Scripture verses of the day - Colossians 1:10-20

Colossians 1:10-20

10 That ye might walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing, being fruitful in every good work, and increasing in the knowledge of God;
11 Strengthened with all might, according to his glorious power, unto all patience and longsuffering with joyfulness;
12 Giving thanks unto the Father, which hath made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light:
13 Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son:
14 In whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins:
15 Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature:
16 For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him:
17 And he is before all things, and by him all things consist.
18 And he is the head of the body, the church: who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things he might have the preeminence.
19 For it pleased the Father that in him should all fulness dwell;
20 And, having made peace through the blood of his cross, by him to reconcile all things unto himself; by him, I say, whether they be things in earth, or things in heaven.

Log cabin style quilted potholder tutorial

Yesterday I should have been canning up green beans, but I didn't feel like it. I've been up about every 30 minutes throughout the night for the past 4-5 nights and I'm just worn out. We think the baby girl is cutting teeth again because she's running a low-grade fever, off her food, and nursing a LOT.

So...instead I decided to try my hand at quilting. This was my first quilting project and I loved it - absolutely LOVED it. I think I'm hooked.

I had received a set of log cabin style quilted pot holders and hot pad in a craft swap a few years ago and really like them a lot and thought, "Hey, I think I can do that."

So I finally did.

It's really pretty darn simple, too!

The first step is to cut out a bunch of 1.5" strips of fabric.



I selected eight different patterns in two main colors - teal and brown.



Next, I cut out a 10" square piece of fabric to use as backing.



Then I cut two 8" squares of old towel. You could use quilt batting, but I didn't want to dig through my fabric closet to find my batting, so I went with the convenient option of cutting up an old worn-out towel instead.



Then I cut one of the 1.5" wide strips of fabric into a 1.5" square. This is the middle of your pattern.

I cut out a second 1.5" square of a contrasting fabric.

Using a 1/4" seam I sewed the two together - right sides together. I finger pressed the seam open.



Then I cut a second piece of the same fabric as the 2nd square and, using a 1/4" seam, sewed that piece to the other pieces - right sides together again.



I then continued to piece together and sew strips of 1.5" fabric in alternating color blocks until the log cabin pattern was completed.























Once the log cabin block was sewn together, I placed the quilt block and the two layers of old towel on top of the backing piece. The order has the quilt block on top - right side up, the two layers of toweling, and the backing - right side down.

The quilt block and toweling are centered on top of the backing.



Then I pinned them all together.

I sewed through the four layers following the seams of the pieces in the quilt block.





The pattern looked something like this on the back:



Then I folded up the edges of the backing to create a binding. I sewed these down on the top of the pot holder.









Cutting the strips took a while, but sewing up the pot holder went pretty quickly. I'd estimate under a half hour of sewing time. In the afternoon I was able to sew up two potholders and sit and rock a nursing/napping little girl for two hours. :)

Green beans and more green beans!

Yes, it's that time of the year - the green beans are ripe.

Yesterday I picked three large bowls full (with a little help from the rest of the family).







We are also in the early stages of cucumber production and I noticed some broccoli is finally coming around.

The boy replanted the turnip/beet bed with green bean seed yesterday.

Today we'll replant the green bean beds with more beets.

Last year we weren't able to have a second planting but the weather is more typical this year and we're able to get a few second plantings in. In our climate we can't really do a traditional fall crop, but we can occasionally get a late summer crop in.

I'll be busy the next day or two washing, cutting, and canning up the green beans. We prefer to freeze them but just won't have the freezer space this year with the 1/2 steer coming. We'll also have turkeys coming in November and we still have quite a lot of chicken left from the May butchering.

Scripture verses of the day - Hebrews 10:10-25

Hebrews 10:10-25

10 By the which will we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.
11 And every priest standeth daily ministering and offering oftentimes the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins:
12 But this man, after he had offered one sacrifice for sins for ever, sat down on the right hand of God;
13 From henceforth expecting till his enemies be made his footstool.
14 For by one offering he hath perfected for ever them that are sanctified.
15 Whereof the Holy Ghost also is a witness to us: for after that he had said before,
16 This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, saith the Lord, I will put my laws into their hearts, and in their minds will I write them;
17 And their sins and iniquities will I remember no more.
18 Now where remission of these is, there is no more offering for sin.
19 Having therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus,
20 By a new and living way, which he hath consecrated for us, through the veil, that is to say, his flesh;
21 And having an high priest over the house of God;
22 Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water.
23 Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering; (for he is faithful that promised;)
24 And let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works:
25 Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching.

Scripture verses of the day - 1 Corinthians 2:7-16

1 Corinthians 2:7-16

7 But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, even the hidden wisdom, which God ordained before the world unto our glory:
8 Which none of the princes of this world knew: for had they known it, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.
9 But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him.
10 But God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit: for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God.
11 For what man knoweth the things of a man, save the spirit of man which is in him? even so the things of God knoweth no man, but the Spirit of God.
12 Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the spirit which is of God; that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God.
13 Which things also we speak, not in the words which man’s wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth; comparing spiritual things with spiritual.
14 But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.
15 But he that is spiritual judgeth all things, yet he himself is judged of no man.
16 For who hath known the mind of the Lord, that he may instruct him? But we have the mind of Christ.

Beets - a canning tutorial

Beets. We've canned beets before but usually the Hubster was the one doing the beet prep.

This year was my first solo attempt and it was much easier than I thought it would be!

The first step was prepping the beets. I washed them and trimmed the tops to about 2" of the beet. It's important to leave the roots intact.

Then I put the beets into a pot of water and turned the heat on high.



I let the beets boil for 15-20 minutes.



While the beets were boiling I got the rest of the equipment ready for canning. I got out the pressure canner and fill it with about an inch and a half of warm water. Then I put clean jars inside and filled them with warm water.



I turned the burner on high and put the lid on the pressure canner.

I put the canning jar lids in a saucepan with warm water and I turned the heat on low to just warm them a bit. Warmed lids form better seals.



I also got out my canning tools - magnetic lid lifter, canning jar tongs, canning funnel, ladle, slotted spoon, canning jar rings, and a clean damp cloth.

I put warm water into a saucepan and boiled it.

When the beets had boiled their alloted time I then plunged the boiled beets into a bowl of cold water.

When they were in the cold water I peeled the skins off with my fingers. This is the step that the Hubster usually did in past beet canning projects. It's really easier than I thought I would be. The peels just slipped off with pressure from my fingertips. Then I removed them from the water and cut off the tops and roots. I chopped the beets into small pieces.



Then I cleaned my hands and used the canning jar tongs to lift a warmed jar out of the pressure canner. I dumped the water out in the sink and put a canning funnel in the jar. I used the slotted spoon to lift out the peeled and chopped beets and put them in the jar.



I didn't have quite enough to fill a full quart, but if I did I would have only filled the jar to about an inch of the top.

Then I used the ladle to fill the jar with boiling water from the saucepan.



I removed the funnel from the jar. I wiped the rim down with the clean damp cloth. I used the magnetic lid lifter to place a lid on the jar and I tightened a ring down around the lid.



Then I used the canning jar tongs to place the filled jar back in the pressure canner.


(I processed the quart of beets with the turnips since they share the same processing time)

Then I tightened the lid down on the pressure canner and made sure the heat was turned up to high.

This is the time when I clean up any dishes used in the process. I also kept an eye on the pressure canner and when I saw a steady stream of steam coming out of the vent pipe I set the timer for seven minutes. This is called venting the pressure canner. After those seven minutes were up I put the weight on the vent pipe at the 10 pound mark. Beets need to process for 35 minutes (in quarts) at 10 pounds of pressure at my altitude.

I watched the pressure gauge and when it reached 10 pounds of pressure I set a timer for 35 minutes. After 35 minutes of processing I turned off the heat. When the pressure gauge returned to zero I unlocked the lid of the pressure canner and carefully removed it. Then I used the canning jar tongs to remove the jars and placed them on a towel on the countertop to cool.



After they were completely cooled I removed the rings and checked the seals on the lids. Then I wiped down the jars and labeled them with the date and contents. I stored them on a shelf in our basement. Canned goods like a cool dark storage place and our basement is ideal.

Scripture verses of the day - Ecclesiastes 5:1-7

Ecclesiastes 5:1-7

1 Keep thy foot when thou goest to the house of God, and be more ready to hear, than to give the sacrifice of fools: for they consider not that they do evil.
2 Be not rash with thy mouth, and let not thine heart be hasty to cutter any thing before God: for God is in heaven, and thou upon earth: therefore let thy words be few.
3 For a dream cometh through the multitude of business; and a fool’s voice is known by multitude of words.
4 When thou vowest a vow unto God, defer not to pay it; for he hath no pleasure in fools: pay that which thou hast vowed.
5 Better is it that thou shouldest not vow, than that thou shouldest vow and not pay.
6 Suffer not thy mouth to cause thy flesh to sin; neither say thou before the angel, that it was an error: wherefore should God be angry at thy voice, and destroy the work of thine hands?
7 For in the multitude of dreams and many words there are also divers vanities: but fear thou God.

Turnips - a canning tutorial

We've grown turnips several different years in our garden, but I must admit they usually didn't get eaten. We'd harvest them, wash them, trim them, and put them in the refrigerator crisper drawer. Then we'd forget about them. About a month later I'd clean out the crisper and put the turnips in the compost pile.

This year I resolved it would be different. So I canned them! My hope is that this way they'll make their way into a soup or stew this winter.

Canning root vegetables is amazingly simple, really.

Like all pressure canning the first step for me was to get out the pressure canner and fill it with about an inch and a half of warm water. Then I put clean jars inside and filled them with warm water.



I turned the burner on high and put the lid on the pressure canner.

Next I peeled and chopped the turnips.

I put those peeled and chopped turnips in a pot of water and turned the heat on high.



Once they reached a boil I boiled them for five minutes.



While the turnips were boiling I put the canning jar lids in a saucepan with warm water and I turned the heat on low to just warm them a bit. Warmed lids form better seals.



I also got out my canning tools - magnetic lid lifter, canning jar tongs, canning funnel, ladle, slotted spoon, canning jar rings, and a clean damp cloth.

When the turnips had boiled their allotted five minutes I turned the heat down to low.

I used the canning jar tongs to lift a warmed jar out of the pressure canner. I dumped the water out in the sink and put a canning funnel in the jar. I used the slotted spoon to lift out cooked turnips and put them in the jar. I filled the jar to about an inch of the top.



Then I used the ladle to fill the jar with water from the turnip pot. I removed the funnel from the jar. I wiped the rim down with the clean damp cloth. I used the magnetic lid lifter to place a lid on the jar and I tightened a ring down around the lid.



Then I used the canning jar tongs to place the filled jar back in the pressure canner.

I repeated the steps until all the turnips were in jars.


(I also processed a quart of beets with the turnips since they share the same processing time)

Then I tightened the lid down on the pressure canner and made sure the heat was turned up to high.

This is the time when I clean up any dishes used in the process. I also kept an eye on the pressure canner and when I saw a steady stream of steam coming out of the vent pipe I set the timer for seven minutes. This is called venting the pressure canner. After those seven minutes were up I put the weight on the vent pipe at the 10 pound mark. Turnips need to process for 35 minutes (in quarts) at 10 pounds of pressure at my altitude.

I watched the pressure gauge and when it reached 10 pounds of pressure I set a timer for 35 minutes. After 35 minutes of processing I turned off the heat. When the pressure gauge returned to zero I unlocked the lid of the pressure canner and carefully removed it. Then I used the canning jar tongs to remove the jars and placed them on a towel on the countertop to cool.



After they were completely cooled I removed the rings and checked the seals on the lids. Then I wiped down the jars and labeled them with the date and contents. I stored them on a shelf in our basement. Canned goods like a cool dark storage place and our basement is ideal.

A blog with substance....

You think so, really?

Tracy over at Home [in] stead has named Moo Said the Mama as "A Blog with Substance" and given us this award:



She wrote, "Kari at Moo Said The Mama is a terrific, intelligent, academically minded homemaker. She is constantly challenging me."

I'm humbled. As I write this I'm sitting still in my pajamas (or what passes for pjs in my house) and my girls are wiggling and dancing on our big family bed to the tune of their impromptu improvisational songs. It's past 9am and we're not accomplishing much. How on earth is *our* life challenging to anyone? :)

I started this blog last August as a way for me to chronicle/journal our daily lives and the things we do. It was my attempt to capture our activities and record them in word and picture.

The award rules for recipients are:

•Thank the blogger who awarded it to you.
•Sum up your blogging philosophy, motivation, and experience using ten (10) words.
•Pass it on to 10 other blogs which you feel have real substance.

Once again, Tracy, thank you!

Blog philosophy - Sharing experience by recording our lives in image and word.

Choosing only 10 blogs to share the award with was a tough task. I subscribe to over 170 blogs via Blogger and many more via email updates; I find so many of them to be blogs of substance. In fact, there are only two or three that are fluffy fun. If you know I follow your blog and you didn't show up on the award list, please forgive me!


1. Rational Living - Michelle and her family are on a journey to live as Americans did during WWII rationing. Quite inspiring!

2. Marvelous Kiddo - Leigh at Marvelous Kiddo has created a space where I can go and feel at home. Her posts remind me why I'm doing what I do with my children.

3. Mama Birth - Sarah at Mama Birth collects positive uplifting birth stories, writes posts advocating for normal natural birth, and generally is a reminder for me how much we need to help women.

4. The Survival Mom - Lisa and her contributors help educate us about survival-related topics. While I think I might know all I need to know about preparedness her blog always teaches me some tip or trick to make things easier.

5. Paratus Familia - Enola Gay over at Paratus Familia is another homeschooling homebirthing mama. I love seeing how her family lives and her tips and recipes add flavor to my own home.

6. Raising Homemakers - Raising Homemakers is a relatively new blog that helps to remind me that my homemaking pursuits are not only for my enjoyment but that I also have two daughters to teach. There are a host of contributing writers at Raising Homemakers and their varied expertise makes for interesting reading.

7. Holy Experience - Ann writes at Holy Experience and her talent with words sometimes takes my breath away. There is a beauty and peace in her blog that I look forward to daily.

8. Mama Smiles - Mary Anne has a blog space that teaches me new skills, inspires my creativity, and helps me learn with my children.

9. Mennonite Girls Can Cook - the ladies at Mennonite Girls Cook provide fabulous tried and true recipes that enhance the flavor of my home and challenge me to step outside of the box in my cooking.

10. ikat bag - Lier at ikat bag is a remarkably talented seamstress/artist/mother. Her ideas and inspiration help me continue to bring creativity into our home. Her skills and willingness to share and instruct enrich me.