Coming Soon

Have an awesome review that Im going to put up soon of a really cool survival tool. Please stay tuned, as we are dealing with sickness right now. I'll try to get some pics taken, and if I feel fancy I might even try a video blog (so much less typing). See you then!

--Jamie

Murder in Montana

     Sometimes the homesickness can get overwhelming. My husband has a travel bug, he'd like to see the world. Not me, I'm happy living in one place. That is if that place is Montana. If you happen to live or travel up that way I suggest stopping in at The Dinnerbell Bakery in St. Ignatius(61262 WATSON RD Saint Ignatius, Montana 59865). This is also a great little place to stop in- Mission General Store. This is the home of  big sky, tall mountains and... Amish. Yes that's right. 

     Bought one of the cookbooks on a trip there with our home church one Saturday and have loved many many recipes from it. This is one of my favorites. Its one of those recipes that makes you feel proud to live where you live, to be a Montanan.

     So as per the previous components' recipes  I've given before and after the great hiatus you have everything at your fingertips for making your from scratch piece of heaven. Move over John Denver, you ain't got nothin' on the Big Sky State!

Sorry I must insert a few links here to share my love of my home state! YeHaW!

Ian Tyson - The Gift

Chris LeDoux - Western Skies

Hank Williams Jr - Montana Cafe

     

And now back to our regularly scheduled program....

Murder in Montana is a layered desert so you'll need one of each of these recipes made up:

Home Made Toffee Butter Crunch

Home Made Chocolate Cake

Home Made Whipped Cream

Home Made Chocolate Pudding

     In a LARGE bowl (glass is nice because it shows off the layering) begin with cooled and crumbled cake, next adding, toffee, chocolate pudding, and then whipped cream.Continue layering until the bowl is filled, ending with whipped cream. sprinkle a few cake crumbs and toffee bits on the top.

     Why is it called Murder In Montana? The toffee are the bones the chocolate cake is the dirt. Chocolate pudding is the mud, and the whipped cream is the snow. Now you know! Serve, and have the recipe handy to give out! This is a drool factor of at least 9. Enjoy!

--Jamie

Book Give Away Winner!

Thanks so much for participating ladies! I had some late entries but all on the comments were included. So 

the winner for the Book Give Away is......

Doreen G.!

Alright Doreen, I need you to email me at dontfencemein1979@yahoo.com , within 48 hours to get your address to me and tell me which book you'd like.  I'll notate which book it is on here as well, so others can find out. 

Don't worry, if you didn't get picked this time, I'm planning another give away in the next couple of weeks. Something that I think you'll like and find quite useful. Hope you all have a great evening and keep tuning in!

NOTE: I was unable to contact the original recipient so I have re-drawn. The new recipient of the free book is...

JAMIE C.! 

--Jamie

Pioneer Handbook Freebies

     I promised you another freebie and here it is. Pioneer Handbooks is a site dedicated to keeping old ways alive. They are so passionate about keeping these periodicals and their unique information available to the public that they present all this information to you FREE. That's right FREE. I love that word. FREE!

This site is just awesome. Really, old time ways + newfangled viewing + printing at home + *FREE* = AWESOME. Whats not to like about that?  

     One of the things I like to do is to pick the brains of those that are much older than me. I love to hear their stories and things they've experienced. These are like asking great Grandpa what it was like when he was a kid. 

For instance the Handbook entitled 1896 Home Mechanic gives this description:

  How-to and DIY instructions from the year 1896.  This massive chapter of the Home Mechanic’s Manual covers everything from making medicine to hair oils and pomatum, perfumery, cosmetics, soaps, herb remedies, drinks and beverages, candies, remedies for vermin, inks, cements and glue, blacking and bluing, food recipes and cleaning tips.  The historic instructions in this chapter cover the whole range of things that the settler and pioneer families would make and use at home.

And this description from the 1881 Settlers Manual Farm and Orchard:

  More than 100 traditional pioneer recipes and kitchen hints ranging from bread, cakes and pies to roasts, preserves and even ice-cream.  This chapter of recipes and cooking tips was written in 1881 for the settlers heading into the Iowa territory.  The pioneers and settlers of the 1800's relied upon the handbooks and manuals they took with them. They were the DIY and how-to books of the day.

     I'm certainly going to be printing off a lot of these booklets for my print library. Hope you can make good use of them as well. 

--Jamie

MYO Home Made Laundry Products

Ok, So Ive got my never fail small batches of home made laundry soap. But there are those of you out there who have been holding back because they don't have or want to sit and grate soap bars for a half hour (you know who you are). So here to throw before you is an offering of something even simpler. Granted if you are looking for a sulfate free version this probably won't work for you, but It might be the tightwads saving grace for those who happen to be lazy energetically and/or motivationally challenged. This woman is a genius.

Also I have to admit that I am terribly lazy motivationally challenged when it comes to stain removal on childrens' clothes. I mean really why bother removing the stains out of play clothes to have them muddied, hand wiped, dripped and otherwise icked on at the very next wearing? Don't get me wrong, I take care of the nice clothes, and I teach my children to eat over their plates and use napkins. I am not one of the moms that put down drop cloths for the babies to encourage throwing food (babies can be taught to eat neatly too! Ive proven it with 5 of them!). But for me stain removal is about as abhorrent as making ice cubes. (yes really I hate making ice!) So when I saw a link on face book to this womans' blog I really reconsidered my challenges.

Submitted for your approval are three recipes from a site called One Good Thing by Jillee.

Home Made Laundry Detergent (superfast for those who don't do grate!)

Home Made 'Shout' Stain Remover (will be trying this one this week)

and Home Made 'Oxi-Clean' (not something I use much, but hey I have the ingredients so we'll try)

If you try them before I can report back- speak up and tell us how they work!

--Jamie