to waste.  So, if it was  a good year for something, she canned all she could, because the next year might not be as good, so she would have some to carry over.

This year, I am canning or dehydrating corn, carrots, peppers, onions, tomatoes, mint, apple products, peas, beans, and pickles.  If I come a good deal on bulk produce, I will add to it.

Hardly a dent compared to what she had.   So, this fall, when I am all done, I will make a trip to Aldi and purchase by the case what I need to fill in.  I usually try to get 2 cases a week, and then rotate that through.

Hours and Apples

Our school year started July 1. We have already logged 386 hours.  So far, we have hours in PE (shooting sports, consisting of archery and .22 and later she will add in her hours spent on team volleyball when that begins.); language arts (this semester is mythology); US history (colonial America for this quarter); math; science (Oceanography); Reading (Classics in Literature); American Sign Language; and Lifeskills (this past month she has been learning to dehydrate and can foods).

This evening the twins helped me and we got some crab apples picked.  Normally my green ones are the size of a golf ball, but this year, about half are the size of a normal sized apple.  I have them cooking down now, and tomorrow will either turn them into apple jelly or apple syrup.

Picking them was a little difficult, as usual the best apples were towards the top of the tree.  So, we did it redneck style, and drove a truck up under the tree and stood in the bed to pick.  It worked well, and was safer than using the ladder.

 

My red crab apples are not quite ready to pick.  They are much smaller and usually a lot tarter.

Right now I have 3 stock pans of apples cookign down and it sure does smell good in here.  I got about half of one tree picked, and will pick more after this batched is processed.

Free Homeschool ID Card

Here is the link for a free school ID for homeschoolers.  You simply print this off yourself, and if you want you can laminate it.

Of, if you would rather, you can order a paid hard laminated copy of it.

A school ID card often gets you discounts on admissions and stores and restaurants where they offer a student discount.

You can also order one for yourself as the teacher, for the places (such as Michael's and Office Depot) that offer a teacher discount.

There are a few places that like to argue about homeschooling.  This is one reason why our cards list the name of our school as Countryside Christian Academy instead of saying Homeschooler.

Check out this co-op site--it is free to join and they offer many free things and discounted things for homeschooling families.

A reader also sent in this site as well-- it is another source for a free ID card.

Garden, School, Work...all hits at once

Last week was a busy week.  Much busier than usual.

This year, I have 2 in public school, and one homeschooling.  School started last week for the public schools, and continues for the homeschooler (we go year around--makes for shorter days).  I also did 4 days of childcare, and worked 3 days at Kansas Speedway Fire and Rescue, for a total of over 80 hours. But, my childcare is kind of wrapping up since school started, except for a friend that I may be helping a couple days a week for a few weeks as her and her husband have a temporary scheduling conflict between their work schedules, I will have a few more days at the speedway as we still have the October races to go thru, as well as some other events, but, it will also be winding down for the winter.  Speedway days are usually 12 plus hours each, but they are not every day events, so that works well with my schedule.  It is a fun way to pay for our winter propane, which should be delivered tomorrow.

In between all this, I kept on canning. (not to mention the girls had entries in the state fair last week as well).

This morning, Rebecca went out and picked all the ripe tomatoes, and they are in the canner now, adding 9 more jars to the pantry.

My green crab apples are starting to fall from the trees (I have 2 full of apples, the size of a golf ball or a little bigger).  So, tomorrow I will start in on processing apples.  They will go into apple jelly and apple pancake and ice cream syrup.  The red crab apples usually are a few days to a few weeks behind the green ones, so that will be more to can.

Later, I will try and hit one of the orchards a little further north for some apples for apple sauce, rings and pie fillings.  I found some in the orchard directory for Missouri that I may try to go to.

Acts 2:38

Acts 2:38

A woman had just returned to her home from an evening of church services,
when she was startled by an intruder.  She caught the man in the act
of robbing her home of its valuables and yelled: 'Stop!  Acts 2:38!'
(Repent and be Baptized, in the name of Jesus Christ, so that your
sins may be forgiven.)

The burglar stopped in his tracks.  The woman calmly called the police
and explained what she had done.

As the officer cuffed the man to take him in, he asked the burglar: 'Why
did you just stand there?  All the old lady did was yell a scripture
to you.'

'Scripture?' replied the burglar 'She said she had an Ax and Two 38s!'

Please, if anyone has a high school girl, wanting to play on a Christian volleyball team, based out of Holt MO, call Northern Hills Christian Academy at (816) 320-3204 ASAP. We went to sign one of mine up and so far she is the only one.  Homeschoolers wanted!!!

Free Homeschooling

What to homeschool for free??  All you need is just a few supplies to go along with it, and internet access.

Check out Easy Peasy Homeschool.  It has full lessons, for ALL grades, all subjects.  Check it out at http://allinonehomeschool.com/.

Even if you already have your material, you can use this site for review.  I love the math, as a lot of it is games--if kids are having fun, they will do it longer, and learn more.

Of course, you will still need to track your time, grades and such, and follow the state rules regarding your hours and core time.  This site doesn't do any of that, it just provides the lessons.  For free.

More Pickles

Tonight I put up another 23 jars of dill pickles.  It would of been 24....but....the cukes were good, and I ate few.  I plan on doing another 8-10 jars tomorrow night.  That will give us a total of 4 dozen jars of pickles, 2 of dill pickles and 2 of bread and butter pickles.

I'd like to do a few more dozen if the cucumbers are available.  If I find a good recipe, I might even try some pickle relish as well.
I'm also going to have to work on the pantry area in the basement.  It is going to need some rearranging to get all this put in.

Tomatoes, Corn and Pickles

It has been a busy last few days in the kitchen.  Here are the results from today....

Sliced cucumbers, ready to be turned into bread and butter pickles 

My new Presto canner, paid almost entirely with Walmart Gift Certificates I earned from doing Swaybucks and MyPoints

5 quarts of tomatoes, 1 of tomato juice, 14 jars of corn and 11 of bread and butter pickles.
I would have kept going, but I am almost out of jars (I bought some, just can't locate them-they are in the basement somewhere...but evidently not in the pantry where they belong.)

I also have been drying more potatoes and onions.

I haven't even made a dent it what I want to get done.  Basically, we have eaten the basement pantry down to just a few items.  I like to eat it down, then fill it back up.  Of course I won't can and can't can everything, but will fill in items by the case from Aldi, for things such as olives, mushrooms, tuna, crab meat, salmon, and items not in my garden or found at the farmers market.

More food Put up and more coming on

Today I got another couple quarts of hash browns dehydrated and in jars.

This evening, I got several pounds of tomatoes picked, and the veggie beds and pumpkin patch (is it still considered a patch if it is all one huge volunteer plant??) all watered.

I also got one bed all ready to plant, by using my "claw" in it.  I got the heavy duty one (I have a habit of breaking garden tools, so needed the extra sturdy one).  It is so much easier to use than a hoe or shovel.   In the house I have started a flat of lima beans and of peas, for fall harvest.  The lima beans will be ready to put into the ground very soon-either tomorrow or Saturday.  The peas are several days behind the lima beans.

One advantage of raised beds is that you can extend your growing season. They are easy to cover with plastic to turn them into a greenhouse in the early spring and in the fall when frost threatens.  I just use clear painters plastic and a couple of bent cattle panels that my husband cut for me years ago into 3 foot sections for my frames.

Another question answered: Prepper???

Two  of the questions I was sent, "I see you do a lot of food preservation.  Is your family a bunch of preppers?"  "Why not just buy your food like everyone else does.?"

No, not in the traditional sense of the word.  We prepare, but don't considers ourselves to be preppers.  We prepare for several reasons.

#1.  I don't believe in waste.  So, if I have an over abundance of food now, yes, I can, freeze, and dehydrate it for later use.  Why pay for food later, when I grew it this summer and had plenty??

#2.  Foods we process here at home, regardless of if it is meat (yes, we have done our own cow butchering--didn't like it, but did it) or produce, has no chemicals or added salts.

#3. It taste better to make your own food, and provides a great sense of accomplishment to make something yourself instead of buying it.

#4 WINTER...We live in an area of row crops.  If you are a farmer, you know what happens in row crop country when the snow flies.  If you are a city person, and don't...well, it gets nasty.  We can have a 6 inch snow with wind, and get snowed in.  Why? Because in row crop land there are no buildings, fences, trees to act as a wind break.  So, the nice pretty 6 inch snow ends up being a 4 foot drift across our gravel road.  (I have slowly tried to stop the drifting along the driveway by planting lilac bushes, yuccas and other vegetation to slow down the blowing snow, but it does no good when our road is drifted shut as well).  Needless to say, when the drifts hit...you can't exactly run to the grocery store or feed store.  Often, when the weather is bad, we also loose power.

#5.  Money. We may have the means today, but who knows if we will have the means tomorrow.  For the most part, I am a stay at home mom.  Growing our own food, and doing some of our sewing is a way for me to keep the budget under control.  I consider it part of my job as a stay at home mom to ensure there is always food in the house.

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So, by having our freezers and pantries stocked, extra feed and hay on hand, and water storage, we can survive.  We also have a good stock of board games and books to combat boredom when the satellite TV or Internet go out.
We can cook over the fireplace, over an antique propane kitchen stove, still in place in the kitchen (only needs a propane bottle connected to it) , smoker or grill, or in our RV.

So, we make sure we have heat, water and food available at all times.  I call that being prepared, not being a prepper.  I guess I think of a prepper as they guys with the under ground bunkers and gas masks.

Since we both collect antiques, we don't require electric at all times--if it goes out, we just do it by hand.  It also is a good idea to keep on hand (at least in our rural area) some extra fuel, batteries, and a few solar powered devices, such as lights, phone chargers, and fencers.

Even the Bible states we are to prepare....

 Genesis 6:21 (NIV)
“You are to take every kind of food that is to be eaten and store it away as food for you and for them.”
Proverbs 6:6 –11 (NLT)
“6:6 Take a lesson from the ants, you lazybones. Learn from their ways and become wise! 6:7 Though they have no prince or governor or ruler to make them work, 6:8 they labor hard all summer, gathering food for the winter. 6:9 But you, lazybones, how long will you sleep? When will you wake up? 6:10 A little extra sleep, a little more slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest—6:11 then poverty will pounce on you like a bandit; scarcity will attack you like an armed robber.”

 1 Timothy 5:8 (NIV)
“If anyone does not provide for his relatives, and especially for his immediate family, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.”

Proverbs 27:12
“A prudent person foresees the danger ahead and takes precautions. The simpleton goes blindly on and suffers the consequences.”