The word for this picture is: UNUSUAL.

 Lately I have been basking in the peace of freedom.
Freedom from the fear of men - from fearing how others perceive and value me.

Freedom to know my family best
and then serve them accordingly.

Freedom to decide what we eat
(chocolate covered cherries?)
and when
(10am breakfast?)

Freedom to make oatmeal every morning 
or something different every day of the week.
Freedom to bake freshly-ground whole wheat bread
or buy corn dogs and french fries for dinner.

Freedom to wear rubber boots all year
... even with skirts
and jammies all day during the Winter
...if I want to.

Freedom to wear a LITTLE blush,
big dangly earrings,
and a silk scarf
...without any place to go.
and just because I can.

Freedom to make another new schedule
only to throw it out before the weeks end.

Freedom to design the perfect chore list
only to discover that the list wasn't the problem
...when it came to actually getting the chores done.

Freedom to buy another kind of pencil
another bucket for organizing pens
one more binder,
copy book,
or personal sharpener
because it's okay not to know what will work
until I try it
...sometimes over and over again.

Freedom to start our school at the same time every morning of the week
...except one.
That "one" is subject to change on my whim.
...and sometimes I change it up every day.

Freedom to use Saxon Math, Abeka Math, or Math U See.
Or maybe just write problems on blank binder paper
and count loose change.

Freedom to not call "playing in the snow" Physical Education, but
...plain ol' "playing in the snow".

Freedom to be a Round Peg
when most the holes are square.

Freedom to collect clutter
and enjoy it.

Freedom to like bright colors 
and not shades of gray or off-white.

Freedom to make mistakes 
and laugh at myself
...and let others laugh at me too.

Freedom to know that God does not exist in a box,
I can't put Him in one
and He has given me His salvation
precisely
so that
I 
can be
FREE in HIM!

.......................................

Can I say again; How unusual to see all my children 
huddled around the table 
doing their various works and creations  
at the same time!!!

........................................


Oh lovely friends~

My household is dynamic.
ever-changing.
I set many goals;
many come to no account.
I often forget to notice the few things
we are succeeding at!
What a shame.

Your house is dynamic too
and totally different than mine.
You are succeeding in ways I envy,
and shouldn't forget to look there
instead of at the places where you feel you are drowning. 

You are FREE too, to be a friend of God
because of His grace and salvation
and  by His power!
Never use someone elses success for your measuring stick.
Only worship HIM 
with what you have, 
...and what you broke
...and what He has restored.

True Freedom is found only in Jesus.
Rest there with me.

Really? You want to know?

Yesterday was idyllic.

There was warmth and light,
Snowfall and a Moose visit.
Candles,
Cookie decorating,
Popcorn for lunch.
Drawing and sewing projects to engage in at leisure.
Legos...
 

I worked on Bryce and Carolina's Christmas Stockings;
and tidied here for the addition of cousins and some new neighbors for dinner.

It was peaceful and perfect and a Holiday in every sense.

 In fact, the last week (and hopefully the next) are represented by this serene picture.

I tried an Artisan bread recipe that actually turned out

And we built a gingerbread house.

Some critters discovered the Nativity

And others snuck into the house to play where it's warm.

But before you think you'd like my life,
I should probably round out your perspective a little bit.

My beloved husband and best friend has had to travel a lot lately.
He has provided for us in every necesity, but being our first Winter in the mounatins
and living more rustic than those living with conventional power and plumbing...
it's been a daily adventure of learning the quirks and techniques,
and also all the little hang-ups of Winterizing.

I mean,  firewood is a good start,
but what about discovering which pipes need insulating against freeze?
Well now we know.
How's our custom composting toilet working out?
I will spare you the details, but we've learned something about that one too.
There's more,
but I won't digress.
Suffice it to say, we've been learning a lot of these lessons without our capable dad.
Uncle Char- my "little" brother is near at hand, but I save him as one hoards a Wild card -
to be used only when in dire straits.

Many of these days start by going below the house to turn on a water valve
so I have water in the sink.
For the last 5 or 6 weeks I've been without hot water except what I heat on the stove.
And if the pipes have frozen (as was the case again today)
I have to fill pots of water (or I use my Wild card for that) outside and bring them in
for drinking and for dish and hand-washing.
I will impose on my brother up the hill once or twice a week for a shower,
but since it involves leaving the kids at home
(because I am not willing to drive up a curvy, unplowed, driveway), that's often enough
and then at night, and I will walk back home.
In the dark.
Singing Christmas carols with gusto!
(And trying not to slip and slide back down the hill).

There IS a cookie under there...... somewhere.

Before bed, I stoke the fire,
Shut off the generator which I sometimes run late in the day
to power my computer, a movie or two, the internet connection...
and Christmas tree lights.
Then I turn that water valve off,
remembering to flush water out of the system by yet another valve
before turning in.

 That's mostly it,
but just those couple unusual chores add a unique twist to my daily life.
And it sometimes feels like a lot when my hero isn't here to rescue his damsel.
Distressed or not,
I am frequently in need of rescue ;-D

But then again,
it's amazing to find out just what I'm capable of,
to find out how much my children pitch in,
and to train and correct my perspective
so that I can embrace even harrowing experiences as...
well,
as adventures, and memory-making.

And they are. We are having a GREAT time,
being together
laughing
(occasionally crying - and it's mostly me who's the cry-baby)
...and making memories.

SO.
You can have a piece of this pie if you want,
 Just remember I didn't fill you in on the "IN-House Outhouse"

This life is a mixed bag that any of you gals could handle,
but would you WANT to.

As for me,
I have chose my lot.
And I am exceedingly content and fulfilled in it.
If you want a piece of the warmth and candlelight;
the snowflakes, moose visits, and mountain quiet........

You'll have to get your own.

I'm not trading.

Rain-Rain DON'T Go Away... *pretty please?*

 

Beautiful gray day with rain!

So MUCH can be accomplished in the watery-wet, but it's a matter of perspective.  

Snow I really don't know personally.  We are friends only lightly at present - more like acquaintances.  

I met it with pleasure through a large picture window in Colorado, 

when the indoor temperature was regulated by a thermostat.

And then again with a smile and a nod as I exited my van from a dry garage 

and pulled onto a snow plowed city street.

I loved it once upon a time as one loves a distant second cousin

which you meet only once every several years -

that was when my dad faithfully took mom and me, and my other siblings 

to cut the annual Christmas tree in COLD, wet, hard Sierra Nevada snow.

But this...

This will be an experience with snow that either makes me know and love it,

or have met it and not been sorry to see it go... in the Spring.

...hopefully.

But I am going to live with it, so I determine to love it.

The End.

This snow will keep me in short, dark, days which feel long (I think).

Indoors with 6 active children.

And for the present, I will be thankful for one Ron.

The-Toilet-guy who says he'll come clean my outhouse...

...even in the snow (assuming he can get up here),

because it looks like I'll have the chance to use my outdoor commode in less than desirable weather.

And so

My ode to rain.

All weekend while my favorite man was home, the Lord graciously held off the snow

(which I expect to arrive at any moment).

That meant that AJ provided wood to fill our new woodshed.  

3 cords are stacked neatly under shelter, and 3 more await two hard-working boys.

AJ also dug the trench and mulch pit for our composting toilet 

- it's not in service yet, but one big baby-step closer to done!

Besides those two things (which took quite a lot of time), Dad took his big fellas deer hunting.  

This was quite a hike in the cold, but thankfully again, not through snow.  

It was a long-awaited "first" for our boys and while they returned home with little more than cold noses and animating stories, it was a half day of time used well.  

It IS called "hunting" after all.

I was so glad they went.  

They DID it!

One might wonder at the warm welcome I sing to a rainy gray day, 

but it's one more day for last-minute Holiday errands.

One more chance to get the last firewood under cover.

One more day I don't have to worry about getting to the outhouse in snow.

I don't really know what that will look like logistically, 

but I'll be sure to let you know when experience fills me in.

I hope we can tramp a through for a while.  

Then there could be an icy path?  Might have to move our tramp.

I suspect there could even be boys shoveling a path.

Thank you LORD for boys!

I'm serious.

This would be a very different tune if it were me back in the days of 4, 5 and under. 

6 under 10 is another matter entirely!  

Between keeping my fire going and digging paths through the snow to my outhouse 

(notice I refer to it as mine?)... 

I think they will be earning manly privileges of hot chocolate or tea in the middle of the day.

Maybe NO on the coffee yet.  We DO have to spend quite a bit of time cooped up indoors together ;-)

So today... rain.

Tomorrow?  Who knows.

But I'm pretty certain that when the snow arrives,

we'll be in love.

...At least for a while...

***

What Have We Here?

PINK Snowshoes?

Now WHO could those be for?

Even better... guess who spotted them in Sportsman's Warehouse?

"Ooooh DAD! Look at THOSE! PINK Snowshoes!!!" (I probably could have done to add a few more exclamation points)

So WHAT did Dad do? He went right over and looked at the price tag, discovered that these sweet little things were marked down to half the original price, and were the last pair...

Then he promptly displayed his weakness for pink by putting them into the cart!

No kidding, that's just how it happened, only... the pink he has a weakness for, isn't the color of the straps on the snowshoes! edited on 3/16/09 to clarify: (... but the pleading eyes of a pink-clad, dimple faced little girl, who could resist?)

Note: For those of you visiting from DL, there is no innuendo intended here. I apologize for naively using the word pink to describe my daughter who loves that color. Any perverted impressions you gathered are purely your own invention.
On a side, I see that some of you think I am a walking contradiction. I hope not. The Jesus I know has seen past my sin to love me in spite of my issues, and loved me enough to pull me out of that mire.

Religion? No.
Jesus? Yes!
And He loves you too... pink or no pink. That's the truth!

Apples...

It was apples tonight. We dipped them in a combination of pineapple and lemon juice first. I'll let you know if they turned out!
We also made ready some more jerky meat - it's marinating tonight, and I actually made the marinade from scratch: Soy sauce, lots of fresh garlic, maple syrup, and apricot jam. I'll let you know how that one comes out too:-)

AJ and the kiddos played with the new vacuum packer and much fun was had by all! Boy! I will say again, how LITTLE the food looks once dried! Especially vacuum sealed!
I guess I didn't take pictures, but maybe in the next day or two.

Oh! I almost forgot... I got some gifts from my honey tonight. The children helped him wrap them, and at dinner they sang "Happy Birthday" to me (even though it is NOT my birthday) - quite fun!
When on his travels last week he went to Barnes and Noble. This is what he bought me:-)
And... Viola!













Some really great resources, and that top one has some beautiful hand-drawn artwork of various fruits and vegetables in it. It's worth opening just for the eye pleasure!

Thanks my Darlin'!! Thanks for thinking of me:-)

A Happy Me!

OH! I am SO THANKFUL! I am feeling a little bit like my normal self today! (Tired but not ill)
AJ arrived home last night, and it must have been a tonic. He worked from home today and it is just too wonderful for words to have him within close proximity:-)

Now, to blow all your socks off, I managed to putter away on a couple projects while I was sick. I can't tell you how... I just did. Some combination of whisking into the kitchen in a moment of feeling tolerable, and whisking back out at the first sign of feeling faint. I'm sure the projects would have been completed faster in non-sick time, but I really wanted to accomplish something (ANYTHING) while AJ was out of town.

So... we dehydrated some carrots. Zachary scrubbed down about ten pounds of carrots, and I sliced them, following up with a five minute blanch (this is all new to me). Supposedly blanching some vegetables (the ones with a longer cooking time) stops the enzyme action that causes loss of flavor, and preserves color amongst other things.
We dried ours overnight at 125 degrees Fahrenheit.






































There is quite a lot of scrubbing, slicing, blanching, and placing on trays for ten pounds of carrots.
Do you know what ten pounds dehydrated to?

This:














And this is a gallon Zip Lock bag. I am sure there can't be one pound in here!



















The first lesson I learned:

Dehydrating is one of the most
UN-rewarding looking accomplishments I have tried yet!

Lesson 2:

Those little guys will expand,
so don't go putting a cup of dried carrots in your vegetable soup
- it might equal five or seven pounds of carrots in the end!

Lesson 3:

Buying a pound of dried vegetables doesn't look so expensive anymore.
Seven dollars for 1 lb. of dried carrot
seems pretty darn reasonable to me! (Azure Standard)

After the carrots, it was time to try something else. Jerky.
Pick a lean piece of meat, freeze partially making it easier to slice in uniform size, and marinate in some concoction overnight.
Blot each piece so it is not dripping, place on trays and dry for roughly eight hours at 145 degrees Fahrenheit.

I absolutely can't believe it, but it actually turned out! I cheated on the marinade and bought something non toxic off the store shelf, but next time I'll make my own.
The meat didn't shrink up as much as the vegetables, and AJ says it's the best jerky he's tasted!
So good. Now I need to vacuum pack it before it all disappears!
















So those were the triumphs of Momma bug this weekend even amidst feeling awful.
It is true that we are also sprouting alfalfa seeds which are slowly making their debut.
And it is also true that I tried making bread, and it was a failure. It didn't' rise, that's how I know it was a failure. Some people call their bread similar in weight to a brick, but a brick would have been light compared to the loaf this would have made if I had tried to bake it. Thankfully I was smart enough to dump it before wasting time trying to fix what was irreparable.
I will try again. Really I will! ;-)

For now I am pretty satisfied with my dehydrating education. FYI, I used a book called
"Preserve It Naturally" which was very helpful and informative.
And my Honey is home. So all in all, I couldn't possibly be happier!

Another Thing Worth Bragging About

I know it's lopsided.

I know it's browner on one end.

I realize that the frosting is full of lumps.















But Friends! I am AMAZING!
I baked this cake in a Barbecue!!!

And then made the frosting without my electric mixer.
(I doubt that the pioneer women would be impressed, but then they probably don't read my blog).
To date, I've made:
*biscuits,
*cornbread,
*and brownies.
I'm thinking of writing a cookbook:

Backwoods BBQ Baking
By Momma Bug

Copyright 2028

(2028 because I probably won't get around to writing it for another 20 years)

It will be a best seller though, because you all might decide to join the ranks of the backwoods hillbilly type like myself, and you will have to know how to utilize your resources.
By the time I publish that book, here are some other titles I might consider:

*What You Can Wear for a Week
(without smelling stinky)

*When Darkness Falls
A "How To" book on the finer points of
cooking dinner in a dimly lit kitchen,
finding your flashlight once you can't see,
and keeping wild animals at bay when your trip to the outhouse can't be postponed til daylight.

*Becoming a Mountain Momma
How one Momma learned that enjoying life, doesn't depend on circumstances

And I think this is just the beginning of my list. I have a feeling that creativity is boundless here!
I might even get better blog stats if I start posting some of the content that might be found in these future books:-)
Anyhow...
The cake was really good!
(In case you wondered)

Here We Go a'Herbing!

I was completely enthralled with all the lush green landscape this Summer, but I never dreamed there would be this much yellow-gold!













Where I come from in California, our Fall is wet and grey/brown.
The colorful trees and shrubs there are mostly foreign to the area.
I've never lived where the native trees and shrubs are so breath-taking!













The bigger Little Bugs took me walking down the lane this afternoon.































First we scouted out some Oregon Grape.

The berries are ripe at this time of year after a couple frosts increases their fructose.













They're not especially sweet, but high in vitamin C; and the root of the Oregon grape has some very valuable medicinal properties which can be easily utilized for home use.
We tried to poke around in the dirt for the root, but never got to the bottom of the plant, it and decided to do a little more homework before getting in over our heads.

While we were out, I had intended for us to pick a bag full of Plantain, but some of us got side-tracked by a forest of fern (which was perfect for making tunnels through), and some Snowberries.













Others of us... got distracted with the camera!

















The Snowberries we discovered, are edible but called "a famine food when all else fails" and are not too tasty (as might be suggested by "when all else fails" -and see below).

















Apparently they have some medicinal uses as well, but the boys found that they made great ammunition for blow fights, and I'm pretty sure this is the use that will be more popular at our house!
(I think the inspiration must have been Uncle Char's marshmallow guns, minus gun, substitute Snowberries for marshmallows - THANKS UNCLE CHAR!)

















And a day like this is MY KINDA SCHOOL!

Survival Math: 1 = 0

As frequently heard around our mountain retreat:

"One is none,

two is one,

and three is even better!"


What in the world is THAT supposed to mean?

That is the preparedness Maxim for: "Buddy, you'd better have a back-up for that much-needed item in case it doesn't work when you are depending on it!"

Originally when I heard this, it sounded to my skeptical ears like an excuse from a man buying two (or more) of any or all his most cherished manly possessions!
-you know,
One generator might not be "enough".
One knife might not be "enough".
One hunting rifle might not be "enough" and so on...

I have since learned to appreciate the value in this simple saying.
For instance when both the gas lanterns were incapacitated, I was VERY glad we had diversified our fuels, and had kerosene lanterns to fall back on!
Besides, who doesn't benefit from:

One ten-pound bag of chocolate chips might not be "enough"?

The boys have become savvy to the many uses of this "one is none..." business, and I'm hearing
survival math pretty often lately thanks to their dad.
But if you've never heard "one is none...", here's a saying you may be more familiar with:

"The apple doesn't fall far from the tree!"
And that's the truth! :-D



















(And here's why I love the new hats!)

Week #7

Sprouting Grain

Part One
We recently bought some Hard Red wheat for the purpose of learning to make our own bread.
The grain mill we ordered hasn't arrived yet however, and the children and I are getting anxious to try doing something with the wheat berries!
Yes, we even ate some of those hard little buggers un-milled and uncooked!

While we are waiting for our mill to arrive, we decided to look into sprouting our wheat.
There is much information available on this subject, and at the bottom of this post I will give a short list of links to wet your appitite.
If this idea is new to you, please take time to check out these sites to learn for yourself.
I am not much for regurgitating information, but I will tell you that I was impressed by what I read!

Especially in light of preparing for an emergency where my supplies might be limited, I was excited to find a means of providing vitamin rich, living food that would meet my family's nutritional needs, as well as filling tummies.

Here are our dry wheat berries just out of the sack we bought them:













Here are our berries being soaked for the first eight to twelve hours:

















Here they are after their second rinse:













Finally here are our wheat berries in day two, with little root tail sprouting out!













So far, we think we prefer them with minimal sproutage.
*I have added them to a sandwich (specifically mayo on bread with alfalfa and wheat sprouts, and
a slice of avocado)
*We have added several Tbs. as a salad topping.
*The children have eaten a Tbs. or so beside their apple slices and Carrots and peanut butter. (they also tell me that the sprouts are good dipped in peanut butter, but I have no idea how they managed that feat - these things are rather small to get a hold of one at a time!!)

We have some other ideas how we might eat our sprouts, but we are still in the experimenting faze. We'll let you know what we like as we learn by trial and error.

Here are some links you must look at!

http://www.efn.org/~sundance/Sprouting.html

http://www.herbsarespecial.com.au/free-sprout-information/wheat.html

http://www.kurtsaxon.com/foods002.htm

http://www.sproutpeople.com/seed/print/wheat.html

http://www.doctoryourself.com/sprouting.html

This is just to get you started! I hope you get as excited about sprouting as I am!

Week # 6

My husband has a desire to prepare for the future by putting together some supplies that might help our family in the face of a disaster, be it a natural disaster of some sort, economic, or something else.
I hope to be able to elaborate on this in the future, and possibly post our adventures in this journey, but for the sake of keeping this Home-keeper post short, I will tell you what I learned last night when I was looking to order sugar.

What's What?
Now, everyone knows that if you are going to have a survival kit the most important thing you wouldn't want to be without is SUGAR, right?
(Please tell me you read my sarcasm! ;-P)

This post isn't actually about sugars, but rather a little trivia I learned about Sugar cane in particular.
We have been buying SUCANAT in bulk form from Whole Foods market.
I bought it to try on our oatmeal, and it has become a hit in our home for this purpose!
All I knew about SUCANAT, is that the label professes it to be dehydrated cane juice; it is light brown and somewhat clumpy granules, and has a taste similar to brown sugar.
All I've used it for to date is dressing up a boring bowl of cooked oats, but I am interested to find out how it does as a refined sugar substitute.

Last night when I determined to order some Sucanat, I quickly became confused when offered the choice of that or dried CANE JUICE.

Isn't dried cane juice the same thing as dehydrated cane juice? Not only that, but there is also TURBINADO which is also from the juice of the sugar cane!

Here's the trivia I learned in brief summery:

SUCANAT (pronounced soo-ka-not) is the first sugar coming from the sugar cane as soon as the juice is dehydrated - basically cane sugar in it's purest form. Because it hasn't been refined yet, it retains the molasses within, and has a stronger flavor, and higher moisture content.

TURBINADO (or "RAW SUGAR") is cane sugar refined once (I believe). It is lighter in color than Sucanat, a bit more mellow in flavor, and still retains some molasses, but not much.
When I've seen it in the stores, it has a granulated texture that doesn't clump, but is much larger crystals than traditional white sugar.

DRIED CANE JUICE (or cane sugar) is the most refined of these three, and has little or no molasses in it, and is mostly sucrose.
I read that while it's more expensive than traditional refined white sugar, some people prefer the taste.

Last night I decided to buy Sucanat because I am already familiar with the taste, and have one (small, but much loved) use for it.
I was also encouraged by the fact that it is a sugar that's still in it's original state.
I'm not saying whether one sugar is "healthier" than another, I just want to stay away from the refined as much as possible, and I think this choice will serve my purpose well.

The next thing to research and experiment with is Sucanat's substitution for white sugar in recipe's we like to use.
If push comes to shove, we'll use the good ol' fashioned poison, er - stuff!
Sometimes when you want a good cookie, there's no point gaining in health what you lose in taste! ;-P

Here are some sites I found useful:

Natural Sweeteners

Guide to Natural Sweeteners

And of course the informative Wise Geek site.
To use it, just type in "What is ..." and fill in the blank with something like "turbinado".