Self reliance

I love how there seems to be a revival to be self reliant. We are making a family goal to reuse what we can, cut down on waste, and grow more food. Granted, my home sits on .17 acres, I am curious how much food I can grow/ raise. I have hens, I get 2-3 eggs a day ( its winter. Over the summer I'd get 5-7 a day). I have been researching and looking up sites that talk about being more self reliant. I will post our ideas later...

Christmas present

So, leave it up to hubby and I to come up with creative projects before Christmas. Over our fireplace, we had this large mirror

Here is a view. We also had several cases holding our CD's and DVD's. We had been talking about taking down the mirror and putting up shelves where the amoire was.
So, Jason called my dad and borrowed his grinder. The mirror was held by two slids, but the rubber inside the slides was hard. The mirror was not going to move.
We removed the mirror. It exposed that lovely wood paneling ( cough cough)

 So with the mirror gone, I then primered and painted the paneling. Its too cold to mess with drywall right now ( and who wants the mess two days before Christmas)

We then waited for it to dry, then moved the TV.

 

 

I really liked how it turned out. My boys and husband then constructed the new shelfing unit.

 

 

 

I was getting excited to make more room in my living room and to open up the space.
Here is the final result:

 

The best thing- this cost us a fraction by doing the work ourselves. We still have finishing touches, however it will have to wait. Jason is getting ready to leave for school, so it will be on his "honey do list" when he returns. Its nice having more space!

Pre Christmas

So, here I sit, listening to Christmas music and watching my kids play video games. I have made one batch of carrot cake muffins, baked two loaves of chocolate chip banana bread, and am waiting for my butter to warm up to bake some mini cupcakes for my in-laws Christmas tonite. I'm sad Christmas is almost here, I have really enjoyed it this year. My shopping is done ( yes, I started in OCTOBER this year). I love explaining the importance of this holiday, why the Saviors birth is important. I love creating memories, so my kids can reflect and smile and/ or laugh.

Preparing for Thanksgiving

This past week, we celebrated our oldest turning 17. I think, where has the time gone. He chose to stay home. It was a nice, relaxing evening.

I have spent the last couple weeks looking up gardening ideas on Pinterest. I have found several. I am going to try them this spring. I am already planning my to do list for this spring. I really want to build an awning this year.
I want the back patio to be covered. I plan to also string a clothesline once it is built. I love hanging clothes to dry. Not only do they smell better, but it's money I save by not running the dryer. 

I have been working hard on being frugal, especially since we are living on one income while my husband is in school.  So far, we are doing ok. There is always room for improvement.

I have been working on getting more organized. The kids and I gathered 6 garbage bags of clothes and one big box of shoes. I gave these to a friend who was collecting clothing items for the Union Gospel Mission. I am still going thru items, some which I am trying to sell. I fixed a quilt I got from my Grandmother years ago. The boys were excited to use it again. It's a flannel patchwork quilt. It's soft and warm. 

Canning updates

So, wanted to make some peach pie filling.
I started with peaches. I peeled and sliced them

I then placed them in a pot, and added all the other ingredients.

I cooked this until it was thick, then I placed it in jars. I then water bathed it; and set the jars on the counter to cool.

It smelled so good!

My garden has been bountiful, I have been thankful
Today I picked, 10 bell peppers, 3 zucchini, 6 cucumbers and approximately 2 cups of strawberries. I dont remember my strawberries every producing as much fruit as I have gotten this year. This has been a blessing, especially since Jason is away in Idaho, and we are trying to save as much money as we can.

This picture is from a month ago, but it is just an example of what it has been producing.
I have canned tomatoes, tomatoe sauce, peaches, pear sauce, pear butter, and frozen nectarine.

Yesterday I began to make fruit leather.

Once it is done curing, I will post the results!
Happy Fall everyone!

Canning

One of my favorite things to do is can. I like being able to eat what I have prepared, and knowing what is in it. I have already canned peaches, made and canned pear sauce and pear butter. Today I am going to try to make peach pie filling. I have made apple pie filling in the past, today I want to try something new. I will try to take pictures to post later...

Goals

    This was a picture I took a few weeks ago. It is located on Lake Union. Its a fern growing out of an old pier. It was really nice that day, so I took a walk to take advantage of the sunny weather we are typically devoid of.
    I have decided I am going to have my brood come up with some short term and long term goals. For example, my goal will be to create a menu for the next 2 weeks- I did this several weeks ago,it was helpful, especially when nights were chaotic. I would like my group to help think of ideas for what they would like to eat. My only complaint is that when it is hot, I lack the energy to cook.
    Another one of my goals has been to work on my budget. I have been doing that- I feel pretty happy with myself over that. My goal is to have it set before Jason leaves for school ( which is fastly approaching). Did I mention its suppose to be hot in the Seattle area this weekend, I have ordered approx 75 pounds of fruit to can? I like canning. Its satisfying to see how my hard work has paid off. I want to make pear sauce this year. That will be something new. My plan is to chart how much fruit I use, how much I make of what; so next year I will know if I need to increase or decrease the amount. For example; I made dill pickles. I dont know how many; I think 24 jars. I only have 9 jars left. I would not have any left had I not hidden some of the jars. The problem is I have no idea how many cucumbers ( weight ) I bought to make them. Just more goals for me :) Guess I need to tomorrow to begin to dig out my glass jars/canning seals so I can begin to prepare for this weekend. I'll post some pics of my progress when I am done.