One of My Favorite Songs

No One Ever Cared for Me Like Jesus
C. F. Weigle

I would love to tell you what I think of Jesus
Since I found in Him a friend so strong and true;
I would tell you how He changed my life completely,
He did something that no other friend could do.

No one ever cared for me like Jesus,
There's no other friend so kind as He;
No one else could take the sin and darkness from me,
O how much He cared for me.

All my life was full of sin when Jesus found me,
All my heart was full of misery and woe;
Jesus placed His strong and loving arms around me,
And He led me in the way I ought to go.

No one ever cared for me like Jesus,
There's no other friend so kind as He;
No one else could take the sin and darkness from me,
O how much He cared for me.

Ev'ry day He comes to me with new assurance,
More and more I understand His words of love;
But I'll never know just why He came to save me,
Till some day I see His blessed face above.

No one ever cared for me like Jesus,
There's no other friend so kind as He;
No one else could take the sin and darkness from me,
O how much He cared for me.

This is For Julie

Can you see the fine print? Get out your bifocals!

HT: Dr. Mercola

You Can Never Have Too Many Peaches

We were fortunate to find someone who grows peaches within a 30 minute drive of our house this summer. They are "minimally sprayed", but I peel them anyway. They are less treated than most commercial peaches, though. I believe they sell all their peaches locally, which is great! I think we (people in general) don't do enough to keep local growers in business. I know in our area, there are a growing number of people who are beginning to grow produce organically. I've met several at our local farmer's markets this summer.

Anyway, about the peaches. I think peaches are my favorite fruit. And this time of year they are so sweet and juicy. Who needs sugar when you've got fresh peaches? (I also must note that eating a peach is almost as messy as eating watermelon!) This year I canned 27 half-pints of peach jam. Last year's peach jam turned out so good that I did it the same way - with honey, using Pomona's Pectin. I also froze enough peach pie filling for 9 pies. This took 1-1/2 bushels (subtract about 1/3 of a bushel for swiped peaches we all ate for snacks).

Here's what I did to make the pie filling:

Combine:
3/4 c. Rapadura (or Sucanat)
3 tbsp. all-purpose flour
1/4 tsp. nutmeg (or a little bit more)
1 tsp. cinnamon

Add this mixture to 6 cups of peeled, thickly sliced, fresh peaches. Let sit for 5 minutes. Add 3 tbsp. honey and 2 tbsp. lemon juice.

Spoon into a gallon Ziploc bag, seal, and freeze. When it's time to make the pie, I thaw out the filling the night before in the refrigerator. When the bottom crust is ready, I put in the pie filling and then some butter. Then the top crust.

Last night my husband reminded me that he likes some almond extract in his, so I will also likely add a little bit of that to the peaches before I put them on top of the bottom crust.

This was an easy recipe to do in multiple batches. I just used a big stockpot to mix it all up in, and divided the filling into the appropriate number of bags as equally as I could.

Have a peachy day! (Sorry, I know that's a little corny)

And Now a Word From Our Sponsor: Chicken Broth

I just put a chicken to cook overnight in my stockpot. Real chicken broth (as opposed to canned or powdered/cubed boullion) is so good. Sometimes I think I actually crave it. I put one whole chicken in the pot, then added about 3/4 gallon of water. Then I added a little bit of apple cider vinegar and some coarsely chopped vegetables (onions, celery, carrots and garlic). Now I'll let it simmer all night long. By morning, I'll have some great chicken broth. Oh yes, and also a chicken ready to eat. But the main thing is the broth. Here's something I read about chicken broth in a book called Nourishing Traditions:

Why is chicken soup superior to all the things we have, even more relaxing than "Tylenol?" It is because chicken soup has a natural ingredient which feeds, repairs and calms the mucous lining in the small intestine. This inner lining is the beginning or ending of the nervous system. It is easily pulled away from the intestine through too many laxatives, too many food additives...and parasites. Chicken soup...heals the nerves, improves digestion, reduces allergies, relaxes and gives strength. -Hanna Kroeger, Ageless Remedies from Mother's Kitchen

Also from the same book, here's a South American proverb: "Good broth resurrects the dead." It smells great while it's cooking, and is one of the first things you can try drinking after a bout with the stomach flu. Personally, I like to drink chicken broth as it is with just a little bit of sea salt. Of course, you can't go wrong to make it into chicken noodle soup!

Here's the conclusion to my commercial on chicken broth: try some homemade chicken broth today. You'll be glad you did! Yum!

What Do You Think?

I just spent an unlawful amount of time fixing up my blog's template, sprucing it up for fall. I needed something to do. You know, I just don't have enough to do these days, so I thought I would do that. Just kidding! Actually, I really should have been doing other things, but doesn't it look nice? I hope everyone can see it with their browsers. I also updated a few links and fixed the formatting on my sidebar. Now with the button from Answers in Genesis you can actually go to their site (what a concept). When I first put that on there last winter, I tried my best to get it to link, but I gave up rather quickly. Now it's fixed. Wa-lah! What do you think? (Compliments and nice comments only, please) Now maybe I will be inspired to give more in-depth, thoughtful commentary on my blog since it is so nice to be here.

Grazing

I suppose with a title like "Grazing", you think I'm going to talk about our animals again. Gotcha! Not animals this time, but my recent reading habits. I've been flitting from book to book, all of them fascinating, but I haven't been able to finish one before another one lures me away. Here's my grazing list of recent weeks:

Wise Traditions, summer issue (Weston Price periodical)
How to Read a Book, by Mortimer J. Adler and Charles Van Doren
Storey's Guide to Raising Dairy Goats
Confessions of an Organized Homemaker, by Deniece Schofield
The Hidden Art of Homemaking, by Edith Schaeffer
Cooking with Honey, by Hazel Berto
Created to Be His Help Meet, by Debi Pearl
Eat Fat Lose Fat, by Dr. Mary Enig and Sally Fallon
The ABC Herbal, by Steven H. Horne
Practical Herbalism: Ordinary Plants with Extraordinary Powers, by Philip Fritchey
No Greater Joy, volumes 1-3, by Michael and Debi Pearl

Most of these are not first time read-throughs, but a few are. I just got the two herb books this week, and they are fascinating. Especially the Fritchey book. I had no idea that so many "weeds" we have growing out in the yard can be used medicinally. Who knew? Sounds like I could get some good homeschool science out of those plants.

12 Ways to Make a Mess with Watermelon

Watermelon is such a versatile food. There is virtually no end to the number of ways you can make a mess with it. Here are a few from our family (not an exhaustive list, I'm sure):

1. Cut it up on any surface
2. Eat it over a plate
3. Eat it over a table
4. Eat it over the floor
5. Squeeze the melon over your cup to make watermelon juice
6. Save the seeds, wash them in the bathroom sink, and leave them out to dry on the bathroom counter
7. Touch something after eating watermelon before washing your hands
   
8. Put your coloring paper on the table after eating watermelon but before the table has been wiped
9. Feed your chickens watermelon rinds (at least this is an outside mess)
10. Put your just-bought/picked melon on the counter or table before washing it (how clean is that dirt?)
11. Drop your seeds (accidentally, of course) on the floor
12. Miss the trash can

I love the summer, but I think that once fall gets here, things will not be nearly so...sticky.

Introducing

Ruby

Something Unusual At Our House

We’re on break from school for the next month! Actually, we still have a few chapters to read together, but that’s it. On to 2nd grade for kid number 1. And on to kindergarten for kid number 2.

On our summer hiatus, I have decided that I will clean the kitchen. It was a decision I made reluctantly, as I would rather spend my vacation reading on the couch in the breeze of the fan while licking a fudgesicle. But it was hard to avoid the looks I would get (not naming any names here) when a (glass) glass would fall out of the cupboard when opened (due to lack of space). Also, it was getting increasingly difficult to close the cooking utensils drawer on the first try. It had to be rearranged every time the drawer needed to be closed. Something had to be done.

So for the last week I have been taking things out of the kitchen, cleaning, and then putting only needed items back into the kitchen. So far this is working out well, except that now I have a school table full of unneeded things that will have to be put somewhere sometime. And I’m only maybe a quarter of the way finished. But my hope is that by the time I am finished, no one will be injured by falling objects with the simple act of opening a cupboard door.

I’m writing about this because it is a significant thing in my life. Every one else I know has spotless kitchens. They wouldn’t blog about cleaning the kitchen. I would like to be able to keep things tidier and better organized than I do, but…well, just to give you an example, last winter as I was getting ready to mop the kitchen floor, my then 2-year-old daughter points at the mop and asks, "What’s that, Mommy?" I guess I really should clean the floor more often than I do.

My guess is, by the end of August, I’ll be more than ready to start school again.