Annie's Bathroom Rug Freshener

 If your family is at all like mine, then you will be able to relate to our bathroom rug dilemma.

Long before the bathroom rugs are in need of a washing, they looked trampled down, old, and neglected. If I washed them every time they looked this way, I would be washing them daily.

Instead, I have come up with Plan B.

Annie’s Bathroom Rug Freshener

• Shake rugs outside.
• Spray vinegar solution that we used for our upholstery freshener onto rugs, being sure to lightly and fully cover them. Be sure to test the solution in an inconspicuous spot on your rugs first. I have never had an issue, but you never can be absolutely sure until you try it.
• Place in dryer for 3 minutes. Seriously. Just 3 minutes. That is all it takes.
• Return to bathroom floor.

You will find that your rugs have returned to that “just home from the store and looking fabulous and fluffy” state. They will smell lovely too. Trust me.

I find this works well if you have company on the way, or if your mother just called to say she will be dropping in for a visit in ten minutes.

Have a wonderful day, my friends. Enjoy this extra blessing of snow while we have it. Very soon it will be a distant memory.

Remember what Thomas Edwards said, “To rejoice in another's prosperity, is to give content to your own lot: to mitigate another's grief, is to alleviate or dispel your own.”

~Annie

Setting up the Chicken Coop

Now is the time of the year that tiny chicks are making their way into the homes, basements, and outbuildings of many a soon-to-be chicken farmer.

It is also time to learn what to do with those chicks in order to take proper care of them.

I talked about what breeds of chicks I prefer to get according to my needs, here. However, before those chicks make it to your home and you are stuck with them in your bathtub for lack of a better alternative, it is time to start planning a course of action.

Housing
Once the order for your new flock has been placed, be sure that you have a warm and secure area for them to live for at least 3-5 weeks. This can be a large box, an old washtub, an empty livestock waterer with a screen placed over it.

The screen serves two purposes: to keep the critters out, and to keep the chicks in as they grow. They will become very curious, and will try to hop out.

Water
Chicks drown very easily, so the best waterers to get are the type that screw onto a mason jar and trickle out only a little water at a time. These can be found at any local farm store.

As the chicks grow, at about 6-7 weeks, you can change the waterers over to shallow pans, never filling them with more than an inch of water at a time.

Once full grown, you can put up to three inches of water in the waterer.

Feeders
The best types of feeders that I have found for baby chicks are long, shallow, and have a bar running down the middle across the top of them. The bar keeps the chicks from hopping in the feed and defecating in it.

As they get older, you may wish to switch to a feeder with no top bar.

Once full grown, you can use a shallow, large pan for the feed so that the chickens are able to spread out a bit as they eat. Based on how many you may have in a flock, you may want to split the feed up into two pans.

As a point of reference, I have ten chickens and use two pans. This ensures that all of your happy chickens friends get enough food.

Feed
I use a special medicated feed for my just-hatched chicks. I do realize that there are different camps on this one, but I find it to be the best choice for our homestead. The feed is specially designed for chicks, and helps them get a jump-start towards a healthy life.

After the initial bag of medicated feed, I then use a grower mash for meat birds. This helps the chickens develop their meatiness.

For my future layers, I use a laying mash. This mash helps the hens ready themselves for producing wonderful, nutritional eggs. Hens should begin laying at 10-12 months of age.

You should be sure to purchase some small gravel for the chickens. Sprinkle it throughout the feed every once in a while. This gravel will make its way to the chickens’ gizzards, which serve as a type of stomach, digesting and grinding up the food. You can find this gravel at a farm store as well.

Coop
Coops can be made to fit your needs, as well as the needs of your chickens. Be sure that the sides are tall enough that the chickens do not fly out. If this is not possible, make sure that the coop has netting across the top.

A nesting box/roosting area will help your chickens feel safe and comfortable at night. I have found that although we have six nesting boxes for nine hens, they all cram into two of the boxes. They seem to like being all crowded together.

Make sure that they have plenty hay in their boxes so that they stay warm in the winter and cool in the summer.

I keep my chickens year round. This may be done as long as you provide a heat lamp for them if you live in a colder climate. They will usually lay from March through November.

Enjoy your happy, cheeping fluff balls while you can! All too soon, they will grow into gawky, gangly adolescents, and finally, plump, beautiful hens and roosters.

There is nothing more relaxing than watching your flock strutting, scratching the dirt, and enjoying their new home.

As Anatole France said, “Man is so made that he can only find relaxation from one kind of labor by taking up another. ”

~Annie

My Doey

Today is my best friend’s birthday. Yes, I have a handful of best friends, and they all mean the world to me. However, Doey (obviously not her real name, but the nickname Little Bug gave her when she was a toddler) is in a class by herself.

Let me tell you a bit about Doey. We became friends when I was working as a summer missionary at Camp Good News in Indiana. Her mom and my aunt thought it would be a good idea for Doey to show me around. By the end of the evening, I was really hoping she might want to be my friend, seeing as I knew hardly anyone else in the area. She did, and that was that.

At the time, she was 28 and I was 19. I am sure she thought me to be a mere child, but she never let on if she did. Every weekend of that first summer, we got together and went to supper, the movies, the local fair…. anything was a go as long as we were together.

That fall, I went back to Purdue, yet I didn’t forget about Doey. The next summer, she was by my side at the camp, both of us cooking our summer days away. It was a blast, and a best friendship was born.

You see, Doey is that special person that everyone needs in his or her life. She seems to be able to do anything. She has traveled all over the world. She has gone on fall round ups out west. She can bake like a dream. She can put a tired cranky baby to sleep in a flash. She is the real deal.

When I lost my two babies, she came and sat with me. Really, there was nothing she could do for me, but her presence in my home comforted me a great deal.

When my father died, she was with me every step of the way. I became so despondent and depressed, yet she never left me. We had planned a trip to Montana. I was so weak that she had to do everything for the trip. Yet she still took me.

I will never forget watching Doey load up the rental car, driving to where we were going next, unloading the car, setting everything up, and basically babysitting me for three weeks. Was it fun for her? I doubt it. Did I need that time in my life to heal? Absolutely.

I came home from Montana healed, refreshed, and ready to be a better wife to JP. And for that I have Doey to thank.

Doey and I are in almost daily contact, although we have never lived closer than an hour from each other. Nary a day goes by without a text or phone call. When it does happen, I miss her dreadfully.

Doey is my rock. She is one of the absolute best Christians that I know. I have never witnessed her judging anyone. She just loves on them, and if they are really lucky, she bakes them something.

Doey has taught me how to relax. How to burp Little Bug. To slowdown a bit. To not judge others. To share my possessions. To pray first. To always trust in our Lord.

Little Bug calls her Aunt Doey. To me she is so much more than a best friend. She is the sister I never had. She is my family. And I love her more than words could ever express.

Happy birthday, Doey. You, of all people, deserve a wonderful, happy day. May you be blessed beyond measure, today, and always. I love you.

~Annie

Annie's Asparagus

One day, while my dad and I were driving down a country road near my childhood homestead, we stopped along side of the road to buy a few pounds of asparagus from a local farmer.

After a few minutes of chatting, it became apparent that the farmer was looking to hire another picker. I immediately grabbed a pair of gloves, got the rudimentary details of the ins and outs of asparagus picking, hopped on the cart, and was off. Thus began my three year career as an asparagus picker.

I loved it. Everyday, after school, I would rush home to feed the animals, rush off to baby-sit and tutor, then finally rush off to pick asparagus. Those few seasons of my life were some of the happiest of my childhood.

We all worked for Mrs. Kohlhagen. She was a wonderful boss. On really hot days, she would meet us at the end of the row with a special treat. Sometimes it was a soda. Other times it was a candy bar. Coming from such a poor family, those special treats seemed absolutely amazing to me. I can still remember how delicious an ice cold Pepsi and a mostly frozen Kit-Kat tasted after several rounds on the asparagus cart.

I rode the cart, which was pulled along by a tractor, about three inches above the ground. I would then lean over to my right and pick the asparagus as we went by. Anytime there was a mound of dirt that stood higher than three inches, that dirt landed in my lap. Needless to say, I was absolutely filthy every single night. And I relished in it.

There was something very freeing about becoming filthy within five minutes of starting work. We picked asparagus from 4 p.m. until 7 p.m. We then sorted it out, keeping only the best stalks, from 7 p.m. until 9 p.m. In the morning, the freshly picked asparagus took its journey to groceries all over the area. Everyone wanted Kohlhagen asparagus. It was the absolute best around, and everyone knew it.

Twenty years later, I still think back longingly to that time in the fields, and to that wonderful, perfect asparagus. Mrs. Kohlhagen spoiled me as to which asparagus is worthy of my time. To this day, I will stand at a pile of asparagus at a farmers’ market and individually select only the best stalks. Once you taste the difference, I bet you will too.

In order to select the best stalks, look for asparagus that is close to the size and width of an unsharpened number two pencil. Make sure that the tips are not seedy. The tips should be curved to a point on top and very clean.

Although some people do like the fatter stalks, I find them to be woody and tough. Also, seedy stalks seem to collect dirt in them. Imagine taking that first bite of asparagus and ending up with a mouthful of gritty dirt.

Since I normally pay by the pound for my asparagus, I ask the seller if I may snap off the whitish areas at the bottom of the stalk. Some say yes. Some say no. Most stand in amazement as I sift through their huge pile of green, potential yumminess.

Once you have selected and paid for your asparagus, you are ready to take it home and prepare it.

Annie’s Asparagus

• Chop off bottoms of stalks. I do this by gathering them in my hand, lining up the bottoms, and cutting off the dried out bottoms. If you do not plan to use your fresh asparagus for a few days, you may do this step, then place all the stalks in a jar of water, in your fridge. This will keep your asparagus fresh until use.
• Place asparagus in covered dish that can be placed in the microwave.
• Add 1/8 cup of water. Sprinkle salt and pepper to taste.
• Place lid on dish.
• Place in microwave at 80% power for ten minutes.
• Remove and check for tenderness with a fork. Fork should be able to easily go into each stalk tested.
• If stalks are not tender, repeat above steps at 3-5 minute intervals.
• Once tender, remove from microwave and serve.

I have found this to be the easiest and most delicious way to prepare asparagus. By steaming it, I am able to keep all of the nutrients in tact as well. You may add butter if wish, but I have found that our eclectic family enjoys the taste of the asparagus that shines through after being steamed.

Enjoy the first day of Spring, my friends. As you go about your day, remember the words of Henry David Thoreau, “Go confidently in the direction of your dreams. Live the life you have imagined.”

~Annie

Annie’s Easy Peasy Seedling Starters

Although there is no sign of warm temperatures in sight in my quaint little Northwest Indiana town, Spring in only two days away. This fact turns my attention to starting my spring and summer gardens.

While it is still definitely too early to be planting my real garden, it is not too early to be preparing the seedlings that will eventually find their way into the homestead garden plot.

JP and I choose to be a single income family most of the year so that I can be a stay-at-home-mom to Little Bug. Because of this, we live on a strict budget. We have no extra money for fancy seedling starters.

We have found this method to work wonderfully with all type of seedlings. From flowers to veggies, this inexpensive seedling starter recycles, as well as saves you money.

Annie’s Easy Peasy Seedling Starters

• Gather gallon sized milk jugs with lid in place. It is best to have at least one per variety of seedling you want to start indoors.
• Clean and dry out milk jugs.
• Cut jug almost completely in half, just under the handle, leaving 3 inches uncut.
• Fill with soil until one inch below cut on milk jug.. Not dirt. Dirt and soil seem to be used interchangeably, but they are totally different. Soil is used to grow plants. Dirt is usually unable to grow much of anything, including weeds. I like to use an organic, moisture holding variety of soil from the local farm store, but any soil will do.
• Using a permanent marker, write variety of seed on the milk jug so you won’t forget.
• Plant seeds. It is ok to crowd them in. They will not be in there long enough to get overcrowded.
• Water.
• Flip top of jug over onto rest of jug.
•  Place in sunny spot. It could be a windowsill, your living room floor; anywhere the sun will hit it.
• During the part of the day when the sun will hit it, flip top off of jug so that the seeds (and eventually seedlings) can get as much sun as possible. If it is warm enough, you can even take your seedling starter milk jugs outside for the day, however, be sure to bring them in at night if the temperatures get too chilly.
• When there is no sunlight, flip top onto jug, covering the seedlings. This will create a mini greenhouse for your precious seedlings.
• Once your garden plot has been tilled, the seedlings are at least several inches tall, and it is warm enough outside to plant, gently transfer seedlings. If you have more than you need, leave some in the jug to make sure that the planted ones take. If they don’t, transplant more seedlings into your garden. If you do not need the left over seedlings, give them to a friend or sell them at a farmers’ market.
• This method works great for container gardeners as well.

So there you have it, a cheap and relatively easy way to get your seeds planted and growing into seedlings.

Enjoy the remaining days of winter, lovelies. Very soon we will be wondering where all the cool breezes are as we toil in the hot sun.

“Every great dream begins with a dreamer. Always remember, you have within you the strength, the patience, and the passion to reach for the stars to change the world.”  ~ Harriet Tubman

~Annie

Annie’s Stain Pre-Wash Treatment

If your house is anything like ours, y’all get a lot of stains on clothes and towels that you may not mean to get stained.

Sure we all have our “work clothes,” but sometimes you just get sidetracked and before you know it, you have your Sunday-go-to-meeting attire filthy.

Never fear! Annie’s Stain Pre-Wash Treatment is here! (Courtesy of my sweet mama.)

This stuff works phenomenally well. Remember me telling you about how dirty I got my clothes on the night of the fateful meeting with the skunk?  Yep. This is the same stuff my sweet mama used on my clothing, and there was nary a stain to be found!

Annie’s Stain Pre-Wash Treatment

• Clean out and clearly mark old spray bottle or dish soap bottle
• Add one cup liquid laundry detergent
• Add one cup ammonia
• Add one cup water
• Shake

That is it, folks. So easy. So simple.

To use:

• Test in small spot to make sure it is safe for your garment. I have never had it not be ok, but one can never be too careful when it comes to our favorite clothes.
• Generously douse stain, allowing it to soak in mixture for at least one hour.
• Wash as you normally would
• After washing, look for stain, if still there, do not dry. Repeat above steps until stain is gone.

My sweet mama has used this recipe for years, saving all sorts of my favorite clothes from certain demise.

“Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away.”

~Annie

My Spiritual Birthday

34 years ago today, I gave my heart and life to Christ. I have never looked back.

At the end of a night service, as Pastor Lee Hartman led the altar call in the basement of Heritage Baptist Church in Roselawn, Indiana, I went forward to accept Jesus’ gift of salvation.

I knelt down, my father and my pastor on either side of me. Seeing as I was only three years old, my pastor drew pictures to ensure I understood. Of course I understood.

God had sent His only Son, Jesus, to earth to die for my sins so that I could live with Him forever in Heaven. All I had to do is accept this wonderful gift of salvation. It was free and priceless at the same time.

Here I am, 34 years later, still loving God. At age 19, in the chapel of Camp Good News, I accepted God’s call to work with children and to minister to them. 18 years and 40 mentor kids later, I am still open to that call.

At age 30, I accepted God’s call to work and minister to adults as well. I am in the throes of this part of my life, and I love every minute of it.

Being obedient to The Great Commission, I have traveled all over the United States, as well as all over the world, telling others of God’s love for them. I have had many, many amazing experiences during those times. Experiences that only God could have ordained.

I got to know JP on one such missions trip. We became fast friends, and have been inseparable ever since.

I do realize that my blog is primarily about homesteading. However, today I want to take time out of my busy, never-ending schedule, pause a moment, reflect on, and be grateful for, all that God has done for me ever since I gave my whole life to Him.

As one of my heroes of Faith, Billy Graham,  said, “God proved His love on the Cross. When Christ hung, and bled, and died, it was God saying to the world, "I love you."”

I am so glad that He loves me. He loves you too. Always has, always will. Nothing that you can ever do will ever change that. Remember, as I said in a previous post, God doesn’t make mistakes.

Have a wonderful day today, my friends. Live your life to the fullest, everyday choosing JOY!

Annie