Well, thanks to Mother Nature for all the rain. Now the spinach is perking up, the broccoli and cauliflower are nice and green, the radishes are all sprouted, as are the dill, scallions, cilantro, oregano, rosemary, thyme, and basil! The strawberries actually are flowering and putting out little berries! I am so excited :0)
We have been moving and setting up my quilting studio this week. Heritage Quilting Studios will officially open next Monday. At first I am just going to get my moves back by doing family quilts. Then its on to samples and hunting down decorators. I am getting excited about this venture. I believe that I can make this profitable enough that I can quit sending out resumes. Honestly, I wonder if there is anyone left out there who hasn't read my name off my resume! After 3 years of hunting, I am ready to stop waiting on someone else to recognize my potential and just utilize it myself.
We are having all kinds of bad weather lately. I will be glad when spring finally settles in and things are a bit more stable.
Tuesday, April 19, 2011
Sunday, April 3, 2011
Early Garden Doings
It's beautiful today! Light wind, sunny skies, its just a nice breath of spring. We went to church this morning. Though I really dislike penitential seasons (Lent and Advent) I understand why they are necessary. We are almost through Lent, and every Sunday that brings us closer to Easter. Usually this is just something that happens, but this year I feel a real sense of anticipation. God is doing something in our lives, I just haven't quite figured out what it is yet :o)
The square foot garden was my project today. I have turned all the soil, added compost, and planted early crops. Mom had a baby bed that I used to make a trellis. I took the sides, tied them together and set them up in the north corner for the sugar snap peas to climb. There are 2 kinds of lettuce, spinach, cauliflower, broccoli, and radishes in the garden. The herbs are in pots, as are the strawberries (though that may have been a mistake. There might not be enough room for them.) I won't be putting anything else out until May. Then the green beans, tomatoes, white and sweet potatoes, peppers, carrots, squash and cucumbers will get their start. I have 2 medium and one large dog food bags for the potatoes to grow in. I'm going to get 40 lb bags of tops soil for the other veggies.
Yesterday I dried red, yellow and orange peppers. They turned out well. I should have something else in the dehydrator, but I am not sure what yet. I want to do a bunch of onions so I don't have to purchase dehydrated minced onion.
As for now, I think I will just enjoy this beautiful day.
The square foot garden was my project today. I have turned all the soil, added compost, and planted early crops. Mom had a baby bed that I used to make a trellis. I took the sides, tied them together and set them up in the north corner for the sugar snap peas to climb. There are 2 kinds of lettuce, spinach, cauliflower, broccoli, and radishes in the garden. The herbs are in pots, as are the strawberries (though that may have been a mistake. There might not be enough room for them.) I won't be putting anything else out until May. Then the green beans, tomatoes, white and sweet potatoes, peppers, carrots, squash and cucumbers will get their start. I have 2 medium and one large dog food bags for the potatoes to grow in. I'm going to get 40 lb bags of tops soil for the other veggies.
Yesterday I dried red, yellow and orange peppers. They turned out well. I should have something else in the dehydrator, but I am not sure what yet. I want to do a bunch of onions so I don't have to purchase dehydrated minced onion.
As for now, I think I will just enjoy this beautiful day.
Saturday, April 2, 2011
Spring :)
Today was chilly but sunny. The wind was up, but 60 degrees felt pretty good! I have completely cleared the sq ft garden, and tomorrow I will be adding compost and some early vegetable seeds. I have 2 types of lettuce plants (iceberg and butter crunch), spinach, broccoli and cauliflower plants to put out. There are also sugar snap peas to go into the ground, along with radishes and beets.
After hearing about the new baby bed standards, mom decided she shouldn't use the crib that has the moving sides. I took that off her hands and am going to re-purpose it into a trellis for the peas. As a bonus the head and foot of the bed are also railed, so I can use them for cucumbers or squash!
Our Kroger is having a sale on yellow, orange, and red peppers. I bougth 2 of each and they are in the dehydrator even as I type. Strangely enough the oranges did not make the house smell all orange-y but the peppers are sure perfuming the place! They are mild and sweet though, so I don't mind.
Today I had a box in the mail. This is my birthday month and as a present to me I bought 2 books: Cooking with Food Storage Made Easy by Debbie G. Harman, and Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day by Jeff Hertzberg, M.D. and Zoe Francois. Both books are AWESOME! I love the idea of bread that does not have to be kneaded. Frankly I just don't have the counter space for that kind of activity. This is based on dough that you make once ever week or two, and then bake daily. My kind of think ahead thing! And the food storage book is full of good advice and recipes. The idea behind this is that if you eat whole foods (grains, beans, veggies, etc) you will be healthy and the cost of your food will be significantly less than you spend on processed food. I used to think there was no way that could be true, but I am finding it to be true. I don't have to run to the store constantly for that 1 missing ingredient. The recipes are not complicated and my family likes the food. Often they don't even recognize the ingredients are food storage items.
Tonight I will need to cut the bottoms off the rest of the 2 liter bottles. They will be placed over the plants tomorrow in the garden to protect them from the cold for a few more weeks. I am really looking forward to planting my beans and potatoes. I just love blue lake green beans, and I plan to can a lot of them this year. I also want to put up chili base and pizza sauce. I was not so fond of the spaghetti sauce, but I may do some of that too if I have a good tomato year.
Had a good time yesterday with Mom and her friends. We made laundry detergent, and swapped tips on how to save money. Lets face it, anyone who lived through the depression, or lived with someone who lived through the depression, has a lot of knowledge. The detergent worked well, the company was good, and Mom fixed a yummy dinner. We had a good time.
After hearing about the new baby bed standards, mom decided she shouldn't use the crib that has the moving sides. I took that off her hands and am going to re-purpose it into a trellis for the peas. As a bonus the head and foot of the bed are also railed, so I can use them for cucumbers or squash!
Our Kroger is having a sale on yellow, orange, and red peppers. I bougth 2 of each and they are in the dehydrator even as I type. Strangely enough the oranges did not make the house smell all orange-y but the peppers are sure perfuming the place! They are mild and sweet though, so I don't mind.
Today I had a box in the mail. This is my birthday month and as a present to me I bought 2 books: Cooking with Food Storage Made Easy by Debbie G. Harman, and Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day by Jeff Hertzberg, M.D. and Zoe Francois. Both books are AWESOME! I love the idea of bread that does not have to be kneaded. Frankly I just don't have the counter space for that kind of activity. This is based on dough that you make once ever week or two, and then bake daily. My kind of think ahead thing! And the food storage book is full of good advice and recipes. The idea behind this is that if you eat whole foods (grains, beans, veggies, etc) you will be healthy and the cost of your food will be significantly less than you spend on processed food. I used to think there was no way that could be true, but I am finding it to be true. I don't have to run to the store constantly for that 1 missing ingredient. The recipes are not complicated and my family likes the food. Often they don't even recognize the ingredients are food storage items.
Tonight I will need to cut the bottoms off the rest of the 2 liter bottles. They will be placed over the plants tomorrow in the garden to protect them from the cold for a few more weeks. I am really looking forward to planting my beans and potatoes. I just love blue lake green beans, and I plan to can a lot of them this year. I also want to put up chili base and pizza sauce. I was not so fond of the spaghetti sauce, but I may do some of that too if I have a good tomato year.
Had a good time yesterday with Mom and her friends. We made laundry detergent, and swapped tips on how to save money. Lets face it, anyone who lived through the depression, or lived with someone who lived through the depression, has a lot of knowledge. The detergent worked well, the company was good, and Mom fixed a yummy dinner. We had a good time.
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