Frugal Friday Find

Will's Quill by Don Freeman

I found this wonderful children's book at a discount store for under $3. The pictures are beautiful.

It is a cute story about a lost goose named Will who finds a friend and wants to give something back in return for a kind act. The friend is William Shakespeare.

We happen to be studying this time peroid in history. This book gives us a glimpse of what life in London might have looked like during this period.

Learning with Joy

The kids will learn more from this "living book" than from many pages of a history text. Children will enjoy reading this book over and over again.

What is a Living Book?

A living book is a book written in story form with pictures and information accurate to the time period and subject. These books draw a child into the story and capture their interest. If after the first page the child pleads to hear more then you know you have a "living book."

I learned about Living Books from Charlotte Mason's books. For a shorter version of Charlotte Mason's works - A Charlotte Mason Companion: Personal Reflections on The Gentle Art of Learning by Karen Andreola

For more about raising children Nourish Your Children

New Kittens

Mama kitty is the proud mother of six baby kittens. One kitten is black and five are pure white like their mama.

Pets teach real life lessons. Now this is fun science!

Young Love - or NOT

Today I talked to a mom about her son who is 9 years old. He was at the Y and a little girl came up to him and said “do you have a girlfriend?”

He answered plainly, “No.”
“I’ll be your girlfriend.”
“No, you won’t.”
“Yes, I will. YES, I WILL!” the girl yelled.
The boy walked away in wonder.

I saw a 10 year old girl in a store. An older teenage girl was teasing her. “Who’s your boyfriend? Who’s your boyfriend? I know you like someone. Tell me, tell me.”
I felt so sad for this little girl. What a pressure at that age! (at any age for that matter) She doesn’t need a boyfriend. She is being taught that her value and worth is dependant on who is her boyfriend.

When I was a young mother I thought this kind of teasing was cute and harmless. Then I realized what message it was sending. “You are supposed to have a boyfriend. Something must be wrong with you if you don’t.”

If girls could see themselves as God sees them, care more about what God thinks than anyone else, they wouldn’t think they needed a boyfriend. "...for I am fearfully and wonderfully made:marvellous are thy works..." Ps 139:14

What is cute about two 10 year olds ‘going steady’? If they are going steady at 10, kissing is right around the corner. And then what is that girl going to have to do to keep her guy.

Let no one despise your youth, but be an example to the believers in word, in conduct, in love, in spirit, in faith, in purity. 1 Tim 4:12

Field Trip

A Fun Day at the Zoo!

We could get very close to the animals. The deer were looking right at us.


I saw animals that I have never seen or heard of before. Like the beautiful Rainbow Parrot. My picture was blurry so now I have to go back to the zoo to get another picture.





My youngest two children liked the aquarium. The moon jellies were beautiful.



This is a Bat-eared Fox.

Can anyone guess which zoo we visited?

Nourish Your Children

Sauerkraut Salad

What do I do with all this sauerkraut I lacto-fermented?

Sauerkraut Salad

2 large tomatoes, peeled and chopped
1 small onion, diced
1 cucumber, sliced thin
1 green pepper, chopped
2 banana peppers, chopped (raw or pickled)
1/2 cup lacto-fermented sauerkraut

Mix together and serve immediately. 4-6 servings

You can also splash with your own homemade Italian Salad Dressing. If you like creamy, add a dollop of Homemade Mayonnaise.

Tangy Honey Dipping Sauce

Because I cannot find any BBQ Sauce at the store without High Fructose Corn Syrup or Excitotoxins, I decided to try my own sauce with ingredients fresh from my garden.

1 peck tomatoes, peeled
2 Bell Peppers, seeded and diced
3-5 Jalapenos, seeded and diced
1 onion, chopped
4 Tablespoons butter
1 clove garlic
1 Tablespoon Blackstrap Molasses
1 cup Honey
1 teaspoon Real Mineral Salt

Saute the peppers, jalapenos, onions, and garlic in butter until soft. Puree in blender. Also puree the peck of tomatoes. Bring to a boil and simmer until mixture has reduced to 1/2 the amount (this took all day). Remove from heat. Add the honey, molasses, and salt. Stir until mixed. Makes about 3 quarts.

My kids like to have something to dip their leftover chicken or beef roast. I also tried warming the meat, mixing the dip, and serving on buns. It was a hit. Now I need to make more.

Don't Tell Them It's Ketchup

I harvested two buckets of tomato's from my garden that needed to be used. I froze as many containers of tomato sauce as would fit into my freezer. Now what?

I decided to try lacto-fermented ketchup. That is a stretch for me. I have never made ketchup before and I didn't have a recipe using fresh ingredients.

I boiled a pot of water to remove the tomato skins. I put the skinless tomatoes in the blender and poured them into a large pot. They cooked all day and reduced to about 1/3 of the original amount. I added 1 cup of maple syrup, onion powder, and salt. After it cooled to room temperature, I added 1/4 cup of whey, poured into glass jars, and let them sit at room temperature for 48 hours before transferring to the refrigerator.

My kids actually ate it. Whew! They dipped their chicken in it, ate it with hamburgers, and put it on their fried potatoes. I also made Sloppy Joe's with it and they loved it. I didn't tell them it was ketchup. I called it Tomato Dipping Sauce. I didn't want them to have ketchup in their mind when they tried it because this is not like your bottled ketchup. It reminded me of the ketchup in Europe. It actually tastes like tomatoes.