Right now I am slouched in a chair with a cat on my chest, while Alex showers and the dulcet tones of Bach's Toccata and Fugue ring through the house. I remarked to Alex today that I haven't posted a blog in weeks. Possibly even months now. He said it was because I didn't have anything to say. I disagreed. I have plenty to say, I just don't know how to say it anymore.
I've had a nice week of vacation and I still get Monday off before having to head back to work at the bank. We lost two more people, and then my boss underwent a surgery, so I had a period of 2 weeks where I earned plenty of overtime. I am grateful. I really am. I just have an odd way of showing it. I love the people who come it. I have trouble with the people who work there.
The garden is completely dead now, and I haven't had a single day where I have been able to go out and clean it up. This bothers me. On the days where I have time to do it, it's either raining cats and dogs, or it's freezing cold. We had our first snow on Thursday. I finally dug out all the remaining potatoes and they were an absolute success this year. I will most definitely continue to plant that same variety in the coming years. I retrieved about 6 dozen potatoes over the course of the summer and autumn, from 7 plants. And they made the most wonderful soup I have ever produced in my kitchen.
The Etsy store has enjoyed a nice holiday rush and I've introduced several new designs to the shop in the last few weeks. I even managed to get a box of business cards printed! Definitely keep checking the Facebook fan page for promotions, coupon codes and free shipping specials.
While antique hunting in New Buffalo, MI this week, my husband and I stumbled upon an old buffet and china cabinet set. How fortunate for us that the seller had her entire booth 50% off and was taking offers! We ended up paying a total of $106 for this new piece of furniture, which will be residing in my kitchen by Tuesday of next week. I won't call it beautiful just yet. At the moment, it's quite hideous. It was filthy, covered it grime, spilled God-knows-what dripping down it's cabinet doors, painted a lovely shade of baby pink with ancient country floral wallpaper pasted into the china cabinet, but by Golly, if nothing else, I have an eye for the POTENTIAL! I see a gorgeous piece of furniture for my kitchen as soon as I slap some new paint onto it! I spent the better part of this evening washing and scrubbing, dismantling and sanding. Now my fingers are torn apart from sanding grit, my lungs are full of paint particles and I am exhausted. I can't wait to get that baby into my kitchen and start filling her up with my things.
I spent 5 hours on Thursday turning roma tomatoes into sauce. It was rather disappointing work. I only managed to get 3 pints out of all that time! Talk about irritating! I made some beef jerky as well, and as I happen to have some frozen salmon in the freezer, I am giving some serious thought to trying fish jerky. Honestly, it sounds pretty disgusting and God knows what the kitchen will smell like afterwards, but I have heard my hunter friends say that it makes a great snack and has essential nutrients.
I have been recently addicted to The Walking Dead on AMC. It's messing with my brain a little bit though. Now, instead of simply preparing for the economic meltdown, I am also preparing for the zombie apocolypse. I'm not entirely sure that they are two different things. What I do know is that I really need to add more canned goods to the pantry and make even more serious efforts in next summers garden. My 40 tomatoe plants did not produce nearly as well as I had anticipated and I got a single serving of green beans from 6 plants. Not exactly thrilling I must admit, although my potatoes and corn were magnificent and I did get a nice crop of cucumbers. I plan to make much better use of trellises next year as well.
So there's the recent news. I will be posting pictures again fairly soon, as soon as the hard work for the new furniture is complete. I am giving serious consideration to returning to school. Not college though. I have decided college was utterly useless. I am considering trade school. Whether I take technical drafting again, start some agricultural studies, or learn carpentry, I see honing my skills and passions in the near future.
Showing posts with label seasons. Show all posts
Showing posts with label seasons. Show all posts
Saturday, November 12, 2011
Sunday, June 26, 2011
We Have Food!
"WE HAVE FOOD!"
That's what I hope to say when our economy goes belly-up, the America dollar plunges to worthless and no one can afford food anymore. Or maybe I was listening to a doomsday prophet again. I shouldn't do that.
Anyway, I've been working pretty hard on the pantry and emergency food storage. I'm kinda proud! I think right now, we could probably live for a week on what's in our pantry. It will be better after this growing season. Now what we really, really need is a chest freezer. Everyone in my family had one. It's a critical piece of food storage equipment and we really need to make the investment.
I cored and sliced 8 flippin' quarts of strawberries! Good Lord, when that was over, my hands were frozen, numb and stained red, but I have 2 big bags in the freezer and one in the fridge. (One that is now half empty because I used half of it to bake a pie tonight.
I bought 3 pounds of rhubarb at the market last week, and also used about half of it to bake pie tonight. The other half I sliced up and stuck in the freezer. Vegetarian Times had a 5 recipes to try with rhubarb in the May/June issue. There has to be a use for it besides pie! Alex won't touch it of course, so it will be up to me to give the ol' college try.
Tonight I choked down a pork chop, again, and decided that I am probably heading back to my vegetarian diet. It's hard to eat in my house. Alex, my sweet hubs, is deathly allergic to poultry, so we never eat chicken or turkey. Unfortunately, he is also a picky eater, so he won't touch a veggie with a ten foot pole. (Pretty sure I've mentioned this predicament once or twice before.) But he will willingly eat carrots, when prepared right, corn, potatoes, bell peppers when served with stir fry, and celery (but only raw with peanut butter). He has occasionally been willing to try other things, but by and large, he turns up his nose and frowns at my kitchen adventures when asked to taste-test. I'm not really sure if I am craving my vegetarian ways again because the garden has been so mouth watering, or if I am truly tired of eating meat, but either way, I'm collecting my vegger recipes together and getting ready to plunge into meatlessness soon.
A few updates from the garden:
The corn is almost waist high due to more excessive rainfall. (My waist, not a normal human's waist. So the corn is about 2 and a half feet tall.) I've only actually watered my garden once this year. The rest of the time, it has rained and then I have been sure to mulch with grass clippings to keep the moisture in.
I am going to go out and dig for a few new potatoes tomorrow. No, I really just cannot wait, its THAT urgent. :) I will leave the rest for a main crop, but I think since I have 7 plants and all will produce about 10 pounds of potatoes, we'll be okay this winter minus a few.
It's been chilly again all week. The summer solstice seemed to mock us here in Northern Indiana. My tomatoes, while flowering, have stalled in their growth again. I really need four or five good hot, humid days in a row to get the growth restarted and the fruiting process going.
Got the opportunity to hand-pollinate the zucchini this morning. Hooray for plant sex! (ROFLOL) 3 zucchini plants, all flowering, only one with actual fruit, but that fruit looks like they will be real winners.
I planted a new variety of cucumber a few days ago - a pickling gherkin. I have never liked dill pickles in my life, but strangely, I will eat sweet gherkins, so that's what I'm going to go with. I also planted some large-podded shelling peas, and I planted a LOT of them. I am really hoping for several pounds of shelled peas in the freezer for the winter.
The green beans are still small and weak. This is so strange to me because beans are supposed to be so simple to grow! I have successfully grown amazing things in this garden and the easiest veggie of all is giving me trouble?? Where is the justice?
The garden will eventually be completely overtaken with several kinds of squash vines. Yes, I am aware that I 'could' go and pull them out and I will do so eventually. But right now seeing the gorgeous green leaves makes me smile. I simply cannot bring myself to pulling them out. I purposely planted the zucchini and the pattypan squash. But the pumpkins and the gourds were not intentional and they are getting quite out of hand.
I am experimenting with a type of melon. I planted the seeds - quite late I might add - and I am more or less hoping for the best. If our growing season extends into October, as it sometimes does, I will probably have a few melons. But I am not wagering any money on having prize winning melons this summer. But wait until next year....
I will have a handful of ripe red raspberries in about a week.
My sunflowers are being devoured by earwigs. Time to break out the diazanon - which is a repulsive, but effective way to get rid of them.
I pulled a carrot out of the dirt two days ago. It was still a little short, but a perfect shade of orange and quite sweet, with just the right amount of bite.
That's what I hope to say when our economy goes belly-up, the America dollar plunges to worthless and no one can afford food anymore. Or maybe I was listening to a doomsday prophet again. I shouldn't do that.
Anyway, I've been working pretty hard on the pantry and emergency food storage. I'm kinda proud! I think right now, we could probably live for a week on what's in our pantry. It will be better after this growing season. Now what we really, really need is a chest freezer. Everyone in my family had one. It's a critical piece of food storage equipment and we really need to make the investment.
I cored and sliced 8 flippin' quarts of strawberries! Good Lord, when that was over, my hands were frozen, numb and stained red, but I have 2 big bags in the freezer and one in the fridge. (One that is now half empty because I used half of it to bake a pie tonight.
I bought 3 pounds of rhubarb at the market last week, and also used about half of it to bake pie tonight. The other half I sliced up and stuck in the freezer. Vegetarian Times had a 5 recipes to try with rhubarb in the May/June issue. There has to be a use for it besides pie! Alex won't touch it of course, so it will be up to me to give the ol' college try.
Tonight I choked down a pork chop, again, and decided that I am probably heading back to my vegetarian diet. It's hard to eat in my house. Alex, my sweet hubs, is deathly allergic to poultry, so we never eat chicken or turkey. Unfortunately, he is also a picky eater, so he won't touch a veggie with a ten foot pole. (Pretty sure I've mentioned this predicament once or twice before.) But he will willingly eat carrots, when prepared right, corn, potatoes, bell peppers when served with stir fry, and celery (but only raw with peanut butter). He has occasionally been willing to try other things, but by and large, he turns up his nose and frowns at my kitchen adventures when asked to taste-test. I'm not really sure if I am craving my vegetarian ways again because the garden has been so mouth watering, or if I am truly tired of eating meat, but either way, I'm collecting my vegger recipes together and getting ready to plunge into meatlessness soon.
A few updates from the garden:
The corn is almost waist high due to more excessive rainfall. (My waist, not a normal human's waist. So the corn is about 2 and a half feet tall.) I've only actually watered my garden once this year. The rest of the time, it has rained and then I have been sure to mulch with grass clippings to keep the moisture in.
I am going to go out and dig for a few new potatoes tomorrow. No, I really just cannot wait, its THAT urgent. :) I will leave the rest for a main crop, but I think since I have 7 plants and all will produce about 10 pounds of potatoes, we'll be okay this winter minus a few.
It's been chilly again all week. The summer solstice seemed to mock us here in Northern Indiana. My tomatoes, while flowering, have stalled in their growth again. I really need four or five good hot, humid days in a row to get the growth restarted and the fruiting process going.
Got the opportunity to hand-pollinate the zucchini this morning. Hooray for plant sex! (ROFLOL) 3 zucchini plants, all flowering, only one with actual fruit, but that fruit looks like they will be real winners.
I planted a new variety of cucumber a few days ago - a pickling gherkin. I have never liked dill pickles in my life, but strangely, I will eat sweet gherkins, so that's what I'm going to go with. I also planted some large-podded shelling peas, and I planted a LOT of them. I am really hoping for several pounds of shelled peas in the freezer for the winter.
The green beans are still small and weak. This is so strange to me because beans are supposed to be so simple to grow! I have successfully grown amazing things in this garden and the easiest veggie of all is giving me trouble?? Where is the justice?
The garden will eventually be completely overtaken with several kinds of squash vines. Yes, I am aware that I 'could' go and pull them out and I will do so eventually. But right now seeing the gorgeous green leaves makes me smile. I simply cannot bring myself to pulling them out. I purposely planted the zucchini and the pattypan squash. But the pumpkins and the gourds were not intentional and they are getting quite out of hand.
I am experimenting with a type of melon. I planted the seeds - quite late I might add - and I am more or less hoping for the best. If our growing season extends into October, as it sometimes does, I will probably have a few melons. But I am not wagering any money on having prize winning melons this summer. But wait until next year....
I will have a handful of ripe red raspberries in about a week.
My sunflowers are being devoured by earwigs. Time to break out the diazanon - which is a repulsive, but effective way to get rid of them.
I pulled a carrot out of the dirt two days ago. It was still a little short, but a perfect shade of orange and quite sweet, with just the right amount of bite.
Wednesday, May 25, 2011
Beauty of the Earth
Spring has finally arrived to northern Indiana! And those greenhouse seedlings have been thriving in the warm, humid weather. We've had some great thunderstorms in the last few weeks as well.
Today is one of my rare days off from the bank, and instead of being beautiful outside for me, it's gloomy and they're calling for severe storms. So I have made a nice long list of things to be accomplished. I am discovering that it helps me to make lists - so that I can physically see what needs to be done and worked on, and that it isn't really as much as I think, and therefore keeps me from becoming to overwhelmed.
My darling Alex bought me a new lawn mower for our anniversary, and girls out there, I know that you might be a little put off by an anniversary gift like that, but it was a gift I really appreciated. Alex and I have an agreement when it comes to caring for our home. I do the outside work (that I am physically capable of doing, since I'm only 5 feet tall and weigh 100 pounds) and he does the inside chores that I don't like to do - like vacuuming. Yuck. So I was really pleased with the new mower, which has a catch bag on it, which now means that I can finally collect the grass clippings to use for mulch around the veggie garden.
I had some gorgeous red leaf and buttercrunch lettuces growing in the back garden, and imagine my shock yesterday in the morning when I stepped out the back door and found a family of bunnies muching away on them! So much for our fresh salads! But I'm not discouraged, because Alex finally said we would stop putting off the building of the fence and it's officially on the to-do list for this weekend. Sometimes it takes a loss to get other things accomplished.
I got the corn planted this weekend, and transplated the Early Girl tomatoes into bigger pots. They're almost 6 inches tall now, with 6-8 leaves, so they made it out of that brutal cold snap and are very healthy now. Still not ready to leave the greenhouse, but soon!
Had one of my little impatient moments the other day and got frustrated over my sugar snap peas, because they haven't shown a single sign of bearing yet! So Alex said "When did you plant the seeds?" and I pulled out my journal and was reminded that I planted them on March 30, instead of March 17, like I've done in the past. They take 60-75 days to bear, so I've still got about 14 days before they will show signs of flowers and pods. Silly me, getting impatient. :) I apparently forgot that the principles of sowing and reaping are not just for my spiritual life.
There are tiny buds on the raspberries, flower heads on the onions and leeks, and lots of broccoli, carrot and beet tops pushing out of the dirt. The potatoes are simply astonishing - about two feet tall now and a gorgeous emerald green. I've been building up the mounds around the plants so they will have plenty of growing space. I'm pretty sure I'll have spuds to spare this fall, but I'm also looking ahead to winter, and anticipating quite a haul for the root cellar.
Well, there's a lot to do today, so I'll leave you with these few pictures, which I snapped quickly this morning before the storm blew in.
Today is one of my rare days off from the bank, and instead of being beautiful outside for me, it's gloomy and they're calling for severe storms. So I have made a nice long list of things to be accomplished. I am discovering that it helps me to make lists - so that I can physically see what needs to be done and worked on, and that it isn't really as much as I think, and therefore keeps me from becoming to overwhelmed.
My darling Alex bought me a new lawn mower for our anniversary, and girls out there, I know that you might be a little put off by an anniversary gift like that, but it was a gift I really appreciated. Alex and I have an agreement when it comes to caring for our home. I do the outside work (that I am physically capable of doing, since I'm only 5 feet tall and weigh 100 pounds) and he does the inside chores that I don't like to do - like vacuuming. Yuck. So I was really pleased with the new mower, which has a catch bag on it, which now means that I can finally collect the grass clippings to use for mulch around the veggie garden.
I had some gorgeous red leaf and buttercrunch lettuces growing in the back garden, and imagine my shock yesterday in the morning when I stepped out the back door and found a family of bunnies muching away on them! So much for our fresh salads! But I'm not discouraged, because Alex finally said we would stop putting off the building of the fence and it's officially on the to-do list for this weekend. Sometimes it takes a loss to get other things accomplished.
I got the corn planted this weekend, and transplated the Early Girl tomatoes into bigger pots. They're almost 6 inches tall now, with 6-8 leaves, so they made it out of that brutal cold snap and are very healthy now. Still not ready to leave the greenhouse, but soon!
Had one of my little impatient moments the other day and got frustrated over my sugar snap peas, because they haven't shown a single sign of bearing yet! So Alex said "When did you plant the seeds?" and I pulled out my journal and was reminded that I planted them on March 30, instead of March 17, like I've done in the past. They take 60-75 days to bear, so I've still got about 14 days before they will show signs of flowers and pods. Silly me, getting impatient. :) I apparently forgot that the principles of sowing and reaping are not just for my spiritual life.
There are tiny buds on the raspberries, flower heads on the onions and leeks, and lots of broccoli, carrot and beet tops pushing out of the dirt. The potatoes are simply astonishing - about two feet tall now and a gorgeous emerald green. I've been building up the mounds around the plants so they will have plenty of growing space. I'm pretty sure I'll have spuds to spare this fall, but I'm also looking ahead to winter, and anticipating quite a haul for the root cellar.
Well, there's a lot to do today, so I'll leave you with these few pictures, which I snapped quickly this morning before the storm blew in.
Wednesday, February 9, 2011
Another Sigh About The Winter
I really do not like the winter. And right about this time every year, I start liking it even less. It's getting more difficult for me to wax philosophical about winter's virtues, because I am cold, depressed, exhausted and lonely.
There are aspects that I admire about the winter. It is a time when everything is white and clean - unless the plows just went by or the neighbor children have tromped all over your new fallen snow. (Just one hour! That's all I'm asking for! One hour to enjoy the beauty of the snow!) It's a time of rest and renewal for the earth, and a time to make plans for the coming Springtime. And it's a great time for the innately lazy, like me, because I can hibernate, which I have been happily doing for 2 months now, content with my hot drinks, warm blankets and toasty fireplace
Its a whopping 0 degrees Farenheit right now. Our furnace can't keep up with extremely cold temperatures, so it didn't come on last night. Our house was about 58 degrees inside this morning. More snow coming on Friday. The snow that has drifted over the garden is almost as deep as I am tall, as it now swallows the yardstick completely. I have grown tired of crocheting, although I still have 4 orders to fill.
I learned the some of the Aleutian Islands off the coast of Alaska have Zone 7-8 temperate climates, like certain parts of Oregon and Washington State. (To put that in perspective, Northern Indiana is Zone 5. Their winters are much milder than ours.) So now I no longer have reservations about moving to Alaska. But I would still rather go to Virginia or Texas. :)
Well, the winter IS nearly over. I have been pouring over the seed catalogues and making the lists for the early spring crops. Back in December, we had a wonderful thaw that allowed me to get some cabbage seeds started in the garage and although they're to cold to sprout right now, when it starts getting warm again, they will be the first to poke their little green stems up. I will give February a little praise - it's a short month, followed by March, which is always a welcome month for this little 'farm' girl. :)
Cabbages, potatoes, broccoli and onions. The smell of the earth, resuming it's natural cycles of decaying and composting and then spreading and growing. I grow more anxious for the last frost and the first thaw every day. There will be plenty of water this spring - our snow has been record-breaking.
So don't think badly of me for putting out yet another deep sigh regarding the season of Winter. Dear Winter, I know you are necessary and I appreciate what you do, even though right now I'm not showing it. When your sister, Spring, finally arrives, I will bid you adieu with the greatest of joy and thank you for refreshing my little patch of earth. But for now, I will sigh and long for warmer days, watch more television, listen to a few more audio books, and crochet the winter away patiently.
There are aspects that I admire about the winter. It is a time when everything is white and clean - unless the plows just went by or the neighbor children have tromped all over your new fallen snow. (Just one hour! That's all I'm asking for! One hour to enjoy the beauty of the snow!) It's a time of rest and renewal for the earth, and a time to make plans for the coming Springtime. And it's a great time for the innately lazy, like me, because I can hibernate, which I have been happily doing for 2 months now, content with my hot drinks, warm blankets and toasty fireplace
Its a whopping 0 degrees Farenheit right now. Our furnace can't keep up with extremely cold temperatures, so it didn't come on last night. Our house was about 58 degrees inside this morning. More snow coming on Friday. The snow that has drifted over the garden is almost as deep as I am tall, as it now swallows the yardstick completely. I have grown tired of crocheting, although I still have 4 orders to fill.
I learned the some of the Aleutian Islands off the coast of Alaska have Zone 7-8 temperate climates, like certain parts of Oregon and Washington State. (To put that in perspective, Northern Indiana is Zone 5. Their winters are much milder than ours.) So now I no longer have reservations about moving to Alaska. But I would still rather go to Virginia or Texas. :)
Well, the winter IS nearly over. I have been pouring over the seed catalogues and making the lists for the early spring crops. Back in December, we had a wonderful thaw that allowed me to get some cabbage seeds started in the garage and although they're to cold to sprout right now, when it starts getting warm again, they will be the first to poke their little green stems up. I will give February a little praise - it's a short month, followed by March, which is always a welcome month for this little 'farm' girl. :)
Cabbages, potatoes, broccoli and onions. The smell of the earth, resuming it's natural cycles of decaying and composting and then spreading and growing. I grow more anxious for the last frost and the first thaw every day. There will be plenty of water this spring - our snow has been record-breaking.
So don't think badly of me for putting out yet another deep sigh regarding the season of Winter. Dear Winter, I know you are necessary and I appreciate what you do, even though right now I'm not showing it. When your sister, Spring, finally arrives, I will bid you adieu with the greatest of joy and thank you for refreshing my little patch of earth. But for now, I will sigh and long for warmer days, watch more television, listen to a few more audio books, and crochet the winter away patiently.
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