Making Our Home a Haven

Recently I have found several sweet, old-fashioned websites that encourage women to be homemakers. Housewives. Mothers. The one who makes the home a pleasant place to be.

That's what I desire.

I want to put my energy, time and skill into making our home a beautiful place to be. A place where my husband can relax, our kids can be encouraged, and anyone who comes through our doors will be refreshed and blessed.

 

So I am learning to step back and re-evaluate my priorities, my plans, and my habits.

I want to find joy and pleasure in being a housewife. In doing my daily tasks with a sweet attitude and making our home a haven.

 

Today I washed all the dirty clothes in the house and hung them out to dry in the beautiful fall breezes. The sun brightened them and the wind softened them, and the clean country air freshened them. I enjoyed hanging them up and then taking them down when the sun and wind had dried them.

Some friends graciously brought me a special lunch of all my favorite foods, and a movie. So I folded the fresh, sweet-smelling clothes while I watched the movie with them. It was such a pleasant treat!

 

Later, the sun was sinking in the west, casting golden rays of sunlight through the trees and bushes.

I enjoy the beautiful, crisp, fall days we are having. Despite the fact that it is just a portent of Old Man Winter, I cannot help but revel in the warm sunshine and deliciously cool breezes.

 

Sometimes life is crazy and everything is a whirlwind and I feel like I can't think straight... those days happen. But I don't want them to happen often. I want most of my life to be a steady, pleasant round of household duties. So my kids can be grounded and I have time and energy to teach them the important things in life.

 

So that I have time to be there when they need me to read a story, bake a cake, take a walk, or soothe an owie. It is important to me that my kids have memories of mama making supper, reading stories, working cheerfully around the house.

 

 

How do you make your home a haven?

 

I used a cheap clothesline from the store, but someday I would like to have one of these. :)

 

Choke Cherry Jelly

I enjoy canning. It is a lot of work, especially for some things, but I enjoy it anyways. Looking at those rows of jars...hearing the 'pop!', it makes me happy. And it is beautiful. Always make beautiful things. Life is too short to live ugly.

I moved to a ranch house along the creek bottoms about two years ago, and this place is loaded with choke cherries. They grow in my yard and along the bridge over the creek. I had never tasted or used them before we moved here, but I quickly decided that I will not let any free food go unused...least of all fruit! So. I perused Pinterest, recipe books and Google for a chokecherry jelly recipe. And I found some. Problem was, they all are different, and some don't work right. Finally I found two and kinda combined them to come up with my own that is pretty much perfect. At least in my opinion. :)

The method is pretty easy, actually. At least the way I do it.

First, have your kids pick the cherries. :)

 Some are redder and some are blacker. I don't know why.

 Then you wash them. I stir them around so the leaves and junk can come to the top. Then I scoop the trash out with my spoon.

Drain. You will notice there are some green berries in my bowl, and the tiny stems are all still on. Its OK. They really don't matter. The pioneers used a certain portion of green berries in their jam instead of pectin. I don't recommend that route. I tried it and was sadly disappointed.

Put in a large kettle and fill with water till the cherries are just covered.

 Simmer about 30-45 minutes, or until the juice is dark red. I confess I have never timed this. I'm bad about cooking by feel...

Drain the juice in a large bowl,

 Wow! The kids an I picked about 4 gallons, and got a gallon of juice! I see lots of jelly in my future... If you don't have time to make it into jelly right now - you can store the juice in the fridge a few days.

You should have your jars and lids ready before you start the jelly process...

 

 Then you pour 3 1/2 cups juice into a large kettle. It will boil up considerably, so make sure the kettle is big enough. Add the lemon juice and pectin. Stir. Bring to a boil.

 

 When the juice is boiling, add the sugar. Bring to a rolling boil (boiling so hard you can't stir it down) and continue to stir as it boils for 2 minutes. (This is where it will boil up and up and up. I boiled over two kettles of jelly on my stove. Please don't be that stupid. Burnt on jelly is HARD to clean off. )
When the 2 minutes are up, you can skim the foam off if you like. It doesn't have to be skimmed off, but looks prettier/clearer if you do.

 Then you ladle it into jars, leaving 1/2 inch head space.

 when the jars are full, wipe the rims with a clean cloth. (They might not seal if they have jelly splatters.)

 Place a lid on each one...

 ...and a ring. Tighten to fingertip tightness. In other words, just tighten them with your fingertips, don't use all the force in your being! :)

 Place them in a hot water bath. The boiling water should be about an inch over the jars.

 Bring the water in the canner to a boil and let it boil for 5 minutes. If you live above 3,000 ft seal level, you need to check your county extension to see what the recommended processing time is for your area. I live at 6,000 ft, and I need to process them for 10 minutes. Then you remove the jars to cool. If the jelly isn't set, I recommend not disturbing the jars for at least 24 hours. The pectin takes time to work.

 Last but not least, stand back and admire your hard work!

 And go make some room on your shelves for some yummy jelly!

 

Note:: This picture is of a double recipe. One recipe yields about 5 pints.

 

 

Chokecherry Jelly

3.5 cups chokecherry juice

1/2 cup fresh lemon juice

1 pkg dry pectin (1.75 oz)

4 1/2 cups of sugar

 

Pour juices in kettle.

Add pectin, stir.

Bring to a boil, add sugar.

Boil and stir for 2 minutes.

Remove from heat, skim.

Ladle into jars.

Process in hot water bath for 5 minutes.

Cool undisturbed for 24 hours.

 

Here's the pectin I use: 

 

 

Allergies... An Update

Update: After 2 weeks of the oils, I was so excited! I wanted everyone to try them for everything!!!
But. But...
She was starting to be more and more wheezy during the day. I thought we'd just give it more time to get in her system.

Then one night Jenni came to me at midnight with a horrid asthma attack. I sleepily told her to go rub some oil on. She replied that she already had. I crawled out of bed, opened the bottle and put some in her hands and had her 'suck' it into her lungs. (breathe it in through the mouth, like an inhaler)
I rubbed more oil on her. I waited. Repeated the procedure. Several times.
Nope. Wasn't working. I told her to get her inhaler. She informed me it was empty.
Empty?!? What?? She hasn't had to use her rescue inhaler for 6 months! How did it get empty??
After some more conversation, I discovered that she had been using it everyday in her bedroom.
Well.

So basically, stopping her regular regimen of drugs just made her asthma flare up big time, and she was keeping it quiet with her rescue inhaler. It's called a 'rescue inhaler' for a reason. Not meant to be used every day. So yeah.

The oils work awesome for hay fever/allergy symptoms, such as runny nose, sneezing, itching. But they don't work for asthma, at least for my daughter. The Breathe Blend was what I was using for her asthma, and even though she rubbed it on her skin every night (often more) it did very little for her asthma that I could tell. I immediately had her start her drugs again. Except the benadryl. She can use which ever she wants for that. Some days she uses oils, some days (esp if we'll be gone all day) she opts for a Zyrtec. I am sad. I wanted these oils to work. I really, really did.
I am convinced they work for some things for some people. But just like ALL natural remedies, they only work for some things. NOT everything. Not for everyone, anyways.
So there you go.
Fighting hay fever? Try them! I know if I start sneezing/runny nose, I reach for them first. I love them. But obviously I can't guarantee that they will work for you.

By the way - I have had some success with them for other things.
Headaches: I get terrible headaches, and dabbing peppermint on my temples and behind my ears does seem to work pretty good for those. One time it worked completely, the next time after 2-3 applications, the pain was only gone by 50% so i did take some Ibuprofen.

Sore throat: I started with a terrible sore throat one day, and after 18 hours of it just getting worse, I thought "why not?" and rubbed some peppermint on my neck. In a couple hours there was no more soreness.

Will I continue to use the oils?
Yes. I will continue to use them and try new ones as I can afford them, cause I just like them. And they have worked for some things.

Cheyenne Frontier Days

Cheyenne Frontier Days are crazy.

People come from all over to The Daddy of 'Em All.

The town fills to the brim with horse trailers, flags and people of all kinds.

I always take my kids to watch the parade.

This year they are in 4H, so they were told they could ride in the 4H float.

Well, the 'float' never showed up, so they walked alongside the mounted 4H club members.

It was a long, hot walk.

Good thing they had hats!

 



 

Here comes Old Glory at the start of the parade!

 It is difficult to use a large camera while holding a sleeping baby, and covering her ears from the noise of all the drums and marching bands, so I just snapped pictures of the things that were most interesting to me. :)         
                                   Calgary Stampede Show Riders - for my friend Olga! :)

 This foal was staying close to it's mommy. So cute!

 

Oh! Here they come! The 4H members. The young man holding the Flag is from my kids club.

 

 

 And there they are! Frank is waving grandly at everyone. :) I think Jenni was getting wore out...

 

 

And this guy. Craziness. Pure craziness!

And this picture of an Oliver tractor is just for my crazy brother-in-law, Tim. I have no idea who came up with this design, but it sure looks weird.

 

And that's all folks! If you are ever in the area - check it out! They put on a good parade.

Fabulous Fajitas ~ Venison Recipe

 

I have eaten Venison since I can remember. I like it ok - but it's not my favorite meat. Still, I have friends ask me from time to time if I have any great recipes for Venison, so I decided to start posting a few of my favorites. And this is the winner - hands down.

It is easy, tasty, and tender.

And you can dress it up or down as much as you please.

So here you go...

 

 

Cast of characters:

Pour the oil in a slow-cooker, add spices and mashed garlic.

 

If anyone knows of a garlic press that actually squeezes the garlic out through those little holes - would do me a huge favor and tell me where to buy it? I hate every garlic press I have ever used. They just press the garlic flat - practically nothing comes out the little holes.

 

 

I normally use venison for this recipe, but since we have a freezer full of beef right now, I used beef.

Don't hate me.

 

 

Slice the venison into thin strips. Thinner is better.

Then throw the strips in with the spices, and mix well with your hands.

 

 

 

When it is mixed well, it should look like this:

 

Put the lid on, and cook on low for 6-7 hours. It can go longer, depending on your slow cooker.

When it is done, it will have some savory juices with it. Mmmm!

(note: you won't get as much juice with venison as there is in this photo, cause this is beef, which has a higher fat content.)

When the meat has one hour left to cook, slice a bell pepper and a onion and throw the slices on top of the meat. Normally I do this. I mean, it's fajitas, people! But  for some unknown, strange reason, I didn't. But you should. It's much better that way!

 

 

I usually just use a slotted spoon to put some meat on a tortilla, and drop a spoonful of sour cream on top and call it good.

But it is also good with tomatoes, cheese, salsa, you name it.

 

Enjoy!

 

Fabulous Fajitas Venison Recipe

1 1/2 lbs venison steak, sliced thinly

2 T. olive oil

2 T. lemon juice

1 clove garlic, minced

1 1/2 teaspoon. ground cumin

1 teaspoon seasoned salt

1/2 teaspoon chili powder

1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper

1 large green pepper, sliced

1 large onion, sliced

 

Mix all seasonings together in slow cooker, add meat and mix well.

Cover and cook for 6 hours on low or 3 hours on high.

Add onion and pepper for the last one hour.

Guns.

When I think of guns, I think of my dad....
6'1" tall, brown as a nut, thanks to the traces of Cherokee blood running in his veins.
Strong and practical and full of real life experiences and knowledge.

I was 5 years old -  sitting in our dim attic, watching him carefully reload shotgun shells with powder and shot, and then placing it in the crimper and pulling the handle - crimping the red edges tightly shut. I would watch, fascinated, never tiring of watching that crimp appear in the top of the shell. It felt cozy in the attic, just me and Daddy.

I sat on the floor cross-legged as a 3rd grader, watching the light flicker on the gun barrel as Dad pushed the ramrod through the barrel again and again. The little square of white cotton would turn black with soot, and then he would oil the barrel. He would look down the empty barrel, and after it was clean and well oiled, he would put it back together. My brothers would be talking with Dad about guns and hunting, and while the scent of gun oil floated through the room, he would tell stories of Meshach Browning and his amazing hunts.

I listened to my four older brothers talk of hunts, and as a teenager, I knew I would hunt one day too. I went to Hunters Education Class when I was 14 years old, applied for my first deer tag when I was 15 and went hunting that fall.

I was excited and scared and proud that I was hunting deer for our table, in the fine tradition of country people. My girlfriends thought I was crazy. My guy friends thought I was cool. I was mostly nervous. I did shoot a deer that first year, at age 15, with some help from my brother. But I was not a crack shot and my many and varied misses gave my friends many a laugh.
                                                        My first deer at age 15

What does all this have to do with the gun debate? Not much.
I just wanted to put it out there what the word means to me.
Guns.
 It's not a scary word.
It means Daddy and stories and cozy evenings and butchering deer.
 It means getting rid of the coon that's been eating chickens, and target practice on Thanksgiving.
It means teaching little kids that guns are dangerous. (we never had a gun safe, and we never had even a close call.)
It means Aunt Lovina telling my teenage brother that he "better not shoot my wrens!" :)

                                                      My first pronghorn in 2009.

 

I realize that the gun debate is a hot-button issue and has nothing to do with hunting.
But I think if more people grew up like I did - enjoying guns, using them to shoot many and varied animals, telling stories about them in the firelight... maybe, just maybe, we wouldn't have so many people scared of the very word, unsure how to use them, unable to see them as a good thing. Maybe part of the answer is to stop with the fear-mongering about guns, and start educating our kids, instead of instilling fear into them. Start teaching them the good, instead of making guns the enemy. 'Cause they aren't, you know. Guns are not the enemy, any more than needles kill drug addicts.

Maybe we should send our little boys out to shoot crows and prairie dogs and squirrels with a .22, and they will be too busy to shoot their teachers.

Stay safe... and go learn to shoot a gun. :)

ps - All the animals I have harvested  -  I have also eaten. The reason wild animals are running pell-mell and willy-nilly all over Creation, spreading disease and eating pets and children, is because people are so 'loving' that they don't remember where our food is supposed to come from. Sure, baby deer are cute. So are little lettuce leaves. I eat them both.

Walk With A Cowboy

I love taking rambling, slow walks in the coolness of evening. The days heat has dissipated, and the birds are softly calling to each other as they settle on for the night.

This evening I asked My Cowboy to walk with me. He agreed, and we set off. We hadn't gone far when I heard a small voice behind us. 

There was my little girl- wanting to come along! :) Of course, I couldn't say no to her! ...so we continued together. 

Now, My Cowboy enjoys to rope. 'Enjoys' is an understatement! He brought his rope on our walk, and commenced to roping tufts of grass, fence posts, fallen branches, and little girls. 

He'd throw the loop to land in front of her feet - but she nimbly avoided it, mostly. 

It was a pleasant way to end the day.