A little about me...
Hi I’m Deb, Debbie or Deborah Raylene if you’re mad at me LOL. I am a Christian, wife to a great guy, mom of 4, and grandma to 4 so far. I have a deep connection with how women were able to run their homes in the past, maybe I was born in the wrong century or I'm channeling my inner Grandma Walton or Ma Ingalls. It is not a "bad" thing to enjoy being a Home-Maker, it's something I take great pride in, it is a skillset like no other. I also love being outside camping, foraging, hunting & fishing with my family. When I'm at home I'm making soap, herbal remedy medicinals and crafting. I enjoy doing all the "ladies handwork" like sewing, knitting, embroidery and crochet. My biggest passion is helping women learn to can, food preservation and how to make herbal remedies. 15+ years ago I created my home-based business Deb’s Sweet Country Home. I‘ve been blessed to be able to sell my handmade items, primitive country kitchen antiques & collectibles there.
A few years ago, my husband Paul was injured on the job and was off work for 9 months. A scaffolding gave out and he fell about 30 feet landing on a ladder. He sustained a compound fracture and had to have emergency surgery. Rods and screws were used to put his leg back together. The surgeon would not let him bear any weight on his leg for 6 months, which then caused blood clots in his lungs & leg from being essentially bedridden. He then had physical therapy for 3 months, while going through truck drivers school. He had to change careers after the accident. I was his only caregiver and couldn't leave him alone. We had to figure out how to live on $1000.00 a month-no joke! How were we going to make it? Our rent alone was over half of that $1000.00
I knew I had to get back to the basics-for real! I am very lucky that I come from a ranching family. My Mom and my Grandmas taught me early in life, how to be thrifty and self-sufficient. I canned and preserved anything and everything, cooked and baked from scratch using my old family recipes. I could make a whole chicken last for 4 meals and then use the bones to make chicken stock for soup later. I started making my own soaps and lotions. I made my own house cleaning and laundry products. I sewed and mended our clothes. After the first few months, I was ecstatic to see that we were making it-barely, but we had food, water, shelter and each other. My hubby was and still is my biggest and best supporter. Anything Paul could do from bed to help me, he did! He learned to be a real pro at peeling, chopping and dicing fruits and vegetables for canning. He can untangle and rewind a skein of yarn better than I can, too bad he's not interested in learning to knit ha ha. I was also doing speed knitting and crafting trying to get ready for my busiest sales season-Christmas!
I had been adding botanicals to my body care products with wonderful results. I started making herbal infused vinegars, oils and finishing salts for culinary use and they are very popular. One evening, I started researching the natural herbal remedies my Grandma would have used for her healing kit. I made my own blends of herbal teas using botanicals that are known their healing properties. I now even make my own tinctures, balms and salves too. You really should try my onion, garlic & honey sore throat & cough syrup or my elderberry-ginger wellness syrup. And my dandelion-comfrey muscle salve is amazing if I do say so myself, it is so helpful on my aching back (more about that later), and my hubby Paul says its the absolute best for when his leg is giving him trouble.
If you'd like to learn more about how I'm helping women learn ways to be more prepared for any emergency situation, take pride and joy in being a Home-Maker contact me and I'll invite you to my private group where I'll share what I know with you.
A few pictures of me doing my thing...
Camping & Foraging
Fishing
Cooking for an Event
Working my Business
