When the unthinkable happens

How precious life is, from the moment of conception until the moment of natural death. What happens when that death comes too early or at least what we feel is too early? God calls some of us home instantly, others have some warning because of an illness. It is never easy, we cry when babies leave this world, we cry when the elderly leave this world and everyone in between. We may ask "why?", but God doesn't usually answer. Trusting in His plan is one of the hardest things we will ever do with our lives. Trusting when we are hurting and grieving seems nearly impossible, but God is good and He does have a plan. Enjoy each and every day with the ones you love!

Today I am reminded of the gifts I have, my husband, my children, my extended family, and my friends. The rest means nothing, absolutely nothing. A house can be rebuilt, memories are stored in our minds and new memories can be made, cars can be replaced, money can be earned, and possessions reclaimed. A person, nothing can replace a person, a gift, a blessing from God.

I refuse to waste my time on stuff, I refuse to give away this gift of family for all the things I have spent years collecting. I refuse to waste the hours in my day on things that don't matter.

In all things Praise be to God!

FAQ

I have updated the FAQ page, please forgive me for not having done it sooner. I tried to remember some questions and I answered some from an email I received. Please take a look and send me any other questions you may have or can think of. It is always wonderful to receive email from my readers!

Saying Goodbye to......

High Fructose Corn Syrup!

While clearing out my house, I started thinking about clearing out my body. In order to have more time and energy for my family, serving others, and Praising God, I need to be healthy. God always finds a way to make something clear to me and though one online friend "Msword" whose family is HFCS free and a local friend who recently went to a seminar about food. On Saturday I spoke with my husband about it and said

"Deb mentioned mercury is used when processing HFCS"

Younger dd - "What is Mercury?"

Hubby - "It's a type of metal"

Younger dd - makes a face

Since then every single food that my daughter has wanted to eat has been brought to me to confirm that there is NO HFCS which she is completely refusing to eat! Her exact words "I don't want to eat metal". At the very least my younger daughter and I are going to be HFCS free! I don't push ideas on anyone, even my children, so I'm glad to see one of them making this healthy decision on their own. My older daughter will eat whatever I make, so she will become HFCS free simply because I won't be making anything with it at meals. Hubby is another story, I will be praying!

Today I'm going to start the process for the Amish Friendship Bread and will be making all home-made bread from now on. There is too much processing done to bread and most have HFCS! I'm considering creating a small cookbook with simple recipes using basic kitchen tools, so that someone who only have the basics can still make yummy dishes. My mind is swirling with ideas!

Hope everyone has a beautiful day!

Our new wringer!

Yesterday my husband met a man the next town over to pick up our new wringer! Excited barely describes the emotion of it arriving home. Unfortunately a stomach ache kept us from trying it out yesterday. Today, stomach ache free, although very tired, we tried it out! A basket full of dirty laundry, a bucket with wash water, a plunger for agitating, a metal tub with rinse water and our new wringer ready to go, we completed a load of laundry and hung it up to dry. I was worried that a towel would never fit through, but it did. The wringer is so well made and thought out. There is a hook to hold the "tray" for the wrung out water in place so it doesn't rock back and forth. There are two large screws that allow you control over how tight you want it to wring. We made it larger for the towel and jeans. A great investment!



I see you!

Amish Friendship Bread

A quilting friend asked for the Amish Friendship Bread recipe and asked if I would share it here so more people could have the recipe. I'm happy to share.

Starter (there are two options)

Starter #1
1 cup milk
1 cup sugar
1 cup regular flour, not self rising
Mix, pour into Ziploc baggies, begin process

Starter #2
1 cup flour
1 cup warm water
1/2 cup sugar
1 pkg (2 1/2 tsp) yeast
Mis, pour into Ziploc baggies, begin process

Do NOT use a metal bowl for mixing, do NOT refrigerate, if air gets into the bag, let it out. It is normal to thicken, bubble and ferment

Day 1 - this is the day you receive or start your batter Do Nothing
Day 2 - Squeeze bag
Day 3 - squeeze bag
Day 4 - squeeze bag
Day 5 - squeeze bag
Day 6 - Add 1 cup of flour, 1 cup of sugar and 1 cup of milk
Day 7 - squeeze bag
Day 8 - squeeze bag
Day 9 - squeeze bag
Day 10 - Combine in a large bowl the batter and add 1 cup of flour, 1 cup of sugar, and 1 cup of milk
Day 11 - Baking day!
Pour 4 one cup starts into ziploc bags. Keep one starter for yourself, and give the other 3 to your friends along with these instructions.

To the remaining batter in the bowl add the following and mix well:
1 cup oil
1 cup sugar
2 cups flour
1/2 cup milk
1 large box instant vanilla pudding
3 large eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking soda
2 tsp cinnamon

Pour into 2 large, well greased loaf pans. Sprinkle some extra cinnamon sugar on top. Bake at 325 degrees for 1 hour.

Enjoy!

It was my turn!

Yesterday I was awaken by my younger daughter who was sick in the bathroom. She spent most of her day sleeping in a chair and is still asleep now. She did wake up to eat and use the restroom and even for a little while to watch some tv, but she still needs her rest, so I'm letting her sleep!

I got up at 6 this morning, nudged my older daughter out of bed and off to school, did some reading, prayed, got dinner going in the crock pot, cleaned up the kitchen, folded some laundry and then did something I haven't done before..... I used the plunger and the bucket and did a load of laundry. So far younger daughter hasn't allowed me to do it, she enjoys doing it and I enjoy watching her do it, but since she is sick it is my turn.

Went out into the brisk air and retrieved the bucket and came inside to fill it. I knit our dishcloths and had a small pile forming of ones that need to be washed, so I filled the bucket with hot water and soap and added a few dishcloths and dish towels. A very small load compared to what my daughter does. They soaked while I did some other chores and then when Max (our large rescue dog) asked to go out, I grabbed the bucket, went outside and started with the plunger. I used a "Cold Beer" metal tub that we got for a holiday party we had at our house one year to rinse the washed towels. Hand wrung them out and hung them on the line. They are now blowing in the breeze!

What a beautiful start to the day!

Some days I fall short

Some days I fall short on the kind of wife I would like to be. Today God gently reminded me of what I want for my life and my families lives and my focus is returning to that. It all goes hand in hand. I can't be the type of wife God and I would like me to be when I have to focus on stuff.

What type of wife would I like to be you ask....

A 1950's housewife. The apron, dinner on the table, house in complete order....the whole package! When this is the wife I am, the house runs smoothly and hubby is happy. So why do I not live up to my goal? I allow things that shouldn't get in the way to get in the way..... clutter (that will all be gone is 4 years), tv (even though we only have 5 free channels I still watch in the evenings), and computer (oh I am naughty and come on here too often, but I enjoy visiting my friends online). Modern technology has given us a great many things, but has it also allowed marriages to crumble and family life to suffer? I don't have any answers right now, but these are things I want to focus on and think about today.

Thank you
for reminding me today!

Something I would like to try

Now that younger daughter is doing laundry daily with her bucket and plunger, I would like her to try Soap Nuts :-) They are actually a fruit off a tree that when dried look like a nut and is used as a soap. The company above is just one of many companies selling the nuts. In dream world I would like to plant a Soap Nut tree, but the climate here gets much too cold. Do any of you use Soap Nuts? Which ones do you like and from which companies? Anyone have a Soap Nut tree?

Why I Blog....

I was reading another blog and today she answered the question of "Why do I blog?". The question is part of a series of questions offered through the blog The Secret is in the Sauce. Since today I have been thinking about this question, I thought this would be a good time to answer it.

I blog because I want a record of my journey from owning way too much, to owning just 100 items.

I want to be accountable to someone, anyone that can literally check on my process on here (I am already accountable to God, but having people here is a huge help).

I want to inspire, even if it is just one person, to trust and do something that they may not normally do.

I want to share my faith, hopes, and dreams of the future, just putting it out there makes it seem more obtainable.

I also like to write. I don't have a book in me like many people say they do, but I have short paragraphs that I can write and share.


WOW I really hope I don't use I this often to start sentences again! Please come back to visit me!

God speaks, I listen

Discouraged....it is a word I use often and how I feel a good bit of the time. It is how I am feeling today.

I'm working on clearing off a very large bookcase, have two boxes ready to go! While flipping through the books I found a slip of paper and it reads....

It was once announced that the devil was going out of business and would offer all tools for sale to whoever would pay his price.

On the night of the sale they were all attractively displayed, a bad looking lot. Malice, Hatred, Envy, Jealousy, Sensuality, and Deceit, and all other implements of evil were spread out, each marked with it's price.

Apart from the rest lay a harmless looking wedge-shaped tool, much worn and priced higher than any of them. Someone asked the devil what it was.

"That's Discouragement," was the reply.

"Why do you have it priced so high?"

"Because," replied the devil, "it is more useful to me than any of the others. I can pry open and get inside a man's conscience with that when I could not get near him with any of the others, and when once inside I can use him in whatever way suits me best. It is so much worn because I use it with nearly everybody, as very few people yet know it belongs to me."

It hardly need be added that the devil's price for Discouragement was so high that it was never sold. He still owns it and is still using it.

- William V. Agnew S.J.
George Cardinal Mundelein Archbishop of Chicago
Free copies available from
Catholic Leaflet Apostolate
2740 West Central Ave
Toledo, Ohio 43606

A clothes wringer

Went hunting for a clothes wringer today and didn't have any luck. Daughter is enjoying doing the laundry. She did another load yesterday and is getting ready to do another one today. Our struggling is wringing out the clothing, particularly towels!

Today I made some baking soda shampoo. I wanted to give the dog a bath and since I'm getting ready to start using baking soda shampoo myself, I thought this was a great opportunity to try it. I didn't measure out the baking soda, but I think for the next batch I will add more baking soda to the water. Doggie is clean and smells good, so I think it was a success!

Working continues on the living room. We gave away a love-seat that we used, but was taking up too much space. It is amazing how open our living room looks and feels now. Books continue to be hard for me to part with. I have been given great suggestions on dealing with them, but sadly I don't have time to keep the pages I would like or the money to buy an electric book device. Yes the library is wonderful, but I own these books because they weren't available at any local library. So one by one I will work at letting them go. God has a better plan for me, than I do for myself, so what are books when I can have the life He wants for me!

I'm rethinking the direction of my blog. Would love thoughts and opinions about what you like and what you don't like about my blog. Ideas of things you would like me to add. Send me an email or leave a comment and let me know!

A bucket and a plunger...... hehe

Well it's Monday :-)

Long day that I won't bore you with. Short version....while looking for other things, I found a bucket for $2.50 and a plunger and created a temporary washing station. My younger dd was so excited and she did a load of her laundry today. We definitely do need a wringer as she wasn't strong enough to get enough of the water out and the clothes line fell down from the weight (she wouldn't let me help).



waiting for mommy to take a picture so she can start washing!




The wind was blowing while she was hanging




Daughter having fun filled her washing tub


Daughter also did a load of fabric for me! This was sent by a friend for a quilt I'm working on.




Really going to need another bucket! One for washing and one for rinsing!


A load hanging to dry!

Exactly what I would like

On Friday my younger daughter and I went to a festival about an hour away. We had a wonderful time and got to see a display of antique laundry washing equipment. She had the opportunity to try them out and she was thrilled with the wringer. Now the search is on for a hand agitator and a wringer to do our laundry.







Something else that was neat to see at the festival was several baking ovens that had pies baking inside. My hope is to build on of these on the property when we have our cabin. Along with an outdoor stove and grill with a real fire cooking all our meals!

What's a girl to do?

As we all work on clearing out our bedrooms this week we are faced with where to donate it all. Keeping things out of the trash is just as important as keeping it out of our bedrooms. Tonight I was introduced to a website where we can all donate our bras.... http://brarecycling.com/index.shtml I have had trouble in the past trying to decide what to do with a good condition bra that no longer fits or never did fit properly (once I posted free bras on a website for free and I got really inappropriate responses!). What a great idea to donate them to someone else who could really use it. Instructions are on the website and easy to follow.

Keep up the cleaning out! Monday I will have the next challenge listed!

Ever have one of those mornings?

Today I woke up over an hour late, hurt while my daughter cried about not wanting to go to school, drove her to school since waking up late ended with her missing the bus, and then after arriving home, crying from all the stress. My daughter will adjust over time, but will I stop feeling stressed? Some of my stress is from life situations that happen and will continue to happen. But a main cause of stress today was from not being able to find the charger for my digital camera. Some people are sitting there saying "don't you have a place for your charger?" and many of you are sitting there saying "been there done that".

I cried, prayed, cleaned, vented, messaged hubby at work asking if he had seen it, prayed some more, stressed, cried again.....2 hours later I found it! It was in a laundry basket with extra hangers, covered by hubby's work shirts, and other miscellaneous stuff that didn't belong there. Was this God's way of telling me to move it along with the clearing out? After locating the charger I sat there and said over and over "Thank you God, Thank you!"

How must time do I spend stressed and looking for something? What else could I have done with that 2 hours this morning? Let's see I could have....













Thank you God for helping me remember each day that this is Your plan and letting it all go will give me a far better life than I ever could have imagined!

Thank you http://wigflip.com/superstickies/ for the sticky notes!

Small things

A few days ago I cut hubby's hair, like I have done since shortly after we were married. After literally hundreds of haircuts he said to me this time..... "Did you know it cost $13 to get my hair cut?"..... it only took 12 years, but he now appreciates the convenience of me doing it at home for him and for the cost savings!

Little things do add up. I'm sure you have seen those charts that show how much you would save if you didn't eat out as much, have that daily cup of coffee at a drive thru, and if you pump your own gas (is there a full service station left?). Doing the math I have saved us at least $2000 by cutting his hair at home. The doesn't include the savings in gas and time, but that is still a nice bit of change. I told him I should have been charging him all these years and saving the money :-)

What little things can you do to save that little bit of money? What things can you simply do without?

Plans for the bedroom

Another two beautiful hours outside sitting in the shade of the Royal Palonia tree, while the wind rustles the leaves. This time though my older daughter is at the mall with a friend, while younger daughter whines about wanting to go inside. Less than perfect, but still wonderful to be outside. Hubby worked on cutting dead limbs off a Crimson King tree with a small hand saw.

Back inside again, I did a load of dishes while younger daughter escapes to the school room, where the computer is kept and hubby goes on to his Ipod to play a game. I asked him to put something away when I mentioned that, that item wasn't going with us to the log cabin. His response was "I like it", well then it is one of HIS hundred items! This started me thinking again about my 100 item goal. I have had lots of opinions on it ranging from support, to thoughts I was crazy, to comments about "are you going to count each pin". No one is challenging me to do this, but God has asked me to. He wasn't exactly clear on what does count as part of the hundred items, so for now I have some "play" room to learn for myself what should count (for example the cedar chest I am keeping will count as 1 item and whatever fits inside will still be part of that 1 item). Hubby and I have been entrusted with many family heirlooms....none of which will leave our care. I have spent quite some time thinking about this. With our bedroom being the room of the week, I know exactly which furniture pieces are going and which we are getting rid of.

Currently in my bedroom has a wardrobe that belonged to my Great Grandmother, a beautiful hand-made cedar chest that my Great Uncle Ted made in the early 1900's while he was in high school, our bed, which is just a frame with a boxspring and mattress, a secretary desk that belonged to my step-mother's mom, a chair that I use with the secretary and a small cabinet that hubby uses as a night stand. We need a bed, but in 4 years we will probably purchase a new one and this one will go. The cedar chest is easy....it is going with us! No doubt about that! I have decided today that it will hold all my childhood memories, so whatever doesn't fit, will be given away. Right now it is filled with my Great Aunt Ann's memories, the ones she created with Uncle Ted, some baby items I was saving for a baby boy, pictures that I really want in frames, and some other miscellaneous stuff. Some items I really don't know what to do with. My Great Aunt Ann, who is 92, lives in a nursing home close to my home, but sadly doesn't remember much because of advanced dementia. I have a small flower from her wedding. It is hard to tell at this point that it is a flower, but it is. I'm really not sure what to do with it. Keeping it would mean another 50 years or so sitting in the cedar chest, but the thought of throwing away something she has kept all these years doesn't seem right either. This will be one of the hardest items I have to decide about.

The secretary is a nice piece, I like and use it, but I'm not sure there will be a spot for it in the cabin, so for now it is labeled "maybe". The cabinet is easy, we got it at Target 3 years ago and we have no attachment to it! It is going out at the yard sale! The wardrobe we are keeping, not only is it old and special, it will be where we store all our clothing. On one side it has a pull out hanging rod and on the other it has 6 drawers. We each have our own sock and unmentionable drawers, and I have a jewelry drawer and he has a shorts drawer. It is small, but it works. I will have to count the hangers in there since it requires special hangers that I don't think you can buy anymore. Hopefully there are 9 for each of us. 3 winter shirts, 3 summer shirts, 1 church outfit and 2 pairs of pants. Hubby tells me he needs an extra 10 for work shirts, so we will have to be creative on where we store those. Maybe in the "shorts" drawer.

The closet will be easy for me to clean out as I don't really form attachments to clothing. I already told hubby that I will turn his old t-shirts into a quilt, so he can still enjoy them without taking up closet space. That reminds me, there is a quilt rack in there too, but I'm willing to part with it too.

I will work on taking some pictures, as I'm sure my blog is pretty boring to read and pictures would help spice it up!

Hugs and Blessings!

The great outdoors and the new clean out challenge!

I'm sick, but that didn't stop me from enjoy time with my family. Outside the temperature was in the 60's and inside the house was empty. The girls, my hubby, and even my two dogs were all outside with me. Enjoying the beautiful breezy day. There is nothing greater then hearing the giggles of your children. Our teenage sat on daddy's lap as we talked and laughed for literally hours! Our younger daughter played with a rope she found and occasionally got close enough to tickle! Eventually our teenager came and sat on my lap for a while.....we had a wonderful time. Hubby fired up the grill and made hamburgers, a hot dog, and potatoes for lunch. What a difference being outside makes! I challenge you to spend an afternoon, evening, or morning outside with your family....whether that means you and a furry 4 - footed baby, you and your spouse, you and your children, or simply you and God. See what a difference being outside makes compared to your relationship inside the house. As soon as my family returned indoors, the teenager went on the computer, hubby turned on the tv, and I came on the computer....we are together, but once again separated by technology. You ask "how about you turn it all off".....well that is a good idea, but then hubby would retreat to the bedroom for a nap, I will venture into the kitchen to wash dishes and the teenager would good into her room. Our little one (who really isn't a little girl anyone at the age of 10) is always close by, but usually distracted by something. There is just something so amazing about being outside with the family. Something you can't put a price on and something I wouldn't trade for the world.

Now onto this week's clean out challenge! This past week we worked on the kitchen and a lot of progress was made! If you want to join the challenge just send me a message and update me when you get items out of your house! This week I challenge you to clear out your bedroom! Make it a place where you can escape clutter, stress, and distraction. Go through your closet and get rid of all those items you will never wear. Get ready for the new season....here we are preparing for the crisper, cooler weather of fall. Bless others that don't have any with what you have too much of. Then send me a message with how many boxes left your home and I will post the results on the side bar near the bottom (if you haven't already, check out the great progress the rest of the group has made in this last week!!!!!)

Have a beautiful Sunday!

I'm crazy, I know!

While watching my daughter's blanket dry in the sun on the clothes line I started thinking about a better washing "machine" option. I would like something that doesn't use any electricity and would be simple and compact.



A hand-crank washer is perfect, small, does the job, doesn't use electricity, but with a price tag of $40 or more, it isn't exactly what I'm looking for.

After some more web-searching, I found an option that I think will work out great! I will begin looking for the parts to build it and when I'm done, I will share with you the pictures and the how-to.

I feel inspired and motivated to continue on this journey!

Discouraged

A friend of ours is a real estate agent, so I asked him what the going price is for one acre of property (without a house) in the County we currently live in....he said it ranges from $30,000 to $160,000. My jaw dropped. Our plan was to spend no more than $10,000 on the land. I am finding myself feeling very discouraged today, especially after my hubby's usual lunch call to me, where he sounds so sad and tired. My heart wanted to tell him to come home and we are moving today to our little house with just the basics. Unfortunately my mind knows that we don't even have the money for a u-haul! Anything worth having is worth working for and God knows the best timing and plan.....so if I could just shake off this human emotion of discouragement I could continue to enjoy my day in the knowledge it will all be ok.

Originally in my dream of a tiny house, we could live anywhere. Nothing really ties us down here until now. My daughter is adjusting very well to her school, friendships are being established and a routine is now in place. The thought of moving my family from here.....hurts.....I didn't think it would. I'm always game for adventure and I look at moving as a very exciting adventure. Why do I want to jump ahead? Someone told me once to "enjoy the process" as I was rushing to finish the quilt. I wanted the end result and forgot to enjoy the sewing. I need to remember to enjoy each day, cleaning out, planning, and spending time with the ones I love. God will work out the details and the time line. Today my goal is simple.....live, breathe, love, and thank God that I am here!

off to continue working on my kitchen!