This week’s theme is Summer. Here are my answers to the writing prompts Sylvia provided.

During summer, my kitchen… is on the warm side. I often plug in the roaster oven outside for baked dishes. I’ve got to be careful with my various ferments which tend to age quickly in the warmer temperatures. This year we have a garden and I’m a little bit excited and a little bit dreading all the work of preserving. I plan to do some canning, drying, and fermenting.

One of my favorite things about summer is… the amazing summer produce! I love the tomatoes most of all. And cucumbers.

One of the summer things I could do without… the kids leaving to go on a trip with grandparents. This is a catch-22. I am very happy for them but I miss them alot. I don’t like doing all the animal chores myself!

A planned summer or take it as it comes?… Summer will be full, I’m sure, and go way too fast! There are some planned things, but pretty much it will be like the rest of the year only hotter.

Summer meals consist of … cold grain salads, cold meat salads, sandwiches, local and delicious summer veggie salads, chilled water kefir, easy meals like tacos and burritos, cheese and crackers.

The last thing on my mind during summer is… Hmm… I don’t have an answer for this one.

The theme this week is difficulties. Actually very timely for me. Even though my life is good and blessed, I am not immune to daily personal difficulties. Enough said.

Sometimes I feel a bit of resentment when I … am misunderstood or not listened to.

Why is it so difficult for me to … let people be who they are, and still go on my merry way?

1 Chronicles 16:11 tells me to … “Seek the LORD and his strength, seek his face continually.”

1 Peter 5:8 warns me … to “Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour”

I am going to pray and ask for strength to … love unconditionally, be calm, and rejoice always.

The difficult thing that seems to constantly catch me off guard is … rudeness. How can people be so blind to their unloving ways?

James 1:12 says … “Blessed [is] the man that endureth temptation: for when he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord hath promised to them that love him. ”

I am determined to … endure temptation, seek the Lord’s face and strength, and not let those difficulties get to me! Lord willing!

In my kitchen ……. I had a busy Mother’s Day weekend, with lots of yummy eats!

On my mind today …… researching getting a Jersey cow.

Something that makes me feel rather touchy …….. making mistakes, ah, if only I didn’t.

One goal for this week is ….. to cut back on chocolate.

What I’m reading …… nothing, and trying to keep it that way! When I read, I don’t get my work done! But my mother-in-love Judy gave me some books that are calling my name…

One individual I am praying for ….. a friend who is newly pregnant.

I am looking forward to …… being done with the eCourse and starting it all over again!

On the Back Burner of my mind …… wanting to put together an emergency herb/medicine kit for people and animals but I don’t know where to start.

I see God moving ……. in my family, on our homestead, and with our business. God is good and His blessings are great, and His love even more massive!

What’s happening in my home……?

In my kitchen… Pretty much I covered what my kitchen has seen in My Tuesday Twister post.

With the family… Mikah and Naomi have both had a mild cold this week. Naomi has some poison oak rash, too. But everyone is doing very well. Mikah is excited because he and Jeff got a small 4″ survival knife. Naomi got some stick bugs at the library last week. Haniya and Naomi have been great helps to me in filming for my eCourse. They operate the camera and are endlessly patient with all my “takes.” Jeff’s been able to get home early on some days – he still works a full day because he goes in so early. He also took a day off last week when it was sunny to work in the barn.

Around the homestead… The big news is we got a buck – Cosmo. He is almost 2 and just beginning to get the buck smell. For the time being he’s sharing the barn with the does, but as soon as Jeff puts up a simple shelter in the buck pasture, Cosmo and Starle (a Nigerian dwarf wether) will go in there. We are watching the milk, hoping it doesn’t take on the buck odor. So far, so good. We read that the rule is, if you walk in the milking area and it smells like buck, the odor will get in your milk. So far, there’s no odor where we milk. But could be soon as it gets more concentrated – Cosmo’s area of the barn is adjacent to the milking area. I am eager to get him in his own shelter, but we have to wait until there’s time on the weekend to make that shelter.

I forgot to mention last week that we cut down several old madrone trees that were hanging threateningly over the barn. That has left a big mess to clean up, and Jeff is working on it. Poor Jeff. He’s always got some kind of mess outside to clean up. Have I mentioned lately how everything is MUD outside?

What’s happening in my home……?

In my kitchen… I’m experimenting with different sourdough breads – no knead and minimal knead. The results are very promising! Keeping up with everything keeps me busy. I’ve been videoing myself like crazy, finishing up all the eCourse lessons for the new GNOWFGLINS Fundamentals eCourse I will launch in February. I’m really excited about it and hope it will help many people transform their kitchens and their habits. A side benefit of always having to video is that the kitchen stays clean. I like that.

With the family… We visited friends this weekend and that was fun. I enjoyed seeing another kitchen full of growing things – sprouts and cultures. I took my friend a kefir grain. My children are amazing. Every day I love them more – is that possible? They keep me smiling and enjoying life, not to mention how helpful they are in day to day tasks that need doing, and cheerfully.

Around the homestead… Jeff and Mikah made a work table for the barn. It is so nice. We are storing all our feed bins underneath it, and that works great to conserve space in the barn. We are shopping for a Nubian buck and will keep him at a friend’s house with their bucks (they mainly raise meat goats). We want to have our does bred sometime in February, so I am praying that the Lord would provide a buck, and also solve the issue of transporting the does (or buck) when a doe cycles into heat. We are gearing up to get chickens, but first must solve the big question – what kind of coop? and where?

What’s happening in my home……?

In my kitchen… Thanksgiving was wonderful! We kept the cooking low-key. None of us enjoys an over-the-top meal. Just give us some good food, regular portions, a nice dessert and we’re happy. Haniya has been cooking alot. She goes in the kitchen, follows one of my recipes from gnowfglins.com and produces very good food. I’m so proud of her – and I’m really happy that my daily blogging is paying off right here in our family.

With the family… Thanksgiving was wonderful! Oh, did I already say that? We had five great days, all of us together. We hiked in the Umpqua National Forest on the first day, last Wednesday. Then the other four days (raining) we puttered around, talked, relaxed, got work done. The time together without any deadlines or burdens refreshed us. We are thankful for the time!

Around the homestead… Jeff finished insulating the exposed water pipes in the barn. He and the girls laid old straw bedding down on the mud path into the barn (the animal entrance, not our entrance). He built a “toy” for the goats in their barn. This is really something for them to play and jump on – they love that. He made it from wood planks, tires and some old steps. Hard to describe. I was able to do quite a bit of sewing.

In my “Inner Man”… Working on being more disciplined with my time. Working on leaving my burdens with the Lord. Working on trusting in unconditional love.

What’s happening in my home……?

In my kitchen… This has been a very busy week in my kitchen! Thankfully, the kids are keeping up with the dishes for me. We’ve been getting ready for Thanksgiving mostly. I wanted to update recipes at gnowfglins.com and share two new beverage recipes in the Gallery of Thanksgiving Sides. It is fun to see that others are working on real food Thanksgiving dishes, too!

With the family… We’ve been watching Bible Collection movies. So far, we watched Abraham (was wonderful and inspiring), Moses (gag-me, and not Biblical), and David (I was too busy to watch that one). Jeff is a bit on edge because we’re entering storm season and with his job, he’s on call every other week for an entire week. Meaning, 7 days on call, 7 days off-call. During storm season, he gets many middle of the night calls. He’s dreading this. So I am praying for the Lord to grant Jeff endurance to get through this season of stress. We are all looking forward to Thanksgiving – Jeff has four days off and he is NOT on call.

Around the homestead… Over this last weekend, Jeff and I continued to work on the barn. My job was being all around fetcher and flashlight holder (still no lights in the barn). We moved the pressure switch to a better location, so it wouldn’t freeze – but this involved quite a bit of rewiring. The hay rack is amazing! The goats are giving more milk – Gingham fluctuates between 4 and 5 cups at a milking, instead of between 3 and 4. The change with Pegs is astounding – instead of 3 cups at a milking, her yield is close to 5 now! Paisley is having some sort of viral outbreak, causing sores on one side of the udder, at the top of the teat. That is the teat that has been clogged for months and so I don’t count on milk from that side. I’m hoping this virus will run its course. Then we’ll decide what to do with her (keep milking or dry her up).

In my “Inner Man”… Working on being slow to anger and to be more appreciative toward my awesome family.

What’s happening in my home……?

In my kitchen… We’ve done some rearranging of our schedules to keep up having more dishes – the kids are doing all the dishes, which is a big help. In the morning, Mikah and I do the milking chores, while Haniya and Naomi do the dishes. Then we all have breakfast together (Jeff is already gone to work by then). Then Mikah does the dishes for breakfast and lunch in the afternoon. I try to do dishes as I work so as not to let things build up too much. I’ve been working on basic recipes for gnowfglins.com. Lots of cooking – beans, pancakes, muffins, breads, soups…

With the family… Haniya said the other day that she’s really happy we’re a family. I’m sure we all agree. God is very good to us to give us each other.

Around the homestead… Since Jeff built that hay rack, the milking goats are putting out more milk. The hay is not being wasted (as much) and we’re going through less of it. Jeff is thinking about what to do about lighting in the barn. Right now we’re using battery operated lanterns and getting by. We’re researching chickens and Jeff is designing our chicken coop. We needed them like yesterday… we wonder when we will be able to take this step? Hopefully soon!

In my “Inner Man”… (Do I hear an echo?) Still working on being less sensitive and more loving…

Each Wednesday, The HomeKeeper’s Journal is led by Sylvia at CHK. You’re welcome to join The HomeKeeper’s Journal, too. To see Sylvia’s entry for this week and/or find instructions for participating, visit Sylvia’s entry for this week.

What’s happening in my home……?

In my kitchen… Still trying to keep up with the dishes, as the dishwasher is still broken. Jeff got a voltmeter and continuity meter (or whatever they’re called) so we can try to figure out what part is not working. In the meantime, I’ve been delegating the dishes chores alot. We had Mikah’s birthday, and so enjoyed another chocolate sourdough cake. We love that cake!

With the family… Still working on outside projects. Kids studying hard. I feel so blessed to be surrounded by these great people – so thankful the Lord gave them to me for my family!

Around the homestead… Goats are adjusting to their new home; got the second stage of the water system turned on, yay! so we’re fully switched over; put in a baby stall in the barn yesterday to keep the little kids from nursing at night – keeping the mom’s milk for us in the mornings; got gutters installed on the new barn and the old barn (now garage); just enjoying how everything is starting to work really smoothly; feels permanent!

In my “Inner Man”….. still working on being less sensitive and more loving

Each Wednesday, The HomeKeeper’s Journal is led by Sylvia at CHK. I’ve been wanting to join in for some weeks now. Even though I’m a day late, here goes!  You’re welcome to join The HomeKeeper’s Journal, too. To see Sylvia’s entry for this week and/or find instructions for participating, visit Sylvia’s entry for this week.

What’s happening in my home……?

In my kitchen… local potatoes thrilling the kids almost every meal; the dishwasher went kaput and we haven’t the time or energy to try to fix it, so I’m doing dishes by hand; my hands are dry and cracking from all the moisture loss; my saving grace this week are those yellow gloves; not much cheese as the kids are keeping up with the goat’s milk – they love their chocolate milk.

With the family… the kids have helped tremendously with the barn projects – currently they’re moving old hay bedding from the temporary barn into the new barn, one wheel barrow load at a time; Mikah’s 9th birthday is on Monday coming up and he tells us how many days are left constantly; Jeff has put in many exhausting hours laboring on our barn/water project – I’m thankful for his devotion!

Around the homestead… barn, barn, barn, barn, barn, barn…

In my “Inner Man”…..  working on being less sensitive and more loving