No Soap Radio

So...this blog is about sharing a Leo Family practice...making our own laundry soap. We've been making our own soap for about 4 years now, and I can't imagine ever going back to the store bought stuff. We're able to make the stuff for a FRACTION of what it costs to buy it. (I mean....what would cost you 7 or 8 bucks for a thing of Tide can be made for pennies...AND...it works just as well.) There's lots of parts of the process of making this soap that the kids can help out with, which is nice...It's all natural...not to say that you could sit and drink it but...it contains no artificial dyes or fragrances...now, that being said, it's important to note that this soap does not have ANY scent...so, if you LOVE your clothes coming out of the laundry smelling like "Spring Rain" or "Honeysuckle Blossoms" well then...I don't know what to tell you (actually...more on this in a minute).
Before I lay down the recipe/process, let me just say that I am definitely not taking credit for this....there are hundreds of variations of this same basic recipe all over the Internet. I have tweaked my own recipe to a degree, which has never let me down (even in taking care of the "funkiest" cloth diaper). It works great as a pre-treater, as well. Some folks have asked me if it works in front loading washers....which I do not have....but I DO know that I've seen an episode of The Duggar's where they make laundry soap using a very similar recipe...and they use front loading washers so I'll assume that it's o.k. but if you have a front loader, you may want to do a bit more research. Alright...here's how it's done (at least in our home):

You will need these dry ingredients:


Fels Naptha bar soap
Borax
Arm & Hammer Super Washing Soda
(the handsome 4 year old is optional :^)
*remember when I said that the soap has no scent? Well, I've seen some recipes where people add some essential oils....maybe lavender or tea tree oil. We don't do this, so I wouldn't know how much to tell you to add but I'm sure that you could dig around online and find out more.
**Also I should note that not all of these ingredients are carried in every grocery store....you may need to check around....I know that Market Basket has all 3 ingredients...but you can talk to your grocery store manager and they can start to carry these items in your local grocery store if you request them. I did this at the Price Chopper in Webster.

This recipe yields 3 gallons of soap at a time and is a slightly more concentrated soap than most of what I've seen elsewhere online. We need a strong laundry soap around here...we work hard...we play hard...we poop hard.

Wow...that was gross. let's just move on.

You will also need:
A big cooking Pot
1 wooden spoon
1 cup measuring cup
cheese grater
big plastic bucket (preferably with a lid w/ a pour spout)
Something to mix up the soap with (more on this later)

Here's a pic of the first 2 steps:


STEP 1: Fill the big cooking pot about 2/3 of the way with water and cover...bring to a boil. It doesn't matter exactly how much water is in the pot because you are basically going to cook up a concentrate that you will later add to more water to bring it up to the correct final volume of 3 gallons.
STEP 2: Grate the entire bar of Fels Naptha using the largest side of the cheese grater (watch those knuckles). When you are done grating, you should have a pile of something that more or less looks like this:



Step 3: Once the water boils, roll back the heat to medium and add the grated Fels Naptha. At this point you are going to have to stay pretty close to the pot....as there is a tendency for this stuff to boil over if left unattended. Use the wooden spoon and stir, stir, stir until the Fels Naptha is melted. Keep an eye on the heat...if the boil gets too aggressive, tone the heat down.
STEP 4: Once the Fels Naptha is melted, add 1 cup of the borax (slowly...adding it too fast can cause it to bubble over) and stir, stir, stir until the mixture feels fluid and not grainy at all.

Ivy getting ready to measure out some stuff.

Step 5: add 1 cup of the A&H Super Washing Soda in the same manner as the Borax.

Once the mixture is fluid with no graininess at all, kill the heat. Let it sit in the pot a minute.

Step 6: Add a gallon or so of COLD water to the bucket that you will be storing the soap in. Our bucket looks like this:

The fact that it has a pour spout on top is key. It makes the process so much easier. i think that this bucket used to carry Drive Train Oil...I think we got it from some local machine shop. At any rate, you should be able to pick up something similar at Home Depot or whatever.
STEP 7: Add the completed soap concentrate to the cold water in the bucket. Stir. I marked the 3 gallon volume on my bucket with a Sharpie so, at this point, I just use more cold water to fill the bucket to the right height.
STEP 8: Stick the lid back on the bucket...let sit for 12/24 hours.

After you let the soap sit...it basically sets up into a big gelatinous mass (kind of like when you refrigerate real turkey gravy...you know, all wiggly and gross?)
Now...here comes one of the last steps...breaking up this mass into a liquid. Now, keep in mind that this is not going to become a syrupy blue liquid like store-bought stuff, but rather a pale-yellow, kind of watery, kind of chunky slop. But, no worries, because it is all good once it's in the washing machine doing it's job.

STEP 9: Mixing up the soap.
I used to just use a large wooden stick to swish around and break up the chunks as best as I could. It worked o.k. but I was constantly clogging up the pour spout of the bucket with globby chunks that were too big to fit through. About 2 years ago, I switched to this contraption and life got much easier:

What you've got here is a big cordless drill with an attachment that is designed to mix up 5 gallon buckets of paint (can be found at any Home Improvement or Paint store) being wielded by a feisty 2 year old. Now..if you go this route, keep this in mind:
Make sure that the chuck (or, in layman's terms: the part where the drill bit goes into) of the drill will open up large enough to accept whatever stirring attachment that you decide to go with. I have 3 drills, and my stirrer only will fit onto 1 of them. Mix until it is as fluid as you can get it.
STEP 10: Keeping the Soap.
It is quite heavy and cumbersome to pour the soap from the big bucket right into the washer every time so I have kept a couple of old Tide bottles that I fill with my soap (this is where the pour spout on the bucket is KEY). Some folks might use empty milk jugs.
Some folks might make smaller batches of soap and not have to worry about this step at all.

Use it in the same amount that you would use store bought stuff.

And there you have it. Now...all that being said...if you ask 100 people who make laundry soap how they do it...you will probably get 100 different answers. It all comes down to how much you need, how strong you want it to be, and what you will be using it for. This recipe that we use has taken several years to fine tune.

I've never sat down and figured out on exact cost analysis of what I save by making this but, I can tell you that a bar of Fels Naptha costs about a buck-fifty. The Washing Soda and Borax cost about $3 a box, and each box probably has 12-15 cups in each...so...I figure that, give or take, I can make 3 gallons of my stuff for under 2 bucks....whereas it would cost me upwards of 30-40 bucks to buy the same amount at a store. That's savings I can't pass up.

I certainly believe that, for my family, making our own soap is something that helps us stay in obedience of the many scriptures about being skilled, resourceful, and good stewards of our money and time. It is something that my family does together...it is (most times) a blessing rather than a chore. I hope that you give it a shot and reap the same benefits (and $avings as our family has).

Happy Soaping.

Canning Update

100% success!! all 27 quart jars sealed properly!!

My kids are going to get so sick of pickles :^)

"Don't Bogart That Can......Man"

So...you're probably asking yourself....what does a throw-away line from the 1994 Gen-x coming-of-age film "Reality Bites" have to do with canning vegetables? (actually....I'm sure you AREN'T asking yourself this....BUT....if you were....the answer would be: Nothing....except maybe the word "can".) It's been a really long night so....forgive me if I'm a little mental.
Right now it's 1:27 am. I've been at this since 8:00pm. Part of me never wants to see another pickle again for the rest of eternity....the other part of me wants to eat nothing but...
Anyhow...this is my first attempt at canning. I don't have a pressure canner so anything that I can has to be able to be processed in a water bath canner. The first victim was a huge batch of pickles:



27 quarts in all. I've read a million articles and blogs about canning. Everyone seems to have their own take on it. I'm coming to find that it's more an art than a science. You ask 100 gardeners how to can pickles and you'll get 100 different takes on the how-to specifics. I took the knowledge that I found and added my own spin....At the end of the day....I'm hoping for an 80% success rate. I guess that means....out of the 27 jars I processed tonight....I'm hoping for 21 or 22 of them to seal properly.
If that happens...I'll be thrilled.
I'll letcha know tomorrow how things panned out. As for now....I think I'll finish my drink and then head on to sleep. This stuff's like a part-time job...the "simple life" certainly is work....but fun work.

Lunkers and Leafy Greens

Let me just start by posting the best first:


I pulled this mother out of the lake this afternoon. Now....let me post my "fish story"...
I started Gavin fishing for the first time early this season....we had pulled a million bluegills and sunnies out of the lake, along with the occasional catfish and the gift pickerel that we nailed....He's becoming quite the fisherman, even at 4 years old, the kid is learning how to set the hook like a champ....in fact, today...I taught him how to cast an open-face reel....I figured, why bother with these push button junkers...just teach him the real deal...anyway, he nailed it. He's a bit sketchy on the back swing but, he's nailing the release. Very "proud papa" moment there, but nothing like what would come later in the day.
So today, we're on the dock...a pretty standard day of fishing for us....he's pulling in bluegills every 5 minutes or so...usually, a day fishing on out dock turns out like this:

a bucket full of bluegills, fun as anything for a four year old...but after a while, Gavin decided that he wanted to practice casting. I took the hook off his line, showed him a thing or two, and let him rip, bobber only. I, in the meantime, strung up my pole, sent the line low and casted to an area that I I've pulled some impressive catfish out of this season. I'll spare some details here but....suddenly...I got a hit...I mean, a HIT. If you've fished long enough, you learn how certain fish hit. "Kivers" poke and prod and then zig-zag the whole way in. Bigger stuff like Catfish and Bass hit quick and strong and pull strong in one direction. This thing took my bait (just a simple hook and night crawler) and RAN. I said "Gavin...I got a big one"...he immediately knew what his job was...drop his pole and get the net. I reeled this guy in and Gavin was right there with the net in the water. I wasn't sure what I had on the line until it was about 7 feet out from the dock. After I saw that it was a MOTHER of a Bass, I was freaking out. Gavin got the net in the exact right spot in the water. I got down on a knee to start to lift this lunker to the surface and grab onto his bottom jaw with my fingers when.....suddenly....**SNAP** my line broke.
The biggest Bass I've ever pulled out of my lake in my life dropped and fell.....right into Gavin's net. We pulled him up onto the deck and got the hook out. It wasn't until things calmed down that I realized that....the only reason that we landed this fish is because my son...my 4 year old son, knew exactly what to do in the moment and performed marvelously. I realized that, through it all, I didn't give him 1 command or instruction. he just knew what to do. He was trained for this moment, and did exactly the right things. Had he not been at the ready and on point, this would have been just another story of "the one that got away", but...not the case today. I have to say....that was more impressive than the fish we landed (well, almost :^).
We showed the girls, snapped some pics:


and then let him go . I know, I know...here come the comments "why didn't you eat him"..." I can't believe you let that thing go"....well...gutting, cleaning, and filleting will be next years training. This year, we'll just continue to focus on catching them.

Also tonight....
I had to thin out our lettuces. I planted way more than we needed....which I guess is a good problem. Anyway, I decided to do a major harvest and give individual bags of lettuces and spinach to the participants of the day program that I run. Both kids helped me harvest. Ivy helped me wash:


then we dried:


Then bagged:



I'm sure that the folks at my program will enjoy these garden treats.
It was a very busy, yet very fulfilling weekend for our family. The Lord is using us to serve others in so many neat ways. I'm grateful for the Servant Heart of my wife and kids. That He is using us (and especially the little ones) to bring Him glory through service. I'm specially thankful for the down time that He gives us...and the blessings, like garden greens and this HUGE fish, that He sends our way....

Let's Shake On It.

The PA based band, Live, wrote a song in the early 90's called "The Beauty of Gray" which contained the lyric: "This is not a black and white world, to be alive, I say the colors must swirl"....and I buy that, to a degree, but there are some things that contain little to no middle ground....examples:

You either know how to throw a frisbee or you don't.
You can either parallel park or you can't.
You either love black licorice or you hate it.
You can either hit a curve ball or you can't.
You either "get" John Coltrane or you don't.
You either know how to BBQ or you don't.
You either have a good handshake or you don't.

That last one is what I want to touch on.

It's important, especially as a male, in our society to have a solid handshake. Throughout history, deals have been made and broken based on the quality of a handshake. It's an often overlooked skill, but, in my opinion, there are far too many weak handshakes given out these days. Now, admittedly, there are dozens of different types of handshakes...the pound, the fist bump, knuckles, the crusher, the soul brother, palm up, palm down, the "double cover", the close-shaker, the hipster, the queen fingertips, the yank-and-pull, the lingerer, the sweater, the politician, the hand wrestler, the teacup...the list goes on and on.
Tonight I taught Gavin how to give a good, solid handshake. In order to know how to give a good handshake, it is important to know the specifics of what makes up a bad handshake. We focused on three specific handshakes:
1. The Dead Fish
This is the handshake where you extend your hand only to receive a limp wristed, pressureless wad in return. No grip. No firmness. It feels more or less like you just grabbed an uncooked boneless chicken breast. A quick story:
I have a friend of mine who tells this story....(I won;'t reveal who he is, but if he reads this, he'll immediately know that I'm talking about him)...
he was a product of the 70's and 80's music scene...he had the rare opportunity to meet one of his musical heroes....here he was, face to face with someone who had a major influence in his life...a man who's music and lyrics helped define him as a teenager....and at that moment of truth...he extends a hand to his hero...finally making a physical connection after years of distant inspiration....and he gets.....
The Dead Fish
worst handshake ever.
completely causes him to reevaluate everything he's ever known about the guy.
so sad.

At the other end of the spectrum is "The Vice"

This one usually comes from someone who has a buried insecurity about themselves. They feel the need to squeeze your hand to the point that you start to lose key motor function. They must have "the upper hand" as it were....they need you to know that they are, while existentially inferior, physically dominating....this handshake is no good. It only leaves the receiver feeling like they've just met some confused, pathetic, doofus.
Then I taught Gavin about the right way to shake a hand...I'll call it "The Solid".

A firm grip, but not too firm. never over match someones grip. let them determine the intensity. Maintain eye contact through the entire shake. Two full arm pumps, no more. Don't be afraid to break away first and NEVER cover with the opposite hand. And tell them "It's a pleasure to meet you".

That handshake will get you places.

Our society is raising the wimpiest male generation on record. As fathers, let's commit to teaching our boys how to work, how to build, how to suck it up, how to lead, and how to have a firm handshake. If we can at least get that far....there may be some hope for the next generation. But let's start slow....

For the love of God...don't ever...EVER, let your son give a "Dead Fish".

Know that you Know that you Know.....

Remember the old Schoolhouse Rock PSA's that ran during Saturday morning cartoons? (do they even have Saturday morning cartoons anymore??) In their theme song were the lines "It's great to learn, 'cause knowledge is power".
They were onto something.
This post qualifies as "Stuff that rolls around in my head from time to time..."

It's important to know stuff. And that fact works on many levels.
On a basic social, entertaining, and somewhat pedestrian level:
It's important to know:
- 3 good "clean" jokes.
- 10 relevant-to-many-occasions Bible verses.
- A local place where you can get a good burger/taco (preferably with a good jukebox).
- How to parallel park (and drive stick shift...and drive around the closest big city to you without a map/GPS).
- How to rub/braise/smoke a rack of ribs.

I could go on and on with this list. There's literally thousands of stupid things the average person should know how to pull off. I'm sure there's tons that you'd like to add. Feel free to do so in the "comments" section of this blog.

Now, go a level or two deeper.

I recently had a conversation with a friend about home ownership and home maintenance. It went something like this:
"Back when our grandfathers were our age (30 somethings), what percentage of them would you say knew how to, and had the in-house resources to, change out a length of water pipe should it burst in the middle of the night in the middle of Winter?"
"Maybe 90-95%."
"I think that's right on. Now...When our parents were our age, what percentage of them could change out a length of water pipe should it burst?"
"Maybe 40-50%."
"That also, is probably close to being right on. Now, what percentage of homeowners our age, in our day, could change out a water pipe should it burst in the middle of the night, in the middle of Winter?"
"I dunno, maybe 10%?
"I think that's probably right on."

Do you agree?

What's happening here? This example of replacing a water pipe can be extrapolated out to include a huge array of skills:
carpentry, electrical, plumbing, automotive repair, fabrication, small engine repair, gardening, farming, home/business maintenance, accounting, you name it. The bottom line is that there is a major decline in "skill sets" for the average American.

The fact is....we are becoming more and more increasingly unskilled by the generation....and many are forced to rely on the few that continue to maintain that knowledge. And that "few" can pretty much charge whatever they want for their services.

I know of a family that had to pay $900 to replace 2 1/2 sheets of sheet rock due to some minor water damage. That's a $100 job at best....but...if you don't know how to do the work...you are at the mercy of those who do. They can sit and charge you whatever they want because, hey?!, what's your alternative? Let it sit and rot?

If one were to burst a water pipe in the middle of the night tonight and had to call a plumber...it'd cost you $250 (at least) before they even walked through the door. that's before they'd charge you $125 an hour plus materials to fix a water leak. (note: replacing a 4 foot piece of 1/2" copper pipe wouldn't cost more than $25 in materials). But...the fact is...you can't do it...they can...you are at their mercy.

Again...I could go on and on with stories and examples of why it's important to know how to do stuff. I'll spare you...

I dunno why I'm even posting this...maybe it's because there's 8 feet of snow everywhere. Roofs are collapsing all over the Commonwealth. There's going to be TONS of roofing/gutter/plumbing work to be done once this snow finally melts and there's going to be thousands of residents who are going to pay 30x over cost to get a job done that they could have done themselves with a little initiative, know-how, and a fraction of the $$ that they are going to shell out for someone else to fix it for them.

For anyone looking to get educated in these areas....
- there's TONS of DIY websites with thousands of videos posted on hundreds of different subjects. I learned how to change out the front brakes on my minivan as well as learned how to lay laminate flooring by watching these vids...and saved hundreds in the process vs. hiring someone to do the jobs:

http://www.diynetwork.com/

http://www.ehow.com/videos.html

If you are more of a "hard copy" learner...pick up the Home Depot "orange book". It's got just about everything you would need to know about any home improvement/maintenance issue that would arise.

I guess, for me and mine, it all comes down to preparedness. I have a desire to have a working knowledge of just about everything that I'd every have to deal with in maintaining/fixing/protecting/providing for my home. I've accumulated lots of knowledge/experience. I have TONS to learn.

I see things...like what is going down in Egypt right now. I think of the fathers there. I think about what is going through their minds. How to care for, maintain, provide for their families. What to do to protect and feed them. I want to hold a cache of resources and knowledge should that level of adversity every come against my community and family.

I guess at the end of the day, some stupid Saturday morning commercial kind of summed it up:

"Knowledge is Power"

Well...I don't need power...I need provision....and protection....and Knowledge helps bring about those as well.

That's enough for me. .

I'm Floored

You've heard me say that we live in the house that my parents previously occupied ....anyway...about 15 or so years ago, before we moved back to MA, my folks were on a big "beach house" kick and decided to decorate their home in a beachy motif...which included model lighthouses at every turn and light, off-white carpet. It just so happened that the dining room was also carpeted. Fast forward to us moving in, having kids, and living in this home.....off-white carpeting and 2 little kids = bad news...ESPECIALLY when it's in the dining room.

Chrissy and I had been talking about putting some hardwood or laminate flooring in the dining room for years....well, we saved some cash and when push came to shove and back in June or July I promised Chrissy that she would have new flooring in the dining room by Thanksgiving....the clock was ticking, and it all came down this weekend. I've never laid flooring before so it was a bit of an adventure...throw in some baseboard moulding and thresholds and this project got a bit complicated....but, I got to gettin' and it turned out alright.

I'd like to thank the fine fellows at Lumber Liquidators, Home Depot, and Youtube DIY vids for helping make this happen...not to mention my dad, who taught me just about everything I've ever learned about tools, machinery, and building....my wife thanks you too.

Before:




After:




We've got a saying around here, especially in the areas of home improvement and maintenance projects...."Daddy Done It".

Daddy Done It refers to a home project that gets taken care of by daddy....it may not turn out as sweet as if a professional came in and did it...if you look hard enough, you can find all sorts of little mistakes....but Daddy Done it...we saved a ton of money by doing it ourselves, it looks quite good enough...and daddy took care of business for his family. Win. Win. Win.

I remember back in the day when Chrissy and I lived in New Jersey...We lived in a house with her mom and twin sister....Chrissy's dad had passed away about 10 years earlier. Chrissy and I lived upstairs in an attic room that was finished by her dad before the twins were born. She'll be the first to admit that her dad was no carpenter. I remember there was this closet door...the moulding at the bottom of the door frame was about 2 inches from the corner of the wall....by the time he got to the top of the door, it was out of square and the moulding was about flush to the wall corner. It wasn't the most pro job ever....if you looked hard enough, you could see the error...BUT...Daddy Done It. His kids needed a place to sleep and a closet. His desire to provide for his family outweighed his talent but, no matter, there was a job that needed to be done and he did it. At the end of the day, the closet door worked, the room was finished, his kids had a fine place to live, he upped his home improvement skills, and he saved a ton of cake by doing it himself. Win. Win. Win. Win. Win.

I never met Chrissy's dad. He passed away about 5 years before I met Chrissy...for me, he lives only in stories told by his children and a few faded photos that Chrissy holds on to. But I always remember that door frame in that attic room on 116 Stratford Ave. in Westmont, New Jersey. And today, as I was laying this floor, thinking the whole time of the blessing it was going to be to my family...I feel like I spent the morning with Chrissy's dad, Al Shipe...in my mind, he was rooting me on...proud of the job that I had done...proud that I was providing for my family despite that the task was foreign and a bit daunting...and not giving a damn about the little mistakes that I made.

Voila, A Viola

Well....a fiddle, actually.

Let me explain.

Our family watches very little TV....almost none. We do own a TV set, but we keep it packed away in the garage, only to be brought upstairs and plugged in on the rarest of occasions (although, I must confess that it's been up here a few extra times since the Phillies made the playoffs). We believe in guarding our hearts, and especially in guarding the hearts of our kids, and, let's face it, the TV can let a lot of garbage into a home...but I'll spare you that whole rigmarole and get to what us not watching TV has to do with a fiddle.

On Saturday nights, we gather 'round our computer and watch an episode of Little House on the Prairie before Gavin goes to bed. Gavin loves to see how they did things back then. He also gets to see that how we live at our home is similar, in some ways, to the life of the Ingalls Family; modern conveniences not withstanding: (the planting/gardening/harvesting, building/fixing/using tools, wood chopping/burning, baking/cooking/recipes, family joining together in worship/ Scripture reading/social time, etc. etc.)
He's taken quite a shine to Pa Ingalls. In fact, Gav likes to play Little House and pretend that he's Pa. Sometimes I get to be Mr. Edwards, sometimes I have to be Laura or Mary (depending on which episode we are recreating). Mama is always Mrs. Ingalls, and Ivy's always baby Carrie. One of the things that Gavin likes most about Pa Ingalls is when he plays his fiddle.

Gavin decided one day that he needed a fiddle just like Pa Ingalls. Being the resourceful and creative type that he is, his "fiddle" was a 12 inch long piece of tree bark left over from the wood splitter and his "bow" was a 9 inch twig that he found in the front yard. Now, you could see a kid, in the heat of the moment of creative play necessity grab these items to quickly use as a fiddle for whatever scene he was recreating and then quickly discard after the child's attention was focused elsewhere.

Nope.

Gavin kept that bark and twig for weeks.

And weeks.

"Where's my fiddle, Mama?" he'd ask. Mama would point it out to him, and he'd grab it and pretend to squeak out a verse or two of "Old Dan Tucker". Now, don't get me wrong, I LOVE the kids resourcefulness, creativity, and contentment...but at some fatherly, nurturing level, it bummed me out that he was using a freaking piece of bark as a fiddle. So, in true Ingalls spirit, Gavin and I headed down to the workshop yesterday to build him a proper fiddle. Here's what we ended up with 2 hours later:



We sketched out a basic body shape on a piece of paper and transferred it to a 3/4" piece of scrap plywood which we used for the body, bow, and raised bridge...then we cannibalized a bungee cord for the strings, weather stripping for chin padding, and 4eye-bolts for the tuners...sanded it down and threw in some etching with a rotary tool. We used a piece of ribbon for the horse hair of the bow. Please allow me a "Proud Papa" moment and say that Gavin used, at some level, every tool that we used on this project (except the table saw). I love that he loves tools and building, but I love more that he's so content and gets so excited to just be with his family. It's no Stradivarius, but we had an awesome time together in the workshop...and, let me tell you, this kid plays a MEAN plywood fiddle.



Watch out Charlie Daniels

First Fire

I'm riding on the coat tails of my last blog where I'm so excited about the changing seasons. Chrissy went grocery shopping tonight and I LOVE seeing things that she brought home in the grocery order like molasses, canned pumpkin, brown sugar, allspice....I'm loving every second of October so far...even the rain. I especially love the wood burning.

It's amazing that even though each year, by February it's such a chore, the wood stove is so exciting at the beginning of the season. We heat our home solely by burning wood. Our weapon of choice is the Jotul F400. She's a beaut of a stove...Norwegian design (and believe me, they know cold winters)..it's geared for about 1,600 sq ft. We need to heat about 1,300 sq ft. but our bedroom is the furthest room from the wood stove...which can make for some night-cap nights. But...we love it. especially because it's free heat. We've been blessed to be able to get our hands on wood for the past 7 years or so, and we've got another year or two worth of wood stored on our property already. Folks that have needed trees knocked down and offered the wood as payment...friends of the family who have needed favors or to borrow tools and have been able to compensate us in wood....it's all such a blessing.

We burn about 5 cords in a season. For those not in the know...a cord is a stack of wood 4x4x8 feet. It's no small task cutting and splitting and stacking all of this wood...but thankfully Gavin has become an asset in helping us get our wood together (Ivy still pretty much just supervises, and Mama does us good with hearty lunches and coffee).

I'm always amazed at how much wood we burn and how little ash we get in return. After all is said and done, by April we will have burned about 640 square feet of wood which will yield only 30 or 40 gallons of ash. It's amazing ...the energy potential inside 1 piece of wood. We'll use the ash as compost in our garden for next Spring.

I LOVE using wood to heat our home. Maybe part of it is because I feel like I was born in the wrong century. I watch old Little House on the Prairie episodes and part of me longs to be Pa Ingalls. I know that life was far less glamorous than they portray on the show and that after about a week of living like that I'd be loving the creature comforts that I now take for granted...but there's some thing so primal, so fun about the fireplace. No one gathers for hot chocolate and song around the electric heat register or radiator. You'll never hear a song written about "Chestnuts Roasting on an Oil Furnace". There's something so wonderful and nostalgic and pure about heating with wood. For some reason, as humans...we're drawn to fire. It's psychologically communal, and comforting.

Anyhow...here's a few pics of 2010's First Fire. I'm please d to say that Gavin used the hatchet and chopped ALL the kindling for the fire:



Gavin and I reassembling our stove after replacing a few gaskets.



"Houston...we are GO for launch"



Diggin' the heat



Ivy digs it too.

Time, Hospitality, and Varial-Speed Reversible Drills

"See then that you walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise, redeeming the time, because the days are evil" -Ephesians 5:15-16 (NKJV)

God is good. All the time.

Over the past several months, Chrissy and I have been praying for the Lord to bring us into friendships with Christians who have strong families. Specifically, those who are homeschooling. The Lord has directed us to homeschool our children, and we have many questions on the subject and also, we really just wanted to spend some time with families that have older school-aged children who have had success homeschooling and are committed to building strong, Godly families. Well....He delivered. Quickly and plentifully.

This past weekend our family attended the NCFIC (National Center for Family Integrated Churches) Road Trip Conference in Taunton, MA. We were so blessed to be invited to spend the weekend with The Axbergs, a wonderful family of 6 who we had met only 2 weeks earlier. They are just the sort of family that we had been praying for connections with. We also spent time fellowshipping with other families who share the same convictions as us and the Axbergs. We saw God's love exemplified in so many wonderful ways...especially in the hospitality and selflessness shown not only by the adult hosts, but also by their children.

In the verses at the top of this post, we are warned of the condition that our world is in....evil. We are also encouraged to be educated and make the most of the time that we are given. To "redeem" is to take back. We are told to take back time that we had previously squandered and offered to fruitless and trite pursuits, and to use it to learn...to be calculated and wise. Sound advice in a culture that is producing it's most foolish and least-skilled generation in history.

Throughout our time both at the conference and in peoples homes last weekend, I saw the fruit of this time-redeeming. Families who took back time from foolish and worthless endeavors and are giving it back to the Lord in the form of educating their children and pursuing wisdom for their whole family. I watched 13 year old girls fully manage a kitchen and prepare meals for their families. I saw young boys show genuine care and interest in connecting with and engaging small children in fun, active play. Teenage boys with a strong working knowledge of tools and machinery. Teenage girls with passions for reading. On Saturday morning, I woke up and headed downstairs to find that quite a few people had already been awake. I was happily greeted by the daughter of one of the other families who was staying in the house with us and asked "Would you like a cup of coffee, Mr. Leo?". I was blown away. But I was blown away with a cup of coffee in my hand thanks to the genuine caring heart of a young woman who has been brought up to truly care for the needs of others.

Our media-crazy culture is making billions off of distracting us with nonsensical amusements to keep us entertained....dumb, and entertained. I have interactions with so many young people who hand away hours of their time to amusements that offer no redeeming value in return. I see 9 year olds buried in their Nintendo DS who can't hardly hold a conversation with another child. I see teenagers text messaging nonsense again and again and again and again. It breaks my heart.

My intent is not to put the young people who I spent time with this weekend up on a pedestal, but to mention how blessed I was to be able to see, firsthand, the fruits of "redeeming the time". These kids watch very little tv. I didn't see one of them use a cell phone all weekend. They couldn't comment on Lady GaGa's latest video, or how good Iron Man 2 was, or who got kicked off of American Idol last week. Some folks in some circles might look at these kids and call them "out of touch" or even "geeky". I call them fantastic examples of what happens when you follow God's word and not allow time to be stolen away by foolish pursuits in the name of "fun" and "entertainment". These kids were some of the most wonderful, skilled, funny, and joyful young people that I've ever had the pleasure of meeting. Getting to spend time with them and learn from them and their parents last weekend was a true gift to our family.

One last story. Last Saturday the weather in Taunton was super hot and muggy. We were installing a HUGE air conditioner in the living room window. The father of the house told his teenage son to grab the tools and install the brackets that would later support the AC unit. The boy immediately jumped up and grabbed the cordless drill and in minutes, had the brackets securely in place. The dad didn't check the work. He didn't need to. It was done right. Years of training, he and his boy, had given both of them the confidence to perform this task no sweat. I look forward to the day when my children discover the beauty of using time wisely, and glorifying God in their wisdom and endeavors.