We're moving!

No, unfortunately we have not found the acreage we are looking for. But, we are moving the blog! The blog has become so popular that it needs its own website. Its new home will be www.rwsus.com  Same as it is now, but no blogspot! This allows us to add advertising to the blog and will allow you, the reader, to add comments and pictures after they have been approved by the administrators. Thank you for reading the blog, and come on over to the website and have a look around!

End of the year!

As we enter the week of Christmas, I like to stop and reflect on the year past.  And wow it has been a great year!  The Kord blessed my garden, he has provided in so many ways for my family.  God is so good.  I am looking forward to a good 2015.  There will be some changes this year for me and my family, but hopefully y'all will continue to follow us here at my blog.  I am building a web sight to support our sustainablility and I am trying to expand the direction of Ryan's remodeling.  So please say a prayer for me and my family I wish you a Merry Christmas!! I will not post anything new until the first of the year!!! Thank you for your support!! 

Stay sustainable my friend!!

Making money!

Part of being sustainable is finding ways to make money out side of the norm.  We found a 120 year old house place for free.  Some one wanted it tore down, and that is all it was worth, so we, my wife and 3 kids went and recoverd what we could use out of it.  Reduce, reuse, and recycle!  So you may ask, what does that have to do with making money!?  Well my boy An I started milling it down to make farm house tables out of it.  And man it is pretty wood!!  Hopefully we will finish milling tomorrow. You may be better at IT stuff or finances! Who know, just do something on your own!! 

Yum yum!!

Wow , God is so good! My wife, Teresa , just fixed spaghetti. In that delicious plate of spaghetti she use deer meat in place of beef. BOOM! That was good. We ate super fresh. The deer was eating ryegrass about 7 days ago.  We skinned it butchered it ourselves, so I  know that there was no preservatives or hormones in the meat, you can't do that when you buy it from the store! The only problem is I wish that y'all, the reader, could taste it!!

I know that some folks are thinking that it can't taste that good, but my wife has some fantastic recipes that was handed down to her and ones that she has come up with. So be looking for a general cook book put out by Teresa Ryan in the near future! 

Deer meat is good to eat!!!

Well well well!!  We have not purchased any meat from the box stores because of the outragouce prices.   I have hunted to no avail!! However God likes to provide for me by humbling me!! Lol.  My sister killed a deer that she did not need so she gave it to me, and then my brother-n-law's dad killed one that he did not need and he gave it to me.  So my wife and I skinned and butchered these deer.  We have put up approximately 100 lbs of deer over the last 2 nights. The best we can figure we have approximately $300 worth of ground, roast, stew meat and steaks. God is good in how he aka was provides for me and my family.  

Uh oh!!

I did not kill a deer tonight!!  I will try again tomorrow .  Freezer is bare I got to tighten up!! Lol

Muzzleloading

Well I missed 2 deer with my bow this year due to jitters and the "flinch" move the deer use to evade and oncoming arrow like an f-18 fighter plane avoiding an oncoming missle!  Ha, but now it is the early primitive season, so I can take my muzzleloader and prayerfully put some meat in the freezer.  If I do, I will post some pictures and and article about it.  We plan on grinding this deer down for ground meet, with ground beef at 4$ per pound were we are at, we sure could use the deer!! So be watching for our adventure into grinding our own meat.  

Legacy!

I grew up helping my dad work on stuff around the house.  My youngest memory was helping my dad install an muffler on an ford falcon .  I acttualy held the muffler in place while he bolted it in, then he wiped grease on my face and we had a good laugh! As i got older I helped fix countless things and build stuff for fun and most of the time it was stuff we needed. From the lawn mower to our cars and building sheds to bird houses.  Lot of good memories doing that stuff which him.  So thanks dad for giving my that "do it your self " attitude! That same drive is my lively hood now, for I am a carpenter. It is the same reason I want to be sustainable , and grow our own food, and eat what we harvest from a hunt. Now my middle so goes to work with me and is learning to be handy. What he is really learning is,weather he knows it not not, is a work ethic. The same thing I learned from my dad.

Working hard!!

This is Benjamin learning how to run a sander! 

 Today was a day that me and Benjamin got to work together. I really enjoy these days because I get to teach he some skill sets that he can have for the rest of his life. Like he learned about angles today and he already knows how to read a measuring tape, and he can lay out stud walls! He is learning so much! He looks forward to these days as well, he can put a few bucks in his piggy bank and he gets away from the house for a day.  He is doing fantastic in school, his grades are incredible, thanks to his teacher teaching him, which happens to be his momma! On days where he gets to go with me, I get to teach him about God, and sustainabllity and how they are not seperate from each other. You see, God is who sustains us.  If we grow our own food, God makes it grow, if we raise our own animals, God make them healthy and function, if we harvest a wild game, God is who delivered that game for harvesting.  See, God is in control of everything.  "But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus. (Philippians 4:19 KJV)" 

November

November is one of our favorite months. It heralds out the last of the warm weather here in Mississippi. It brings on the month of Thanksgiving, where we offer up our praise to God for allowing the bounty of food and blessings we have (and there are far too many to count). It brings leaves of gold, yellow, red, orange and brown and the crinkling sounds beneath our feet. It means more days of hunting, as the sun goes down earlier, and we can still have supper at a reasonable time. It means bonfires with roasted hot dogs and marshmallows. But most of all, it brings in a time of perishing and hibernation of plants and animals to bring in a time for the new.  Ecclesiastes says there is a time for everything. And right now, on earth and in our personal lives, it is a time for a new beginning. God is working on a plan for our lives that will bring us into the next phase of our lives. We are both excited and trepidatious of the direction we are going in and the work that it will entail. As we see the plan unfold, we will share more of this journey with you, but we are not even sure of it ourselves. God is working on us and on our patience, and as soon as He reveals His plan to us, we will tell you all about it!

Supplications!

Hey folks.  Sorry I have not written in a few day.  But we as a family have been in prayer mode for our family to move more towards a sustainable life style. We would appreciate your prayers for our discernment

Freezer broke....no problem!

Well if you can't eat meat in wich you killed, you can still eat fresh and cheap when you have to purchase.  Remember, stay sustainable. So here is what happened.  See our freezer went out 2 weeks ago and I have not been able to harvest a deer.  So our local super market ran a special on whole fryer chickens, .79 per lb., so we were able to pick up one for our family of five. Our local farmers market ran a special on sweet potatoes.  So my lovely bride made a roasted whole chicken and a sweet potato casserole.  And for desert she made monkey bread!!!!!!. WOW. It was delicious, and easy on the pocket book! So you can still eat fresh and healthy even if your freezer is meatless! 

Sorry I forgot to get a pic of the finished

Casarole! 

Best life ever!

Part of living sustainable is trying to stay healthy!  We like to eat fairly healthy and try to exercise some. If you are not healthy and strong you can't toil!  We also take plexus slim to help us take in our herbs.  God is so good to have made an earth that we can be healthy and be sustained from His hand. 

"Every moving thing that liveth shall be meat for you; even as the green herb have I given you all things. (Genesis 9:3 KJV)"

Stay sustainable my friend. 

Gone Camping!

Perhaps one of the best parts of sustainable living, is finding time to spend with those who are like minded. It's nice to sit a spell and visit with those who live a similar lifestyle.

My family and I spent the weekend camping with other Christian, home schooling families. When we talked, we knew we were on the same page about how we lived and what are values are. We ended up spending time talking about God and home school, but not only that, most of the families there pursue a lifestyle of sustainability. We ended up talking about raising hogs, butchering rabbits, the best way to pluck a chicken, the merits of sun tea, the feasibility of solar panels, the best natural way to brush your teeth, the best way to can meat, and where to find property for sale. We learned a few things and, hopefully, imparted a little bit of our minimal wisdom to others. It was also nice to be away from ringing phones and other electronic devices and to watch our children play with friends, catch bugs and sing songs around a campfire.

Just a side note, no man (or woman) is an island. We like our privacy, as most people do, but it is nice to share our lives, for a little while, with others. Seek out friends and spend some time with others who share your love for sustainability, or find some who don't, and convert 'em.     
" Iron sharpeneth iron; so a man sharpeneth the so a man sharpeneth the countenancde of his friend"  Proverbs 27:17                                        
                        Stay sustainable, my friend!                                                                                                      

Proper tools.

When you are sustainable or trying to become sustainable, it is a good idea to aquire the proper tools, and also to Keep up those tools . So just remember take your time and stay the course and get those proper tools.  Also, one of the most important tools you can have, is knowledge.  Knowledge of how to live sustainable.   We also need to have the knowledge of The Lord , you need to know Him personally. With out God, we can not have good knowledge. And with God we can not be sustained! 

The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom: and the knowledge of the holy is understanding. (Proverbs 9:10 KJV)

Real world? Uh yea!

Part of real world sustainability is to live as sustainable as possible and still be in a community. To me this means to save money in places were we can. From growing your on food and eating what you can kill for your family, to learning to be content with what we have in front of us, and not spending outrageous amounts of money on "stuff".   My family and I are not completely sustained yet, but we are learning....I know both how to be abased, and I know how to abound: every where and in all things I am instructed both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need.

But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus. (Philippians 4:12, 19 KJV)

We try to live by these basic concepts.... Try is the key word.  So tonight to cut our over all budget back, we made our on dog food.  We have been doing it for several months now and it has saved us a good deal of money. We spend about 20$ per month doing this way, to buy food for our dog it would run us about 125 per month. And to top it off, Selah helped us stack and store the food, great individual time with my very sweet daughter.

Stay sustainable my friends! 

Double freezer!!!!

Wow, well with the good harvest this season that God blessed us with, we had to purchase another freezer, so that we could have enough room for our vegetables and our meats. I am praying for a good hunting season this year.  We also purchased a meat grinder to make our own sausage and our own ground meats. We hated making two sizable purchases at the same time, but it was necessary. It's important to set yourself up for success when you can afford to, so that you're not in a bind when you can't. Call me a dork, but it was so nice and shiny, I took a picture. 

Well have a good night, stay sustainable, my friend. 

Grocery shopping!

Well, here in Mississippi it is time for me (Michael) to go grocery shopping! This means it is archery season for deer.  It is a big part of me teaching my kids how to be sustainable.  We all love deer meat in this house, any way we can get it.  We roast it, fry it, broil it, grill it, grind it, and stew it.  This winter we will be posting some cooking tips and recipes for wild game.  So I hope God blesses you, the hunter, and may your freezers be full! "And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth. (Genesis 1:28 KJV)"

Sustainability rocks!!

Wow! Well yesterday my lovely wife found out that she has hypothyroidism, and today my daughter found out that she has the same problem.  Though it is , in my opinion, best to eat healthy and take natual vitamins and stay away from procesed foods and medicines, because we live in a fallen world our bodies will still break down.  So thankfull we have a God that has blesses folks with the ability to create certain medicine to make us better. This is why I am trying hard to become sustainable so that I can support my family the best possible way. 

What to do with "extra gum balls?"

We picked up a double headed gumball machine a while back.  We cleaned it up and put gum balls in it, like 5000 gum balls.  I hunted for a long time to find a place to put it and it was to no avail! So it sat on our porch for about 8 months, and out of the blue someone offered me some cash for it. So now we have a countless amount of gum balls! So on a slow evening after study's and all the gardening is done and dishes  from super are put away, instead of watching tv we played "catch the gum ball with a bowl" game. And boy did we have a blast.... I think it could be a new sport! Lol

How to make those dollar bills

One of the ways we are able to home school is that I, Teresa, make and sell vinyl products. I would just like to show you the most recent product I am offering and a sample of a design I have done in the past. Prices are below and you can email me at aroundtheclockfitnessclub@gmail.com to have a paypal invoice mailed to you! 

These are designs I did for my husband's business in the past. 

These are the Performance Fleece Hooded Sweatshirts. They can have any team name, name, or initials put on the front, back, or both. Print will be either black or white. Only $50. A proof of design will be sent to you to approve. The Ladies' version is slightly fitted. All come in Small-4X. The 3X and 4X are $55. Only $5 to ship anywhere in the US.

Go to www.facebook.com/bounteefulblessingscustoms

to see more colors! I can do business logos and everything! 

Love the second amendment!

This past Friday my wife, Teresa, and I had a date weekend! My parents kept our three children and it gave us some time to ourselves, and boy did we have a great weekend!  My sister and brother-in-law invited us to shoot at their house Friday after we dropped the children off.  So we took them up on it.  And my beautiful wife suggested that we go because it has been a while since she has shot.  It is good to practice occasionally even if you don't care for shooting. If you own a gun, you need to practice with it.  Teresa shoots and carries a ruger LC9, it fits her very well, and she is an accurate shot!  We, as a family, shoot regularly because it is our freedom that we are practicing. My children shoot a 22 and my son enjoys shooting his BB gun in the backyard, he says he is practicing for hunting.  That is what it is about: living a sustainable life style, practicing your rights, and enjoying what you harvest! 

Well hello, deer!

Part of sustainability, in our opinion, is knowing how to cook the food you grow yourself. I (Teresa) love to cook! I have honed my skills over 14 years of marriage, and, not to brag, but I think I'm pretty good. So, after many years of insistence from my husband, I am writing a cookbook, tentatively titled "Simple Southern Cooking." (Feel free to make suggestions). It includes traditional Southern dishes with a modern twist and easier prep. So, tonight I will share with you one of my recipes. Hope you make it and enjoy it!

Deer Roast In The Slow Cooker

1 (2-5 lb) deer roast (can also use beef)

2 T olive oil

salt and pepper to taste

1 c red wine

5 beef bouillon cubes

5 c water

1 1/2 t thyme

1 1/2 t rosemary

Combine all ingredients into the slow cooker. Cook on high for 4 hours or low for 8 hours. Serve with Candied Carrots and Creamy Mashed potatoes (recipes are in the book).

The little "read" schoolhouse

Ok, so this isn't the little red schoolhouse that many remember. This is the Little Read Schoolhouse. This, is homeschooling. My wife, Teresa, and I homeschool our kids. Our kids love to read and do it all the time. This, to us, is an important part of being sustainable. There are a million reasons why we homeschool, but one, as it pertains to homesteading, is that when school is done (and it doesn't take eight hours like it does at the public and private schools) the kids can help out around the homestead. Our kids know how to plant, harvest, chop, mash, cook, can, freeze, and eat what we harvest. There isn't a food they refuse (although there are some they don't care much for) and feel pride that they are an integral part of the growing process. They can help us research growing seasons and figure out why things aren't growing as well as they should. They can help water the plants (and sometimes each other) when the rain isn't plentiful, and there is hardly a day that goes by that at least one tomato doesn't need to be picked. So, as you can see, they are not only learning and pretending to help, they really are a big help and it would be exponentially harder to do what we do if they were gone every day to school. 

Never Forget

I don't think anyone will forget what happened on 9/11 in 2001. It was a tragedy that reminds us that we live in a fallen world. Sin came in over 6,000 years ago and we will be forever plagued with sin until Christ reigns on Earth. 

But, God tells us to be in, but not of, the world. We are to live in this fallen, crumbling creation, living the best we know how. This is one of the reasons we live sustainably. We want to be able to grow our own food and till our own land, in case the need ever arises that there is no other options. We want our children and our children's children to be able to do the same, because if the Lord tarries, there may be a necessity to do it for survival. But, for now, we are enjoying doing it, enjoying the fruit of the land that God provides us, and basking in the satisfaction that comes from a job well done!

Getting Crafty

Part of sustainability is learning how to make extra money. My wife, Teresa, enjoys doing crafts. So I thought I would show you the latest thing she has done. It not only is to make extra money for the family, but to raise money for a good cause.

Our youngest child, Elijah has hydrocephalus, commonly called water on the brain. There is no cure and the only treatment involves brain surgery. There have been very little innovations in the treatment of it in the past 50 years. Well, September is Hydrocephalus Awareness month and she is making wreaths that also come with information about the disorder and our son who has it. She is selling them for $60 plus $5 shipping with $20 going to the Pediatric Hydrocephalus Foundation. You can email her at mywinsomecreations@gmail.com to order one.

The Family that works together...

Hurts together. Sweats together. Stabs themselves with nails together. 

Today was about togetherness. Actually, no it wasn't. It was about salvaging all that we could from a 120 year old home. Someone generously let us have the materials in exchange for tearing it down. So, we took a home school field trip to demo this house. We darted among holes in the floor, spiders everywhere, rusty pieces of metal, and the remnants of a former tenant, to retrieve the good stuff and leave the bad. We got a bunch of good things, and there is still more to be done, but most importantly, we learned how to work together. We had assembly lines going with all hands on deck (minus the littlest one) and got the work done in record time. This day goes down on the books as a successful learning trip that will, hopefully, make us money in the end. Come back and read later to see what treasures we can get from a pile of old junk. 

 Before we started tearing the house down. 

 All of us in the truck on the way to demo.

 Teresa giving Selah instructions. 

 Benjamin unhooking the trailer.

 Selah moving the door. 

Teresa tearing out heart pine walls. 

 Loading metal on the trailer.

The end of demo day 1.

To be continued...