what's going on at Tabletop Homestead.
Just something I've been thinking about. We go into homesteading with romantic ideas that sometimes just don't work out. It doesn't mean that our desire to live simply and self-sufficiently on the land is flawed, just that our methods may be prejudiced. For example, beautiful loaves of freshly baked bread come to mind; however, in our house they often get moldy after being only half-eaten. But, Middle Eastern flatbreads and tortillas go like hotcakes. The point being, adapt homesteading to your family as much as your family to homesteading, tweaking it along the way and sneaking things in that they may find that they actually love. Don't worry about what the books and the folks on the internet forums say, do what's good for your family and what works in your locale.
We've all had one kind of respiratory crud or another for the last 3 or 4 weeks. It started with granddaughter Lianna and a late night trip to the ER with extremely sudden onset of croup. Next, her mother developed early pneumonia and Doodad (my dh) came home bearing glad tidings and snot from Ft. Bliss, which I quickly caught. Then, Oran (baby brother) knocked Lianna in the head with a flashlight necessitating one stitch, which I provided here at home, and to top it all off Lianna came down with an especially nasty case of poison ivy on her face. Let me elaborate - her face, her eyes, up her nose, in and behind her ears, her lips plus garnishments over her arms, hands and trunk. (Her mother cringes when I pray regularly for more little arrows to fill our family quiver.) So, hopefully all you readers will understand why I've been a little behind on posting.
My most recent endeavors have been in drying produce and, once again, cheesemaking. This week we weaned young goats, banded the boys, and gave tetanus shots (about the only goat immunization I worry about.)
I just can't seem to get it out of the back of my mind "what if I can't get canning lids???" Therefore, I've been trying to hone my dehydrating skills with my Excalibur dehydrator while planning ahead to using the solid glass scrap storm door I have out back to build a solar dehydrator. http://www.thefarm.org/charities/i4at/surv/soldehyd.htm
http://www.echotech.org/technical/technotes/Solar%20Dehydrator.pdf
http://www.motherearthnews.com/DIY/2006-08-01/Build-a-Solar-Food-Dehydrator.aspx
Lack of a carved-in-stone plan has never been a deterrent to us, and we'll make do, learning along the way, with what God has provided.
Currently on my kitchen work table I have jars of dried tomatoes, peppers, onions, mushrooms, buffalo, hominy and winter squash. My latest cheese experiments have centered around Middle Eastern cheeses - how to make cheese in a warm climate. I've been experimenting with Domiati type cheese - Egyptian cheeses which are unique in that salt is added before coagulating with rennet or acid. These cheeses are aged in whey - some in a fresh state and some after cooking in the whey yielding a mozzarella type cheese. Though I can provide no documentation, it's my belief that the early addition of salt serves to inhibit the proliferation of undesirable bacteria in the cheese, something that is especially concerning in a warm climate.
I want to elaborate on all this in a later post, Lord willing.
Today I worked on the electric fence gate, getting an electroshock treatment in the process which hopefully was beneficial. LOL.
Last weekend we put new plastic on the greenhouse, and I've been perusing my store of seeds and the latest seed catalogs in preparation for planting.
It's not that nothing's been going on here and in my little mind, but that too much happens and I don't know where to start. This weekend we will have guests for a hog butchering. Lord willing I will have wonderful pictures to post. Also, we hope (check out the Biblical definitions - confidence unwavering, trust, security, assurance) to have venison for provision provided during Dave's next leave in December.
Tidbits:
A nicely written post on Christian agrarianism by Herrick Kimball.
I'm not saying that I will and I'm not saying that I won't, but Michael Bunker provides something to think about in his latest post.
A friend of our family is faced with a recurrence of cancer and needs prayer. Pray for Dennis and Dory. I can provide details in private email.
Till next time, Blessings.
Judy
8 comments:
Hi
This was a really great post. I thoroughly enjoyed it. So much that I included it in The Homesteading Carnival #27: Newness Edition.
Please come by and see.
Thank you,
As Always,
Amanda
http://homesteadblogger.com/SuperHorseSteader/78096/
Wow...you made me tired just reading your post...LOL.
My life is so quite and boring compared to yours...sometimes a little too quiet. :-(
I hope things are looking up in your family.
Do you celebrate Christmas or no? If so, would you mind sharing with us how you decorate?
Blessings,
Dawn
Judy,
Great to catch up with you. Lord willing we hope to see y'all sometime soon. Stay warm and blessings, The antes
Hello Judy,
Thank you for this latest, detailed post. Your electric dehydrator sounds like a good heavier brand; mine is just a cheepie, so far. So thank you for the solar dehydrator links ~ they look very interesting. What was your age when you started homesteading? I'm 51 and think to myself, I've probably got about 10 years (Lord willing) in which I'd have the energy it would take to start/get extablished, in homesteading, if I could. I'm sure my dairy farm upbringing experiences would come back to me and help in the process. In the meantime I do the best I can on this 1/2 acre, but can't even have chickens here. Am grateful for your info. here and all at BA as a resource; in case God inspires my hubby to go that route.
Thank you much!
Beth
everyone doing well? It's been a few weeks. Hope the storm didn't take out your fabulous fast internet!
Dawn,
Well, unfortunately it got worse before it got better, but Lord willing we've all recovered now.
Actually, I could probably write an entire blog post about Christmas, but the short version is: Up until this year we've celebrated it traditionally accompanied by great stress and angst. This year, we chose to forgo it for several reasons (both personal and theological).
Judy
Ah Beth,
I think it's never too late. I wouldn't want to find myself looking death in the eye and wondering if I could have done it. :) I've always had the heart of an agrarian, but we were in our early '30's before we really got started. We're now in our mid 40's and are able to foresee a time when we need to work smarter and not harder.
My dehydrator is an Excalibur brand. I don't know that it's any sturdier than the round plastic models, but the fan and dehydrating mechanism, I believe, is better. I've seen other models that have a stainless steel cabinet for not much more money than I spent on mine, and if I had it to do over again that's what I'd probably buy.
Back to how old is too old, I'd be trying new projects and doing what I could on your small acreage. The more you do and the more active you stay, the longer you'll be able to keep it up. And, Lord willing, your husband will be inspired. :)
Judy
Shannon,
Blessedly the internet has stayed up, it's been me and mine that have been down. LOL. Things are looking up now, though, Lord willing.
Judy
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