Queen's Edge Farm

Saturday, June 20, 2009

Stayed home all day and cleaned, threw things away and made a yard sale pile. I have a smaller pile of books I've chosen to keep (I am addicted to books). I used to be a romance novel reader, for years, since about 12 years of age. The past 3 years I have switched to compiling a homestead library. Anything to do with farming, self reliance, preparedness, building, etc.

We managed to get the living room mostly done, I just need to take the items I am keeping to the land. The girls and I headed to the land to feed the animals. We now have shelves in the bathroom, which frees up an entire shelf in the pantry. We also now have a new dead bolt on the cabin door.

Monday, the Direct TV installer will be coming to move the satellite service. I tried to sign up with their Internet service, but they don't provide it in my area. I'll be calling my electric company and taking advantage of their Wild Blue service in a couple of weeks.

Baeta popped the girls swimming pool. Apparently she was excited over the water being drained, in preparation for it to be moved to more level ground, and bit it three times. We will patch it, but it'll never be the same again. I'd really love a bigger and better pool in the future (next 2-3 years) along with one of those wooden play sets. I've been wanting one for about 5 years now, but it never happened. With living so far out, and away from playgrounds, the girls and James will really need something to occupy their time, if they are to stay out of trouble.
I'd also like a tennis court. Our ground is hard enough that we could do it, just need the lines and the net. Of course I'd love a REAL tennis court, but think that is out of the realm of possibility. But who knows what will happen in the years ahead.

Well, off to bed, church tomorrow. Have a great Sabbath everyone!

2 comments:

Bob Westbrook said...: Hi Amy, Have you looked into Hughe's satellite internet? That's what we use and it seems to work well though last night it had a hard time connecting. That's probably due to sunspot activity or something. Join the farm bureau and register as a farm and you can get a great deal through Agristar. (Plus you can buy "Farm" items tax free); June 27, 2009 at 7:03 AM
Amy E said...: Yes, and I was under the impression that they had service everywhere, but when I called they told me no. I will be signing up for the Wild Blue through our electrical cooperative. Kind of worried about the NAIS registration so I am trying to stay clear of being registered as a FARM, though I will consider it if the NAIS is eventually done away with altogether, especially in Texas. Thanks for the suggestion, I appreciate it. I'll definitely need some sort of contact/access to the outside world.; June 27, 2009 at 1:12 PM

Grandma's Yummy Cinnamon Rolls

2 pkgs active dry yeast or 5 tsps if using bulk yeast
1/2 cup warm water (not too hot)
1/3 cup sugar
1/3 cup shortening, butter, margarine
2 tsps salt
2 cups milk, scalded
1 1/2 cups cold water
10 to 12 cups flour (white or whole wheat)

Yield: 4 loaves

Soften yeast in warm water, springkle in a tsp of the sugar
In LARGE mixing bowl blend sugar, shortening, salt and milk until shortening is melted. Add cold water, cool to luke-warm. Stir in yeast. Gradually add flour to form a stiff dough. Knead on floured surface until smooth and satiny, 5 to 10 minutes. Place in greased bowl, turning dough to grease all sides. Cover with foil or damp towel. Let rise in warm place (85 to 90 deg) until light and doubled in volume about two hours. Punch dough down by plunging fist in center. Knead dough for about 5 minutes.

Roll out one fourth of dough to a 16 X 12 inch rectangle. Brush with 2 TBSP of melted butter. Combine 1/3 cup firmly packed brown sugar, 1/3 cup sugar and 1 1/2 tsp of cinnamon (or more to taste). Sprinkle mixture over dough. Starting with 16 inch side, roll jellyroll fashion. Either cut into 16 1 inch slices or leave as a whole loaf. Place on a greased pan, cover and let rise in warm place until light, about 30 to 45 minutes. Bake at 375 degrees about 25 to 30 minutes or until golden brown.

Mix one box 10X sugar with 2 tbsps water. If too stiff, add more water until icing consistency, add a drop of vanilla too. Spread on baked bread while bread is still warm.

2010 Homestead Stats

Laundry Soap

Homemade Laundry Soap:
1/3 bar Fels Naptha or other type of soap, as listed above
½ cup washing soda
½ cup borax powder
~You will also need a small washpan or bowl that holds about 2 gallons.

Grate the soap and put it in a sauce pan. Add 6 cups water and heat it until the soap melts. Add the washing soda and the borax and stir until it is dissolved. Remove from heat. Pour 4 cups hot water into the washpan. Now add your soap mixture and stir. Now add 1 gallon plus 6 cups of water and stir. Transfer soap (using a funnel if necessary) into empty plastic laundry holders, milk containers (I use my empty glass milk bottles and old Fab containers) Let the soap sit for about 24 hours and it will gel. You use ½ cup per load.

Wild Mustang Grape Jelly

Wild Mustang Grape Jelly

5 cups grape juice (about 3 1/2 pounds of ripe grapes)1 (1 3/4 ounce) box of sure-jel pectin7 cups sugarBefore getting started it is best to clean the entire kitchen, making sure the sink is empty. Bleach the sink and all utensils used in making jelly (I do this as I sell my grape jelly as part of my homesteading business.)

Wash the canning jars in warm soapy water, and rinse well. Set off to side.

Place a large pan of water on the stove to heat. Once it starts steaming, place lids and rings in the bottom, and 2-3 jars (depending on if you use actual jelly jars or pints) to sterilize.

Next make the grape juice using clean washed grapes (make sure you use rubber gloves when picking or washing wild grapes)To 3 1/2 pounds of clean grapes (6 cups of grapes) add 1 1/2 cups water.Bring to a boil and simmer covered for 10 minutes.Strain and squeeze out all of the juice with cheese cloth (see paragraph below)
I didn't have cheese cloth, so I poured the grape mixture into a large spaghetti strainer with a large pan underneath. I had to stir it around some as the skins and seeds would sink to the bottom, and clog the colander up. Stirring allowed the liquid to drain out. I then used a large metal spoon and squished it some to get more of the juice out.

In a very big pan, put 5 cups of the juice (it’s okay to add no more than ½ cup water to even out amount)Add the fruit pectin to the juice.Mix well.On high heat, bring to a full rolling boil, and boil hard for 1 minute, stirring constantly.Stir in sugar all at once, and bring back to a full rolling boil, again boil hard for 1 minute stirring constantly.
Remove jelly from heat, skim off foam
Use a large spoon inserted inside the jar to lift CAREFULLY out of the water. DO NOT TOUCH THE INSIDE OF THE JAR OR THE RIM WITH YOUR HANDS.
Ladle jelly into hot jars, place a lid and ring onto jar (do not tighten yet).
Set jars to the side. After a while you should start hearing “pings” as the jar seals.
When jars are completely cool, tighten rings and store on pantry shelf.**SIDE NOTE: Wild Mustang Grapes are normally ready the end of June, so be prepared. Keep an eye open for vines on the side of the road, or any that friends and family may have growing in their yard. Many people just let them grow and don’t do anything with them, so it shouldn’t be hard to find a good supply. Also, the more you pick off the vine, the more the vine produces new grapes, so you probably won’t EVER run out of grapes to use until the vine dies or you get sick of making jelly. Good luck and feel free to contact me at queensedgefarm@yahoo.com for questions.