How to Freeze One-size Portions

I don't know how many of you will find this useful, but since writing my post yesterday, I realized that it wasn't a very informative one. ...So here's a "how to" post, to supplement the brain-dead blurb I wrote yesterday (can't blame a person, after spending 8.5 hours in the kitchen, right?).

What do you do if you want use the convenience of freezer meals, but don't want to defrost a whole 9"x13" pan of lasagna just for one meal for yourself? It's rather hard, doing this "freezer meal" thing for only one person, yet if you are making special-diet meals, you are really only cooking for one or two people.

There are several solutions to this dilemma;

- You could divide each pan into serving-size portions, and then buy a ton of little plastic containers to freeze each portion separately.

- You could really, actually, thaw out that whole 9"x13" pan of chicken casserole, and then eat nothing but chicken casserole for six days. (Chicken oatmeal, anyone?)

- You could freeze the whole lasagna in the big pan, then keep a hack saw, hammer, and chisel on top of the freezer, and use them each time you want to hack off a portion to thaw.

- OR you could do it this way:

Amber's One-Person Freezer-Meals Freezing Secret 

(The secret isn't freezing, of course; just the meals. ...Actually, that was pretty corny. It's past my bedtime, okay?) 

Supplies:
You will need
- Freezer paper
- A large cookie sheet
- Large spatula and knife
- A freezer (*grin*)
- Handiwrap
- Freezer bags
- 9x9 Aluminum pan (optional)
- One 9"x13" pan of whatever you want to freeze. This method will work will with just about anything you'd normally bake in a 9x13. Even "looser" casseroles, like rice and chicken. (I'm going on faith, there, actually; my first batch of that casserole is still in the freezer for the first step right now. But I'm sure it's going to work.)

Directions:
It's pretty simple. First, bake the casserole. (This won't work with things that have to be frozen before baking. Sorry.)

Let the casserole cool completely. Almost every casserole will "firm up" a bit as it cools, which means it holds together much better cool than hot.

Once cooled, slice neatly into serving-size portions. (About 12 squares, for a typical casserole in a 9x13.)

Line your large cookie sheet with freezer paper, waxy side up. Do not substitute wax paper for the freezer paper. Unless, of course, you enjoy picking wax paper out of your spaghetti pie, or you like the taste of wax paper. I won't tell you how I know that won't work.

Ever so carefully, lift each square of casserole out of the pan, and set it on the freezer paper on the cookie sheet. (The freezer paper will want to roll up on itself, so I usually start out by putting one square in each corner, to hold it down. Bonus tip; no charge. :) )

If your cookie sheet is nice and large, you should be able to fit a whole casserole on one sheet. You can put the squares as close as you like so long as they are not touching. There's gotta be some space there. If the casserole is a bit soft, you may have to carefully press it into neat squares again after you transport it to the cookie sheet, but just be sure that in the end the squares aren't touching.

Cover the squares with another sheet of freezer paper - waxy side down, this time. Move the cookie sheet to the freezer, and make sure it's level on the shelf before you shut the door. (Why, no, our freezer is never crowded and I would never stack the cookie sheet on top of a uneven mound of bags in there. Why do you ask?)

After two or three hours - or however it takes for the casserole to freeze solid - take the cookie sheet out, and carefully pry the squares off the freezer paper. (Don't leave it in the freezer longer than overnight; it will begin to taste like the freezer.) Wrap each square tightly in handiwrap, and stack neatly in an aluminum pan, then slide the pan into a freezer bag. The pan is actually optional; I just use it because it makes the whole stack more sturdy in the freezer. A 9x9 square pan fits perfectly into a gallon-size freezer bag, if it's not loaded too far above the edge.

Now comes the fun part. Seal the bag almost all the way, leaving a space just big enough to insert a straw. Now (guess what?!) insert a straw in that hole. Take a deep breath. Exhale. Put your mouth on the straw and suck. You'll have the pleasure of seeing the whole bag shrink-wrap around your stack of squares, and look very professional. Slide the straw out and seal the bag in one quick motion.

You're done! (Probably in less time that it took to read that wordy batch of instructions. Don't you love all my parenthesis?) Now, anytime you want a freezer meal, pull out the amount of servings you need and unwrap them before putting them in a covered dish in the fridge to thaw. (The unwrapping part is important.) Once thawed, use your method of choice to re-heat them; microwave, toaster oven, oven, stove top, or whatever you want to do.

Enjoy a freezer meal just your size!


 

Once-a-Month Cooking for One Person

With a blog called "Fruit of Her Hands," I really ought to blog more about actual "fruit producing" that I do around the house. Sorry about that. I'm just so busy with real life that I rarely take time to mention it on here!

However, I'm happy to pop in today (er, tonight), and tell you that I've been quite productive today! I figured it was about time for a "housekeeping" post. :)

Have you ever done once-a-month baking? I've always wanted to try it. I've done LOTS of cooking-for-a-crowd, and figured once-a-month cooking couldn't be too much harder. The idea of saving so much time and money - at the same time - enthralls me.

Mom didn't think right now was good timing to try month-cooking for the family, but because I am on a special diet, I decided to make up a bunch of stuff that I can eat - once-a-month cooking for myself! Mom gave the go-ahead, and I started my experience.

I spent over a week planning my menu and cooking-plan-of-action. Today, after a long day in the kitchen (9:30am -6:00pm), I can sit here with aching feet and tell you that the hardest part really was the planning. My initial menu was WAY too complicated. And expensive. I wanted to challenge myself to spend less than $80.00 on food for the whole month. That's plenty for one person, right?

Well...that depends. When your diet consists of a lot of fresh foods, cheap can be very illusive. I finally decided not to worry about buying every single item I'll be putting in my mouth this month, but to focus on three things; making up a few breakfasts, ingredients for smoothies, and making most of the main dishes. On my third attempt, the menu looked doable. I spent MUCH less than $80.00. Like...less than half of that. Less than $30.00.

I went shopping yesterday. I hit two stores - Walmart and Kroger - to get the best bang for my buck. I was very pleased with the results. Even Mom complimented me on how much food I made for the amount of money I spent; and, coming from the Queen of Penny-stretching, that's a compliment indeed. :)

Today was baking day. Like I said above, I spent about 8.5 hours straight in the kitchen today; and I do mean straight. I didn't even take a break for lunch. ....Just nibbled a bit as I went. :)

Honesty compels me to admit that even though my legs hurt right now, those hours in the kitchen today were not a burden. I love cooking and baking. I just kept on a'rollin', churning out dishes and getting tired, but enjoying myself. :) So glad God made me to enjoy that kind of work!

Anyway...would you like to see what I got done today? I'm so happy with what's been finished, and I have only a few things to finish up tomorrow. I hope the stuff that I'm freezing does well. Any of you ever frozen cabbage before? I hope it doesn't get too soggy when thawed. ....Oh well. :)

Here's what I did!

 - 4 containers of Chili (about 12 servings or more)
- 12 servings of Cabbage Lasagna (gluten free!)
- 12 Black Bean Brownies (gluten free, and yummy!)
- 1 bag of Lentils, cooked (for future projects)
- 1 bag shredded cabbage (for future soups. It was on sale. Couldn't resist.)
- Rice (for a casserole I'll put together tomorrow)
- Potatoes and carrots roasted (for soup, to be assembled tomorrow)
- 1 chicken, cooked and shredded (for the casserole and soup)
- Milk for kefir, divided and frozen so it will stay good all month long
- 12 Orange Poppy-seed muffins (gluten-and-sugar-free and yummy!)
- 4 bananas sliced and frozen, for smoothies
- 13 lentil sausage patties (they're delicious, really!)
- Chicken bones for bone broth ready for simmering tomorrow
- 16 (?) Cornwaffles (Ever had these? Basically cornbread batter made into waffles. DeLICIOUS topped with chili! Gluten free, too.)

I think that's everything. I still have things to do, as you can see, but the great majority of work has been done. I'm heading off to the kitchen now to wrap portions of the lasagna and package them for freezing.

I didn't actually do huge batches of cooking today - it was all what I'm accustomed to, cooking for 7 people - but because it's just for one person, I really ended up making a lot of meals! Someday I'd like to try making stuff for the whole family. I like making huge batches of stuff. :) :)

I'm off to the kitchen again! Hope you have a splendid week.
Amber

P.S. If you want to read how I freeze portion-sized meals for just one person, check out this post.

Projects

Gasp! A post with a picture!

This is one of those evenings when I'm just dying to blog. I have so much to say that my fingers are flying on the keyboard. Of course, with me, that's counterproductive, because I just have to backspace twice as much.

If I can get my appendages to behave, I'll move on to what I want to say.

I've been supremely happy lately, and one byproduct of that glorious state is increased immersion in handiwork. My hands have been finding all sorts of things to do, and my mind is way ahead of my hands. I haven't been nearly as productive as I want to be, but it's a start.

To begin with, my bedroom project is nearly completion. Many of you know that I got my own room for the first time in my life this May, when my sister got married. (She was married in April, but didn't get back from the honeymoon and move her things out of the house until May, so I count from there.:) I've had loads of fun creating a haven of peace and productivity in my little room, and can't wait to show you what I've done with this little space. I haven't forgotten my promise to post pictures, but before I will do that, there's one last project to complete: my desk.

It's a set, really; one desk, and two matching wall shelves, made to be attached one above the other, on the wall above the desk. I designed the desk, and cut out almost all the wood on my own, and with some help from my brother, and loads of help from my Dad, I've slowly been assembling it since the summer. Now it is completely together and ready to be stained, painted, and given coats of polyurethane to give it a glass-like finish. I plan to work on that tomorrow.

My new room is small (about 8'x11'), and it's been a delightful challenge to me, to find ways of making it work. I've cut down on the amount of stuff I have (felt so good!), rearranged furniture, and done all sorts of things to make this room work. I can't wait to tell you all about it.

I've also been inspired to sew again, which always feels good. No matter how recent my last "spurt" of sewing has been, it always feels like ages ago. I've been smart this year, and begun working on summer clothes before July. My summer wardrobe has needed help for several years, but if I finish my projects in time, I think I'll actually have a pretty efficient wardrobe this summer. (Did you hear the word efficient? That's a whole 'nother blog post...) I'm excited to wear the stuff I've been creating, once the weather gets warmer.

My favorite way to get new clothes is to take old ones and reassemble them in an entirely different way. Here's a sneak preview at one project I'm planning...


And, to continue; I've been indulging in one of my favorite pastimes the last few days; kitchen time! I so delight in working with food, even though cooking from scratch can be very time-consuming. It really could be faster, but I just enjoy it so much, I don't rush the process. I bet that habit would change if I was a full-time wife and had to cook 3 meals a day, but I'll enjoy the leisure of choosing my kitchen days, for the present. :)

I have a recipe to share with you, but that just feels like too many random stuff in one post, so you're going to have to wait for my next post. Won't be too long a wait - really! It's a reeeeeally good recipe, if I may say so myself, so stick around!

Ways to tell I've been busy:

- When my laptop lid has to have dust blown and wiped off before I open it.

- When my email inbox has 75 unread messages.

- When I have to schedule time to get a shower.

- When I haven't written so much as a single letter in 7 days, anywhere; journal, email, snail mail, blog, story-writing. ....(well, does my check registry count as writing?)

- When I haven't sewn a stitch in an even longer amount of time.

So what have I been doing that has kept me so busy?

Putting life back together!

It's good timing, really. I was feeling a little sad, missing Heather since she's been married, and having other things to think about is nice. Hard work has a tendency to make me happy, and I certainly have felt worked when I've fallen into bed each night this week. My biggest project has been creating my own bedroom out of the little bedroom that my younger sisters used to share. They're now living in my and Heather's old room, and I'll be getting their bedroom. I spent about 2 days getting the room clean up and then painted, with the windows and floors also scrubbed. Then I have been spending the rest of the week creating my own little slice of peace.

It's a new thing, for me to have my own room. I hardly know what to think, in a way...and yet it seems very natural. I have always had an itch for interior design, and this is the first time I've had a project to do in that field. I'm letting my creative self go - and I'm taking lots of pictures to share! ....After I share wedding pictures, that is. ;) So much to catch y'all up on!!!!!

I'm hoping to get the room nearly done by Friday. It would be a nice gift. ....For my birthday.

Yup. On Friday I celebrate another year. God is so good to me!

I promised!

I told you I had "real" sewing post coming up soon, so here I am. :)

My sewing area has been in upheaval ever since my sister announced her engagement. I think that in February I spent an average of 30 hours a week sewing, cutting, pinning, and ironing. That's not quite a full-time job, but it felt like it. Many times I told myself "I'm so glad I love sewing!" Otherwise, the month could have felt much longer.

I'm still tackling wedding sewing projects, though I'm beginning to see the light at the end of the tunnel. I can't wait to take the time to organize and clean my sewing area! Right now it looks something like this:

Quite a mess, isn't it? Though, I admit, it has been worse. I didn't take a picture of my other table, to the left of this one. That one is piled high with projects that have been put on hold.

This week I was starting to get really tired of seeing those projects sit there and pile up, so I decided to forget about wedding sewing for a little bit and make some head-way on my other projects. It felt nice to sew something different....almost like a vacation. :)

I only took the time to make one shirt. It took me 4 hours, (not all at once; on two different days) and I'm happy with the result. I'd been designing this shirt in my mind for weeks (mostly while I was working on wedding stuff!), and it was great to actually make it. Maybe now I'll be patient enough to finish those last few wedding projects before I sew on my other stuff.

(Just a side note, lest any of you think I'm unhappy with all the wedding sewing; I'm honored that Heather is letting me do it! I'm happy. ...But even the best of us can get sick of doing something we love, so a break was nice. :)

I designed this shirt myself, but I "cheated" by starting out with the very shirt that inspired me; an old t-shirt in the most beauuuutiful shade of green:

Please pardon the wrinkles in the shirt, and the background mess. But you are free to admire the window frame behind my dress form; I sponge painted that myself. Doesn't it look nice?

Oh - and one more side note (I know, I'm awful at getting off the topic!): I think this is my first "finished" picture of my dress form. Last time I showed it, I hadn't made the white cotton cover, or the pincushion to go in the neck. I LOVE having a dress form - and my exact size, to boot! I named her Dorcas. :)

Anyway, back to my shirt.

I began by removing the sleeves with a seam ripper. (I think that's the only time I used it on this project; yay!) I wanted sleeves on my finished shirt, but only short "cap" type sleeves. The sleeve seams on the original shirt hung over my shoulders, so I decided to a kimo-seamless-style sleeve.

Then I created side seams, so I could shrink the shirt. I didn't want skin-tight, of course, but as-is it was rather baggy. It took a little playing around to get it right, but it turned out pretty close to perfect. (Sorry I don't have pictures of all this!)

That took care of everything except for the neck. I began with the idea of removing the (in my mind) un-feminine neck ribbing, but decided instead to cut it to half the width, and flip it under to give me some nice body to my neck line seam. (Is this making sense?)

After cutting it, however, I came up with the idea to serge the raw edge, and flip it out instead of in, to give me a little ruffle around the neck. I'm glad I did. It now looks like it was made that way!

Then came my favorite part, though it was the longest and most complicated in the end. I think it took about 2.5 hours.

Using one of the sleeves I had removed, a pencil, an empty spool of thread, and a pair of scissors, I traced 49 little circles on the fabric, and cut them out. Then I zig-zag stitched around their edges and began to connect them in clusters of 3, 5, and 2:

This was much harder than it sounds. My sewing machine wanted to keep "eating" these small circles while I was trying to zig-zag around the edges and sew them together. I wasted about 6 circles before I began to get the hang of it, and even then many of my "clusters" were far from perfect. In fact, I think only one turned out perfect.

Then came the fun part. I played around with arranging my "flowers" around the neckline of the shirt. When I had a look I liked, I tacked everything in place by hand.

Wala! A decorated T-shirt!

From This:

To This:

I wore it on Saturday, and love it. One thing I might do differently next time is make the sleeves an inch or two longer, but that's about it. All the petals held up well in the washing. When I first tacked them down they looked rather flattened, but a good washing make them all nice and curly again. My favorite part of the shirt is the color. It's vibrant and sunshine-y. It makes me feel happy!

Beans, Herbs, and Pea Pods

I'm back from the Homeschool Convention! ...Sore body and all. (I guess my tumble was harder than I thought - I had an extremely sore body over the weekend. :):) )

The convention was absolutely marvelous. I know I said before we left that I was hoping to meet some homeschool graduates - I didn't, but I met several very nice other people, and was blessed very much by the speakers I heard. And it was lovely to be able to just spend some time with my family.

There's something odd about me; I have a terrible time taking notes. Perhaps it's because, as a homeschooler, I didn't grow up listening to a teacher talk all day while I took notes, or perhaps it's just my personality, but when I hear someone speaking and know I'm supposed to take notes, I get overwhelmed. I want to write down everything they say. Then, of course, I can't even focus on what they're saying! It took me until I was well into my late teens before I got the hang of note-taking. But even now I don't usually take notes. I prefer to cram it in my head.

But at this convention, I took notes.

That's how good it was.

I hope to share my notes with you over the next few days. I'd like to share some tonight, but I also want to tell you what I did today, since that's freshest in my mind. (I have to organize my notes anyway.)

I canned green beans!

Four quarts, to be exact. All by my lonesome, too! Mom usually does the canning here, but she had something she had to do today and, as any gardener knows, beans don't wait for anyone.

So out I went, around 10:00, to sit in the bean patch and pick. I was thrilled by how heavily the beans have come on - in the two days we were gone, they went from pale purple blossoms to plump green beans. The picking was very easy. I was using a 5-quart ice cream bucket, and I filled it twice. Lezley had gone out and picked before me, and she filled a 4-quart bucket. I was very pleased with my little sister's determination and hard work!

Then I sat and snapped all those beans. Is there anything quite like the smell of fresh raw green beans, the fuzzy rough feeling of the beans snapping between your fingers, and the taste of beans in your mouth, to tell you that summer is on its way? Snapping beans always brings back so many memories for me. It's almost as good as looking through an old photo album.

Mom was out of the house, and as I snapped, a plan formed; what if I was to finish these beans before she got back? What if I was to can them all alone? The adventure attracted me...and so the challenge began. I poured over Mom's trusty Ball canning book as I finished the beans, and then headed out to the kitchen to try my hand at canning. I've watched Mom do it so many times....

I won't bore you with all the details, but I actually canned my first 4 quarts of beans! Mom got home before I had the jars in the canner, but she let me finish them. ..Except I had to run out, so she watched them while they cooked. And Dad helped me fix the canner just right before I started the jars in it, so I guess I didn't do everything. :) But it was still fun.

I also dehydrated my first herbs today. My basil plants have grown like crazy, and I picked a whole colander-full of sweet basil leaves. They filled the dehydrator to bursting. After supper, the leaves were dry and I started crumbling them into a glass jar. The pungent smell of basil hung in the air, and the leaves were sharp against my fingers.

You know what? Not only had the leaves shrunk as they dried, but they continued to decrease in volume as I crumbled them. By the time I was done, the green pile didn't even rise an entire inch above the bottom of the mason jar.

I stared at the little heap. So much work. So much fragrance. And my fingers condensed it all to this little pile. All the moisture removed; only the body of the leaves remain.

What an illustration, I thought to myself. How many people go through life piling up pleasant things, working hard for things they see as huge and important? And how much of what they pile will last through eternity? Will it crumble away? When their life is sifted through at the judgement seat, what will be left? A little pile? What will be left of my life? How much time do I spend on things that don't matter? What will be the size of my pile? When the moisture of worthless things has been dried away, what will be left?

That reminds me of something I heard at a gardening workshop at the convention. I'll leave you with this one thought from my notes:

"You plant seeds expecting to get more in return. If you planted peas and only got one or two pods back, you would be very upset. You expect a big yield; lots of peas! So why are you content with such small yield spiritually? Why is it okay to grow only a few spiritual pea pods on your plant? You would be upset if your garden plant did that poorly. Why aren't you upset about your lack of spiritual pods?"

I cannot answer this question to my own satisfaction.

Hope Chests

I'm part of a sewing forum, and I just got on it a little while ago to catch up on what's been happening there.

Lo and behold! Hope chests are the topic of the hour. I just wrote this post to add to the discussion there, and thought I'd share it here:

"...I really like hope chests. I think they are a wonderful idea - mainly because they teach a girl to think seriously about what her life will be like when she gets older. Preparing ahead of time is just good sense! I have the extra time to plan (and extra money to spend) NOW - why not make use of that fact?

My hope chest itself is very special to me. Reading through these posts reminds me that I'm one of a few girls who actually has a CHEST for her things. My Daddy likes to work with wood, and he made mine for me when I was about...16, I think.

It was supposed to be a Christmas or birthday present, but things happen, and I got it in the middle of the year. I didn't mind a bit. It's a lovely chest. It isn't made out of expensive wood - just pine - but I love it. I chose the color I wanted it to be stained, and Dad had me give him an idea of what style I wanted. I also selected the handles - the trip to the hardware store for them is a memory in and of itself.

The most special thing about the chest is that Daddy burned his name, the date, and a special message to me from him inside the chest, on the very bottom. Sometimes I'll take everything out (quite a job!) just so I can read that message.

I know everyone has different ideas of what should go in a hope chest, but my goal is to fill it with things I will actually USE in the future - and that includes sentimental things, since they have value to me. ...But most of the things in there I have bought or made myself for use in the home I believe God will give me someday.

Some folks say to select neutral things, since your tastes may change before you have a home of your own, so for a long time I was afraid to buy too much for my chest. I did make one queen-size quilt, which filled nearly a 1/4 of the chest.

This year, though, I've begun to realize that my tastes (in color, at least) haven't changed since I was 12 years old, so there's a pretty good chance I won't change before I marry. Now I feel free to buy and make those personalized things I've thought about for years.

I now have 2 quilts in my chest,...
...an afghan (it's huge! I love it. Memories of working on it for months...),
... some random serving dishes, all in blue and white (memories of shopping for it with my older sister!)...
...a hand-powered food processor (too cool!..it's in blue, of course.)...
... a quilt my mother made, which covered me for years, until it became to worn to use...
...a book that ladies in my life put together for me when I graduated, full of words of wisdom...
...my old journals...
...my high school diploma...
...a lovely teapot...
...a fall-themed tablecloth...
...a small stoneware baking sheet...
...and I don't remember what else. Just a few odds and ends, like a veggie peeler, and such.

Outside my hope chest - around the house, wherever I can find room to store them:
...Books...
...more books...
...three pizza stones (love these!)...
...a kitchen chopper (in use!)...
...a lovely little blue-and-white teacup from my sister (again, in use!)...
...photos...
...a bookshelf my brother made, to match my hope chest (this is really special)...
...and, my most recent addition: a high-quality set of stainless steel pots and pans. (The story for how I got these is AMAZING!)

Also, I have a few projects sitting in my sewing area, waiting to be finished:
...another quilt...
...12 cloth napkins...
...fabric for a table runner, or anything else I decide to make...
...and who knows what else...

Now...if only I had picked up those great deals over the years, I'd be filled to the bursting point! I still keep thinking of that GORGEOUS huge white tablecloth I could have gotten on sale...if only I hadn't listened to that voice that said "your tastes might change later." Ah, well...memories! The stuff life is made of. "


So... what about you ladies here? What do you think of hope chests? Do you have one? What is in it? Do you want one? What would you put in it?

A Spider's Web

Right now, I just feel like writing a rambling post, following the thoughts of my head, which are quite ramble-ish right now.

Today is my younger sister's birthday. Tiffany and I are very close, and I'm glad she's had a wonderful day so far. It's fun to see her so happy. I love you, Tiffy!

I have an afghan-in-progress sitting on my lap as I type. I was working on while I browsed some of the blogs I read. It's my newest project, started just today. It's made with blue and green cotton yarn, ever so soft and supple. The pattern is one I've created myself, and it looks like ocean waves.

Sometimes I think I'm crazy, starting so many projects at once, but this is a gift for someone, so I "must" make it.

...Besides, starting a new project is fun!!! :)

Oh - exciting news! THE PEAS AND BEETS SEEDLINGS ARE UP! I found them yesterday afternoon as I browsed through the garden with a friend. I was very surprised to see them, since I planted them only about a week and a half ago, but I soaked the seeds in water for several hours before planting, and that is supposed to shorten the germination time.

It's so wonderful to look around at the fading leaves and brown plants in the yard, then look down at the tiny slivers of green poking their new heads through the soil in our garden. This is our first year planting fall crops, and I love it. It's like a second spring.

Speaking of brown and green... the world is so beautiful since receiving that gigantic rain shower six days ago.

...I'm curious; how many of you were praying for us to receive rain? I posted on here once before, asking for your prayers for rain (this was back in June, I think), and right after that we got several weeks of rain. Then, a few days before we left on vacation this month, I asked y'all to pray for rain, and again the Lord answered!

So, how many of you were praying? Will you leave me a comment and let me know? Isn't our God wonderful? His ways are marvelous.

I have another prayer request; this one even more serious. A few minutes ago, I received an email containing this message:

...This is a time of mourning in India. The situation is critical in India in the state Orissa, the neighboring state of Andhra Pradesh and around 30 km from the place where we are having a Children Home in Paderu. Right now there are tensions in the villages and many districts. Hindu mobs of around 700-800 are attacking villages where the Christians are during the nights and burning the whole villages. The unofficial report from the Christians is that at least 950 Christians are missing and around 50 churches are burned along with whole villages where the Christians live are burnt. We are planning to go and visit some of the villages to assess the situation in one week time. But in the mean time we urge every brother and sister in Christ to pray for the Christians who have lost their homes and in fact everything. We do not know the intensity of the need but one thing we know is that there is immense need for food provisions and need to build homes, churches. Please do pray for the need. I also request you kindly send this update to friends for their prayers...

I have a special place in my heart for the country of India, and this report makes my heart ache. I know God is still on the throne, as has not forgotten how to be merciful, but who can say if He has chosen to use persecution to further His church? He has done it in China. This may be what the church there needs.

Or it may be the devil roaring like a lion as he hunts down those he hates. How are we to know?

All I know is that I instantly want to cry out to God "please stop these people!" I am glad to know that He is in control, and that He sees everything that is happening. I am glad to read the Psalms, where David constantly affirms that God's eye is over the righteous, and He will lift them up and set them on the solid rock, though their enemies surround them.

Please, God, do it again!

Looky! A Picture!

Yes, I finally have at least one picture to share, of the wood project I keep talking about.

I call it a "movable kitchen island," for lack of a better name. It was originally a birthday gift for Mom, and I guess it still is, but it's over a month late. Oops! We started it in late May, and had no idea what a big bite of work we were taking. I've wondered many times since then "whatever made me think we could make this?"

The above picture was taken several weeks ago, and we've made a lot of visible progress since then. Honestly, this doesn't look like much if you don't know about all the work that went into it, but what we have now looks much better.

I'm so proud of the job my brother, Curtis, did on this project. I designed it, and he was the one who showed me how we would go about building it. I had only planned aesthetics; he made the skeleton. He also did much - make that most - of the work in putting all the wood together. I only held pieces of wood in place, handed him the drill, picked up after us, kept him company, encouraged him to keep going when we felt defeated, picked up dropped nails, made suggestions about altering the design, and amused him by stripping a screw.

I wish I could have been more of a help, but stripped screws and boards that are too short really hinder progress on a wood project. I know when to keep my hands off. Curtis was gracious enough to say that my encouragement was, to a large degree, responsible for him finishing the project, but to make things more even, I said I would do all the sanding and staining; I know how to do that!

I guess you can tell by the picture that we're working with cheaper wood than you're really supposed to. My budget forces us to be frugal. It's actually pretty fun to be creative, and find ways to use every scrap of wood. Curtis was able to save us enormous amounts of money, with his knowledge of how to have as little wasted wood as possible left over.

...So, anyway, this is "the project" that has been using up a great deal of my time lately. There's still much to be done, but it's a labor of love, and I don't mind at all.

I look forward to sharing pictures of the finished work!

And so, the marathon begins...

Dad has a week off from work.

Of course, "off from work" is completely relative. In this case, it means the place where he works won't be seeing him for the said amount of time, but we will. That's about as off as you can get, right?

Actually, the challenge for this week is to redo the kitchen ceiling. And finish staining our back deck. And clean off the moss that has grown on our roof.

That's just Dad's list. Mom is working hard to finish painting around all our windows, outside. She enlisted my help today to repair the glaze around the glass panes.

Besides helping Mom and Dad, my own list of goals for this week include completing at least one sewing project (which I need by Friday!), teaching a sewing lesson tomorrow, and finishing the wood project that my brother Curtis and I have been working on since the beginning of June. It's a piece of kitchen furniture, originally planned as a surprise for Mom, but since her birthday was the second day in July...

...We've told her about it.

I'd really like to have it finished in time for it to take its place in the new kitchen.

We've taken lots of great pictures this week and last. But I haven't had time to load them onto the computer. Can you use your imagination to picture our house right now?

The kitchen has no ceiling. From that room, voices, and poundings, and crashes, and occasional "slams" testify to the fact that the last bits of drywall are finding the floor. A fine chalky dust covers everything in the kitchen.

The living room is packed to the bursting point with everything that was in the kitchen. Our chairs are outside on the deck, but all the small appliances and tables are squeezed into the living room. Everything that was on the kitchen counters is now covering every bit of available seating area in the living room, except for two chairs. As for floor space...you can make it from the front door to the kitchen, if you can fit through a 2-foot walk space.

This morning I had to do laundry so I would have some work clothes to wear; it seems I've been wearing nothing else for four or five days. Everyone is in dirty denim or cotton clothing...except for my older sister, who I think would look and smell clean in the middle of a tar pit. :)

My little siblings' bare feet were splotched with red stain, last time I saw them, but right now they're all wearing work shoes that are covered with gray dust.Work clothes are the wardrobe of the week. I'm reminded of that verse in Nehemiah; "so neither I, nor my brethren, nor my servants, nor the men of the guard which followed me me, none of us put off our clothes, saving that everyone put them off for washing." *grin* Can't you picture the dirty crew?

The slow cooker is cooking away merrily in a bedroom, making our supper. Lunch was quite...interesting. Thankfully the outdoors is lovely right now; sunny, about 60*, with a slight breeze. If only it would rain! Our grass is dead. But God knows best. I guess we really don't need mud on top of drywall dust. I'm thankful for the balmy weather.

I've been thinking that lately I've been using my hands for fruit in ways that's aren't normally pictured as very "feminine." Tossing trash into dumpsters, sanding wood projects, handling screw drivers and saws, climbing ladders, and such have been parts of my life in the past week. And I don't mind. Hard work is fun. I'm still a girl. I'm not really very tomboyish; I've also found time to bake four loaves of bread, clean my bedroom, and work on a sewing project. But I like to be able to do all sorts of things. I've always been a Daddy's girl; I like to help him with projects. And I'm glad he lets me.

So, this week should be pretty fun.

...And dirty. :)

Everything

I have a nice little disease affecting me lately. It's called postphobia.

The symptoms are: lack of good posts, pictures, and updates.

The causes are numerous, including but not limited to: busy schedules, stress, no access to computers that can upload pictures (agh!), and little time for computer.

This blog has been on my mind a lot lately. I am concerned that the focus here continues to be honoring the Lord with the work of our hands. In my own life, I am thinking about that very thing quite a bit lately. I want to be so careful, that the goal of everything I do is to further His kingdom and bring Him glory. I don't just want to write about food, plants, fabric, and people. I want to write about Him. More specifically, I want to learn how physical things that I do and create can be used by Him and for Him. Of course, that topic takes in many things, including food, plants, fabric, and people. :)

Just so y'all know......I have been wanting to say this for awhile....Clarification: YES, I DO MORE THAN JUST SPEND TIME IN THE KITCHEN. I realize that many of my recent posts have been about kitchen things, and that is purely coincidental. I honestly do have a balanced life; it just so happens that kitchen things have been what I've been in the mood to write about. I apologize to those of you who want to hear about other things once in awhile. I have about half a dozen posts circling in my head; all about sewing, quilting, painting, instrument playing, singing, woodworking (honestly), gardening.....ahhhhh! I have to stop. It's so frustrating to not be able to type everything in one post. :)

Hey - wait. Can I just give a one-or-two sentence update on each subject? Would that be crazy?

~ Sewing: Okay, too broad a topic for the moment.

~ Quilting: Nope, can't talk about this one until I upload the pictures.

~ Painting: We've been painting the outside of our house this week. Sigh. I have pictures for that too, but....you've guessed it! They're not uploaded.

~ Instrument playing: I've been inspired by Sarah to get out my fiddle again. I haven't touched it since getting my mandolin. Thanks, Sarah!

~ Singing: We had some lovely fun with another family this morning. A friend of ours offered to give our two families singing lessons. Between our two families, we have 12 children - quite a choir!

~ Woodworking: Pictures for this are also sitting on the camera, waiting to be uploaded.

~Gardening: My squash plants have officially died. I know; it's sad, isn't it? I have missed the squash so much this year. I still can't believe they didn't flourish; we usually have squash coming out our ears.

But our cucumbers produced well....which brings me to my next topic: the Relish Story.

Okay, so it's not that big of a deal, but I promised to share some pictures of the relish-making, and here they are:

I started with this little heap of shiny green cucumbers (or, as my little sisters say "raw pickles.")
Not a ton, but enough.

Here's a picture of my work station. I had this side of the table. In the top left corner, you can see a bit of corn cob. My mother and three youngest siblings were freezing corn while I was making relish. What a busy, noisy, happy kitchen!

Also, take a good look that that neat little gadget in the bottom right-hand corner. It's called a Bononzi chopper; Mom gave it to me as a gift last year, and it's so fascinating. This is what it makes:

Isn't it beauuuutiful, the way all the pieces are the same size? They weren't quite small enough to make real relish - it was more like tiny pickles - but it still tastes good.

This is cooking the mixture....

...And, can you believe it? I didn't get a picture of the end product! I did, however, learn one thing. Do not use wooden spoons to stir pickle brine. The acid in the vinegar will turn the wood a bright yellow. (See above photo for a comparison between a yellow spoon, and one that was not used for pickles.)

But then, what would a time in the kitchen be, without learning something?

I can't think of a good life-lesson to draw from relish-making, but I know I've personally been learning a lot lately about redeeming my time, and getting a lot done in one day. Relish was a part of that.

...So....

What have y'all been doing lately? Please forgive me for a rather crazy, hectic post, and tell me how life is out your way. I love hearing from each one of you SO much. It makes my day to get a comment. And I'm sure that what you have to say would be more interesting than yellow spoons! *grin*

Thinking about...

"The Fruit of Her Hands."

The Bible sure talks about hands quite often. 1,571 times, to be exact.

You may blessed because of your hands: "...that the LORD thy God may bless thee in all the work of thine HANDS." (Deut.24:19)

You may "provoke him to anger through the work of your HANDS." (Deut. 31:29)

Or we can be encouraged; "Be ye strong therefore, and let not your HANDS be weak: for your work shall be rewarded." (2 Chronicles 15:7)

Nehemiah prayed; "Now therefore, O God, strengthen my HANDS." (Nehemiah 6:9)

And we know He can do that, for Job prayed; "Behold, thou hast instructed many, and thou hast strengthened the weak HANDS." (Job 4:3)

When considering this earth, we are taught that God is the Creator; "Of old hast thou laid the foundation of the earth: and the heavens are the work of thy HANDS."

Then, of course, we are taught what to do with our hands;

~ "For thou shalt eat the labour of thine HANDS: happy shalt thou be, and it shall be well with thee." (Ps. 128:2)

~ "Lift up your HANDS in the sanctuary, and bless the LORD. (Ps. 134:2)

~ "A man shall be satisfied with good by the fruit of his mouth: and the recompence of a man's HANDS shall be rendered unto him." (Prov. 12:14)

~ "Every wise woman buildeth her house: but the foolish plucketh it down with her HANDS." (Prov. 14:1)

~ "The desire of the slothful killeth him; for his HANDS refuse to labour." (Prov. 21:25)

~ "Yet a little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the HANDS to sleep: So shall thy poverty come as one that travelleth; and thy want as an armed man." (Prov. 24:33-34)

~ "By much slothfulness the building decayeth; and through idleness of the HANDS the house droppeth through. (Ecclesiastes 10:18)

~ "Let us lift up our heart with our HANDS unto God in the heavens." (Lamentations 3:41)

~ "And labour, working with our own HANDS: being reviled, we bless; being persecuted, we suffer it:" (1 Cor. 4:12)

~ "Let him that stole steal no more: but rather let him labour, working with his HANDS the thing which is good, that he may have to give to him that needeth." (Eph. 4:28)

~ "And that ye study to be quiet, and to do your own business, and to work with your own HANDS, as we commanded you;" (I Thess. 4:11)

~ "I will therefore that men pray every where, lifting up holy HANDS, without wrath and doubting." (I Tim. 2:8)

~ "Lay HANDS suddenly on no man, neither be partaker of other men's sins: keep thyself pure." (I Tim. 5:22)

~"It is a fearful thing to fall into the HANDS of the living God." (Heb. 10:31)

~ "Wherefore lift up the HANDS which hang down, and the feeble knees;" (Heb. 12:12)

~ "Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your HANDS, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded. "(James 4:8)

~ "Withhold not good from them to whom it is due, when it is in the power of thine HAND to do it." (Prov. 3:27)

~ "The HAND of the diligent shall bear rule: but the slothful shall be under tribute." (Prov. 12:24)

~"If thou hast done foolishly in lifting up thyself, or if thou hast thought evil, lay thine HAND upon thy mouth." (Prov. 30:32)

~ "Whatsoever thy HAND findeth to do, do it with thy might;" (Eccl. 9:10)

And how can we forget the classic HANDS chapter?

PROVERBS 31

13 She seeketh wool, and flax, and worketh willingly with her HANDS.
16 She considereth a field, and buyeth it: with the fruit of her HANDS she planteth a vineyard.
19 She layeth her HANDS to the spindle, and her HANDS hold the distaff.
20 She stretcheth out her HAND to the poor; yea, she reacheth forth her HANDS to the needy. 31 Give her of the fruit of her HANDS; and let her own works praise her in the gates.


Lately, I have been noticing how often I read the word "hands" or the phrase "fruit of" (more on that later, Lord willing!). It's a study all on its own.

We ought to pray every day that the Lord would work through our hands. Nearly every skill we have comes through our hands. Let us use them well!



Oh yes - Guess what I've been using my hands for lately?

Another quilt...and other things

Here is another picture from the quilt show. I liked the color combinations on this, and the fact that is was patriotic. If I remember correctly, the quilt is all machine-made, and was designed by the quilter who made it.

...But, in all truth, I'm really not interested in quilts this morning. I have other things on my mind.

Sometimes, though I love to work with my hands, I look around at the people I know, and the world I see, and the problems that are there just overwhelm me. I think to myself that cooking, sewing, and cleaning are just wastes of time. They don't seem to solve the bigger problems.

And, by themselves, they don't solve any problems. I know that. So why bother? Why even blog about various skills of womanhood?

Because they are a means to an end.

Like I said a few posts ago, talents and skills are made to be used for the kingdom of God. They open doors for me.

They also help my personal walk with the Lord. No kidding. Do you remember the creation account, and then how Adam and Eve sinned, and then were cursed? Do you remember how God says to Adam that the ground will be cursed "for thy sake"? That's very interesting.

"For thy sake."

With sin came many things; thorns and thistles, and fightings and depression. That last thing is something I've struggled with personally. I only found out recently that depression is common amongst all people. 'Specially American women.

I've heard a preacher say that depression is caused 99% of the time by sin. Great. That was the last thing I wanted to hear. I was discouraged and depressed because of how often I sin and fail, and I wanted to do better. Telling me that I was depressed because I was sinful didn't seem to help any.

If there's some area where I'm not obeying the Lord, then I need to get it right, and sometimes that is what I need to brighten and encourage my life.

But other times, I'm just in the dumps, and I can't get a grip on myself. That's when skills help. That's when work helps.

Through trial and error, I have found that a great deal of movie-watching or novel reading causes me to give in to depression, and work helps me fight it. Work and music.

Work is God's cure.

Brain work doesn't work very well. Often, if I'm "in the dumps" I simply can't concentrate. But working up a sweat in the garden? Scrubbing the kitchen 'til it shines? Hanging laundry outdoors? Biking miles until I'm panting? Walking for miles in the quiet outdoors? Ahh. Now that works wonders.

Maybe depression is becoming rampant in America because we've got so many machines to take over our work for us.

Maybe God knew what He was doing when He cursed the ground for our sakes.

Of course He did.

Use it!

It's 11:30 on a Monday morning.

So far today, I've:
~ had a quiet time with my Lord,
~made myself presentable,
~washed a huge pile of dishes,
~cleaned the rest of the kitchen,
~washed and hung almost all my laundry,
~checked my email,
~done a little work on book marketing,
~and done one other blog post besides this one.

I've been thinking a lot lately about getting things done. I'm hardly the best time manager in the world. Sometimes I worry, when I hear folks say that a woman, 'specially a wife and mother, is naturally wonderful at multi-tasking. I wonder how I missed out on being born with this important trait.


But the fact remains that I must get it, if I want life to be manageable, so I guess I must learn the hard way!

I've also been considering in my mind the different jobs of a woman. At first glance, the Proverbs 31 woman is all about outward, hands-on tasks, but there's more to a godly woman that that. I know it. I see it in every godly woman I meet.

We are called to help win the world to Christ, not just see that people's backs are clothed and their stomachs are filled. What a menial life that would be!

From the very time that I was born, the Lord put me in a environment rich in information. Nearly every adult I know has been willing to teach me something, from planting a garden, to playing music, to peeling an apple, to reading a book, to sewing a dress. He also blessed me with a mind that wants to find out as much as I can. With those two blessings combined, is it any wonder I've grown up knowing how to do many different things?

That's what people call talent, I guess. Knowing how to do things.

But what is talent by itself? Tell me how to use it!

So what if I can write? Tell me how to write a book that glorifies God!

So what if I can sew? Tell me how to use that to open doors for witnessing!

So what if I can bake (sometimes successfully!)? Tell me how to use that to minister to others!

So what if I can teach? Or play fiddle? Or sing? Or grow plants? Or clean a room? Or care for children? Or speak another language? Teach me how to USE it!


Sisters in Christ, let's stop thinking of skills as an end in and of themselves. We are called to something so much higher. Stop pursing things that have no value. When you must choose what skills you are going to pursue in life, let the determining factor be "how useful will this be to the kingdom of God?"

If the world thinks of Christian women as humans with "half their brains tied behind their back," it's our fault. Let's be creative! Put to use what we've got. Use it for the kingdom of God!

Business.....

Today my thoughts keep drifting to the many times handiwork is mentioned in Proverbs 31. This woman is so ambitious!

She spins wool and flax, then sells it, so she can buy a field, to plant a vineyard (vs. 13&16). She sells her linen that she weaves, belts, and maybe other merchandise, to the merchants (vs.24). She sews beautiful clothes for her family (vs.21). She sews her own clothes (vs. 22).

The thing I keep thinking about the most is how she uses her skill in a business-type way. She must be good at sewing and weaving to be selling her products! It does say in verse 18 that her merchandise is good.

When I graduated from high school, I had just finished my first quilt, and it had been love at first stitch. I knew I wanted to make dozens and dozens of quilts. At the time I graduated, my plan was to start a quilt shop of sorts - selling quilts from my home.

But after starting my next quilt, I ran into a problem: I couldn't sell it! I couldn't even put it up for sale. I couldn't bring myself to think about selling something that I had poured so much of my time and thoughts into.

For a time I was devastated. All my plans for being an entrepreneur seemed to have fallen apart! But God used my mother to make a beautiful, wise suggestion:

"Why not teach sewing?"

So now I have the privilege and fun of watching others be thrilled by making their own quilts. I see them have the same love and pride in their work as I have in mine. I can't believe I once wanted to sell quilts rather than teach quilting!

God has a plan for each woman, and no two plans are alike. I am slowly learning that.

You know something else that strikes me about all these handiwork verses in Prov.31? The virtuous woman does all of these things for her home. She isn't interested in becoming some big, important business manager that sits in an office 8 hours a day, and whose house is more like a hotel and restaurant than a home. She must get some fun out of using the skills that God has given her, but her motive isn't herself. She's not out on her own. It's all about her family, and it's all about the God who gave her that family.