Homemade Non-Petroleum Jelly

Found this excellent post about making your own Homemade Non-Petroleum Jelly.  I smeared Michael in Vapor-rub last night and am envisioning a homemade version!  This is more a note to self as I really want to do this!

Beeswax Finish

Just a note to myself.  Make your own beeswax finish.  Excited to make some of this for the kids wooden toys and play kitchen.

The Wife of Noble Character

^{I love reading Proverbs 31.  Much to my surprise the book I just got Large Family Logistics has an entire first chapter about the Proverbs 31 Woman.  I love reading others thoughts on her.  What do you think about this Wise Woman?}

¹⁰ A wife of noble character who can find?
   She is worth far more than rubies.
¹¹ Her husband has full confidence in her
   and lacks nothing of value.
¹² She brings him good, not harm,
   all the days of her life.
¹³ She selects wool and flax
   and works with eager hands.
¹⁴ She is like the merchant ships,
   bringing her food from afar.
¹⁵ She gets up while it is still night;
   she provides food for her family
   and portions for her female servants.
¹⁶ She considers a field and buys it;
   out of her earnings she plants a vineyard.
¹⁷ She sets about her work vigorously;
   her arms are strong for her tasks.
¹⁸ She sees that her trading is profitable,
   and her lamp does not go out at night.
¹⁹ In her hand she holds the distaff
   and grasps the spindle with her fingers.
²⁰ She opens her arms to the poor
   and extends her hands to the needy.
²¹ When it snows, she has no fear for her household;
   for all of them are clothed in scarlet.
²² She makes coverings for her bed;
   she is clothed in fine linen and purple.
²³ Her husband is respected at the city gate,
   where he takes his seat among the elders of the land.
²⁴ She makes linen garments and sells them,
   and supplies the merchants with sashes.
²⁵ She is clothed with strength and dignity;
   she can laugh at the days to come.
²⁶ She speaks with wisdom,
   and faithful instruction is on her tongue.
²⁷ She watches over the affairs of her household
   and does not eat the bread of idleness.
²⁸ Her children arise and call her blessed;
   her husband also, and he praises her:
²⁹ “Many women do noble things,
   but you surpass them all.”
³⁰ Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting;
   but a woman who fears the LORD is to be praised. 

This is just a note to myself as I want to look into this more in depth later.  I found it on another website.

Comparison of Ruth & the Proverbs 31 Woman

Devoted to her family Ruth 1:15-18 Proverbs  31:10, 11, 12, 23

Delighted in her work Ruth 2:2 Proverbs  31:13

Diligent in her labor Ruth 2:7,17,23 Proverbs  31:14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 24, 27

Dedicated to godly speech Ruth 2:10,13 Proverbs  31:26

Dependent on God Ruth 2:12 Proverbs  31:25b, 30

Dressed with care Ruth 3:3 Proverbs  31:22, 25a

Discreet with men Ruth 3:6–13 Proverbs   31:11, 12, 23

Delivered blessings Ruth 4:14,15 Proverbs   31:28, 29

My Vision for a Special Kids Garden

I have a vision in my head for a special kids play area. I am going to post it here so I won't forget it. I am not talking about a kids garden they tend themselves. They will have that as well. I am talking about a special place to play where things are growing. I am picturing a square of grass big enough for all the kids to sit in. All around the grass area will be like a moat with a pathway in. The moat area will be where the plants grow. I want to find large branches and tie them together to make a sort of tee pee and plant vining and climbing plants to grow up and over these branches creating a sort of canopy. There will be walls of sunflowers, cosmos, daisies, corn, and whatever else I think will grow well. Maybe snap peas and carrots for quick play time snacks. Also cut tree trunk rounds for sitting, standing on, or to use as a table. This will be like a summer nature fort. I know I have seen similar ideas online and am really excited to maybe have one for the kids this year. I think they would really enjoy this. This is more of a note to myself so sorry if you are trying to make any sense of this. :) If I can work out the details and get this done I will be sure to post more details and pictures.

Homemade Frappuchino

I have an addiction. Starbucks Mocha Frappuchino's, oh the heaven. Sweet goodness mixed with coffee and blended to icy perfection. Yum! I will admit I spend way too much at Starbucks. I don't even want to know how much I spend there. :) In an effort to seriously cut our budget I am once again attempting to make my own at home. Past efforts have failed. I think mostly due to the fact that I cut corners and tried every mix or powder out there that claims to be a frappuchino. I wanted easy, I wanted drive thru easy. Well those just don't cut it. So when a friend of Joe's offered us their old espresso machine Joe jumped at it. I originally said no as it would be one more kitchen appliance to clutter my kitchen. Joe on the other hand with the thought of homemade egg nog lattes called him right back and said yes we want it. lol

So yesterday he picked up this:

Some searching online found a lot of recipes. These two were put into my favorites:

Recipe #1

Recipe #2

Last night before bed I made 4 shots of coffee and put them in the fridge. Then this morning I decided to give it a go. As the kids were watching a movie I couldn't get on the computer to get my recipe so I winged it.

2 shots coffee

1 cup milk

3 TBSP sugar

3 squirts choc syrup

ice

I mixed it all together and blended in enough ice to the desired consistency. Its pretty close to both recipes.

This was the result:

Actually this plus another whole cup full was the result. I put the second cup into the freezer for later. It was delicious. Not exactly the same but similar and better! It also saved me $5.09 which is what a venti mocha frappuchino costs now days. Joe has made himself two egg nog lattes all ready. Just by making these three drinks we have saved enough money to buy a months worth of ingredients to make coffees with. Now to order some re-usable straws so I don't have to keep buying any. I don't know why but I have to have a straw for drinking most things. lol Go make yourself a coffee and enjoy the savings too!

Recipe for Homemade Laundry Soap

Ingredients needed to make 4 gallons:
4 quarts water
1/2 cup 20 Mule Team Borax (sodium borate)
1/2 cup Arm & Hammer washing soda (not baking soda)
1/2 a grated bar of Fels Naptha or 1 bar of Ivory soap

All of these items I purchased at our local grocery store in the laundry aisle.

Supplies needed:
Pot used specifically for making soaps & cleaners
Grater
Something to stir the melting soap with
Bucket larger than 3 gallons (I use my cleaned out diaper pail)
3 old 100 ounce laundry soap containers to store your new soap in
Funnel

Step 1:
Put 4 quarts of water in your pot. Add the grated bar soap, the 1/2 cup Borax, and the 1/2 cup of washing soda. Heat on medium heat stirring occasionally until all the soap has melted.

Step 2:
Pour it into your bucket & leave it for about an hour to cool off.

Step 3:
Once it is cool, add 3 gallons of very hot water to your bucket & stir thoroughly.

Step 4:
Pour laundry soap into your storage containers using funnel. They will gel up as they cool.

Use 1/2 cup per full load of laundry.

This soap will have a gelatinous consistency and won't look like store bought soap. Another thing to remember is you won't see suds. Suds are not what is cleaning our clothing. The ingredients are doing the cleaning. Most store bought products have added ingredients to produce suds. We think suds = clean but that is not the case. For containers I find that this soap does not come out of the push button dispensers very easy. I prefer to pour it out which can be hard in the large saop containers. I use a mix of old milk jugs, vinegar containers, and laundry soap bottles. I throw my cup in the washer with each load and it comes out clean with each load to be put away.

The above is my last batch of soap. This is a double batch and as you can see there was a lot of it. In addition to 4 milk jugs, 2 170 oz laundry containers, 1 vinegar bottle, 1 large dish soap bottle, and an apple juice bottle there are 4 quart size canning jars in a cupboard that I forgot to put in the picture. I did not have enough room in the pan to make a double batch so I only added 1 batch worth of water and double batch worth of other ingredients. When I poured it into the bucket to cool I added 4 more quarts of really hot water and stirred; then I let it cool and coninued with the regular directions.

Grocery Sale Cycles

I would love to trim down our grocery budget. A forum I am a part of has a great section called Frugality and Finances where I have learned a ton. Some I have already been doing and some that I have not even thought about doing. Couponing is one I will not spend that much time on. If I happen to find a coupon I will use it but spending all that time searching for them, digging through the Sunday paper, keeping track of them all. Its just not for me! One thing I have decided I can do is keep track of the loss leaders and store sale cycles.

We currently do a once a month trip to Costco for a lot of our food. Meat, cheese, milk, butter, some produce, frozen vegis, flour, other baking supplies, etc. We also buy some household items here. TP, shampoo, conditioner. We usually end up going a second time half way through the month for more milk and some produce. We get 2% back which pays for our membership plus some so I'll call that our coupon. :) We do weekly shopping at Trader Joe's for yogurt, produce, and some other things. I have a goal to get out of the weekly shopping under $30 and never seem to do it. Occasionally I will shop at Safeway or Fred Meyer instead of TJ's. And honestly I am not going to go to twelve different stores. I just don't have the time. Costco will continue. And I will do a mix of the other three depending on what is on sale and what we need that month.

In my search for information I was linked to the Hot Coupon World Forum. There is a wealth of information regarding monthly sale cycles. I am hoping it is accurate and will use this in addition to the sale flyers to try and eat in season and buy on sale.

Here is some of what is says about May. As this is for my notes, I have deleted some of the items out that I will not need to keep an eye on. Like paper plates, cups, disposable utensils, dog food, etc.

Sales/Deals:
BBQ/Memorial Day promos-
BBQ Sauce
Ketchup
Mustard
Mayonnaise
Marinade
Pickles
Salad dressing
Popsicles
Hot dogs
Hamburger/ground beef
Ribs
Steaks
Buns
Soda
Insect repellent
Sunscreen
Allergy meds

Coupon inserts of Summer Blast-off theme
Cinco De Mayo promos –
Salsa
Tortillas
Tacos, seasonings

National Pet Week promos-
Cat food

Occasions:
Memorial Day
May Day
Cinco de Mayo
Mother’s Day

Other Promotions this month:
Asian Pacific American Heritage month
National Allergy/Asthma Awareness month
National Asparagus month
National BBQ month
National Egg Month
National Hamburger Month
National Salad MonthNational Salsa Month
National Strawberry Month
Skin cancer awareness/prevention month
International Pickle Week
Armed Forces Day
Kentucky Derby

Produce in Season:
Apricots ~ New
Artichokes ~ Waning
Asparagus
Avocado
Beans, Fava ~ Peak
Beans, Green ~ New
Beets
Blackberries ~ New
Broccoli ~ Waning
Cabbages ~ Waning
Cantaloupe ~ New
Carrots
Cauliflower ~ Waning
Celeriac/Celery Root ~ Waning
Celery ~ Waning
Chard ~ Waning
Cherries ~ New
Corn ~ New
Fennel ~ Waning
Garlic, Green ~ Waning
Grapefruit ~ Waning
Greens Including Arugula, Dandelion, Fiddlehead Fern, Lettuces, Mizuna,
Mustard
Honeydew ~ New
Kale ~ Waning
Mushrooms, Morels ~ Waning
Onions, Fresh/Spring ~ Waning
Onions, Sweet: Vidalia ~ Peak
Peaches ~ NewPeas,
Edible Pods ~ Peak
Peas, English/Shelling ~ Peak
Potatoes, New ~ New
Radish ~ Waning
Ramps ~ Peak
Raspberries ~ New
Rhubarb, Field ~ Waning
Salad Mix ~ Waning
Sorrel ~ Peak
Spinach ~ Waning
Squash, Zucchini ~ New
Strawberries
Watermelon ~ New

I am going to try and track the sales at Safeway and Fred Meyer (maybe just Safeway) to see what I can buy at the lowest and buy this in bulk to last till the next lowest priced sale. We are also continuing with our goal to make as much of our own food. Garden season is here, I am re-exploring making our own yogurt (last time was unsuccesful lol), we currently make almost all the bread we eat, and our chickens give us more than enough eggs. I still buy hot dog buns, bagels, and tortillas but those are on the list to go as soon as I try out the recipes I have waiting. :) I don't know how much I can trim off our budget as it is not huge anyway. We make most of our food from scratch all ready and are trying to cut down on the snacky foods so those things help. This will be interesting and I am looking forward to watching the sales to see what happens.

How do you do your grocery shopping? I would love to hear your tips and comments.

Water Harvesting

I just read this blog post and wanted to post about it. Mainly as a note to myself to look into this. lol. I live in a rainy area so this would be great. One of my friends has a barrel to catch water that I always see when I stop by. Of course whatever we do will be on a much smaller scale. :)

Water Harvesting

A Poem by Peggy Omara

I read this on someone's blog the other day. Had to share.

There Will Be Time
There is time still
for sitting in cafes
in Paris
sipping wine.
Time still
for going to meet
the guru.
There is time still.
Now I am caring for eternity.
Carrying bodies soft with sleep
to beds of flowered
quilts and pillows.
Answering cries deep out of
nighttime fears.
Buckling shoes.
Opening doors.
Pretending.
My soul now is dwelling in
the house of tomorrow.
Tomorrow there will be time
for long leisurely conversations,
for poems to write,
and dances to perform.
Time still.
So I surrender now
to them and this,
knowing it is they
who will teach me
how to do it all.

Peggy O'Mara