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...

It ain't all home grown

You may be asking yourself: "What if I can't get a certain food to grow in my yard?"

Well, this happened to us this year. We planted strawberries and harvested a grand total of 3. But, we love strawberries. So, we keep a fresh produce budget for when we see a good deal on a large amount of unprocessed fruits and veggies. We were at a nearby produce stand, Greg's Produce Barn (great food, great person who owns it), and they had 8 pounds of strawberries for $10!!!! What a deal! So, we bought 8 pounds and came home and canned them into jam. This is our lovely 9 year old daughter, Selah, mashing the berries. You couldn't find a better person for the job. She works willingly and cheerfully at whatever task she is given. She is such a blessing. 

You know what else is a blessing? Smearing homemade jam on toast in the morning! 

Sustainability: A way of living

I found these videos in my archives.  At the end of summer of 2013, a friend of mine gave us a bunch of peppers.  So many that we could not eat them all.  So my wife,Teresa said we could freeze them and use them in dishes over the year.  Well we took the seeds out for the replant for the summer of 2014, and was a great opportunity to teach the kids to harvest the seeds.  Real sustainability will come from harvesting your own seeds from the vegetable that you grow.  Of course you have to start somewhere.  So to get started I usually buy my seeds from the local seed and feed store.  And as you learn you can start putting up your own seeds.  I actually will start this in the summer harvest of 2015.  I hope to have all my vegetables grown from the seeds I harvested from our growth.

Also I have started videoing and have posted to youtube videos of Teresa cooking and prepping these foods. 

The video is at youtube under Michael Ryan "saving seeds for replant"

Train up a child...

The Bible says that if we train up a child in the way he should go, when he is old he will not depart from it. We believe that this begins at birth, so from as young as they are able to, we  have our children working alongside us, helping and learning. It's not just about how to hang drywall or cook, but rather, how to run a home, and be obedient, and enjoy time together that does not revolve around games or play or electronics. So, mothers and fathers, do not squander the time. God tells us to number our days, and we shouldn't waste a minute that we can redeem for Him. 

The incredible, edible peanut

One of the most anticipated times of harvest for my family is peanut harvest time. We watched with very little patience as the tops slowly turned yellow and signaled their time of peak perfection. My son, Benjamin, and I went out to pick the hopefully bountiful harvest in the heat of the day. We sent up a prayer for some relief from the heat and was instantly answered with a quick, summer rain. The hard, unyielding ground softened, and the legumes were easily picked. And washed at the same time! 

My wife, Teresa, set out to boil these delectable snack items, and by bedtime, we had us a warm, healthy snack. All in in all, we had 15 quart bags to freeze. Next year, we'd love to have more, but this year definitely outdid last year's harvest of six bags. 

The bonus came in the form of my middle child, who is 6, learning that the harvest must be done when the plant is ready, rain or shine. Perhaps that lesson is even better than the taste of those peanuts...but maybe not!

Michael 

In the beginning...

This blog will be about sustainable living. Right now, my family and I live on one acre in the middle of town. We do all that we can with that single acre. This blog will about what we are doing now, and our quest to honor God with all we do. We also are avid hunters, love to can our own food, and vehemently support gun rights.

Our ultimate goal is to own multiple acres and plant full gardens, hunt and raise animals on our own land. We also homeschool, so we will be showing you ways to incorporate the little ones into your homesteading. 

Follow us in our journey to live off the land and do it with as little money as possible. Watch us turn our $2 in a safe into acreage and a home we will build with our own two hands. Actually, our own 10 hands. LOL