True Womanhood..

"A true wife makes a man's life nobler, stronger, grander, by the omnipotence of her love 'turning all the forces of manhood upward and heavenward.' While she clings to him in holy confidence and loving dependence she brings out in him whatever is nobles and richest in his being. She inspires him with her courage and earnestness. She beautifies his life. She softens whatever is rude and harsh in his habits or his spirit. She clothes him with the gentler graces of refined and cultured manhood. While she yields to him and never disregards his lightest wish, she is really his queen, ruling his whole life and leading him onward and upward in every proper path. -JR Miller

Cookin' Pumpkin...

This is a reprint from Beth and Grace's blog a few years back.  We do things a little different now. like use a blender instead of a potato masher, the family has grown and we have to put up more than we use to, the blender speeds things up a bit. Also, now that we have moved to a longer growing season we have tried other squash. The Georgia Candy is still our favorite! 

Monday, October 12, 2009

Time for Pumpkin Muffins

For Pumpkin muffins we prefer not to use true pumpkin, it is too stringy. This one is a Georgia Candy Roaster, a squash, we were not sure when we bought the seeds if it would grow here because it requires 120 days and that is a little longer than our season allows. But I am glad we tried because it is a sweet and very good tasting squash. Other squash we use are hubbard, banana, or acorn. We grow tons of pumpkins and squash for our livestock so there is always a lot to choose from.

First you need to cut it in half and scrape out all the seeds. Then put it face down on a rimmed baking sheet and bake at 400*  until it is tender.

Once the squash is cooked all the way through the shell will pull off easily.

cut the squash into chunks then use a potato masher until the squash is creamy.

Then you can use it in any recipe that calls for canned pumpkin. If you have left over squash you can freeze it, we usually don't. I will post my recipe for pumpkin muffins as soon as I get a chance. They make the best breakfast on a crisp morning with a mug of spiced cider.

D.O.A.

Yesterday my washer kicked it... I bawled. I HATE buying appliances. they cost too much, never work like promised and never ever, ever last long at our house...


Shane came home, tried to hide his laughter as I bawled and loads me up in the truck headed for Lowes... Soon we meet "The Salesman"..  if there is anything I hate more than buying appliances it is dealing with salesmen.  He was a young kid, full of energy and he started right in with his spill wanting to tell me all the great features that each machine boasts........ I couldn't stand it so two minutes in to his recital ~ I interrupt~

look... I'm short on time and I only care about clean clothes so if you have one that has a

 'hey mom! these coveralls with two day old crusty cow poop on 'em might need washed.. feature'

or a

 ' I've been trimming the feet of and vaccinating rutting goats all day....man that bill is rank! feature'

or even a

 'Mom!  104* is sure hot to be putting up fence,  do you think you can get the B.O. outta my shirt? feature'.........

Then I'll take it, other wise you might just have to step back and let me look!" 


the way the salesman  paused made me hopeful that they might have my dream machine but as Shane gently cleared his throat and indicated I was being a little harsh ~I realized that my salesman was simply trying to keep his lunch down.....

Shane asks "What is the best value for the money?" I roll my eyes... the best value is me and a rock on the river bank but then again I bet I could even wear out a rock...  it was enough, however, for the salesman to regain his footing and off he leads to find my washer.

We settled on a whirlpool.... I think.  We brought that bad boy home and the very first load it flashes a little light "sensing"...... I stood there flustered "WHAT IS SENSING????" apparently it is like "getting in touch with your inner self" for washing machines.  It takes a whole five minutes to determine if the load is distributed correctly and adjust it if necessary. I'm not impressed.... "Honey, there had better be a way to turn off your little yoga session or this is going to be a strained relationship...NOBODY gets a five minute break around here before they even start working!"

So today I am taking my owners manual with me while the children are at the dentist, we can both be tortured at the same time. But I also, think I will start taking bets... My last washer was purchased  March 13th 2010  after I washed a pocket full of BB's and tore up the older one beyond repair.  So I made it two and a half years this time.... Here is how it will work, each participant kicks in $5 and guesses the date I will have to replace this new washing machine. The one who is closest to the date wins!! And the best part is, the lucky winner will have the privilege of donating all his winnings to me and my quest..... the quest for the long lasting washing machine.=).... if only energizer would build one...

Song of The South

Have you ever wondered how cotton grew.... I have. I know, I have way too much time on my hands. I planted several experimental crops this year to see what would grow and how well it would do. Cotton was one of them. I didn't know this until it was already planted right in the middle of my garden but cotton can be grown as a perennial. Mine will only be an annual this year, because the cows are going to get it. Now before I share my pictures of growing cotton with you here is the disclaimer... * you are not allowed to look at the weeds in the picture. It is a sad, sad day when a body decides due to the drought, she will let the weeds grow in her garden and when she is done she can turn the cows in and they will actually have a few days of green feed. It's pathetic if you ask me but it is what this year has reduced us to.

 Cotton Plant

 Cotton Blossom

 Bee doing all the work

Cotton Boll, when this is dry it will open up and expose the cotton, I will post that picture then.

For I Know....

When we moved to our home in Archer Idaho, Grace was six months old.  The old farm house was severely neglected and required a lot of work on our part. Grace, because of her age, never saw this.  The garden, fruit trees and berry patches grew up around her as she learned to walk and run and climb.  She never saw the fields weedy and grown over because by the time she could see over the window sills we had dug ditches for irrigation and  had animals that kept the pastures trim and neat. She was never part of hauling 5 gallon buckets of weeds out of our garden, by the time she understood weeds we had all but a few annoying handfuls under control. She enjoyed the fire pit but didn't understand the labor that went into hauling rocks and leveling ground that produced the pit.  To put it in a nutshell, she took our farm for granted because it was all she had ever known.

I guess I don't need to say that our move to Missouri put my little blond bombshell into shock.  While her brothers and older sister rejoiced that there was no lawn to mow and ran through the trees discovering all the wild critters (mostly ticks) that only Missouri can grow...little Grace, stood wide eyed and wondered how we would ever survive without raspberry jam and strawberries, huckleberries and apples... a chicken coop or a milk stand. She had entered the desert place. Her dismay grew when we planted a garden and it failed because momma had not yet mastered Missouri dirt. As I planted our garden a second time she made vocal her fears..."We should have brought dirt with us, and probably Mrs. Howell (our neighbor in Idaho) too."

I tried to help her adjust. When the blueberries were ripe on a neighboring farm, I loaded her and Beth up and went down to pick  a few gallons. She raised an eyebrow as I paid the lady at the farm~ we were always the ones who were paid for our berries not the other way around, but she smiled as we laid them on cookie sheets and froze them for the coming winter. When the blackberries were ripe we headed out to our fields with buckets in tow. I tried to comfort her with the verse in Deuteronomy where God allows us to eat from vineyards and olive trees we did not plant and  I explained how God was taking care of us by planting wild blackberries and grapes for us to enjoy. Her dissatisfaction was evident as she replied. "Well, I wish He would 'o talked to me first cuz I'd a told Him to plant the kind without pokies!"

As spring approaches, and with it, the arrival of our orders of fruit trees, berry bushes and bees. I smile. My daughter is entering into the land of plenty. Her days of being down in the valley are coming to a close.  I have already witnessed her joy in gathering the first eggs here. As she squealed with delight and compared the different colors of the eggs, I think back to the summer before we left Idaho when gathering eggs was a "chore" instead of a privilege. I catch her stretching out and giving a contented sigh as she lays in front of the fire with her reading lessons. I listen to her remind me of how hot it was the day we picked blueberries as she sits down to a bowl of them swimming in sugar and cream from her favorite cow, Buttermilk.  I smile because my daughter is also entering into the land of work... she will help us dig holes and pull weeds until our fingers are sore. She will groan about the heat and the bugs. She will know that life is not handed to us but available if we should choose to pursue it.  And she will go after it because she knows the reward that is waiting and will no longer take it for granted.  THAT is living.

So too it is with our walk as a Christian, if it were not for the valleys, the mountain tops would have no joy. If it were not for the valleys, the mountain tops themselves would become work. Our Father, in His loving wisdom,  allows us to walk through valleys. But he does not send us alone nor does he leave us destitute. Behind the thorns, we will find the sweet berries. In the chores we will find joy. And when we think we can go no further He will lift us up and we will breath deep of that crisp mountain air.  We must praise Him whether the path is low or high because in the mixture of both we will find the definition of living.....

For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the Lord, 

thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end.