Saturday on the Homestead

-
 

 


Well even though winter is just starting I am so happy to say we are finally thawing out!  The temps went above 32 and now everything is beginning to melt into one big soupy mess..  But hey at least we can get out and about now.  Emily and Leanne dug out her car yesterday..  no easy feat.  Today I think she is dying for a shopping and Starbucks fix with her sisters.  Cabin fever is alive and thriving around here!  LOL..   


Today I will be at home.  I have soap business stuff to catch up on and a house to clean and food to make.  We feasted on Christmas Eve dinner and then leftovers for a few days.  My son was thrilled to enjoy lots of homemade food..  and lots of food is what I made.  But now it is time to make some more.  I did make a pot of navy bean soup yesterday with my leftover ham bone. Today I think spaghetti or lasagna will be on the menu too.   


I typically take down my tree the day after Christmas but my son had two requests before he came home.. one was pizza (did that for him the first night he got here) and the other was a Christmas tree..  so for him I will leave it up a few more days.  But by Monday it has got to go..  I start feeling a real need about now to get my life reorganized and ready for the new year.  


I am currently contemplating my new year goals..  I am not a big fan of resolutions instead I make goals.  So I will be praying and working towards some new personal goals, business goals, website goals, and more.  So what do you typically do..  goals or resolutions?   


Well that is all from the homestead today..  Keep warm as we head into 2009!

Comments

  1. AnonymousDecember 27, 2008 at 6:40 AM

    Crystal,

    Thank you for sharing your day-to-day life with all of us. It is a blessing for me to glean so much from you and your blog.

    I know you are thankful that your son is home safely.

    I am looking forward to 2009 and all it has in store.

    Peace,

    Lynne in NC

    ReplyDelete
  2. LarissaDecember 27, 2008 at 9:31 AM

    Hi Crystal

    I've been following your snow reports and am amazed at your pics, just as I wrote in the comments a couple of posts back. We are still having a heatwave here, it's been over 35.c (95.f) for a few days and we're looking at 38.c (100.f) to 42.c (108.f) for the next 5 days.

    I usually take my tree down on Boxing Day too, but my MIL and parents were visiting so I took it down yesterday instead. My parents are leaving on a 2 month caravanning holiday across to the other side of Australia today. Then I'll start the after Christmas "clean up" of working out how to use what's left of the leftovers and returning to "normal".

    I set goals and have for the past few years. My husband has always set them, but I was always too scared of doing it thinking I was only going to fail. Since then the Lord has been working on my heart and I set them, I don't always achieve them, but that doesn't mean I am a failure, just that I didn't make it to that one. I try to make reasonable, specific and achievable goals so I encourage myself to keep going. I love the feeling of putting that tick on the finished item on the list!

    This comment has become long, so I will go and make my breakfast before my parents come to say goodbye!

    God Bless and Welcome Home to your soldier boy - our Aussie troops are still in Iraq as well.

    ReplyDelete
  3. DeblynDecember 29, 2008 at 1:00 AM

    Crystal, I am so glad that your son is home, safe and sound! :)


    I also make goals (not resolutions). :) I am working on mine right now too, and when I am finished I will get them up on my blog! :)


    Happy New Year! :)

    ReplyDelete
  4. leeDecember 29, 2008 at 7:41 AM

    You're getting really good at handling those frantic calls!


    ReplyDelete
  5. AnonymousJanuary 1, 2009 at 6:43 AM

    I feel that once i set a resolution i am immediatley setting myself up for failure. Goals would be a much better way of putting it. I like to examine the past year and my shortcomings for that year and set "goals" to improve during the new year.

    Have a happy and healthy new year.

    ReplyDelete
  6. VirginiaMamaJanuary 1, 2009 at 1:28 PM

    came across your site, will visit again! im always ready to get the tree and decorations down and start the new year fresh too!

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

All messages are moderated. After approval your message will be posted. Thank you for your comments!! Crystal :)

Popular posts from this blog

Canning Chicken Noodle-less Soup

-
Image
Today was one of those busy days that it seemed I was moving from the time my feet hit the floor until this evening.. But, I got so much done and that is a great feeling! :) One of my accomplishments today was canning 14 jars of chicken noodle-less soup. I call it “noodle-less” because you can’t can noodles. They end up falling apart. So I canned the chicken, veggies and broth. When I go to use the soup I will bring it to a boil and then add a handful of noodles (any type of pasta will work) and cook it until the noodles are done. Because I plan to add the pasta after the fact I wanted to make sure there was enough chicken broth to do this. So I only filled my jars about half to two thirds with chicken and veggies and then filled with chicken broth. Here is how I did this…. I started off with 2 chickens that were a total weight of about 10lbs. I put them in my 14 quart stock pot… I then added 2 gallons of water.. And 3 tablespoons salt.. I brought this
Read more

Canning Cabbage

-
Image
I had 4 large heads of cabbage that weighted about 25 pounds. We had some really hot days and I figured I better get the last of them picked soon. My daughter Sierra and I ended up processing 3 of them yesterday and I have one left for a meal on my menu this week. I made pickled cabbage and then canned up the last of the cabbage. Here is the recipe for the pickled cabbage (according to how I made it)… 8 pounds cabbage 1 large onion 1 ½ red peppers 1 lb carrots ¾ cup salt 9 cups water 12 cups white vinegar 10 cups sugar 1t mustard seed 1t celery seed Slice cabbage thinly. Slice onion and peppers. Grate carrots. Mix all veggies together in a very large bowl. Sprinkle with salt and mix in well. Let sit for 2 hours to soften veggies. Rinse veggies well.  In a large stock pot (mine was 14 quarts) combine water, vinegar, sugar, spices. Bring to a boil. Add cabbage/veggies. Bring to a boil. Fill hot pint jars with veggies using a slotted spoon. Fill jar with brine to
Read more

Canning Beef Stew

-
Image
In my last blog post I shared that I had bought 10 pounds of beef roast. I cut it all up and used 4 pounds in 2 crockpot freezer meals ( http://homesteadinghomemaker.blogspot.com/2012/02/two-more-crockpot-meals-for-freezer.html ) . I used the other 6 pounds of meat along with potatoes, carrots, onions and celery to can beef stew. Here were the general proportions I used in canning 7 quarts of beef stew.. 6# beef 2# potatoes 2# carrots 1# onions 1# celery After I cut up the meat and got the freezer meals done I moved to the beef stew. I peeled and cut up the potatoes and carrots. I chopped up the onions and sliced the celery. I pulled out 3 quarts of veggie stock from my freezer to use for liquid in the stew. You can use beef or chicken stock or you can use water. I did not add anything to thicken the liquid as usually thickeners don’t hold up in canning. You can thicken the broth after it is opened if you would like. I added 1 teaspoon salt to each of my
Read more