Chapter Three: When South meets North

When Keith and I first met, there were some obvious points we had to work through before it became apparent that our relationship might work out.  One of the biggest problems was honestly the whole north versus south thing.  He was from a small town in northern Minnesota, and I was from a small town on the southern Mississippi/Louisiana state line.  We were both in the Army stationed in Colorado, and I was pretty set on returning home after my time in the Army was up.  He had some reservations about living in Louisiana.  Why wouldn’t anyone want to live in the great state of Louisiana in the heart of Cajun culture???  The food, the music, the ambiance???!!!  I really missed home and as much as I loved the Colorado mountains and seeing other parts of the world…  it was just not N’Awlins. 

Chapter Two: Heading North

We quickly realized after we started packing that maybe we have severely underestimated the amount of things that we had.  It didn’t seem like so much when it was packed into all those nooks and crannies.  Now that we were being forced to pull it all out…  well, it became almost embarrassing as to how much stuff we had.  I’d always hated the materialistic side of American life that focused on name brands and fancy items and while we didn’t have very much of that at all, we did have a lot of the stuff that I liked to refer to as “purposeful.”  Can’t leave the apple peeler behind!  Or all the canning equipment and jars that I’d stocked up on several years back!  We had to have had at least 10 dozen empty jars that we’d collected in anticipation for the hot bath.  Because…  you know…  mason jars are absolutely essential to a homesteader! 

Chapter One: It started with a Homebirth

I knew (obviously) that December would be a busy month.  I knew that if everything went as planned, that I would have our sixth baby and then hopefully move just a few weeks later all the way from South Carolina to northern Minnesota shortly after Christmas. 

December 10^th was the first milestone.  I wasn’t technically due(ish) until the 17^th, but I figured number six would come at least a bit early.  Besides…  number five had been born early.  Our other son’s (we were about to have our second son) birthday was the tenth and I had thought that it would be cool to have the baby on that day.  Remy, who was about to turn four, also considered it to be a cool possibility.  I am not entirely sure if he would have thought it was near as awesome when he was fifteen…  but it didn’t matter, because the tenth came and went with nothing.

Loaf Bread and Spice Blueberry and Peach Jam recipes

Another bread blog has been LONG in the making.  I have purchased my last loaf of bread from the grocery store, and I am making it from here on out.  Why?  BECAUSE IT IS SO EASY!!!  Plus, it tastes better.  And it is cheaper.  What could be better than that?  Nothing.  Repeat after me.  Nothing.

Oh, and did I mention it is best with spice blueberry and peach jam?  Homemade, of course.

Sweet Cinnamon Sugar Braids

This week was the last week for the Farmers Market in my area.  It is kind of a sad moment, because I have been going to this particular market since 2008 and have not missed very many Tuesday afternoons.  I knew the names of the people we bought from and they knew us.  We always saw the same people.  We knew the honey lady, the milk lady, the bread lady, the soap lady, and the produce lady.  I would consider them my friends.  And this past Tuesday was the last one before we move, so we all went to say “good-bye.” 

While we were there, we bought a couple of sweet bread braids.  One was cinnamon and sugar and the other was cream cheese.  They were so good!  And it got me thinking…  Man, I sure am going to miss this.  As soon as we got home, I set out to learn how to make my own. 

Walnut Surprise Cookies Recipe

Several years ago, I found the most fantastic recipe, but I didn’t write it down… and I haven’t seen it since.  UNTIL, a few weeks ago… I was standing in the checkout line at Kohls. They always have a shelf of books for sale at the registers that are only $5 each for fundraiser.  My oldest daughter was with me, and she picks up this book with Christmas cookie recipes.  She says “Mom, can we get this book?”  And by default, I said “No.”  But I look through it anyways.  Low and behold, there are the cookies!  Well, close enough, anyways.  We ended up getting the book.  I changed the recipe a bit, but I think you will enjoy the results!  I know we already are!

DIY Flannel and Fleece Baby Blanket/ Lap Throw (Simple Sewing Blogs)

I started making baby blankets awhile back for several reasons.  The ones at the stores were expensive for the nice, thick, warm ones...  And sometimes they still were not big enough for me.  So, I started making my own awhile back, because I just could not justify anymore paying $18- $40 a baby blanket that would probably get spit up on and pooped on anyways.  You can also use these instructions, but get a more "grown up" material and have a fantastic lap throw.  Besides, homemade is always better.  And it is always custom made.

DIY Flower Press

A great project for children and adults is making a flower press.  It is very easy and simple, and even after you are done you can still continue to use it to make other things like nature collages or just use it to preserve fall leaves and spring flowers.