The Butter on my Bread...

So I am not sure if I mentioned this or not, but I made butter! It was great and I took pictures to show you!

My grandmother found me some good cream from Trickling Springs Creamery at our local Pennsylvania Dutch Market. 

My grandmother's KitchenAid mixer. As you are probably noticing, my grandma was an integral part of this homesteading experiment. I have a mixer, not as nice as hers but we were over there and I just couldn't wait until I got home to do this so I just did it there.

So I mixed and I mixed... It went from a liquid to a solid whipped cream looking consistency. Then the whipped cream turned into liquid again! At this point, I thought for sure I had messed it all up. After more mixing, the butter started to form and separate from the buttermilk. This was kinda a sloshy mess but I knew at that point I was doing something right.

I drained out the buttermilk and saved it for some wonderful recipe such as buttermilk biscuits or pancakes.

Now the next step I didn't do as well as I should have. I was supposed to rinse and squeeze all the liquid out or it would spoil faster. I got most of it out but I think it could have been done better.
Here is my finished product!! I apologize for the bad decision to put it in a dish that is the exact same color as the butter, since it does not take as good of a picture.

I used it all up pretty quickly. It was good but I wish I would have salted it. Unfortunately, when I was doing the cost breakdown of homemade butter versus store bought, the store bought is definitely more economical. The cream cost a lot more than a pound of butter and it only produced about a stick and a half. I did get buttermilk out of it which was a bonus. I think the only way I could see making all your own butter is if you had a deal with a dairy to get the cream really cheap. I don't have those connections yet.

On a side note, I got heckled while I made this. A lot of my family was over for a big breakfast and during a quiet moment I decided to do it. Some of the comments were things like "Oh so you want to be a homesteader but you are using a KitchenAid?? Where is your churn?" They were all laughs until the butter was finished. They were all quite impressed with this skill even if I didn't use a churn...

And I'm back...

Okay so let me go ahead and get my excuses out of the way for why I disappeared for what seems like forever:

• The plague hit our house. Well I might be a little over dramatic about it but both kids got sick. Then the boyfriend got sick. Then I got sick! (Whoever said mothers don't get sick is completely misinformed.)

• When I started blogging, I was using my work laptop. Then they switched me to a brand spanking new desktop but yanked the laptop. So I have been basically computerless, except on nights that the boyfriend is home, but who wants to sit on the computer when he's home only two nights a week? But he had an old laptop and got his dad to fix it (Thanks Roy!) Sooooooooo I have a computer now!!!!! 

• My PTA duties were tremendous. Well not tremendous but time consuming. Since one of the chairpersons went MIA, I, being the responsible vice president that I am, offered to take over her position as that chair. Of course this position was collecting all the little Box Tops (great school fundraiser!) and having to count and submit them. How many box tops could our very tiny school collect? Well I counted, clipped, packaged, and sorted just shy of 3000!

And to be completely honest, I hit a wall. I hit a big invisible metaphorical wall of non-motivation and non-inspiration.  But hey, I'm back and that's all that matters. I have some big ideas now and I'm on my way.

Even through this dark month or so of nothingness, I have managed to do a couple small things here and there. I made chocolate syrup. Very easy to make and the best part is that your entire house smells like chocolate for the rest of the day. My son loves it. I also made Miracle Whip. This however was a lot more involved then I thought but I got to use my new shiny food processor so I was happy. The response for that was "Hey, the mayo you made tastes like Miracle Whip." So I will say success!!! It still needs a little tweaking but I was expecting a complete failure so I will take it!

 I have also made more laundry detergent. I am playing around with different recipes to find the one I like the most. I have switched to the powder. It seems so much easier than the liquid. I made a double batch the last time and we have run out of the store bought kind so it will be homemade from now on. I have not convinced anyone in the household yet to go with homemade fabric softener (straight vinegar). I will continue to use the fabric sheets since that does help a little with the lack of fragrance from the detergent. I have been cutting the dryer sheets in half though, to make them go twice as far and I don't think it has made any difference.

Garden time is approaching and I am very excited. Well excited and anxious. I have never really had a garden before. I cannot even keep houseplants alive! The weather around here has been unseasonably warm, so I think next week we will get the ground broken for the garden. I have an idea of what I want it to look like but I will be happy however it turns out. I got a seed catalog in the mail and picked out about 40 different fruits and vegetables I wanted to plant, but then I came back to reality and decided that I will start a little smaller this year and plant things that I know we will eat fresh and that I can preserve easily.

Composting has begun! I was going to make a compost bin out of wood pallets, but then after doing some research I started seeing information about the dangers of using pallet wood. While I was walking through Sam's Club I found a composter for a very low price, so I went ahead and bought it. The kids and I started adding to it with fruits and vegetables from the fridge on trash day along with some dry leaves around in the yard. Every other day, Emma asks me if the dirt is ready. Rain barrels are also in the works.

I guess I will end by revealing my secret Internet obsession as of late: Pinterest. What an amazing and inspiring website. I have found so many great home ideas, kids projects, recipes, and anything else you could imagine!! I am completely in love with it.  On the negative side, Pinterest does somewhat make you feel like you are completely boring. So many people are doing all these projects and what am I doing? Reading about it while I am sitting on the couch doing nothing!

Anyone have any ideas for what my March skill should be?? I will admit that the knitting in January failed horribly so I will have to revisit that one soon. And well we know that February was a complete bust.

Also don't forget that if you are on Facebook, like my page!!

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I have started a new Facebook page for my blog! Follow me at Homesteading Mom! I have not quite figured out how to put the Facebook Like button on my blog yet but I'm working on it!

Cheers to the New Year...

Well here it is, January 1st. The day where everyone wakes up with good intentions for the year ahead of them. Looking forward, I am very excited about what I have planned for my family. I could not have started the day off better today. I went to lunch with a good friend who is also sharing my homesteading vision. It is so nice to be able to talk freely about my ideas without getting weird looks. She has also been doing this longer than me, so she had some advice and resources I haven't found yet. She also is the proud owner of a farm. I'm incredibly jealous, as my new aspiration is to have a goat farm. I'm not exactly sure why this is though, I don't believe I have ever formally met a goat outside of a petting zoo.

It's time to figure out a game plan! I have started a binder where I am keeping some of my articles, tips and recipes. Organization is not my forte, but hey, its a new year right? Anything is possible. My collection of homesteading books is growing too! I have gotten some for Christmas and I bought three more today.

The biggest piece of advice that I have gotten is to start small. Sometimes when you have big dreams, you start off strong but then get overwhelmed. I have decided that I will make monthly goals to learn a new skill. This months skill is knitting! I have gotten some knitting needles and yarn from my grandmother, as well as a Knitting for Dummies booklet and several knitting magazines circa 1980s. Tonight since the kids were gone, I decided that I would try it. After some practice and a few obscenities, I actually learned to knit! Not quite a knitting expert yet, however I see many scarves and hats for Christmas presents this year. And maybe a nice 1983 sweater vest for the boyfriend. I think he would like that :)

In my last post, I channeled my inner old man and was complaining about the cost of Miracle Whip. I have found the answer!!! Well actually I found the recipe online! So instead of spending $6.00 on a jar I will just make my own. This got me thinking, what else can I make that would save money at the grocery store? With two young kids, we go through tons of ketchup and chocolate syrup. I found recipes for those too. All of the recipes contain ingredients that I have in my kitchen at most times. Since we already have some left in the fridge, I will just wait until we use the last of it and reuse the store bought containers. I am also thinking that next months goal will be bread making...

Sometimes it is easy to get caught up in the monotony of daily life and not realize what you have around you. While I was off work with my kids for Christmas break, I got a chance to slow down and think. Sitting in front of my Christmas tree on Christmas Eve, I was suddenly hit with the amazing reality that I have everything I have hoped for in my life. My kids are finally happy. We have had some rough times in the last three years with the divorce from their dad. I have a wonderful, supportive partner who I am absolutely in love with. We took a big step this year and moved in together. Finally, I have a home. In the years after high school, I moved many times and always felt like my living arrangements were temporary. I now have a house where I can plant my roots and start making new memories. 2011 was pretty good to us, but I cannot wait to see what 2012 has in store.

Sooo now what?

The last week or so, I have been contemplating this very question. Where do I start? I have been so ready to jump right in but I realized how totally clueless I really am. I started to research homesteading the old fashioned way. Yep that's right, the world wide web. A pioneer's best friend in finding the best chicken coup designs or homemade laundry detergent recipes. I have been following a few pages on Facebook: Homemade Living Frugally, Punk Rock Homesteading, Frugally Sustainable, and Canning Granny to name a few. I have also come across numerous websites and blogs devoted to modern homesteading.  In addition to all my Internet research I have also come across a couple magazines that I think will also be helpful like Mary Jane's Farm and Mother Earth News. I feel like I have opened a door to this new world that I didn't even know existed! It's so exciting. Well exciting, but to be honest,  I have been plagued with moments of doubt. I haven't really shared my mission with too many people, only the people who I would know would be supportive. I have been met with some skepticism and raised eyebrows when expressing my sudden interest in raising goats or stockpiling supplies. Some people have surprised me though. They have been bringing me presents like canning books and magazines. My dad called and actually read my blog (pretty cool!) and told me he has several Foxfire books (I have never actually seen one before just heard about them on various websites) that I can use as long as I want, but I can't have them until he dies :)  I actually have friends who are interested in experimenting different recipes and doing projects with me. Overall, the support defeats the momentary lack of confidence. I have good feelings about where this will lead me.

In the middle of all this self doubt and support, I did decide on a small step to start. I made my own laundry detergent. I found literally fifty different recipes, all containing the same ingredients in different amounts. Then the question I pondered for three days: liquid or powder? I finally decided on powder. I had already gotten my ingredients days prior. I just left them on the kitchen table, where they stared at me until I made a decision. I used Arm & Hammer Washing Soda, Borax, and Fels Naptha Soap. As a side note, try to pawn off grating the Fels Naptha soap to someone else, say like an older child. It takes FOREVER and makes your arm hurt!! I only made a half batch of detergent. I didn't want to have a ton of it left over if it didn't work and possibly my arm got tired halfway through grating the soap. I have only washed one load with it so far. It seemed to clean but you don't get the fresh clean smell that the perfumed detergent leaves. I was surprised that you only need one tablespoon per load. It seems very cost effective. Many websites also suggest using the generic OxyClean powder when your clothes are really dirty. We will see how it goes and I will more than likely try the liquid version too.

While walking through the aisles of Weis Markets yesterday (not buying laundry detergent), I was completely shocked at what I was experiencing... I don't go shopping often. Usually I don't have an opportunity to shop without my two children and I think I would rather us go hungry then to have to deal with meltdowns in the frozen food section. However, yesterday I took out my daugther (she's six) for lunch and grocery shopping. She actually likes to go and hold the list and check off each item. Anyhoo, I was completely shocked at the prices of the items I buy! I found myself looking at the Miracle Whip saying to myself, "Six dollars! I remember when miracle whip was only $2.50!" like a grumpy old man. Then in the produce section, I started to really notice the quality of the food that I normally buy. Looking at the bruised fruit and the the brown salad mix, I started longing for the garden I am planning for the spring. I vowed right beside the tomatoes to grow as much as I could and preserve enough to last until the next year. I might have left Weis with a $253.00 receipt and 50 gas points, but I also left with a complete reassurance that I am heading in the right direction.

The Beginning...

As a working mother of two children approaching her thirties, I have convinced myself that I need to find a hobby. Not that I really have time for a hobby. With kids, work, meetings, PTA, appointments, committees, school functions, fundraisers and trying to manage a semi-organized home (okay well I am working up to semi-organized), I am completely drained and exhausted. But I need to find a passion. I need to find something that fulfills me aside from my kids and better half.

I have decided that starting in January, I will commit myself to explore the lifestyle of homesteading. Homesteading has been defined by some of a simple life of self-sufficiency. Days are filled with living off the land, using natural resources, and getting back to a more pioneer way of life. I am no pioneer woman and I have no intentions of trying to be an extreme "live off the grid" homesteader. However as I think about this concept, I realize that as a modern family, we get lost in the world of television, brand names, fast food and other convenience items. Maybe I won't raise sheep or convert to solar energy, but I could change little things to break some of these holds that the modern world has on my family.

There are a few benefits of this project that I would like to achieve. I would like my family to gain self-sufficiency skills. In this ridiculous economy, I would like to find ways to save money by living smarter.  Last and most importantly, I would like to create a stronger bond with my family by working together to make our life better. I would like my kids to appreciate how people "survived" without all the modern items and technology that they are drowning in today.

The reason for the blog mainly is to keep myself motivated to continue with this project. I have a bad habit of starting things and not going through to the end. Hopefully (!) through this I will also meet more like-minded people that will share their experiences with me.

So here goes... Let my adventure begin.