Low cost meal idea

I have several elderly friends on very limited budgets trying to eat well and also pay for medical necessities. Many are going hungry, eating unhealthily, or having to budget very carefully because they simply can't afford to make ends meet. I also am friends with young women with growing families who are trying to make ends meet with limited budgets.

This was shown on social media as costing less than $5 per meal.

1 1-pound bag of pinto beans 1.98 per pound @ Walmart, .77 a pound bought in bulk at Sams Club. (Ask a friend with a membership to add them to their order and you can pay them back. I would happily do this for someone.)

cornbread homemade from scratch (cheapest) or 62 cents a box @ Walmart

collard greens (grown at home = nearly free) 99 cents a bunch at our local FoodLion

chopped roasted potatoes 4.98 a 5 lb bag @ Walmart

One person or a couple could eat more than one meal from this. I would add fat to the beans to add flavor and make them more filling. 

If you need a helping hand and live locally, please don't hesitate to ask. I have not quite adjusted from cooking for a large family to cooking for just half of us, so there is always plenty to share. My love to all!

Brandon in Houston

Brandon is making the most of his training in Houston for Honeywell. He was able to see the Houston Space Center Saturday and attended Sugar Land Bible Church Sunday. He is also showing some former military members around Honeywell and is paying for their meals and hotel rooms with his company card.

At Sugarland Bible Church, Brandon listened to Olivier Melnick and David Reagan speak. He said Mr. Reagan gave his perspective on the changes in America over his lifetime which was very interesting. Mr. Melnick gave an eye-opening view of how Jews see Christians. Brandon spoke to Mr. Melnick afterward and said he is very humble, friendly, and has a great sense of humor. Andy Woods, pastor of SLBC, spoke a little throughout.

Brandon enjoyed the service so much, he is going back on Wednesday (tonight). Clint and I are proud of Brandon. Of all of the things he could have chosen to do, he chose to worship at the church home of one of his favorite pastors, Andy Woods.

A Daughter is a Blessing to Have

There are days I feel like a failure. Then one of my children builds me up.

I am so very thankful for the close relationships I have with all of my children.
As flawed as I am, I am also very thankful they see me the way they do.
I rejected what I knew and patterned my parenting after what I saw in God's Word. "Fear is the only thing a child understands." is a lie. They understand love, tenderness, kindness, grace, patience, mercy...you know the same things we cry out for as adults and seek from God the Father. Trying to raise them with what I learned from His Word, as imperfect as I did it, has reaped so many blessings in so many ways. I most definitely would not want to miss out on these deepening relationships. I firmly believe God blesses those who seek Him with humility and sincerity. He doesn't require perfection from us. All His ways are good.

289 more eggs in the 'bator

 I just set another 289 quail eggs in the incubator. They are from ebay seller KingsHatchery2013 who I was delighted to learn are my brothers and sisters in the Lord. They sent a card with a phone number to a daily devotional. They did a good job packaging them. I paid for 210+ and they sent me 290. Only one was cracked during shipping. They are all good sized eggs.

Those Apples Have Worms

“All Satan’s Apples Have Worms. I do not deny that the Devil has some pretty apples; I just say that all of them are fakes and that after you bite into them, you will find they have worms. All Satan’s apples have worms.” -John R. Rice

Rooting Thai Basil

rooting station with Thai basil cuttings

Thai basil is savory and spicy and pairs well with beef or chicken. We like it in Pad Kra Pao (Thai basil beef). My whole family LOVES it. Medicinally, it promotes better digestion and is also anti-cancer, anti-viral, antibacterial, and antifungal. 

Since the sweet and often generous Korean lady closed her shop, I only have one store where I can get it. It is a bit of a drive, so I don't get there often. I have grown it, but it takes so long to harvest. Rooting the cuttings will cut the time down considerably. I am also experimenting with dehydrating it to see if it will still be OK when cooking.

I use hydrogen peroxide in the water to help facilitate rooting. I also use a rooting hormone extract made from our poplar tree. You can make your own with willow or poplar cuttings. Place the chopped tender (green) cuttings in water in a clear jar. Then set the jar in a sunny window for a few days and it is ready to go to work for you. 

After I take the cuttings I plan to root, I dip them in a watered-down honey and cinnamon solution that helps kill bacteria and fungus. It is 1 tbsp honey to 1 cup water with about 1/8 tsp cinnamon.

I have six sets of the nifty test tube jars for rooting. I am an Amazon affiliate and that is an Amazon affiliate link. I earn a very small commission if you click the link and make a purchase.

Incubating Quail Eggs in a Pan of Rice

My incubator is homemade. I've used it for several years, and Clint just overhauled it this year. To test it, I purchased quail eggs.

I did not have quail egg trays, so I used rice in an aluminum foil cake pan. I have not seen anyone else doing this anywhere (and I searched), so I thought I'd share my idea here.

I put enough rice in the pan to hold the eggs-big end up. As you can see, it worked great! I did not have to spend the money for quail egg racks I may never use again. I will also not have to find a storage space for the quail egg racks, and I can easily repeat this any time I need it.

I plan to reuse the rice at least once. Then I'll see how the rice looks. If it looks fairly clean, I'll reuse it again. When I am finished with the rice, I will boil it with the eggshells and feed it to my chickens. No waste!

Caleb and Elora

Elora has been very good for Caleb. I love having her around.

$6 Quail Brooder

Picture came out darker than reality, but Clint made me a quail brooder last night. We found the cooler left behind on one of our remote camping trips a few years ago. We packed it out with us to keep the forest natural. We held onto it knowing we'd use it for something on our homestead sooner or later. Sure enough!

This thermostat was the only thing we needed to purchase. It was $6 and shows the temp in celsius.

Colorful Eggs

I have had all of the colorful egg layers over the years, so they aren't a big deal to me. However, my sweet Emily said she wanted some green and blue eggs. So, I bought her some chicks. :-)

These are from Meyer's Hatchery which allows you to do smaller orders. 

Brandon is in Texas

Brandon is in Texas for the next two weeks for Honeywell. He is giving retired military personnel exposure to the company in addition to the work/training he is doing. He loves his job!

Amanda Goofed

The airline wrapped around the roll, so she had to quickly shut off the large machine to avert a bigger issue.

Her co-worker told my fun-loving girl to pose for a picture.

A Helping Hannah

As a homeschooling parent, I always tried to reinforce and reward the behavior I wanted. It has paid off. I came inside from doing something and saw this. Hannah saw sand on the couch from the dog and vacuumed it off without being asked. I am so thankful for helpful children!

Rambo Tough

Sharing the Window Seat

Prayers for Direction for Wendy, Please

With my particular set of God-given interests and talents, I used to think I should have been born during a different time period. When I was a teen and in my 20s, none of my friends were interested in gardening, animal husbandry, food preservation, herbal medicine, etc. The only people I could get to discuss those topics with me were my grandparents!

With everything that has transpired in the world in the last several years, there has been a huge resurgence in interest in practical self-sufficiency skills. Through a good friend who is involved, I learned communities are acquiring land so they will have the space to teach the many people interested in learning homesteading-type skills. There are big homesteading-type conferences that are packed with people who want to learn from others.

Dozens of people have asked me personally to teach them the very things that I taught myself through books and hands-on learning in the 90s.  I have also been asked to write books and do videos on different topics. A like-minded friend told me I was born for such a time as this and encouraged me to start on-site classes. 

I have just ended my 29.5 homeschooling mother career and fully intend to take something else on, but at this time, I am unsure what direction I should take. I am prayerfully contemplating and watching to see what doors God opens for me. If you feel led, please lift up a prayer on my behalf for very clear leading from the Lord on the direction I am to take. I would be grateful for your prayers in this area.

If you come here looking for homesteading information, please use the search bar in the upper left corner for the particular topic. If you can't find something, send me a message at the email in the header. My love to all. 

The truth of the matter...

I do not care if I fit in with another person or a group of people.

I do not care if they love me or hate me.

I want to reflect Jesus.

I am His.

My Menopause Testimony

I was 49 years old and was still having regular cycles on time with no issues. I had been hearing about several friends' horrible times with menopause. It troubled me to see the many issues they were having that required medical intervention. 

So, I stopped and prayed for them. 

Then I asked the Lord that since starting my cycles, my cycles, conceiving (periods of infertility), miscarriages, stillbirths, and severe hyperemesis gravidarum had been so hard, could He please make my menopause experience easy? He did. I never had another cycle. I had some minor sleep issues a couple of years later, but it has been a cake walk compared to the rest of my reproductive life. 

He is gracious and giving. I am very thankful to Him that I had an easier time of it for menopause. 

"Real love is... a daunting checklist."

"Real love is not simply the words 'I love you.' Real love, God's love, is the love described in 1 Corinthians 13. It's a daunting checklist because we fall so short of God's definition of real love. Only by prayer can we press toward that perfect goal of loving as God loves." ~Gert McIntosh A Heart for Prayer: Encouragement for Your Prayer Life

Happy Valentines Day!

                                                  Happy Valentines Day!

to our family and friends

near and far, old and new
close and estranged

May the Lord make you aware of His great love for you and may that incredible love of His compel you to share it with those He has placed in your life!

A relationship with Jesus is the best love story you will ever experience:

If I go up to the heavens, you are there; if I make my bed in the depths, you are there. If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea, even there your hand will guide me, your right hand will hold me fast. Psalms‬ ‭139:8-10‬

Bye Goose and Thank You Jesus

I lost a goose that I had for over 10 years today. It could simply hear my voice and come running and flying to me honking with exuberant joy. That made conversations in the yard or by an open window challenging but having a creature take such great delight in you is something very special. I still have the rest of my "paparazzi" flock and they do the same, but I still hate losing one. I know it was "just a goose," but it hurt my heart to say goodbye to my long-time feathered friend. I am reminded and am thankful for a Savior who values the "the one."

I am thankful because

I was "the one."

“What do you think? If any man has a hundred sheep, and one of them has gone astray, does he not leave the ninety-nine on the mountains and go and search for the one that is straying? If it turns out that he finds it, truly I say to you, he rejoices over it more than over the ninety-nine which have not gone astray. So it is not the will of your Father who is in heaven that one of these little ones perish. Matthew 18:12-14

But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Romans 5:8

Thank You, Jesus, for leaving those 99 beautiful sheep to find wretched Wendy.

God of the Bible or god of Your Own?

"Beware of manufacturing a God of your own: a God who is all mercy, but not just; a God who is all love, but not holy; a God who has a heaven for everybody, but a hell for none; a God who can allow good and bad to be side by side in time, but will make no distinction between good and bad in eternity." -J.C. Ryle

Victory! 7 of 7 Graduated

I shared previously that Hannah completed her high school course. Hannah's high school diploma arrived yesterday evening! That means my 29.5 year long career as a homeschooling mother has ended.

Thoughts:

I have worked myself right out of a job.

I have taught seven people to read and write. That was an honor and a privilege.

I have taught academics from preschool to high school. Hats off to the classroom teachers who do it for other people's children with so many limitations placed on them. 

Shew, that was a lot of work!! Some days I didn't think I'd make it to this point.

But, it was so much FUN!!! I am so glad I did it!

Through 14 pregnancies that had me on so much "complete bed rest" that I can't stand to stay in my bedroom, I learned that you really can't stop children from learning. Give them tools and they will learn. Joshua learned how to read, number recognition, count, add, and subtract with no instruction from me. He picked it up from his siblings and the tools (learning-rich environment) we had in our home...while I was on bed rest.

I owe a debt of gratitude to everyone who contributed along the way from those who fought for my right to do so, to those who made the curriculum I used, to classroom teachers who were willing to answer questions online, and to the ones who gave me tons of resources from their own classrooms to fellow homeschool moms who cheered me on when I got overwhelmed, to those who thought Clint and I were crazy but trusted where the Lord was leading us and kept praying for us despite their concerns. 

It grew me in many ways, but anything that challenges you will do that if you let it.

What a blessing homeschooling has been to our family! It strengthened our relationships with God, our marriage, our parent/child relationship, and their sibling relationships. It has allowed us to experience much more of life. I am thankful God put it on two young people's hearts to take this journey with Him.

Now it's time to celebrate with the people who loved on us and prayed for us through almost three decades of homeschooling. Then it's onward to get these two driving and graduated! 

For 38 years now...

He's been writing this for me to find since we were 16 years old.

How I Treated Ace's (the cat's) Bronchitis

Here's Ace, the cat that is not supposed to be in the house. It's a long-time running joke.

Ace had bronchitis recently. He gets it every winter, and it can last a month or longer. Since it does not respond to antibiotics, we assume it is viral.

This year, I used one drop of oregano oil each day to knock it out. In 48 hours, I could tell a big difference in his breathing. On day three, all symptoms were gone, but I added two days just to be safe. Five drops of Oregano Oil = effective and economical! I put it on his paw which he found highly offensive, but he licked it off.

The first day, he had no reaction to me putting it on his paw. He was very ill though. The second day, he pulled his head back. On the third day, he meowed, jumped up, and angrily ran off to hide from me. On the fourth day, he knew the bottle and was ready to move as soon as I grabbed it!

Before you write me, I know it is all over the internet that cats can't use it. The holistic vet said it is perfectly OK in small quantities for a short duration. It did not harm Ace in the least. He got well and returned to full energy very quickly. However, I am not a vet. Use this info at your own risk.

We don't need to water down the message...

The tongue of the wise makes knowledge acceptable, But the mouth of fools spouts folly. Proverbs 15:2

The word for acceptable here is yaw-tab' which means: A primitive root; to be (causatively) make well, literally (sound, beautiful) or figuratively (happy, successful, right): - be accepted, amend, use aright, benefit, be (make) better, seem best, make cheerful, be comely, + be content, diligent (-ly), dress, earnestly, find favour, give, be glad, do (be, make) good ([-ness]), be (make) merry, please (+ well), shew more [kindness], skilfully, X very small, surely, make sweet, thoroughly, tire, trim, very, be (can, deal, entreat, go, have) well [said, seen ].

We do not need to water down the message in God's Word. Instead, we need to share it boldly and season it (spice it up) with love and patience. 

Battle for the Window Seat 2

From Christmas

Caleb was joking on me. :-)

Redeem the Time

Your God-given time and talents are too valuable to waste on fruitless endeavors. 

Redeem the time for His glory while you still have it. -w

Time Management Mini Lesson

Thoughts on modesty

When my first daughter was a pre-teen, we attended a parade. I had taught her to be modest with her clothing. My son and I watched a group of older men ogling the very young girls who were wearing tight and skimpy clothing. My son and I both witnessed the moment they skimmed right over my daughter. Her modesty made her practically invisible to them. A lot of people think of modest dress as a punishment when in reality, it is another layer of protection. -w

Don't Blink

I love it when things work out like this...

I was given a gift card to Starbucks. I don't care for them, so I asked Bethany if she had one near where she lives in Chicago. She did. It was the perfect pick-me-up before her night at work. I believe she said this was "The Pink Drink" the Strawberry Acai Refresher.

Do things you enjoy, whether you are good at them or not.

“When I was 15, I spent a month working on an archeological dig. I was talking to one of the archeologists one day during our lunch break and he asked those kinds of ‘getting to know you’ questions you ask young people: Do you play sports? What’s your favorite subject? And I told him, no I don’t play any sports. I do theater, I’m in choir, I play the violin and piano, I used to take art classes.

“And he went wow. That’s amazing! And I said, ‘Oh no, but I’m not any good at any of them.’

“And he said something then that I will never forget and which absolutely blew my mind because no one had ever said anything like it to me before: ‘I don’t think being good at things is the point of doing them. I think you’ve got all these wonderful experiences with different skills, and that all teaches you things and makes you an interesting person, no matter how well you do them.’

“And that honestly changed my life. Because I went from a failure, someone who hadn’t been talented enough at anything to excel, to someone who did things because I enjoyed them. I had been raised in such an achievement-oriented environment, so inundated with the myth of Talent, that I thought it was only worth doing things if you could ‘win’ at them.” -“When I was 15, I spent a month working on an archeological dig. I was talking to one of the archeologists one day during our lunch break and he asked those kinds of ‘getting to know you’ questions you ask young people: Do you play sports? What’s your favorite subject? And I told him, no I don’t play any sports. I do theater, I’m in choir, I play the violin and piano, I used to take art classes.

“And he went wow. That’s amazing! And I said, ‘Oh no, but I’m not any good at any of them.’

“And he said something then that I will never forget and which absolutely blew my mind because no one had ever said anything like it to me before: ‘I don’t think being good at things is the point of doing them. I think you’ve got all these wonderful experiences with different skills, and that all teaches you things and makes you an interesting person, no matter how well you do them.’

“And that honestly changed my life. Because I went from a failure, someone who hadn’t been talented enough at anything to excel, to someone who did things because I enjoyed them. I had been raised in such an achievement-oriented environment, so inundated with the myth of Talent, that I thought it was only worth doing things if you could ‘win’ at them.”

-------------------------------

Do things you enjoy, whether you are good at them or not.

So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God. I Corinthians 10:31

Yet Another Excelling Homeschool Graduate

There goes another homeschool graduate excelling again!

Brandon has FAR exceeded his employer's expectations. Brandon finishes the jobs anywhere from 3 days to two weeks ahead of time.  As a result, Brandon's area has been expanded, and his boss says he is getting a very large raise. Brandon makes well over 6 figures and will soon get his new raise. God has blessed him for his quality workmanship and his obedience in tithing.

Clint and I have absolutely no regrets about homeschooling our seven children. In fact, God continues to reaffirm that decision quite frequently. We are so very, very thankful for His leading in this area of our lives.

Why sell it if you can't fulfill it?

So we paid for a premium service (unloading a very large order to our farm) with a company. They called Clint yesterday and told him that they couldn't find anyone to unload the order, but they would ship it for free. Ha! Shipping was already free! There was no mention of returning our money for the premium service.

Clint went round and round with them. He eventually learned they knew at the time of order they could not fulfill the premium unloading service. He told them that if they knew they could not do the unloading, they shouldn't have sold that service to him. AND, if they couldn't unload it, he didn't want it. They could cancel the order because he would have to take off work to unload it. That would have cost us more money.

The salesperson then threatened to charge a 35% restocking fee (which would have been about $2000) because they had already made the product. Clint let her know that wasn't going to work either. They knew before they took the order and before they made the order. They were the ones failing to honor the agreement, so it was solely on them. We chose them specifically because they would unload it saving him from having to take off work.

Long story short, they are sending the whole order to a local small business that will bring it to our house and unload it for us. They are going to pay the small business to do this.

It's a shame you have to demand a company honor their contract, but we're very happy it worked out so a local guy is getting some business out of this.

Dressed Poodle On Guard

Swan Scribble

I had a time with the wings and shadows on the water, but I am pretty happy with the head/neck area.