The end of a great year....

What a perfect way to end y 2011...wandering around on a lake...with my tot, and enjoying the day. Now I realize some of you are looking at the date on the picture saying...hey....there is still another day left. Alas, you are right, but not for me, since I have to work on New Year's Eve...therefore, today is my last day of 2011 of freedom.  What a wonderful and joyous year it has been....all of the fun activities that we have took part in over the last 12 months....it is almost sad really, to look back on 2011, and while remembering all of the good times...watching it come to a close.

But, to a close it must come, so I hope all of you have a wonderful weekend...a great celebratory New Years....and as for me....I will not be back until next year! ;)

Making Salve

Licorice Root infused oil

 This is a quick photo journal of my salve making progress.

The first thing I did was infused oil with Licorice Root herb. I choose Licorice Root because of the properties it is supposed to have in helping with skin conditions...such as eczema and psoriasis.

My supplies needed to strain the oil

straining the oil

After letting the oil infuse for a good month...I got all my materials together to strain them. I used a little metal strainer and cheesecloth together...because there were small particles in the oil that I didn't want in my salve.

the amount of oil I ended up with

It didn't take long to strain out the oil. What I ended up doing was making sure all the last little bits of oil got squeezed out.

I then made a make shift double boiler. I don't actually own one, but a tin can in a regular sauce pan works wonders....I put it on medium heat and threw my beeswax in the make shift boiler. After all of the wax was melted into the oil....I shut off the heat, and then waited about 5 minutes.

My make shift double boiler

beeswax ( I used 1 oz.)

After 5 minutes was up, I poured into the little containers. I think it went well!

finished product

I will keep you posted on how well the salve works....=D

Mortar and Pestle

2.5 inch diameter

Not the best picture, but it is an okay shot...here is the mortar and pestle that I got for holiday! I needed a little one for crushing my herbs. I am hoping that with this little thing, I can grind some of my herbs down to a fine powder.

I didn't need a large one...I needed something just about this size...I will see how it works and then I will go from there.

My herbs that I have sitting in oil and alcohol are almost done....I am making a licorice root tincture, and a licorice root oil to make into a salve for my psoriasis skin condition. I am hoping that this week...I will have the time to make my salve and I get can photos of that on here is well.

As I leave you all for the day, I hope you all had a joyous holiday in whichever religious tradition you celebrated....

The Re - birth of the sun!!!

I would call this the re-birth of the sun.... this is the view from my living room window this morning...I would have stepped outside, but it is only 15 degrees F out...and with the windchill...we are hovering around 0....

I hope all of you have a wonderful weekend!

The lake was talking....

Today, we ventured out onto the frozen lake...one of many in the area... to enjoy a Winter Solstice day...since tomorrow we will have company and won't be able to venture out....we did our travels into nature today.

The lake 'talked' to us today....the odd creaks and echos across the otherwise quiet world was very eerie....what made this whole thing more eerie...when a vehicle showed up with a gentleman and his dogs to go fishing...the 'talking' stopped. We never heard it again.

Here is the gentleman with his equipment, walking away from us....I hope he was able to catch something after we left....=D

HAPPY WINTER SOLSTICE!!!!!

I don't know about you...but I am ready for the sun to start making it's journey back!!!!

A canning issue...

I have found an issue that needs to be addressed before I start canning next year. I need a means to can.
I discovered that I am unable to can on my range top...since it is an electric glass top...oh yeah...I have a long way to go to cut down on dependency of modern technology.

I would love to be able to get a gas range...but finances don't warrant it...so in order for me to can anything next year...I am going to have to invest in a propane camp stove / burner to do my canning. I am going to need a sturdy enough one that can hold a full canner, yet something that isn't going to be a lug to carry around. Things just got a little more complicated.

How neat though, it is going to be that I will be able to can outside and master that just in case I have to go OTG for a bit....that would be wonderful...to not be uncomfortable doing that.
I have a lot of interesting tasks ahead of me....I will keep you updated on the progress I am making....=D

Priced....soon to buy!

I have been doing some looking, and so far the prices for back up heaters...little propane / butane heaters for a time of emergency...are really not that expensive. I have been hitting some of the camping store sites, and regular chains, and I think I will be able to get a couple at a decent price. I just want to have some sort of back up here. Like I stated in an earlier post...I don't like the idea of not having anything in case something goes wrong with our furnace right now. Plus, if we end up with an ice storm and have no electricity...it would be good to have a back up for then as well!

Mind you, I will also make sure the batteries are good in my carbon monoxide detector as well....if I have to use these little things in the house, I surly want some sort of protection from that kind of deal as well....sigh...

Here is one of the designs I kind of like...it provides 16 hours of heat for one little propane can.....and yes...it is a Coleman brand.

The "What if" question....when it comes to water

I have been doing some research lately, and I realized that this whole "living simpler" is actually going to be harder work, which is okay. I don't mind. I have been running into one thing though that bothers me more than anything...the "what if" question.

What if.....our water supply, which we have through the village system were to have contaminants?
What if.....we had a nature disaster here, and couldn't get fresh water?
What if....it was the middle of winter?

Okay, so these are all around one thing really....water.

I know that people can only live so long without water. So I have a couple gallons of bottled water on hand...here's the deal....do you actually know how much water you go through in a day?

Here's 2 things you can do to see just what you use...

1. Every time you go to the faucet and run water for anything mark it down for what you ran it for, do this for one day.

2. My favorite, put a sock over the tip of the faucet, and go 1 day without running any water....

Difficult isn't it. When I started doing calculations of how much water we all use in a day here....I realize that my couple gallon back up is not enough....what if we have to go a week without water....guess what....either I better have a lot of water stocked up, or I need a method of distilling surface water.

Now, if something happened to the water supply in winter...we would be okay, to a point, as long as I could boil the yuks out of the snow...we would make it, but summer would be a different story. Winter also though would bring the challenge of boiling if we didn't have power...so I need to make sure I have supplies to be able to heat water. Oh geez...

Now, don't think that I am going all "Armageddon" on ya....but look at the recent past, Hurricane Katrina, the Japan earthquake, water was all rendered unsafe. If a water main breaks in a town...that water becomes dangerous to drink...this isn't that unlikely of a situation. I just want to be prepared. I guess I will have to sit down, and figure out my plan of attack to keep fluids in my family....

A need for back-up heat....

I realized this morning we need some sort of back up heat in our house. Sometime in the night, our furnace got a hiccup, and shut down....with the weather cold this morning....(4 degrees right now) our house was at a crisp 63 in the main living area when I got things fixed....and a mere 58 in our kitchen. I of course, got up, and started baking at the wee hour of the morning...and made a batch of sugar cookies...which got my kitchen up to 63 itself...but now.....it is dropping again.

Our furnace has been running non stop since little after 5 am...and it is not getting any warmer in here...it isn't getting colder...it is maintaining....I don't like that. I have to come up with some sort of back-up that doesn't interfere with electricity. I don't want that bill to sky-rocket like it would if I got little electric space heaters...and plus, that would completely be pointless for wanting to go more self sufficient.

So anyway, here I sit this morning...trying to figure out which way I want to go about this. It is time to do some research. Ultimately, a little wood stove in the living area would rock...but that would require way to much remodeling....kind of...we have a chimney that runs through the center of the house, that is closed off...it wouldn't take much to get it going again...but..it hasn't been used in years....I don't know...more to look into there as well.

So as I leave you this morning....I have 2 sweatshirts on, a pair of thermal bottoms, and a hat on my head. Hopefully we can come up with another option for back-up...I am not liking how this whole furnace / boiler thing is working at all.....wish us luck!

No post today....only excitement...my best friend had her baby last night....congrats doll!

They just know....

I find it absolutely amazing that little kids just know how to have fun in the snow without being shown or told what to do. My little toddler seemed to know instinctively that you plop down flat on your back and start waving the arms and legs to make little snow angels.

How I love the innocence of a child...

I failed...kind of...

As I stated in my earlier post today...I was going to see if I could go grocery shopping for all of our goods that we would need for the next month for the most part for $70 or less...those of you that said I couldn't will be happy to know that you are right.

After all of the shopping was said and done...I ended up spending about another $45 on the supplies we will need for the month. All in all though, I think this turned out well. I have enough supplies to cook for my family for the next month for just under $120. That is not bad for a family of three in my books. Of course, some of those things that I got are just for pure luxury, and I didn't need them...but wanted them, such as fabric softener. I know it is not a "food" item, but it is something that I wanted to get.

So for those of you that said I couldn't do it...you were right...but I did do very well. =D

The trek to the market....

This morning comes my trek to the supermarket...which to most of you probably doesn't seem like such a big deal...but we are going to try something. I am taking only $70 with me...and see if I can get a month's worth of food...think I am joking...guess again!

I know that some of you are rolling your eyes saying it is impossible...is it? I don't think so. Let me explain. I have noticed that when one goes shopping, the name brand, more expensive stuff is at eye level for an average height person...now...if you look up...there are some deals at the top of the rack...but the true deals...the ones that save you tons of money...bottom by the floor....why is that? How many people actually think to look down for an item? I know I would have never until I had to start pinching pennies...I take a long time to go through a store...I compare prices, I take my calculator...I crunch the numbers. You may have seen people like me doing that kind of thing, thinking they were crazy....but guess what....it pays. Literally...oh...and I cut coupons too...Oh yeah...I am one of them! =)

I have discovered that if you look down...there is savings to be found...yes it is a pain in the hind end to have to reach to the bottom of everything for the deals...but a reach well worth your time and energy.

Mind you, this little bit of information does not work meats...that is a whole different means of shopping. But I do buy discount meats as well...the little local store I go to has a "discount" meat bin...may sound scary, but it is not. This is say day old hamburger they ground up, but had to freeze to keep from spoiling. If one checks that bin on a regular basis...you can get your meat at very cheap prices...I notice not many people go to that bin...they go to the fresh stuff immediately...I always hit that bin...yes...it is a pain if I want to make it into supper that night...but...I can usually get it for $1 cheaper than the fresh stuff...only difference is mine is a day old...no kidding.

As my little one and I make our way to the market today...I will be trying out this experiment...I will let you know how it goes...we'll see if I can do this...and I will tell you honestly if I could do it or not. I am also going to take extra money with me...just in case...but hopefully will not have to use it...

Wish me luck!

Our first blast of winter....

Well, this is the view out of our kitchen window this morning....a fresh dumping of snow on the ground. It looks very pretty and fresh...let's see how we fee about it in 4 months...when it is still here!

A different direction.....

I am going to take my blog in a completely different direction. I decided that I want this blog to be about my family life, still...but also about my journey into going back to the old ways.

I am getting into the herbal arts...and jumping into that, not head first...but both feet in. I am already practicing the ways of the old religion, I am getting into the herbals...like I said so I can be in the ways of old medicine...I can't honestly be sure where this blog is going to go...it is going to be a journey...a work in progress...I will take you on the adventure that I am embarking on.

I hope you enjoy the ride....this is for me, a turning of a new page in my life so to say....

Someday, my ultimate goal will be to live off the grid...but to do that, I will have to move out of my little house in the village limits and move to the country. Mind you...the only reason I live in town now...that is all my husband and I could afford for our first house...like other struggling families, we do what we can with what we got.

Changing things up....

I changed things up a little this morning with the look of my blog...not very much...just some color schemes. I like to do that once and awhile...it makes me feel like it is a fresh look....

Been suffering from sinus congestion all last night and now this morning...but not so bad I couldn't sleep...little bit of light snow is coming down....I am ready for this month we call December!