The Simple Woman's Daybook

The Simple Woman's Day Book

Monday September 15, 2008

http://www.thesimplewoman.blogspot.com/

Today

Outside my Window...People are speeding past going somewhere in a

hurry. I am so happy I am not one of those people.

I am thinking...How my life is centered in the home.

From the learning rooms...School is session.

I am thankful for...for a home to take care of, a garden to nurture,

children to care for.

From the kitchen..blueberry muffins are being made. Chicken pot

pie for dinner.

I am wearing...a long flowered blue skirt with a purple top.

For I am reading... Psalms 101-111 as I am studying the character

David. The Flower Farmer An Organic Grower's Guide to Raising

and Selling Cut Flowers by Lynn Byczynksi.

I am hoping...To hear God's voice today. Maybe, a day just sitting and

watching the birds.

I am creating...I have been copying down some herbal recipes to use

and try out.

I am hearing...the quietness of the morning.

Around the house...there are books to be put away from a weekend

of learning of new ways to do things. My husband favorite book by

John Seymoor is still on the coffee table.

One of my favorite things...is to make something out of nothing. When

you buy material it is just material until you make something out of it.

A Few Plans For The Rest Of The Week...to work on getting the lettuce

planted. To work on a menu for the rest of the week. To write some

goals out for the next month.

Here is a picture thought I am sharing with you...

These are a rare Vermont Cranberry Bean I am growing.

They really are a red bean and they are the best tasting

dried bean I have ever had. They are also a unique type

of bean to grow. I like the stripes on the pod.

Simple Ways

Saturday September 13, 2008

Simple Ways

Simple ways are just ideas in which are lives can become more simplified.

In July I talked about simplifying my life in the house so I could work

more outside. I have spent the summer doing just that. Here is one

way, the Lord helped me this year. First I started going back to

planning my week. What do I want to accomplish this week? If we set

goals, we will work toward those goals. Last week I wanted to work in

my garden all week. The whole week I strived to work in the garden.

There were certain tasks I had to accomplish in the house before I

could do that. There were tomatoes to process, so first I had to get that

done. I also went back to making bread so that needed to be done. School

is back in session so the morning are dedicated to teaching and keeping my

daughter on task. Now, that the house was more in order, I found one

morning where I was able to work in the garden.

Planning is the key!

Watching my mother as a child I think has helped me in many ways.

She planned her day according to what needed to get done. First, meals

had to be planned and made on to be on the table.

Second, she made most of the clothes for our family. She also had to

make time for sewing. Third, there was a budget to follow. My mom had a

budget of 5o dollars every two weeks to feed 6 people. Fourth, she had to

grow as much food as she could.

Now that I am an adult I can say what worked for her can work

for me.

Thank you God, for our mothers.

Apple of Her Eye

The Rain has come

Pelargonium Apple Blossom

Friday September 12, 2008

The rain is has come to supply us with moisture today. I have

noticed the plants have perked up due to the rains that have come.

The geraniums I have on the deck are beginning to flower again.

I bought them in the spring for 5.00 and they are still flowering.

The great thing about these plants as you can make more

plants from one. With a little patience and time instead of just one

on my deck I can have as many as I desire. Or place them in pots

where ever I want some more color.

To make more plants from the one you have just pinch.

Pinching gives you a fuller plant also and encourages growth.

Geraniums are the one plant I bring in for winter. I figure why leave

it outside to die, when you can keep it alive inside. The 5.00 I spent

can be streached year after year by keeping the plants alive. This year

I am happy to say I only bought a few select plants. A Skelton rose,

Apple Blossom, and Gardner's Joy. The Gardner's Joy is said to be

from 1870' from England. Apple Blossom is also said to be from the

1870's and to of been Queen Victoria 's favorite. The Skelton rose has

a very pungent scent in the leaves. Everytime you walk by you can

get a scent from the plant. The nice thing about scented geraniums

is they're leaves can be used in recipes in the kitchen.

Rose Geranium Jelly

an old grandmother favorite

Taken from Marcia Adam's Heirloom Favorites

Scented geraniums were a favorite houseplants at the turn of the

century, and in many old recipes their leaves were used to flavor

foods such as angel food cake and cream-based puddings. This jelly is

very attractive, with an intriguing flavor.

4 cups bottled apple juice

1/2 cup fresh lemon juice

10 cups sugar

8 large fresh rose geranium leaves

1/2 teaspoon butter

1 package powdered pectin

In a large kettle, combine the apple juice, lemon juice, sugar, and

rose geranium leaves. Bring to a full boil over high heat, stirring

constantly. Boil 1 minute. Add pectin all at once and continue to stir

and boil hard for an additional minute. Remove from the heat.

Skim off the foam and remove the geranium leaves with tongs and

discard. Ladle into hot sterlized jelly glasses, leaving a 1/4 inch

space at the top of the jars. Seal with sterlized rings and caps and

process 5 minutes in a boiling water bath, counting the time

after the water again come to a boil after the jars are immersed.

Remove to a towel-lined rack. Store in a cool place.

September is the month to consider what your bring in for the winter!

This is the month that I wash all the geraniums and put them in

sterile soil. You do this process in September to get your plants

ready to come in by October which will be our first frost date.

Phyliss Shaudys wrote a book called

The Pleasure of Herbs A month by month guide to growing

using, and enjoying herbs.

This is one of my resources for taking care of scented geraniums.

The Simple Woman's Daybook

The Simple Woman's Daybook

September 8, 2008

Outside my window...the sun is coming up around the side of the

house. The sun is in a different spot now that fall has arrived.

I am thinking... how nice it was to go down to Kentucky over the

Labor Day weekend. We had a great time looking around at property

and visiting with family.

I am thankful... God gave us an opportunity to be with my family

and spend quality time with my husband.

From the kitchen...there are bowls of tomatoes, cucumbers,

peppers on the counter waiting to be put away. Dinner will be light

tonight as my daughter and I will have a quiet night.

I am creating... a bouquet of flowers to sit on the table. Sunflowers

and Russian Sage will adorn us with their beauty.

I am going...to be home today as I will need to get ready for

my Bible study this evening. We are on day 47 of the David study.

I am wearing... a green top with my jean skirt.

I am reading...Psalms right now along with IF What do I know of

Calvary Love? By Amy Carmichael. Along with The Self Sufficient

Life and How to Live it by John Seymour. My husband and also like

to read from Small Farmer's Journal. It is a great magazine for

farmers using horses to farm with.

I am hoping... to work in the garden this week.

I am hearing... my daughter flip pages in the other room.

I am smelling... the scent of lavender coming through my window.

When there is a breeze outside I put Lavender essential oil on a

saucer and place it in the window.

A few plans for the rest of the week... Well I am not sure what but

the School is in session so the mornings are dedicated to learning.

The afternoons are for gardening, cooking, or sewing. Not quite sure as of yet.

Here is a picture thought...

This is a picture of an interesting place we passed by

while driving around in Kentucky. My idea of a nice

homestead.

Growing Corn

Growing Corn

Friday September 5, 2008

In the winter I love to pull corn out of my freezer. When I was a kid

my mom and my siblings would spend a lot of time gathering and

freezing corn. This year I was delighted to have 8 rows of corn. The

picture above is the final growing stage of growing the corn. It is sad

to say I did not have a good harvest. Most of the corn was small but

it was tasty.

I do buy produce from a local Organic Farm called Silverton Farms.

Over the past 5 years my husband and I have gotten to know the

farmer. Sometime this month I will be getting a bushel of corn

from him. I will freeze this for my family for the winter.

One day I hope to grow corn as a crop, but until that day I will

continue to learn the art of growing vegetables on a small scale.

Below is a picture of a field of corn like the one I used to pick from in

Kansas as a child. We were lucky enough to have relatives who let us

pick as much as we wanted.