Lessons from the Garden

-
I originally wrote this post in 2011.  I have to say the changes I made for my home and family were exactly what I needed.  Today life is very different for me.  My homeschooling journey is complete, we are an empty nest and enjoying more freedom.  I'm grateful for the time and energy I did spend on focusing more intently during that season of my life.  It was very much worth it!  


*******************************


After 2 days of rain the sun came back!! And so did the weeds in my garden! I spent hour and half in the garden weeding today. My son Isaac helped me as well, so together we made great progress and I think the weeds are under control (at least for right now :). 



You know I use to hate weeding with a passion, so much so that I rarely did it and my garden always ended up a jungle by the end of the season. Then one year I decided it was important to me have a well tended garden. My dad use to say, “Any job worth doing is worth doing right”… that may not be his original saying, but that is where I first heard it. So I took on a new attitude with weeding.. what good things come from it? For me this is the list.. I get some quiet time to think! Weeding is mundane work and it provides a great moment in my day to just think. I can also pray! I can be productive, have solitude doing this homemaking chore and spend a little time talking to the Lord. I am one who loves the sun and what a great time to enjoy it. Again I can be productive and soak up the rays and a little vitamin D while I am at it. Weeding and hoeing a garden my size takes a bit of physical strength. I do feel those muscles having been given a workout when I am done, so I get some exercise as well. Each time I spend an hour or two in the garden I always say when I am done, “Who needs a gym membership when you have a garden!”. 



During that time I also decided that doing anything in my home required me to do it well. That is also when I realized I had way too much on my plate. So I started downsizing and not taking on new projects. I had these goals… I wanted a home run well, I wanted a home that was neat and orderly (as much as is realistic with a house full of children), if I was going to have animals or gardens or any other project or diversion in my life than they needed my utmost attention. Well, I am not super woman by any means so I got rid of a lot of goats, I don’t have chickens any more either.. I currently buy my eggs from my friend/neighbor and am happy to contribute to her efforts. I also wanted to give more to my homeschooling. I have been homeschooling now for more than 20 years and it gets tiring.. but I realized .. I had to press on as I am not done yet! I wanted to make sure my hubby was getting the best of my efforts in his life as well. 



So I scaled down the farm animals, I did not start any new projects in my life, I made curriculum choices that worked better for me and gave me a little inspiration while still giving my children a good education, and I worked to keep my home in better shape. I figured when I had this all under control then I could take on more if I wanted. 



Jump forward a few years and I am still pretty much in the same place. I guess it taught me what my strengths are and what my limits are. I can now easily say yes or  (more importantly) NO to other things in life because I know I have found the equilibrium for my life that works. I also know my tendencies to take on too much and so I have to watch this all the time. The results of this so far are.. my house has not looked better in a long time, my goats are doing great, my garden not only looks pretty but provides us with a lot of food each year, my kids are doing well in their studies and staying focused (a focused mom = focused kids I have discovered), my hubby is happy (he was always happy but appreciates all my efforts over the last few years even more), and I am more content and less stressed. 



It all started with a garden and time taken to weed and think and pray and make better choices overall for my life and the life of my family!
  

Comments

  1. UnknownJune 1, 2018 at 11:43 AM

    I just wanted to say hello and let you know you have been a huge help and inspiration to me for several years. I don’t take the time to comment very often, but I still get your emails and look up things on your website often. When I first started cooking from scratch and using whole foods, I learned much from your website. Thank you! I have always appreciated the fact that you don’t charge for all your knowledge, you just share with others. I know you have ebooks and soaps, but there is a wealth of free posts and info as well. Thank you for that! I can’t remember when I first found your website, but I do know it’s been quite awhile and you’re still my favorite blogger ❤️ You were/are a mentor to me in homeschooling, and as a stay at home mom and wife. Anyway, I just wanted to let you know how much you are appreciated and how helpful you are to others. I hope you have a blessed day ❤️

    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