Household Update

Things have been busy here. Like I said we got back from the college visit. Who would have thought that we would be on the beach in March and loving it.

I love the surf coming in… But it was way to cold to swim. It was lovely to look at.

Doesn’t this rock have the cutest face. I left it there for someone else to find.

I have been working on a couple new projects. You know it can’t all be fun in the sun….. LOL!

These are from the yarn I had leftover from the rainbow afghan. This use of the yarn looks way different then the afghan.

This is what they look like with the square around them.

I love how they stand up like flower petals.

Once they are sewn together they will make a pillow for the camper.

Last night I couldn’t stand it anymore. I got started with this years seeds. There are roma, brandywine, red cherry, yellow cherry, rainbow cherry tomatoes. Then I did spinach, swiss chard, pumpkins, radishes and tomitillo’s. As soon as they sprout I will take the lids off. I am hoping that I get a good germination. Half will be going over to my mom’s. I am hoping to get a better crop over there this year.

Yart

Planting Season has started

I was able to get out to the garden yesterday and start cleaning it. I even broke up the soil in the tires. And the potatoes were planted. They are actually in the ground earlier this year then last so I am hoping that the harvest will be larger. I was going to plant the onion sets but I was just too tired. And of course it rained all day today. So they will have to wait. But they will still be in the ground earlier then last year. I can't wait to see how things produce when they get planted when they are suppose to. I was so late last year. We did really well last year. The only thing that I was dissapointed in was the cabbage. I know better this year.

My kefir arrived in the mail yesterday. I followed the directions and drained them and added 1 cup of milk to revive them. Today when I drained them they had tripled in size. So I am hoping that by tomorrow or the next day I will be able to start drinking the kefir. I have a ton of banana's in the freezer so I figure that I will start with smoothies. It will kill tow birds with one stone. More fruit in my diet and the probiotics in the kefir.

Grim, tried to get the chainsaw up and running yesterday to cut up the tree we got a month ago. But the chainsaw decied that it didn't want to work. This thing has been a pain since we first purchased it. Actually, this is the third one, the first two had to be returned because they didn't work. So needless to say the wood still needs to be cut up. Ahhhhh!

Four days and the Brussles have sprouted.... LOL!

Gotta Run,
Yart

Spring Came

And with it brought sickness! Everyone has been sick with a stomach bug for the past few days on and off....Blahhhhh! But we did get to do some really kewl stuff! We took the monsters to the working farm that we get our eggs, milk and other dairy products from. They had a blast hanging out with the animals. I also was able to get my seeds in the dirt on Sunday! I know it seems like it took forever to get it done. I have so much planted I can't really remember. I know for sure I have Lavender and Calendula, tomatoes and peppers. I recently finished Food Rules by Michael Pollan. It was a very good read. Lots of common sense. I am reading Food Matters by Mark Bittman. Another very good read. Very informative. I use cake pans as my starter trays, 3 cups of soil and then the seeds. Plus, I have the lids if I need more planting space. This year I will take better care then I did last year. So then they will last. *confession time* I really didn't think when I started this last year I would succeed. Or even stick with it. But I did and I love it. So live and learn! Sorry for the sideways picture. This is the present I got for Valentines day from Grim. It is set up on the coffin *hope chest* in the living room. In front of the southern facing window. Lots of light. No sprouts yet but I am watching and waiting!

Gotta Run,
Yart

Witty Topic

No witty topics... LOL! I just couldn't come up with a title. In my little correspondence box it says that today is a good day to write. So here I am. Since I did the jelly, I was feeling a little bit energized to do more canning. It is like tattoo's, it gets in your blood. So off to the market I went. I found another 5 pound box of clementines. And I found a great way to preserve them. Marisa at Food in Jars has inspired me to try out her recipe for Canned Clementines.

I also have a few lemons that I need to do something with. So I will be trying my hand at Lemon Jelly. I found a recipe here. I will be water bathing them for 10 minutes for 1/2 pints and 15 minutes for pints, as paraffin wax is no longer an recommended method for preserving food. And have no fear I will be taking pictures with my crappy camera phone. *reminder to self buy a cord for camera*

I got my sprouts all cleaned up and in the fridge. Now if they will only eat them. That is ultimately the question. I also started some mung beans to sprout last night. Then they will have a couple of different types to choose from. Worse comes to worse at least I know how to do it if I ever get animals, then they can have greens in the winter. But I'm not giving up hope just yet, it is still a very new concept.

I have now officially become a paid member to the Mary Jane Farms. So I will be working on my merit badges. One of the first ones that I am doing is making my own cleaners. I have wanted to do this for a long time, just never got around to it. Last night I made up an all purpose cleaner. I will post the recipe for it later when I have the magazine in front of me. Don't want to give any bad information. But I did find a site that has a great deal of recipes that you all might be interested in. Homemade Household Cleaners.

Gotta Run,
Yart

Growing Sprouts

I went to this health food store that is in the neighborhood today. I have been in there before and didn't think to highly of it. But I went in today in search of Kefir Grains. Unfortunately, they didn't have any. But they did have several types of seeds for sprouting. I had previously looked into doing this but didn't know where to get a small amount to see if we liked it. Sure enough they had the jars, seeds and directions. So I got mung seeds and the directions.

The directions say to have the correct temp (70-85), the free circulation of air (1/3 of the container must be empty), and minimal light. I should be able to do this.

The Six Rules of Sprouting

1. Rinse often
2. Keep them moist, not wet
3. Keep them at room temperature
4. Give them plenty of room to breath
5. Don't put too many in any one container
6. keep them covered - no light.

I should see sprouts in 6 - 10 days. Should be fun if nothing else. Oh, I only paid .88 cents for 2 ounces of the mung seeds. From my understanding the mung are like the ones from the Chinese restaurant.

Gotta Run,
Yart