Quail_Antwerp
Cold is on the Right, Hot is on The Left
WOW you had a great day! Congrats on the tickets, the chickens, and the new puppy! 
Rebecca's journal-may be time to restart this
- Thread starter rebecca100
- Start date
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- #32
rebecca100
Almost Self-Reliant
Okay I need to get my ideas together and posting them for everyone to see will help make me do what I say!
What I have done:
Raised chickens
milked goats
milked a cow
made cheese(as a kid-with a kit
)
made yogurt (as a kid with a kit)
hatched chickens in an incubator and under a hen
raised baby goats
butchered goats, chickens and rabbits
raised rabbits
made sauerkrout( I did that last week and it turned out great!!!)
canned fruits and jellies in waterbath and pressure canner
dehydrated fruits and jerkies
made homemade bread
Kinda tanned hides-1 turned out out of like 20!
What I want to do:
Make yogurt(as an adult without a kit)
Make cheese(as an adult without a kit)
Raise my own livestock feed
Get a true milk goat or another milk cow-perferably a goat, they're so much easier to keep!
Can low acid foods
get better at breadmaking and canning
make sourdough starter and bread
make my own butter
learn to quilt and sew without a machine
improve my skills at the things I have done
And learn anything else that is ss that I haven't thought of or heard of yet!
What I have done:
Raised chickens
milked goats
milked a cow
made cheese(as a kid-with a kit
)made yogurt (as a kid with a kit
)hatched chickens in an incubator and under a hen
raised baby goats
butchered goats, chickens and rabbits
raised rabbits
made sauerkrout( I did that last week and it turned out great!!!)
canned fruits and jellies in waterbath and pressure canner
dehydrated fruits and jerkies
made homemade bread
Kinda tanned hides-1 turned out out of like 20!
What I want to do:
Make yogurt(as an adult without a kit
)Make cheese(as an adult without a kit
)Raise my own livestock feed
Get a true milk goat or another milk cow-perferably a goat, they're so much easier to keep!
Can low acid foods
get better at breadmaking and canning
make sourdough starter and bread
make my own butter
learn to quilt and sew without a machine
improve my skills at the things I have done
And learn anything else that is ss that I haven't thought of or heard of yet!
freemotion
Food Guru
Based on your list of experiences, and depending on when you "get your goat!" I predict you will have most of those skills by spring! Especially since your list builds on skills/experiences you already have. You go, girl!
- Thread starter
- #34
rebecca100
Almost Self-Reliant
Oh I forgot a couple of things in the to do list:
learn/do composting
raising a garden to supply at least most of our veggies
learn to save seed
learn to root cellar store veggies
Hopefully I will be able to get a good milk doe this winter. I have to wait to get set up for one and this winter I'll have my money saved and time to build a pen where I can seperate her from the others.
learn/do composting
raising a garden to supply at least most of our veggies
learn to save seed
learn to root cellar store veggies
Hopefully I will be able to get a good milk doe this winter. I have to wait to get set up for one and this winter I'll have my money saved and time to build a pen where I can seperate her from the others.
- Thread starter
- #35
rebecca100
Almost Self-Reliant
Well yesterday i put in my 3 week notice. We finally got our bills under control and my dh is going to be working long hours and I need to be home with the kids. I guess I have mixed feelings about that. I am glad to be able to have a job when so many don't, but I also am really glad to be finally spending time with the kids as their grades have really dropped since I started work. I may see about staying on and just taking a couple of months off. I would really like to do that instead, but I really don't think they will let me and I know that I will get my job back when I want it anyway, after all this is the third time I have worked there and I never missed a day other than when my dad passed. And my dh will get called out all hours of the day and night and it could literally mean losing his job if he refuses to go because of no one to watch the kids if I'm at work. Anyway I do feel bad about leaving. On a good note my dh got our chipper/shredder running, and we have been busy today making mulch for our future garden. On a bad note though my dh's step dad just came over told us that my dh's brother's wife and kids vandelised his mobile home-completely ruined it. Long story on that one. It is very depressing-she lies, and uses and sneaks. When her dh went to prison a few months ago we payed all her utilities and helped with food and gas for her vehicle until she found a job. I even kept her kids for whole weekends once she did get working. And now she has done this. It breaks my heart and makes it hurt. My dh mom and step dad's mobile home were on the same property as hers. The property was in her name, but they helped her to buy it then she decieded she wanted them gone when she didn't need them anymore. She did the same to us, only when they couldn't move their mobile home she let her kids destroy it-with a shotgun it looks like. The door is shot in and the windows are all out. I just can't believe it. He is going to press charges and I really can't blame him. It is apparently what she needs. We are all sick of being used like that. I just cannot fathom someone acting like she does. It is totally beyond me. There was no reason for it. They stripped out all the copper and anything else valueable that was left in there. 
freemotion
Food Guru
Too bad about the trailer. Some people are just idiots. Best to avoid them if you can...but good for you, keeping the kids for her. At least they got to see what a functioning family looks like so they know it exists! The brief periods my dh stayed with relatives was really something he hung onto. Now look at him....he has me!rebecca100 said:Okay I need to get my ideas together and posting them for everyone to see will help make me do what I say!
What I want to do:
Make yogurt(as an adult without a kit
Make cheese(as an adult without a kit
Raise my own livestock feed
Get a true milk goat or another milk cow-perferably a goat, they're so much easier to keep!
Can low acid foods
get better at breadmaking and canning
make sourdough starter and bread
make my own butter
learn to quilt and sew without a machine
improve my skills at the things I have done
And learn anything else that is ss that I haven't thought of or heard of yet!
(Will the punishment ever end??? )Look at it this way....staying home with your kids is the best thing you can do for them. You already said their grades went down....lots of reasons for that, and you are the key. They need you. Their mom. It is the best thing you can do for them.
The second best thing is to get crackin' on that list quoted above! Most of the time my mother stayed at home. It was so stressful in the house when she worked now and then for a period of time to pay some big bill. When it was paid, she'd quit. Even as a teenager, I felt calmer inside knowing she was in the house whenever I needed her, even if she never knew I felt that way! (I'll have to be sure to tell her when I see her on Friday!) And the most interesting time of my childhood, that had a great impact on me, was when we were our poorest and my parents did so much of this ss stuff. It was survival, really, but they taught me the joy of learning new things and the joy of accomplishment. Even if you try something new only once and never do it again, you have the experience to savor for the rest of your life. They will, too, so don't for a minute doubt your decision.
Never underestimate the impact you can have on the family budget by doing all the things on your list, too. It is incredibly valuable in so many ways. The money saved, the lessons for your kids, the satisfaction you will get, the pride from your dh, the weird looks from most everyone else! And these can be the healthiest years of your family member's lives.
A big pat on the back from me, and lots of support here, I am sure.
- Thread starter
- #37
rebecca100
Almost Self-Reliant
Thanks that really does make me feel better about quitting. I know it will be better all the way around except financially but much less stressful. I just wish I knew what to do about my sil. She hurt us all by doing that and I really don't understand the reasoning behind it. I just can't understand how she would use us all the way she did, then get a boyfriend-which we found out was why she no longer wanted us around-then just act like we don't exist. Your right about her kids though. They don't know what family is. My dh's brother was always in trouble and was no example other than how to lie, seal and poach. My dh always felt bad about how his brother acted and tried to set a good example and would take them places and do things with them even before his brother went to prison. She let them go wild and one of them was caught stealing. I guess what happens to her now is her own problem. We tried to help, but I guess you can't live someone else's life for them no matter how stupid they are. If she gets in trouble and has to be responsible for her own decisions-then maybe it would be for the best. If she ever had to actually take care of herself then they would all be up the creek- or homeless. This has really depressed me. We never asked for anything in return and now she acts like it was owed her when someone else would pay a car payment or utility bill for her.
freemotion
Food Guru
Sigh....you can't control anyone but yourself...and to some degree, your kids...
So all you can do is try to let it go, it is her decision, out of your hands. Rescue the kids now and then when the opportunity comes up, but protect your own family first. In three more weeks, you can focus on all your ss projects, catch up on everything that gets neglected when you work, and get your kids back on track. That is plenty to do in the next few months!
BTW, quilting can be very therapeutic....
So all you can do is try to let it go, it is her decision, out of your hands. Rescue the kids now and then when the opportunity comes up, but protect your own family first. In three more weeks, you can focus on all your ss projects, catch up on everything that gets neglected when you work, and get your kids back on track. That is plenty to do in the next few months! BTW, quilting can be very therapeutic....
Farmfresh
City Biddy
I have recently had to quit my second job due to health reasons.
I know what you are going through. It is hard to give up the extra money ... but think about the money we will be able to save now that we have the TIME to do those extra little things! I for one will be doing lots more cooking and less eating out.
I know what you are going through. It is hard to give up the extra money ... but think about the money we will be able to save now that we have the TIME to do those extra little things! I for one will be doing lots more cooking and less eating out.
- Thread starter
- #40
rebecca100
Almost Self-Reliant
Well, after 6 months of no internet-I'M BACK I'M REALLY REALLY BACK HOO-RAY!!! Unfortunately we had to have the internet turned off due to financial difficulty. It just didn't stand up to electric, water, property and vehicle payments. But now we are hopefully back on our feet! Right now I am getting ready to build a greenhouse and I have my seeds started under a grow light. I just can't wait until Spring!!!!
