Scripture verse of the day

Proverbs 17:1

Better is a dry morsel, and quietness therewith, than an house full of sacrifices with strife.

How's that Homemaking Binder coming along anyway?

Very well...thank you so much for asking!

Seriously, it has helped quite a bit. In fact, before the plague struck our household I had gone an entire week providing home cooked dinners for my family. That may not sound like a big accomplishment for you, but to have a different meal every night cooked from scratch (no box mixes or frozen dinners) is a big deal here.

I ended up using a 3" binder and plastic page protectors.



I used some clip art to make the dividers and ended up with these categories.

Meal Planning - this category houses my weekly dinner menus and recipes for the current week's dinners.



Recipes - this category houses our favorite recipes; the ones that we use most frequently.



Meal Inspiration - this category houses recipes that look good that we haven't yet tried.



Schedule - this category houses our weekly schedule. Right now it's pretty empty, but I envision it holding a list of outside activities, their times, and locations.



Budget - this category is fairly self-explanatory and contains our household budget. It's a reminder of what we have available to spend and a reminder of our long-term saving goals.



Inventories - this category currently houses our food storage inventory and I plan to include inventories of our cleaning supplies (or ingredients), first aid supplies, personal care supplies, and clothing.



Canning and Food Preservation - this category houses canning recipes, instruction manuals for our pressure canners and canning equipment, and manual for our dehydrator.



Cleaning Recipes - this category houses the recipes for my favorite cleaning concoctions. Most of the cleaning solutions we use are made in our home from basic ingredients like vinegar, liquid castile soap, borax, and tea tree oil.



Cleaning Routines - this category is currently empty as I'm still working out a schedule of cleaning routines. I'm modifying the Fly Lady system to fit our lifestyle. I like her idea of zones, but hate her idea of shining a sink and wearing shoes inside. Take what works for you and leave behind the rest!



Homeschool Projects - this category contains ideas. It's a compilation of projects that look fun that I'd like to introduce the kids to. Since we unschool I don't schedule projects or assignments and we only work on things as the kids are interested. It's really a filing system for ideas.



Current Projects - this category is empty at the moment, but I have plans to use it to keep a list of current projects I'm working on.



Seasonal Projects - this category contains lists of household and cleaning projects that occur on a seasonal basis.



Herbal Remedies - this category contains recipes for herbal remedies and instructions for preparing herbal infusions and tinctures. It's a nice supplement to my herbal remedy books.



Inspiration - this category contains scripture verses that inspire me and keep me grounded in my roles as a Mother and Homemaker.

Scripture verse of the day

Proverbs 2:10-11

When wisdom entereth into thine heart, and knowledge is pleasant unto thy soul; Discretion shall preserve thee, understanding shall keep thee:

Unstuffed Peppers

The recipe I loosely based this on was called Spanish Rice but when I served it to the Hubster he said it tasted like Stuffed Peppers. So I'm calling it Unstuffed Peppers.

Unstuffed Peppers

1 lb ground beef (or any ground meat)
2 cups Jasmine rice (or similar amount of other rice)
2 1/2 cups water (or the amount needed to cook other rice)
1 onion, diced
1 green pepper, sliced
1 quart canned tomatoes
1 can tomato sauce
2 tsp chili powder
1 tsp salt
1 tsp Worcestershire sauce


First, brown your meat with the onion and peppers.



While that is browning, combine the rice and water and bring to a boil. Turn down the heat and cover with lid. Steam until cooked.



After your meat is browned, combine the tomatoes, tomato sauce, chili powder, salt, Worcestershire sauce, and cooked rice. Cook on low until liquid is reduced. Serve hot.

Scripture verse of the day

Proverbs 18:8

The words of a talebearer are as wounds, and they go down into the innermost parts of the belly.

Unschooling Snapshots - 11/21/09 thru 11/27/09

Scripture verse of the day

Proverbs 6:16-19

These six things doth the Lord hate: yea, seven are an abomination unto him: A proud look, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood, An heart that deviseth wicked imaginations, feet that be swift in running to mischief, A false witness that speaketh lies, and he that soweth discord among brethren.

Breastfeeding through the years

I'm a retired La Leche League Leader and spent years providing mother-to-mother assistance and led meetings helping mothers understand lactation and mothering through breastfeeding.

One of the topics I'm most passionate about is enabling mothers to breastfeed their children.

There is a lot of backlash in the US right now *against* mothers who breastfeed and particularly against mothers who breastfeed their children in public.

But here are some historical photos and portraits of women nurturing their children through breastfeeding. Note that even at times when women were careful to dress modestly they didn't feel compelled to cover their babies during breastfeeding. Caring for one's child didn't equate to immodesty then and it shouldn't equate to immodesty now!

Most of these photos are from Jennifer James' blog at Mothering. All photos have links back to their online source.


Pre 1871 - image from Mothering

(portrait of Cynthia Ann Parker breastfeeding her daughter, Prairie Flower (Toposannah), sometime in the mid 1800s)



1898 Stereograph card - image from Mothering

(notice how big this baby is - not a newborn to be sure)



1905 - image from MoMA

(Beatrice Baxter Ruyl breastfeeding her daughter, Ruth)



1910 - image from Mothering

(mother breastfeeding her baby while hulling berries)



1911 - image from Mothering

(working class mother breastfeeding her baby while shellling nuts)



1930's - image from Mothering

(mother breastfeeding her baby while she and her husband are talking with a rehabilitation advisor helping them save their farm after the Great Depression)



1938 WPA Poster - image from Mothering




1939 - image from Mothering




1943 - image from Mothering

(mother breastfeeding her baby while waiting for the Greyhound bus)



1946 - image from Mothering

(this is an image of a mother in France breastfeeding her baby - by this time in the US most middle class and upper class women had abandoned the practice of mothering through breastfeeding and primarily only the working class continued to nurse their babies)

Gratitude and much thanksgiving

I am grateful for

- My husband. He's my best friend, my confidante, my eternal partner, my love.

- Our children. They bring such joy and peace to me. They teach me daily.

- Our home. It isn't much by the world's standards, but it is filled with warmth and love and houses my most precious gifts - my family.

- My talents. The Lord has blessed me and this permits me to bless others.

- Our gardens. They entertain us, nourish us, and feed friends and family.

- Our neighbors. I know I write about them often, but they amaze me. How does one learn such care and generosity? I can only hope to learn from their example and pray that I can teach my children just a bit of this.


There is so very much more, but the list would be nearly unending if I began to express gratitude for each and every thing that I am grateful for. The Lord knows my heart and yours as well, yet take some time to thank Him and express your gratitude today.

Looking for Advent ideas?

Pop on over to Seasons of Joy!

Annette has completed a new e-book, Advent: Lighting a Path to Christmas, and she's having a giveway as well!

Dairy-free pumpkin pie recipe

The big girl is allergic to milk proteins and we have to cook dairy-free foods for her. Until now that meant she didn't get to eat pumpkin pie on Thanksgiving (or at any other time for that matter).

When she was a newborn baby and I was still eating a dairy-free diet on her behalf we tried to cook up a dairy-free pumpkin pie using rice milk and it was a horrible disaster. My sister and my nephew flew in from Louisiana for that Thanksgiving and we cooked and cooked and cooked that rice milk trying to reduce it to the consistency of evaporated milk.

This year I'm trying a recipe that substitutes coconut milk for the evaporated milk.

Dairy-free Pumpkin Pie

1 15 oz. can pumpkin
1 13.5 oz can coconut milk
3/4 cup sugar
2 eggs
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp. ginger
1/4 tsp ground cloves
2 unbaked 8" pie shells
(see apple pie recipe post for pie crust recipe)




Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

Combine all ingredients except the pie shells and mix on high until smooth and creamy. Pour into unbaked pie shells.




Bake for 15 minutes at 425 degrees. Reduce heat to 350 degrees and cook for 40-50 minutes or until done.



Oh, and with the excess pie crust you *must* make these thingies:



They're strips of pie dough flattened and sprinkled with sugar and cinnamon. My kids love them and it keeps us away from the pies until the appointed time to eat them. ;)