little brown snow men

it snowed here yesterday! we took a drive out to the farm yesterday and saw little brown snow men all over town. brown, because we didn't get THAT much snow- a little dirt thrown in for good measure.
i have never seen so much snow in this part of texas. the flakes were huge and consistently coming down from afternoon into the evening. it was beautiful! as we were driving past pasture land blanketed in white i told john "i can't believe i live in a place that looks like this right now".
we had lots of good fun while the snow lasted. lots of snow balls. and wet clothes. because we don't have 'snow gear', we had to change three times! but the laundry is worth it, friends!






and just like that- i wake this morning to see that the snow is melting away with the warmth of the sun.

it brought to mind this scripture, found in lamentations 3:

²¹ Yet this I call to mind

and therefore I have hope:

²² Because of the LORD's great love we are not consumed,

for his compassions never fail.

²³ They are new every morning;

great is your faithfulness.

homestead update

well- i'm bored with 7 days to better health. a little problem of mine, getting bored with the same ol' so easily.
anyway, i thought today it would be nice for you to stop by the homestead, and see what's going on and coming up!

white cloud is our buff bantam. she is our sweet little chicken! the kids love to hold her and wheel her around the yard in their doll stroller. to the left you will see lettuces that were too bitter for us to eat. the chickens loved them.

potatoes snuggly tucked in their bed. this is my first year to try potatoes. here's hoping that something comes up. we've dedicated a whole lotta space to them taters!

this is blackberry- our australorp. i cannot say enough good things about this breed of chicken. they are friendly, smart and hardy layers. i've been putting blackberry in the front beds to help clean them out and do a little fertilizing. she is easy to lead back the run so she has been chosen for the job. the other day she found a baby snake! it was so interesting to watch her take that snake down. the kids were spellbound! at one point moonpie said "this is better than watching a film". that's right, she said "film". don't ask me.

here is the last harvest from our winter lettuce patch (with some broccoli greens thrown in for good measure). that bed has now been planted in carrots and beets.

moving on inside, i have been busy making herbal salves and oils. oh, how i've loved doing this! that 11 pounds of beeswax has come in handy once again, than you very much!

some freshly strained jars of herbal oil. the two larger jars are calendula (see that pretty amber color?) and the small jar is oil of oregano. i'm going to be transferring that one into a small, brown bottle with a dropper.

and lastly, look what's coming up on my window sill! these little guys are striped roman tomatoes. i have planted TWELVE heirloom tomato plants this season. what is my problem??? alongside the tomatoes i've started some peppers and tomatillos.

i love this time of year, when dreams begin to take shape.

(yes- i dream of striped tomatoes!)

have you been putting your window sills to work yet? what's coming up?

favorite book friday

i checked this book out from the library this week, and i am loving it! reinhart delves into the history of bread in the united states, the science behind fermenting loaves, and some great recipes. if you are a bread baker of nerdy persuasion who likes to know the why behind everything- you must read this book. so good!

in related news, have you seen the footage of bob moore, founder and owner of bob's red mill, announcing that he's giving his company to his employees? in an age of natural, whole food companies selling out to major conglomerates, my heart was warmed by this story. that it is the people behind a company that makes the company. love it.

dreamy

would you just look at this home i found on apartment therapy yesterday? if you have a minute, you must take the home tour. it really looks like a special place.




what are your thoughts on al fresco bathing?

7 days to better health

soak your grains!

this morning as i was sharing a pot of oatmeal with the kids, i began to wonder what to post about. and then it came to me- DUH! soaking grains!

i hope that by now you have been convinced that whole grains are a necessary part of every diet. they are loaded with vitamins, minerals and fiber- the stuff you need to build up your health. if you have not switched from instant oats, white rice, white pasta, white bread, yet to the whole food equivalent - do it! today is the day!

there is a critical step in cooking whole grains that often is unknown. in order to get all the good stuff out of the grains you are eating, they must be soaked before eating a good 6 hours or more. soaking grains before cooking them allows the phytic acid to be neutralized. phytic acid blocks your body's ability to absorb minerals and other nutrients from the food you are eating. it also makes the grains difficult to digest.

any whole grain benefits from being soaked first. this would even include the whole wheat flour you are making muffins or bread with.

i don't use any real recipe when soaking my grains, but if you are so inclined to do so, you can check out this site. the nice thing is that they can be cooked in the soak water (unlike legumes which must first be drained and rinsed). this is where menu planning comes in handy. if you know what you are making the next day, you can easily put it on to soak the night before.

***note: brown rice is relatively low in phytic acid and therefore it is not necessary to soak before cooking. but you could if you wanted to!

happy valentine's day!

when moonpie pulled these carrots up from their bed she shouted

"look momma! they're hugging!".

in celebration of the beauty of the earth, and the beauty of the LOVE that surrounds us each day,

{{{hugs}}}

happy valentine's day!

crafty love

whew! we have had a busy, fun morning of crafting. we are gearing up for celebrating the birthday's of two of my precious nephews and, of course, valentine's day!

i have a jar that i keep broken crayons in for crayon recycling. i've been so inspired by all of the people around the blogosphere making heart shaped ones for valentine's day! we decided to make some this morning for a valentine party the kid's will be having at church.

i set out some stamps for buddy to use on his, and i was pleasantly surprised to see that he preferred placing the heart across the entire stamp pad and pressing down. my first extinct was to tell him to stop, but when he pulled it off, it made the most beautiful stained glass effect. we decided that was the best method, and continued in that fashion.

i learn so much from my kid's. like in this instance, the letting go, seeing what happens, crafting from the gut- what freedom!

we set some of the crayons aside for my nephew quinn. he is turning two, and this boy LOVES to color. moonpie made him a little bag for his crayons (on her very own sewing machine-that post soon to come) and a book of coloring pages.

i was first inspired to make these little coloring books when my grandmother brought back two hand drawn coloring books from amish country. i fell in love with the simple line drawings of farm life on those pages, and wanted to replicate that feel. it is clear that moonpie is the resident artist in this home, so she has taken over the task of our handmade coloring books. she put so much thought into each of the drawings for her little cousin. i just know that quinn is going to love it!

quinn also loves books and shoes. check out these great vintage wooden shoes (and books) i found for him at our thrift store:

and here's what we cooked up for baby jack. he turned the O-N-E this week, and i can hardly believe it. i was honored to be in the room when jack was born and can't get over that it happened a whole year ago. he's getting his very first pair of monkey britches:

and some bean bags in coordinating stripes. my favorite thing about these little bags is that the alternate fabrics i used are all from jack's great-grandmother's fabric stash. i hope he enjoys all of the textures and squishy barley that his big cousins poured in for him.

we are off for the weekend to celebrate!

200th post

well, this marks my 200th post here on herban homestead. when i realized the other day that i was nearing this mark, i thought that maybe i should share something fabulous and have lots of great pictures to match. but here i am, slightly over a horrible, yet (thankfully) short lived case of stomach flu, and i'm just happy to be sitting up. it past through all of us, hitting buddy the hardest. there's nothing like seeing the little body of your baby too weak to sit up to help you remember to be grateful for the everyday.

so that's what this 200th post is about. the fabulous-ness of everyday life. the fact that even though we were all sick, we were all together, drudging through. that when i ran to the store today, my kids begged for carrots, celery and blueberries (after 4 days of crackers and water). kids that can walk, unassisted, to the bathroom. a washing machine in my home! hallelujah! trust me, we did some serious laundry over the past 4 days. and, after craving mushrooms, i was able to make a little noodle and mushroom dish. and it tasted SO good. i read up on mushrooms to see why my body was wanting them so badly, and i found out that they are a powerful anti-viral food. so-yes- this is for the fabulous mushroom as well.

really, when i think about it, there is nothing greater than spending everyday with the people i love.

nothing. greater.

7 days to better health

tip #4

brown sugar : myths and truth

there is a myth out there about brown sugar- that it is a healthier option than white sugar. there was a time when this was true. in the past, brown sugar was a slightly refined sugar that had some remaining molasses left in. but that isn't the case any more.

the truth about brown sugar is that it is made by taking white, refined sugar, and adding a hint of molasses to it to make it brown and kind of sticky. there is no nutritive value to it at all.

if you are looking for that 'brown sugar' taste in baked goods, i would suggest maple syrup. or for treats, i would use unrefined evaporated cane juice (also called rapadura). rapadura contains the vitamins and minerals that naturally occur. i have also used refined evaporated cane juice sparingly, only because it is readily available.

a note and a confession:

during this season of reduced sun light, interior dwelling, and consequently, illness, it is important to remember the role refined sugar has in sickness. for adults, it takes 11 teaspoons of sugar to knock out your immune system for 3 hours, 33 tsp. knocks out your immune system for the entire day. it is even less for children (because they are littler!). one can of soda has 11 tsp. of sugar in it.

now, for my confession. my family considers treats with refined sugar in them as occasional. in the past, i could count how often i had ice cream in a year on one hand. however, our occasional treats and desserts while out have been adding up lately, and i'm here to say "enough is enough". living in the land of ice cream and pie gives me no right to load up on the bad stuff. so we're back to kicking the sugar out.

join me in kicking out the bad! replace brown sugar in your recipes with a healthier option!

for more tips 'to better health', click here.

favorite book friday

we purchased this version of pippi longstocking for moonpie for her birthday, and all i can say is,

pippi + lauren child = MAGIC!

if you are a fan of the red haired, striped sock, inhumanly strong, cleverest of them all, little girl- you must buy this version of the book! the illustrations are sensational! (i haven't even used that word in like 5 years, so you better believe that i mean it!)

candlemas

i recently acquired 10 pounds of unfiltered beeswax (and one gallon of honey) from a local bee guy. he actually only would sell me a 20 pound block, but i split that with a friend (using a power tool).

in observation of candlemas yesterday, we decided to make beeswax candles. this was on a whim, so i didn't have any of the 'real' candle making tools on hand. we just made do.

after placing the wax block on an old cookie sheet, i set it in the oven on the 'warmer' function. while it was getting warm, i read luke 2:22-39, which is the scripture that the christian observance of candlemas is based on. after the wax was warm enough i sliced some off. we put our shavings in an old tomato sauce can and made our own double broiler by placing that in a pot of water set on a low boil.

while i waited for the wax to melt, the kids worked on 'flower fairies' to celebrate the upcoming spring (no matter what that pesky ground-hog has to say!).

once the wax melted, i carefully poured it into three jars. after it cooled a bit, but before it solidified, the kids added bits of broken crayon for a little color.

i didn't have any wick materials on hand, so i opted for leftover birthday candles. these eventually melted down and 'became one' with the beeswax candle, enabling us to have some sort of wick.

we shut the blinds, lit the candles, and sang some love songs to jesus.

it was really a lovely morning.