Thursday on the Homestead

-

 


Well my boys arrived back from Disney Land last night, safe and sound!  They had a wonderful trip and I have 4 cameras worth of film to develop for them.  After I develop their film I will post some pics..  Now life will go back to normal.  I guess this was the kid’s spring break.  Today was just an easy going day of recovery for them.


 


Emily and Leanne were supposed to go to their cleaning job but when we got in the van it would not start..  the battery was dead..    The back door of the van had not been closed completely so it drained the battery.  Tobin is now recharging it.. 


 


Lots of laundry was on the list today.  The boys needed all their clothes washed, plus the bathroom towels needed washing, and it was Leanne’s laundry day..  so it looks like my machine got quite a workout today..  actually I still have laundry going… . 


 


Today is the last day of the work week for us.  I wanted to make some challah bread and maybe cinnamon rolls but did not get to it.. It is on my list for tomorrow, especially if Hannah is not working..  she said she would take the kids to swim lessons and I will stay home and bake!    Dinner tonight was sweet and sour chicken over brown rice and broccoli….  Yummy!


 


I finally have had to admit I am getting a little older…    I went and bought a pair of reading glasses.  Last year the eye doctor told me it was time and I resisted the thought and continued to squint while at the computer..  this year at my appt.  he said the same thing and to convince me he showed me what words would look like if I did..  and it was a big improvement..  so while in town earlier this week I broke down and bought a pair.  Now I have remember to put them on.. LOL..   but when I do, it helps a lot.  I also thought it greatly helps my grandmotherly look!    Never thought I would want to help that look, but hey when you do have a sweet grandbaby like mine..  somehow you don’t mind anymore!


 


I sent out several orders today from my county store.  I have procrastinated a lot this week ..  and now this weekend I HAVE to make soap! 


 


Emily and Leanne made 2 more skirts…. Sierra has been bit by the sewing bug and today she made a rice pad to match her pillow case.  Now she will need a new project for this weekend!  When the girls and I finish sewing skirts we will then move back to finishing our quilt squares. We are eager to keep working on that.


 


Well that sums up Thursday on the Homestead!! 

Comments

  1. AnonymousMarch 9, 2007 at 12:30 AM

    Crystal,

    Those skirts you made the other day were so pretty! Love the fabric you chose. I really have to find a way to practice more!! Sierra is well on her way, too, with her pillowcase and sewing book.


    And YAY I'm glad your orders have gone out, I'm expecting some lucious sounding soaps! I need all natural everything right now, oh and my hubby loves the shaving soap by the way! Turned out to be a good Christmas gift. I'm sure before long I'll be wanting more of that.


    Jenn

    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...
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