Adventures In Country Living: Homemade Soap

I decided to make soap. From scratch. And it sounded like a really good idea. A fun, simple activity that shouldn't be too hard to screw up. I watched a video on making soap that seemed easy enough. After watching it a few more times, I was confident. If they could do it, I could do it. Simple as that, right?

The first thing I had to do was order the lye from a soap making company. It came in really intimidating containers with hazard warnings all over it. I knew it was caustic which meant it would burn if I got it on my skin. Not intimidating in the slightest *cough*. Insert cheesy Christmas apron and bright blue rubber gloves. I was certain I could handle this without a trip to the ER.

So once I got all the rest of my various oils, fragrances, and other necessities like molds, spoons, pot, etc., I was ready to go. I timed my soap making adventure to take place during the kids' naps so no harm would befall them, and once they were snoozing away, I set up all the supplies outside so I wouldn't breathe the fumes.

I was ready to go.

All my ingredients were carefully weighed (not measured) and all that was left to do was snap on my rubber gloves and face the dreaded container of lye. After a mini pep talk and a few heart palpitations, I opened the lid and poured it into the bowl. Add the lye to the water only, not the other way around. I kept repeating this to myself as I went through the motions. Immediately, as expected, the pot steamed as the lye heated up the water in a cloud of funky smelling solution. And of course I think I got some on my rubber gloves.

Why is it that once you get in a position where you can't touch anything, every surface on your body starts itching? I sort of wiggled and tried to psych myself out of the crazies as I stirred the mixture, thankful for my rubber gloves. I don't know if it actually happened or if it was just a result of being over neurotic, but I was certain that a drop of lye got on my skin. In a moment of sheer panic, I poured white vinegar on it (as the video instructed) and hurried inside to rinse it all off. My husband, who was sort of poking around, seemed slightly worried for my health and sanity. Once I assured him that I was a highly trained professional and the incident required no medical attention, he seemed only more worried. He may have hovered after this point.

Back outside, I added the rest of the ingredients, coconut and olive oil, to name a few. This is a good point to mention that the video highly recommended using an immersion blender. Well I didn't have an immersion blender and thinking that I would just do it the "old fashioned way", figured it wouldn't really matter. If our ancestors could do it without an immersion blender, so could I. Stirring with a wooden spoon would just take longer. That's OK, I thought, I've got plenty of time.

Fast forward an hour and a half. I'm still standing there with my stupid snowman apron, stupid blue gloves and stupid wooden spoon...waiting for the famous "tracing" to occur--the point when the mixture has thickened properly. It was here that I learned that talking to a pot of soap and begging it to trace will not actually make it happen. Eventually my soap sort of traced (shhh, don't tell) and I decided to call it good enough. I dumped in pumpkin pie spice, yummy fall fragrances and some oats for exfoliation, stirred it together, and poured the mixture into my well-greased mold to set. After that, I cut it and left it to cure for several weeks.

Of course since tracing didn't actually occur, my mixture was still quite warm and down the road, when we used the first bar, I realized the oats had sort of cooked. Lovely. Just the effect I was going for. So now, I have a lifetimes supply of apple and oatmeal scented soap that is rather homely. But honestly, it works quite well. So if you know me, don't be surprised when you get a bar at Christmas. And when you discover my mushy oat mistake, please just smile and pretend like you didn't read this.

Don't Be A Stagnant Writer: 5 Helpful Tips

Write with purpose and be flexible. It's important to have a game plan in mind. There's much to be said for well thought out character outlines and scene summaries. I have plenty of them on hand. But sometimes its just plain OK to hit the keyboard with reckless abandon, with no destination in sight. Crank up the radio and channel the inspiration that fell in your lap earlier in the day. Have fun with it. Be crazy. Don't edit. I've written some of my best scenes this way and talk about an adrenaline rush. In a nerdy, writer, sort of way ;)

Play with different genres. I know writers hear all the time to "pick a genre and stick to it." Wise advice, to be certain when building a platform and readership, but when it comes to just you, your writing space and imagination, feel free--better yet--take the liberty to play around with different story ideas, time periods and locations. I mostly write historical fiction. Petticoats, wagons and butter churns pretty much make up my world, so to keep from losing my mind, I allow myself to play with crazy plots as they hit me. Recently I put down two chapters of a contemporary suspense-kidnapping-romance. Might not jive with the whole Appalachian brand thing, but it sure was fun and it helped stretch my writing muscles and was a ton of fun to hash out. And one never knows...wait do I smell a future Christy Award? Kidding!

Get critiqued. And I don't mean by anybody. Your mom, aunt or grandma do not count. Because one of those ladies just might think that Daisy Lou Starlight is a great name for your heroine. *hand to forehead*

Get critiqued by someone (better yet several someones) who knows the ins, outs, ups and downs of good writing. Yep, it'll sting. I sort of think it's supposed to. Kind of like a really tough workout. You might not feel so great while your in the middle of that seventh treadmill mile, but your body will thank you for it later. So will your book...and your agent and your editor. And mind you, not all critique groups (or critique partners) are created equal. I've had my moments of tears. But those moments were few and far between. Equipped with a little discernment and a learners heart (read that last part five times), you will find your writing and storytelling grow in ways you never thought possible.

Learn from what you read. Didn't like that last beach flick? Thought that mystery was some of the greatest writing ever? Don't just put the book aside with a satisfied sigh (or fling it at the wall). Let it marinate. Shoot, take notes if you want to. I typically analyze everything I read and when a line stands out at me as being totally amazing, I take a moment to figure out why and how. What makes it so special? What's the writer doing here. It's not just luck...it's a craft. And if a story line isn't doing it for you, study the characters--is something about them bugging you? Is the plot just going nowhere? Too many pet phrases? Take note for your own writing on what to avoid and what to embrace.

To take things one step further, if a book has a strong impact on me--whether good or bad--I sometimes look it up on amazon and read some reviews. This helps me gain a little outside perspective. Maybe readers agree with me, maybe not. But it's helpful to know what others think. What makes them tick. Could very well be the same readers that rate your novel one day. So their opinions carry a good bit of weight.

Learn from the pros. Last but definitely not least. I've chatted recently with other writers about my journey toward publication (which might I add is getting REALLY close! But that's a whole 'nother post) Anywho, the best advice I can usually give is to READ BLOGS. Yes, read blogs by the pros. Agents. Editors. Authors. You name it, if its good, read it, study it and see how you can apply it to your own writing and career. Think of it as a free creative writing and marketing education. I can't tell you how many times in the past I read blog posts or articles on how to write the perfect pitch. Then how to write the perfect query. Proposal. And so on and so on. There is a wealth of information on the web (and in many fabulous books). Take advantage of it. Learn. Learn. Learn.

I'd love to hear what advice and tips you all have to keep from being a stagnant writer!

Summer Garden Goodness

Just for fun, I thought I'd share some pictures from this years garden.

 


Hollyhocks growing along the deck.

Our wedding arbor over the garden gate adds cheer and a snug place for flowers to grow.

Rhubarb needing plenty of elbow room. One of my favorite things to grow. Diced rhubarb, cooked down with sugar. It makes a fabulous pie and cobbler filling or topper for pankaces!

 

First tomatos of the season :) We've already made salsa from a huge batch of tomatos that were given to us. I like mine with one jalapeno per batch. My mama likes three. I made sure to remember which container was hers :D

Sunflowers right after the rain.
















Yarrow and mint
drying in the kitchen

Adventures in Country Living: Butter

I know that's a picture of pie, but my jar of butter didn't turn out to be so photogenic so the pie took center stage. But there will be pie in this post. Buttermilk pie...allow me to elaborate.

There is a handy blog out there by the "West Ladies" that I enjoy perusing for homesteading ideas and tips. They've also put together a wonderful collection of DVD's for everything from The Art of Soapmaking to The Art of Canning and I've been wanting to make their recipe for "Grandma's Buttermilk Pie" which not only calls for a cup of buttermilk, but also offers a super simple method for making butter. Yum! So here we go....

Butter Recipe
3 cups heavy cream at room temp
1 quart Jar
Willing shakers

Pour cream into jar. Shake.
Easy as (buttermilk) pie!

I used a quart size canning jar but you could use any large jar that has a tightly sealing lid. The kids were eager to help and when my husband (aka the worlds best cream shaker) saw what we were doing, he jumped in to try it. But the jar got really full, making it difficult to shake. We realized that the cream was just thickening and expanding into a runny version of coolwhip Something wasn't right. It was then that I remembered the one important rule--the cream needs to be at room temp. Oops. The recipe has ONE ingredient and I still managed to screw it up! Our jar was cool to the touch but after running it under some warm water for a few seconds, the fat instantly separated from the liquid and we suddenly had a large mound of butter!

I think the heavens might have parted at that moment, but maybe that was just me overly excited.

But then my husband (let's just call him Noah from here on out) got a call. Our neighbor down the street needed help beheading a turkey. Talk about random--and a little gruesome--my apologies. It was actually pretty ironic. I wondered how many wives and husbands didn't have that conversation this week. "As much fun as I'm having churning butter little lady, duty calls."

So turkey-killer and I parted ways and I set to work draining off the buttermilk. After reading that too much liquid left in the butter can ruin it, I was nervous about not being able to get it all out and probably only got a B+ so next time I will strain it really well through cheesecloth. But for now, we were thrilled. Especially my husband. We stood in our kitchen after the kids went to bed, spreading homemade butter on last nights biscuits, dolloped with spoonfulls of some pie filling I had made the week before--rhubarb, strawberries and butter never tasted so good! We leaned against the kitchen sink, devouring our late night snack as he filled me in on the details of his--er--own adventure across the street. When he finished, I told him I was going to do some canning with Mrs. Turkey-killer after church (hi Robyn :])

He started laughing and said, "We're such rednecks."

I think something about me being barefoot and pregnant in the kitchen rounded out the moment :D
Happy Homesteading.

P.S. Buttermilk Pie...two thumbs up! Please don't make fun of my crust, I worked very hard, haha. And I used an AMAZING recipe by Ina Garten from the food network.
Also, visit Homestead-blessings.com for the recipes and much more.

Five Must-Have Writer’s Tools

Guest blog post by author Beverly Nault

I took a poll of authors I know, and asked them “What resources do you keep at your fingertips?” Here are the top five.


1. Chicago Manual of Style, Fifteenth Edition – considered the go-to twelve-pounder on all things punctuation, this is the editing tool that will make you look and feel like a pro. Excellent for building upper body strength and solving every question about commas, split infinitives and when to use a semicolon. All right, it’s only three pounds, but worth its weight in royalties. Wait, did I punc that right? Lift and curl.

2. Revision & Self-Editing by James Scott Bell. Alongside his Plot & Structure, these twins from the Writer’s Digest Write Great Fiction series are not only fun and easy to read of themselves, their advice and techniques have transformed many a dull, hard-to-follow manuscript into blockbusters.

3. Flip Dictionary by Barbara Ann Kipfer. Subtitled, “For when you know what you want to say but can’t think of the word,” this gem is a cross between a thesaurus and an antonym/synonym dictionary. The Flip suggests alternates for boring words or clichés. The author also includes terrific lists like, “Horse Related Terms” and “Currencies of the World.”

4. Better than Great by Arthur Plotnik. I just got my copy, but I’d heard so much about this new guide from the great Plotnik I pre-ordered, and now I’m studying it from cover to cover. He’s not only compiled superlatives that are fun to read, he teaches how to combine phrases and expressions in new ways to go beyond merely awesome. Jaw-breakingly amazing (p 57).

5. www.thebookshelfmuse.blogspot.com/ Angela Ackerman and Becky Puglisi’s site discusses topics such as “how to describe a tornado” and “character and emotional traits” in their fantastic thesaural lists. You can click through for inspiration and creative ways to describe colors, weather, nature, people. I’m hoping they’ll compile it into book format soon.

Bonus Material! Before you go, here’s a site I’m learning to use myself:

6. www.behindthename.com, a clever site to find the perfect character name.

What are you dog-earing or clicking on to support your writing? We’d love to hear from you. Thanks to the authors and editors of Lamp Post Publications www.lamppostpubs.com for the assist! @lamppostpubs and @bevnault

When Characters Get Distracted

I recently razzed my friend while critiquing her manuscript. During a crucial "the sky is falling" kind of scene, her heroine had a thought that was completely off topic from the urgency at hand. I made a joke in the comment section, "Don't let her get distracted."

About a week or so later, I was editing a manuscript of mine that I hadn't touched in a few months (fresh eyes are always good, right?) As I was working my way through it, dusting away cobwebs, I kept finding instances where I let my characters get distracted. It's such an easy mistake to make. As writers, we are often focused on describing a setting in such detail, we forget that in some instances...no one really cares! Sometimes it just doesn't match the emotion of the scene.

I was editing my way through a crucial--heart wrenching--life altering--world shattering moment, when suddenly, my protagonist noticed a bucket of water in the corner and the line said, "He watched it, suddenly curious why he hadn't noticed it before."

WHAT?! Is he seriously thinking about how he never noticed the dumb bucket right now? I wanted to smack him. Here, O observant one, have a boy scouts badge. I couldn't believe I kept letting my characters get distracted. There I sat, tears forming in my eyes, and the moron was staring into space. Fabulous.

But I had to admit, it wasn't his fault. I'm the one who gave him the thought. Poor guy, I felt bad for being hard on him.

It's never intentional. We don't mean to have our characters throw themselves out of the scene. It's not like they get a text come in or something and say "hold on. I need to answer this." Really, it's just author error. We think we are setting the stage or offering up an interesting piece of information, but unless it pushes the story forward or offers the reader an interesting morsel to ponder, it's just taking up valuable real estate.

In a sense, its almost like a POV (point of view) violation. Of course its not technically head hopping, but is the character seeing that bucket in his moment of deep despair, or is the author jumping up and down, waving her arms, pointing at the stupid bucket and shouting, "Look, reader. I'm so clever! Do you like my carefully placed bucket? Isn't it interesting?!"

Oh, dear. We've got an author on the loose who doesn't know how to keep her thoughts to herself.

Its called author intrusion and it's VERY easy to do. We love to think our characters are beautiful, or handsome or really smart when truthfully, it can only come across if it's seen through the POV character's eyes. It has to be natural. It has to be organic. Otherwise the reader will notice. They're very bright people.


If you're in the villains head, he probably wouldn't be noticing that the wildflowers are in bloom or the softness of the breeze through his dark, greasy hair. He wouldn't think his laugh was sinister. He wouldn't think his thoughts were evil. And he certainly wouldn't think your Hero is debonair. Yikes. Major author intrusion ;)

Photo credit: The Princess Bride, 1987

Writer's Block (part two)

So I'm back on the subject of writer's block. (If you missed part one of this duo, check it out here.)

Do you want the good news first or the bad news?

Good news? OK, the good news is that I've gotten over my writer's block. Hooray (cue the confetti)

But now for the bad news: there was no fool proof solution. :( Sorry. I was hoping there would be one, but at the same time, its a little freeing to know that as an author, I wasn't doing anything wrong. This wasn't a problem I needed to fix. It was just a season. A phase. And it worked itself out.

After googling "How to overcome writer's block," I found plenty of sites that had the best 10 ways of moving forward. Suggestions like, get some exercise, have a snack, while useful--weren't helping. Its like telling someone you have the flu and they say "Have you taken any vitamin C lately?"

"Yes, I practically Od'd on the stuff, thank you very much, and don't even get me started on the amount of garlic I've consumed. Oh, you already noticed. My point exactly. "


I just didn't find the advice I was looking for. Granted, I could have dug a little deeper, but I was trying to write, and googling writer's block meant I had reached and all time low.

So, while I've mentioned there were no clear-cut solutions, there were a few tricks that definitely helped get the ball rolling--asking my fellow writing friends for tips and suggestions was incredibly helpful! For starters, I kept it up with the outlining and continued pounding away words even if I didn't end up keeping them.

Also, I cleaned up my writing play list. Old songs just gotta go. If I've listened to them too many times, they tend to loose their, uh, potency. Writers, you know what I mean. So I added a song or two (really great ones, as a matter of fact!) and those helped me break into a different level of emotion. Also, I tried acting out the scene (thanks, Dona). While I felt moronic sitting at my kitchen table, a pretend cup of coffee in my hand, having a conversation with invisible people, that experience pretty much aided in the elimination of lame dialogue :D

Another thing I did, was accept that me and my delete button were just going to have to get along. I knew that whatever I wrote on day one, would be deleted on day two. And whatever got put down on paper during day two...yep...day three pretty munch meant: select all, delete. Ugh. It was a little frustrating, but I knew that eventually, I would come up with a scene that would be, well...undeletable (not a word, I know.)

I've just organized my writing desk and have stumbled upon pages of scratch paper. Scribbly notes. Chicken scratch. Arrows. Happy faces. All the workings of a mad woman trying to pull her way out of writers block. But it truly helped. At one point, I just decided to settle on a tone for a particular chapter, whether it be happy, or melancholy, etc. Then I circled it and branched off from there with dialogue ideas, action ideas, what NEEDS to happen.

This NEEDS to happen thing is a really important one to me. In an overall book...certain things need to happen. Take The Chronicles of Narnia, for example. What needs to happen? The kids need to find hope and joy in their new situation (solution: the wardrobe and their discover of Narnia), they need the chance to make a difference in a situation since they have absolutely no control in their lives or the war (solution: they help to save Narnia from the White Witch), etc. etc.

So as I sat staring at this unfinished story of mine, I often write down what needs to happen. Character A needs to make peace with Character B or Character B needs to pick a fight with Character C because I need some conflict in that particular relationship. Once I know what is needed in a chapter/section and if there is a particular mood I'm aiming for, then the pieces can start falling into place. I typically do this for each chapter and after taking a few moments to mentally go through these basics, I dive into writing. I don't really do any planning beyond this. And I just sort of take the chapter...for a little ride (actually, more often it feels like the story takes me for a ride and I'm just hanging on for dear life as the action unfolds--no wonder this writing thing is so much fun) :D

My point is, that for the most part, it just took being bigger than the problem. I spent some time in prayer, knowing that it would not only clear my head, but help me focus on what was important, including hurdles that had been overcome in the past. And I trusted that nothing was impossible!

I stared writers block in the face and told it to hit the road. And when it didn't listen (grrr) I ranted and raved for a few days (hey, I'm human) before buckling down and hitting the keyboard with everything I had. Write. Delete. Write. Delete. Until finally, victory!

Its such a blessing to be free of writer's block and if (I mean, when) it comes back at me, I'll be a little better prepared, and above all, trust that its all in the Lord's timing and sometimes, feeling helpless is a good thing. Its humbling and a tangible reminder to be thankful for the good times, and to keep the faith in the bad.

Oh yeah, and I gotta admit that the exercises thing kinda helped. I bought myself a gym membership and after a few rounds on the treadmill, things at the typewriter started flowing again. Maybe there's something to that bit of advice after all ;)

Writer's Block (part one)

Tap. Tap. "Is this thing on?" oh, ok, it is.

"Ugh." I have writer's block.

To be perfectly honest, its been a while since I've been visited my this unwelcome guest. And as much as I'd like him to pack up his little suitcase and obnoxious voice, which reminds me each time I sit at my computer and pull up my current manuscript, "You have no idea what you are going to write about." And, "Haha, you've written yourself into a corner."

Grrr. I feel helpless.

So since my 1200 word quota for my mon-fri 2 hour writing session (aka, kids nap time) has pretty much dissipated into digital chicken scratch, I am down to making short notes that look like this:

Such and such character should do this. And this other character should do this. And they should get mad at each other and then it will snow and maybe a stray dog can wander into the story and we can name him Pierre, but this is Appalachia so I should name him Jimmy Hotsocks or something really cool and is it too late to add aliens? Maybe Vampires? How 'bout an Amish girl. No that's been done and I still have no idea what I am going to do in this chapter so why am I still typing and when is my brain going to get back from vacation?

Have I already said Grr? Oh I have? That's right, I'm also repeating myself. Lovely, this keeps getting better.

So now that I've used up the allotted amount of word count to rant, I've decided its time to seek a solution. There are several. 1) continue on because I am a professional and this is my job. 2) seek an alternate career choice. 3) go on a three month vacation to Reykjavik and read all the books I can while snowed in for the winter.

Option 3 would be great, but our vacation fund just ain't up to par for that one.

Option 2 is tempting, I could always become a baker, or a butcher or a candlestick maker, but then again, I have this half-written novel that's just begging to be finished.

Which brings me back to option 1. Sigh. I will be professional about this. It CAN be done.

So where do I begin? The first thing to do is step back and take a deep breath (resisting-the-urge-to-turn-on-a-Yanni-CD) and accept that it is now time to plow through my true options--and figure how on earth I can kick this thing called writer's block.

Brace yourself--this is not a writing course and my methods are probably not perfect or even correct, but I'm a little desperate, so I might as well start small and build from there.

Here's what I've got so far:

I've realized that I need to sort out my objective for the next chapter(or 2 or 3). What do I want to accomplish? What mood am I trying to evoke? What MUST happen to drive the story forward? Who do I want the reader to sympathize with, the hero? Heroine? Villain? Hmmm. Lots to think on.

This weekend, I've spent many moments in my "cocoon" which includes shutting out the world for about three minutes while I listen to music and try to play the story out in my mind. This has been incredibly helpful, yet not quite getting me over this hump. I even tried different scenes with different moods. Sometimes I'd imagine a scene with a love song, other times a tense song or even an upbeat song. Each time, the scene changed in my mind, different words were spoken, different actions and in the end--a different result. Scenes got deleted or added in.

So as I'm wading around in the swamp called writer's block, I've realized that the process is starting to feel a lot like making a soup--a little garlic, a little salt, maybe a sprinkle of pepper. As I tweaked things here and there, making subtle changes to dialogue, etc., the scenes started to become closer to what I wanted them to be. But its not there yet. My pages are still covered in chicken scratch with no quality writing, so my goal this week is to break through these next three chapters and hopefully come out on the other side with a few great scenes that are just what this story needs.

Which is why this is called Writer's Block, part one. I'll let you know what happens on the other end! (And I would love any advice or suggestions on how you deal with writer's block, so please, share away!)

If you're ready for part two...check it out here!

Adventures in Country Living: Sourdough Bread

My latest project thats been going on for about six months is learning how to bake homemade bread. As usual, my attempts at these sort of tasks are not only for my families benefit, but its also hands on research for my books...when I say someone lets the dough rise on the back of the stove in my story, I really want to know what I'm talking about.

So this path at homemade bread making has been a ton of fun. It might be responsible for a few extra pounds padded onto me and my family (sorry guys) but there's this thing about homemade bread...when it comes out of the oven and its hot and the house smells amazing, you can't just eat one slice. ( A dear friend of mine who bakes bread regularily for her family says the excitement wears off after awhile and you develope some self control...I don't know about that) I mean, I've never seen anyone sit down with a loaf of store bought bread, undo the twisty tie, pull it out of the bag, and eat the whole thing. It just doesnt have the same effect on the soul as homemade bread.

So now, I'll tell my adventures in the wonderful world of sourdough! There are some misconceptions about sourdough. 1) you don't have to live in San Fran 2) you don't have to be an apron-clad Italian man in a bakery to make good sourdough 3) and although you have to feed your sourdough starter like a pet, its not going to crawl off your counter and attack you while your sleeping (haha) although when it bubbles, it can be a little creepy.

I bought my sourdough starter online (amazon.com, about $6) after researching how to make a starter. But what I didn't realize is that you can make it just as easy. All the online recipes discouraged making a starter from scratch using yeast (hence the amazon purchase) But, after looking in Carla Emery's, Encyclopedia of Country Living, she says it plain: "I hate to say it but there's a certain element of hoax potential in this sourdough business. You don't have to send away for a starter..." (don't I feel dumb!) "...anybody who wants an authentic and usable starter and who lives in a normal (food around and air circulating) environment rather than a totally antiseptic one (an operating room) need only to mix a cup of flour with a cup of water and leave it covered with a light cloth up to 5 days." What will happen then, is wild yeast in the air will be attracted to your flour/water mixture and decide to live there :-) Gross in a cool kinda way!

Well, my sourdough starter arrived, I followed the simple directions of keeping it in a loosley covered container, fed it flour and water occasionally and after a few days, it smelled like beer and looked like bubbling toothpaste (this was all quite exciting for the 3 year old in my household) I got the easiest recipe for 1.2.3. Sourdough bread on youtube and baked up my first loaf this morning. I've worked with a lot of homemade dough in the past and I have to say that this was THE EASIEST recipe I have ever used. It only required 3 ingredients (flour, salt, water) and a slight ammount of brain power which I successfully provided and, voila! For breakfast we're eating crunchy crusted, soft centered, warm, fresh from the oven sourdough bread with melting butter. I think I better go for a jog later.

Now that I know how easy sourdough is and that it did not originate with the goldminers as is a misconception (they simply popularized the bread because it was so easy for those single guys, it originated, supposedly with the Egyptians) I think I will sneak it into my next story. It seems such a practical way for folks to bake, even if you have no baking powder or yeast, you can still have wonderful bread for your family. Salt, flour, water and some wild yeast floating in the air. How easy is that? Oh, and a bonus: If for some strange reason your dough ever flops, it makes great playdough for the kiddies!

Happy Homesteading!

Adventures in Country Living: Braided Rag Rug

Adventures in Country Living Braided Rag Rug: "As part of my research, and just general fun, I like to try my hand at tasks and projects people would have done on a regular basis one hundred years ago; soap making, bread making, gardening, and my latest project: rug braiding. These sort of projects are a hands on way of discovering and understanding what life may have required for women such as Elsie or Lonnie in my book, Cry of My Heart, and homesteading women all across America.

After searching ebay to try and buy one, I discovered they are much to expensive for the handmade kind, which I really wanted, so I have began my first braided rug. Traditionally, these rugs are made from scraps that frontier women saved and cut into strips for future use. Waste not, want not! Was certainly their mantra in those days when they had an entire household and family to see after, with often, little income. It would make sense to start with a small rug, say a 2 x 3, but since I am in desperate need of a 5 x 8 for my living room that has just been re-done in hardwood flooring, I'm tackling a biggy!

The colorful strips are braided into loooong (did I say long?) braids (I purchased 20 yards of fabric and cut it all into 2 ' wide strips...that's a lot of braiding!) The braids are sewn together in a flat coil to create a beautiful, homemade and unique rustic rug. So far I have had several meltdowns and nearly as many tantrums over this project, but I am finally getting somewhere! I am about to sew my first few feet of braiding and I am excited to see how it turns out.

As I attempt new projects, I will post them here :-) I would love to hear about other old-time projects, so please share what you are creating! Happy homesteading!"