Wild Edibles with Sergei Boutenko | Learn How to Forage for 25 Tasty Plants

I found this quite fun and interesting. It makes me want to go out and do a bunch of foraging. I did actually forage wild nettles for our supper yesterday but that was the first this year (besides foraging for Maple sap). Hopefully I can make a lot of time for wild food foraging this summer.



Another fun part of watching this was having some of my family listening in part of the time behind me and getting very scared that there is going to be wild foods stuffed into every dish I make. It made for a funny evening. It could also prompt some of them to do a little more cooking which wouldn't be a bad thing. :-)



 Do you do any wild food foraging?

Maple Syrup - From the Tree to the Table

A favorite Springtime project of mine is to make maple syrup. We don't have any maple trees on our property but my parents do on theirs. Early in March we went over there and tapped the trees. To do that we drill a hole in the tree, insert a spigot (some piping with a tube connected) and connect it up with a bucket so the sap can drain in there and collect. When the days get above freezing but the nights are still below freezing is when the sap really runs.

 Later we go and gather up all the sap that is in the buckets and we put it in this big pan that is over top of a wood stove. Then comes many hours of boiling down the sap. Lots of moisture needs to steam away so that the sap will turn into syrup (get thicker and sweet). The rule of thumb is that it takes 30 gallons of sap to produce 1 gallon of syrup. We tend to not make it quite that thick or sweet so we get more but that is the general rule.

This process takes a lot of wood. We gathered a lot of downed wood from the woods and burned up lots of small brush but Dad also cut down a tree that was nearly dead to use for firewood as well.

This season happened for the most part during quarantine time. Which was actually rather nice timing as we weren't so busy with other things and MN allows you to go places for outdoor activities (which this is) and also encourages agricultural work (food production) to still take place which this also is. So it was a fun outing. It was different then normal though because usually we would spend a fair amount in my parents house while we are over there but we didn't do that this time. We are staying outside and trying to maintain a 6 foot distance from them.

 Aaron has been the helper that joins me most often. He likes to take his bike along and while we have extra time as it is boiling down he goes mountain biking on their hills.

 Normally we would go inside and Mom would feed us lunch but this time we have packed lunches. One day we made some pretty yummy grilled sandwiches (both peanut butter and jam and cream cheese).

 When it has boiled down quite a lot on the wood stove, then we put it in pots and take it home and finish up the boiling on our stove inside.

 After that we can it. I tend to repurpose a lot of jars for this type of canning.

The next step is to make pancakes or waffles and eat it. :-)

  I really love having real maple syrup to use and am thankful that we can produce our own instead of buying it. I had been buying it this past year and though I do understand why it costs so much (all the work that goes into it) I am thankful that we don't have to pay it anymore.

  Anyway, that has been one of our fun activities lately.

Be Thankful!

"Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus." 1 Thessalonians 5:18

I needed the reminder of that verse today. As the Shelter-in-place got extended for 3 more weeks here in MN I have been struggling a bit with my attitude. I fully know that God has this under control and that He can work powerfully in every circumstance but yet I have struggled with my attitude and have just felt like complaining. I am seeking His forgiveness on that and am working to be thankful and trusting instead. In case you might also be struggling in this area I hope these verses can encourage you as well.

"Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful." Colossians 3:15

"Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful." Colossians 4:2

"Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God." Philippians 4:6

 Our God is mighty and strong and He listens to our prayers. Let's go to him humbly and with thankfulness!

Here are a few of the things that I am thankful for....

 -Being able to gather in our backyard with a few neighbors for social distancing church each Sunday. It is a great outdoor activity and makes my week start out so much better.

-All the Church services being shared online. I truly have enjoyed being able to listen to friends and family as they preach all over this great country of ours.

-A new kitty at our home and a girl who loves to play with him (and make him things like hammocks and toy mice). He had been born to my sister's cat last year but stayed with my parents for the winter. When we went to work on maple syruping and pick up eggs we also picked him up. He has been fun entertainment for these days at home.

-All the birds that we are seeing lately. The swans are so beautiful and I am truly loving the sound of the loons.

 -All these children of mine (including Debora our exchange student). I am so glad that we have a pretty full house for this shelter-in-place time!

-Campfires are fun too.

-Having Ken work at home and be able to eat lunches with us.

 -Fresh flowers from a plant that my mother-in-law had given me. They are brightening up our home so beautifully!

 -Yummy meals even without having been shopping for a while. Debora made this delicious Brazilian chicken dish.

 -Baby goats - a wonderful sign of spring. They are at my parents place but we got to see them while we were there (staying outside and properly social distanced) working on Maple Syrup.

-Music. I so love being able to make music with my family. It causes me to worship my God and just lightens my heart.

-Books. A little extra time to read them is nice too.

What are you thankful for?

Free Bible Games

Would your children enjoy something new to do while in the quarantine period?
 I was told about a free resource that we can use to encourage Bible learning and make it fun and I thought I would share it with you. I think a lot of them would work well to do with just your family during this time.

   Bible Games Central has a large amount of different games that point you to the Bible. Some of them have nice printables to go with them and some of them are just instructions for how to play. Some games would work very well with a large group (such as a Sunday School Class) but many would also work to play in your home with just a couple of people.

  The "Picture Perfect Bible Scavenger Hunt" could be a fun one to do where you contact some other families, plan a day to do it on, each family would be a team and do it at their own houses but you could all start at the same time and race and then share the pictures with each other. The list has an object from every book of the Bible (66) and it might be hard to find every single one of them without leaving home so maybe say you have to get all but 10. I think that could be a really fun quarantine activity. Also a very fun activity that is already prepared for when we can get together with people again.

  All the games I looked at also have Bible lessons that you can use with them. Several have more than one different lessons. Some of the games wouldn't have a lot of Biblical point to them unless you also do the lesson. As a Bible teacher I find that to be a pretty nice resource. I really like this list on the site where it has the games listed in the order that they go with different Bible passages

  Anyway, I was thankful to come across this resource and since I am excited to encourage others to spend more time in God's word I did want to share it with all of you.

Enjoying Finishing Projects

   As much as I miss getting to see my church family and other friends I am truly enjoying the Stay-at-Home time as well. It is wonderful for giving me more time to finish projects. I had fun finishing a couple today and I thought I would share them with you.

I had a big plate (shown upside down in the picture above) that Megan had given to me and I thought was really pretty but it cracked. It was no longer able to be used to eat with but I was able to glue it back together again so I figured that I could use it for decoration. I had some little plates (which I had more than I needed of for eating) that matched it that I decided to decorate with as well.

 I had hung this picture that Megan drew of our family on our dining room wall. I liked it but this wall really needed a little more color to spice it up.

 See....

 These plates have been sitting around ready to get fixed for a hanging for a couple of months. First I made little wire loops and glued them on (with hotglue).

 Then I cut pieces of felt and firmly glued it on over top the bottom section of the loop.

 Now just to hang them. I wish I would have sought ideas and inspiration before hanging them as I think I could have done a better job but I figure I can think on it and fix it better later. I kind off think it would be better with 5 up there in a little less regular pattern. What do you think? I am still enjoying them being up and the beautiful blue and white that they add to that wall.

 This basket has been in my office closet, partly done for some time now.

Today I finished it and am very happy about that. Lord willing, I am going to make more and store my small scraps of fabric (sorted by color) in these baskets.

  It was fun to get these projects done, it just motivates me to get more projects done. How about you? Are you getting old projects done on these quieter days? 

Yet You Have Not Returned to Me

An immature eagle on the river by our place

   As I have been reading the Bible lately I have been trying to do a much better job of really meditating on it and figuring out what lesson I can learn from it. I find this super easy in the New Testament but sometimes I have struggled in the Old Testament. I have certainly been guilty many times of just reading through chapters quickly and then going about my day and not even remembering what I read. I am trying to change this and I have been very blessed by that effort.

   In case this is something that you struggle with as well here is an idea that I have been using - After reading a chapter I take the time to look over it again and really think about what lesson I can take away from it or what verse particularly spoke to me. I then write it down in a little notebook. Taking the extra time to think and then to write seems to do a much better job of cementing it in my brain than just reading it.

   Anyway, I have been reading through the book of Amos and there is a lesson in there that brings me to tears and it is a lesson that we desperately need right now.

 Here are the verses that really made me think....

Amos 4:6-13

"I gave you empty stomachs in every city and lack of bread in every town,

yet you have not returned to me," declares the Lord.
"I also withheld rain from  you when the harvest was still three months away. I sent rain on one town, but withheld if from another. One field had rain; another had none and dried up. People staggered from town to town for water but did not get enough to drink,
yet you have not returned to me," declares the Lord.

"Many times I struck your gardens and vineyards, I struck them with blight and mildew. Locusts devoured your fig and olive trees, 

yet you have not returned to me," declares the Lord.

"I sent plagues among you as I did to Egypt. I killed your young men with the sword, along with  your captured horses. I filled your nostrils with the stench of your camps,

yet you have not returned to me," declares the Lord.

"I overthrew some of you as I overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah. You were like a burning stick snatched from the fire,

yet you have not returned to me," declares the Lord.

Therefore this is what I will do to you, Israel, and because I will do this to you. Prepare to meet your God, O Israel."

He who forms the mountains, creates the wind,

and reveals his thoughts to man,

He who turns dawn to darkness,

and treads the high places of the earth-

the Lord Almighty is his name."

Now I fully realize that this was God speaking through Amos to Israel after some very challenging times that they went through. I am not pretending that we can just substitute our name for Israel and stick in things like Corona Virus, Job loss, Economic downturn, etc in and say that here is a message God has given to us. I am not proposing either that God was the one who sent the Corona Virus down to earth to punish us. But I do believe that  it is in His control - he can allow it or stop it.

  So, why did I share this passage with you? Because I do very strongly believe that what God wanted when Israel went through trials is the very same thing that He wants when we go through trials - that we will return to Him! Have you fully surrendered your life to Him? Have you said "Not my will but yours be done"? Has our country and our world returned to Him? Have we pleaded with them to do so?

     The next chapter also has some thoughts that we can learn from:

Amos 5:4 "This is what the Lord says to the house of Israel: Seek me and live:" 

He still promises that today. And though he doesn't promise that we will live forever physically (we could get CoronaVirus and die, or simply die in our sleep from old age) He does promise life eternal when we follow him.

Here is another neat passage from Amos 5:14-15:

  " Seek good, not evil,

that you may live.

Then the Lord God Almighty will be with you,

just as you say he is.

Hate evil, love good;

maintain justice in the courts.

Perhaps the Lord God Almighty will have mercy on the remnant of Joseph."