Sarah Maxwell took a plane trip and Mary posts OCC

[Justme]

28 minutes ago, WonderingInWA said:

No, this wasn't just a stove, it was a full-on furnace, and it was in the basement.  Stevie has an engineering background so I would have thought the design would have been sufficient for heating the entire house.  My inlaws had something like that in their 4000 sq. ft. house, so I know it can be done, but of course Stevie never explained any of it to anyone.

Silly! Stevie probably realizes most of the blog readers are women. Women can't be expected to understand something as complicated as a home heating system!   

[twin2]

16 hours ago, Handmaiden of Dog said:

February 21: "We’ve had some amazing weather for February"

February 25:  "Anna and Mary treated us to an amazing dinner this evening"

Time to break out the thesaurus, Sarah.

 

 

Well, at least she didn't say 'sweet'.  That is progress, I guess.

When I read 'meat pies' I was thinking of a pasty.  Haven't had one of those in years, they are yummy.

From the website, it just seems to be a twist on a pizza burger, though the recipe looks a bit bland to me.  However, it appears this is a fun meal aimed towards kids, so simple is usually best for that.  But yeah, comparing the pic on the website and the blog, the Maxwell's, looked really skimpy on the meat.  Seems like it would be just diping bread in sauce, not my kind of dinner.  However, homemade sauce on toast, that is a breakfast of champions!

[bluelady]

15 hours ago, anjulibai said:

LOL, I'm sure. But I've also seen John, Jesse and Joseph in them, so I was wondering if they just don't heat the house. 

Their house is pretty big, I can't imagine a wood-burning stove would be sufficient. Typical of Steve to never actually update on a question. 

Perhaps they keep the heat low to save money - I can see Steve being cheap about that. 

I don't know. Our home isn't as big as the Maxwell's, I don't think, but we heat our 2000 sq ft home almost exclusively with wood (the exception being our son's room. The electric baseboard is turned on in there). The thing about it is that it isn't a consistent heat. The further away from the stove, the colder it gets. You'll usually find us in sweaters in the winter, and I'd probably wear a puffer vest, if I had one. 

We're not doing it to be cheap, but we did manage to cut our power bill in half and even taking in to account what we paid for wood, we're still saving $600-700 per year. And that's just with a wood stove. If Steve has a decent woodburning furnace that was properly installed and well maintained, I can see it heating his home just fine. But, like I said, it's a different kind of heat. 

[nomoxian]

On Thursday, February 25, 2016 at 3:43 AM, silverspoons said:

Where I live we have a small Sears and if you want something they still have a catalog to look through to order.

Wow! The last time I recall seeing something like that was when I was in gradeschool and went to a Consumers Distributors in a strip mall.

I sometimes miss looking through catalogues. I know they aren't great for the environment, and not really sanitary if they're used on the can, but there's something different about holding a catalogue versus using a smart phone. I gotta admit I get excited for the Ikea catalogue

[Granwych]

20 hours ago, anjulibai said:

LOL, I'm sure. But I've also seen John, Jesse and Joseph in them, so I was wondering if they just don't heat the house. 

Their house is pretty big, I can't imagine a wood-burning stove would be sufficient. Typical of Steve to never actually update on a question. 

Perhaps they keep the heat low to save money - I can see Steve being cheap about that. 

What with all the beans they consume, I'll bet there's enough "natural gas" to at least fumigate the place, if not heat it.

[mango_fandango]

1 hour ago, Granwych said:

What with all the beans they consume, I'll bet there's enough "natural gas" to at least fumigate the place, if not heat it.

Great. Incessant Bible time, prayer and ceiling fan cleaning, all amongst a permanent stench of farts. GAG.

[SassyPants]

Another group of homemakers that seemingly do not know how to actually cook.

Does Bible reading really suck up that much time? Are they slooooooooooow readers?

[anjulibai]

16 minutes ago, SassyPants said:

Another group of homemakers that seemingly do not know how to actually cook.

Does Bible reading really suck up that much time? Are they slooooooooooow readers?

I think it's a combination of an undeveloped palate and Teri sticking with really simple, easy to make meals so that she wouldn't get overwhelmed with cooking. The kids grew up eating very simple food, so couldn't get a taste for more interesting things, and Teri taught her children to cook they way she cooks. 

[December]

31 minutes ago, SassyPants said:

Another group of homemakers that seemingly do not know how to actually cook.

Does Bible reading really suck up that much time? Are they slooooooooooow readers?

It seems like a lot of the fundie families discussed here have a concept of homemade that's more akin to that Food Network show from a few years ago, Semi Homemade. It's just easier to applaud cooking out of a box than put in the effort to cook from scratch every day. Not that I think there's anything bad about using pre-prepared foods, it's just interesting how a culture that glorifies women staying at home doesn't seem to care about a major homemaking skill like cooking! 

[SassyPants]

24 minutes ago, anjulibai said:

I think it's a combination of an undeveloped palate and Teri sticking with really simple, easy to make meals so that she wouldn't get overwhelmed with cooking. The kids grew up eating very simple food, so couldn't get a taste for more interesting things, and Teri taught her children to cook they way she cooks. 

Why was she so overwhelmed? It seems there was little education getting done. There was no running to school, homework or activities beyond the first 3 kids. By the time the reversals came, the older kids would have been able to pitch in. She had parents nearby. Steve seems to be around a good amount of time. What were they all doing?

I do not get the busyness that these folks all claim while they seemingly get so little accomplished or mastered.

[anjulibai]

10 hours ago, bluelady said:

I don't know. Our home isn't as big as the Maxwell's, I don't think, but we heat our 2000 sq ft home almost exclusively with wood (the exception being our son's room. The electric baseboard is turned on in there). The thing about it is that it isn't a consistent heat. The further away from the stove, the colder it gets. You'll usually find us in sweaters in the winter, and I'd probably wear a puffer vest, if I had one. 

We're not doing it to be cheap, but we did manage to cut our power bill in half and even taking in to account what we paid for wood, we're still saving $600-700 per year. And that's just with a wood stove. If Steve has a decent woodburning furnace that was properly installed and well maintained, I can see it heating his home just fine. But, like I said, it's a different kind of heat. 

I didn't mean that wood furnaces are cheap, more that Steve is cheap and likely to keep the heat down or off in order save money. He seems to not put much stock into creature comforts, even if he'll spend money to buy good quality items. 

[Black Aliss]

55 minutes ago, anjulibai said:

I think it's a combination of an undeveloped palate and Teri sticking with really simple, easy to make meals so that she wouldn't get overwhelmed with cooking. The kids grew up eating very simple food, so couldn't get a taste for more interesting things, and Teri taught her children to cook they way she cooks. 

Remember when they were in New England and Steve bought a lobster roll and made everyone try a bite? It did not go over well, as I recall.

[gustava]

45 minutes ago, SassyPants said:

Why was she so overwhelmed? It seems there was little education getting done. There was no running to school, homework or activities beyond the first 3 kids. By the time the reversals came, the older kids would have been able to pitch in. She had parents nearby. Steve seems to be around a good amount of time. What were they all doing?

I do not get the busyness that these folks all claim while they seemingly get so little accomplished or mastered.

Teri was genuinely, seriously, deeply depressed....untreated except by Jebus.

[anjulibai]

44 minutes ago, SassyPants said:

Why was she so overwhelmed? It seems there was little education getting done. There was no running to school, homework or activities beyond the first 3 kids. By the time the reversals came, the older kids would have been able to pitch in. She had parents nearby. Steve seems to be around a good amount of time. What were they all doing?

I do not get the busyness that these folks all claim while they seemingly get so little accomplished or mastered.

Depression can make even the simplest tasks difficult. I get it, I've been there. 

Teri should have gotten way more help. Instead, Steve made her have more children, which likely just made things worse for her.

I agree they make busy work for themselves, but I think that comes out of needing to schedule so much, which was Teri's only way of coping. 

18 minutes ago, Black Aliss said:

Remember when they were in New England and Steve bought a lobster roll and made everyone try a bite? It did not go over well, as I recall.

They reheated the lobster, which....just is not good. I also wouldn't be surprised if they were really eating langostino, which, though I like, does not taste like real lobster. 

[twin2]

1 hour ago, December said:

It seems like a lot of the fundie families discussed here have a concept of homemade that's more akin to that Food Network show from a few years ago, Semi Homemade. It's just easier to applaud cooking out of a box than put in the effort to cook from scratch every day. Not that I think there's anything bad about using pre-prepared foods, it's just interesting how a culture that glorifies women staying at home doesn't seem to care about a major homemaking skill like cooking! 

No reference to Sandra Lee is allowed to be made without paying homage to the Kwanzaa Cake:

 

 

[kpmom]

I think anything out of the ordinary overwhelmed Teri due to her depression, and maybe her personality.  Kids fighting, 1st day of school, choosing curriculum, any of those things.

I agree, their academics seemed skimpy, but probably even just a few hour in the morning of school work was too much for Teri.

I think all of the decisions they made (i.e. following a schedule, using text books) that they now push, were solely for benefit of making Teri's life easier.  Nothing to do with educating their kids.

 

 

[Jana814]

Steve refused to get his wife any help for her depression.  Instead he insisted they have more kids. 

[Lady Grass Lake]

I make something like those I call Grobrucks - my Mom's name for them.   I use thawed frozen dough dinner rolls for the bread part, then you don't have to divide it out evenly.   I use slaw mix that has carrots and red cabbage.  You could do a pound each of beef and ground turkey, or leaner beef like ground sirloin, but I like to have it a little greasy to soften down the cabbage.  

 I brown about 2 pounds of ground chuck and then drain off extra grease.  Then I add chopped onions and shredded cabbage, Cook the onions and slaw, salt and pepper to taste in the browned meat until the onions are clear and the cabbage is cooked and reduced way down.  I use more onions that most people so about a cup or more and possibly more slaw.  Let it cool down so it's easy to handle.

I flatten down each thawed roll until it's a 1/4 inch thick, size of a small saucer.  Put at least a half cup of the meat cabbage mix in the center of the dough and tn bring all the edges together on the top of the meat and lay them seam side down on a cookie sheet lined with no stick Reynolds foil. Avoid getting any meat mixed or grease on the outside 1/2" or so of the dough circle so you press the edges together.   I let them rise a little bit, to about the size of a hamburger bun and bake them at 350 degrees until the dough is browned.   They are good hot, or cold and make a good lunch.   Store cooked pies in the fridge.  

[SPHASH]

The most exotic thing the Maxwells have ever eaten is cheese paper

[Jinderella]

20 hours ago, bluelady said:

I don't know. Our home isn't as big as the Maxwell's, I don't think, but we heat our 2000 sq ft home almost exclusively with wood (the exception being our son's room. The electric baseboard is turned on in there). The thing about it is that it isn't a consistent heat. The further away from the stove, the colder it gets. You'll usually find us in sweaters in the winter, and I'd probably wear a puffer vest, if I had one. 

We're not doing it to be cheap, but we did manage to cut our power bill in half and even taking in to account what we paid for wood, we're still saving $600-700 per year. And that's just with a wood stove. If Steve has a decent woodburning furnace that was properly installed and well maintained, I can see it heating his home just fine. But, like I said, it's a different kind of heat. 

Do we know how large the Maxwell house is? Did they ever give us are floorplan or a housetour?

[blessalessi]

22 minutes ago, Jinderella said:

Do we know how large the Maxwell house is? Did they ever give us are floorplan or a housetour?

The blog focused quite extensively on the house build for a while.  I didn't take much notice of the details but I remember they didn't skimp at all.  They have underfloor heating throughout, I think.  Steve is an engineer with construction skills;he and the boys did a lion's share of the build, and they sub-contracted out the complex stuff.

I remember they said the house layout is basically the same as their old house because the children "wanted" to share bedrooms.  The big addition to the house was the huge basement for the business premises.  The land is huge though, the back yard is basically a huge field that runs behind several houses on the street to the side of their own house.  I think I read that the whole house build idea started when they asked the previous owner for permission to chop down a tree from the field, because it was encroaching on their property.  The owner was overwhelmed by the land and offered to sell it, so Steve prayed about it until the Lord told him that it was time for Christopher to buy Steve's old house and give his life savings to Stevie to build a new house. Convenient, that direct hotline to God, eh?

[Foudeb]

The isolation also certainly doesn't help with the cooking skills. Most of my go-to meals include ingredients, tips and tricks I didn't grow up with and only got from flatmates, friends and of courses exes and the current Mr. Foudeb. Actually I don't think I've ever had a close relationship with anyone without at some point discussing food and cooking together.

Sticking to family-only, on the other hand? doesn't allow for many new ideas to enter the borg.

[PennySycamore]

@twin2, thanks for sharing the infamous Kwanzaa cake!  Did Sandra Lee actually say acorns? Is she serving that monstrosity to squirrels?  Acorns unless they are properly treated are not particularly edible for humans.  Those nuts look like peanuts to me although I suppose they might be corn nuts.

That was a store bought angel food cake.  There is nothing that is easier to make than an angel food cake -just stiffly beaten, sweetened egg whites folded into cake flour.  You do have to measure the flour  and separate the eggs, but you do not grease and flour the pan.

[nastyhobbitses]

19 hours ago, December said:

It seems like a lot of the fundie families discussed here have a concept of homemade that's more akin to that Food Network show from a few years ago, Semi Homemade. It's just easier to applaud cooking out of a box than put in the effort to cook from scratch every day. Not that I think there's anything bad about using pre-prepared foods, it's just interesting how a culture that glorifies women staying at home doesn't seem to care about a major homemaking skill like cooking! 

Yeah, the Maxwells and the Duggars go on and on about the Angels in the House they train their daughters to be, but it seems like all they make is half out of a box, bland as all hell, and not terribly nutritious/varied. There's nothing at all wrong with semi-homemade -- I sometimes buy jar tomato sauce and doctor it up with some veggies and sausage, or add fresh veggies and a fried egg to instant ramen, for instance -- but I don't get why they go on about what awesome homemakers they are when most of their cuisine looks like it came from a middle school cafeteria.

[mango_fandango]

NEW POST!!

Warm temperatures have been continuing and it ALMOST feels like spring, ALMOST. Some went on a bike ride. Abby isn't wearing an ankle-length skirt. In fact, it looks like it shows KNEE!! Leggings are par for the course, but it looks fairly short. Don't know if it's because it's an action shot, but still...