Summer 15' Updates

I'm not a big picture taker, but I didn't quit taking pictures so much as I quit uploading them onto the computer. When the pictures do go up they're several months behind whatever news has happened. That among many other things contribute to the lack of personal posts on this blog. We're also trying to be more aware of OPSEC around here. The internet doesn't need to know when so & so is coming & what the time frame is & our planned activities. Having a public blog just kind of throws that out of the window, but I'm not ready to wholly throw in the towel yet.

My garden is the prettiest, biggest & looks to be the most productive one yet. There are swarms of Japanese beetles everywhere & not everything has come up but it's the most cheerful place to be despite that. It always makes me smile. I got a lot more garlic than I thought I would & my late planting is still growing well, though I don't think it will come up in time except to go back in as seed.
I've been canning all week, it's much more gratifying to see home canned goods arrive in a glut on our pantry rather than grocery cans. The children have been working w/ me pretty steadily as well. They sincerely enjoy working w/ me as opposed to merely completing an assigned task. I can't work on everything though, delegation is a must.
Unhappily our AC went out last week towards the end of my first canning session so I've been trying to get it done before 10:00. The actual canning part is done outside on a propane burner but cooking the fruit/blanching, etc. take place on the stove. The stove is shut off after 10:00 & supper is either salad, grilled or crockpotted w/ a lemonade break midafternoon.

We took the whole month of June off & just finished the required standardized testing for homeschoolers. I tend to do it before we start the new school year. I'd like to dip my toe into the school schedule next week & see how it goes. School in the heat is a drag, & outside jobs are better accomplished in the morning, we might set up shop under a tree for it instead.

 I've got melons trellised, onions, resting strawberries & a plot at rest awaiting winter greens.

2 stands of popcorn, another kind of strawberry & the herbs are creeping everywhere. I'll handle them this fall.

 I've never had a row of tomatoes before! 3 kinds, sweet potatoes, beans & pie pumpkins. 2 more rows waiting for greens.

View from above.

Stocking Up & De-gloving Feet

Hey come over for supper! While we'll not be having this exact dish it ends up as the basis for many of our meals & I ran out, so I thought I'd put my recipe up. That way you can decide to accept the invitation. Or not, I know some don't like to know where their food comes from. I present: chicken stock.

First you need a chicken. Thaw them the day before. I've got 3 carcasses in this pot & I was SO EXCITED to actually have my own chickens. Jupiter, Paper & Nameless Factory Rotisserie chicken from the deli.

Hi pretty birds, stay out! They are dirty cannibals but I do enjoy them.

My recipe is never the same as I usually have to substitute for whatever is on hand, but this pot had onions, celery, carrots (from my garden!)

garlic (from my garden!)

sort of parsley & sage (from my garden!) & bay, salt & pepper from the store.

Firstly you take your clean empty egg shells {(I had 5 or 6.)from my chickens!} & put them in your water w/ a generous glug of cider vinegar. I had about 2 gallons of water, so adjust your glug accordingly. The vinegar will begin the leaching action you need to extract the calcium from the shells.

You'll notice in my carrot picture you're only seeing tops. I chopped the tops very fine & substituted them for parsley as I was out. They're in the same family & not poisonous. This time I also had something brand new that I had seen in other recipes but never tried out for myself: 4 chicken feet.

You can see the difference in these feet. Jupiter was an old rooster, Paper between 12 & 16 weeks. Jupiter was an outsider from Day 1 w/ the chickens. He was always on the perimeter, never allowed to be too close to the rest of the flock. When he did mate w/ a hen he was knocked off by a more dominant rooster & the poor hen was re-mounted to show superiority. The hens backs & necks were getting bald from being plucked out so he had to go, though he was the prettiest rooster. It's better to work w/ in the hierarchy.

He was however, our first harvest & we learned a lot w/ him. I put his feet in the freezer because I knew that they were very good for stock. (Hooves likewise if you make beef stock.) I scrubbed & scrubbed & soaped & scrubbed because if you have chickens, you know they're not clean. We watched some youtube videos after that & saw the best way to clean feet was to just de-glove them. That is what I did for Paper & it worked like a dream.

Get your pot of water boiling & let the feet sit for about 3-5 min. Re-dip if necessary.

This worked but it worked a lot better on Paper. Freezing does make it more difficult. Paper's pretty yellow leg scales actually did come off just like a glove. Jupiter had to be flaked.
Here's the leg flaked off to the spur. Notice the color difference. I have also read that if your roosters spurs are giving your hens trouble you can hold the roster & put half of a very hot baked potato on the spur for 30 seconds or so. W/ a twist the spur will pop off. And it does.
Finish de-gloving, put it all in the pot & simmer for about 12-18 hours. Yeah, it's a 2 day event. Strain it all out & yet another great new thing I did was to can some of it instead of just freeze it all. I have one of those smart spin as-seen-on-tv gimmicky things & I filled every container after it had cooled & gelled for freezing. And THAT is why you want the feet, the gelatin leached from the bones & shells is so good & healthy for your own bones. The floating oils on top & that great herb-y chicken jelly are what you're looking for. It's very convenient to making chicken gravy in a pinch, any & all (excepting beef) soup bases, anywhere you throw that MSG laden bouillon cube or packet this can go. Or just thaw & heat up, drinking it by itself if you've been sick. Chicken truly is a wonder food.

Wherein I'm Back & a Chicken Feeds Us.

Ahhh, I hope I'm back from my blogging hiatus. We'll see, it's a busy time. What's been going on? Well, most recently supper.

Our chicken mortality rate is high, & I'm hopeful our learning curve is over. Last month we were thankful to be blessed to have 2 clutches hatch, 11 chicks in all. 1 chick has died so far, I think the momma squashed it to death between herself & the wall of her nursery box. It was still very limp when I found it.

Chicken death count so far: 2 to the dog, 1 to the July heat, 1 (July) broodied to death, 1 (July)egg bound?, 1 (July baby) pecked to death, 1 (baby) of mysterious causes, 2 to the supper table. July was hot & discouraging, I'm sure for many people, but our biggest & fattest hens couldn't take it. RIP Lady Gaga. It was getting to be so often I just quit burying them. Something was digging them up & feasting anyways, our little graveyard is way far away from the coop & house. I just tossed them in an impassable place.

From all of this death, I was able to produce a meal entirely off of our land! Yesterday, it was exciting. Not so for Victor, he's got a very weak stomach. Chicken for the supper table #2 (named "Paper" by Victor because of her white color) fell or landed funny or was injured by another chicken or spider bit or SOMETHING & her legs didn't work right for her. She would sit & eat on her backwards knees & would drag herself around, her toes getting caught underneath of her & was an altogether pathetic sight.

She didn't seem to be in pain, no broken bones & made no more than usual complaint when picked up. I fed her my sick chicken mash ( Yogurt, cracked wheat, oat & cornmeal mixed w/ applesauce & honey) & isolated her for the day. There was no improvement after 3 days. Mike let her out out of pity because she REALLY wanted to be w/ the other chickens. They are social sun worshipping birds. I went outside & found her head & face pecked all bloody, so chicken for tomorrow's supper it was. Poor Paper. She was about 12-13 weeks, so she still hadn't begun to lay & was still tender. I was going to respectfully kill her but compromised. I didn't want to have to wash an apron.

So I did love on her, only on the chopping block instead of my lap. I rubbed her neck, which was oily as she couldn't dust herself (more confirmation she belonged in the cull category) & she cooed a little bit & stretched it out & closed her eyes. This took 3 or 4 minutes of love to build up my nerve. I wanted her really relaxed. Then wham! She didn't flop as much as I thought she would, maybe because her nerves were already damaged?

Miranda greeted me at the door, ecstatic.
"Chicky!" She doesn't care if there's a head or not. The roasting pan I had put on before was ready to scald & aid in de-feathering. That was the worst part. Feathers go into a dish pan filled w/ water & borax for cleaning. They'll come in handy somewhere. I dry them in onion bags on the clothesline.
I had Carla to go w/ me every step of the way, though I was slower than w/ Jupiter, our othe cull rooster & first supper chicken. I don't like to rush. V & C don't mind exploring a chicken if the feathers are off. She recommended roasting or frying so I stuffed her w/ potatoes, carrots & garlic I had grown & onions I hadn't. Mike was out hunting so he came in late but he ate & remarked on the ingredients & said he was proud of me. It is much more satisfying to have use of our household economy rather than the dependence on a 3rd party (Super Stuff-Mart). Thanks to God for the opportunity to gain & use this knowledge & Paper for watching her hatch & learn chick things & then poult things & I am sorry we'll not be getting any eggs from her but thankful for another carcass to add to my bone bag for stock.

My Bread Recipe

I've been making our family's bread for about 6 years now, but 3 of those years were tweaking the recipe to find the loaf we all liked. For the record Mike still thinks my bread is plain but in this respect I completely disagree w/ him. I make sourdough, though perhaps not the conventional kind.
My starter (we call it the "mother") is about 5 years old & she is a plain flour & water starter though there are many ways you can get a starter. I don't think flour & water are applicable to her description anymore. She, like myself & most other mothers I know, needs a jolt of sugar in the morning to get working. She has metamorphosed into a herman starter.I don't know how that name came about but I didn't invent it.
The day before I commence, the mother comes out of her sleep from the fridge. I stir the hooch (the sour water that has risen to the top) back in to make an even consistency. Then I feed her 1/4 cup of sugar, 1/4 cup of potato flakes & a 1/2 cup of water & let her sit on the counter over night or all day to bring it up to room temperature. When the mother is awake she is fizzy & bubbly. She gets another stirring, & I add 1 cup of starter to my bread bowl. I'll feed her again, 1/2 cup whole wheat flour & 1/2 cup water & put her back to bed.

For the rest of the bread you'll need 2 & 3/4 cups of wheat flour, 3 cups f white flour, 1/4 cup of flax seed, 1/3 cup of sugar (optional), 1/2 cup of vegetable oil & 1 Tablespoon of salt & enough warm water to do the job. You might notice my jar of yeast sitting there. I also add 1 tsp. of yeast in the colder months or the rising time goes to 2 days. It is also optional though.

I LOVE King Arthur flour & excepting my own, that is what I use. I did not buy any wheat flour because I told myself I would have 3 cups of ground wheat flour ready at the time of this baking. Flour is getting expensive. However my plans went awry & I am demonstrating the first all white loaf in about 4 years.
Stir & mix it all together w/out the use of aluminum tools. I knead mine directly in the bowl so I can take it w/ me if I need to be doing something else. Cover & let it rise in a warm place as long as needed. 12 hours is not unusual.


Punch it down & form a good tight loaf. It should be smooth & satiny, excepting all of those little flax seeds.

Divide your loaf into 2 & prepare them for another rising.


I found this next trick on Candy's blog, Keeping the Home. I love how uniform it makes you loaves. Butter the bottom & sides of your pans thoroughly. I cannot express adequately the superiority of stone pans vs. aluminum. The yucky looking one is Pampered Chef, that's just good seasoning you see & it's my workhorse. The pretty one is Paula Deen, from Walmart. There is not much difference in their performance, only in their method of washing. Paula's will be my model.


Take one of your dough balls & stretch it over your fist. I only had one googly eye, so it's not quite the comical effect I was aiming for. Victor & Charlotte were appreciative though. I have never read Nourishing Traditions, though I hope to some day but this is supposed to stretch the gluten strands. I've not read the book as I said so I can't tell you why that is the thing to do. That is just what is going on.


Smoosh your dough into its pan, ugly side up. Really smoosh it (technical term) & get all of the air bubbles out.



Continue the smooshing down the length of your pan.


THEN, (favorite part) flip the loaf over to reveal a fairly smooth uniform buttered loaf of bread.


Put your bread down for another sleep in another warm place, covered w/ a clean towel.


In the morning it is ready to get up! It is always neat!

I have cleaned my oven since taking this picture. Bake the bread for 30 min. at 350 degrees.



When it's finished, re-butter for a softer & more flavorful crust. If you don't let it cool adequately it won't slice as well. I slice it on the side for the same reason, but the first loaf is always sacrificed...it smells too good!



Serve up smiles.

Girls Just Wanna Have Fun!

A rainy Fri. in progress & I'm looking around at all I have to do & thinking of the importance of men. Why? Well this week my men have left to visit Grandma & attend a wedding in Fl. for a week. They took my motivation to cook & clean too, lol.




Charlotte & I have been baking cookies, blowing off dandelion heads, reading stories & big time focusing on potty training. Even w/ the step stool she can't climb onto the toilet w/out help, so I got her a little $5.00 potty, all one piece that she really likes. I wish I'd had it for Victor, he had a $20.00 "Royal Potty" that would make music whenever it sensed a deposit. It gradually became haunted, singing it's triumphal songs at all hours even after we turned it off. It would sing out on the deck & eventually we just trashed it.




Charlotte had hers in her bedroom at first, then she desired the privacy of her closet & finally in my bathroom. She empties it into the toilet very nearly always w/out mishap. Her reward is 1 chocolate chip. She's stopped telling me when she has to pee & instead yells "Shockit schip!" That's my cue to drop what I'm doing & escort her, sometimes reading a Farm Story if the deposit is solid. That will garner 3 or 4 chocolate chips. A small price to pay, in my mind.


I don't like bribery but her motivation had retreated so far as to be nearly gone after Miranda was born & all of our visitors had left. She would yell "Like it!" vehemently, which is her backwards barbaric way of saying,"I don't like it." I don't know if she's a lazy speaker or what; I'm inclined to think so. She said very nicely this morning "Pancakes please ma'am." w/out my asking or having to prompt. Manners always seem to be there when it's something they want.


I was worried how Victor would do; this is his first overnight away from home & a road trip besides. By all accounts he's having a great time. Sigh. I know he'll be more grown up when he returns. But for now it's time for girl fun!

Spring Projects

This'll be a pictue update/ land tour. I'm hoping this will help to show my absence on this blog, lol. Spring has sprung w/ a vengence hereabouts down yonder in our hollow or holler, depending on where you be from. My proper english seems to be on hiatus today & I'm just going to let it slide as I'm typing left handed.

This project post commences w/ the plank bridge across the branch (stream: more akin to a constant running ditch) Mike built w/ Victor on a lazy afternoon. Victor likes to sail his man/ action figure underneath & watch for crawdads which seem to be plentiful.



This is where Mike had wanted to put some goats should we ever be so blessed. It took him 2 days to clear this out.



DV, the end result is Goat Paradise. Lots of stumps to be nimble on.

Plan B. After doing all that work he decided to build a goat house on the concrete pad instead. This is where the metal shed met it's end this winter due to the heavy snows we had. He spent many winter sessions trying to shoot it down to no avail, so he finally just hitched it to the truck & pulled it down. I think goats would be happy here too, we just need another gate.

This is the beginning of our canning/ summer kitchen he built. Since we'd like to forego the AC & try to preserve our own food, this will hopefully kill 2 birds w/ 1 stone because the kitchen heats up pretty good. This is pretty optimistic of us since I've never actually canned, but a lady at church is very willing to teach so I'm pretty excited over the prospect. It's also our new grill.



Remember our garden plot the electric company so kindly donated their old poles to us for?

The dirt coming in...


And here's 1/2 of it laid in. I've not got the whole of it laid out or planted yet but it's coming. I kind of go square footish but I tend to fill in the squares w/ only 1 kind of produce. Strawberries & onions are sharing squares, But I've got 2 garlic plots,, 1 of beans, 2 strawberry plant (SO sweet!) 4 tomatoes & I suspect a cuke. Either that or a melon, I forgot what I planted. Also a pea patch. I like the square foot way for the paths between & lack of thinning rather than just rows. My carrots failed to put in an appearance as well as the lettuce. Watering is the toughest thing, I just barely get to it at all. Miranda doesn'tlike being outside & since she sleeps all night though, her naps are short & far between. We make do & God provided a 1/4" this week.

My personal project is getting rid of baby weight. Elastic is getting to be a tiresome friend. Mike caught this shot of me preparing to hike up the hill. Miranda is helping me to rid myself of extra weight w/ her own tiny addition & I've got one of the shotguns since our property backs onto the bear preserve. It's a fairly uphill walk & he caught this shot as I was starting out.




This shows off Mike's personal project fairly well & that is his beard. Isn't it awesome? He had his hair cut & beard trimmed up a bit after this picture was taken for a wedding & I find it terribly attractive. I took this as a "most sensitive man in the world" picture.



And of course our most rewarding...

Hillbilly Housewife Helped Me Yet Again

Every Wed. we get together w/ my brother in law's family & we girls will cook something up for supper. This week is waffles. (Breakfast for supper is never wrong!)
But alas! What is this? A dab of syrup enough only for a cornbread muffin? It won't work. Yes, there's jelly, preserves, honey & sugars of various sorts, but I really prefer syrup w/ waffles.
There's no way I'm driving back to town today for only syrup so I turn to my favorite frugal internet lady, Susanne at Hillbilly Housewife, http://www.hillbillyhousewife.com/.

A lady named Lisa posted this & it tastes pretty good. I mixed the dregs of the leftover syrup w/ plain yogurt for my brother in law as that's his forte' & after rinsing the bottle out in lava hot water refilled it w/ the new stuff. It filled all 24 oz. (syrup standard?) w/ a bit left over.
Lisa says..


"I like to make this syrup because it has few ingredients, easy to make, and tastes great. It is thinner than commercial syrup but at least I can read the entire ingredient list and know what is in it."

You will need:
1 1/2 C. brown sugar
1 1/2 C. water
1/2 C. white sugar
3/4 C. light corn syrup
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. vanilla
1 tsp. maple flavoring (optional)

Combine sugars, water, and corn syrup in a medium saucepan and bring to a boil over medium heat. Boil for approximately 7-9 minutes to thicken slightly.
Remove from heat and stir in salt, vanilla, and maple flavoring if using. Cool completely before pouring into bottle or jar. Does not need to be refrigerated.

*Note* I have never used the maple flavoring in this syrup and it still tastes “maple” enough for my family.

I concur.

Jan. Adventures

These have been such happy busy days, made all the more interesting by the trials & setbacks that have come up. To sum up the first half of the month:

Our midwife will be unable to attend our birth, (I'm about 34 weeks or so) so we're looking into a better hospital w/ nurse midwives on staff a bit further away. This is a very male dominated area in regards to female specific health care & I want nothing to do w/ that. The new clinic is very accommodating.

I was robbed for a day at Aldi's. My billfold fell out of my pocket after I paid for my purchases & a gentleman behind me turned it in. I know this because I saw the security tape. This was on one of those 20 degree windy days when we were finishing our shopping into nap time having passed lunch by. Victor & Charlotte were better than I hoped as I unpacked, searched & repacked the groceries several times out in the wind & unharnessed all of the carts in two's & three's (the chained quarter carts) thinking perhaps it was wedged in the seat top. No avail. The cashier hadn't seen it the first I asked her, the second time I asked her no one had turned it in. I was in a panic, we've taken a 70% loss of income w/ retirement. I didn't know how I could face Mike w/out the debit card or remaining cash & especially w/out my military dependent ID. There's no place to get a replacement around here & it doubles as an insurance card. The wonderful manager took me into the back to check the security cameras & we watched it all on tape. The gentleman handed it off to the cashier as it was the the proper thing to do & she put it on the counter. The manager sent me home & said he would watch to see if anyone took it off of the counter. I borrowed the store phone & called Mike to cancel the bank card. He was predictably unhappy. After feeding the children & laying Charlotte down the manager called to see if I could come to the store as they had it!

I did & was welcomed by the police, manager & district manager. Apparently the employee (Jennifer Crump, 27 yrs old, beware of her!) had palmed my billfold & got nervous when they kept looking & threw it in the trash. It probably helped that I called Mike & had him cancel the card right in front of her. They had discovered that not only was she guilty of petty theft in my case, but had been pilfering money from the store for a long time too. The police escorted me to the magistrates to file a complaint & Aldi's (I love you Aldi's; where but you can I feed a family of 4 for $60.00 a week?) comped my fuel in the form of $10.00 off my next grocery bill & gave me a free gallon of milk besides. Anyway, nothing was missing & I had a very rare opportunity of being in town w/out children so instead of going to the library by myself (what I really wanted; what does the adult section look like I wonder?) I went to the bank to see if I could still keep my card. No, they had cancelled it promptly which I really enjoyed knowing. The banker very speedily hooked me up w/ a temporary card & said my new one would come in the mail. All in all it was a happy report to take home.

Mike started school this week & his first day away the house sort of fell apart. The toilet clogged & I had eggs boiling on the stove. I realized that if Iwas going to the hospital I should pack a bag. I had no idea what to bring, only that the list in What to Expect When You're Expecting was entirely too long. So I got lost on the internet looking things up & let Victor pick out coming home outfits for the baby. We were in my bathroom packing toiletry thing when I kept hearing these weird pops & saw the cat come streaking around the corner. I figured she had done something & started to check it out when the smell hit me. Had I cooked something?

I totally forgot about making eggs. The memory had to be searched for, it was weird. Is this what they call mommy brain? I've heard of (& experience) absentmindedness all of the time, but this was a whole different level. Egg was everywhere. 5 half eggs burned to the bottom of a very dry pan & exploded egg on all of my condiments, coffeepot, vent hood, cabinets, floor, etc. It was very cold outside, but the windows had to be opened to get that smell out. I opened them & started some hot chocolate on another burner & the smell increased. I played musical burners, but I guess egg &/or egg water had gotten down into all of them. Victor & Charlotte very nicely ate their lunch while chanting "Eggy, eggy, eggy!" I can't explain it, they have some kind of Eggy game they play that involves running.

Today (the 15th) was Victor's birthday & though we didn't have the party he was expecting, he thoroughly enjoyed the day. I think he thought he was getting a party because he attended his cousins birthday last spring & it left an impression. He & daddy went squirrel hunting & I guess Mike did some kind of land nav w/ him which he excelled at. They chopped wood for a fire that night & as they did their outside things Charlotte & I made a peanutbutter cake. It was very gooey in the middle, like a melted Reeses Peanut Butter Cup.

Disclaimer: I have permission to mention this.
I had cookies in the oven after that. I used a different recipe & figured that that accounted for the extra crispiness, I just couldn't bake them gooey how I like them. The bread followed suit, very brown & done on top but when I flipped it out of the pans it wasn't cooked through at all! I flipped the loaves on their backs & asked Mike to watch it while I ran to the store. He assented so I left. However, he had to unexpectedly run to the bathroom & being a responsible man turned off the oven first. Right as he realized that we were out of toilet paper in our bathroom he was assaulted by a burning smell from the kitchen & was forced to make a mad dash across the house to the other bathroom for the toilet paper to take care of himself before rescuing my loaves which had gone up in flames. He had accidently turned it to broil instead of off. They are right next to each other. He sawed off what he could, a raccoon or possum has been eating the burnt pieces at night. I've been drying out the rest & making bread crumbs & croutons out of the remainders.

We did a thorough investigation after that & realized that the bottom heating element had completely melted through & burned in half; praise God that our house has been spared & all we've had to put up w/ are crispy goods & skillet meals! We like skillets, it just took some rearranging of my menu for the week. Today (the 25th, I never finish a post when I start) we got a new element & I could bake again. I had my first appointment at the new clinic today too, they operate out of a magnet hospital w/ a very low c-section rate which is very reassurring.

We've had alot to be thankful for this month so far; I've got more to say but will try to get another update in this moth.

New Year's & Victor's First Church Service

2010 & no more holidays at last! We didn't do too much for New Year's, I baked alot. The children napped until 5 & they stayed up until 9:30 on the eve. Victor thought that was the coolest, Mike had a fire outside w/ his friend & brother & Victor stayed out for quite a bit w/ the men. He shot his snowman (or the last remaining ball) & was very pleased w/ himself. We had home-made pizza for supper on the china. I bought a lemon & made a lemon chiffon pie, & lemon glazed butter cake. I love lemon deserts! They were for our breakfast. I also made a breakfast casserole during their long nap so it was ready to pop in the oven when we woke up. My letting them stay up late plan didn't work out, they were up at 7:30 w/out my having set their alarm. Excepting Mike, the rest of us stayed up to watch Zombie Land. I'm not a zombie movie fan, but they were more of a back drop to the story, it was mostly funny. We went out to shoot guns at midnight & immediately crashed. Ha, we're old.

Everyone ravaged my breakfast which does me good to see, & then went out for an FTX (field training exercise). They had scenarios & targets & 1 guy would set them up in different places for different missions, etc. They came in soaked & cold, silly men. Mike's friend is a Marine sniper (he is an ex-Marine but I write it like that because once a Marine always a Marine, right?) from the first Gulf War & I made fun of them for missing the service. He's really helped us out alot, running fence & helping us set posts. They had more coffee, the rest of the desserts & watched Zombie Land again, since Mike had missed it. It was fun!

Victor has been fascinated w/ all of the churches around here, there are alot everywhere. Most of them have steeples, so they're conspicuous. So I promised to to take him to one some Sun. I found a Mennonite church a town over & figured they wouldn't look askance at my head-covering, but I could not find the place. I wanted to try again next week, but he was so disappointed, I figured we would head to the little white 1 room country church right up the road from our house. They're Baptist & it's on our way home.

The parking lot was packed. It's a small lot to begin w/ but I was struck w/ how very nice alot of the cars were. Newer & very clean. We could hear the singing from the outside which excited Victor to no end. "Mommy, it's a usical church!" He always leaves the m off for whatever reason. We walked in from the tiny vestibule & found all of the black people. It was a bit of a shock, as we've been black deprived. I would say a good 50% of our old neighborhood & town was black w/ a good sprinkling of Korean. This place is pretty homogeneous. In order, I think it is predominantly white, Hispanic, black & Cherokee.

It was a very small church, very full up. It was not like the black church I attended back in Mo. w/ my dad. There the men wore purple & teal suits & the women all in hats. It was very intimate there, the preacher assigned us readings from the Bible & we had a discussion & review at the end. There were no flashy clothes here, but lots of shouting which reminded me of my Pentacostal upbringing. Everyone was very friendly in this church & made us feel welcome. They lined the songs which Victor had never heard of but we enjoyed. Then the sermon started.

I confess, I was disappointed in the sermon. The Bible wasn't opened & it was mostly a prosperity pep rally, which surprised me. I mean this was a tiny church, not more than 12 wooden pews. I hadn't wanted to take Victor to a big church because I hadn't wanted him to hear that God is nothing more than a name it & claim it wishing fairy. I expected more old time religion from its whitewashed facade. A bummer all in all, but it was nice to get out & meet people.

Mike is going crazy in the house & at times begs me to get out for my own good. He never realized that my leaving the house once a week for groceries or library books was just once a week, period. And all in 1 morning so we can be back in time for lunch & Charlotte's nap. That is how I would use up only 1/2 a tank of gas once a month in Va. We left early today because I had an extra store to squeeze in, the Wal-Mart. I've only been there once before so we had to look around a bit to find what we were looking for. From there to the library w/ dinosaurs as our objective & on to Aldi's from there. More later!

Current Adventures

I'm so excited & humbled, God has enabled us to obey Him regarding being separate. Cid is in the process of medically retiring from the military, & he is wasting no time getting us out of here though it may be months for him to be officially out. We've been looking at campers to live in, a truck to tow us & are liquidating our assets, so as to pay for everything in cash. The land search is never ending. So far we've been using United Country & looking into western Va.
The Jeep sold today & that makes everything seem more real. I've been thinning things out for camper life, as we may be in there for a year & Cid has 3 people interested in the house. My poor husband, I have all of the excitement of daydreaming & doing my own little plans, but he has all of the big decisions to finalize & it's a stress to him. I'm so thankful for being w/ a command man & am glad to do anything to alleviate his burden a bit. He is most appreciative when I occupy the children more in the evenings, which isn't easy w/ supper prep & cleanup, so I've been using cheater foods. Things in baking bags, crockpots & the freezer aisle, none of which he minds, our fare just isn't as varied.
I broke in my cast iron dutch oven over the weekend. Our camping trip was cancelled & I had planned all outdoor foods, so we had a fire in the fire pit going until the rain chased us in.I did it backwards though, cooked in it first & then seasoned it. It's much prettier after seasoning, a deep glossy black. I tried looking it up on the internet, but got sidetracked so I had an "Aha!" moment when I looked at my bookcase. I have alot of books, & my eyes fell on Carla Emory's Encyclopedia for Country Living. I love the internet & all of it's usefulness, but even though we now have a laptop I don't like to carry it w/ me away while doing a project. I have no qualms w/ books. I got sidetracked reading Carla but was glad I had looked as I had initially just rubbed the inside of the oven w/ olive oil (bad idea!).
Cid has arranged for us to live on a buddy's 14 acres in Gloucester until the medboard is completed if the house sells soon. He has a whole separate septic & will only charge us water & electricity while we're there. He also is a goat/ chicken farmer when he's not deployed. This will give Victor & I some experience & chores to do. We plan on camping in some state parks in the areas we want to check out the listings we're interested in. Charlotte is awake, must go!