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Welcome to The 31st Homesteading Carnival!! This is a neat place to sit with a warm cup of coffee or tea and peruse some seasonal Homesteading posts. As we ring in the New Year, take advantage of the wisdom and folly these homesteaders have shared with us and consider participating with us next week as we share on the homestead!

Before we get started, a few things: #1:Sorry this is so late. Six out of eight children are sick and have been for the past week; #2: I fixed the links - they did not transfer well from my Bloglines; and #3: Please, please, please turn on your RSS! It is so much easier to find your fabilous homesteading posts from there! Thank you!

Fresh New Snow!
Dana, who enjoy's life's Simple Pleasures, thought that Not even wild horses could drag her away from finally building that snowman with her little Bear. Until one did.



New Time To Check Things Out
Kathi of Oak Hill Homestead reminds us that in this winter weather, Being Prepared is very important. There's nothing like an ice storm to remind you that being prepared starts before the storm ever hits. By the time you need something, it's too late if you don't have it waiting just in case.


New Memories To Make
Amy, SimpleFolk, believes that "Winter is the time for comfort - it is The Time for Home,"  and says that for us, winter is just beginning, but it's not so bad.



New Plans For Spring
 Ashley of Jonash .... Two of a Kind Working on a Full House made Spaghetti Squash and dreams of one day having a large family and garden too. She can't wait for Spring, so Samuel can play in the sandbox and Elijah can play on the blanket while she putters around!


  New Crops
Catherine Love asks, "Is it Too Cold to Garden?"and tells us about a simple project that will give you a quick supply of crunchy, healthy sprouts to put on your sandwiches or in salads.  

New Recipes
Grandma Rosie shares a couple of recipes with us when she answers the question, "What are your favorite Homestead Kitchen Tools?".   


New Favorites

Crystal Miller shares a Fudge Recipe just for homesteaders, Goat Milk Fudge.  Who doesn't love goats, I mean fudge?? I love both. If you're fresh out of goat's milk, you can always make her Super Easy Drop Sugar Cookies.


New Country Wife
April of ElCloud Homeschool: Walking In His Ways is Learning to be a country wife ...  I truly understand that one qualification is to deal with septic tank issues, but April also asks the begging question, "how many times am I going to have to help Steve get a vehicle unstuck on our own property before winter is over?".
You can also join her for a beautiful walk in pictures: Today I walked in Narnia ... 


New Way To Look At Homesteading
Judy discusses Covert Homesteading Tactics, and. . .  I was intrigued by the thought she pointed out in the beginning of her post that we should "adapt homesteading to your family as much as your family to homesteading, tweaking it along the way and sneaking things in that they may find that they actually love.  Don't worry about what the books and the folks on the internet forums say, do what's good for your family and what works in your locale." She goes on to tell about the sickness in their home and her most recent endeavors: drying produce and, once again, cheesemaking.  Read about it in her Diary of a Modern Homestead.



New Homeschool Curriculum!
Kerimae of A Happy Home is happy about her Fresh Homeschool Go-Juice. She loves their year-round schedule, and the "off" month that gives not only gives her brain a break (and, I suppose, theirs!), but it gives her the chance to rethink their curriculum (what's working? what's bombed?) and purchase new books and supplies as needed.

New Tips To Occupy The Baby
Mommy Homemaker who is Where the Creek Meets the Lake has advice and ideas for Homeschooling with Babies and Preschoolers in the House or Life in a Three Ring Circus....  After all, if you have a baby in the house or ever have had one you know how distracting they can be. You know the amount of sleep you can lose and the amount of diapers that need to be changed. You also know what an absolute joy they are.  I love these ideas and practical tips for homeschooling on the homestead with a large family!

 

New Way To Share Recipes
Mistypearl of Simplicity shares her   Flatbread, and family tradition with us. This is a new tradition she is starting for 2008, to share a family recipe and Homespun Stories.


New Saturday Morning Favorite!
Take a look at Sprittibee's recipe at Gathering Manna for the Buttermilk Biscuits that her husband loves to make! He uses different kinds of flours to make them, and Sprittibee says these are a Saturday morning breakfast kind of treat.

 

New Blogging Ideas
Amanda and Jocelyn bring you a few Better Blogging tips on commenting and contests. Do you leave comments for other homesteaders? How do you comment? What do you comment? Have you ever wanted to enter a contest and just plum forgot to? See what these young bloggers have to say about this.


New Critters To Love On The Homestead
Grandma Rosie's Texas Home tells us about Bumble Bees ...I love these little fat critters. There's a good reason to love them. See, "A world without bees is a world without chocolate". Considering the Bees' population is in trouble, a UC professor says urban gardeners could save California's native bee population and avert an ecological catastrophe. Read about it in BEES ON THEIR KNEES, GARDENERS TO THE RESCUE.
Read more about important things about these "Sweet little creatures" in:
Honeybee Plants 
USES FOR BEESWAX ...From Jon Wood at OGH

New Favourite Pet?
Jocelyn @ A Pondering Hearts shares about their family chickens and her pet rooster, Mr. Bennet. Ever been afraid of chickens? Jocelyn finds them to be  harmless and quite amusing... in Oh My Dear Mr. Bennet!



A New Government
I have to throw this in, just for good measure. The Primaries are coming up, and I have heard a lot about how all "Homeschoolers are for Huckabee". That confused me, because, well, we have homeschooled for about 18 years, and I really wasn't "for Huckabee". So, I decided to do a little investigating: Homeschool Politics: Mike Huckabee and The HSLDA.  That led to some other questions about HSLDA Politics?


Thank you for joining all of us in Ringing in the New Year!!  I hope you will please consider how you can contribute to the next Homesteading Carnival. All you have to do is submit your post to the Homesteading Carnival, using the easy form. I am sure that Catherine Love~ Ramblings from my Heart and Home will be thrilled for you to flood the Homesteading Carnival Email with your submissions, as she is hosting it this next week. Please have them in by 9pmEST on Sunday evening.
If you are interested in past Homesteading Carnivals, you may view them in the Homesteading Carnival ARCHIVES.

Have a GREAT! NEW YEAR! May God bless you!

“Thus saith the LORD, which maketh a way in the sea, and a path in the mighty waters; Remember ye not the former things, neither consider the things of old. Behold, I will do a new thing; now it shall spring forth; shall ye not know it? I will even make a way in the wilderness, and rivers in the desert.”  Isaiah 43:16, 18-19

(7)Comments Leave A Comment! Permanent Link

Comments

Monday, December 31, 2007 - Untitled Comment

Posted by Jocelyndixon

Wow, great job on the carnival mom!

Love you bunches!
Jocelyn

Tuesday, January 1, 2008 - Cute this time...

Posted by Anonymous

Thanks for including me in this carnival. I can never remember to submit anything.

Hugs.....

Tuesday, January 1, 2008 - Untitled Comment

Posted by Anonymous

Sorry, that was me...
Where the Creek Meets the Lake
antsonafarm.blogspot.com

Tuesday, January 1, 2008 - Untitled Comment

Posted by HeartnSoul

Looks good! I hope everyone is on the mend at your house. Joc's chicken post is interesting - my kids would croak at having those chores lol. But I'm looking forward to backyard chickens!

have a great week
Denise
aka /CuriousCat

Tuesday, January 1, 2008 - Carnival

Posted by Anonymous

Great job.

Tuesday, January 1, 2008 - Untitled Comment

Posted by moreofhim

Wow, what a lot of wonderful places to visit! I'm going to be a busy girl! I hope you have a wonderful and blessed New Year!

God bless you - Julie

Thursday, January 3, 2008 - On Your "A New Government" Comments

Posted by Kristin Hoffman

I am so glad to see you bring up Huckabee & HSLDA. I had the same thought. As a member of HSLDA (and we signed up for two years last year), I am very concerned about their endorsement of Huckabee. He is certainly NOT for homeschooling freedom and seems to be pandering to Christians

Blessings and keep up the good work!

Kristin (the SolarFarmMom at
solarfamilyfarm.com)