Blog

Nine Tips To Eliminate The Sunday Morning Rush

Published on by Violet RhodesLeave a comment

But as for me, I will come into thy house in the multitude of thy mercy: and in thy fear will I worship toward thy holy temple. Psalm 5: 7

Are you a Mom who dreads the Sunday morning commotion of getting children fed, dressed, combed and all around supervised, as you prepare for departure to church in a timely fashion? With children, you cannot predict what may or may not happen in a few short hours. It’s best to have plenty of time rather than not enough. Also, the Bible does say, Let all things be done decently and in order…..That especially seems fitting for Sunday morning preparation to enter the Lord’s house. When your racing around all morning, and catch your breath as you slide on to the church pew, it’s hard to be in the spirit of worship. And I suppose you moms that have 5 or 6 children would likely have more advice to share than I do with 2, however, here’s my strategies:

1. Begin Saturday! My food prep on Sunday morning for our lunch must be very minimal, so usually Saturday is a day to prepare food. Prepare Sunday lunch as much as possible! I like to have my food ready so all I need to do Sunday morning is slide it in the oven and adjust the temperature. Something my mom taught me was, get the food in early and bake it at 350* for an hour or hour and a half, then you can turn the oven down to 210*- 220*, and you don’t need to worry about food not being finished when you get home. I cannot plan to have much food prep AT ALL Sunday morning, unless I get up a lot earlier. (Which I do if I’m having company or something.) Maybe you prefer cooking up pancakes and eggs for your lunch after you get home from church but in my book, that doesn’t fly. It’s already later than normal and we’re all ravenous when we get home! Plus, I am in no mood to listen to whiny, hungry children while I cook lunch. And besides, it brings me a sense of peace to know we have good food waiting once we get home.

2. Do not plan your Saturday too full. I try to leave my Saturday rather open but invariably there’s other things that crop up and too often I end up having a crammed Saturday! So, in fact, it actually begins Friday! Getting the cleaning done Friday helps open up Saturday for those unpredictable events that may come up. Also, we like to make sure we’re not out too late, or working on a project late on Saturday evening. Getting everyone bathed and hair washed before late is a high priority for me. As is getting to bed in good time.

3. Prepare your purse/diaper bag. Especially when I have a small baby, I like to pack the diaper bag on Saturday. It gives me time to do it properly and make sure I have what I need. My baby is 13 months, so by now it does not take as much so I don’t always do it Saturday. Still, I find it good to organize it a bit, check/restock the snacks, and set it out by the kitchen table. Then it’s ready to grab and go.

4. Get up in good time! Sunday morning is not a time to sleep in, sorry! (It’s only one of the many mom sacrifices, right?!) I like to do my hair first thing so I have ample time, in case my hair does not cooperate. (Hey, it happens and if it’s almost time to leave and my hair is heading towards a bad hair day, I feel disgruntled and frowzy) It also gives time to lay out clothes for the baby/children, so that Jerald can help with getting them dressed. Otherwise, he asks what Reece is wearing and I try to explain and next thing I know, it’s the wrong set or something that don’t fit right! You could also do this Saturday but it can be little risky for getting the clothes rumpled or strewn about meanwhile.

5.Get the children up before too late. It’s not beneficial for anyone to try rushing children through breakfast and dressing. It’s nice if they have time to relax and wake up a bit before they must eat.

6.Have a simple breakfast. This could also be prepared on Saturday. Jerald and I generally do not eat breakfast, therefore, I usually just quick cook a little oatmeal and he feeds the children, to give me more time for other things. (I think it gives more alertness in church if I don’t eat breakfast, or at least very little)

7.Lay out Bibles and Sunday School books. Place these in a convenient spot to pick up as you go out the door so they won’t be forgotten.

8. Be in the spirit of worship. We have a tradition of playing worship music on Sunday mornings. I really enjoy listening to good worship songs as we anticipate and prepare for church. Our favorites are the Hymns Of The Church CDs by Oasis Chorale. We have Hymns Of The Church in our songbook racks at our church and hearing those songs before we even get there is a wonderful way to begin worshiping God! Plus, it contributes to a peaceful atmosphere.

9. Have a structured departure time. Get completely ready for church in ample time, so you have a few minutes to spare. Maybe somebody gets the wrong socks, or there’s a messed diaper to change or who knows what all manages to happen when we’re pushed for time! Jerald likes for us to be ready and sitting in the living room 5 – 10 minutes before we need to leave. Honest confession here- I try, but somehow, I don’t always get it accomplished! But when I do I like how it gives me time to mentally collect myself and anticipate the worship service. This is also a good time to refresh Josie with her memory verse.

Book Review- My Other Name Is Mom

Published on by Violet RhodesLeave a comment

I find it ironic that I have been trying to get this blog ready to send out for nearly a week! It normally takes a day or two till I get it wrote up, analyzed and edited by myself and Jerald and then I like to sleep over it at least once. But this time! It’s not because I was having editing problems or such like. It’s because I’m a Mom! Other things totally took priority and I feel as though I’ve been spinning tires in regards to this blog post. Actually, more like the Levite who “passed by on the other side.” Literally! I saw my tablets and books cluttering up my desk on the other side of the kitchen, and I just went on by for several days!

Today I had an excellent morning of sewing while my one year old took a precious two hour nap! In fact, I was able to get so much done in those two hours, that I very sporadically decided to take the children to a nearby park to play in the water. It was a little more than I had planned on, with Reece being a big time water lover. He wanted his life jacket on and then off and then on then off. He loved to just plunge in and splash so hard his face got soaked more than a little, but he was not to be daunted. I finally sat right down in the water with him because it was just too dangerous to leave his side even for a moment; life jacket on or off! I was not planning to get so wet myself, but… And the sand mess!! Oh how wet sand clings for hope of a better life! After swimming, we occupied the play set for awhile so that shook off some sand but plenty came along home. So there were baths and a load of wash. The kitchen sink and bar is cluttered. The sewing rooms a mess. Jerald came home with a 10 lb. box of blueberries and five zucchinis. (Yes these are wanted zucchinis, not secretly dumped in his truck!) I’m glad for the produce of course but right now my fridge is full! I mean FULL. It’s chaotic! And where am I going to put these blueberries?! (Hmmm. Seems to me I read a blog post this summer on organizing your fridge. I should probably check that out because mine needs help about now!) Another thing, it’s well nigh time I ought to be getting some food on the table for supper and here I sit typing away! (It won’t take long to get supper on because my fridge is so full, remember?!) I told Jerald just this afternoon I need one of those machines like The Cat In The Hat with all those extra arms so I can do everything at once! Also, It’s a gorgeous day and I would love to be out mowing yard but that’s not even an option. And I really hoped to get another dress cut out today but it think it will remain a hope unseen. Yesterday was brim full too, but I won’t start on that!

Does this scenario sound familiar? Are you a Mom? (And I know you don’t need to be a mom to be swamped with work, but moms usually are!)

This summer I was gifted the book, My Other Name Is Mom written by Mary Burkholder. Have you read it? I enjoyed it immensely and highly recommend it for any mom! Here are some of the highlights for me.

I’ll begin with a couple sentences from her foreword that really sum the book up well…

* Being a good mom does not mean being perfect. A good mom loves God, cares about her children, and does her best. And that’s enough.

That was so encouraging to me! So often guilt plagues me for whatever reasons as I review my day. And these words just beautifully sum it up. Loves God. Cares about her children. Does her best. Also, let go of perfection! Perfection I’m referring to is perfection in things like house work, cleaning/ organizing, cooking, gardening, sewing and such like. No, not sloppiness but be ok with the less than perfect! We forget we live in an imperfect world and life will, many times, NOT be perfect!

*In chapter 2 entitled If You Don’t Want Children, she discusses our desires for or against children. Of course we want children! (Or we should want children!) It’s just that it’s not always pleasant. No one enjoys labor, a colicky infant, or a fussy, teething toddler. But it’s part of children and we can not go by our feelings! We must be willing to sacrifice our own desires for the good of our children.

* The Christian life is not about doing what we want to do; it’s about giving and serving and finding fulfillment in doing so.

*Chapter 7 called, Romance? What’s That? She writes, The romance level in every couple’s relationship will take a hit when they begin a family. That’s normal. But it doesn’t mean your love life is over. It means you have to make adjustments. The stresses of children in the home can strengthen your bond and teach you more about being selfless. A healthy, stable marriage doesn’t mean endless fun and romance. True love means sacrificing our own needs. It means caring, and speaking civilly when it would be easier to be cross and “touchy” and vent our frustrations on each other.

*Chapter 11 she covers the Supermom Myth. A woman trying to be supermom is tired, lonely and easily upset. Her children are insecure and anxious, overly worried about their performance. Children don’t want a supermom: a regular one is great, thank you. How do we stop trying to be supermoms? A few of her bits of advice on that is;

*Stop striving for perfection. We can improve as we open ourselves to improvement, but we won’t ever get perfect. We need to get this into our heads.

*Be realistic with limitations. This includes accepting help as well as learning to say “no” to outside obligations and interests. Our family and our home should always take priority with us.

*Discern the necessary from the extras. A woman who is trying to be supermom usually ends up doing things that are unnecessary and unimportant.

*Slow down and enjoy life. The wannabe supermom rushes from one task to the next, always planning her next move. Ooh! I didn’t think I was trying to be supermom but this sounds way too much like me. Roaring around at a high rate of speed so I can be sure to get the work accomplished! Even as I was making notes for this blog the other day, I was scribbling so fast I could scarcely read my own writing! Slowing down is definitely necessary for me. But I really do like to make my moves count too!

*In chapter 13 she writes about Mommy Guilt. A cloud of guilt can hang out in the back of our minds, keeping us in doubt as to whether we read enough stories, give enough hugs, cook a healthy enough diet, or discipline enough. Sounds so familiar, right?! Who else out there knows exactly what this is talking about? It is certainly something I struggle with.

*Living in guilt renders us incapable of being effective mothers. If we convince ourselves we can’t do a good job, we are sure not to.

*I really enjoyed chapter 19 on Happy Homemaking. She lists challenges to homemaking as well as some tips to getting organized. I personally love organizing and creating lists but still sometimes feel like a hamster on a wheel. But at least getting things on paper gives my head a bit of a break!! In order to be effective homemakers, we must take care of ourselves. Running ourselves ragged for our families is not managing well. We should not be slaves to the system.

Something else she mentioned that really helped me put things in perspective was this. Family first, food next and then clothing/laundry. Things like cleaning, organizing and sewing can get pushed further down the list. Of course I should know this but I can get so caught up in a project, even something that is necessary such as cleaning or sewing, that I nearly forget myself! And sometimes, because I love to sew or write, or whatever it may be, I’m speeding along at 90 mph, when I need to exercise discipline to stop and go cook supper! ( like, right now! Hey, I’m going in just a minute or two!) Food for my family is more important. What I’m doing at the moment, can usually wait.

The last portion of the book she includes a Homemaking survey on various aspects. I love practical tidbits like that and found it interesting and helpful!

I enjoyed this book so much that I have decided to do a drawing and give one away! So, here are the rules…

1. One entry per person- this could be yourself or a busy mom you know who would enjoy the book

2. Send an email to jeraldsflower@gmail.com with the name and a mailing address.

3. The book will only be shipped within the US or Canada

4. Entries must be submitted by Sunday, August 16, 2020

This book can be purchased here or at your local Mennonite bookstore

It’s July- Lock Your Vehicle!

Published on by Violet Rhodes1 Comment

We all know we should lock our vehicles, right? But why should we especially lock them in July? To keep them from becoming loaded up with your friend’s surplus zucchini and summer squash!!

These plants seemingly either die or produce an over abundance. They certainly don’t seem to know much about moderation…..This summer ours died so we have none. Thus it was I happily grabbed up the oversized zucchini (last one in the box) on my way out the church door Wednesday evening. Somebody’s plants are over producing but thankfully they didn’t load up our vehicles! They just kindly set a big box in the church entry free for the taking! Then some summers I feel disgruntled because I can’t even give away enough zucchinis! And we end up feeding the compost pile.

I love a good old summer medley of fried zucchini, squash, onions and mushrooms! So yum and full of good nutrition! There’s so many ways to fix these veggies and likely you already have your favorites. Perhaps you’ve been diligently making those dishes with your over producing garden plants? And your tired of recipes including zucchini? I’m so sorry if this is the case and here I come loading you up with more recipes! (Hey, at least it’s not a box full of unwanted zucchinis!) I tried a new recipe the other day and was so glad I did! I actually made a double batch of them a few days later because they were so good and didn’t last long! I’d like to share this cupcake recipe with you today. Plus two more recipes that I’ve made other years that are quite tasty!

Chocolate Zucchini Cupcakes

1 1/3 c.small chunked zucchini

4 eggs

4 Tbsp. soft butter

2/3 c. Simple Sweet

1 1/2 tsp. vanilla

1 1/2 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. baking soda

4 Tbsp. cocoa

3 Tbsp. coconut flour

1 c. almond flour

2 Tbsp protein powder

Put zucchini in blender and chop till almost smooth. Add remaining ingredients to the blender and blend till smooth. Pour into lined muffin tins. Bake at 350* for approximately 20 to 25 minutes. Cool and frost with the following recipe.

2 Tbsp. soft butter

3 oz. soft cream cheese

3 Tbsp. Simple Sweet

2/3 c. whipping cream, whipped till stiff

Beat first 3 ingredients until smooth, then beat in the whipped cream.

After frosting the cupcakes, store in refrigerator. You can add 2 Tbsp. cocoa to the frosting but I omitted it because I’m not a complete chocolate fan. I thought they were quite delicious and pretty with a white frosting! These cupcakes are super moist and yummy! My family enjoys them! Used with permission from Simple Foods cookbook.

Now, maybe you don’t like ‘healthy’ recipes and would rather bake with regular old flour and sugar. If so, here’s a scrumptious recipe for you!

Shredded Zucchini Bars

2 c. sugar

1 c. oil

4 eggs

2 c. flour

1 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. cinnamon

3 tsp. vanilla

2 c. shredded zucchini

1 c. chocolate chips

Beat first 3 ingredients. Add remaining ingredients except zucchini and chocolate chips. Very last mix in those two. Pour in a greased cookie sheet and bake at 350* for 20 to 30 minutes. Cool and frost with cream cheese icing.

6 oz. soft cream cheese

1 c. soft butter

2 Tbsp. milk

4 c. powdered sugar

Beat cream cheese and butter then add powdered sugar and milk.

These are soooo soft, delicious, and moreish!! Musty too! (Must have more) Last summer a church friend made these for us when she brought a meal after Reece was born. Other people’s cooking is so good when your just recuperating from having a new baby and nursing besides! And so it was that I asked her for the recipe!

Recently I attempted to revise this recipe of zucchini bars, since I need to avoid gluten… I used Bob’s Red Mill brand of gluten free 1 to 1 Baking Flour in exchange for the regular flour. The dough looked a little dry, so I added in some applesauce. It was not too bad, but I tried a second shot at it before I was satisfied. I don’t normally use this kind of flour because it doesn’t seem as healthy as almond, sorghum or coconut flour. But it is handy when your in a pinch. This 1 to 1 flour can be used in exchange for one cup of all purpose flour, which is so handy, because then I don’t need to figure out the flour ratios and all that! This blend has a mix of rice flours, sorghum flour and several starches. If you want to bake those zucchini bars the healthier version, here’s what I changed: 1 cup simple sweet and 1 teaspoon stevia to replace the sugar, 2 cups gluten free 1 to 1 baking flour, to replace the regular flour. Then I added a half cup applesauce and used sugar free chocolate chips. Bake at 350* for 25 minutes. Then frosted it with the same frosting recipe I used for those zucchini cupcakes. I was pleased and they were very good! They are a bit flatter than the regular version but that’s normal when you’re not using gluten flours. Store in refrigerator after frosting.

(Some grocery stores have a health food section where you could find this flour or online. I got this at our local Fareway)

Lastly, I bet you can fool your family with the following recipe… It tastes amazingly like apple crisp! But it’s made with, well, you know what! I have not made this recipe this year so do not have a picture.

Zucchini Dessert

8 c. peeled, seeded and cubed zucchini

1 c. sugar

1 tsp. cinnamon

2/3 c. lemon juice

Cook together until zucchini is tender. Set aside.

Blend the following into crumbs:

4 c. flour

2 c. sugar

1/4 tsp. salt

1 1/2 c. soft butter

Press half of the crumbs into the bottom of a 9×13 inch pan. Bake at 375* for 10 minutes.

Add half of the remaining crumbs to the zucchini mixture and stir. Pour over baked crust. Add 1 tsp. cinnamon to remaining crumb mixture and spread over zucchini mixture. Bake at 375* for 35 minutes. As it cools, it will thicken. This is wonderful served with ice cream! Used with permission from Stutzman’s Culinary Secrets.

Calming The Refrigerator Chaos

Published on by Violet Rhodes3 Comments

Is your fridge a place of peace or chaos? Probably it’s a place of piece. A piece of this and a piece of that. I don’t like clutter inside or out of my fridge. First, we’ll talk about the inside.

Refrigerators are such a necessity in our kitchens yet so easy to just plop stuff inside and shut the door to clutter. After all, who enjoys cleaning out the refrigerator?! A long time ago when I was a girl at home, my mom and I had a brainstorm to start a business of cleaning out refrigerators for people! Lol! It never materialized of course. It’s not my favorite job and since I detest clutter, I strive to maintain my fridge, instead of having a complete clean out a few times a year.

Having designated spots for regular items is a big help! It’s rather a no brainer to keep small items such as syrups, salad dressings, jams and condiments in the door shelves. I keep a small basket on the second shelf for eggs. It’s very handy to have them out of the carton and just reach in and grab the amount I need. Or if I need a bunch, the whole basket comes out.

A good investment for me has been two clear organizing boxes that I bought at TJ Max years ago. I always keep the largest one on the second shelf for my vegetables. I like to wash and prep my veggies, put them in bags and into this veggie bin. It holds a lot because I can pile it high. When I want to fix a salad I grab the whole container and have all I need in one swift load! Besides, I love having my veggies prepped before hand! Although it does take time when I get home from the store. If I have excess vegetables, I keep extras in one of the fridge drawers until I’m ready to wash them and place in the vegetable bin.

I keep a second clear box in the first fridge drawer for apples, lemons or other bigger fruits. (I keep it in the drawer only because I barely have enough room for a second box on a shelf) Small fruits like grapes or blueberries get washed and placed in a bowl and just set on the shelf. I like to put a paper towel or small cloth in the bottom of the bowl to absorb the excess water and moisture. I keep a basket or bowl on the bar for fruits that don’t need refrigerated. The other picture is just washed produce. I like how pretty and colorful it looks! We eat a lot of fresh foods, so that is why I keep talking about my fruits and vegetables.

I like to keep my fridge drawers categorized too. Besides my fruit bin in the first drawer, I keep cheese, bacon grease, leftover frosting or other small, not often used items. The other two drawers are for extras when I get home from shopping. I place things in there like, extra butter or milk, extra vegetables, sour cream, yogurt and such. In the winter when we have citrus fruits, I keep a drawer just for that.

Now for the shelves. I like to keep leftovers on the top or second shelf but I admit it doesn’t always stay like that. The bottom shelf I keep for taller items like milk or drink pitchers.

My fridge still can get messy! But I find it’s better to stay on top of things; wiping up lil spills or smears immediately and keeping tabs on those leftovers so they don’t rot, way back in the boonys of refrigerization! Two more clarifications. When I get company, my fridge gets full and cluttered and normal requirements get banned, because there’s extra food and I need to manage to fit it all in somehow, because I don’t have a second fridge! Also, I know we don’t have a large family where there’s way more food and people in the kitchen, and where things don’t stay as mom would like it to stay! That would make a big difference I’m sure, but maybe this can still give you ideas on organizing that big cold box!

Now for the outside. My fridge does not have a magnetic front so that keeps things off for sure! I love the clean look of nothing on the front! I do have some things on the sides, but it’s not my main place to keep pictures of friends or lists or reminders.

My white board I like to jot down those little jobs or reminders. Very handy and it can easily be erased once completed. I hate cluttery papers, notes and lists all over my fridge. I put many tips, some recipes I like to keep handy or lists inside my cabinet doors. This is also where I tape up my two month menu calendar. It’s wonderful because it’s not a constant eyesore to me, yet conveniently accessible because I’m always opening the cabinet doors for dishes! If it’s a list I want to make sure I notice more, such as Sunday host schedule, I tape it inside a door that gets opened ALOT. And I highlight our name, but for safety purposes, I still write it in my planner by the date we’re on to host! Most of the other church related lists, I tape on the inside of the office door, which is right off the kitchen. On the outside of that door, is where I put up the pictures of friends and family. I love this set up. It’s easy for people to look at the pictures when we get company and then the inside of the door hides all those lists, but handy to look at when needed!

This is the office door of pictures on the outside and two of my inside cabinet doors. Do you see how cluttered that door on the left is?! It could use a cleaning up I know! But it doesn’t bother me near as much with it being hid from view.

On Stevia and Sweeteners

Published on by Violet Rhodes1 Comment

🌿 After my last blog post on mint tea using stevia, I had several requests about the stevia or where to get it. So today I’d like to share with you the stevia and sweeteners I use and what I like. I’m not making claims on certain products, but just what I’ve found works for us and what I feel are safe to use.

It can look rather daunting when you first starting looking into using stevia or other sweeteners. One thing to be sure to check if your looking for a stevia is that there are no fillers or additives! Maltodextrin, dextrose, or fructose are all unhealthy ingredients that are sometimes used in cheap stevias. They take a small amount of stevia extract and mix it with a filler or two. How convenient for the marketers but not for our bodies! Maltodextrin is highly processed, usually made from corn, and is very high on the glycemic level, which means it spikes your blood sugar. Beware of these ingredients!

Some people declare the bad after taste and therefore hate all stevia. Yes, there are some with that after taste or can turn bitter if you use too much! I feel most of the ones I use have very little or no aftertaste. And too, your taste buds do adjust once you use these awhile. I’ve been using most of these for a number of years already so here’s what I like.

The Now Organic Stevia Extract Powder is an affordable, good stevia without fillers. It’s a very nice, fine powder. The Now Stevia Glycerite is another zero calorie sweetener but this is in liquid form. It’s base is vegetable glycerin, which is sweet alone and safe to use. (It’s also what is used to preserve many herbal tinctures) I love the Stevia Glycerite for sweetening drinks! It dissolves a bit easier than the powders and just does a good job. Nature’s Warehouse sells this but it’s called Better Stevia Liquid, but I think its the same thing. They also sell the Now Organic Better Stevia Extract Powder.

Trim Healthy Mama has a very good, pure, organic stevia powder. It is more pricy but is worth it. It has no fillers or additives. It is pretty clumpy so you have to be a little careful to not get too much in, because it comes out in clumps. This one can very easily get bitter if you use too much. Many people enjoy this stevia. You can buy it online or at Nature’s Warehouse.

Sweet Leaf Stevia Sweetener is another one that I feel is safe to use. I’ve used it some but do not have any on hand presently. This one could easily be found at a health food store or online.

More recently I’ve found out of a good stevia that comes from Bolivia. It’s called E.N.D. Stevia. But beware what you buy from Bolivia!! The Bolivian climate is an excellent place to grow stevia. The problem is, about 50% of the stevia from there is fake!! In fact, I had heard of and used just a little of another Bolivia stevia. It was shiny, white little crystals. I was pretty skeptical about it because of different things. So Jerald and I started researching and we came across this one blog that said enough to scare me! If you would like to read that article you can find it here.

The REAL stevia from Bolivia is in powder form and slightly green. Maybe you can see it in the pictures. It sweetens very well and I really like it! There is a definite difference in the two Bolivia stevias I tried. If you would like to purchase this stevia you can do so on Etsy.

I like to keep the powder stevias that I use the most, in small glass salt and pepper shakers. It’s so handy to just sprinkle in to my yogurt, shakes, smoothies etc. I freeze my fruits unsweetened and then when I get them out to use I let them thaw, then just sprinkle in to taste! “Just right!” says Amelia Bedelia 😂😂

Another sweetener combination I use is a mix of Erythritol, Xylitol and stevia. Erythritol and xylitol are both sugar alcohols that pass through your body without adversely affecting your blood sugar. Erythritol has a zero glycemic index and is easiest to digest. Xylitol is very low on the glycemic scale but can cause stomach discomfort. There is mixed research as to the positive and negatives of these sugar alcohols. I feel it’s fine in moderation, but would still feel stevia is a better choice. Both the Erythritol and xylitol can cause stomach discomfort or diarrhea but the xylitol is the worser culprit. That’s why I really like the following recipe because it uses less xylitol! This is great to use in baking because it adds bulk to substitute for the sugar. You can use it about anywhere you want to replace sugar. Be sure to buy Organic Non GMO. We buy the Erythritol and xylitol online at Amazon. Nature’s Warehouse also sells them as would most any health food stores.

Here is the recipe I use.

Simple Sweet

5 c. Erythritol

2 c. Xylitol

1 T. Better Stevia Extract Powder

2 T. Sweet Leaf Stevia Sweetner

Combine all ingredients in a large bowl and mix very well. Store in airtight container. Use 1/3 cup to replace 1 cup sugar. Used with permission from Simple Foods cookbook.

I have already substituted Better Stevia for Sweet Leaf and it was fine.

If the 1/3 cup doesn’t make your food sweet enough, I would suggest adding in a bit of stevia to finish it off, till you get your desired sweetness.

I also use some Coconut sugar or honey in my baking. Coconut sugar is a healthy sugar with a lower glycemic level. It still raises your blood sugar some, but does not spike it like regular sugar. I feel it’s a very good, safe alternative, but if your trying to lose weight, I would be cautious in how much you consume. Coconut sugar can be found at Walmart.

Honey has a high glycemic index, however if it is raw, local honey, it still has health benefits. So again, if your trying to lose weight, I wouldn’t consume a lot, but is still a healthy sweetner. But Do Not buy Supermarket, pasteurized honey! It is much too likely it is mixed with high fructose corn syrup or some other additives. I read an article on this once, and I could definitely tell a difference between my store bought honey and the raw, local honey I use.

If you still don’t want to use any of these stevias or sweetners I suggested, you could at least use raw sugar. I buy the Zulka Morena Pure Cane Sugar in a green bag at Walmart. It is at least not quite as processed and bleached as regular old white sugar! But it’s still sugar! I use this for any regular baking/cooking for company or when I take food to gatherings. 🌿

🍰 Stop eating sugar, you are sweet enough already 🍫 🥰

🍯 Life is short and it’s up to you to make it sweet🌿 Sarah Louise Delany

Mint Tea and Custard Pie

Published on by Violet Rhodes1 Comment

Mint Tea

What is Spring or Summer without delicious mint tea?!….Some call it garden tea, Some call it meadow tea, some call it creek tea. Whatever you call it tea, would you like a glass of tea with me?

Do you know what is more refreshing than a pretty glass of mint tea? A glass of mint tea sweetened with stevia instead of all that sugar!😛 I really like the Now brand of Stevia Glycerite for drinks. 2 teaspoons nicely sweetens one gallon. If you are used to having it really sweet, you can try 2 1/2 teaspoons. And there is no bad aftertaste! I do not mind my family drinking a lot of this tea because they’re not drinking sugar tea. Reece slurps his down like it’s an emergency when I fill his sipper cup!

I do not have measurements for my tea and I’m guessing most of my readers know how to make this tea too, without specific directions…. I brew a batch of tea about like this for one gallon. Fill with ice and water and sweetner. A refreshing taste of summertime!!

Custard Pie

Jerald enjoys a good pie. One of his favorites would be Custard. A plain, simple, easy pie. I certainly can’t complain on it being too much work to make it for him! Especially when you have crusts in the freezer! I buy my crusts from our local bulk food store. I’m just not a crusty person! 😜 And when you can buy beautiful, flakey crusts at a very reasonable price, why not? It simplifies things for this mom, especially since we don’t eat a large quantity of pies.

And so it is I find myself, often on a Saturday, thinking what could I make for Sunday dessert? I like to make a dessert for Sunday because Sunday is a special day! Custard pie fits the bill at any given time. Especially if I want to surprise my man!

So this is how you make it. First, you dash out to the freezer and remove one of the pie crusts and let it thaw. It doesn’t take long, so you can immediately begin making the filling. Turn oven to 415*. Heat 2 1/2 cups of milk to scalding. While its heating, crack 4 eggs in a small bowl and whisk them up with 1/2 cup raw sugar, (or less) 1/4 teaspoon salt, and 1 teaspoon vanilla. By then the milk should be scalding but not burned yet. If you have a baby, it’s easy to forget things like heating milk temperatures, and thus you end up with burned milk. In that case, discard the milk and heat some more. Unless, of course, you like a burned flavor and black flakes in your pie, you can still use the same milk. So now add the very warm milk to the egg mixture and whisk it all up real nice. Pour it in the crust which by now will be thawed. Or maybe even over thawed because you had to change the baby’s diaper, hang out a load of laundry, and tend to your other screaming offspring. After it’s in the crust, sprinkle it lightly with cinnamon. If your young cook is helping, they will want to sprinkle the cinnamon which will get an overdose, but that is ok. Cinnamon is healthy and the pie still tastes good. If you have time and energy left, it’s lovely to drop in a few raspberries on top. (Fresh or frozen) Or even a few thin slices of fresh peaches. And oh yes I need to mention! This makes a tad more than one pie, so you just pour that extra filling into a small dish to bake. Very gently now, with no toddlers bumping you, set the pie in the oven along with the small dish of custard filling. Bake for 15 minutes, then turn the oven down to 350* for another 25 to 30 minutes. If your unsure if it’s finished, you can slide a table knife in the center to see if it comes out clean, then it should be done. As soon as the small dish of custard is cool, sneak into the bathroom or another private room to eat it by yourself. It’s a small reward for all the effort it took to make a simple pie!!

I never knew my Grandpa Kurtz, but Mom would always say that when he ate pie he’d say “pie without cheese is like a kiss without a squeeze.” 😍😍

Of Church and COVID-19

Published on by Violet RhodesLeave a comment

As everyone everywhere has been affected in one way or another by COVID-19, it makes one aware of the many things we took for granted! One of those for me was Church. We love our church and church family, but having had that privilege of going to church taken away, it was extra special to meet together yesterday! (Sunday)

March 15 was our last church service. Nebraska never issued a stay at home order, but it was encouraged. Also, groups were not to be larger than 10 people. So our church decided to do in home services, meeting in small groups. While that was better than not meeting at all through those 8 weeks, it still was not like real Church! In this respect, going to church yesterday was a treat! I had to think of the verse in Psalms 122:1 I was glad when they said unto me, let us go into the house of the Lord.

Our church- Providence Mennonite Church

But how important is church to us on a regular basis, when we can go every Sunday, year after year? Does it still bring gladness to our hearts to go into the house of the Lord? It certainly should! Do we realize how important it is to our spiritual well being, to be part of a Biblical body of believers? How quickly we would be more apt to cool off and lose our fervor for God, if we did not have our brothers and sisters in Christ to help us along! Hebrews 10: 24, 25 says, And let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works: Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more as ye see the day approaching. Also, the discipline it takes to study our Sunday School lessons and especially if we need to teach! Or for the men who need to prepare for devotions or the ministry as they study for messages. We are such weak, needy people in our earthly bodies. If we just coast along, we’ll soon coast right into an eternal destiny where we do not want to be!

We are still under some restrictions. We needed to comply with the 6 feet social distancing, no passing of the offering basket and such. The basket was conveniently placed on a chair where we filed past to enter the auditorium. We sat together in families, using every other bench. We could not have Sunday School, but someone had a children’s class. And then there was a devotional by our deacon and the message by our bishop. He preached a message on Mothers, since it was Mother’s Day. Afterwards, we were advised to file outside to visit if we wanted to do so. Outside it was easier to respect the distancing, plus safer with the abundance of fresh air! It was a sunny day, but chilly with a strong breeze! It was so good to worship collectively and to see everyone again!

Sometimes God takes things away from us so to teach us more important things of life…

How has your Church life been? Have you been able to start having services again? I hope so, but more than that, I hope your Spiritual life has blossomed even through the quarantine days. Perhaps God took social life away from us to shake us out of our normalcy, so that we focus on Him! We can find our satisfaction in Him, even when our whole lives were/are topsy-turvy! God hasn’t changed- oh wondrous thought! and He was not taken by surprise when everything shut down. God is always available and open. He will never “shut down!”

Although the fig tree shall not blossom, neither shall fruit be in the vines; the labour of the olive shall fail, and the fields shall yield no meat; the flock shall be cut off from the fold, and there shall be no herd in the stalls; Yet I will rejoice in the LORD, I will joy in the God of my salvation. Habakkuk 3: 17, 18

Springtime, Tea Parties, and Rainbows

Published on by Violet RhodesLeave a comment

Spring has got to be one of the most loved seasons of the year! After months of frosty temperatures and barren landscape, the blossoming countryside is welcome indeed! Since living in Nebraska, Spring has become even more special to me because here the winters are longer than I was used to.

Only a little over a week ago we had a light snow! Which was rare this late in April, but still, snow! But recently we’ve been loving the beautiful days! The first rays of sunrise, with the wind still and birds chirping morning songs, often inspires me to get out for my daily walk. I love when it works out, but I don’t always get it accomplished first thing. What is priority to me while my children are yet sleeping is subject to change morning by morning!

With pleasant temperatures last week, I got to plant my petunias in the flower bed and fill my flower pots! The warm sunshine felt absolutely delicious! The children were outside with me for several hours. They both love being outside! Reece crawled all over and ate plenty of dirt that should help combat the corona virus! The porch looks much more homey now with my potted plants and fern. I really like the Kimberly Queen ferns. They can be found at Lowe’s or Orscheln’s. They grow more upright instead of just bushing out. They are great for a potted plant or hanging baskets. My sister lines her porch with these in hanging baskets every Summer, making a splendid picture! Another plant I’m a huge fan of is the Supertunias in the bubblegum pink color! These always do so well for me! I do not have a green thumb, but this kind of petunias makes me feel like I do! They are very minimal care.

Now Jerald. He is the true green thumb around here! He gets overly anxious and dreams of a great garden plot, with patches of pumpkins and watermelons! I get a lil worried because I know I’m the one who’ll need to put up the abundance of produce in a few months! He quickly assures me that we can always give things away. He just loves to grow things! This Spring he ordered a goodly assortment of raspberry bushes, asparagus and is planting an orchard of trees! I will happily take the fruit, yes, but the faith and patience until then? Well, I’ll just say I hope the trees don’t perish before we enjoy fruit. It’s not that I don’t trust him. It’s that I don’t trust trees. They take a long time to grow, not to speak of all the hardships they must endure meanwhile, and then if they actually produce delicious fruit! He also found some peony bushes for sale and wants to pick them up this week. Now I’m tickled about that! I love the scent and looks of peonies! I’m thrilled to finally be getting some that will hopefully, produce many gorgeous bouquets!

We also just got 70 baby chicks recently. Adorable little fluffy things. Although they don’t stay so adorable and soon start eating like crazy! Which is a good thing because we want them to join the freezer department come June. We may think life in quarantine is hard but imagine the quarantine of chicks and their expected end!! We have so much to be thankful for! 😅 We raise these for ourselves and several church families. We also have a few laying hens and enjoy having our own farm fresh eggs. It’s Josie’s job to gather the eggs as well as tend her little puppy Jackie.

Josie recently mentioned that we should have a tea party. “Someday, when you’re not so busy” she said. Ouch! How does she know mom is so busy? For some reason that old proverb ‘more is caught than taught’ came to mind. And so it was I decided we shall have one very soon. The event took place on Saturday. About the first thing she said when I told her what I was planning was, “but Reece can’t be out there.” Big sisters love their little brothers most of the time. On occasion they’re not wanted! 🤭 We had a lovely spread of meat, cheese and crackers. Blueberries, grapes, bars and lil peanut butter coconut balls. She picked lemonade to drink. We used dainty china and dined outside on the back deck. She was delighted and sweet memories were made. Simple pleasures!

Yesterday afternoon we had a light thunderstorm, then it kind of cleared off. It was mixed clouds and sun. Suddenly about 7:30 I realized it was raining again with the sun shining. “Where’s the rainbow?” I shouted. “There’s got to be one somewhere!” Jerald was doubtful but I was pretty sure there would be one. Sure enough there it was out over the fields in the east. I took off outside, barefoot, splashing through puddles and raindrops and started shooting pictures. I ran hither and yon, then dashed back inside. Only to discover it was more bright than ever! So I bounced back outside again, shooting more pictures. It was absolutely gorgeous with brilliant colors and even a complete double!! It was such a sweet reminder God’s promises are true and He is worthy of our trust!

I’d like to leave you with a delightful salad recipe to enjoy when you have fresh garden greens. Southwest Chicken Salad is a favorite and we actually eat it all year round. (Recipe used with permission from Stutzman’s Culinary Secrets.) This is how I fix the chicken.

Cajun Chicken Fingers

2 Tablespoons flour

2 teaspoons poultry seasoning

1 1/2 teaspoons garlic salt

1 teaspoon paprika

1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper

3 lbs skinless, boneless chicken breasts, cut in cubes

4 Tablespoons butter

Mix the seasonings and flour in a small bowl. Sprinkle over the chicken and fry in the butter till cooked. Serve warm.

Chop up lettuce/greens, tomatoes, (or use cherry tomatoes) bell peppers, and avocados, as much as your family eats. The other toppings are black beans and shredded cheese. You can also use kernel corn if you wish but we usually don’t. And then for a lovely crunch, spread butter on both sides of about 4 tortillas and cut in small cubes. Toast in oven at 350* for approx 15 minutes.

Dressing: Mix 1 cup Ranch and 5 teaspoons barbecue sauce

I always keep everything separate and we fix our own plates. I especially like each item served separately if I’m having company. It looks beautiful, and then too, it looks like your having a great spread of food, when in reality, your only serving salad!😉 But if you wish, everything can be mixed up right before eating. But then you have the guess work of exactly how much to mix up, so you don’t end up with soggy leftovers. You may notice the avocados are missing in the picture and reason is, I did not have avocados when I did the photo shoot. I did not even think of it till later. That’s how managed I am!😜

A peaceful Sunday afternoon here finishing up this blog. Jerald just returned from his mushroom hunt with a few successful finds! Yay! Fresh mushrooms fried in butter…. Another sign of Spring!

He Is Risen!!

Published on by Violet RhodesLeave a comment

The first day of the week cometh Mary Magdalene early, when it was yet dark, unto the sepulcher, and seeth the stone taken away from the sepulcher. John 20:1

But Mary stood without at the sepulcher weeping: and as she wept, she stooped down, and looked into the sepulcher, and seeth two angels in white sitting, the one at the head, and the other at the feet, where the body of Jesus had lain. And they say unto her, “Woman, why weepest thou?” She saith unto them, “Because they have taken away my Lord, and I know not where they have laid him”. And when she had thus said, she turned herself back, and saw Jesus standing, and knew not that it was Jesus. Jesus saith unto her, “Woman, why weepest thou? Whom seekest thou?” She, supposing him to be the gardener, saith unto him, “Sir, if thou have borne him hence, tell me where thou hast laid him, and I will take him away.” Jesus saith unto her, “Mary.” She turned herself, and saith unto him, Rabboni; which is to say, Master. John 20:11-16

What does the resurrection mean to us? There are some verses in Romans that are a beautiful analogy to our own new life in Christ. When we are sick of living for self, we must receive Christ into our heart and He will give us power to live a new life in Him! Jesus gave His life to make it possible for us to live in victory over sin (and to enjoy eternal life after death) and so we must crucify our old self to live in that victory. Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin. For he that is dead is freed from sin. Romans 6:6-7

A right relationship with Jesus and being submissive to Him in our life is only possible because of His resurrection. Because of that, we can also walk in newness of life! Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection; Romans 6:4-5

Since Christ suffered for our sins and rose again by the power of God we also can have power to live new and holy lives in Him! What will we do with the crucified and risen Lord? Will we choose to crucify ourselves and utilize Christ’s power to live in newness of life, bringing glory to Him? Or will we choose to continue our selfish life? We make a choice. Even if we think we will remain neutral we are still making a choice. Christ has the power we need to live a new life in Him!

For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. John 3:16

Cleaning Conundrum

Published on by Violet Rhodes2 Comments

Is there anyone who is NOT quarantined presently? What are you finding to occupy your time? Have you started Spring cleaning? I want to clean windows and wash curtains but have not done much yet.

Today I want to share my cleaning schedule as well as what I use to clean with instead of chemical cleaners. (And a few other tidbits thrown in!) I switched to natural products years ago and its really not difficult at all because you likely have some of these in your house already!

But first of all, let me share with you my cleaning conundrum. I have a love/hate relationship with cleaning! I despise a crummy, cluttered house and simply could not function peacefully in a hullabaloo! However, I do not like to clean! But, I abhor a dirty house worse than cleaning, so I dutifully clean! (I’m also just a bit too particular in the cleaning department, due to my germaphobia). Thus it is I find myself in such a woeful predicament every Friday! I clean Fridays to get it over with before Saturday. Occasionally I’ll even clean on Thursday if Friday is too full, just to stay ahead of the dread of cleaning. 😩 But once I’ve gotten things cleaned around here, the heavy feeling of gloom just vanishes like the thunderheads after a Summer storm! It’s so liberating to be able to see my cleaning in the rear view mirror!!

So as you can tell, it takes discipline, and I find it helpful to maintain a basic weekly cleaning schedule as much as possible. If I stay after the general cleanup through out the week its not a Mount Everest to clean. I can whip through my weekly cleaning in two hours or less. I think. I’m not in the habit of timing myself and neither do I always get it done in one grand, uninterrupted stretch…..#momlife! And I don’t always clean everything throughly. If I’m extra pushed for time or something, I’ll skip dusting or skip cleaning the tubs that week etc. And some weeks you may feel you just absolutely don’t have time! But at least, give the bathrooms a quick wipe down with a Lysol wipe, gather trash and sweep floors. That alone helps a lot when you don’t have extra time. But another thing I do like about cleaning weekly is, that when I get company, I don’t need to spend lots of extra time cleaning! There’s more time for food prep or other necessities. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t mean having a smudgy bathroom and cruddy floors for company. But a quick lil cleanup isn’t as extensive as a thorough scrubbing. And mopping before company? That’s fine, but for me I like to mop after company. (I know, I’m just kinda weird!😜) But when you mop on a regular basis, it’s not that bad and after a big batch of company my floor will need it worse than before. Am I making sense? Now if you come to my house you’re really going to check out my kitchen floor, huh?! And too, I know as moms we do need to simply “put up” with a bit more messiness and dirt. With my cleaning notes here, I’m not meaning a spotless house at all times! I need to remind myself of that frequently! (If I forget, my hubby does pretty good at reminding me that a spotless house is not the most important thing!)

Ok, finally, here’s my chemical free cleaning crew! For the toilets I sprinkle liberally with borax and a splash of white vinegar. Let soak a bit and scrub. For wiping it down, I have a large spray bottle filled with about half vinegar and half water and 20-30 drops essential oils. Most essential oils are naturally antibacterial and work as a disinfectant. White vinegar is also a natural disinfectant as well as hydrogen peroxide. This is my go to for disinfecting around home. It works well for germy areas such as doorknobs, countertops, sinks and toilets. Now if you’re worried about really yucky germs such as the virus floating around the world, then I would say use your Lysol wipes. Those are definitely stronger but then have the chemicals too….Honest confession here. I do keep those on hand but use sparingly.

For mopping my kitchen floor, I add approximately a cup of vinegar, several drops orange essential oil and just a tad of dish soap to my bucket of water. I use my wall mop (shmop) to mop with. Its microfiber, plus I like that I can throw the head in the washer with a load of laundry! It feels heaps cleaner to me than to use a mop that you use over and over but just hang up to dry between uses! I also like how the floor is not sopping wet this way, but dries quickly.

And by the way, I use Seventh Generation dish soap. Super good soap with 0% synthetic fragrances or dyes and is available at Walmart. Have you ever considered just why dish soap is colored or scented? Does it help clean dishes?! Not to my knowledge. But let me know if it does. I haven’t used those dish soaps for so long that maybe I forgot! 😛 Also, this dish soap does not dry out my hands near like the usuals such as Palmolive, Ajax, etc. And since we’re on the dish soap subject, do you have trouble with smelly dish rags? I don’t have much trouble with that but when I do, I rinse it with cold water, sprinkle liberally with baking soda and vinegar. Let it set and fizz awhile, then rinse with cold water again. I don’t use bleach so this is my method. Also, I’ve heard Dawn dish soap can be a culprit in making smelly rags. And rinsing your rag with cold water instead of hot, when you’re ready to hang up your rag, could help with smell too. And get out a clean rag everyday!! How can it clean anymore if it’s been all over the kitchen visiting every filthy mess around, then left lay in greasy, grimy dish water?! But truly, I think the bottom line of any smelly rags, even bathroom rags, is due to the laundry soaps used. But oh dear, I’m getting off the cleaning subject and visiting the laundry room! Excuse me! I’ll get back on track in just a jiff, but first I want to hint that you really should use a clean line of laundry soap too! Many out there are full of fillers, 1,4 Dioxane (a carcinogen), chemicals, and synthetic fragrances. The soap I use I buy at a store in Indiana but they do not ship, so I’m sorry that is really not helpful to most of you. But it is an amazing laundry soap! It’s in powder form and very safe. No suds or smell and you won’t have stinky rags when you use this soap! This soap can be bought at Wittmers Furniture and Gifts in Odon Indiana and I always stock up when we are back there visiting family. However, I’m in the process of trying out some other safe laundry soaps that are easier to source. And I hope sometime to share my findings with you.

Here is a natural bleach recipe you may wish to try. I used to use it but now I just add vinegar to my laundry for extra cleaning power or it can be used as a replacement for fabric softener. 2 cups hydrogen peroxide, 1 cup lemon juice, 2 cups white vinegar, and 11 cups water. Mix and fill 1 gallon. If you wish to disinfect a load of heavily soiled laundry, add 1 teaspoon tea tree oil to the load. I used to make my own dryer sheets too, using the following recipe. 1 cup vinegar, and 8-10 drops ecyluptus oil. Soak little cotton cloths in this and wring out a bit before throwing in the dryer. I actually don’t use these anymore but have switched to the Bounce dryer sheets that are free of dyes and perfumes. Or you can use wool dryer balls too.

For my sinks and tubs I have another spray bottle filled with liquid Castile soap, diluted with water. That and a scrub brush sends filth flying! For added cleaning power you can sprinkle on baking soda or borax then scrub. After I’ve gotten the worst of it, I like to go over the sinks with a Norwex rag to shine it up. I know you can clean using only those rags but I prefer some scrubbing power first. Now I know Norwex rags are expensive and you don’t have to use them! Spraying with the vinegar solution then wiping down does a good job too! Or, you can even use plain vinegar to shine up faucets, mirrors and windows. I don’t have one, but I know the Norwex window rag works really good for glass and mirrors. I just use my vinegar solution and paper towels. For dusting I like a dampened Norwex rag or even another microfiber cloth works good. You don’t have to spray that lemony Pledge to dust!

I love it that there is no strong smell with using these kinds of cleaners! Recently I bought some Lysol toilet cleaner because I thought the toilets needed some extra cleaning power. I used it twice but could not handle the smell! I’m not sure it even helped that much more… maybe a little, but that cleaner went out the door pretty quick! Another thing I love about these cleaners is the simplicity! This basket of cleaners fits neatly underneath the main bathroom sink and is the extent of my basic cleaners. No myriad of cleaners and bottles under every available space below each bathroom sink! (Which is rather like I grew up on!)

If you want to make a cleaner for scrubbing sinks and tubs and such, stir together 1 cup each of baking soda and borax. Then add 1 Tablespoon Castile soap and enough water to make a paste like consistency. You can also add essential oils if you wish. After scrubbing, rinse it down really well or it will leave behind a bit of grainy residue.

Here’s a picture of my liquid Castile soap. You can find it at Amazon or health food stores. I also use this (diluted) in pumps for sink side hand washing. Its extremely versatile! But yet so safe, that you can even use it for your own shower use! Or to bath your babies!

If you are Spring cleaning and wondering what to put in your water to wash the walls, try adding a bit of Castile soap. It don’t suds up a lot in a bucket of water, but still works fine. You can also add a few drops essential oil. Adding lavender oil is supposed to repel spiders.

Here are a couple cleaning quotes you might enjoy!

* Clean your house AND clear your mind!

*Dust is a protective coating for fine furniture.

*I make no secret of the fact that I would rather lie on the sofa than sweep beneath it.

*We dream of having a clean house- but who dreams of actually doing the cleaning?