Pictures from the End of Summer

Waiting happily for my friend to arrive for Bible Study.

I love to say it usually doesn't look like this, but it does.  There is always a project, or twenty, going on.  I was going to do a nice post, and I still plan to, on my kitchen remodel, but this is simply the everyday picture of reality.  The pot on the stove is full of wild plums cooking so I can skim the pits out and make fruit leathers.  The crock-pot is full of oil and herbs for a new batch of Healing Balm.  The big baskets on the counter are full of windfall pears, a neighbor's tomatoes, and some early apples.  All the stuff on the island is what I'm working on for gift baskets to sell.  The four pumpkins are ones that were ripe already in the garden.  Two are now on the porch for decoration, one became dinner and some desserts and one is still sitting here next to me.  Between my Seasons~Autumn Board and my Farmhouse Kitchen Cooking Board, I've got lots of uses for the thirty or so pumpkins I've got growing!
Actually, I just looked around and noticed everything is done and the counters are really pretty clean!  Well, there is still a pile of new baskets I washed drying on the counter behind me.  I'm planning on using my late afternoons and evenings to really get cracking on making all my stuff for the sales.

All the kids love to watch and play with the chickens.  Cupcake is a bit to small still to just roam with them, but she's loves to feed them with me.  She and Pumpkin were watching these guys.

The chicks sure have grown!  We're down to four, but they seem to be going strong.

I love tea.  Have I mentioned that before?

Cupcake loves olives, so he sure enjoyed these guys. I was inspired by this pin.

Sometimes we all play with our food.

Even Pumpkin liked the penguins although he doesn't like olives to eat, they were fun to play with.

My zinnias have been a source of delight this summer.  Definitely something to grow every year.

Just a little pretty I've had for years.

After redoing the kitchen, I moved my odds and ends out of the dining room built in, put down vintage shelf paper I bought years ago, and filled the cupboard with my canning and my dried herbs in jars.  I like it.

Now, the cool mornings and lessons make me feel that Autumn has arrived.
It's the best time of year to me.

I took these pictures over the last couple of weeks and just decided to throw together this post while the kiddos are doing chores.  Time to go and get back to the other lessons!

I'm a Lucky Girl!

I won two giveaways earlier this month! The first was this book, Homemade Fun, in a giveaway from Francesca at FuoriBorgo. She's a kindred spirit on the other side of the world. I first discovered her when she started blogging at the Simple, Green, Frugal Co-op. The SGF Co-op is a great source of useful ideas for Simple Living. I enjoy most of the writers there, but Francesca is my favorite. This book is full of WONDERFUL ideas of all sorts of activities to do with the kids. The directions are clear and the illustrations a delight. Do check it out!


The second giveaway was from Steady Mom. One of her sponsors, Graham Gardens filled a basket with the most delightful treats for our skin. How wonderful to be blessed with such delightful products especially during this crazy time where I am unable to make all I would like to make. I have tried most of the things in the basket and whole-heartedly say they are FANTASTIC!!! I've gotten pretty picky over these last few years with what I will put on our skin and I am enjoying all of these with no reservations at all. It all smells so heavenly and works so well. They have so many wonderful items available.

By the way, speaking of homemade body products, I wrote last year about making Homemade Vapor Rub. It has surprisingly become one of the most popular posts on here. I wrote an update to it at the end of the post today. We're all breathing a bit easier tonight.

Normal Day

After working relentlessly these last few weeks to get our house ready to list, today is just a quiet day at home. I am so glad. I am thankful for the amazing number of showings we have received, but it nice to just have the place to ourselves today--so far. The boys have been playing as have I.

I have been cleaning, of course and doing laundry, but I have also made up some wood oil (2 oz mineral oil melted with two tablespoons of beeswax) for all my wooden utensils. I liked it so much I also polished several wooden pieces of furniture with it as well.

I decided it was also a good day to make more healing balm as we are quite low. These are 2 oz tins I found. I like these.

Pumpkin keeps asking when someone will buy the house and when we get to go to the new house. I just keep repeating that only God knows where our new home will be. Wish He felt like I should know. :)

As the boys are sleeping, I think I am going to make a cup of tea and go relax for a few minutes on my front porch. Wish you could join me.

EDITED LATER: WE HAVE AN OFFER AND NEED TO COUNTER TOMORROW MORNING.
PLEASE PRAY FOR WISDOM FOR US!!!

Hello All

I am quietly sipping my tea while the boys nap. It is an Organic Blackberry from Kensho Tea. I picked up a tin of it this fall from the farm. It is delicious and its fragrance fills the room.

I am debating on napping myself since the boys are both asleep. I am tired even though I did sleep better last night. Not sleeping well seems to be just a part of being pregnant for me. Too bad since being pregnant itself makes me tired. It is as though I can't fall deeply asleep and just linger between sleep and wakefulness all night, and sometimes day. :)

I do not want to sleep though. I am just taking a break from mixing up things here in the kitchen. I made up a new batch of Healing Balm and put it in all my little jars. I usually keep some in my purse to just give away, so if you see me just ask.
I also whipped up a new type of deodorant. I had been loving what I made before, until the last few weeks. ( Hmmm. Pregnancy hormones?? That may be the culprit.) If I like it I may switch what deodorant I make regularly to that one. (NOTE TO CAREY--Once I figure out what one I like best and get another plastic tub I'll send some to you.)

I am also experimenting with an aftershave balm for Sweetheart. He voted for bergamont oils so we'll see. Since that is what gives Earl Grey tea its distinct flavor and he drinks it everyday, I think he'll like it. I am actually waiting for it to set up so I can whip it.

Next, provided I resist the pull of the bed, I will make more Lavender Body Butters. I have some Cinnamon Spice left and a bunch of scrubs, but otherwise Christmas gifts wiped me out.

While that is cooling I will try to do a double batch of lip balms as I think I am down to one or two tubes. I should pry myself out of this chair and get going, don't you think? ***Break*** The aftershave balm is whipped! And my hands are so soft. I had enough to fill the jar I wanted to use and three little sample jars. Any (local) takers?

I am looking forward to the weekend. Sweetheart's birthday is next week and so we are headed out to dinner this weekend. It should be a nice evening.

Sweetheart has been putting in a lot of extra hours between his side business and fixing our car, so I am hoping for a bit of family time this weekend. The great news is that the side business' profit for last year allowed us to pay off our second mortgage on our home yesterday. Yippee! It was all how they configured the original loans for our home when we bought it. Now that extra each month can go to paying down the first faster. Nice.

Well, my teacup is empty and I best get back to work. Hope you all have a wonderful weekend. **Special Greetings to any Company Girls!!!****

***********Added later: I finished everything except for whipping the Body Butters. The mix is still cooling to the right temperature for whipping. I checked it a moment ago and it just isn't quite ready yet. I did get fifteen tubes of lipbalm made. Now it is time to finish cleaning up and switch out more laundry. Exciting life, isn't it?

Secret ;) Sources

My husband is the Internet Shopping Guru. He happily spends hours searching for The Best Deal. Of course, this occasionally means that we have an...abundance...of materials. These are the sites he has found that have the best prices for the things we use.

Some offer specials at different times, and/or have the best total prices with shipping. You may be able to find better prices on specific items just by looking around. If you do, please share them with us! Also, feel free to add any other sites in the comments that you think we should know about.

The Chemistry Store has everything from Shea Butter to Lip Balm Tubes to Beeswax. US Plastics is a great company and has all sorts of things including the buckets we store our grain in to keep it fresh. Rebecca's Apothecary is in Boulder and where I go if I need something quickly, or just in smaller quantities. Her prices are higher, but sometimes it is more convenient.

Well, hope that helps you out! I've been so busy with canning that most other products have taken a back seat. I think I will be doing an Etsy store in the next few weeks so you can also just purchase some of the finished products.

Homemade Vapor Rub- All Natural and Easy

 ** Don't want to make your own?  Our Vapor Rub is now available in our Etsy Store!!!!

I remember having Vicks Vaporub smeared all over when I was sick as a child. I loved the stuff! It always smelled good and fresh to me. Now, though, I prefer not to use petroleum products on my skin. Also, Vicks Vaporub is NOT recommended for kids under two. The reasons for that make me think it probably isn't much better for my guys who aren't much older.

I looked up a few other homemade vapor rub recipes and decided to come up with my own to use what I have on hand. Some of the recipes were vague, others had you pouring essential oils into a tub of Vaseline. If I wanted that, I'd just buy the Vicks!  I want something NATURAL.

The 1/4 cup beeswax to 1 cup oil ratio works so well for my Healing Balms that I thought it would make a nice consistency for a homemade vapor rub as well. We all love the balm and use it all the time. It has been a big hit around here and with my friends as well. It goes on smooth, but not greasy or sticky.

I whipped a batch up of this today and it smells great. We are all well here, but I thought it would be nice to have something on hand because it seems like the rest of the city is sick. I have a jar I use for my beeswax concoctions so I just put the oil and beeswax in that and melted it in the microwave for about three minutes, until the beeswax had melted. The entire process has taken longer to type up than to actually make.

It was overwhelming when I first poured all the oils in and reminded me of the Mint Room on the Celestial Seasonings Tea Tour. However, now that it is in the jars and cooled it smells fine. I rubbed a bit on me to test it out and it is nice. I'm glad to have one more thing we can use that is a bit more natural.

All Natural Homemade Vapor Rub Recipe:
Melt 1/4 cup Beeswax in 1 cup Olive Oil. Add in 15 drops Peppermint Essential Oil & 10 drops of Eucalyptus Essential Oil. Stir and pour into containers. Let cool and rub on as needed. Breathe easy!

*****************Edited: I ended up going back, remelting the rub and adding in about twice the amounts of Peppermint & Eucalyptus EO. When I first was mixing it the amount seemed strong, but when I actually used it, it wasn't really. NOW it will really work. I'd suggested experimenting yourself to see what works best for you. Let me know how it works.

****************** UPDATE: Nov 29th 2010== Welcome new readers!!! Thanks for stopping by! Hope you find something new and helpful for you. BTW- It's been just over a year since I did this post and I still have most of the last jar of the Homemade Vapor Rub. Dumpling woke up with a stuffy nose yesterday and so I remelted what was left and added more Peppermint & Eucalyptus EO to the jar. It's working well and soothes his upper lip and nose where I've rubbed it in. It is helping to drain his sinuses and keeps his skin from getting sore from wiping. I've also equipped him with some cloth handkerchiefs to use instead of just Kleenex. I've also rubbed it onto his chest and back before naps and sleeping last night. He likes it, too. :)

******Looking for more natural products we all use that you can make yourself?    Read the Simple Living Posts Page.  There are lots of ideas and links to all the things I have learned to just make myself.   From alternatives to shampooing, homemade deodorant, lotions, lipbalms, cleaning products, laundry detergent and more are all there!