graceful designs

Finally!

We have tomatoes.

The garden didn't feel like a garden until these started ripening. Basil just isn't basil without a tomato nearby. Ya know what I mean?

I've been  dreaming about tomatoes since spring, when I started my seedlings. Those unfortunately didn't make it, inadequate lighting was to blame. So we purchased lots and lots from the nursery, trying to get as many varieties in as possible. I think we have 50-60 plants growing. I'm hoping it will be enough to get us through the summer, and much of the fall and winter as well. We'll see...

Cucumbers have been plentiful as well. I tried my hand at refrigerator pickles, and they turned out pretty well. They are tasty enough, but not so good that they disappeared instantly. They were too sweet, next time I'll go for something a little spicier.

I made zucchini crab cakes the other day, and they went over pretty well. They were quick and easy to make, extremely inexpensive, and pretty healthy if you bake instead of fry them. Everyone liked them but Laura, but she doesn't count in the food judging arena.

For example: I served fresh from the garden, steamed and seasoned  green beans at lunch today, and gave her one (only one) to eat. The fit she threw! She was on the floor kicking and screaming, just refusing to even try. I didn't back down though, and sat there until she was ready to eat it. When she finally broke down and took a bite, she said  "Mmmm, this is good!" and finished off the bowl of them. Ugh.

So I've been pretty quiet lately. In real life as well as this blog. In actions as well as words. I haven't made anything in a few months, haven't had the desire to shop, or thrift, or do most things that I usually occupy myself with that I think others might find even remotely interesting. Besides the obvious time I spend with family I've been pretty content just being.

Like the other day when I sat watching this butterfly.

I stood there for as long as the butterfly fluttered, which was quite a while.

And today my great excitement occurred in the chicken coop. I spent a while in there this morning, because one of my chicks escaped her enclosure and was assaulted by a hen. I administered first aid,  separated her from the others, and just hung out observing her, making sure she was okay. While I was in there, another hen was laying an egg. Since I was just sitting there, I thought "why not?" and caught the egg as it came out. That was my thrill for the day, holding such freshness, listening to Pepper give her victory cry when she was done. I found it exciting, I think Daryl found me a little odd...

Tonight we might be heading out to the county fair. We are waiting to see how happy children are afternoon rests. I'm hoping we go, it's time we mixed things up a little around here.

Take Care!

Productive

If you would look up productivity in the dictionary, you wouldn't see my picture there. No sirree, I have been quite laid back. Fortunately some things flourish without too much tender loving care. And there are clear benefits to gardening jointly with others. Like when I am stuck home with the mother of all sinus infections and three sick kids, someone else is still tending to the garden. Thank goodness for that. We are all feeling well now, and I am trying to put in my fair share of time in the garden. Last night I weeded until  the weeds and carrots all looked the same, and it was just too dark to continue. And I could not have been happier. I do enjoy weeding.

These pictures look a little funky, because it was getting dark and I had to use the flash on my camera, but here are some garden pics~

There is a sea of squash just taking over the garden

A giant pumpkin with my dirty foot in there for size comparison (I sure hope it keeps growing!)

Tomatoes are almost ready to turn red... I can't wait!

Pretty eggs from my hens

And proof that I have actually done something this summer...

Lots of zucchini ready to freeze. I have summer squash to freeze as well, but I'm not really in the mood to blanch today. Hopefully I will be soon, because I want to fill my freezer with produce, and truly eat local throughout the year.

On the chicken front, the hens are doing well. We have had two tragedies since the rooster incident, and now my dog and the chickens have their freedom limited. I am working on fencing in a large area for the girls to forage in, and recently bought 4 chicks to replace the ones Buffy got. I think I have things under control now, and hope that we don't lose anymore. We have been getting about 6 eggs a day, and are still really enjoying the flock.

We did have a foster child for the weekend. We provided respite care for a boy who lives with his grandparents, and I can see why they needed a break. He was on his best behavior, but boy did he wear us out. I have never met a child with so much energy.I am glad to help with respite foster care, but still am hoping to have a child on a more permanent basis. The upheaval that results having a stranger come and stay for a few days can be stressful...

I am getting ready to head to the store to pick up some vinegar (to try making pickles), and Old Bay Seasoning. I am going to give these Zucchini Crab Cakes for dinner. I'll let you all know how it goes.

Take Care!

    

Summer Days

We have settled into a very very lazy summer schedule. Daryl is off, and for many good reasons we have stayed close to home. I've been babysitting, too many people have been sick (4/5 of us with fifth disease, and now Laura with Lyme disease, and a couple of other nasties thrown in), gas prices encourage local activities, and we just want to be home.

Our days are filled with children, chickens, and now lots and lots of veggies.

~Laura in the family garden~

~Fresh from the garden~

~Berries foraged from our woods~

~Finally a blue egg!

~Hanging in the pool~ We were lucky enough to have it all to ourselves last night.

Not much else has been going on. Part of me is just loving it, the unstructured time. I am more relaxed than I have been in quite a while, and my children sense the change. I spent yesterday afternoon swinging with Laura, then going for a long berry picking walk. Gavin and I have developed a better friendship, and things aren't as tense as they can be between us. Our chickens are a shared love that is really strengthening our relationship. Who would have thought? 

And then there is Braeden. He is driving me batty. He is like a little tornado, racing around naked, yelling "butt crack."  All. day. long. He never stops. It is near impossible to get him to keep his clothes on, and when I do crack down on the butt crack comments, he looks at me and smiles and says "buck". He is clever enough to know that that isn't a naughty word, but we all know what he is really saying. And he has learned how to lie. "Daddy said I can" is second only to butt crack in our conversations. Sigh...

We really haven't been doing much else, but I need to get a little busier. I need some mental stimulation, and a new project to work on. I have a meeting this afternoon about the school garden, and there will be a lot of work to do after that.

I also need to do something crafty. I haven't done a thing lately, but am starting to get an itch to do something, I'm not sure what yet.

And we might have a foster child or two coming in for an undetermined amount of time. We got a call this morning about three children who are going to become homeless today, and they need emergency placement. We agreed to be available, but aren't sure how things are going to work out. It makes me sad knowing that as I am sitting here typing, the lives of three very young are being turned upside down.

I'll be back soon!

Chickens Everywhere

My girls have been busy. They get around quite a bit now, and I can't always find them in there favorite hangout under the rose bush.

They are there sometimes, but with the frequent visits from these two,

I think they find it more relaxing to stroll around, and visit new places.

Like my car. 

I left the door open the other morning, and these guys hopped right in.

Then there is the basement. I left that door open, and when I sauntered in one afternoon, I was surprised to see 7 hens hanging out. They looked quite pleased with themselves, and weren't in any hurry to leave.

They like the front yard,

and eating my coreopsis. Grrr....

They come to my door,

and into my dining room...

When they get really, really bored, they check out their nesting box.

and lay me some of these.

These were all layed today, which is exciting because as Laura puts it, they are "becoming women now." What is frustrating to me is that that big one on the bottom isn't supposed to be brown. I've been anxiously and neurotically  waiting for my Ameraucana's to start laying, because their eggs are blue or green. That certainly doesn't look blue to me. Or green. But it's an egg, and a pretty big one at that, so I guess Cutie is doing her job. But I sure do want a colored egg. Don't ask me why, but I will be sorely disappointed if the other three of this breed start laying brown eggs.

In case you can't tell, I am quite enamored with these girls. They bring me joy in a way I never thought a chicken could. For real. I love watching them explore, I love listening to them squawk (and they can get ridiculously loud and join together in crazy chorus), I love keeping tabs of what is going on in that nesting box. I love watching my children with them, holding them, taking them for rides on the swing, talking to them...

And I like the eggs too. Yum.

Hope you all have a wonderful weekend!

Take Two

It's been a long time since I've posted, because an awful lot has been going on. I started a post earlier today, but then our internet went out and I lost everything. I didn't really know what to say anyway. Things have been pretty sucky around here lately, but I'm counting on them getting better. Since writing about the events of the past month is too daunting a task, and I have no idea what I am doing tomorrow, I'll talk about today.

Today I am going to make pesto.

With basil from our garden.

And I am going to read some Janet Evanovich.
And take care of my children of course, along with a few extra today.

That's it. Unless I make cookies. That actually sounds pretty darn good right now.  Hmm...

Hope you are all doing well. I've missed you.

Opinions, Pretty Please

I've got lots of questions today, and would love some input...

Question #1-
Is this hankie hand stitched?


(the back)

Question #2-
I bought  a stack of 10 pillowcase tubes to embroider. Flowers, peacocks, and my favorite, these deer. All are spotless, except my favorite, of course. Do I take the time and embroider them? If I do, what do I do about the edges, because I can guarantee you that I will never, ever figure out how to crochet the trim as intended.

Question #3-
We tore out this nasty closet,

and are replacing it with a thrifted hutch. Do I paint the hutch a bright cherry red,

or a more colonial red.

Can you tell the difference? What kind of fabric should I line the back with? (It will be housing lots of white dishes and milk glass, and the shelves are glass).

Question#4- Should I go gray? I am tired of coloring my hair, tired of soaking my head with chemicals, tired of going with the flow and accepting  that aging is ugly. I'm 34 by the way, with dark hair and lots and lots of gray. For the record, men I have asked agree that I shouldn't bother, women seem to think I am making a big mistake.

Question #5-
Do you think Rachel Ray is a terrorist sympathizer?

Question # 6-
What is wrong with people????

Feel free to answer any or all questions. I'd love to hear what you all have to say!

Not Enough Hours

Let's start off with the bad news. My stupid, stupid dog killed Pecker a few days ago. I'll spare you all the gory details, but have to say that I was affected by this in a way that surprised me. I felt grief like I don't usually feel. Was bowled over by it, sitting in the woods sobbing, gasping for air, wrapping my mind around this loss. That rooster was more than a bird to me. He represented something that I have been craving~ strength, beauty, vitality~ I'm not sure exactly what, but when I lost him, I felt like I lost a piece of myself.

But I'm over it now. Life goes on. My dog is not my best friend however. And if I come across the bear that ripped more of my coop apart that same day, I'm going to kick his ass. Seriously.

My days have been filled, I feel like I am racing through them at break neck speed. I baby sit four days a week now, and it changes my routine. Establishing two gardens is consuming my energy, physically and mentally. In a good way though. We started an impromptu remodel of our kitchen. I have hit some yard sales, and we've been pretty busy with foster children. I picked up a pattern for a top I want to make, and some circular knitting needles for a project that will be made with my imaginary homespun yarn. I am running low on soap, and need to make more and do that tutorial I've promised too many times already. And a million other things.

I am dealing with full days by starting them very early. Yesterday I was at Lowes at 6:15 am. Do you know they Windex their tractors in the morning? This morning I was at the school garden at 6:30. I think this week the school garden is really going to start to come together. I can't wait to share pictures.

On my way home this morning, I was flagged down by a local figure. I rolled down my window, and he asked me for coffee money. I gave him what I had on me and he said:
"You're going to have a great day!"
"Jesus will give you many blessings!"
Then he started riding off on his bicycle, and turned around to shout at me
"Be nice to your husband!"
He rode a little farther, then turned and yelled even louder
"Be nice to your husband!!"

Alrighty then. Not bad advice, I guess.

Take Care!

Farmer Me

I woke up  this morning to the strangest sound. It was this rhythmic high pitched squeal.  Kind of a "Cree-Cree". Silence,  then another "Cree-Cree". I stayed in bed willing the sound to stop, and it would for a while. Then just as I was drifting off again, "Cree-Cree". Finally I gave up, and went to investigate. I thought maybe someone was having an odd dream. Trying to sing in their sleep. Laura was silent. The boys were quiet as can be. Buffy was nestled next to Gavin, dead to the world. After puzzling for a while, I realized it was my rooster. Trying on his Cock-a-doodle-doo. He's got a bit of work to do if he wants to impress anyone. But he's doing okay in the volume department. I guess I had better start getting to bed a little earlier if he's going to be up at 5:10 am. Sigh...

It just cracked me up when Laura named him Pecker. It still does. Every. single. time. I say his name. I'm so mature, ya know. This morning he truly started living up to that name. He's quite amorous, to put it mildly. Poor Midget. She is easy prey for him, and he is taking full advantage. I am fascinated by all of this, and feel like a voyeur every time I look into the backyard now.

When I looked at my plans for today, I was surprised. I've changed quite a bit this past year, without really noticing until now. On my list for today:

Clean out chicken coop
Work on nesting boxes
Revamp compost bins
Meet at school regarding School Garden
Arrange a compost delivery
Work on Family Garden

Last spring I did a bit of gardening, chickens were still a dream, and the school garden existed only in my imagination. How did I get where I am today?

Reading had something to do with it.

Some good books I read this year~
Animal, Vegetable, Miracle  A must read for everyone, I do believe. Hurray for eating local and creating a positive food culture.
Harvest for Hope  Jane Goodall rocks. Truly. She hammered home the point that other creatures shouldn't needlessly suffer for our own selfish benefit. I have just about returned to my old vegetarian ways.   
Closing the Food Gap  This book was an eye opener for me. It explains what food insecurity is, and got me excited in community gardening.
 The Art of Simple Food  Alice Waters did a fine job in this cookbook, teaching the basics of good food. She emphasizes eating locally, and the shows how to do it well.

Now I'm putting much of what I learned through these books into practice.

I attended a school garden training, and applied for a grant. I formed a garden committee, and got started with the whole process. Last week we were notified that we are receiving $5,000 in grant money to go towards the garden. Woo Hoo!! This grant is significant on many different levels for me. I am thrilled beyond belief that we have the means to dream big and do wonderful things for our school, and firmly believe that we will be able to create a garden that will make a difference in the the lives of the students in our community. On a personal level, I feel a great sense of accomplishment. It's nice to try for something and be successful. I am excited, energized and focused on such a positive task. I'm loving it.

And then there's the family garden. My mom has a lot of sunny, easy to garden property. Her husband asked me this winter if I wanted to go in on a large garden with him, and I said "Sure!"  He bought the rototiller, I brought my dreams, and we got started a few weeks ago.

When I look at this picture, the garden doesn't look so big. But when I am working in it, it feels enormous. Overwhelming at times. When I am weeding I have to keep saying to myself "Don't look up, don't look up." Because when I do look up, I wonder how on earth we can plant and keep this whole thing under control. It's going to be a lot of work, but I can't imagine a better way to spend my time. Sitting in the dirt, talking with my brother and sisters, spending time with my mom. It's all so peaceful and positive and hopeful. Most of the time anyway. There's enough time spent out there that important topics can be debated, like should we put an in-ground pool in or not (for the record,I say no).

I am loving this garden because even though it's just my family, we have a big family, and it feels like a community garden. There are lots of people working in it, and a loads of people will (hopefully) be fed by it.

So. If you are wondering where I am, I'm probably in the garden. Or hanging with my chickens.  I might be at the library, trying to learn more about this garden thing, and how to do it right. Or maybe I'm sitting, spinning my wool dreaming about my next garden. I've got some plans that involve our town, a vacant lot, and some hooligans that roam the streets. They might not know it yet, but they are gardeners at heart. I'm quite sure of it. But that's fodder for another post...

Happy Gardening!

 

Obsessed

I've got a bit of an obsession these days. I hope you all can bear with me while I work my way through it. This spinning thing has just worked its way into the recesses of my mind, and no matter what I try to think about, there it is. Wool. Yarn. Bunny. Niddy Noddy. It all  just races round and round in my head.

I feel extremely fortunate to have found someone on etsy to trade kits with me. A spinning kit for a soldering kit.

This kit came from Lamina's Closet. Along with the wool and the spindle, there is a disc with excellent instructions and photos.

 
I'm in love.

One of the things I love about this is it doesn't have to be perfect. When you quilt, your corners have to match up. When I solder, I can get quite tense when things aren't as smooth as I'd like.  I've got a lot to learn, and plenty of practicing to do, but there doesn't need to be a "perfect" here. I'm sure someday I'll want to make a sooth thin even yarn, but for now lumpy bumpy is beautiful to me.

A few of you asked about my spice jar labels. I bought them off of ebay. I spent more than I wanted too, but just didn't feel like trying to make them myself. If you want to try your hand at it, these labels were printed on an Inkjet/Clear waterslide decal paper. Hope that helps!

My weekend looks busy~We have an enormous garden that needs to get finished up, a little league game, a foster child coming for a few days, and dinner with family from out of state. Lots to look forward to.

Happy Friday! 

A Spicy Makeover

Inspired by Roxanne's makeovers, I decided to actually finish a project.

Remember these spice jars I picked up a while ago?

I soaked the labels off and applied new ones.

A nice improvement. I'm still not loving the color of the lids, but haven't come with any brilliant ideas yet. Any suggestions? I'm looking forward to using and displaying these. The milk glass is fabulous, and I am happy to get my spices out of plastic.

About that llama wool~ It came to me in a filthy state. A prime example of you get what you pay for. The baby's wool is crazy soft though, and for now I'm willing to work with it.

Here's what the wool looks like after picking most of the hay out~

I'm going to keep working with it until I decide I absolutely can't stand it anymore...I think it might be worth the effort.