Lazy kind of day

When I weighed the peas we had 9 pounds. Good thing, because the monsters didn’t want to stop eating them. We snapped them to get the string off, then I blanched them for 3 minutes and plunged them into ice water. We let them dry on cookie sheets with towels and the fan going. Once they were dry we put them in to zip bags, about 1/2 a bag for serving size. Then we put them into big freezer bags. We ended up with 24 1/2 bags. I think there would have been more but those monsters really liked the peas. I guess next year the whole family will have to go and pick. I think a bushel will be enough.  Sorry, no pictures. I was enjoying the fact that all 3 monsters wanted to help.

Today is a cool, rainy kind of day. The monsters all have an appointment to get their teeth cleaned. One more thing off the to do list.  I need to feed the sourdough today. I think I have enough flour. I hope I do… I don’t want to have grind any more today. Oh, by the way….. After you grind wheat you need to sift it to get out the wheat germ. Make sure you put the wheat germ in the fridge as it will bad really quick.

I still haven’t gotten back to finishing the dress. I will be working on it today though. I need for it to work or it goes into the pile of lets make something else. I am also working on another knitted hat. Plus, I still have to finish the project with the Cold Antler Farm wool. Lots of projects, just need to sit down and finish them.

I have a ton of Black Swallowtail Butterfly Caterpillars in my dill. They don’t eat to much and since all the dill in the garden is volunteer it makes me happy to see. I am glad that my garden is helping to proliferate a life form other then my own.

Gotta Run,

Yart

Another Busy Day

When I got up this morning, it was still overcast. So I waited a bit and got the monsters up. I took Picky with me to go and get peas. Of course when we get there I am told that they are sugar snap peas…. hmmm! So we only picked a peck. Now I have a peck of peas and not really sure what to do with them. I am going to head over to Punk Domestics to see if there are any ideas. I really don’t want to freeze them if I can avoid it. We had a nice time picking though, it was cloudy with a nice breeze. We were almost done and the sun came out. No complaints!

I pulled in 5 heads of romaine today as they were showing signs of bolting. I caught it in time before they went bitter. I still have 20 more heads out there. Luckily, we eat about 5 heads a sitting. They aren’t very big or tight. I love being able to pull from the garden. I think I would need an entire greenhouse full of lettuce to actually save money with the way we eat. Every little bit does help.

Like that video about victory gardens. It said that 1 bushel equals 12 quarts and that each person in the house needs at least 20 quarts. For us that would be 100 quarts. I do about 1/2 that and a 1/4 of that comes from my garden. I am hoping this year that my yield will be much improved with the spacing of the plants. I need to fertilize them but it keeps raining. I’m afraid that if I fertilize them now the plants won’t benefit.

Took the monsters to the library today. I was hoping to find some books on fermenting. There is an on-line class about fermenting, I just don’t know if I want to spend the money right now. So I thought I would use a free source. Of course, no such luck. But I was able to find some good books on preservation. I hope to learn a lot from them. The one I think I need to purchase for my home library is Stocking Up III. It is full of tons of great information. They even talk about what to do with Kefir grains.

I have a couple of links to share with you today!

S’mores Granola Bars

Oatmeal Pancakes

The Best Summer Sips

Vanilla Kefir Ice Cream

Gotta Run,

Yart

I miss you all

I know I have missed so much. Mother Moon Congrats on the newest Grand!!! I love babies! Jenna, Congrats on the new place. How very exciting it must be!

But this past month has been super busy. Dealing with both insurance companies, work, the doctors, the disability claims people and he still hasn't seen the specialist yet. That doesn't happen until May 4th. All of the road rash has healed nicely. His shoulder is what is giving him problems right now.

I have busy in the garden every free moment. I found a source of free compost and so I have been using muscles that I didn't even know belonged in my body.... LOL! I got the grass cut in the back. I got and planted 2 blueberry bushes in pots. I know why pots? Good question! But the answer will have to wait for another day.... (I'm tricky that way....LOL!) I was able to find a 4 in 1 apple tree locally and it only cost me $29.99 no shipping. It has jonagold, fuji, braubear (sp?) and granny smith. We don't have room for trees but this will polinate itself. And there was this empty spot behind the garage where junk was piling up. Now no more junk and we have a production plant now! Yeah!!!! I built trellises for the beans and peas. I was able to get the dragon tounge, another type of bean and the peas in the ground on Tuesday. I only had a minor set back. I saw a spider right next to my head on the house and I went to squash him and I hit to hard. I dislocated my thumb.... I know you have to be thinking this is the most accident prone person. I really think I am. But it is all little inconviences. So I can be thankful that nothing major happens to me. With Grim not being able to use his left arm at all right now, we would be in a fix if I did something worse. So I am going to try and take it easy for the next couple of days. But that probably won't happen. LOL! Oh, my rhubarb is huge the crown has to be at least 8 inches across (planted last year) and my grapes have leaves and new growth (planted last year and they stayed sticks all season). I am still hoping to get bunnies this year. But that is a wait and see deal.

This weekend I have to get my butt in gear and get stuff out and washed for an upcoming yard sale. It will be the second weekend in May. I am hoping to sell off most of the junk.... I mean treasures.... LOL! Well, at least if I sell it I won't have to take the time to take and donate. But what ever is left I will do just that. I am feeling the need to downsize and get it done rather quickly. Nope I'm not nesting.... Ever feel that you have way to much stuff and it is keeping you from your full capabilities. That is how I am right now.

I put up a pully system for doing laundry out side. So far it is working. It is taking some getting use to though. The line moves when I don't want it too sometimes. And it is kind of droopy, I don't have the tension set right on it yet.

I have started clearing out my freezers. I know I should have joined the real food challenge last month. But I just didn't have it in me to do it. So now I am lagging behind. :oP But I am hoping to have both of them emptied of all the old stuff by June. I cooked up one of the turkey's on Sunday. We still have a ton left but it will be gone by the weekend. I have a ton of veggies to cook up also. I forgot how much swiss chard I froze.... and beets also. But that just shows how well the garden did last year.

Gotta Run,
Yart