Grandbabies and Sunshine and Good Food

And, ye fathers, provoke not your children to wrath: but bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. Ephesians 6:4

I wrangled the grandkids by myself at church today. Lianna, 5, does beautifully. She loves the Lord and loves church. Oran on the other hand, is 110% 2 year old boy. I think he loves church, too, but who can slow him down long enough to know for sure. After each hymn he jumps up, claps loudly and yells "Good job!" Although I maintain that wrangling young children is a young woman's game, sometimes grandmas have the edge. My daughter gets very upset and embarrassed by her energetic son. I've learned to pick my fights. During the greeting and the singing, it's not that big a deal if he stands up and looks around and even comments occasionally. During the preaching and praying, though, Momo gets serious. I have a 5-gallon paint stirring stick. It has his name on it, literally. Mostly I shake it at him and say "Boy, do you see this? It's a swat and it's got your name on it and Momo knows how to use it." (Terms in italics spoken in the strong southern drawl your grandpa used when he was real serious.) I take the swat to church, along with a bag of raisins or nuts or some other quiet snack. I tell him, "We can do this the easy way (indicating snacks) or we can do it the hard way (indicating the swat)."
Most of the hard way is bluff, but he doesn't know that. Not that I wouldn't tear him up if I thought he was in serious default of the right way of doing things (more italic emphasis.) Today, I stuffed a few nuts in his mouth whenever he had an inclination to question the preacher and he eventually crawled up on my lap. With a little strategic back patting and rubbing, he fell fast asleep. I'd forgotten how drowsy one gets with a warm, sleeping child on one's chest. I wonder how much instruction young mothers actually get out of church service. My daughter asked me when we got home what the preacher taught. I told her all I could recall was that God was all-powerful and completely in control. I guess that's enough.

Blessed sunshine

It has been absolutely gorgeous the last couple of days. Our wood usage is way down this weekend, since we use the greenhouse attached to the south side of the house to help with heating. On sunny days, we have a window fan that blows the warm air from the greenhouse into the house.
Here's a link to more information about the greenhouse. The craziest thing about this winter is that despite all the ice, snow and cold, the animals by all indication are telling us that spring is near. My geese are mating and I've found 2 eggs. I have 2 pullets that have already started laying and one of them is broody and sitting a nest. I've talked to others here in Oklahoma who are experiencing the same.


I wanted to share a great recipe. My ancestry is Czech (and it's starting to show LOL), and the Czechs know how to cook homestead style.

Segedin Goulash

1 1/2 pounds fresh pork, cubed
1 medium onion, chopped
3 tablespoons lard
1 teaspoon paprika (homemade is the absolute best)
1/2 teaspoon caraway seed
salt to taste
1 cup water
1/2 pound sauerkraut (again, homemade is the way to go)
3 tablespoons flour
1 cup sour cream (Daisy brand or homemade is my preference. Yogurt will work also)

Fry onion in 1 tablespoon lard. Add pork, paprika, caraway and brown well. Add salt and 1/2 cup water, cover, and simmer for 45 minutes. Add 2/3rds of the sauerkraut and simmer 30 minutes longer. Brown flour in remaining lard, stirring well, and add to meat with remaining 1/2 cup water; simmer for 5 minutes. Add sour cream and the remaining sauerkraut. Bring to a boil and serve. Serves 4 to 6.

This is a recipe that can be made with almost 100% home produced ingredients. That's the kind of recipe I like best. It doesn't hurt that it's delicious served over homemade noodles. For those who are concerned with the amount of saturated fat in this recipe, I recommend reading "Nourishing Traditions" by Sally Fallon.

Blessings, until we meet again.

Judy