Food, Self-Sufficiency

Deer in the Freezer…

Gretchen

A friend of Randy’s hunts every year, but his family doesn’t like venison.  So, guess what!  We get it.  Our neighbor processes it and all we have to do is pay him for processing.  Yea!  We will have more meat to add to our dwindling supply in the freezer.  We also just got our pork from Mom and Dad’s freezer.  They were storing it until we got more room in our’s.  So, we will have plenty of meat to get to get us through the winter and summer.  We hope to raise broilers in the spring so we will have plenty of chicken also.

Hope you all are staying warm!

Books, Video, & Music

December Reading/Video

Gretchen

I am a library junkie.  Fortunately for me there is a library just down the street from where I work.  It’s a very nice sized library, and I usually find plenty to read.  I am all over the place with the topics I chose to read about.  I like non-fiction books I can learn from and very rarely read fiction novels.  I also take advantage of their video/dvd selection.

 

Here is a taste of what I have checked out right now.  I have starred the books I am currently reading of have finished.

 

*The Africa News Cookbook:  African Cooking for Westerner Kitchens by Tami Hultman

This is a great book.  They use ingredients easy to find and list the recipes by it’s location within Africa.

 

*Bernard Clayton’s New Complete Book of Breads

I’ve marked some recipes to try from this book.

 

Build Your Own Earth Oven:  A Low-Cost, Wood-Fired Mud Oven, Simple Sourdough Bread, Perfect Loaves for Bakers & Beginners Both by Kiko Denzer

Randy’s reading this off and on.

 

 

*Cooking with Sunshine:  The Complete Guide to Solar Cooking with 150 Easy Sun-Cooked Recipes by Lorraine Anderson

I need to re-check this out in the summer so I can try some of the recipes as I read.

 

Ethiopia by Steven Gish

Randy and I each have a copy of this to read.  It’s a children’s book, but gives the basics of a country and includes some beautiful pictures.  We enjoy these books when researching a particular country.

 

The Healing Wisdom of Africa:  Finding Life Purpose Through Nature, Ritual, and Community by Malidoma Patrice, Some

 

Love in the Driest Season:  A Family Memoir by Neely Tucker

 

*Our Own:  Adopting and Parenting the Older Childy by Trish Maskew

I am currently reading this book and find it very informative.

 

Teenage Refugees from Ethiopia Speak Out by LaDena Schnapper

Randy’s reading this off and on.

 

*Woodstove Cookery:  At Home on the Range by Jane Cooper

I’m currently reading this.

 

*The Open-Hearth Cookbook:  Recapturing the Flavor of Early America by Suzanne Goldenson

This is an interesting book about colonial open-hearth cooking.

 

Videos/DVDs:

Digging for the Truth:  The Complete Season 1 by Josh Bernstein

Digging for the Truth:  The Complete Season 2 by Josh Bernstein

Time Life’s Lost Civilizations by Sam Waterston

I hope to get all of these watched before New Year’s.

 

*Yoga Natural Body Tune-Up; includes stress breaks by Linda Arkin

Great beginner’s video.

 

*Yoga Practice for Relaxation by Patricia Walden

Animals

Ebony & Ivory

Gretchen

My Dad has ewes lambing right now.  They are tired and don’t have the time to take care of bottle lambs, so I volunteered.

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How could I refuse.  They now inhabit a dog kennel in our home.  We named them Ebony & Ivory.  Ivory cries his head off when he’s hungry.  It sounds like he’s saying Maa…it’s so cute!

ebonyivory_-snuggling_02_compressed

 

Ebony wasn’t feeling 100% last night.  Do you think her brother may have known?

Hope you all have a good day!

Animals

Ebony & Ivory…

Gretchen

My Dad has ewes lambing right now.  They are tired and don’t have the time to take care of bottle lambs, so I volunteered.

How could I refuse.  They now inhabit a dog kennel in our home.  We named them Ebony & Ivory.  Ivory cries his head off when he’s hungry.  It sounds like he’s saying Maa…it’s so cute!

Ebony wasn’t feeling 100% last night.  Do you think her brother may have known?

Hope you all have a good day!

Adoption

Home Study Preparations…

Gretchen

Sunday is our home study and as the day draw closer I get a little more uneasy.  I am working on a to-do list for Friday and Saturday along with my regular chores to prepare our home for the social worker’s visit.

To-do List:

check our check supply

find a paint brush

touch up paint in family room

dust

vacuum

mop

clean wood floors

clean bathroom

wash bedding

wash laundry (whites, rugs, and shower curtain)

fold & put away blankets

set up dog kennels

bake bread

go to the dairy

make:  cottage cheese, yogurt, kefir, villi, and mozarella (as time allows)

make litter box sprinkle

fix gate latch

fill sheep’s salt & mineral (along with normal chores)

tend to Dad’s ram (he came for a visit unexpectedly)

move not-so-baby chicks into chicken coop

I’m sure I will come up with a million other things to keep me busy and prepare for the visit from our social worker. 

Please pray for us as we go through yet another part of the adoption process.

Adoption

The Latest…

Gretchen

Our Parent in Process classes were amazing.  Our social worker was wonderful, we met other great couples, and had an amazing time.  We hope to keep intouch with another couple we met who plans to adopt from Korea.

Our home study (visit from the social worker) is tenatively scheduled for this weekend (weather permitting). 

Then, upon approval we will send off our dossier and I600 forms and begin the wait. 

Our social worker is from a farm, so we hope she is prepared for our little farm, and we have a positive impression on her.  Once our home study is complete and (hopefully) been approved, we will inform the family of our plans (and possibly open up this blog).

We will also make our final decisions as far as country and age (we aren’t able to select gender due to not having any children) when our social worker comes to our home.

We were informed we would not be able to adopt a sibling group (unless infant twins become available) or a child over five years of age due to not having any children.  Interesting, but not completely devastating to us.  We had hoped for a sibling group, but will continue the process for a single child positively.

Adoption

Homestudy packet Sent and PIP Classes…

Gretchen

Everything for our home study packet has been sent in and received by Holt.  Randy and I have also enrolled in the Waiting Child program through Holt and have been accepted. 

This weekend is our PIP Classes in KC.  We are staying at a friend’s house which helps cut some costs.  Thank you Aisha!  The classes are Saturday and Sunday from 9:00-3:30.  They are given by our social worker, so hopefully we can get an idea of how are out we are for our home study visit from her.  We are still worried about the cost and will probably always worry about the cost.  We will just pray God will provide for us through our adoption process.

Our roof is only 2/3 done and our front door is still not functioning.  Dad hopes to finish up a house in town and then we are next on the list.  Once the roof and front door area are complete, Randy and I can begin the interior painting that will need to be done.

I still have a cold and go to see Dr. Cohoon (chiropractor/kinesiologist) today, so hopefully by tomorrow I am back on track.  I really feel like it was all the processed food over Thanksgiving, but who knows.

Hope you have a wonderful day.

Nutrition, Self-Sufficiency

How to make Cottage Cheese…

Gretchen

I got the recipe from Countryside Magazine and it is de-lish!

No-rennet Cottage Cheese

1 gallon milk (I use raw)

1 cup cultured buttermilk

Warm the milk to about 95 degrees F.  Stir in buttermilk and allow to set at room temperature for 12-18 hours.  The milk will clabber, or become thick.

Cut the curds into 1/2 inch cubes and let rest for 10 minutes.  Place the pot into a double boiler-type potand heat at a very low setting until the curd reaches 115 degrees F (I didn’t use a double boiler, I just kept it on low for a little over an hour).  Stir often to keep the curds from matting together.  This will take an hour or more.

The curd is ready when it is somewhat firm on the interior of the cheese.  Cook longer if necessary.  Some whey will rise to the top.  Let the curd settle to the bottom of the pot, drain off the whey and place the curds in a cloth-lined colander to drain.  Be gentle, as the curds are rather fragile.

Allow the cheese to drain until it stops dripping (I let mine hang overnight).  Place in a bowl and add salt to taste.  I usually use about one teaspoon of kosher or canning salt per pound.  Stir in about four ounces of half-and-half or cream ( I used cream off the top of our raw milk) per pound if you like a creamed cottage cheese.

I had some for breakfast this morning and it was the best.  Hope it turns out as well everytime I make it.

I have been fighting a cold since Saturday.  I have been consuming a lot of Vitamin C poweder and Echinacea/Goldenseal along with Throat Coat Tea.  I prefer Gypsy Cold Care, but I drank what we had on-hand.

I want to make my own by buying my herbs from Mountain Rose Herbs, but I just haven’t gotten around to it.

Hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving.

Adoption

Medical Exams and Homestudy Checklist…

Gretchen

Our homestudy packet is hopefully on a UPS truck headed to Holt International as I write this.  Long story short our medical paperwork didn’t get completed until yesterday (Monday).  So, I left work early and hurried to pick it up and get it to UPS before 5:00. 

Homestudy Packet:

1.  Personal Data Information (these are long answer questions for the social worker)

2.  Financial Statement

3.  Medical Reports-get results and paperwork Nov. 21

4.  Directions and map to our home

5.  Statement of Insurance

6.  Authorization for Release of Information-Employment Verification release

7.  I600A form

8.  Parents in Process Adoption Preparation Classes-scheduled for Dec. 6-7 (our social worker still has not returned any of my calls, keep your fingers crossed these classes work out for us)

As far as we know the I600A doesn’t have to be completed until our social worker comes for our homestudy.  We still have not gotten verification from her on our PIP classes (Dec. 6-7).  Once our homestudy is complete we will send of our Dossier packet.  It is complete all except for the homestudy and I600A form.

Now we wait on our social worker to schedule our actual homestudy.  We are really hoping it is before Christmas, but that may be asking a little too much.  Considering I can’t get a phone call returned I’m guessing she is extremely busy.

Have a wonderful day!