Cooking Dinner

Hey it"s me Petunia. Last night I had to cook dinner for the family, because Mom felt a little head ache. But after dinner she felt better. Last night we had Mac and Cheese and my little sis liked it.We also had banana nut muffins, and baked sweet potatoes w/ a dash of cinnamon sugar and butter. Mom,Dad, and my sis liked the food. So did I. Well bye for now!!!!!

Playing in Dirt

Hey it's me Petunia, sorry I haven't written any thing in a while. Guess what my little sister and I did? She and I have a big pile of dirt, she and I made it look like it was a slide. Then she and I sprayed the dirt with water,then it became mud. It was so much fun you should have been there. Then Mom said that my little sister and I had to take a bath,because we were so dirty we were black. Well that's all for now bye!!!!!!

Are You Hiding?

Sometimes life can get tedious and exhausting. I know it can for myself as I speed through the day homeschooling, working in the garden, preparing the harvest, feeding the livestock, caring for the home, running errands, chasing a toddler, and the myriad of other things that I do in a days time. Many times it can be overwhelming and I know other women feel this way. Sometimes it would be nice to "hide". So where do women like me "hide" from their feelings of being overwhelmed? Television, the internet and books. Hmmmmm....hiding might not be such a good thing. Where should women turn when those feelings of being overwhelmed and exhausted come up? God's word, The Holy Bible, of course! Instead of being a place where we women can hide from life, it is a source of inspiration and strength. God's word gives us the courage to face what we must and accept the challenges ahead. It is a place to renew the joy in our lives when it seems as if the joy has slipped out the door. We women tend to find all the wrong places to hide from our fears and anxieties instead of finding a place to learn how to deal with them. Hiding is no good and does nothing more than compound the problem. Once someone starts to hide from their worries then those worries get bigger and bigger. God is our strength in a world that just wants to zap every ounce of strength that we have. He is our sunshine and the silver lining! Rise each morning with the Word of God and close each day with the Word of God. We should put away our hiding places and instead gather our strength and encouragement to face our many challenges. Living the life of a godly woman is tough and it becomes even tougher when we "hide". Spending your days on the computer or caught up in frivolous tv shows or even those hideous make believe romance novels is never going to be a source of strength and you will never gain courage. In fact these things simply separate us from the one thing we should never be separate from, the Word of God. The more separated we get then the more we wish to "hide". So to all those tempted to hide, and yes sometimes even myself, I encourage you to close up your hiding places and gather your courage with God Almighty. May God bless you in your journey!

Interesting Quote

I love this quote and I hope you do also.

"A true wife makes a man's life nobler, stronger, grander, by the omnipotence of her love 'turning all the forces of manhood upward and heavenward.' While she clings to him in holy confidence and loving dependence she brings out in him whatever is nobles and richest in his being. She inspires him with her courage and earnestness. She beautifies his life. She softens whatever is rude and harsh in his habits or his spirit. She clothes him with the gentler graces of refined and cultured manhood. While she yields to him and never disregards his lightest wish, she is really his queen, ruling his whole life and leading him onward and upward in every proper path. -JR Miller

Putting up Silage

Silage is a method of preserving green forage for the winter months. Typically silage on a farm is put up in large amounts and in very large silos, especially constructed to store silage. When making silage, the green forage is put up still green in an oxygen free environment. The lack of oxygen keeps the silage from spoiling and instead causing an anaerobic fermentation which preserves it. Not many small homesteaders have the capacity to grow large hay fields to meet their needs, however they do produce silage and can store at least small amounts. Any amount put aside means that much less hay that has to be purchased to see the livestock through the winter. So how does the small homesteader put up small amounts of silage at a time with very little effort and time consumption? Easy! First you will need a good supply of those annoying plastic grocery bags. I use what few I get from the grocery in addition to the supply from neighbors, friends, and family. Each bale of silage will take 3 bags. Simply cut your silage material and chop it pretty fine. Load one bag about 3/4 full, then squish all of the air out of the bag, really packing the silage down nice and tight. Twist the top and duct tape flat to the bag. Place this bag upside down in another bag and repeat the squeeze, twist and tape process. Next take the double bag and place again upside down in the third bag, twisting and taping. It is absolutely important that all air is squeezed out of the first bag. Any air in the bag will cause the silage to rot and this absolutely cannot be fed to your livestock. The only way to preserve silage is without oxygen so squeeze really well or you will be wasting your efforts. Be cautious of grass clippings as they can get very hot if not properly preserved and start to compost. They can catch fire. I check my bags daily for any signs of heat and remove them from the feed room if I find any that seem warm. I always stack my new bags in the feed room so that it becomes habit to check them daily. I find that if they are put in the hay lofts they don't get checked as often, which can lead to trouble. I try to put up several bags a week all through the growing season and this tremendously cuts down on my feed bill during the winter. Make sure you put up what your animals typically eat or you will have wasted your effort. We have tons of dandelions and since my goats, rabbits, chickens and horses all eat dandelions they are the first thing to be put into silage. One of the keys to being self sufficient on a homestead is to reduce your dependence on outside sources for your needs. It does no good to trade a large grocery bill for a large feed bill, you are still dependent. Look for ways in which your homestead can support or at least help support all of its members, including the ones with fur and feathers.

Carnage on the Farm

Yesterday was a sad morning for us here at Whisper Wind. We had a bit of carnage happen sometime in the night or early morning hours before the chickens were let out of the chicken house. We have 4 adult hens and an adult rooster, along with 8 pullets. The pullets were just beginning to be identifiable as to whether they were roosters or hens. While most people are not usually excited to see roosters, we were excited to see a couple of them as they were destined for the freezer. We knew that it was getting close to time of separating these little guys from the general population because our adult rooster was beginning to show some signs of aggression towards them. However, we did think that we still had some time since they were still little guys and just beginning to be recognizable as "guys". Our rooster didn't agree and sometime during the night dispatched all the little roosters but one. The one little rooster that survived the carnage does not seem to draw aggression from our big boy. I wonder if he is ok with him being a subordinate "roo in training". All the girls were very upset over the whole matter and would not go back to the chicken house to lay. In fact, only one hen laid yesterday. My chickens, being free range, only get fed in the evening when they return to the henhouse. Last night they did not want to go back. So I feel very sorry for them, it must have been an awful sight to witness. I am hoping the girls have settled down today and are willing to return to their normal routine today. Yesterday evening was exhausting trying to catch (yes physically catch) every single hen but one to put them in the henhouse for the night. They absolutely must be shut up at night because of the wild dog pack that lives across the road. The pack hunts at night and no ones property is safe from their hunt. The guineas are smart enough to roost on top of the house at night, so I don't worry about them. However, my hens will find any spot within easy chomping distance of the wild pack. They also are not very afraid of dogs since our dogs tuck tail and run at the first sign of a hen flapping her wings at them. Unfortunately, this is all part of farming and homesteading as sometimes animals die and there really isn't much one can do about it. Even though they aren't pets, they still have a special place with us. Even though we had every intention of eating the little roosters eventually, I enjoyed watching them grow. They were quite funny as they took on their little rooster roles. Well, unfortunately that is all part of life on the farm.

The Girls Tea & Coffee

Hey it's me Petunia. Guess what the girls Tea & Coffee did today? They discovered how to go into the feed room. When mom got back from feeding the rabbits, she found them in the feed room and she was shocked. Then mom called me out so I could hold the door and she could get leashes on, which she did. Then when mom said to open the door, Tea almost threw mom in the goat pasture. It was funny! Well bye for now.

A Wise Farmer

A wise old farmer went to town to buy a new pickup truck that he saw

advertised in the paper for a certain price. After telling the

salesman which truck he wanted, they set down to do the paperwork.



The salesman handed the farmer the bill, and the farmer

declared "This isn't the price I saw!". The salesman went on to tell

the old wise farmer how he was getting extras such as power steering,

power brakes, power windows, special tires, etc. and that was what

took the price up. The farmer, needing the truck badly, paid the

price and went home.



A few months later, the salesman called up the farmer and said, "My

son is in 4- H and he needs a cow for a project. Do you have any for

sale?"



The farmer replied, "Yes, I have a few cows I would sell for $500

apiece, Come and look at them and take your pick". The salesman said

he and his son would be right out.



After spending a few hours in the field checking out all the farmer's

cows, the two decided on one and the salesman proceeded to write out

a check for $500.



The farmer said------"Now wait a minute, that's not the final price

of the cow, you're getting extras with it and you have to pay for

that too".



"What extras?" asked the salesman.



Below is the list the farmer gave the salesman for the final price of

the cow,,,,,,,,,,



BASIC COW............$500.00 Two-tone exterior.........$45.00 Extra

stomach............$75.00 Product storing equipment.........$60.00

Straw compartment.....$120.00

4 spigots @$10 ea.......$40.00 Leather upholstery......$125.00 Dual

horns...................$45.00 Automatic fly swatter .$38.00

Fertilizer attachment......$185.00



GRAND TOTAL $1,233.00

Busy Weekend

I have a very busy weekend. I have neglected too many small little duties around the house and now must play catchup. It truly is not an easy task to take care of the house and the farm. My husband does as much as he can, however, with his work schedule that often leaves quite a bit of outside work to us girls. I am an organization nut and having little piles here and there of things not filed away neatly drives me insane. So to prevent full time insanity from setting in I must get all of this taken care of. Wish me luck. I pray that I get these things done swiftly so that I might enjoy the weekend with my children doing much more fun things. God bless.

Comments on Today's Standards Part 2

Earlier today I posted about the way that solid Christian families are judged according to mainstream society. We are seen as outsiders by mainstream, or typically called extremists. Gods laws and rules are cut and dry, it is mankind that seeks to make them complicated when in fact they are quite simple. I mentioned in my earlier post that I was ok with living outside the box, and I truly am. BUT, we are also called as Christians to be the light of Christ in the world. Hmmmmmm.....that is hard to do if we never open the box. So what are we as Christians to do, especially us girls. How do we show that light by our example if society chooses to lock the box? How do we show that light by our example if we choose to lock society inside the box? I don't really know what the answers are. I think maybe the example is working with the grace of God. Among people that I communicate with online, I see more and more coming out of the box on their own free will. I never fit inside the box, but it took me a long time to find the key to the lock....God's Law. I was one of those Christians that was content with the message of salvation and that alone. I was not one of those Christians that believed we really had to follow all those rules (being a little sarcastic in tone). However, God began to impress upon me and our family that there was a different path for us to follow. A slight inclination became a tug, which then became a huge pull that could no longer be resisted. I then sought out other Christian women like me, who thought like me and followed God's law like me. Now don't get me wrong, I am certainly not perfect and neither are they. We all stumble, and sometimes fall terribly. It is a difficult road at times, especially when you have walked the easier path. I guess I have rambled enough. My whole point is that if society shuns us and ridicules us, then how can we bring the light of Jesus Christ and the peace of God's Law to them? Are we even supposed to? Do I think about this because I am one of those people that has to "fix" everything that seems off? Is this something that other Proverbs 31 wives think about? Bringing our home and our family into more of a Biblically based agrarian life brings on even more criticism/ridicule. Society is so far removed from their food supply! Even people who grew up in a rural setting just cannot believe we would eat eggs from our hens because ......they might have been fertilized! So many people in today's society do not want to provide their own nutritious food. Not only that they don't want to know how that food got to the grocery store shelf or how long it took to get there. I don't know what the answers are. I can only be an example and I can only follow my own path, and in doing so maybe God will shine His face on someone I come into contact with. My prayer is that He will, and they will let Him lead them on their own path toward peace. May God bless you all.

Petunia's Project Observing Our Goats

Morning
When I first walked into the goat pasture to do my study on the goats everybody crowded me...finally I became old news. It's cool how one of our trees look like the bottom didn't grow any leaves,but the goats just ate them all.When the goats try to get higher so they can eat the leaves it looks like they are trying to climb the tree. Lilly had tried to climb onto Billy's back kinda like a GOAT PIGGY BACK RIDE. Then it looked like Lilly was dancing, but she was really trying to get pine needles...you should have been there. I learned that when goats butt heads they first stomp at each other. Awwwwww.... I think that Billy and Lilly love each other. Mama was right, boys do butt heads harder than girls, hmm! After all that, it was time for Lilly and Billy (the new couple)to cuddle, but that didnt last long. Coffee broke it up, I don't know why, but she just did. It's 12:00, time to lay in the shade and chew your cud (for the goats of course). Well bye for now!!!

Homeschool Plan of Attack!

I have found in homeschooling that sometimes it is necessary to adjust how we do things. With my daughter Petunia, this is even more necessary. She becomes bored very easily and when boredom sets in learning stops. After 2 years of following pretty much the same path and way of teaching, I find it necessary to change things up a bit. For one reason is to meet her educational maturity level. She is ready for a little more meat and challenge in her schooling. For the second reason is that she is getting bored and frustrated with a few of her core subjects. I have said before that we follow an eclectic path to homeschooling. We will continue with this but will be moving a little closer to the Charlotte Mason method of homeschooling. This method does offer more meat and substance. I am not a CM expert, but the gyst of this method is learning from "living books". Next year will involve lots of reading for us, hands on nature studies, field trips, and writing. With the inclusion of Shakespeare and Plutarch, there with be much more challenge. I will let you know how this goes next year and will post the new schedule for next year soon. For the little one, we will continue with ABC's, counting, colors, shapes, and all that basic stuff. She really is not formally schooled, just simple games here and there as her attention allows. Then of course, they both learn simply by participating in farm activities. I love homeschooling my children, it is a journey that will be remembered and cherished for a lifetime. For more information about Charlotte Mason and a good schedule and examples visit Ambleside Online

Comment on Today's Standards of "Acceptibility"

I don't mind living outside of society's ideal standards of what they consider acceptable. Our family answers to God and no one else. We live our lives according to His standard. However, I have made quite a bit of very sad observations lately. One is society's idea of that "acceptable" family. Today society views any type of family other than the biblical family as acceptable. The single mother, twice divorced, living on welfare and child support touted as a good hard working parent, doing what is in the best interest of her children. Then in the very next sentence I have seen a strong homeschooling Christian family blasted because the mother stays at home and homeschools. This family being told that they are ruining their children. This is just one example, but I could go on and on of what is acceptable by today's society and what is not. I am not blasting single mothers by any means because I was raised by one. I think many single mothers are brave and courageous women doing the best they can in a corrupt world. However, that should not be society's ideal standard for a family and yet it is more acceptable and normal than one in which the parents are still happily married with the father working and the mother taking care of the home. Why is it that when one follows the Biblical standard they become criticized and ridiculed, and when one follows a non-biblical path they are lauded and praised. I find it a sad commentary on the humanity of today. As for our family, we all are "outside the box" kind of folks. I guess following God's plan is an outside the box kind of life. I hate to tell those other folks, but living outside the "box" by today's standards is truly freeing to the soul! God bless.

Some More Photos from the Farm

I thought that since Petunia did such a wonderful job taking photos from around the farm last week (once the rain stopped) that I would post a few more. It will take her a little time getting used to blogging, she is a little shy. And for clarification she did not come up with the honeysuckle juice thing on her own. My aunt taught her that. Apparently that is something that all kids used to do. Petunia does know better than to randomly sample the juices of plants growing on the farm. However, she did teach me something new, I did not know that you could suck the juice of the honeysuckle flower and it is indeed sweet. Hmmmmmm.....wonder if you could make some type of sweetener from it like the bees do?! Well, enjoy the photos.

This is part of our garden. Looks different this week with more things growing after the rain.

The magnolia tree in the front yard is blooming and smells absolutely heavenly!

This is the tilapia pond in the center of our garden area. We also use the pond water to help water the garden. This was the first swimming pool built in our county in the 1920s. It was turned into a fish pond in the 1980s. Although, it needs quite a bit of repair, the fish like it well enough.

This is Whisper our last filly born here at the farm. We stopped breeding horses several years ago when the horse market started to crash and I was not riding and showing as often. She is the typical flighty thoroughbred, but has a really sweet personality. We have thought about re-training her to drive. Hmmmm....might not be a bad idea if gas prices start rising again.

Baby Billy

Hey it's me Petunia and this is a picture of our goat baby Billy he is a nubian/boer cross. Earlier today I picked honey suckle and taught mom how to eat the juice out of it ... she didn't know how to, but don't tell her. Today on Webkinz World I entered a competition but I didn't win ...but I'll do better next time,and I beat my highest score on polar plunge ...it's a cool game I like to play. That's all I have for now bye!

Fish emulsion Fertilizer

As most of you know I garden organically, which means I fertilize organically also. One really good natural fertilizer is really stinky and smelly, but the plants really love it and it is a great way to give them a boost of energy. Preparing your own fish emulsion is a great way to fertilize your plants. Some of the old timers would bury fish or fish parts in the garden, but I have found making an emulsion is easier and less time consuming. There are a couple ways that you can do this. 1. Take about 4 cans of canned fish and place in a 5 gallon bucket of water, put a lid on the bucket, and set aside to rot for about 5 days. Strain out the solid bits and feed your garden with the liquid. A little goes a long way so the 5 gallon bucket will do most gardens. I have large garden and I do 15 gallons at a time. So for most home gardens 5 gallons will go a long way. 2. The second way is to use fish parts gotten from the fishmonger or your own catch and putting those in the bucket instead of the canned fish. Same thing, fill with water, put a lid on and let it rot for several days. I will warn you if you have a weak stomach this might not be for you as it really really stinks. Stomach churning kind of stink. Another warning is that if you do not put a lid on the bucket then you will have maggots, which will intensify the stink. Also, you will need to check the bucket each day and make sure that the gases can escape or the bucket will explode from the gases created by decomposition. I just set the lid on top of the bucket instead of snapping it down securely. However, sometimes I have had some flies get in that way, but my chickens love the maggots. So that doesn't bother me, but it might bother someone else. Good luck and feed that garden for a healthy, jumbo yield this year!

Saving Money in the Den

Today in our saving money room by room we are focusing on the den/family room. We still are not running the A/C. Although the daytime temps outside are into the high 70s and 80s already, the temperature in the house is sticking around 74 in the hottest part of the day. Our family room in on the south side of the house, making it pretty hot. So here are a few things to save money in that room. 1. Have a ceiling fan and open the windows. Install solar screens to shield the suns rays. 2. Lower the blinds once the sun moves across to be hitting directly on that room. 3. Turn off the television and the power strip for all those gadgets that go along with the television. 4. Keep the lights turned off during the day and move to a cooler side of the house to take advantage of natural light. 5. At night put a box fan in the window to bring cooler air into the house which will keep it cooler longer. 6. Wear cool, comfortable dresses during the day (yes dresses are much cooler than pants which trap body heat). That is about it for that room, for us anyway. So stay cool and enjoy those energy savings!

Hope Everyone had a Happy Mother's Day!

I hope everyone had a happy and blessed Mother's Day. We did here although it was a busy one. I baked a cake to take to my Mama's house where we have the annual gathering of moms. I also baked an egg custard pie just for Mama because it is her favorite. So I spent the morning in the kitchen and the afternoon running my mouth with a bunch of other women. My husband being the only male in the group played with the children outside. Our family is kind of funny in that he is the usually the only man. My father is deceased, my aunt never married, my godmother is a widow, and her daughter is divorced. My sister lives far far away, so she can't usually be there. There are more in our extended family, including men, but this is the usual gathering. My godmother's son usually is hunting or fishing and isn't much into family stuff, so that leaves my husband. And all these women depend on him for the "man stuff" that needs to be done around the house. Sometimes I feel bad for him, but then I think he likes having all these women dote on him and depend on him. Anyway, we had a wonderful day. My hubby cooked breakfast and the children and I played games together while he did that. I truly am a blessed Mama. I hope you all had a wonderful day as well.

The Government Wants Your Water!

I got this email this morning from one of my followers. I feel that this is very important and that everyone should know. God gave us our water supplies. The government has no right to take what belongs to Him. Enough is enough folks, pretty soon we will all be looking for a government handout just to have a drink of water. If now is not the time to step up and make a stand and say NO!, then when is the right time. When we are thirsty and hungry and cold, it will be too late. Read the bill and let others know about it. Let your congressmen know that this is not ok with you. May God be with us all.

Here is part of the email:
In April, 2009, Senator Feingold introduced (and gathered 24 co-sponsors already) legislation, S. 787, to fundamentally change the definition of "water" under control of the federal government:

http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d111:S787

WATERS OF THE UNITED STATES

The term ...waters of the United States' means all waters subject to the ebb and flow of the tide, the territorial seas, and all interstate and intrastate waters and their tributaries, including lakes, rivers, streams (including intermittent streams), mudflats, sandflats, wetlands, sloughs, prairie potholes, wet meadows, playa lakes, natural ponds, and all impoundments of the foregoing, to the fullest extent that these waters, or activities affecting these waters, are subject to the legislative power of Congress under the Constitution.

How are you doing?

How are you doing?
A lone tourist who is passing through the suburbs on the way to town by car, unfortunately experiences mechanical problems with the automobile. The car stalls and the tourist parks the car by the side of the road and waits for help.

Not much later, a farmer happens to pass by with a truck full of farm animals. The farmer offers the tourist a lift to town and proceeds to explain that he is bringing his farm animals to the town market, where they will be auctioned off to the highest bidders.

Well, it so happens that on the way to the town, the farmer being so engrossed in his story, unintentionally wanders into the other side of road where another vehicle is approaching in the other direction.

The farmer realizes his absent mindness and attempts to avoid the possible collision with the other vehicle. He just misses the other car, but unfortunately crashes the truck into the side of the road. The tourist winds up thrown into a ditch and suffers broken ribs and a broken arm and leg and is obviously in extreme pain. The farm animals are all messed up very badly and the farmer, although remaining inside the vehicle, still suffers cuts and scrapes.

The farmer gets out of the truck and looks at his farm animals.

The chickens all have broken limbs and can barely move. "These chickens are all useless! Nobody will want to buy these chickens anymore!" bellows the farmer. With that, he grabs and loads his shotgun and blows away the chickens.

Next, he sees the pigs and they are all lame and bleeding profusely. "These pigs are all worthless now! I'll get nothing for them!" yells the farmer. With great rage, the farmer reloads his shotgun and blows away the pigs.

The farmer looks at the sheep and they all have broken limbs and their wool is all bloodied. "Worthless sheep!" screams the farmer and with that, he reloads his shotgun and blows away the sheep.

Meanwhile, the injured tourist witnesses all of this carnage in great horror.

The farmer then moves over to the side of the ditch and looks at the tourist. "Are you okay down there?" asked the farmer.

"NEVER FELT BETTER IN MY ENTIRE LIFE!!!" the tourist yelled back.

Saving Money in the Kitchen

In our saving money room by room series, we are now moving into the kitchen. The first place to start is the refrigerator. This handy dandy gadget is one of the most power consuming gadgets in your home. However doing just a few simple things can make it run more efficiently and use a little less power. First check to make sure it is set properly. Each refrigerator has a spot on the dial that is the most efficient setting for that model. Make sure yours is set to that setting. Next check the rubber gasket around the refrigerator and make sure that it is sealing properly. If your refrigerator is leaking cold air because the gasket is old and worn out then it is consuming more energy. Next make sure that your refrigerator has sufficient air circulation to the back where the vent is. Refrigerator experts have told me that good airflow across the coils on the back make the refrigerator work more efficiently. Not sure why, but I am taking their word for it. Next on the list is the dishwasher. Believe it or not the dishwasher is much more efficient for washing dishes than washing them by hand. First it uses less hot water and second less water period. So use your dishwasher, but make sure that it is full to capacity before turning it on. This means to watch how many dishes you use during the day. We all get one cup in the morning and continue using that cup throughout the day. When we have sandwiches for dinner and there is nothing but crumbs left on the plate, then those crumbs are scraped into the chicken bucket and the place is reused for supper. Sometimes we can wait to run our dishwasher to every other day instead of everyday. Sometimes...not always. Next, let's move to cooking. In the summertime we cook outside, pretty much exclusively. I don't have my adobe oven built yet so I cannot bake outside unless I am doing casseroles. I can cook casseroles outside on my grill. With the lid closed and only hot coals (not a blazing fire) the inside temp of my grill gets to 400 degrees. So most casseroles I cook outside to keep from using the oven. We also eat a lot of cold meals. Meat is cooked on the grill and most nights we have salads to go with it. Lighter, cooler fare is much nicer in the hot weather also. The less you heat up the kitchen the less your AC has to compensate also. This saves more energy. Lighting is next on the list. Use what light you need and no more. I know when my mom cooks every light in the kitchen is on, overhead, over the sink and over the stove. If I am at the sink, I use that light and nothing more. Same with the stove. Very rarely do my overhead lights come on.Then when you are finished turn off all the lights in the kitchen. I know some people that will leave a light on. If you need to make a midnight trip to the kitchen then turn what light you need on then, don't let the light stay on all night. Or better yet invest in a nightlite. Next unplug small appliances when they are not in use. Especially those that have lights or clocks, like the coffee pot or microwave. We don't need the clock on the microwave, so it stays unplugged until needed. When I make coffee in the morning, I put the fresh brewed coffee in a thermos to stay hot and turn off and unplug the coffee pot. I know most people say that those items make such a little difference, but when you do them on a regular basis and combine them all together they do make a difference. Plus, my uncle who is an electrician, says that most home fires start from small appliances that are left plugged in. Even though they are turned off they still draw some electricity and any short or fault in any wiring is prone to catch fire. He says that a wise homeowner will always unplug appliances when not in use. That is about it for the kitchen. So get those grills fired up and get your cooking done outside!

Guest Blogger

I have no time for extras these days. This means that those photos I would love to post on the blog keep getting put off. So I have invited someone to take the photos and write a few posts to go along with them. Hopefully this will give all of you folks something to look at besides my rambling words and she absolutely loves to take photos. So our guest blogger will be my oldest daughter "Petunia". Yes that is her nickname and that is what she will go by when writing and posting. Hope you enjoy her posts. God bless.

Saving Money in the Laundry Room

I thought I would do a series of posts involving money saving ideas in each room of the house. Life is tough all over and finances are strapped by most everyone so I thought I would share, room by room, what we have done to cut our electric bill from 1200kW this month last year to 600kW this year. So let's start with the laundry room. The first thing that can be done is to stop using the dryer. Install a clothesline outside and use it religiously. Step number 2 is to pay attention to the length of time of the wash. In times past I simply turned the washer on to the longest time setting and got it started. I have since discovered that my clothes get just as clean using the 6 minute wash as the 12 minute wash. Those 6 minutes on each load really add up when you wash almost every day. Also, if you have your washer set to do the extra rinse cycle, then turn that off as well. Doing those two things will save about 10 minutes on each wash cycle. For 7 loads a week that is 70 minutes a week less electricity that you are using. Staying with the washer for a minute wash most laundry in cold water. Yes, it does get just as clean. I only use the hot cycle for family cloth, sheets and towels. Everything else is washed in cold water. To save even more money in the laundry room, make your own laundry detergent. I have a couple of recipes on this blog and others around the blogoshphere have their favorite recipes also. The next step is to do your laundry duties during the day so that you rarely need to turn on the light. My laundry room light in fact is never turned on anymore. And last but not least, don't iron what you do not have to iron. In fact if you take the time to hang your clothes properly on the clothesline there should be very few things that really absolutely must be ironed. That is about it for the laundry room, tomorrow we will move onto another room. God bless.

Confederate Memorial Day Today

Today was Confederate Memorial Day. I wold like to take a moment to honor all those men and women who gave all they had even their very lives for Christianity, the Confederacy, and Freedom. Their sacrifices will never be forgotten even though many generations have passed and many lies been told. May those of us that are descendants of those brave patriots never bring dishonor to their names or the cause.

Deo Vindice

Rainy Day!

I guess God not only knew that my garden needed a good rain shower or I needed a day to catch up on my sewing. I am desperately behind on my sewing, especially for myself. I have plum wore out some of my skirts and dresses. They aren't really even fit to wear around the farm. I have the material to sew some more, it is just finding the time to sit down and do it. Typically, when I have sewing in my daily plan, I get about 30 minutes of uninterrupted time. That makes for very slow progress for someone who is a very slow seamstress. I do love to sew however, it is a very peaceful occupation and sometimes does not require much concentration allowing me to think on other things. It has rained most of the night, which made it hard to get out of bed this morning. I love rainy mornings in the spring. The air is crisp and cool and everything looks so clean and fresh. The only drawback is that the laundry won't be hung on the line today. Otherwise it is a glorious morning and I am celebrating this glorious day that the Lord has made! I am definitely going to celebrate this rain today, it was getting pretty dry around here. Watering the garden was getting to be tough the more planting that got done. Thank you Lord for taking that chore off my hands today.

Cap and Trade Tax

While we have all been hunkering down and buying our masks to try to prevent getting the swine flu, Congress has been busy. They have been diligently working to pass the Save our Climate Act of 2009. This act will cost each American household approximately 3900.00 per year in additional taxes. These will be energy taxes tacked onto your energy bills. So learn now where you can cut back, how you can cut back, and if you could build a small windmill or solar panel. Even one would help tremendously. I think for most families though learning to cut back and cut out energy usage will be the biggest help for this coming nightmare tax.This will not only tax our energy usage once but it set to increase each year until their "goal" is met. However, the "goal" is open ended. So folks, I would write your congressmen about HR594 and then tell everyone you know about this bill. The next step is to learn to do without all those energy needs, the simple life is definitely the wisest.

Cheap Drip Irrigation for the Garden

The other day I posted about my bamboo idea for watering my garden. I did an experiment last night and this morning will see how it worked. I planted a bamboo stake and filled with water. This morning I will check the water level to see if it is decreasing and watering the soil below the surface. If not then I have come across another cheap way to water with drip irrigation and your rain barrel water. Save your old milk jug and wash them out. Then poke about 3 small holes near the bottom of the jug. Fill the jug from your rain barrel and then set it near your plant. It will slowly deliver water right near the roots where the plant needs it most. So just one more little idea to help get those plants watered without running up a huge water bill. They also grow better with rain water. Blessings!