The Cottage on the Hill

My parents had a back issue of Reminisce magazine at their house. While flipping through it, I fell upon an article about a family of 4 living in a boxcar. I could not find the photo used in the article, but this is quite similar. Back during the depression, the daddy of the family worked for the railroad. The family was given a boxcar roughly converted into a house and they moved along the line as the work progressed. Actually, the article was really about the boy's obsession with the hobos until an incident frightened him away from hobo camps. Instead, I was drawn to the family living in a boxcar GRATEFULLY! You know, really, I shake my head at people today, myself included! We're so prosperous! My furniture doesn't match, but I have plenty of furniture and my house looks homey. We only have 2 bedrooms, but at least we have bedrooms! We only have 1 bathroom, but at least we have a bathroom, and pretty nice one at that! My stove is only apartment sized to fit in ...

Well, it seems I do NOT have milk fever. The treatment has not resolved the symptoms. I most likely have labyrinthitis that was triggered by an upper respiratory infection I had 2 weeks ago. I can try an antihistamine, like Claritin safely with breastfeeding, but I should keep an eye on baby, and my milk supply. Unfortunately, this may be an end to breastfeeding my baby boy. I'd try to suffer through it, but it could take up to 3 months before I recover on the meds and I could possibly NOT recover if I don't treat it. Also, because of the dizziness, I should not drive. We'll see.

I haven't been blogging because I've been ill. For a while now, I've been suffering from dizzy spells, headaches, feeling very sleepy and not feeling like myself. I've been very moody, short-tempered and feeling like I am unable to shake my sour mood. It takes effort to get up and do anything. I wasn't really sure what was going on. In some cases it seemed like my blood sugar. I wondered if my iron levels were low, but I do get plenty of iron. I wondered if my vertigo was just acting up as it tends to do when I feel stressed out. It could be a mix of blood sugar and the vertigo. Then, my oldest brother called me today to see how I was doing. I told him my symptoms and my puzzlement at them and how I was planning on calling the doctor. I told him how I don't look forward to going to the doctor because of the gamut of tests he'll put me through. I have 3 children and no babysitters this week, so it would be a pain to get the lab work done. During...

Hubby got me the Wii Fit! So, I tried it out today. For an hour! And was disappointed that it said I only burned around 150 calories! I spent an hour of my day working out and only burned 150 calories?! C'mon! Granted, the Wii started me off slowly. After all, the Wii says I'm fat and my Wii age is 46! *rolling my eyes* My size 4 jeans need a belt and the Wii says I'm fat. LOL! Ok ok ok, I'm out of shape. I know that. For my size, my BMI is in the high end of the normal range. I'm just one of those petite people who's "fat" is other people's "skinny." Anyhow, the Wii warmed me up, but I didn't break out in one tiny little sweat. I didn't gulp for air. I need something a little more high intensity. And then the Wii gave me a little guilt trip for missing yesterday. I was at church, Wii! Yeah, I'm yelling at the Wii. Anyhow, it wasn't all few calories and fat. I really like that the Wii has the balance, stab...

Still breast feeding! I'll admit that it is getting harder and I think about giving up. So far I'm taking it one day at a time. It's getting harder because it wanes quite severely just before my cycle starts and overall I don't achieve great let-downs. My baby eats 3 meals a day of solids like he hasn't eaten in days. He's up several times a night to eat. I do have Cal-Mag supplements I'm taking. They're supposed to help with the waning. Mother's Milk Tea is back on the daily menu, too.

No, not THAT Buckwheat, although, he is perfectly adorable and I just want to hold him and listen to him talk! A few years ago, I was given a prepared package of "buckwheat pancake mix." It was discusting. A couple weeks ago, I was in a store that had buckwheat noodles for a good price. I figured I'd try them as a substitute for spaghetti noodles. Expecting the same revolting taste, I was completely surprised at how good they were! My kids loved them, too, even preferring them over the usual spaghetti. Now intrigued, I looked up buckwheat as was pleased to read up on how healthy it is. It's gluten-free and LOADED with nutrition. So, I ran out and bought a small bag of organic buckwheat flour. I made buckwheat berry pancakes with no sugar or sweeteners in the batter and was floored at how tasty they were, even slightly sweet! I made a gluten-free fruit and veggie cake out of it (and arrowroot flour) and it was so good! I added some to my buttermilk biscuits and...

Bettina is proud of her thriftiness and cleverness when it comes to cooking. As such, steak is a rare treat for her husband. I did find a steak recipe this month and tried it out. What's interesting about going through this antique cookbook is how different things were culinarily (is that a word?) back then. Again, I have no pictures because my camera's battery needs charging and, frankly Bettina's recipes aren't very pretty. Presentation as well as flavor is very popular and important now. Back then, the presentation must not have been so popular. Tonight's dinner: Swiss Steak, Mashed Sweet Potatoes, Carmel Custard 1 lb. round steak two thirds of an inch thick 5 Tablespoons flour 1 bay leaf 1/4 teaspoon salt 1/8 teaspoon pepper 1/2 cup water 1 Tablespoon onion 2 cloves 1 Tablespoon bacon fat (I used coconut oil) Wipe the steak with a damp cloth, trim the edges to remove any gristle, and pound the flour into the meat, using a side of a heavy plate for the poun...

I've been mulling over preparations for homeschooling in our little cottage. My son is a very kinetic learner and a bit easily distracted. I've decided that I'm just going to have to move my daughter's play kitchen from the sunny porch to the basement play room and the porch will have to become the exclusive school room. I think having a separate space in the house for the sole purpose of concentrated education will be beneficial for my little man. I've very nearly decided to give up his roll-top desk and use it as my teacher's desk. He has a hard time concentrating on his work with all those cubbies and drawers drawing his attention away. Also, it's hard for me to peer over his shoulder to and help him. He won't be happy, but it is what it is. Instead, I'm considering either a table or seeing if my neighbor will let me have a school desk out of the old one room schoolhouse on his property.

My apologies to those suffering from bulimia for the title of this post, but really, it's an accurate way to describe this phenomenon. Christmas comes and we spoil our children rotten. After Christmas sales come and we spoil them some more. I'm also the familial dumping ground for toys that have been purged from other people's houses. On top of all that, I live in a teeny house! I've hit my limit. We've binged and now I want to purge. I feel guilty for the quantity of toys in the house, so I'm ready to purge. I'll admit that this is hard for me. I have to convince myself that they'll not miss the toys and they're not going to suffer some sort of educational deficit or enhanced boredom should the toys leave the house. After all, my 4 year old is outside in the bed of the parked pick-up truck shoveling out snow. He did that yesterday and we outside for 3 hours! He'll probably do the same today! Is he really going to miss the talking drum he...

It dawned on me at the turning of the new year that this September, my oldest starts kindergarten. We will be officially homeschooling with all the legalities it entails! I also realized that I have to start NOW to be prepared. So much to do! Join HSLDA! Arrange a curriculum! Prepare a school room/area! Buy the materials! Submit my paperwork to the school district! Arrange my schedule to include schooling! Discipline myself to keep records! PRAY PRAY PRAY PRAY PRAY!!!!!!

For some reason, blogger won't let me upload pictures. That's ok. I'll be honest and say that the final product of this week's Year With Bettina recipes didn't look very appetizing on camera. However, they were tasty and even my picky daughter ate dinner and announced a very rare, "Yum!" This week's recipes come from the January chapters of A Thousand Ways to Please A Husband With Bettina's Best Recipes. The main meat dish was Chicken Loaf 1/2 cup cooked chicken 1/2 cup ground, cooked veal 1/2 cup soft bread crumbs 1/2 teaspoon salt 1/8 teaspon celery salt 1 teaspoon chopped parsley 1 egg 1/2 cup milk Mix the chicken, veal and breadcrumbs. Add the salt, celery salt, parsley, egg and milk. Mix thoroughly. Bake in a well-buttered pan thirty minutes in a moderate oven. I used store-bought raw ground chicken and veal. Apparently, veal was cheaper back in the early 20th century. Here and now it's pretty pricey. I know many people have a pe...

I had a last minute appointment arranged with a chiropractor this late afternoon and ended up eating dinner at the babysitter's house, so my Year With Bettina is postponed until tomorrow.

Generation Cedar is giving away a copy of Children Are A Blessing DVD! To enter, click here !

Read my review of this excellent book HERE!

The New Year is certainly proving to be a busy one already! I started it off with tackling the living room. We never painted it when we moved in and the previous owner's paint job has taken a beating over the years. It's a slow process what with raising 3 young children in the mix. I really only can paint when my youngest two are asleep, which doesn't amount to a lot of time for me. But, most of the trim is done and it already looks so much better in there! I can hardly wait for it to be done. Amidst all this painting, I received a dump truck load of wood and am expecting more. Hubby was away for work, so the job of moving the wood fell on me. Unfortunately, there was some miscommunication and the wood was cut, but not split. It's also green. That meant I had some very large, heavy pieces to move. Thank God wood is round and can be pushed. And thank God we don't have any snow, but we do have a frozen ground, which made the task easier. And thank God the...

Happy New Year to my online friends! Thank you for joining me for A Year With Bettina! Please allow me to introduce you to Bettina. Bettina is a fictional wife to Bob in two fictional cookbooks/novellas from the early 20th century. One book is A Thousand Ways To Please a Husband With Bettina's Best Recipes by Louise Bennett Weaver and Helen Cowles LeCron. The second book goes by the same title except she's pleasing a Family rather than just a husband. In the second book she is mother to a daugher, Sue and a son, Robin. There are a couple of other Bettina cookbooks as well, but they do not have stories attached and are simply recipes. The stories are charming, even if Bettina is one of those perfect wives and mothers who has everything together and has no problem telling her girlfriends how it is done. I admit, she is slightly annoying at times, but endearing nonetheless. The books go month by month, each month featuring several chapters of a continuing story along with...