Learning to Be Content……

A reader advised me to start writing my blog posts to friends as if we were really living back in time since I struggle so to make the time to write one. However I do enjoy letter writing and think thas is a brilliant idea.

Dear Friends, I started this s letter the 17th of January… Maybe I can post it in a week or so. There is so much to tell and I will add to it as the week goes on.

The weather has been rather messy around here. I ended up having to wash clothes inside, hanging them on the outside line to drip dry a little and then bringing in what we need to hang by the stove at night. It works but last year I would have let the clothes build up until they were unmanageable because of the weather. We are slowly learning things can still be done even in the cold or rain. It might just take some more creative planning. Another thing I have changed is our baking. Last year I thought I had to bake bread loaves for us to have fresh bread and honestly my little tent stove is not large enough for my Dutch oven that can hold my bread pans so again I have adapted. We bake more rolls now or buns whichever we decide to call them. I can make my sourdough or yeast bread and rise it near the stove. When it is ready, I shape my rolls and usually fill 3 or 4 pie pans full. A friend sent me some stoneware pie plates and these bake rolls just beautifully. I heat my skillet and lid, place the pan of risen rolls inside and put the lid on. Then I carefully pile embers on the lid and let them bake about 30 minutes or so. I get beautiful bread everytime and the rolls can be used anyway loaf bread would be. Learning these little things seems to be the key. I don’t get so frustrated with doughy loaves from some haphazard setup I rig up to bake bread on the stove. I have also learned to do cookies the same way except they go directly in the skillet. It may take a little more time since I can only cook about 10 at a time but it works. Learning to be content with what I have seems to be the lesson for me.

This was a coffee cake I made using freshly ground cinnamon. I was blessed with a mortar and pestle and decided to learn to use it.

Of course I have been sewing. The hubby’s shirt worked out well but he decided the front placket needed some changing so now I am making another one to practice a new technique. Also I have also been hand sewing a project in the evening. I decided to make me a Victorian day bonnet to cover my hair. I usually wear bandanas over my hair and my sunbonnet. But the hubby had requested a night cap for himself for sleeping. After I made it and saw how practical it was I read about how women used to cover their hair at night and in the day for cleanliness sake. So I am working on one.

I suppose the other news around here is the hubby’s new project. After much discussion he has decided to build a 6×8 log cabin playhouse for the kids. He told me how unsure he was about building our cabin and so he decided his best bet was to build a prototype for lack of a better word. He is using rocks for the foundation and logs for the seals and floor joist. The walls will be cedars that are already down across the property. He is not going to debark these since it’s the wrong time of year for that sort of thing. He is just practicing new skills and getting more comfortable with using logs for building.

This is an exciting step and I can see it is already helping him. He is problem solving with building techniques he has never used. We both agreed you can only read about a subject so much before you actually just have to get out there and do it. It won’t be big but it is a start. The kids are helping and I love walking over there in the afternoon to see the progress. We finally had a break in the rainy weather so my job was washing the clothes I was starting to get behind on. I did manage to keep up with underclothes by washing inside during the bad weather but I needed to wash sheets and outer clothes as well as towels.

I do hope this letter finds you well and may you all have a blessed week.