Life

Last weekend Dean took the kids to an air show.  They thought it was awesome of course. They were able to watch different planes doing all sorts of stunts for nearly 4 hours.  The best part about it though, the cousins were there!  The kids adore their older cousins and they all get along so great.  They all had a lot of fun and talked about it for days.

This next week for us will be big.  We have a lot of big changes coming soon that we are trying to prepare for.  Everyone is a little on edge right now, me probably being the worst.  I have had to purposefully find the good in each day which is a total switch from my almost always optimistic self!  I have made it a point to listen to uplifting music because anything remotely melancholy or angry just fans the flames!  These are the times when I most need to remember the following prayer:

God grant me the serenity to accept the things I can not change;

Courage to change the things I can;

and the wisdom to know the difference.

This is something that plays in  my mind often but in times like these I need to really remember it.  I have the tendency to try and control everything I can when I feel things are going wrong.  There comes a point when I know I have to say no more.  Today is one of those days.  I can not control everything (much to my dismay at times!) and I have to accept what is.

So with that thought I hope you all have a great weekend.  Ours will be filled with cleaning, gardening, cleaning, and more gardening.  Its a vicious yet lovely cycle!

Life

Last weekend Dean took the kids to an air show.  They thought it was awesome of course. They were able to watch different planes doing all sorts of stunts for nearly 4 hours.  The best part about it though, the cousins were there!  The kids adore their older cousins and they all get along so great.  They all had a lot of fun and talked about it for days.

This next week for us will be big.  We have a lot of big changes coming soon that we are trying to prepare for.  Everyone is a little on edge right now, me probably being the worst.  I have had to purposefully find the good in each day which is a total switch from my almost always optimistic self!  I have made it a point to listen to uplifting music because anything remotely melancholy or angry just fans the flames!  These are the times when I most need to remember the following prayer:

God grant me the serenity to accept the things I can not change;

Courage to change the things I can;

and the wisdom to know the difference.

This is something that plays in  my mind often but in times like these I need to really remember it.  I have the tendency to try and control everything I can when I feel things are going wrong.  There comes a point when I know I have to say no more.  Today is one of those days.  I can not control everything (much to my dismay at times!) and I have to accept what is.

So with that thought I hope you all have a great weekend.  Ours will be filled with cleaning, gardening, cleaning, and more gardening.  Its a vicious yet lovely cycle!

Deyhdrator Q & A

I posted a couple days ago that I was planning on using a dehydrator to store my onions this year.  I shared this idea with Gina from Home Joys and she asked for more info. 

Well I will help with what I can.  First off I read different articles listed on line (google searched) and in Mother Earth Magazine.  Mother Earth has archives that can be searched which is really helpful. Then I purchased the book Preserving the Harvest.  This book has sections for canning, storing, dehydrating and freezing.  There are a lot of useful tips and ideas in the book so I definitely recommend checking it out.

  In the past I have dried the left over fruits from my canning endeavors.  I have tried apricots, strawberries, watermelon, raspberries, apples and bananas.  All have turned out really great except the bananas. I have also made fruit leathers and yogurt leather (oh so good!!).  The kids have devoured everything I have dried within a few days.

The above picture is the dehydrator that I use.  I picked this up at Wal-Mart for $50 dollars and a second one at a thrift store for $3.  While this is a decent dehydrator if you are going to just give dehydrating a try, it really is inefficient for any sort of bulk quantities.  The main issue with this type of dehydrator are:

1. The location of the fan.  Because the fan is located on top the racks do not dry evenly thus making it necessary to rotate the racks.

 

2. The amount of heat this baby puts out is horrible.  I can not use it in my house because it will quickly raise the hit 10 degrees.  Therefore I leave it outside on the step, which means I forget about rotating the racks. :)

3. It is small.  I give dry foods as snacks to the kids and we can quickly go through the amounts this dehydrator can dry.

The major positive about this dehydrator is its portability.  It can easily be moved around and easily stored on a shelf out of the way.

Okay so the dehydrator I want?  Oh this is a real beauty!

A good friend of mine purchased this from Cabala's a couple of years ago.  She has raved about this more than once and has nothing bad to say about it.  The positives to this machine:

1.  The fan is located at the back of the unit.  This allows the air to circulate evenly throughout for even drying.

2. Its size allows for A LOT of food to go in at one time.

3.  It has an automatic shut off if the internal temperature gets to high.  This is a great feature as it keeps from drying the food to a crisp!

4. It has a timer.

The two drawbacks are its size and the cost.  It is about the size of a small wine cooler so you must have a place to store it.  The price tag on this is definitely an investment but if you plan on using it often it would be worth the price.

Now if you really want to get into dehydrating you can build your own.  This has been on my to do list for a couple of years now and I keep putting it off.  There are some great designs located on the Internet.  Do a google search for "Solar dehydrator plans" and you will have pages to wade through.

Well there is some starter information for you if you are interested.  If you have any questions just ask me and I will see what I can do!  If you have any helpful information please share it!

Deyhdrator Q & A

I posted a couple days ago that I was planning on using a dehydrator to store my onions this year.  I shared this idea with Gina from Home Joys and she asked for more info. 

Well I will help with what I can.  First off I read different articles listed on line (google searched) and in Mother Earth Magazine.  Mother Earth has archives that can be searched which is really helpful. Then I purchased the book Preserving the Harvest.  This book has sections for canning, storing, dehydrating and freezing.  There are a lot of useful tips and ideas in the book so I definitely recommend checking it out.

  In the past I have dried the left over fruits from my canning endeavors.  I have tried apricots, strawberries, watermelon, raspberries, apples and bananas.  All have turned out really great except the bananas. I have also made fruit leathers and yogurt leather (oh so good!!).  The kids have devoured everything I have dried within a few days.

The above picture is the dehydrator that I use.  I picked this up at Wal-Mart for $50 dollars and a second one at a thrift store for $3.  While this is a decent dehydrator if you are going to just give dehydrating a try, it really is inefficient for any sort of bulk quantities.  The main issue with this type of dehydrator are:

1. The location of the fan.  Because the fan is located on top the racks do not dry evenly thus making it necessary to rotate the racks.

 

2. The amount of heat this baby puts out is horrible.  I can not use it in my house because it will quickly raise the hit 10 degrees.  Therefore I leave it outside on the step, which means I forget about rotating the racks. :)

3. It is small.  I give dry foods as snacks to the kids and we can quickly go through the amounts this dehydrator can dry.

The major positive about this dehydrator is its portability.  It can easily be moved around and easily stored on a shelf out of the way.

Okay so the dehydrator I want?  Oh this is a real beauty!

A good friend of mine purchased this from Cabala's a couple of years ago.  She has raved about this more than once and has nothing bad to say about it.  The positives to this machine:

1.  The fan is located at the back of the unit.  This allows the air to circulate evenly throughout for even drying.

2. Its size allows for A LOT of food to go in at one time.

3.  It has an automatic shut off if the internal temperature gets to high.  This is a great feature as it keeps from drying the food to a crisp!

4. It has a timer.

The two drawbacks are its size and the cost.  It is about the size of a small wine cooler so you must have a place to store it.  The price tag on this is definitely an investment but if you plan on using it often it would be worth the price.

Now if you really want to get into dehydrating you can build your own.  This has been on my to do list for a couple of years now and I keep putting it off.  There are some great designs located on the Internet.  Do a google search for "Solar dehydrator plans" and you will have pages to wade through.

Well there is some starter information for you if you are interested.  If you have any questions just ask me and I will see what I can do!  If you have any helpful information please share it!

Garden Goodies Tonight

Everyone crashed tonight except Caitlin and I so we grabbed a bowl and headed to the garden.  The prize??  A cabbage, 4 onions, 3 broccoli heads and 2 peas.  I told you it was slim pickin's this year. ;) Regardless of how little the harvest was all of it is beautiful.  Check these babies out.....

Okay I just had to share because everything looked so pretty.  And the spell was just as fantastic! Good night all.

Garden Goodies Tonight

Everyone crashed tonight except Caitlin and I so we grabbed a bowl and headed to the garden.  The prize??  A cabbage, 4 onions, 3 broccoli heads and 2 peas.  I told you it was slim pickin's this year. ;) Regardless of how little the harvest was all of it is beautiful.  Check these babies out.....

Okay I just had to share because everything looked so pretty.  And the spell was just as fantastic! Good night all.

Food Storage on my mind

Food storage has been on my mind for a while now. We have had to be very frugal in our spending for the last year because of unemployment. To say money has been tight is a gross understatement! I have always tried to keep a well stocked pantry but last summer I kicked into hyper drive. I bought TONS of food in big 25lb bags with the intention of storing it. I started buying extra of everything and because of this I have a very stocked pantry and storage room. I was having a conversation not long ago with a friend who wanted to get her pantry/storage system going but had no idea where to start. I thought I would pass on what I have learned if it will help someone else.

About a year ago a friend of mine called to say she stumbled onto a great site for couponing. She was getting into couponing at the time and thought I would be interested also. I checked out the site and while I liked the whole coupon idea I still haven't implemented it into my normal routine. However the site she shared was a real gem for something I do make part of my everyday life. Food Storage. I know for some of you this wins me the dork of the year award but really it is something that I wouldn't be without. This great website is actually ran by three friends who all specialize in one part of food storage. Here check the site out so you know what the heck I am talking about. Food Storage Network

Food Storage Made Easy

Since I am a planner at heart my favorite part of their site is Planning It. Shortly after finding out about the site I decided to purchase their planner because even though they send out free emails I couldnt wait to get started. Yes I know, anxious dork now. :) So anyway I bought their planner so that I could get a (cute) start on everything. I wanted everything broken down so I knew just what I needed to do and how much to buy. I had looked at other online calculators in the past and while they were helpful they were also daunting. I mean who really looks at the need of 600lbs of wheat and is comforted! That is a big tast to purchase and store that much food! Anyway Jodi and Julie have made some freaking awesome calculators for planning. They have a 3 month calculator that I adore. Seriously if I could I would marry it. Its that awesome. By using their calculator last month I was able to purchase an entire 3 month food storage for $250 bucks!!!! Yup $250. Check out the link for the 3 month calculator HERE. There are YouTube videos and other helps on that page.

Another site that can be helpful is Simply Living Smart. I found this site over a year ago and it has changed A LOT. They have quite a bit of information available to help get you motivated but you do have to create an account for free or purchase a membership.

One last site that has been helpful at times (including her awesome list for pantry items) is Crystal at The Family Homestead. Crystal is the mom of 8 kids and lives in beautiful western Washington. She has great articles on making bread, yogurt. using beans, buying in bulk etc. One of my favorite things on her site is her meal planning calendar. I go to her site once a month and print it out. Very simple. I printed out her Whole Foods Pantry list and keep it in my food storage binder.

Okay those have been the most helpful sites for me. I hope that those will help everyone out in their planning a little. Good Luck!!

Food Storage on my mind

Food storage has been on my mind for a while now. We have had to be very frugal in our spending for the last year because of unemployment. To say money has been tight is a gross understatement! I have always tried to keep a well stocked pantry but last summer I kicked into hyper drive. I bought TONS of food in big 25lb bags with the intention of storing it. I started buying extra of everything and because of this I have a very stocked pantry and storage room. I was having a conversation not long ago with a friend who wanted to get her pantry/storage system going but had no idea where to start. I thought I would pass on what I have learned if it will help someone else.

About a year ago a friend of mine called to say she stumbled onto a great site for couponing. She was getting into couponing at the time and thought I would be interested also. I checked out the site and while I liked the whole coupon idea I still haven't implemented it into my normal routine. However the site she shared was a real gem for something I do make part of my everyday life. Food Storage. I know for some of you this wins me the dork of the year award but really it is something that I wouldn't be without. This great website is actually ran by three friends who all specialize in one part of food storage. Here check the site out so you know what the heck I am talking about. Food Storage Network

Food Storage Made Easy

Since I am a planner at heart my favorite part of their site is Planning It. Shortly after finding out about the site I decided to purchase their planner because even though they send out free emails I couldnt wait to get started. Yes I know, anxious dork now. :) So anyway I bought their planner so that I could get a (cute) start on everything. I wanted everything broken down so I knew just what I needed to do and how much to buy. I had looked at other online calculators in the past and while they were helpful they were also daunting. I mean who really looks at the need of 600lbs of wheat and is comforted! That is a big tast to purchase and store that much food! Anyway Jodi and Julie have made some freaking awesome calculators for planning. They have a 3 month calculator that I adore. Seriously if I could I would marry it. Its that awesome. By using their calculator last month I was able to purchase an entire 3 month food storage for $250 bucks!!!! Yup $250. Check out the link for the 3 month calculator HERE. There are YouTube videos and other helps on that page.

Another site that can be helpful is Simply Living Smart. I found this site over a year ago and it has changed A LOT. They have quite a bit of information available to help get you motivated but you do have to create an account for free or purchase a membership.

One last site that has been helpful at times (including her awesome list for pantry items) is Crystal at The Family Homestead. Crystal is the mom of 8 kids and lives in beautiful western Washington. She has great articles on making bread, yogurt. using beans, buying in bulk etc. One of my favorite things on her site is her meal planning calendar. I go to her site once a month and print it out. Very simple. I printed out her Whole Foods Pantry list and keep it in my food storage binder.

Okay those have been the most helpful sites for me. I hope that those will help everyone out in their planning a little. Good Luck!!

Canning '10

Every year I do a running tally of what I have canned from our garden and other finds. This year sadly, I have nothing to work with. So much of the garden has been a flop and I have had little luck with finding other sources. The onions of course are still doing amazing and after reading Karls post about deydrating, I think I will give it a try this year. Normally the dehydrator is filled with apples, apricots, and fruit leathers but so far nothing has gone in there. Tomorrow we will have a few cabbage heads ready to harvest, after that its only the waiting game with potatoes.

So sad that they garden has been dismal this year. I am hoping to get my hands on a few bushels of tomatoes, beans, corn, cucumbers and some peppers. Any fruit would be great but with late frosts this year that might not happen either.

So for now all I have is 4 quarts of freezer jam. We dont even like freezer jam that much but there just wasn't enough fruit to warrant heating the house up for the hot water bath. Wish me luck on scoring some great produce this year! :)

Canning '10

Every year I do a running tally of what I have canned from our garden and other finds. This year sadly, I have nothing to work with. So much of the garden has been a flop and I have had little luck with finding other sources. The onions of course are still doing amazing and after reading Karls post about deydrating, I think I will give it a try this year. Normally the dehydrator is filled with apples, apricots, and fruit leathers but so far nothing has gone in there. Tomorrow we will have a few cabbage heads ready to harvest, after that its only the waiting game with potatoes.

So sad that they garden has been dismal this year. I am hoping to get my hands on a few bushels of tomatoes, beans, corn, cucumbers and some peppers. Any fruit would be great but with late frosts this year that might not happen either.

So for now all I have is 4 quarts of freezer jam. We dont even like freezer jam that much but there just wasn't enough fruit to warrant heating the house up for the hot water bath. Wish me luck on scoring some great produce this year! :)

The first few weeks of July

Dean started a new job this month (woo hoo!) so we spent a few weeks in Portland Oregon. Portland is my favorite city so far. It gorgeous, green and laid back. Seriously the city for me. If I were ever to move back to the city it would definitely be Portland. We had a friend watch our garden while we were gone. Things really exploded, including the weeds. The grass totally died which breaks my heart but at least the veggies did okay. Here are the beautiful onions. These babies dont look all that fantastic but let me put it into perspective. I am 5'2 and these onions are as tall as my chest! Seriously fantastic to check these out!

The broccoli, cauliflower and cabbage did really great. We came home to a huge harvest of both broccoli and cauliflower. The cabbage needs a little longer but it shouldn't be but a few days before it is ready too. The sunflowers are as tall as me and going strong.

Here is the whole view of the garden this morning. Its looking a little shabby and honestly it isn't really pretty right now. Everything is crowded by weeds and looks a little dry and blah. I have been watering all day so I am hoping everything perks up tonight.

This is my sister and her youngest baby. We stayed with them while we were in Portland. The kids had a ball and my sister and I spent many hours laughing and being dumb.

Caitlin and my niece. They were inseparable during our vacation.

Lake Oswego. This is where we spent the most disappointing 4th of July to date. There was supposed to be a huge fireworks show over the lake but for whatever reason it didn't happen. So we saw a few from over the lake/mountain and that was it. The kids still thought it was awesome so that is all that matters.

All the kiddos before we went to the fireworks.

4th of July parade in Lake Oswego city. We picked this town celebration because it was billed as family friendly. What that meant was filled with families. Seriously the entire parade was a bunch of families walking down the street. It was actually comical to sit there for 45 minutes while family after family walked by. This is a picture of the only non family related selection in the parade. I think that was the mayor.

The kids ready to watch the parade. The anticipation was building. :)

Overall our vacation was good. We cut it short because Caitlin was just about to hit anxiety mode which is never pleasant. We are all home and doing well. The garden is recovering, the grass is not, the house is a mess and the kids have been outside for hours everyday. Life is back to normal and everything is just swell! :)

The first few weeks of July

Dean started a new job this month (woo hoo!) so we spent a few weeks in Portland Oregon. Portland is my favorite city so far. It gorgeous, green and laid back. Seriously the city for me. If I were ever to move back to the city it would definitely be Portland. We had a friend watch our garden while we were gone. Things really exploded, including the weeds. The grass totally died which breaks my heart but at least the veggies did okay. Here are the beautiful onions. These babies dont look all that fantastic but let me put it into perspective. I am 5'2 and these onions are as tall as my chest! Seriously fantastic to check these out!

The broccoli, cauliflower and cabbage did really great. We came home to a huge harvest of both broccoli and cauliflower. The cabbage needs a little longer but it shouldn't be but a few days before it is ready too. The sunflowers are as tall as me and going strong.

Here is the whole view of the garden this morning. Its looking a little shabby and honestly it isn't really pretty right now. Everything is crowded by weeds and looks a little dry and blah. I have been watering all day so I am hoping everything perks up tonight.

This is my sister and her youngest baby. We stayed with them while we were in Portland. The kids had a ball and my sister and I spent many hours laughing and being dumb.

Caitlin and my niece. They were inseparable during our vacation.

Lake Oswego. This is where we spent the most disappointing 4th of July to date. There was supposed to be a huge fireworks show over the lake but for whatever reason it didn't happen. So we saw a few from over the lake/mountain and that was it. The kids still thought it was awesome so that is all that matters.

All the kiddos before we went to the fireworks.

4th of July parade in Lake Oswego city. We picked this town celebration because it was billed as family friendly. What that meant was filled with families. Seriously the entire parade was a bunch of families walking down the street. It was actually comical to sit there for 45 minutes while family after family walked by. This is a picture of the only non family related selection in the parade. I think that was the mayor.

The kids ready to watch the parade. The anticipation was building. :)

Overall our vacation was good. We cut it short because Caitlin was just about to hit anxiety mode which is never pleasant. We are all home and doing well. The garden is recovering, the grass is not, the house is a mess and the kids have been outside for hours everyday. Life is back to normal and everything is just swell! :)