Well if you've ever lived in Missouri for any amount of time you know that if you don't like the weather just wait a day and it will change. That has truly been the case this last week. Monday I was visiting with dear friends and we were sitting on the front porch of her new house in Carpi's and Tee's enjoying the wonderful Spring weather. The very next day I stepped outside to retrieve meat from our deep freezer in the shed and was greeted by feezing temps and snow flurries! Today it actually snowed again and the weatherman is saying there are a "series" of winter weather makers on the way over the next week or so. So much for Spring!
What will eventually be our straw bale garden is now covered in sleet and snow. The itch to start seedlings has taken a backseat for right now.
Instead of gardening I've been testing out my new dehydrator... corn, spinach, green beans, cantaloupe, oranges, lemons, mushrooms, broccoli, blueberries, banana's & blackberries so far. It will take some time to stockpile an emergency food supply. I've had it running almost non stop since I got it, jerky will be coming soon!
So many projects to do and so little time to do them! I have 6 homeschool events that I'm overseeing at the moment, one of which is a curriculum/rummage sale. I alone have probably 12 banana boxes of books and household items to price and make ready, plus a HUGE tote of clothes. I've even given stuff away and still have that much to deal with. It's amazing what you can clear out when you are at the tail end of the homeschooling journey!
I've been in an organzing "mood" but I've reached a place where I can't organize any further until I get all the curriculum/rummage stuff out of my house. That will not be until June 3rd & 4th........ seems so far away!!!!
Our new chicks will arrive in late April, hopefully the cold will be long gone by then. Caring for hatchlings get's tough when it's cold. Hubby's still thinking about getting piglets but that took a backseat to getting the van fixed. It was running rough and he bought a diagnostic tool and was able to fix it himself... than goodness for his skills in that area!
We still really need to do our roof, or at least the half that's leaking. Money, money, money... I get tired of thinking about money sometimes. I'm not worried though, God knows we need a new roof and we'll eventually have the means to get one.
The family is fine, the boys had a bout of sinus yuck that almost went into asthma for Nathaniel but we were able to beat it back with his nebulizer and the drugs we managed to stockpile when we had insurance. I had a 24 hour bout of chills that left me drained but no worse for wear.
Charlie and I are both a year older this month and starting to feel some of the odd quirks that come with getting older = )
The boys are plugging away at their studies as usual. We kind of gave them a Spring break due to field trips, but now they're back at the books. We do have a couple more field trips coming up and a visit to Grandpa & Grandma's. Other then that we're just our normal busy selves... giving God the glory for all we have. He's amazing and meets our every need. I've said it before and I'll say it again... there's not a day that goe's by that I am not overwhelmed by His love for me and that I'm not humbled He chose to open my eyes.
Waiting on Spring...
The Corbett Family <><
and ever
Sunday, March 27, 2011
Friday, March 11, 2011
Getting to know you...
Who is your favorite blogger? Why?
I can't pick just one, I love visiting all my friends blogs. When we are all so busy raising our families it's sometimes the only way to keep up with each others lives.
What is your comfort food/drink?
chips, the crunchier the better, or a warm cup of coffee with hazelnut cream.
Do you have a strong desire to do something you’ve never done? What is it?
To be thin! lol!! or travel = )
If you inherited a million dollars, what is the first thing you would do with your money?
Get out of the little remaining debit we have and Buy a HUGE hunk of land, build a modest house and the things needed to be truly self sufficient. Then I would find a really meaningful way to bless a lot of people.
If you could live anywhere at all (and take all your loved ones with you), where would you go?
Somewhere we could have a huge hunk of acreage and all 4 seasons!
What’s something you consider yourself to be good at? (Don’t worry, it’s not bragging, it’s acknowledging a God given gift).
Um…it used to be multitasking/organizing. Now that I'm getting older and homeschooling teens I'm not as good at it. Their high school years are robbing me of brain cells!
When you leave a social gathering, do you wish: You would have talked more or You would have talked less?
I think I'm good. I'd always admired those women who are slow to speak and at almost 45 I'm becoming one = ) but I also have the gift of gab if needed.
What is your greatest fear?
My greatest fear is not hearing Jesus say welcome my good and faithful servant at the end of my life.
What is your greatest accomplishment?
My marriage and my children.
Are you a hopeless romantic?
Absolutely!
That’s it, that’s a little bit about me. I can’t wait to read a little bit about you too!
I can't pick just one, I love visiting all my friends blogs. When we are all so busy raising our families it's sometimes the only way to keep up with each others lives.
What is your comfort food/drink?
chips, the crunchier the better, or a warm cup of coffee with hazelnut cream.
Do you have a strong desire to do something you’ve never done? What is it?
To be thin! lol!! or travel = )
If you inherited a million dollars, what is the first thing you would do with your money?
Get out of the little remaining debit we have and Buy a HUGE hunk of land, build a modest house and the things needed to be truly self sufficient. Then I would find a really meaningful way to bless a lot of people.
If you could live anywhere at all (and take all your loved ones with you), where would you go?
Somewhere we could have a huge hunk of acreage and all 4 seasons!
What’s something you consider yourself to be good at? (Don’t worry, it’s not bragging, it’s acknowledging a God given gift).
Um…it used to be multitasking/organizing. Now that I'm getting older and homeschooling teens I'm not as good at it. Their high school years are robbing me of brain cells!
When you leave a social gathering, do you wish: You would have talked more or You would have talked less?
I think I'm good. I'd always admired those women who are slow to speak and at almost 45 I'm becoming one = ) but I also have the gift of gab if needed.
What is your greatest fear?
My greatest fear is not hearing Jesus say welcome my good and faithful servant at the end of my life.
What is your greatest accomplishment?
My marriage and my children.
Are you a hopeless romantic?
Absolutely!
That’s it, that’s a little bit about me. I can’t wait to read a little bit about you too!
Thursday, March 3, 2011
Self Sufficiency
Self Sufficiency is expensive when starting from scratch! Pricing generators, fencing for live stock, building materials, the tools for food preservation like dehydrators, pressure cookers, canning jars etc. adds up!
It can be overwhelming when you come from a family that stepped away from knowing how to live off the land for a few generations and has nothing to pass down to the next.
Well, were breaking that cycle of not having the tools to take care of yourself when the rest of the world goes nuts, prices go sky high and the leaders of this country seem that they could care less.
I was given a pressure cooker (thank you Anna!!) and I've been investing in jars the last year or so as we could afford them. Took a class on using the pressure cooker so I wouldn't hurt myself and put up over 120 jars my first canning season. Hopefully we'll triple that this season with the addition of a real garden.
After much stress considering the best method given our rock laden soil and lack of expensive tools like tillers and tractors, God literally dropped the idea of straw bale gardening into my hubby's lap. We had a delivery of 40 Rye bales today and if we're successful then we'll go much bigger next year.
We're thinking about fencing for small livestock like pigs or lambs to add to our flock of chickens. We've been trying to price it all the way around to see if there would be any savings or at least to break even and have food if the grocer prices continue to climb.
The rapid rise of groceries the last few weeks really gives one something to think about. Hunting will definitely be something the boys will learn in season. We've learned we like venison ground like hamburger along with some other recipes we've tried.
The situation in the world today should make one stop and think. Just what would you do if you had to rely on yourself on to feed your family???? What if there was a natural disaster that left stores empty or unreachable?? We've seen time and time again the government fail to reach people in cases like this, for really long periods of time. What would you do if there were food shortages or if grocery or gas prices rose to unaffordable heights??
Something to think about..........
It can be overwhelming when you come from a family that stepped away from knowing how to live off the land for a few generations and has nothing to pass down to the next.
Well, were breaking that cycle of not having the tools to take care of yourself when the rest of the world goes nuts, prices go sky high and the leaders of this country seem that they could care less.
I was given a pressure cooker (thank you Anna!!) and I've been investing in jars the last year or so as we could afford them. Took a class on using the pressure cooker so I wouldn't hurt myself and put up over 120 jars my first canning season. Hopefully we'll triple that this season with the addition of a real garden.
After much stress considering the best method given our rock laden soil and lack of expensive tools like tillers and tractors, God literally dropped the idea of straw bale gardening into my hubby's lap. We had a delivery of 40 Rye bales today and if we're successful then we'll go much bigger next year.
We're thinking about fencing for small livestock like pigs or lambs to add to our flock of chickens. We've been trying to price it all the way around to see if there would be any savings or at least to break even and have food if the grocer prices continue to climb.
The rapid rise of groceries the last few weeks really gives one something to think about. Hunting will definitely be something the boys will learn in season. We've learned we like venison ground like hamburger along with some other recipes we've tried.
The situation in the world today should make one stop and think. Just what would you do if you had to rely on yourself on to feed your family???? What if there was a natural disaster that left stores empty or unreachable?? We've seen time and time again the government fail to reach people in cases like this, for really long periods of time. What would you do if there were food shortages or if grocery or gas prices rose to unaffordable heights??
Something to think about..........
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