I realize that I haven’t made any blog posts over the past couple of weeks. Bottom line – right now I have numerous things that are of greater priority than blogging. Julia is leaving in three days, and I also have several major projects that need to be finished by the time the rest of us leave for furlough, which is in three weeks. It seems like time is simply flying by at faster than normal speed, and so I have to pick and choose where to spend my time. Right now blogging is not one of those things. So, posts will be sporadic for a little while. I still pop in and read many of yours when I am able. Hope you all have a great weekend!
Tuesday’s Tip
When I think back to when I was a small child, some of my most vivid memories have to do with gospel preachers visiting in our home, sitting around our cramped dining room table, and enjoying my mom’s good cooking. You really don’t get to know people until you sit down and enjoy a meal together. Since George and I have been married, we also have fed many people around our table. Being the wife of a preacher and missionary, there have been numerous occasions when it was necessary to come up with a meal on short notice.
Have you ever had one of those days when you’ve been gone from the house most of the day? It’s almost supper time, there’s nothing in the house to eat, so you end up going through the fast food drive-through. Uh-oh, there goes the budget! What about those frazzling homeschool days, when you are exhausted by 3:00 and are just too tired to be in the kitchen on your feet for another hour or two to prepare a meal? Or, there are visitors who came to worship, and you’d like to show them some christian hospitality, but you haven’t planned to feed four more. Sometimes you can order a pizza, but let’s face it, if we did that every time we were in a pinch, we’d be broke. If you can relate to any of the above situations, then you are a perfect candidate for bulk cooking for the freezer. This method of cooking ahead has saved the day for me on many occasions.
Think for a moment about all the things that are available in the freezer section of your local grocery store. You too can prepare tasty foods ahead of time, ready to be pulled out and served in short order. One of the easiest ways to get started is to start doubling your meals when you cook, and then eat one and freeze one. Even if you only have a small fridge/freezer, you’d be surprised at what you can freeze. For example, make a double batch of spaghetti sauce (no, not out the jar :). Save out a portion that you will use right away, and the rest, after is has cooled thoroughly, can be put into a sturdy freezer bag and freeze flat. The frozen bags can then easily be stacked, which is a great space saver. Do this a few times and you will start to store up a nice selection of foods which will be a great time saver on those days when it seems like there is just not enough time to prepare a good home-cooked meal.
Here are some other ideas which have passed the test in our home:
Lasagna
Enchiladas
Beans
Taco Meat
Chili
Meat Balls
Pizza
Quiche
Grated cheese
Green Beans (wash, cut, freeze – no blanching needed)
Yellow crook-necked squash ( wash, slice, freeze)
Cooked pumpkin (great for pulling out later to make muffins or pie)
Apple sauce Cookie Dough (watch out for cookie dough snatchers – you know who you are!)
Biscuits (prepare through the cut out stage, freeze on a cookie sheet. After frozen, put them in a freezer bag. Pull out however many you need when you are ready to bake, just allow a few extra minutes for cooking)
Muffins
Breakfast breads (banana, cinnamon, pumpkin, etc.)
Pecan pie
Fruit pies
This list could go on and on, but I think you get the idea. There is SO much more that can go in the freezer besides ice cubes and ice cream.
Storing up food in your freezer for those days when you are short on time or have unexpected company will greatly reduce stress in your life. How wonderful it is to be able to invite someone over and pull out a roll of frozen chocolate chip cookie dough, and within 15 minutes have a warm batch of cookies to serve to your guests, with only a couple of cookie trays to wash. 🙂
“Show hospitality to one another without grumbling.”
1 Peter 4:9
Women of Strength
Think about the daily tasks of life way back when. Have you heard stories from the days of your great-grandmother about how hard life was – hauling water from the river, scrubbing clothes by hand, working for months to finally get the finished product of bread on the table. Unexpected company? Go chase the chicken, kill it, pull the feathers, dress it, and cook it, all before you can feed them.
Many people here in Tanzania, particularly Massai, live life in much the same way as people lived hundreds of years ago. They walk a long ways to haul from the creek, carrying a -5-gallon bucket on their head. They are responsible for building the family hut. They chop firewood to cook a little meal for their family. The list could go on. These are some tough women. I am so thankful that I do not have to live that kind of life.
Proverbs 31:17
“She girdeth her loins with strength, and strenghteneth her arms.”
The Proverbs 31 woman was anything BUT soft and lazy. She was not simply a manager in her home, dictating work for everyone else while she sat idle, with soft, non-calloused hands. No, she put her hand to the plow, so to speak. Her being physically fit gave her the strength and energy to handle the many demanding tasks in which she engaged.
Sometimes so much money and effort has been put into saving physical exertion, but could it be possible that doing such is not always the best choice? Thanks to many modern conveniences, many have saved too much energy. Maybe instead of using an electric food processor, how about doing it the old-fashioned way with a metal grater? How about wiping your floor on your hands and knees, or with an old-fashioned string mop? The point is – make some purposeful choices that will cause a little more exertion, which will help keep you more physically fit. Many times these choices also help us simplify, spend less money, and keep clutter at bay.I have to admit that I have not done the best at keeping physically fit. Although I work hard at house work, especially living in Africa, I still don’t have great cardiovascular endurance. But over the last few months I have been putting forth more effort to improve. Since moving to Tanzania, I’ve lost about 30 lbs. I have increased my exercise. I must realize that I will be of better service to my family if I am physically fit.
Your family wants you to stay around for a while.
In order to do that, we need to gird our loins with strength and strengthen our arms.
Tuesday’s Tip
Since I’m posting a blog every Monday about Prov. 31, I thought it would be nice to follow up on Tuesdays with a homemaking tip. I think one of the most essential ingredients to running a household is having some organization. This becomes more critical as more children arrive on the scene, so the sooner you can incorporate some level of organization into your homemaking, the better off you’ll be. Now…I am NOT an organizing queen – let me just put that out there, lest anyone get the wrong impression. However, there are certain little pockets of my life that do have varying degrees of organization, and as far as the rest goes…well…I need to keep working on those.
Today’s tip: laundry.
Everyone has laundry, and this seems to be on the top of everyone’s list as far as chores we do not prefer. If we can do a few things to simplify the chore, maybe it won’t be so burdensome. Here is what I’ve found to be a big help in our family. (I have not been able to implement this method completely since living in Africa, which has presented it’s own unique challenges for laundry upkeep. I won’t bore you with details, such as no hot water for the laundry, sporadic electricity, sometimes not enough water available to do a load of laundry, lizard poop and locusts in the laundry…stuff like that.)First: each bedroom has a hamper for dirty clothes, and family members are responsible for taking their dirty clothes from the bedroom to the laundry area and sorting them. You can train your kids to do this! Make it a part of regular chores – make the bed, take dirty clothes to laundry area… I don’t prefer to have dirty clothes pile up in the bathroom, even if they are in a hamper, because I’d rather not have that visible, in case of unexpected company. Also, it looks neater in the bathroom without a hamper full of dirty clothes and it’s less crowded.
Second: Put a freestanding shelf in the laundry area. On the shelves there are several baskets, each one labeled according to how I want them sorted: Dark colors, light colors, whites, towels, sheets, and denim. If you have small children who aren’t able to read yet, include pictures so they can join in on the fun. (Towels and sheets can sometimes be mixed with like colors, such as light, dark, or white, but since most of ours are similar in color, it is easier to just have a load of towels, which I prefer to wash in hot water. However, now I have no hot water available for my washing machine, so if I want hot water, I have to boil some in a big pot on the stove and carry it outside and pour it into the machine, or boil the towels in the pot, and then transfer them to the washing machine.)
When laundry is brought to this area, each person must sort his/her own laundry into the appropriate basket. This has made it much easier for me to see when there was a full load of a particular color and much less of a hassle than sorting a mound of dirty clothes every time it’s time to do laundry. (Work with what you have – don’t go blow your budget for the week on new laundry baskets. You can buy one at a time, as you are able.)
If you want your clothing to stay nice-looking, don’t just throw whatever is dirty into the washing machine until it is full.
If you washwith colors, or lights with darks,
your clothes will look old and dingy in no time at all.
I’d rather try and keep my things looking the original color intended,
and besides,
most husbands really don’t prefer used-to-be-white,
now dingy, pink underwear.
Third: TRY to fold laundry and put it away
as it comes out of the dryer.
It’s no fun to have baskets of clean laundry
stacked up and then have to deal with
several baskets of wrinkled clothes.
Fourth: Iron! It’s amazing how you can transform a garment, even though it might be a bit old and faded, simply by ironing it. Part of your job is to help your family look presentable. One way that we can show our family that we care about them is to make sure that they have clean, neat clothing. Don’t be satisfied with your family looking like they’ve slept in the clothes they are now wearing for work and worship.
Challenge of the week: tackle that laundry!