Monthly Archives: July 2012

Goodbye to 4 calves…

Leave a reply

This weekend we sold 4 of the calves: Bondini, Butternut, Macadamia, & Snickers.

It didn’t take long – within an hour of posting our ad on Craig’s list, Mike got a call from an interested family! They are fellow Christians who homeschooled their 3 boys & want to grow a small dairy herd with these calves. They already have one calf at home, and these 4 are the same age, which is exactly what they were looking for! They came back out on Saturday and took them to their new home. 🙂

Thank You, Lord, for leading this family to our ad. May these calves be a blessing to their family & farm. Help them to mature into strong dairy cows who produce many offspring and healthy milk as they age. Place a hedge of protection around this family, Lord… may Mr. Farmer be granted healing from his medical issues, strengthen his wife as she cares for him and others in her nursing career, and guide their 3 sons down the path You have already prepared for them. Amen

Abandoned kitten adopted today!

Leave a reply

Yesterday, friends of ours rescued an abandoned kitten left under their bedroom window.  It is unknown what happened to the momma – but what was left was a VERY sad and hungry (not-to-menti0n ADORABLE) kitten.  They brought him here…

…and we took care of him yesterday through this morning.

The level of commitment necessary to nurse kittens this young is HUGE, and the thought was a bit daunting to all of us as we considered our overflowing plates right now.  But, his tiny cries were enough to melt our hearts to do our best to take care of him. 🙂

Then, this morning, some other friends of ours were over and FELL IN LOVE with him!  He is now a new addition to their very large family, lol! 🙂

What a blessing that You sent us help, Lord!  While we do not know how long this little guy will be around, what we DO know is that he will bring many moments of joy and laughter to this loving family.  We pray for patience, endurance, strength, and wisdom for this family as they do their best to take care of this kitten.  AMEN

Musical chairs…

Leave a reply

We were gifted 2 very nice recliner chairs last week.  🙂

This was completely unexpected, so that made it really exciting!  It also created a little game of musical chairs… 🙂

Right after Mike & I were married (almost 16 years ago) we purchased an overstuffed chair and couch.  Over the years, they have racked up many hours of use, but the older Mike & I get, the less comfy an overstuffed couch feels to sit in.  Actually, it’s the getting IN & OUT of that’s been trickier, lol… It’s also been very difficult to move things around for a change of scenery once-in-awhile, because they are just soooo large, and we have just a tiny space.  We had often daydreamed about replacing the couch with some-type-of chairs, but that thought never went beyond a thought – until last week. 🙂

So, we removed the couch, re-arranged the room, and added the new chairs.  We have really been enjoying it! 🙂

What to do with this ginormous couch now that doesn’t fit ANYWHERE else in our home…?

Well…

As of yesterday, Mike’s sister & her husband are the proud owners of an unfinished rental house!  Isn’t that fun?  Today, Mike & the boys are taking our well-loved couch over to this new house.  What a blessing that because we were given a gift, we can also give a gift!  🙂

Lord, I thank You for the gift of our two new chairs.  I also thank You for the many years of activity this couch has endured in our home.  I pray for the new home it is now joining.  May it serve as a haven of rest for many, and may this couch be a comfort for each person who uses it.  As they sink down into those overstuffed cushions, may it remind them of the enveloping love You are always willing to surround us with.  Bless Jenny & Matt, Lord, as they begin this new chapter in their lives.  AMEN 

Homemade Ricotta Cheese

Leave a reply

Now that we have 37 pounds of “dry” cottage cheese frozen for the year for our family…

…I’ve switched to making ricotta cheese.

Here’s what I do:

In my large *THICK BOTTOMED* canning/stock pot, I add the milk. The reason I say *THICK BOTTOMED*, is because this is REALLY EASY to burn, as it gets heated to 180°. I have burnt several batches in a thinner pot, even though I whisked it the entire time… 😦 So, hence my advice to USE A THICK BOTTOMED POT and WHISK CONTINUALLY, lol! 🙂

Once it reaches 180°, remove it from the heat. I add raw apple cider vinegar, slowly. I stir with a large metal spoon, and once I can feel the clumpiness of the curds forming, I stop pouring in the vinegar.

Next I scoop the curds out with my hand-held strainer and allow them to drain in a bowl lined with a large colander.

I weigh the strained curds, and for each pound of curd, I add 5 oz. of whey back in, and process until smooth.

Then, I freeze the whey for future uses like in whey soup and to cook noodles & beans in, etc.

LOTS of wonderful, probiotic benefits to liquid whey…NOT-TO-BE-CONFUSED-WITH the powdered stuff you can buy at the store.

The Weston A. Price Foundation is a wonderful place to begin researching that… 🙂

Most of the whey I freeze is in 1 cup “ice-cubes”. This is the amount needed to make 1 serving of whey soup…Michael’s favorite! 🙂

Sometime, I’ll get that recipe posted, as well.