Thou shalt not take the name of the LORD thy God in vain: for the LORD will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain.
This is one of those "take the plank out of your eye before you go to your brother about the speck in his" for me. I easily pick out when someone uses God's name in common conversation as an explicative or exclamation, but yet, I can do the same thing and not catch it until it comes out. This is getting better as the Holy Spirit has made me more aware of things such as these. I thought I would listen to an audio file on the internet of one of the local churches and just clicked on one. Within the first 20 seconds, the student pastor used the Lord's name in vain. I don't even like when a teacher/preacher uses gosh. I think this just becomes a very bad habit and we are not paying attention to His name. That is HUGE isn't it? We ought not be so lackadaisical this high on the list, should we? This is commandment 3! I want to be more aware.
I wonder how often it is spoken on television. I am fortunate in that I only have about 10 channels-yes, basic local TV through the phone company, none of those fancy schmancy channels with nudity, violence and language...oh, wait, that is on the local channels too now, isn't it. I think tonight, if I have time, I will watch a 30 minute show and see if the Lord's name is said in vain and tally it up. I will let you know.
Thursday, August 27, 2015
Tuesday, August 25, 2015
To Do 8/25/15
Last week: Finally got the wood stacked. It looks so nice. The drywall is up and no more insulation is exposed. Daughter is ready for college! Burned a small wood pile behind the chicken coop. Nothing worth mentioning in the kitchen :( I ordered border samples for the dining/sunroom.
This week: Hubby is to start mudding/taping or whatever the drywall. I think I will do the sanding and painting while he works on putting up a wall between the kitchen and the office. I have GOT to mow...the entire the yard. The goats have been so badly behaved that their grazing time has been cut down. They would rather destroy birdfeeders and eat duck food and sneak in the chicken coop. So I will have to mow. I would like to start cleaning up the deck where hubby cut all the drywall and there are bits and pieces of it and wood out there. I also need to consider bringing in some houseplants, possibly repotted ones and where they need to be until the dining/sun room is ready for them. I would like to get some paint on the deck, but some lantana, Leyland cypress and holly bushes will have to be trimmed way back before that can be done comfortably.
We will be going on a short vacation to "back home" in the Midwest, so I don't want to get too involved with anything. Once we return, hubby has another week of vacay that we can really focus on some pre-fall cleanup and projects, such has painting the deck, washing the siding, building cold frames, creating a fence for Max and finishing putting the black plastic on the garden to kill off some of the centipede grass that has gone wild.
I am so ready for September and less heat and humidity!
This week: Hubby is to start mudding/taping or whatever the drywall. I think I will do the sanding and painting while he works on putting up a wall between the kitchen and the office. I have GOT to mow...the entire the yard. The goats have been so badly behaved that their grazing time has been cut down. They would rather destroy birdfeeders and eat duck food and sneak in the chicken coop. So I will have to mow. I would like to start cleaning up the deck where hubby cut all the drywall and there are bits and pieces of it and wood out there. I also need to consider bringing in some houseplants, possibly repotted ones and where they need to be until the dining/sun room is ready for them. I would like to get some paint on the deck, but some lantana, Leyland cypress and holly bushes will have to be trimmed way back before that can be done comfortably.
We will be going on a short vacation to "back home" in the Midwest, so I don't want to get too involved with anything. Once we return, hubby has another week of vacay that we can really focus on some pre-fall cleanup and projects, such has painting the deck, washing the siding, building cold frames, creating a fence for Max and finishing putting the black plastic on the garden to kill off some of the centipede grass that has gone wild.
I am so ready for September and less heat and humidity!
Tuesday, August 18, 2015
To Sam's or Not to Sam's
My personal experiment of doing most of my shopping at Sam's has taught me a few things already. As I delve into my initial contrasting reactions, let me give you the run down on a few pros and cons for me.
Pro: I have a pantry full! I have a freezer full! I have Zip-loc storage and freezer bags under my bed! (Especially now that I use my baggie tree to reuse them.) I have all basic ingredients for cleansers and personal hygiene. (Even some toilet paper for those with aversions to family cloths.)
Con: I have spent close to $400 at Sam's, as well as another $100+ at "regular" grocery stores for small items. True, these small item purchases at the grocery stores led to unnecessary purchases of items that were different and exciting, AKA impulse, not in the budget... Pro: Even though I have spent at least two month's budget on my one month purchases, I do have such an inventory that could feed us for another three months even though it would be extremely repetitive; nonetheless, we would survive. Con: Another issue that I had not anticipated-cluttered pantry, cluttered mind. Yes, the old adage cluttered home=cluttered mind. And I am finding that this overflowing abundance of food is causing unwanted stress. Where do I put it? Where DID I put it? I already had one opened! This has to be used TODAY! It will take me a few minutes to get this out of the pantry I just have to move this and this and this, now I have to store the rest of this in the fridge, under the bed, in the bench..Man! Can't we just have sandwiches??? I keep thinking less is more, less is more.
So my dilemma is...how much money saved is worth the hassle and brain stress? Do let me clarify right now that no number of home canned jars of food affects me this way. Perhaps it is the work involved that provides the opposite effect of great personal satisfaction. A #10 can of tomato sauce, even though purchased for $2.08, does not bring joy when I pull it out of the pantry like my jar of strawberry jam that costs more than that after all is said and done. Is it that I am not doing the proper work to get the satisfaction? Maybe I should take that can of tomato sauce and immediately make jars of homemade spaghetti sauce. Then I have saved money and have my stock that I worked hard for, especially since my garden did not produce enough for me to have my own tomato sauce. Should I take my 10 pounds of flour and immediately make biscuits to freeze, pizza dough to freeze, pie crust to freeze (not my forte!), and bread to freeze? Leaving only what will fit in the flour bin. Would that make a difference? Or would I still be confused by the amount of doughs in my freezer when I go looking for a bag of frozen peas, bag of cheddar, stick of butter or chicken breasts? Hmmm. Sounds like this experiment is not over. Maybe a good week of nothing but kitchen organization would help. Maybe it's just all the time I spending outside this summer is making me lazy inside the house. Maybe I am overthinking it...
What a conundrum!
Do you shop at a wholesale / bulk store? Why or why not?
Pro: I have a pantry full! I have a freezer full! I have Zip-loc storage and freezer bags under my bed! (Especially now that I use my baggie tree to reuse them.) I have all basic ingredients for cleansers and personal hygiene. (Even some toilet paper for those with aversions to family cloths.)
Con: I have spent close to $400 at Sam's, as well as another $100+ at "regular" grocery stores for small items. True, these small item purchases at the grocery stores led to unnecessary purchases of items that were different and exciting, AKA impulse, not in the budget... Pro: Even though I have spent at least two month's budget on my one month purchases, I do have such an inventory that could feed us for another three months even though it would be extremely repetitive; nonetheless, we would survive. Con: Another issue that I had not anticipated-cluttered pantry, cluttered mind. Yes, the old adage cluttered home=cluttered mind. And I am finding that this overflowing abundance of food is causing unwanted stress. Where do I put it? Where DID I put it? I already had one opened! This has to be used TODAY! It will take me a few minutes to get this out of the pantry I just have to move this and this and this, now I have to store the rest of this in the fridge, under the bed, in the bench..Man! Can't we just have sandwiches??? I keep thinking less is more, less is more.
So my dilemma is...how much money saved is worth the hassle and brain stress? Do let me clarify right now that no number of home canned jars of food affects me this way. Perhaps it is the work involved that provides the opposite effect of great personal satisfaction. A #10 can of tomato sauce, even though purchased for $2.08, does not bring joy when I pull it out of the pantry like my jar of strawberry jam that costs more than that after all is said and done. Is it that I am not doing the proper work to get the satisfaction? Maybe I should take that can of tomato sauce and immediately make jars of homemade spaghetti sauce. Then I have saved money and have my stock that I worked hard for, especially since my garden did not produce enough for me to have my own tomato sauce. Should I take my 10 pounds of flour and immediately make biscuits to freeze, pizza dough to freeze, pie crust to freeze (not my forte!), and bread to freeze? Leaving only what will fit in the flour bin. Would that make a difference? Or would I still be confused by the amount of doughs in my freezer when I go looking for a bag of frozen peas, bag of cheddar, stick of butter or chicken breasts? Hmmm. Sounds like this experiment is not over. Maybe a good week of nothing but kitchen organization would help. Maybe it's just all the time I spending outside this summer is making me lazy inside the house. Maybe I am overthinking it...
What a conundrum!
Do you shop at a wholesale / bulk store? Why or why not?
Saturday, August 15, 2015
Getting My Jam On
Strawberries were on sale and since my berry plants were chicken fodder last fall and I never replaced them, I decided I had better get some before it is WAY past season. I decided to make both water bath and freezer jam. This is the first time I have made plain old strawberry jam. My strawberries were always for slicing, sweetening and putting in freezer bags for the cold winter months.
Break time and clean up time before round two freezer jam!
 |
| 8 cups of berries |
 |
| Mashed berries |
 |
| Added Surejell, boil, add 7 c. of sugar |
 |
| Boil again for one minute |
 |
| Ladle into hot jars and get ready for water canner |
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| After about 10 minutes, time to cool |
Break time and clean up time before round two freezer jam!
Friday, August 14, 2015
Food Friday 8/14/15
We have had some unexpected expenses in our budget and so the food budget is a bit less than normal for this payday. Hopefully, I have done enough preparation and bulk shopping in the past few weeks to sustain us, although more preparation is to be done.
This past week I have:
Made trail mix using a variety of ingredients.
I put said chicken salad in jars for grab and go lunches for the guys (and girl).
And I made strawberry flavored vinegar with leftover strawberry stems to make fruity salad dressing with.
This past week I have:
Made trail mix using a variety of ingredients.
Daughter and I made more PB&J sandwiches for the freezer.
I cooked up some extra chicken and made chicken salad.
I put said chicken salad in jars for grab and go lunches for the guys (and girl).
And I made strawberry flavored vinegar with leftover strawberry stems to make fruity salad dressing with.
It is time to inventory and get a new menu and list together for the next month, but with a very limited budget this time.
Thursday, August 13, 2015
Deodorant Review
The homemade recipe deodorant that took two minutes to make...AWESOME! My first test day included outside laundry at 8 am, jam making at noon, donning a bee suit with smoker at 2 pm, and doing son's pre-soaked laundry at 4 pm. A day of being sweat-soaked at least 4 times, and yes, several nose-to-armpit checks. (I am pretty sure I saw daughter shake her head in shame at me. I offered for her to check for me, but she refused, so...)
I would definitely recommend this recipe to try.
You can find it here: http://lostarrowacres.blogspot.com/2015/08/underarm-stinky-stuff.html
or watch the Southern Homesteading original YouTube video here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8IXNRP8JOgU
I would definitely recommend this recipe to try.
You can find it here: http://lostarrowacres.blogspot.com/2015/08/underarm-stinky-stuff.html
or watch the Southern Homesteading original YouTube video here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8IXNRP8JOgU
Wednesday, August 12, 2015
Back to Bible Basics: The 10 Commandments #2
6 And shewing mercy unto thousands of them that love me, and keep my commandments.
I am not going to lie, this is a scary and a bit confusing one for me as I first read it. I guess all commandments should be scary to us though. Does this mean we should not have anything in our homes such as stars on the outside of our house, angel statues, pictures of our animals or fish mailboxes? Okay, nobody should have a fish mailbox, maybe Kevin VanDam, but that's it. (Just kidding). Or is it okay to decorate my kitchen with roosters and hens as long as I don't "bow down" to worship or exalt the napkin holder? There may be people in other countries that still do make alters with different "deities" and actually bow down at those alters for worship. And I certainly do not want to do anything that would cause the Lord to be jealous and punish me and every generation to my great-grandchildren because of my disobedience. I do, however, want His mercy.
Below is a short, logical explanation that I found on YouTube that I feel speaks truth and reason. What do you hold as your standard for the second commandment?
I am not going to lie, this is a scary and a bit confusing one for me as I first read it. I guess all commandments should be scary to us though. Does this mean we should not have anything in our homes such as stars on the outside of our house, angel statues, pictures of our animals or fish mailboxes? Okay, nobody should have a fish mailbox, maybe Kevin VanDam, but that's it. (Just kidding). Or is it okay to decorate my kitchen with roosters and hens as long as I don't "bow down" to worship or exalt the napkin holder? There may be people in other countries that still do make alters with different "deities" and actually bow down at those alters for worship. And I certainly do not want to do anything that would cause the Lord to be jealous and punish me and every generation to my great-grandchildren because of my disobedience. I do, however, want His mercy.
Below is a short, logical explanation that I found on YouTube that I feel speaks truth and reason. What do you hold as your standard for the second commandment?
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