Muddy Boots, Old Houses and The Farm

Old Houses – Fermenting, sourdough starter

Update to the sourdough starter.

I am on day 4 and it’s looking amazing and it’s is starting to smell sour….. a beautiful sour…

To start your starter you can follow my directions here. For best results you need to begin with: mason jar coffee filter, rubber ban, organic unbleached flour, well water or water with no chlorine ( boiled tap water cooled will work) wooden spoon or spoon.

Why do you use organic unbleached flour? I use organic because we care about what is used to grow our foods we consume, unbleached is very important. Because there are no chemicals used to treat the flour your chances of the flour water mixture fermenting without issues and quicker then all purpose flour are best. You can use all purpose but it decreases your success in fermenting the natural bacteria and wild yeasts in your environment to grow your starter.

Why do I use well water? I use well water because that is what is available to me on a farm. Importantly though tap water has been treated with chemicals chlorine etc…. so it will kill the bacteria and wild yeasts needed to grow your starter. So you can boil the water you need and cool it and then use it.

So when you have all your utensils and ingredients your ready to go.

Day 1 – I start with a pint jar I put in the jar 1-2 tablespoons of flour and 1-2 tablespoons of water. I mix it vigorously in the jar, put the coffee filter elastic band to hold it place. I label the jar with the date and time. I put the jar on my heating pad to begin the process.

Day 2 – I wait 24 hours, and I add to the jar 1/4 cup of water mix it into the mixture and then I add 1/4 cup flour. I mix that all vigorously again then I cover the jar with the coffee filter and elastic band and update the jar info date and time. Back to the heating pad. Depending on your circumstances you should start seeing bubbles and it should start to increase in volume.

Day 3 – I wait 24 hours again and I add 1/2 water mix it in and 1/2 cup flour and mix vigorously again. Put the coffee filter back on. Update the jar date and time. At this point it might start having a slight sour smell, don’t worry if it doesn’t yet. It should double in volume with lots of bubbles.

Day 4 – I waited 24 hours again and I added 1 cup of water mix it in and 1 cup of flour and mix it vigorously. My mixture by this day usually has the beginnings of a really nice sourdough smell developing and bubble action. At this point the jar size has increased to a quart jar.

Days 5, 6, 7 are days we’re the sourness develops nicely and the instructions change slightly now. What you need to do is take out half of the starter (discard dough) and add your water and flour as per volume or weight. I keep one cup of starter in the jar and discard the rest (frying it up in a hot pan with scallions or chives if you don’t like to waste anything) I add 1 cup of water and 1 cup of flour and 1 cup of starter…..if it seems dry add a tad bit more water. On day 7 it should be ready to make bread.

Depending on how much starter you need for your recipe will determine how much starter you make. If you need 1 cup of starter then you probably want to increase your batch accordingly. You always want to have 1/2 cup to 1 cup of starter that you are feeding in your jar, increasing as necessary for your baking needs.

Things you can make with starter and starter discard. Crusty sourdough bread, sandwich sourdough, pancakes, quick fry pan breads(discard) cakes, loaves, muffins…..

I am not a pro….. just a kitchen food junkie….. I also would probably drive ocd cooks nuts because I am light hearted and whimsy when I cook and bake….. but most importantly have fun….

The House – Ferments

Got some of our regular ferments going and freshed up.

My milk kefir is happy, it was asleep the last couple weeks and I woke it up yesterday. It has some happy grains floating♡

Our green and black kombucha it brewing happily with nice looking scobies…. this is a weekly brew here.

I started a new sourdough….. its only the second day and the bubbles are full in the jar. I started the starter with 1/4 cup of organic unbleached flour and 1/4 cup of well water. I mixed it together vigorously and then labeled it covered it and put it on my heating mat. I waited 24 hours and then added 1/2 of the same flour and 1/2 cup of well water and mix it vigorously again… this us what it looked like this morning….

On the third day I will do the same and give it a smell but the sour part isn’t there just yet I should smell it after the 3 day. Going forward from day 3, I will be taking out 1/2 the starter and add fresh flour and water to continue to feed it for 3 or 4 more days and it should then have a juce sourness and be ready to use for bread making.

Happy baking and fermenting♡

The Farm – Seeds are starting♡

It’s that time of year. A large Rubbermaid container of seed soil starter, packages of seeds, newspapper pots, cell trays and a spray bottle.

I got my green room all tiddied up this week which kind of set me back some time in seed starting. But I got seeds started and it’s exciting. I also have some seed packs in the fridge just waiting a set amount of time to start them….. and the days are most definitely getting longer.

One of the things I had to do with my green room was create a door with a couple of construction zips. I have a door for the room but it’s not yet available to use. So this plastic one will have to do for now. Basically the cats cannot get into the room and mess with my seed trays.

My room shares an area of the basement with Rusty…….. his shop. So now that the door area is fixed I can proceed with my seed trays. Now Rusty says he needs a door too.

Some of the trays of seeds will go directly outside into the greenhouse. The temps in there during the day and even at night will be okay for some hardier seeds to germinate. I haven’t completely straightened up out there just enough to get going.

I made theses paper pots for the onions. This will allow me to plant these directly into the garden beds when they are thawed and tilled. I used these small paper pots for the onions. The bigger ones will be for some other seeds I wish to directly plant into the garden easier. We place 4 seeds into each cell pack. This will allow us to grow our onions a little more dense thereby being able to grow more of them. I have used these paper pots quite successfully the past couple years.

So I got onions, herbs, peppers, tomatoes planted and some greens as well.

I will post more pictures as the seedlings emerge and as the green house and green room fills up.

Happy growing♡🌱

Old Houses – addition windows

We are continuing the renos on the house in the addition. We have the walls done, primed, we have the bathroom shiplap on painted it looks awesome. We are now working on the window sills and trim.

Since it is easier to prime and first coat with paint before the sills and trim are attached……. thats what Rusty was making himself busy with this past weekend.

He beefed up the front of the sill and it really has a beautiful look. We are going to go with the same trim that is on the second floor very simple but very classy farmhouse.

I guess the next steps of after the window trim will be ….. and in this order: flooring, lights, toilet, vanity, door bell, counter top and massive pantry wall cupboards and entry nook.

Right now you can see my temporary pantry shelves in the background in the laundry cove:) works for now and is pretty amazing all the stuff that is done so far.

Looking forward to the new kitchen renos……. won’t be long.

Little steps in the big picture.

Muddy Boots -Faith, sharing

Sharing my faith

John 4 :13-14, John 8:12

As believers we have a desire to share our faith. To share what’s made a difference in our lives.

Sometimes it’s easy for people to just share and talk about what God has done for them and sometimes we struggle with knowing where to start.

Sharing God’s word with others is essential to having a complete life in God.

Think of your life as a wheel and you have Christ in the center as the center. The spokes of the wheels include: witnessing, prayer, fellowship with other Christians and spending time in God’s word. They should be balance to be effective. If not it will end up being lopsided and down the road the wheel doesn’t roll down the road if life balanced. Most beleivers are willing to act on three of the four spokes and would rather not or shy away from witnessing.

Sharing doesn’t have to be complicated or difficult. I have a saying …. just do it♡

Here is a bit of a list or key points about sharing our faith: #1-pray and expect devine appointments. Be on the outlook for God ordained sharing opportunities. God loves us and wants to answer our prayers and want to use us to bring the unsaved into His kingdom.

#2-say no to fear. We are engaged in a spiritual battle and the enemy does not like what we are doing and you will hear him screaming I your ears that the other person is not interested, or will be offended, will lash out at you, reject you. You will feel afraid and even feel stupid cause you don’t know what to say. However this is spiritual warfare and really most of that stuff won’t happen. But there are rare times people will say no and be polite and not want to talk about God. Eph 6:12

#3-God is infinitely more powerful then the enemy. God is doing the work. The enemy has no authority that God hasn’t approved. God has been preparing hearts to receive His truth long before we come or see people. We just need to be obedient when the Lord nudges us to share the gospel. Your faith will also grow as you answer God’s call and share God’s truth with people.

#4-share how God has changed your life and blessed your life. Remeber what God did for you…. one of the most powerful ways to lead someone to the Lord is to simply tell them how your life changed before and after you received Christ as your Lord and savior. Remeber a few blogs ago I Saud write down a short version of your story use that to personalize your sharing experience. Keep it short…… and effective.

#5-view people through God’s eyes. When you see a person, look through God’s eyes at their eternal soul. Think of the hopelessness they have without Christ. Think of the joy they will have as they meet Jesus and are filled to overflowing with the Father’s love. Ultimately it will be their choice and decision, but God does not want anyone to perish and uses believers to reap His spiritual harvest.

2 Tim 1:7, Rom 1:5-6, Isaiah 55:11, Eph 1:18, 2 Cor 10:4-5, Eph 6:10-13

People do tend to be curious…. they will engage some might want to know more some may divert the conversation others might be argumentative, but devine appointments do happen….

Pray again this week for those devine appointments get some gospel tracts to hand out and share your faith. Look for conversations to share your faith this week. Stepmother in faith and grow your faith in obedience.

Grow in the Lord♡

The Farm – Seeds, getting ready

It’s that time of year….. I get so excited about the gardens….. a bit giddy….really…. its kinda funny.

It starts off with taking an inventory of the seeds that are leftover from last year and figuring out what’s needed for this year. As well what I didn’t get a chance to grow last year and will try this year. I am looking forward to some new stuff.

I am gonna start our onion seeds in little newspaper pots like the old days as I can fit more cells in the trays and they get planted directly into the garden. A nice quicker, tidier way to do onions. I didn’t get my garlic planted in the fall so they are going in paper pots as well.

It’s the days of black fingers for a few weeks until that part is done. I also had to ask the neighbor for their used newspaper as we don’t get one….. so all in all nice way to recycle and get seedlings going.

There are gonna a be a few seeds that we need to buy but not much. I do a lot of seed saving from my gardens as many of the seeds we grow are heirloom. I will be doing some testing of seeds the next week to make sure the seeds are unusable but I can’t see why they wouldn’t be.

I will be growing several different kinds if greens some that live cool temps and some that like the summer warmth… like watercress, mustard greens, purslane, mizzuna, wrinkle crinkle cress, orach, celtuce to name a few.

I bought paw paw seeds, ramps, samphire, calendula, satisfy, and burdock to try…..

Spring is just 13 days away….. not that we can plant outside then but the weather definitely starts to change.

So look for an update on the seedlings in the next couple weeks as the greenhouse and greenroom start to fill up with trays and seedlings.

I got lots of flower seeds too…. some will be started this very week♡.

There is a good variety of annuals and perennials to start. Some are your regulars and some are old fashioned heirlooms…… cant wait.

I got quite a few free seed packs of sunflowers from vesseys that were free….. so get ready to be spammed with sunflowers come the spring-summer-fall…. lots of them. 🌻

Get excited for yourself. Start a little garden, even if its only a couple flower pots and planters♡ catch the gardening bug…..

Muddy Boots – Faith, habits

#3 making habits in sharing your faith

John 14:21 and 1 Peter 3:15

Making it a habit to carry a gospel. What’s that you say….

When you have a gospel in your pocket, or purse, or bag you will naturally become more conscious of sharing opportunities as they happen. God may have provided you excellent sharing opportunities for you in the past, but without a tool to use you probably weren’t ready to even see the chance before you.

Not saying that you wouldn’t share if an opportunity arose….. but….

If you place a gospel in a poker, purse or bag each day and prayerfully seek a chance to use it, you will begin to experience supernatural results♡.

God created us to accomplish stuff and to glorify Him. When we ask Him to help us share His glory with others….. He will be happy to fulfill your request.

Not only will He give you devine appointments with people whose hearts are prepared to receive His word, but He will give you just the right words to share as you give away those gospels. Don’t worry about those words right now…but trust Him.

Also don’t feel guilty if you don’t give a gospel away in a day ….. the main thing is to be prepared to share your faith.

2 cor 6:4-7, Matt 10:7, eph 3:8-10, John 4:35-38, 2 cor 10:4-5

Don’t know where to get gospels, drop me a line I can send you in the right direction to get some…. being prepared to share your testimony, praying, having the word in your heart and having gospels to give away are all part of learning to share the greatest gift of all.

Have you memorized any scripture verses? Your assignment is two fold today……

Leave a gospel with a server at a restaurant, coffee bar, fast food outlet ….. make the gift more impact full with a personal msg on the inside…. say thanks, here’s a little something for you….

Secondly l, start memorizing scripture….. start with one verse at a time……. starting in the new testament…… these verses will become useful down the road when you are sharing your testimony ♡

Start making intentional habits….. they will go a long way.

The Farm – is it spring yet?

The spring equinox is about 17 days away and here on the east coast I cannot wait until the snow melts and the sun worms the days and new life comes forth out of the land, trees and sky.

It was so hard to think of doing stuff in anticipation for spring this morning… as we woke up to a little snow storm.

But even as the cold and the blowing snow is still with us the anticipation for warmer days….. warm my heart.

As Rusty was clearing the snow and went over to the greenhouse. Trying in my mind to make a plan for the next four weeks. I have seeds to start… a greenhouse to organize and a meat chicken shed to clean up for our anticipated new furry arrivals…..

In the fall we put a bunch if stuff in the greenhouse instead of putting them in the old yucky barn. So now I need to make a plan to clean up, tidy up and or straighten up the green house so that I can get the trays in there for a bunch of seed starts…

The picture below shows my big long planter….. it need sto be reinforced and I need to add some compost soil into it. Once that’s done I want to plant some early carrots, beets, radishes, lettuce and snap peas and or sugar peas….

Hopefully the critters that are out and about will stay out of the greenhouse and stay away from my new seedlings♡

Even though it was cold out and overcast…. I can’t tell you how warm it’s was in the greenhouse.

One of my ideas in there is to have a neat little she-greenhouse-area. So that on these days when it’s yucky I can go out get some sun and warmth that will boost my spirits to warm summer days.

Looking out it’s hard to say how nice and green it will be agin because winter feels endless….. but looking out reminds me of fresh asparagus, lettuce, strawberries and blue berries and so much more…..

Can’t wait.

If you have never built a garden before I encourage you to get a couple packs of seeds….. a couple window flower boxes and pots compost soil and water…. you don’t need much to start off and be a little more self reliant…. happy gardening…. go get your hands dirty in the soil it feels amazing♡

Muddy Boots – Faith, The word

#2…. Power of God’s word

Continuation of how do I share my faith

The Bible tells us that scripture is GOD-breathed, 2 Tim 3:16. Thoughv recorded by the holy spirit by hand writers, the words were inspired by the Holy Spirit. God revealed His person and plan to these writers. They used their own cultural context and their own personal writing styles, they wrote what God wanted them to write. Scripture is completely trustworthy because God was in control of its authorship.

The Hebrew Scriptures… which prophesy the coming of Jesus…. were so accurately transcribed from. One generation to the next that a scroll of the entire book of Isaiahfound among the Dead Sea Scrolls and dating more then 1,000 years older than the versions known at the time of its discovery differed by only a few letters. We can trust God’s word.

The Bible is our standard for testing everything we see and hear. UT protects us against false teaching, and acts as our guide for how we should live. Scripture reveals the character of God.

Naturally, the only way we can grow closer in our thoughts and actions to the heart of God’s will for our lives is to spend time daily reading His word and applying what we read. Knowledge of the word is not enough if we don’t apply it to our lives.

Effective ministry requires us to spend time daily reading the Bible.

Start by reading just a few verses a day…. just a couple of minutes….easy enough to fit into a busy schedule. The key being that you make it a daily habit to read something from God’s precious word.

Pslam 119:10-16, 1 Tim 4:13, Hebrews 4:12-13

Don’t know where to start….. try the gospels…. John, Matthew, Mark, Luke….. great places to start.

If you are able to get your hands on gospel tracks or even the gospels in booklet form like the book of John…. get some and leave them in a place that someone maybe able to pick it up and read it. Also note that it is possible it could be thrown out but hope and pray that it gets picked up….. so get your hands on some gospels and start handing them out….. try directly to a person as well.

Muddy boots – faith, how do I…..

#1…… How do I share my faith?

Start off with prayer. We have the privilege of prayer. John 16:24, John 15:7-8.

Having a foundation of prayer in our lives is really the basis for the Christian walk…. talking with God before we talk to others about him is the vital part of our life. It’s the vital part of our efforts to share our faith.

Prayer has many aspects and is necessary if you want to experience life in Christ and share the good news of eternal life with others. Prayer is a two way dialogue between you and God.

You can use ACTS as model for prayer

Acts is a suggested structure for your prayer time that was modelled by Jesus in the Lord’s prayer. It can aid you in praying more effectively.

ADORATION: To connect with God, you begin by expressing your love and adoration for Him. Humble yourself before His perfect greatness and infinite love. John 1:1-5

CONFESSION: unconfessed sin in our lives hinders our communication with God. Before you ask for anything, purify your heart by searching for moments of weakness and confess them before God. He has promised that He will forgive those sins and will purify us. 1 John 1:9

THANKSGIVING: Before you ask God even on behalf of others …. fill yourself with gratitude for the people and other blessings God has already provided. Think about what you have and thank God for them. Philip 4:4-5

SUPPLICATION: This might seem like a fancy word, but it simply means to ask. Once you’ve confessed and given thanks, feel free to ask what you will. God has promised he will listen and answer every request offered this way. Philip 4:6-7

Other scripture to consider the necessity and power of prayer. Eph 6:12-20, John 17:24-26, 1 Tim 2:1, Col 4:2, Hebrews 4:16, Daniel 9:3-19

Preparing to talk to others about Jesus. What was a major problem you struggled with before you met Christ. (ie. anger, impatience, bitterness, drug and or alcohol half use, dishonesty, etc) How did it change after you gave your heartvtobthe Lord.

Write down the answer to these two questions, this is a great way to prepare yourself to talk to others about Jesus. Your personal testimony of a changes life is one of the most powerful ways to witness as a Christian. Keep it short so that you are equipped to quickly explain how God changed your life.

ACTION: list 5 people with whom you would like to talk to about God and share the gospel with. Pray for each one that God would prepared their hearts with a hunger to receive His word and the ability to understand it. Pray God would give you courage and the opportunity to share your faith with each of these 5 people.

Ask a believer friend to pray for you as you embark on a journey of sharing your faith. Have them participate with you.

Look for #2