Queen's Edge Farm

Sunday, October 11, 2009

(courtesy of www.homestead.org)

I am having a hard time keeping my eyes open. It's been a busy day.

Today was the day for the church to come out and help out around the farm. I was up early and made breakfast for the early crew. Bacon, Egg and Cheese tacos, plus I had cocoa, hot tea and oj. Was able to light a small fire in the living room to take the chill off the air, it was very nice, though a lot of mud, dirt, and wetness was tracked in. I'll deal with that another day. It was primarily the men, but my sister, Pastor's wife and daughter did come out also. The guys got the grass cut down on about an acre that surrounds the house. The Pastor (Kelly) did come across one rattlesnake. It was about 2 feet long and was shedding it's skin, but due to the rain and cold this morning (that was NOT in the forecast, supposed to be 80 and sunny), it didn't move, and my BIL picked it up by hand, and it didn't do much. It was right near the house. We find most of them right where the kids play and walk the most. It's just crazy.

My BIL mentioned bringing five calves over to eat the rest of the grass, and in exchange I would get one of the calves to butcher. We'll see how it works out.

Kelly and Randy (BIL) were able to install the motion sensor light for the front door area, so now it comes on when I pull up. So added with the motion sensor light inside, I am good to go.

The girls (me, Cheryl (PW) and sister April moved the stuff i was saving into the barn. I now have a lovely pile of stuff to go to the dump, once my truck is back on the road. I need the brake lights repaired, inspected and new tags, then I can take several loads of trash.

A good hot cocoa day. After the work day we had lunch, the I headed into town to stay at April's the rest of the day and use her washer/dryer. With the rain, it is next to impossible to get the laundry done. I have been trying to at least keep towels and diapers washed, but it takes so long for everything to dry. It was nice to get most of it done. I plan to finish the rest tomorrow, which consists of socks and underwear. I spent 5 hours at her house, arriving home at around 10:30 or so.

We are now holed up in the toasty warm bedroom (glad I left the heater on, and the bedroom door shut) under the blankets. The kids are sleeping and I am getting ready to head there myself.

I'd like to get some of the roofing tin set up in the goat pen to provide more shelter for them from the rain. I also need some bedding to help with added warmth. I'll check into that tomorrow.

A few more projects for me:

organize barn
divide up sides
take rabbit to a friend's
clean up behind cabin
Start sewing - have items to finish for a friend plus the girls and James need warm pjs

No comments:

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.