Make your own fire starters!

We have been purchasing ours as we heat with a woodstove and do not have a heater in our home. It was 36 degrees this morning......and to think we had our A/C running last week as we were in the 90's! Ugh. So now I'm back to thinking *winter* with my wood stove giving off some much needed warmth this morning after a chilly morning of goatie and chicken chores. 

Those fire starters we have been purchasing are very expensive and we have to drive a long way to get them.......but they work FABULOUS!  So I thought I'd look online to see if I can make these at home.....I was delighted to find out not only how easy they are to make, but that I can use pine shavings and dryer lint too! Cool! Here are some websites if you'd like to make these as well!>

http://guidezone.e-guiding.com/jbfirest.htm

http://www.lovetheoutdoors.com/camping/Tips/firestarters.htm

http://www.solareagle.com/PREP/FSTART.HTM

 This next one is great......I like the photo's that accompany the article

http://www.onestopcandle.com/candle/firestarter.php

Fern

www.JoyfulHeartsFarm.com

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This is a nice message and a *homesteady* type theme so thought I'd pass it along......Have a wonderful week!

Fern

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Clothing in pioneer days

In the pioneer days the wedding dress was worn as the "Company dress". The
average wardrobe contained a company dress, company dress #2, maybe, a
housedress, and dress for laundry. The average dress lasted about 5 years. The
clothing was washed in lye, rubbed on scrub boards and laid in the sun to dry. The
company dress would work its way thru the cycle until it ended being the
laundry dress. the lace and trimming would be removed as it went thru each level.

Mable was marrying Wallace in a few weeks. Wallace’s mother, Effie, said
that she would make a dress for Mable to wear for the wedding. Mable was
surprised, as she knew that Effie didn't like her. Effie used a dummy to fit the
gown so that Mable would be totally surprised. Mable was totally shocked when
she saw her wedding gown. It was lime green with tiny white flowers. Mable
didn't look good in lime green. Mable knew at that moment this mother-in-law was
going to be a challenge.

Mable didn't have the money to replace the dress. She just prayed for the
grace to act like she liked it. She just hated to go anywhere in it, as she
knew how ugly it was. It just made her more self-conscience about her appearance.

A few years after the wedding the lime green dress was still in great shape.
Effie made the comment that she had never seen a dress have such a long life
span. Effie said that she had chosen that color since it was a perfect match
to Mable’s eyes. Mable’s mind was in total alert now. Mable had blue eyes
not lime green. Mable finally said, "My eyes are blue". Effie said, "I know
the same color as the dress". Mable then told Effie the dress was lime green.
Effie was shocked.

No one had known until then that Effie had problems with her vision. What
she saw as blue wasn't always blue. That explained why some of the clothes that
she had sewn over the years were unique to say the least.

From that moment on Mable wore her lime green dress with pride. It was a
gift of love. Since she wore it with pride the glow of her pride made her look
more beautiful than she was. It had been her poor self esteem when she had
worn it in the past that made her look unattractive.

God had blessed Mable with a special dress. The blessing continued on for 30
years. That was the dress that just wouldn't die. It took 30 years before
it was on longer a wash dress. It then went to the patch pile and a quilt was
made with the lime green in it.

The moral is sometimes what we see isn't what it is ~~ lime green isn't blue.
I have made judgments based on what I perceived the person is doing to me or
for me. I am like Mable, not seeing the love in the gift.

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