Stayin' Alive

  Mr. Baker, of the Ole Baker Farm in Harpersville, Alabama was probably 100 years old when he told me the story of a local family that had moved down from Birmingham, Alabama during the Great Depression of the 1930's. They had become his neighbors. This particular family was inexperienced at gardening and had failed in their first attempt to feed themselves. Mr. Baker and his family, being the good neighbors that they are, helped this family survive the winter by supplying them with sweet potatoes and molasses.

  This recipe survived. 

Sweet Potato Dumplings

2 or 3 Sweet Potatos (Raw Grated)

Basic Biscuit Dough

2 C. Water

1 1/2 C. Sugar

1 tsp. Cinnamon

1 tsp. Nutmeg

1/2 Stick Butter

1) Roll out Basic Biscuit Dough into a long rectangle about 1/4" thick.

2) Spread sweet potato on top.

3) Roll up jelly roll style and slice into 1/2" circles and place circles in a greased baking dish cut sides down.

4) Heat water, sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg & butter in a sauce pan.

5) Pour over circles & bake at 425 Degrees F for 30 Minutes.

(Basic Biscuit Dough)
2 c. Plain Flour
1 tsp. Salt
3 tsp. Baking Powder
6 tbs. Butter
1 c. Buttermilk

Combine dry ingredients together into a large bowl. Cut butter into mixture until it begins to look like cornmeal. Make a well with flour mixture and slowly add milk into the middle. Knead dough with your fingers and add milk when necessary. 

2 x 4 Laundry And Dish Washing Liquid

Here is a recipe for a quick easy Laundry and Dish Washing liquid that is safe.

2 Gallon Bucket With Lid

2 Cups Washing Soda 

2 Cups Borax

4 Cups Natural Soap Flakes

1) In the 2 gallon bucket combine 4 cups of soap flakes with 4 cups of boiling water.

2) Use a wire whisk to stir after the soap flakes are like a gel.

3) Add the 2 cups of Borax and 2 cups of Washing Soda.

4) Add hot water to fill remainder of bucket.

5) Stir daily with wire whisk until the liquid becomes like gel.

Use 1/4 cup per average load of laundry.

Use 1/4 cup per sink of dishes.

Asleep On Snow

"Morning dove sat by my window and I awoke to hear his serene song".

My latest thrift shop find was a soft, mint green wool blend sweater that was hung at the very end of the ladies sweater display rack.  Finds of this nature usually jump right off the rack as if to say, "You're mine".
I tried it on for fit and made a quick check in a mirror to see if the shade was pleasing.  Two snap buttons closed the open front at the waist and there were squiggle designs all around.

I noticed the squiggle designs again when I put on my new found treasure for Sunday morning. On my way to meeting I received a call from a friend who wanted to see if I would stop by after Service and look at items that she need to part with and wanted to share..  She and her family had made positive changes and after a tough passage of time were filling a U-Haul and were moving back home.

When I arrived, one look at my sweater and my friend and her Mom instantly saw what I had not seen.  What I thought was scribbling was cursive writing. Around I went as they both read,

"Morning dove sat by my window and I awoke to hear his serene song".

~The real voyage of discovery comes not in seeking new landscapes but in having new eyes.~

One of my favorite quotes came alive to me as my sweet friend had inspired me to make positive changes in my own life.  The sadly neglected herb garden by my front door had been in need of positive changes for years.  The first thing that needed to happen was to reduce the area to a size that was more manageable.

One morning last week I was on my way back to my house from the goat barn.  I looked at the native sandstone rocks that defined the edge of the bed and grabbed a long-handle hoe and started re-arranging rocks.  I purposed to redo one section before I stopped.

In a popular novel set in the days of the Civil War here in the South one of  the main characters was quoted as saying,

 "Only do the amount of work today that you can get back up and do again tomorrow".

In 1988 I applied postive change to my own life.  I left a corporate job that was no longer satisfying and moved back to the family farm  to pursue making a life and a living for my family off the land.

"Asleep On Snow"  is where I would like to share my daily living here on Simple Life Farm and where I would like to share interesting ideas for simple living, interesting crafts, recipes, common sense and more.  \

I have needed to do this for a long time now, I just couldn't see it...

Love,
Cheryl of Simple Life Farm

Things I Learned On The Na Pali Kalalau Trail

1) Start each day with a cup of good coffee...it might be your last.

2) You meet the nicest people in the strangest places.

3) Food is more important than clothes.

4) Anything you really need, you can carry.

5) Don't leave it on the trail for someone else to carry, unless it's useful.

6) Luxuries can become a burden.

7) Comfortable shoes are a good investment.

8) Don't work so hard today that you can't get up and do it again tomorrow.

9) STOP, and look.

10) A tarp can make a pleasant resting place, especially when you have friends to share it with.

L-R: The McLeroys' and me.