Opening Day April 24, 2010!

All those going fishing slept on the living room floor last night, as is custom. Daddy woke them up at 5:45am and everyone eagerly got up and dressed. Warmly. It was not a friendly morning. It was dumping buckets and temps in the low 40s. I sat in bed worrying about them staying warm, especially Jessie and G-pa in the canoe. At least the boat has a tarp.

Daddy took Jake, Dan and Em in the boat. They were wet, cold and happy as a could be.  Danny baked 163 chocolate chip cookies last night(I told him that was overkill) and had them labeled on the counter for the morning

“Fishing Cookies!!!!!!!”

 

They left early to come warm up by the woodstove but not without catching 20 beautiful trout between them. Jacob limited out with 5, Dan  3, G-pa 4, Jess 2, Em 2 and Daddy 4.

Plenty for starting the canner ;) 

Gracie Dresses Herself!

 

  “Mamma! Mamma! Yook! I dress myself!”

2 dresses, her brothers blue onsie and a pink shirt – Priceless.

Red Sorrel – Eat Wild!

I said, don’t roll your eyes at me. So we have this curiosity of wild foods this year. Let me state that the Lord is providing wonderfully through my husbands job, we are doing fine…really….it is just a *thing* I have this year. Blame it on the cattails horn root last fall. It is AMAZING how many plants are edible around us. Why not take advantage of free food? Chickweed is a staple at our table now and we all learned how to eat a raw nettle leaf withOUT getting stung…o.k. some of us did.

Today I received a book titled Wild Harvest – Edible Plants of the Pacific Northwest, Jessie snatched it away from me and off she went. Our new plant of the week is Red Sorrel(sour weed, sheep’s sorrel) – Rumex Acetosella. It is everywhere in my weed beds…eh-hem…I mean my overgrown flower beds. Here among the irises we found a plethora of Red Sorrel.

 

I called the children together and we identified the plant and its characteristics, then everyone plopped a leaf in their mouth.

It was zingy! A lemony, huckleberry flavor. Lot’s of zip and pizzazz. A must in our chickweed salad..it is like chickweeds eccentric sister. With the addition of Red Sorrel, our salad will not need dressing anymore. Yum.

 

So, what was their reaction? Pure bliss.

Muddy Day

One muddy hole from construction trucks + Washington rain + 4 children = Lots of energy spent and washing to be done.

Natural Homemade Deodorant Recipe

My friend Sarah posted this on her blog after reading about it herself at the link below. Thanks Sarah!

Did you know that nearly all commercial deodorants contain aluminum salts, usually aluminum chlorohydrate? Manufacturers like aluminum because it effectively suppresses perspiration but the metal has a dark side once it makes its way into our body. Aluminum toxicity It has been linked to cancer, Alzheimer’s Disease, and other health issues. It is especially important for women to take thought to the harmful aluminum materials in deodorant as it has been linked to breast cancer, being that the breast tissue extends up into the armpits.

Most commercial deodorants also contain parabens, which act as preservatives and stabilizers, but which like aluminum can be absorbed into the skin. Parabens mimic estrogen, and though the amounts we absorb on a daily basis might be small, over time, the accumulation can be significant.

Did you know you can make your own wonderful effective deodorant with just a few completely natural ingredients? This recipe is awesome! It’s even edible!(A saved call to poison control, huh Dawny?) It is frugal and very effective! It smells wonderful, but very faint. For years I tried every natural alternative on the market without much success. It has been successfully tried by hundreds of readers! Coconut oil is an all natural oil that has wonderful anti-bacterial and immune boosting qualities. It can effectively nourish and moisturize the skin. This recipe is also very frugal, costing less than a dollar per batch.

Ingredients:

6-8 Tbsp Coconut oil (solid state) (Coconut oil is known for being anti-viral, antibacterial and anti-fungal)
1/4 cup baking soda
1/4 cup arrowroot powder or cornstarch (arrowroot is preferred)

Directions:

Combine equal portions of baking soda & arrowroot powder.
Slowly add coconut oil and work it in with a spoon or hand blender until it maintains a firm but pliable texture. It should be about the same texture as commercial deodorant, solid but able to be applied easily. If it is too wet, add further arrowroot powder/cornstarch to thicken.
You can either scoop this recipe into your old deodorant dispensers or place in a small container with lid and apply with fingers with each use.

Makes about 1 cup. This recipe lasts about 3 months for two people with regular daily use. I store it in a small Tupperware container with the recipe written on the outside so I will never loose.

For more info and a video tutorial click here .

I've never used anything other than commercial deodorants and after trying this I am hooked. Not only is it next free, it works....really! Why is it I tend to discount *natural* alternatives to commercial products? I am glad I tried this. There is just so much breast cancer in women today and with the heavy use of chemicals right on the breast tissue, it does concern me. I am glad I have this to start my children out right for their health. Give it a try!

Why can't animals...

just birth naturally? I mean really. My goat gave me a hard time and a big bill when she should have just done it right the first time. I mean, I did it with 7 children, why can't she do it with 3?

Then comes my neighbors dogs today. She is going on vacation and has two dogs due soon, one needs to be watched(Peaches), one doesn't(Sarah). 8am Peaches arrives to stay the day while we watch over her. 1pm my neighbor Brenda stops in to tell me Sarah is whelping. I run over to check on her and there she lays with a warm dead puppy. I tried and tried to no avail. Then I waited to grab the next one....and waited..... and waited. Nothing. Sarah was supposed to be the easy one! 3pm comes and I tried to manipulate the puppies into the birth canal but she just will not contract, her body has decided that is it. I call her poor owners who are in Chicago by this time and we decide to call the vet. The local vet says it sounds like inertia but he is understaffed and told us to run to the emergency clinic in B-ham. I look at my seven children and think how I am going to pull this off, but thanks to my WONDERFUL daughter who promised she could tackle them all, off Jacob, I and Sarah went.

FINALLY at 8:30pm they have Sarah prepped and ready for a c-section but warn me that the puppies are probably not viable(several times). I felt them all moving right before they took her away and told them I know they are alive and I want them out that way...in a nice tone of course. Meanwhile, I prayed. Please let my neighbor have enough healthy puppies to pay for this vet bill!

8:45pm there is a squeaky cry coming from the back room and we all erupt with clapping. The C-sec was a success, 5 living healthy puppies(3m/2f).
9 pm I can't take Sarah home for two hours so I decide to go shopping. I get in my truck and the phone rings, it's Jessica. Peaches just had a puppy in her dog crate in our living room. O.k., now I am coming home. 9:25 Phone rings again and it's Jessica saying Peaches started having another puppy and it came backwards. It is stuck half out and it has been there for a while. I tell her she has to pull the puppy out gently. She protested a tad because of the yuck, but then she bucked up and did it. She tore the sack and found it wasn't moving or breathing. I felt like a 911 operator, lol! She was upset and I told her to get a dry washcloth and start rubbing him rather roughly. She did that for about 40 seconds and said he started moving. She did it! He began to breathe and she kept up the stimulation. 9:35 I get home in time to watch Peaches deliver her third and last healthy pup. We clean them up and bring them over to my neighbors house to set them up in their heated plush kennel. 10:45 Jess and I run to B-ham to pick up Sarah. Leave B-ham at 12:05am. Arrive at her kennels at 12:35 and need to bottle feed all five puppies as mamma was beat and didn't have her milk in yet. Feeding 5oz puppies is nothing like goat kids, I'll tell you. These whimpy things took forEVER to eat, but it was oh SO fun. Even after raising over 100 puppies myself, I have never bottle fed a puppy. I am too impatient for that and choose to tube feed, cuz it's fast and all the milk gets from point A to point B guaranteed. ;) We come home at 1 something and go to bed. What a day. And you know what the funny part is? I thrive on this, it was so fun to run around fixing problems, I really enjoyed it. Memories. Good night!

Proverbs 27:23-27

Proverbs 27:23-27


"Be thou diligent to know the state of thy flocks, and look well to thy herds.

For riches are not for ever: and doth the crown endure to every generation?

The hay appeareth, and the tender grass sheweth itself,

and herbs of the mountains are gathered.

The lambs are for thy clothing, and the goats are the price of the field.

And thou shalt have goats' milk enough for thy food, for the food of thy household,

and for the maintenance for thy maidens."

How to eat on a budget…

This is for you, Ruth, after we talking about how to eat on a budget. ;) We have been waiting for the lamb’s quarters to come up and have not seen any yet. I did , however, notice a beautiful bunch of chickweed(stellaria media). I picked some and smelled it, then tried a little bit careful so no one saw me. It was quite yummy. I want to get acquainted with more edible plants in our area, just for fun. Jessica made a lovely pine needle tea a few nights ago from our Western White Pine for dinner and it was delish, very high in vitamin C, but I am sure I will blog that later. That leads me to chickweed. It grows everywhere in the US, right now it is up full force and blooming with tiny white flowers. We found plenty for a big salad bowl of it. Even though my hubby looked at me with one eye brow raised, he put up with me and munched a little for dinner, then he took a helping! The children even said they PREFER it over common lettuce.

It really does have great flavor, is pretty, easy for anyone to find and best of all…it is FREE! It will be on our table regularly. Yum. Try it!

Our 2010 Petting Zoo was great. We had 32 visitors, hokey pete! Will blog about that soon, too, but family comes first. ;)