Keeping Warm in Northern Michigan

It feels like a miracle! Last night we had a fire in our wood stove!

For some time, as in a few years, we have had the desire to install a wood stove. A friend mentioned that he would really like to help us get a wood stove in. We had complete disbelief that we could ever do that. Funds were one reason, and a small house was the other. We kept thinking about how nice it would be to have one. Propane heat can run as much as $1000/mo in the winter, surely it wouldn't take but one winter to have it pay for itself.

This fall, Jeremy went into a local business and saw that they were getting rid of a line of wood stoves at about half off. They had been displays, so they had actually been slightly used. There was one with a great rating for efficiency, the price was a little high, but still doable. In talking with our neighbor, he found out that they had just installed a wood stove, and highly recommended the brand that we were looking at.

So, now all we have to do is put it where we want it, and run the stove pipe through the roof. Hah! Sounds easy enough, but as we are soon to find out, there are still so many obstacles to overcome.

First project is to install ceramic tile on the floor. This made the perfect opportunity to make our entry way a little larger. It sure felt good to cut out some of the dirty carpet and replace it with tile! Perhaps I am the optimistic type, but I only thought this would take about 3 days. Instead it took 2 weeks. Of course, during this time, the only place for the stove to be was in the middle of the living room! This was definitely time of growing in patience for myself.

Jeremy did such an excellent job with his first tile experience!

The next job to tackle.... The Chimney! For this, we called on my dad. The stove pipe would be coming out of the roof, right in a valley. This creates an amazing amount of work, and someone who really knows what they are doing. I believe they had to build what is called a "crick?". Anyway, I know that it took a lot of time, a lot of 2x4's, OSB, roofing tar, and cutting. I wish I had a picture of the finished chimney. Perhaps we will yet add one.

After the "crick?" was built, the stove pipe was fitted together, and up it went! It was so exciting to build that first fire

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While I was inside mesmerized by the beautiful picture and the delightful warmth, Jeremy went outside to watch the smoke come out of the chimney :)

OmniPod!!!!

On our diabetes journey with Christopher, we have reached a milestone.
The OmniPod is an insulin pump that is called tubeless. Now when Christopher would like something to eat, he just enters his carbs into a handheld device, which sends a signal to the pod, and insulin is delivered, without an injection! The pump also will give better control of his blood sugars, which in turn means a longer, healthier life, as the Lord tarries.
By God's grace, Christopher has hardly made a complaint about the restrictions and pain that this disease has added to his life.
We believe that God has now provided an insulin pump as a blessing, a reward, to Christopher for his contentedness, his patience, and his faith in God. We pray that God would be glorified through this trial in Christopher's life, and that God would use this trial to reach others through Christopher.
This is a week long trial, and if all goes well, then on October 29th, the doctor will get Christopher officially started on the pump.

Science is So much Fun!!!

Christopher is really enjoying Science this year.  It has been such a joy to see him so excited about a subject.  Here is a video clip of an experiment he did today.

96 Cups...

.... of frozen corn, that is!  The kids picked and brought in about 250 ears of sweet corn from our garden. 

We had quite the operation of husking, blanching, cutting and bagging it, so that it was done in  about half a day. 

Vanilla had a very important role.....

Great work, kids!  This was sweetest tasting corn!  We had a hard time not eating it, but of course, guess what was for dinner.... :)

Happy Birthday, Jeremy!!

Yesterday was Jeremy's Birthday, and we had a great celebration with family and friends.

We had grilled chicken with peach BBQ sauce, hot dogs, brats, grilled summer squash (it was a great way to use some of our pile of squash!), a BLT salad, picnic eggs, chips w/ peach salsa & and more!  It was a feast that was put together by many!

What a wonderful time of year with so many fresh foods!

I believe that Jeremy thoroughly enjoyed his brownie cake!  We then made hot fudge brownie sundaes with raspberries and peaches.

Games of badminton, croquet & kick the can, and fellowship was enjoyed by all. Thank you everyone for making this such a special day for Jeremy!

Zucchini, Zucchini, Zucchini!!

Well, the first picking is in, and it sure is a big one!

My plans are to slice some and freeze it for soups and other cooking in the winter, shred some for baking with, and finding willing recipients for the rest.

My mom is coming over tomorrow and we will have a big bake day! We like to make up many loaves of zucchini bread to freeze. The perfect fast food :)

I think I need another freezer....

The kids used the lawn mower and wagon to haul the squash up to the house :)

Relish

Oh, how we should relish in the summer days of childhood! Well, it looks as though that's just what the kids did today, as they were helping with the making of pickle relish!

The Fruits of our Labor

Fun on the Jordan

Wednesday we had soo much fun canoeing and then swimming the Jordan River.  We went with the Friske's and Schenke's.  This was the first time canoeing for the Friske's.  We went backwards, sideways, lost a paddle, went over logs and even into trees!

 

It was a great day and perfect weather.

Fun Failure

I had this great idea!  Use an old wood cook stove to do my canning on.  There's always so much to be done on the stove during the summer, and why have all that heat in the house using expensive propane?  Well, it took about 3 hours to get the beets boiling, and I never did get the water bath to a boil, so it was brought inside, and of course only took a few minutes.  Our great attempts were certainly fun, and great for pictures :)

Home Canning

I love preserving the harvest!  All those jars look so pretty.  So far I have only been playing, nothing serious yet.

I have tried several new recipes this summer.

These are two new relishes.  Dixie Relish is made from Cabbage, Onions, Green Peppers and Spices.  Red Root Relish is made from Red Cabbage, Beets, Onions and Horse Radish.

I tried both of these last night, and was quite pleased.  The Red Root has a very strong flavor.

So far, I have 9 quart jars of Dill Pickles.  These have always been a favorite in the family.  Very simply made with a brine solution, head of dill, and minced garlic.

New for me this year are Bread & Butter Pickles.  I have only recently learned to like these, as dill were always my favorite, but I now enjoy these more.

Since I had never made Bread & Butter's before, I decided to try all 3 variations in my preserving book.  British Bread & Butter's are my favorite.

British are made with apple cider vinegar and brown sugar.  Traditional are just that, and Zesty are made with horseradish and grated ginger root.

Cinnamon & Sugar

Introducing Cinnamon & Sugar, our two doe kids that we are hoping to one day be our milking goats! Cinnamon & Sugar were about 4 weeks old when we got them and they are now about 5 months old. They have the same father, but not the same mother. They have become very friendly, especially Cinnamon, and we love to watch them play! We did have to bottle feed them for several weeks, which was so much fun!

Goat Names

Tomorrow we will be picking up two Alpine Does, and we need to name them! We have come up with names like: Caramel, Cinnamon, Mocha, Penny, Trixie, Daisy, Peaches, Ivy, Maybell, Brownie, Velvet, Blueberry & Strawberry, Daisy & Flower, Ginger & Nutmeg, Sugar & Spice, Spring & Summer, and the most creative: Curds & Whey.

What do you think? What should we name these two adorable goats? I will post pictures of them tomorrow :)

Feathered Friends

We love baby chicks!  They are so cute with their fuzzy feathers, and the way they all snuggle together. 

Today, Jeremy picked up 5 Americanas and 15 Isa Browns.  These are different laying hens than we have now, so it will be interesting to see how they do compared to the Leghorns.

We will keep them in the house for a few days (until they get too big for the box they are in).  The kids have each picked out one to be their own, and have even named them :)

It certainly seems that Spring has come now!

 

  

 

Powdered Goat's Milk!

Yes, it really can be done!  It takes a long time, and lots of heat, but it can be done.  I started with 3 quarts of milk, and ended with about 3/4 of a quart.

Start with finding a method to evaporate your milk.  I used a hot water bath canner so that I could use the rack to set canning jars with milk in it.  I filled 6 quart jars half full of milk(wide mouth jars work best), filled the canner with enough water to come up about 3/4 on the jars, and turned the heat on high.  I found that the more stirring I did, the faster the evaporation would happen.

When the jars were only a 1/3 full, I then poured the milk into an electric skillet, figuring that this was a more efficient way to heat the milk, and it gave it a more open surface.  Maybe next time I would just start this way.

Once it became like a runny pudding, I then transferred the milk to cookie sheets, and placed them in the oven at 200°F.  Watch these carefully, as one of the sheets burned on me, and I lost all that milk!  Once it became a very thick substance, I transferred this to the fruit leather tray of my dehydrator.  After many hours, I turned the substance to help it dry on the other side.  When it became hard, I put it in my Vita-Mix and gave it a good whirl.  This was a bit chunky and still too moist, so I put this back on the tray in the dehydrator, and then after many more hours, I put it through the Vita-Mix again. 

Voila! Powdered Goat's Milk!

I store this in a jar in my refrigerator.

Making Yogurt with Goat's Milk

I have found several ways of making yogurt.  The first time I tried making it, it flopped.  The next time was a success!

Here is the success recipe:

2 qts. goat milk

2/3 c. dried goat milk

1/2 c. plain yogurt (from the store)

2 T. honey, optional

In a large saucepan, mix milk, dry milk, and honey.  Heat to 200°F and hold there for 10 minutes.  Make sure you use a thermometer for this.

After 10 minutes, remove from heat and place saucepan in a bowl of cold ice water.  When the milk reaches 125°F, remove pan from cold water bath.

Remove 1 cup of warm milk and mix well with yogurt.  Stir back into milk mixture.

Pour mixture into warm, sterile containers to incubate.  There are many methods to incubate your yogurt.  I use my food dehydrator.  You can also use a thermos wrapped in a towel, or any container wrapped in a towel near a wood stove, or a commercially made yogurt incubator.  The key is to keep the yogurt at about 110°-115°F.

Enjoy your delicious homemade yogurt!

First Attempts at Making Cheese

With Ruth, the goat, came a book on raising dairy goats.  This has been a wonderful resource, as we know nothing!  Well, in this book there are several recipes for what to do with all this milk.  The only one that I had all the ingredients for was one called, "Vinegar Cheese".  I have now learned that this is a "fresh" cheese.  It is a white cheese, and pretty much very bland to the taste.  It certainly does not taste bad, it just doesn't have much taste.  You can use it just as it is in several ways, like salads or in scrambled eggs or fajitas.  I have found that I like to mix it with herbs, especially garlic, and green chilies or jalapenos.  I then will press it for about 24 hours, which will make a wonderful cheese to add to your sandwich or on crackers.

To make this cheese:

With a double-boiler, heat 2 quarts of milk to 185°F.

Slowly, add 1/4 cup of vinegar, turn off heat, and allow to separate into curds and whey.

Skim off curds into a colander lined with cheesecloth.  Tie corners of cheesecloth and hang, I use the knob on my cupboard door, and allow to drip for a couple of hours.

At this point, if you desire to add ingredients, turn cheese out from the cloth into a mixing bowl, and add desired ingredients.  Mix well.

Or, you can put the cheese into a container as it is to use as a crumbled cheese.

I like to press mine.  I made a mold by constructing a box out of pine wood that measures about 8" x 3 1/2" x 2".  I only made 4 sides with an empty bottom so that the extra liquid can come out the bottom.  You will want a "follower" made out of a thick piece of wood that will press down on the cheese.  I use a large C-clamp as my press.

I have made this cheese 3 times now, and with great success.  This was definitely a very good first cheese to make.  I have now ordered the different cultures that are needed to make other cheeses, and I am looking forward to experimenting more!

Warm Brownies and Fresh Milk

Tonight I enjoyed one of the Most satisfying desserts!  A warm brownie and the freshest of fresh goat milk.  This is the first full glass of goat's milk that I have drank.  I had a small sip to try it, and I have had it on my cereal a few times.  It was so absolutely delicious!  Very rich and sweet.  It is also very high in fat, which is why I am trying not to have too much of it.

Tonight, I also bought a cream separator off of ebay.  I am very excited about getting this.  Now I will be able to have a low-fat yummy, good-for-you milk to drink, not to mention all the other low-fat dairy products I will be able to make now.

Oh how I love chocolate, but now I don't think I will ever enjoy it quite as much without that rich glass of fresh milk!

Ruthie

Our daily life has been completely changed with our new addition of Ruthie. Ruthie is a dairy goat that has been loaned to us for indefinite amount of time. She is on loan to us so that we might see if we really like the idea of having a goat. This is certainly a blessing!

At this point my knee is still not stable enough to hold me in such a position that I would be able to milk Ruthie, so Jeremy has done the honors of learning how to milk, and now milking her twice a day.

She is giving us 2 and sometimes almost 2 1/2 quarts of milk a day. That is a lot of milk for a family that has not drank milk for 2 years! We are enjoying it very much on our cereal in the morning, and the children find it to be the most delicious treat to drink from a glass.

We are pasteurizing it at this point, because we don't really understand the debate on raw milk. It is also possible that this goat has cae, because of some symptoms. So, we are staying on the safe side, but sad that we are missing out on the good bacteria of raw milk.

Tomorrow, I am hoping to get into town to purchase some cheese making supplies. I am going to start with a hard cheese, because I don't think we would eat any of the softer cheeses, although they look easier to do. I am also hoping to make many beauty supplies with the milk, such as soaps and bath salts.

I love seeing Jeremy getting ready to go out and milk Ruthie, and then coming in with the milk. He loves this! I do believe that we have found the next addition to our farm. Goats!!