Ham and Bean Soup

I made ham and bean soup today, it's still cooking away in the crock pot.  You may not think this is significant, but it is!  I don't like beans.  I found this recipe online, and it looked good, despite the beans.  I even TASTED the broth to see how it was...I lived!

The "plan" is to have PH try it, if it likes it great, we'll have it tomorrow.  If not, I'll can it and it will become part of my emergency food, " if you are starving, you'll eat it" pantry.  It smells good, and the taste...needed more salt it was kind of BLAH.


PH is finished with barn construction, but has been welding a couple of hay racks for the horses out of scrap pipe.  Pretty cool!  I had mentioned to him I wanted to buy some from the local feed store, but FREE is always better. 

What have you done to prepare this week?

I've decluttered and gone through items to make room for more storage.
Inventoried the freezer
Talked to my FIL about hog butchering (he's a wealth of knowledge)
Started preparations to make deer jerky for the first time


More later, coyotes are prowling gotta go....

Happy New Year!

We had a great time of fun, food, family, friends and fellowship New Year's Eve.  This was our third year to host a bonfire, and we had a good crowd.  About an hour before midnight  the guys headed to the bridge by the creek to set off the fireworks.  It was a pretty good display, and along with the neighbors setting off theirs gave us an exciting, fun night.

It's always interesting to see how I can host a party with as little money spent as possible.  Providing food for the pantry/freezer makes the night less stressful.  I made BBQ wings, wild hog sausage, nachos, bread, iced tea and everyone brought snacks like cookies, brownies, and more. 

The wood stove is smoking bad, and back drafting into the cabin.  It figures this happens when the nights are really cold.  In order to be warm enough to not freeze we have had the fire going, but I have to sleep with a fan blowing from one end, and the front door cracked to keep the smoke going out of the house.  I still woke this morning at 4 a.m. cold, and with my eyes burning.  Once it is light, I'll let the fire die out so that the stove and pipe can cool.  PH will take the chimney down so it can be cleaned.  We are quite certain that after three years this may be the problem.  Everything we read says to clean it yearly, but after 20 years of heating with wood we have found this to not be accurate for us.  The first time before we found out it needed to cleaned we went 10 years without doing it without any problems.  We only cleaned the chimney because we purchased a newer stove.  But I think it's necessary this time....

I purchased a few food preps, and focused on my medical preps to keep stocking my first aid kit.  Having an extensive first aid kit came in handy when PH sliced his hand open on the tin roofing while working on the barn extension.  He is adding another side roof structure over the horse pens.  Originally we were going to let the horses use the  first barn extension to shelter out of the elements, but PH had enough materials scavaged that he wanted to use them up, and not let them rust away on the ground.  So, instead of moving the pens under the first extension he is building another over the pens themselves.  The first extension will be used for church worship services, a work area for PH, and a shelter for the log splitter, garden tractor. etc. 
Back to PH's hand....it was worse then we first thought and really should have had stitches, but PH doesn't go to the hospital for such minor issues.  I was able to clean it, and use my "Liquid Skin" to close up the injury.  I bandaged it and he was on his way.  Because he was still working he kept breaking it open, so that evening it was seeping pretty  badly.  I doctored it again with peroxide, Neosporin and a bandage.  By yesterday afternoon, it was looking pretty good. 

PH and PS#1 (age 23) were able to get the framework up and will concentrate on finishing up with the roofing later today.  It's not even 5 a.m. and everyone else is still sleeping.  I LOVE the quiet of the house early morning and late evening.  Very peaceful.

I pray this new year brings blessings, and we are in much prayer for our nation.  It's going to be a bumpy ride for sure this year, but working on relying on the Lord for our provision and security is a never ending theme with our family.

Hope everyone had great Christmas and New Year celebrations in the loving atmosphere of family and God.