Holidays, Uncategorized

A Successful, Happy Thanksgiving 2015

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IMG_1771I could ask myself what constitutes a “happy” Thanksgiving.  Is it the food? The decorations? The company?  In our family, I have to say it is all of that, plus more.  As I looked around the table and into the next room, which was overflowing with more company, I realized that there were people in those rooms with chronic diseases, job losses, dehibilitating special needs, schedules that were overwhelming to them, sick people, exhausted people, people with spouses missing for different reasons, lonely people and those who had suffered deep, grievious loss. And, that was only the ones who could come!  But, each and every one of those people had a hard time choosing which blessing they wanted to share when Rob asked them to share before the prayer.  There were so many choices!  Even the youngest had no problem choosing things, such as good water, food, a house, etc.

IMG_1752.We took the meat off the bones last evening and they were placed into our 2 crockpots. Then we filled them with water, salted them, and then put them on low for the night.  This morning, Abbie (my eldest) and I picked the meat off the bones and froze the broth into cartons.  I smell soup coming up!

After we ate, we cleaned up and everyone sat around eating dessert and visiting.  The 2 big cousins went and picked Lovana up from work and that was a great surprise for her, as one of her close cousins is just in from California for the weekend. Everyone enjoyed being with her for the day!

IMG_5007Patsy did a great job in her play at school on Tuesday afternoon.  It lasted 6-10 minutes so was just the right length for the young cousins to enjoy.  It was really cute and it really put us in the Thanksgiving mood!

Today,  after things were put away, and people had visited as long as they wanted to, they went home leaving me with a super-clean house.  Amazing.  To me, it was more than just  a happy day–it was a successful, happy Thanksgiving.  I hope you had a great day, too.

Sewing with kids

Michaela’s Pillow

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Michaela loves the Seattle Seahawks.  Recently, she and I made a plan for her to make a Seattle Seahawks pillow from fleece.  I got the fleece and saved it for when she was going to spend a few nights at my house.

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I cut it out for her.  She cut a couple of corners out, but felt like it was making her too nervous.  She was worried that she would wreck it, but she did a great job on the corners she did cut.  I started with a double layer of fleece, and cut it to about 29 inches square.  I then cut out 6 inch squares out of the corners, and cut strips approximately 1 inch by 6 inches around the pillow.  Then, I showed her how to tie.  She tied.  I tied.  Her sister tied.  At last it was done, except for a couple of stray ties that weren’t.  Oops!  So, while she was in the other room, Rob and I untied and retied one side, and it was done!

We had a 16 inch pillow form I had hoped to use.  After tying it part way, it became apparent we needed a bigger one.  Rob took Michaela to the fabric store and they got an 18 inch one instead.  Notice the clever use of the scraps–she made herself a headband/hat with them.

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Little brother had to have one, too.IMG_1745It was a great project.  It didn’t take too long, she could tie the ties with some help, and she loves it.  She is a girl who knows what she likes, that’s for sure, and she likes this pillow.

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Saving Money–Week of November 23rd

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This week, Rob and I got to have a night away ALONE for the first time in over 2-1/2 years!  Last Christmas, we received a gift certificate for a 1-night stay at the Oregon Gardens, in Silverton, Oregon.  We used that certificate on Friday night.  Better yet, it came with babysitting!  We used that, too.  Although entrance to the gardens was included with our stay, we did not have much time to wander through them because it got dark very early and we slept in a bit on Saturday morning.  During the walk we did take, these purple berries really caught my eye.  They were so beautiful.  I do not know what they are called.  I just know we liked them!

We were able to talk very deeply about our financial situation, our plans for Christmas giving, and other matters that are not easily discussed at home with a house full of listening ears.  Those talks were probably my greatest frugal accomplishment this week.  I feel like we are on the same page, have lots of hope even in a rough situation, and are both headed in the same direction–something that is very important to both of us.

We had many appointments this week, but did not succumb to fast food as much as we used to do.  In fact, we have cut that out since Rob’s job loss, except for rare occasions.  Because we had let the habit of stopping “just for a few french fries, a Frosty, etc.” creep into our routines, it has been a battle with the children.  Clearly, they like doing that.  It has been a battle with myself.  Clearly, I like taking them.  But, even though they cannot understand it the way I can, this is a way for the $10’s and $20’s to stack up in my purse instead of being frittered away.  I will say that ice cream was still in order for the child who got a shot at the doctor and she enjoyed every bite!  I have been able to put $ away for later.  I know I will need it more then.

I made split pea and potato soup.  We ate it for several meals.  It was meatless, flavored with ham broth.  My husband loved it, even though he usually likes his meat!

I let my niece choose her own pajama fabric from my stash for her Christmas gift.  She is autistic and likes knowing what she is getting.  She is with us for a few days.  I plan to sew the pajamas and let her try them on, then wrap them.  That helps her handle her anxiety about Christmas more easily.  We will add some Reeses peanut butter cups to them, since they are her candy flavor of choice.

I gave another niece a piece of flannel to use for a school project.

I used lots of eggs for meals this week.  Our chickens are laying well right now.  I also used a lot of ham bits from the ham Rob cooked a few days ago.  We did ham and eggs several times, as well as plain ham, ham sandwiches, etc.  I made broth from the bone.

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I was able to work on several sewing projects that are for Christmas.

We were able to do some medical appointments before our good insurance runs out.

One daughter was able to pay off extremely large library fines she had. She took in food items to the library during their “food for fines” week.  She did jobs for me to pay for the food items.  That is extremely nice of our library and helps the food bank.  I have not let her check any more items out until the fines were taken care of since they were due to her not being responsible. (She passed up opportunities to return them when we were going to the library by just not paying attention to due dates)  We are both happy now.  She’s so excited to have library privileges back.

Our dentist was extremely kind and gave us a greatly reduced rate on our check-ups because he knows us and our situation and wanted to be kind.  We have no cavities, which is good, and saves money, as well.

I have been practicing purposeful thankfulness.  We are so blessed.

Life changes

Thankful

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IMG_1696I have been taking the time to purposefully be thankful this fall.  In September, when Rob’s job ended unexpectedly, we were both cast into a daze–stunned by the news that, after almost 19 years, he was no longer wanted.  After a couple of weeks of wandering aimlessly around on auto-pilot, unable to focus, unable to do anything buy cry, I realized I was going to have to be purposeful in how I handled this.  The situation was not going to change.

Because of Rob’s job as a children and family pastor, both of our lives, plus the lives of our children, were unusually intertwined with his job.  We spent countless hours at the church, volunteering in the childrens’ department, on worship team, going to events such as retreats, youth group activities, Bible classes, small groups, etc.  So, when his job was suddenly over, we no longer had a church home as well as no income.  Both of those things were extremely significant to us.  Our children had known no other church and felt loved and nurtured by the people there.  The very people we would usually turn to for love and support were suddenly not as available to us.  We literally had no place to attend church on Sunday anymore.  It was a big blow.

The reason given for his dismissal was that, when they hired a consulting firm to analyze the church, they wanted to go in a different direction, and Rob did not fit that direction.  He had done nothing wrong.  It was “just business.”  Ouch.  There was not one chance for him to fix anything they did not like, make any changes they might want–nothing.  Just go.  So, with tears streaming down our faces, we packed his office, and went.  We were given a severance package after a week on pins and needles, wondering what we were going to get, if anything.

I decided then and there that I did not want to become a bitter old woman, spending the rest of my life in anger, bitterness, or fear of the future.  I want to live today with peace, happiness, and contentment. It was going to take work.  My plan was to count the blessings I did have, pray a lot, and try to stay upbeat about all of this.  Clearly, we needed to figure out things financially as well.  It was not the worst thing that had ever happened to me, I reminded myself, but it was right up there.  We both felt blind-sighted, betrayed by those we had considered our friends, anxious and upset.

To make things even more stressful, we are in the middle of an adoption (our 8th) and it is not final.  You are supposed to be able to support children you are adopting, and now Rob has no job. My small, part-time piano teaching business does not cover our bills.  Also, he has had back trouble for quite a few years, and is in the middle of analysis by the doctors, trying to figure out how to fix this problem.  We will find out soon if he is facing surgery.  He cannot just go get a physical job as he would have done when he was younger to fill in the gaps.

We sat down several times over the past few weeks and talked things over.  We counted our money and other resources.  We looked at our housing situation, our cars, our location, our children’s needs, everything we had and needed.  We are examining what Rob wants to do next.  We are still working out a plan.  We have many ideas, but, after much prayer, have concluded that right now we need to wait and not plunge into any big decisions.  We are making progress, though, in our decision-making.  We need some time to heal emotionally, and are taking that. We have been advised to treat this as a death, and not do anything major, like sell our home, for a while.

Thankfulness is a big key.  I’ve been trying each day to find things to be thankful for, despite our circumstances.  There are many.  I have had no trouble finding them, when I take the time to look.

  1.  I am thankful for our family.  From the first day of Rob’s job loss, they have been there for us.  Different family members have called, offered support, given us money and gift cards, cards and texts with words of encouragement, came and sat with us, helped clean out Rob’s office, let us cry and talk to them, prayed for us without ceasing, taken us on vacation, done heavy jobs since Rob’s back is so bad right now, and many other things.
  2. I am thankful for the many, many people who have given us support from the church.  We have received many phone calls, cards, texts and emails showing their love to us.  Many of the congregation did not make this decision at church, only about 3-5 people did, so many people have been shocked, upset and appalled.  Most of them continue to attend that church, we have been very verbal with them that we don’t want them to quit; it would serve no purpose to have people quit going to church because they are upset.  Hopefully, things will get better for them there.  If it doesn’t, what they do needs to be their decision, independent of what happened to Rob.
  3. I am thankful to the many friends outside of the church that have pulled through for us.  They have shown their support in many ways, both physical (everything from someone fixing our furnace to the dentist giving us an extremely reduced rate on our dental check-ups and more), and mental (prayers, cards, kind words, etc.)
  4. I am thankful that we are ok financially for a while.  Between the severance package and some logging we had done, we have a little while to think.  We have a huge stockpile of groceries because I can and freeze so much garden produce, Rob raises meat, and we buy things in bulk and on sale.  We have filled in some gaps in our storage over the last few weeks and am now going to work on using up some of the stockpile, and saving the money that would have been spent.  We have good insurance for a while, so are getting as much done as we can while still on that.
  5. I am thankful that we have each other.  Together, we can get through.
  6. I am thankful that God is not dead.  People disappoint, but He never does.

This coming up week  will be a busy one.  I am going to enjoy spending time with our nieces and nephew.  We are going to watch Patsy be a pig in a little 10-minute play at school.  Family with gather on Thursday and we will celebrate Thanksgiving.  I am going to enjoy this week and continue to count my blessings.  They are many.

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Split Pea and Potato Soup

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Soup is one of the best ways to fill up a hungry family.  This particular recipe is especially frugal because it does not use any meat.  It’s wonderful flavor is gained from using ham broth, though, so it’s not considered vegetarian.  If I wanted it to be completely vegetarian, I could use a boullion cube to turn water into broth, instead of using ham broth.

8 cups ham broth

2 cups green split peas, sorted and rinsed

2 small onions, or 1 medium onion (our garden onions grew tiny this year)

2 carrots, peeled and diced

3 potatoes, peeled and cut into chunks

1 teaspoon dried thyme leaves

salt and pepper to taste

Place all ingredients in a large pot.  Turn burner on high, and cook until soup comes to a boil.  Stir.  Turn burner down to low.  The soup should simmer, so adjust burner if necessary.  Cook for 1-3 hours on low, stirring occasionally.  The potatoes and carrots should be tender.  The split peas should get very soft and have no shape left to them.  This is the kind of soup that can hold on the stove for a long time on a busy day, so family members can dip out a bowl-full whenever they arrive to eat.  The leftovers keep well and can be warmed up for quick lunches for about a week.  This recipe makes about 10-14 servings, depending on how hungry everyone is.

To make this in the slow cooker, just put all ingredients in the insert the night before and store in the refrigerator until the next morning.  Before work or on a busy day, pop the insert into the appliance, and set it on low.  My slow cooker will cook for about 6 hours, then automatically turn to “keep warm” until I get home.  That is another way to have a warm meal waiting on a day when I have no time to cook during the late afternoon.

 

 

Watching my pennies

Ham Broth in a Slow Cooker

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When we finish with a ham, there is usually a nice bone left over.   I can save a bit of money if I turn that bone into broth.  I cut as much meat off of the bone as I can, slice or dice it and package it up in zip-topped bags.  I store a bag or two in the fridge for immediate use, and put the rest into the freezer.  The last ham we did left me with very little to freeze, it was so good. I did not want to waste a single bit of it, so I used every scrap!

It is extremely simple to make ham broth in the slow cooker.  I usually fill the  bowl 1/2 full with water.  Then, I add the bone.  Ham is salty, so I don’t add additional salt.

I put the leftover bone and water into the slow cooker last evening and pushed the “low” button.  This morning, I woke up to a delicious smell; smoky and rich–and my broth was done.  I let it cool down, then packaged it into cartons for the freezer.  I ended up with the basis for 1-2 more meals made from a bone and just a little bit of my time!

Saving Money

Saving money–week of Nov. 16

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One of the things we spent a lot of time doing is working on our slash piles.  Recently, we had some logging done, and the piles that remain are our responsibility.  We could pay someone to burn them, but that would cost us quite a lot of money so we are attempting to do it ourselves.  We are having a hard time.  Rob spent a good deal of time on Friday to no avail.  On Saturday, he was able to get one pile burning well, and by evening it was burned down pretty well.  Pile #2 was difficult.  We both worked for several hours but it would never catch.

On Sunday, we had a sick child, so stayed home from church.  Our oldest daughter and husband came over when they heard burning was an activity they could join in on and we had another try at the 2nd pile.  At times, we had 2 large blazes going, on 2 different parts of the pile, and we though it was going to take off.  Sadly, it began to pour rain, drenching the fires.  After about 4 hours, we gave up, went inside and cooked a great meal and enjoyed each others’ company.  (Rob took J to the doctor today and she is fine–just a bad cold.)

We have 15 piles.  There are still 14 unburned.  It keeps raining.  The wood is wet.  We must burn them soon, so we can replant in time to save the forest deferment we have on our taxes.  H-m-m-m-m.  I’ll keep you posted!  We have high hopes, though.  We will save thousands of dollars by burning, and by paying lower taxes on the forested land.

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I enjoyed watching leaves change and fall.  It won’t be long until they are all down on the ground.  I also loved watching the woodpecker that has now pecked out large portions of the dead tree in his search for insects.  In fact, it is a little worrisome how much he has dented that tree!

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We cooked many meals from scratch.  Rob made this ham on the grill.  It was really good.  We also made crock pot meals and many recipes at 4H club.  We are still eating leftovers from that!

I’ve been drinking more water instead of other drinks.

My husband found my daughter a formal dinner dress at Goodwill for $12.99.  It was brand new and fit her.  All we are going to have to do is choose which sweater/cape/shawl, etc. she will wear with it. There is the faux fur one I made her last year.  It might work.   It saved me hours and hours to not have to sew one, and quite a bit of money as well.  The last one I made cost me at least $50-$60 in materials alone (which is cheaper than buying one, but still…)

We used some hazelnuts we were given and roasted them.

IMG_1711We were given some crab  and totally enjoyed that as well. All in all, it was a pretty good week!

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snacks

Roasted Hazelnuts

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During my childhood, I was raised on a hazelnut farm.  We also had peaches and cherries, but the main crop was nuts.  So, as a result, I got the opportunity to enjoy them many ways.  One of my favorites was to eat roasted filberts, as we called them.  My mom made them during holidays roasted with salt and butter.

Now that I’m grown, I still like roasting them.  My mom still has “connections” and gives me many pounds of the shelled nuts each fall. Hazelnuts are harvested in the fall and then taken to the hazelnut plant.  When they fall from the trees, they are considered “green.”  The nuts I work with have been dried and shelled, but are still considered “raw.”   This morning, I decided to roast a cookie sheet full of them since it’s been a while since we’ve enjoyed the salty, crunchy treat.

First, I preheated the oven to 250 degrees.  I poured raw hazelnuts on a cookie tray, 1 layer deep.  I then lightly sprinkled olive oil and a little salt onto them and stirred them.   I roasted them for 1 hour, stirring them every 15 minutes.   More salt was added, as needed.  When they were done, they were crisp, and turning slightly brown in the center.

We enjoyed munching on them all afternoon with our oldest daughter and her husband.  There are a few left for tomorrow, and then I’ll have make another batch.  Nuts are great for you, and fill my need for a salty, crunch treat without a lot of carbs.  Hazelnuts are another wonderful benefit of living in the Pacific Northwest. I feel blessed to live in an area that has so many unique, delicious foods that are so abundantly growing all around me, ready to be harvested and enjoyed by my family.

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Slow Cooker

Easy Chuck Roast With Potatoes and Carrots in Slow Cooker

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Today, I had another busy day.  We were trying to burn slash piles from the logging that was recently done on our property.  I wanted to take a meal to friends  this evening, so I chose to use my trusty slow cooker.

I thawed a chuck roast overnight.  This morning, I put the roast into the slower cooker.  The roast was sprinkled with onion soup mix.  I buy it in a large bulk package from Azure Standard and just dip out what I want with a spoon.  It tends to clump up after a while, so if it is that way, I break it apart.   It still works fine.  One package can last me for several months, and it tends to draw moisture, especially when the zip-topped bag doesn’t get closed well:) I got some of the 50 lbs. red potatoes I recently bought for $10.  Red potatoes tend to go bad sooner than I’d like, at least around here, so I’m pretty committed to using them up in a timely fashion.  I cut off any bad or ugly spots, but just left the peels on the rest.  I peeled a bunch of carrots and threw them on top.  3 small “squiggly” peppers were in the fridge, so I cut them up and added them.  I sprinkled it all with a little salt and pepper.  I poured in about 1/2 cup water, and was good to go.

I turned the cooker on high for 2 hours to give it a jump start.  I wanted to take the meal mid-late afternoon, so I wanted it to cook a little faster than normal.  Then, it was turned down to low for about 6-7 hours.  It was very easy, tasty, and much appreciated when Rob took it over to them.  Exactly the kind of recipe I like to make on busy days!

We rounded out the meal Rob took over  with green salad, and a bunch of items that the 4Hers cooked yesterday–some stuffed shell pasta, stuffed sweet potatoes, and Dutch oven peach cobbler.  Our family ate more of the leftovers, plus some of us ate Crab Louie from 4 Dungeness crabs friends sent over from their recent catch.

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Each fall, we buy a 1/2 beef from a friend of my sister.  The beef is pasture fed, then finished on grain.  When you buy so much, the price is much cheaper than in the store and you get roasts, steaks, hamburger, soup bones, etc.–all for the same price per pound.  This year, it was $3/lb.  However, that is hanging weight, so it is actually more than that, plus we paid cut and wrap.  I save all year for this purchase, putting some aside each month so it isn’t such a big expense all at once.  Once we have it in the freezer, we eat it frequently because it’s already paid for and tastes great. Because of health issues, my diet is supposed to be mainly protein and veggies.  (A gluten-free diabetic is hard to cook for at times)

It was also nice to be able to use up so many leftovers from the fridge–it saves so much money!

4H, outdoor cooking

November 4H Day

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IMG_1692Today was a much quieter day at 4H than usual.  Due to sickness and some other issues, only about 1/2 of our 23 clubbers were able to attend.  That meant that only about 1/2 of our parents, who act as teachers and helpers were there as well.  It made for an interesting day!  I still had over 20 people running around my house all day, and that felt quiet, so imagine how it is when there are about 35 people there–kids and parents and teachers

A few of the missing members knew ahead of time that they couldn’t come.  Many called first thing this morning to let me know they were sick.  4H day usually runs like a well-oiled machine.  Today, we made it through like a dryer with a rock inside, but we did make it!

I am in charge of 3 cooking classes.  Rob is in charge of 1 outdoor cooking class and a class called, simply, Outdoors.  Heavy rain was in the forecast, so, after taking Lovana to work at 6:30, (1 hour round trip), he put up an awning and set up his Dutch oven table and a table for a work area near his Traeger barbecue.  It hardly ended up raining a drop, but it was a nice set-up just in case.  He made Dutch oven peach cobbler, Kielbasa foil packets on the grill, and barbecued steak with the kids in his cooking class.  For his Outdoors class, he had pre-made kits and the kids hammered them together to make suet holders for feeding birds.  They each got to make 2, one for a gift and one for themselves.  Of course, he had made enough kits for all the kids, so there are many left over.  He may connect with the families that were sick or gone and see if they still want to build them another day.

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There are also other classes going on all morning.  There are craft classes for the youngest children, horticulture for many, sewing for those who want to, and Junior Leader class for the older ones.  They get to make decisions during that class about activities they want to promote to the club, parties we are having, and they do activities to build leadership skills.   We use upstairs, the garage, the front room, the kitchen and the shop.  Many times there are kids in almost every room in the house.  I love it.  I couldn’t ask for anything better.

Supplies for cooking were all in the house, purchased over the last few days.  I set the kids up in center, working with partners.  There is a mom or dad helping each group, especially on the classes with younger members.  The Cloverbuds (K-3’s) made a potato-Kielbasa skillet.  The Juniors (4th-6th) made an egg bake, and stuffed sweet potatoes.  They also made a pumpkin custard when one of the girls accidentally poured much too much brown sugar into the wrong bowl.  There were some eggs in there and so I thawed some squash quickly in the microwave and added it to the eggs and sugar and we baked it.  Another girl creatively added a few spices. It turned out yummy, although I realize there was no milk or cream in there.

The oldest group (7th grade and up) made a gluten free deep dish apple pie and gluten-free vegetarian stuffed shell pasta.

At noon, we eat the food the kids have made.  We have a meeting to discuss upcoming community service projects and activities for the club.  We give the kids a chance to give a presentation on any subject and bribe them with prizes to do so.  Today, a young lady brought her new puppy and told us all about the breed, the dog, etc.

After lunch, a few go upstairs to sew, but most go out to the shop with Rob and some of the moms.  A few moms stay inside to help clean up the huge mess.   They sweep, do dishes, and put things away in close to the right spots.  One time, it took me 6 months or more to find a salt shaker they had put away! We are so blessed to have such a network of people helping.  We have 2 teachers that don’t even have kids in the program anymore. Rob’s mom comes just to wash dishes.  What a gift! One dad is coming regularly to run a class, so Rob doesn’t have to feel like the only man around anymore!

After they had gone, the house settled back down into quietness.  The floor is swept, the rugs shaken. The fridge is stuffed with leftovers because the food had already been purchased and the kids cooked it all, but many of the hungry eaters were absent.  I think tomorrow I may take some of it to the family that is sick.  Right now, I’m just enjoying listening to the rain that finally showed up and is falling right outside my window and basking in the pleasantly tired feeling that comes after a day well spent.

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Making My Home A Haven