Justus is celebrating his 7th birthday today. Happy Birthday, buddy. For my own benefit, since my blog helps my memory, I am going to write out some of the things he’s doing at this stage and a little bit about his personality. It may not interest anybody else in the world but I think it will be a great place to record it. Justus was born 7 years ago today. He had 3 brothers and 1 sister waiting on him when he arrived. Justus can be shy. He is also my most sensitive child – not that his feelings get hurt easily but that he feels sad when he hears an unhappy story. For this reason, I’m especially careful of his seeing or hearing things that might bother…
My Little Man Turns 7
Friday, April 30th, 2010 at
7:21 am
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Homemade Laundry Detergent Results
Thursday, April 29th, 2010 at
11:43 am
I’ve now washed several loads of laundry using the batch of homemade detergent I made. (If you would like to see the recipe, go here.) Results are in! (Drumroll, please!) It’s worked great for coloreds and did fairly well on some very dirty jeans, but when I did a load of whites it didn’t work so well. I picked the dirtiest sock I could find. Now this sock is not representative of how they always look – sometimes they’re worse! What I did for this load of whites was to use 1/2 cup of homemade detergent and 1/2 cup of 3% hydrogen peroxide. Before the wash. AFTER the 1st wash – not so good. The dirt is still there. For the 2nd wash I used…
Homemade Laundry Detergent
Tuesday, April 27th, 2010 at
7:35 am
A few years ago I tried making my own dishwasher detergent. It was a dismal failure but apparently I was using a wrong ingredient. The recipe called for soda and so I used baking soda. That was very wrong. I needed Washing Soda. I have not tried it again but this week, after talking with a friend who makes her own and after the topic came up on the soap forum I belong to, I did get inspired to make my own laundry detergent. I really do dislike all the perfumes in regular detergent; they are just too strong smelling making my nose twitch. I used Fels-Naptha in my laundry detergent this time but I would like to try using my own homemade soap. Fels-Naptha has…
EXPO 2010 Update
Saturday, April 24th, 2010 at
8:11 am
Snow, rain and cold have marked the last few days. EXPO 2010 was not one of the better years for weather. Here’s what we had 2 days ago. Fortunately, our club was able to stay a little more warm and dry because every year we bring our wall tent and set it up for meals. Inside is filled with tables and chairs and breakfast, lunch and supper are served there by different families in our club. We have a lot of great kids in our club this year. Isn’t this 1st year 4-H’er adorable? His dad manages a cattle ranch but they’ve never had pigs until this year. They had so much fun with it, the dad bought another for them to raise and then…
Moo, Baa, Maa and Oink
Thursday, April 22nd, 2010 at
7:58 am
For the next few days, I’ll be surrounded by all the sounds that make up a farm. No, I have not moved out to our barn but I am camped out at the 4-H, 2010 EXPO where the kids show and sale their animals that they have been raising for the last several months. The last few days have been hectic as the children sheared their animals, got poster boards ready and packed to come to EXPO. It’s amazing how much wool a lamb carries around. It’s at least 2″ thick. There’s all kinds of interesting ways to do a job, right? Wesley’s pig, Bacon. Justus – looking forward to the day when he can raise an animal. Wesley Zachary & Serenity’s lambs saying “Hi” through the fence. I thought…
50,000 Books Anyone?
Monday, April 19th, 2010 at
5:57 am
We bought 50,000 books last week (gasp!) – but- not for our home library. We sell used books online and we were informed about a couple of ladies getting out of the business and selling their books, so we purchased them. Off to Colorado we went on Monday afternoon. Russell had only got about a 1 1/2 hours of rest because of staying up all night to get taxes done so he started the 13 hour drive tired. Travelling through Flagstaff we saw a highway sign stating that I-17 was closed further ahead for a few hours because of dust storms. So our first stop became a place of rest, fellowship and vittles for the body. Thank you dear friends! After travelling all night…
A Beautiful Event
Sunday, April 11th, 2010 at
11:08 pm
I feel like an official caterer after this past weekends event! My sister planned a reception for her son, (who was married in Florida this past February) here in Arizona. What a beautiful occasion it was. We prepared for 250 people. My sister had never planned an event on this scale before (who really has ??). Three days before the reception, work commenced. Things like rolling the silverware in a napkin… Everyone was a help. We were able to accomplish so much with all the helping hands. It was so special to work on everything as a family. A memory I will cherish. I bought these wonderful stainless steel bowls that hold 30 quarts (they’re huge!) for $21 at the restaurant supply. They were indispensible. After…
The Condition for a Miracle is Difficulty…
Tuesday, April 6th, 2010 at
10:49 pm
What if you were in the middle of a severe drought and your whole livelihood depended upon the weather? You are a farmer. Just what crop would you grow? This scenario that I’m relating to you really happened. Our family just watched the video “Faith Like Potatoes” about an actual white farmer in South Africa who chose to plant potatoes during one of the worst droughts South Africa had had in years. Farmers thought he was crazy but he placed his faith in God and rested in that. When harvest time came, Angus Buchan goes to dig up his potatoes. Would there be any? Would they be little puny things? No! It was a bumper crop of large beautiful potatoes. One of my favorite lines…
The Farm Has Grown
Sunday, April 4th, 2010 at
11:36 pm
Our little farm is growing! We have now added 3 more goats – Boer meat goats. This breed is originally from South Africa. I’m planning to start a little business venture selling the kids. At first I want to keep my does and sell only the bucks until we have all the does we need. Since the goats are free ranging on all the brush that’s around us feed costs are very minimal. At evening time they come back to their pen where they are rewarded with some grain. We then lock them up for the night to help keep them safe from predators (i.e. mountain lions & coyotes). My husband built me a great pen using hog panels. I am so thankful to him!…
A Little Civil War Reenactment
Thursday, April 1st, 2010 at
5:46 am
A few weekends ago we had a Civil War Reenactment here at our place. The boys have really enjoyed being a part of this. They are issued uniforms, taught how to follow orders and to shoot muskets and then are involved in two battles. To be fair, the South wins one battle and the North the other one. My 3 boys as well as my 2 nephews. My dh with his favorite “toy”. If you want to see more pictures of this battle you can go to We Make History. They have some really nice photos.
Do I Smell Something? – Skunk Update
Friday, March 19th, 2010 at
5:47 am
My husband walks into the post office and the lady asks him, “Did you get sprayed by a skunk?” (Whoa! Excuse me?? Did you just say what I think you said?) Our room still has the faint odor of skunk so our clothes are probably absorbing that. Aghhh! When we opened our laptop computer case yesterday the smell was strong. Thankfully the weather has been very nice outside so we’re able to open the windows during the day. I don’t know of any other solutions. I’m just imagining when all 8 of us go to church and trudge down the aisle what it will be like. We’re blissfully walking to our seats and unbeknownst to us a little black odor is following behind. This episode…
A Skunk by Any Other Name is Still a Skunk!
Wednesday, March 17th, 2010 at
9:25 am
Settling down into my nice comfy bed, getting ready for a restful night, I heard the dog start barking. I figured there probably was a skunk nearby since they seem to be in plentiful supply around here. The barking continued for a while but then the bark changed slightly – making me think our dog must be really close to the animal. It was. Not only was she close to the wild animal, the animal was close to ME! Probably only 5-10′ away because by now it was AT OUR HOUSE by my bedroom!! Then it not only was at our house but UNDER our house. The skunk broke through a screened vent we have that vents our basement crawl-space. How do we…
Trip to Florida – Part III
Monday, March 15th, 2010 at
10:16 pm
On our last day in St. Augustine, Florida, we went to the Memorial Presbyterian Church – a church built and completed in 1890 after one year of construction. To complete the church this quickly, workers worked 24 hours a day with two crews of 500 men. The style is Venetian Renaissance. Inside the church there is an Aeolian-Skinner Pipe Organ that has over 5000 pipes! The largest pipes are 32′ tall! Next, we visited the St. Augustine Lighthouse. Since younger children can not go inside the lighthouse, my sister & I stayed behind with the little ones. The tower is 165′ tall with 219 steps to reach the top. We took the scenic route from St. Augustine to Jacksonville. At this stop we saw…
Trip to Florida – Part II
Thursday, March 11th, 2010 at
11:55 pm
After leaving Sarasota we went to Ocala where my new niece by marriage lived. Her parents operate a print shop but not only do they make business cards and those types of things, they make Vehicle Graphics, Screen Printing on t-shirts, Banners, Embroidery on shirts, hats and other things. We got to go on a tour of the place. What an interesting business. Leaving Ocala, we landed in St. Augustine. St. Augustine has one of the oldest structures in North America – the Castillo de San Marcos. It was built in 1672 by the Spaniards and was never taken by the enemy. The walls are 14-19′ thick at the base and taper to 9′ at the top. The walls are made of coquina . Wikipedia…
Trip to Florida – Part I
Sunday, March 7th, 2010 at
10:30 pm
After a long stint away from Treasuring the Moments due to visits from family and various and sundry happenings, I’m hoping to make an appearance more frequently. As I write, my family and I are driving down the road – leaving Florida and heading for Alabama. Although Florida is known as the “sunshine state”, sunshine and warmth have been in short supply around here. ……..Well I started the above paragraph over a week ago and am just now getting back to writing. *Smack, smack* I must do better about posting! The occasion of our trip to Florida was for my nephew’s wedding. We decided to make a family trip out of it and spent a few days in St. Augustine as well as Jacksonville. Along the way,…
The Birth of Baby Kids – Goat kids, I Mean
Saturday, January 2nd, 2010 at
1:24 pm
Last night when all was cold and overcast, 3 goat kids were born. There was one kid that found its legs rather quickly. Sometimes you get worried thinking the kids might be weak since they just lay there. The mother seemed unconcerned, not licking them or giving them any milk. I suppose this doe had other things on her mind though. She was still trying to deliver the placenta. Since I have only arrived at a birth after the babies are born and the placenta is nowhere to be seen, I wasn’t sure if this was normal or not. But I found out last night it is how it’s supposed to be. While Sugar, the momma doe, was busy with other things the second doe finally got…
Domestic Pursuits
Thursday, December 17th, 2009 at
8:58 am
Homemaking can be as varied as you want it to be. Honey Oatmeal Soap Fresh Whole Wheat Bread I was feeling like quite the domesticated wife yesterday. Warning: If your name is Chloe, Grace or Martha - read no further!!! Shhhh. Don’t tell them but I’m giving these Honey Oatmeal bars of soap as a gift to them at Christmas. A partial list of ingredients are honey, oatmeal, beeswax & buttermilk. I may have to put a warning label on the soap saying, “Do not eat.”
These Strange American Traditions
Monday, December 14th, 2009 at
7:14 am
About 8 years ago a couple moved here to Arizona from Democratic Republic of the Congo/South Africa. He (Abel) was from Democratic Republic of the Congo and she (Hattie) was from South Africa. The morning after they were married they left South Africa. They came so that Abel could attend an aeronautical university and finally after this many years he has completed his course of study and was given his diploma on Saturday! Abel’s sister and brother-in-law travelled from Congo to the U.S. to be here. Now they will be visiting a few different states for the next couple of months. She was 14 when she married this man and he was 26. Can you believe it? My good friend, Hattie (his wife). My friend has only seen her mother once since she…
An American Girl Doll Party
Monday, December 7th, 2009 at
8:17 pm
Saturday’s big to-do was for Serenity’s 12th birthday. We decided to go with a doll theme. Several years ago Serenity and I went to the American Girl store in Chicago. What a good time we had together. We didn’t eat at the AG Cafe but we went in and took pictures. It was beautifully decorated in pink and black. We decided to use these colors for our party. Even though everyone did not have an AG doll, we knew that most, if not all, had 18″ dolls. We purchased our supplies at Hobby Lobby. (See the party hat Serenity made for her doll? She gave one to each girl as they arrived.) The dolls had their own table. The dolls needed something to eat while…
Serenity’s Day
Friday, December 4th, 2009 at
4:55 am
Something’s happening tomorrow (Saturday) and it involves… the start of mini-pies and Serenity Check in Monday and I’ll tell you all about it.
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