A Handmade Holiday & Frugal Accomplishments

I hope all my U.S. friends had a most lovely Thanksgiving.  I'm joining in with Frugal Accomplishments today.  Though we've had some hard frosts already, the clematis surprised us with this lovely bloom.  Last week, I received my annual capital credit check from the electric co-op, always welcome this time of year.  I've been to customer service at the grocery store twice in the last 10 days, due to being overcharged several dollars each time, & received my money back.   Instead of going to the stores on Black Friday, I went to the discount grocery when I finished work, which is about a mile away.  One good deal was a 3# bag of nyjer seed for $2.  My old feeder was torn, so I watched a youtube video on how to make one from a piece of stocking, a lid & a stick.  I also found half price Christmas ribbon (.99-1.22),  a roll of sterile absorbent cotton (.50) for our emergency supplies( $4.29 at Walgreens!), & 2 sweet porcelain Cordon Bleu mini loaf pans for less than half online sale price @ $2 ea.  I'm thinking they would make a lovely little gift with some homemade jam and bread.

After Thanksgiving with family, I requested the turkey carcass, which still had lots of meat on it.  Though I've been a vegetarian many years, I have a really hard time seeing it thrown away, so I bring it home for the pups.  I brought a large pot to put it in, than added water when I got home and put it on the woodstove to simmer overnight.  I added some of the older spring carrots from the garden, oregano, & some celery.  I gave the happy pups some on their kibble for a few meals, & pressure canned the remainder, 14 pints of broth and meat.  While cleaning up the kitchen from canning, I pondered why I choose to do this.  Because I have a great deal of respect for all life, it makes perfect sense that I would want to make the most out of the life this being gave up.  So, I guess it's not so crazy after all.

Last week, I finished embroidering a Christmas gift for my niece.  I dry canned dried milk in jars, harvested collards from the garden, & emptied water bottles and glasses into the humidifier on the woodstove.  I made tapioca using our egg and homemade vanilla one night, & used the same to make a ricotta pie another night.  Organic celery is pricy, and I never seem to use it up in time, so I blanched and froze most of it.  I planted the celery bottoms in the garden a few weeks ago, & they're sending up new growth.  Long on our to do list, Joseph & I planted our wheat field with heritage Red Fife.  This is our first planting and was done without the use of machinery.  We broadcast it by hand, then J raked it in.  It's been extremely dry here, but we have a good chance of rain in a few days that we hope comes to pass.  The wheat will be ready next summer, and harvest will be fairly labor intensive if all goes well.  I'll keep you posted.

This coming Saturday is the annual Lark Artists Handmade Holiday show.  I asked J to cut a slice of wood for me,  bought metal clothesline & J made little shepherds hooks to hold my recycled wool dusters for display.  Some of the cedar slab cracked off, but I think it will work fine anyway.  By the way, the little woodstove is an electric one I use for supplemental heat when needed in my studio.  J began gluing areas of laminate on the wardrobe that are buckling.  I hope to have that done soon, and be able to begin painting it.  This afternoon, I glued a second round.  On chilly days, I've been putting apple juice on the woodstove, adding a cinnamon stick and cloves, and enjoying hot cider through the day.  A simple seasonal pleasure.

This was the first year I'd planted caladiums.  It was a bit late, but I dug up the bulbs I could find, to overwinter in the house.  My moringa is growing, but seems to droop before the other plants do, so I transplanted it to a larger pot, & hope the greater amount of soil will stay damp longer and it will be happier.  Maybe it's my caretaking, but it seems a bit more finicky than most other plants, either drooping or branches turning yellow on a fairly regular basis.  I really hope to figure out how to have a thriving moringa, as it seems to be a good plant to have around.  I've enjoyed our lettuce on sandwiches this week, and made Brandy's Tuscan Tomato Bread soup tonight, using our tomatoes, garlic & herbs.  This week will be filled with soap wrapping and other preparations for the show.  I hope your week is an enjoyable one!

Thankful

Firsts and Lasts & Frugal Accomplishments

Last week, I cut up one of the watermelons & gave it to the chickens.  Though it was pink, it hadn't ripened enough to have much flavor.  They loved it though.  I picked chickweed & greens and gave them those other days.  Laundry was done with homemade laundry soap and hung on the line.  The pups were given some of our dehydrated sweet potatoes for treats.  I decided to try picking one more round of lima beans, even though we've had frost.  There were a couple of cups once I was done shelling them, and I cooked them up for our dinner as I didn't think they'd keep well.  With them, I cooked our okra in the wok, & made cornbread.  Though we didn't grow the corn or wheat, I ground them both, and used our eggs.  A mostly homegrown meal is always good, and it was delicious.

The first pumpkin pie of the season was made.  A dear friend gifted me the felted pumpkin when we met for lunch recently.  I went by Aldi's last week, & they did seem to have more groceries, though the organic produce section was pretty disappointing.  I recently read where the company is moving to carry more natural and organic items, but they only had tomatoes, bananas, Gala apples & avocados.  I'm hoping it will expand.  I did pick up .99 pomegranates while there.  After working in town, I knew I'd be passing by one of the shoebox drop off sites, so took advantage and dropped mine off.  I requested books from the library, & picked them up while there.  I tasted the fermented cranberry relish started last week.  Though I expect it does have some good probiotics, I doubt I'll be making that again.  The fresh version is much nicer to my palate.

I had just the right amount from the final picking of eggplant to make Pasta Norma, which also used several of our tomatoes and herbs.  Our lettuce and tomatoes went into a salad to go along with it.  I made yogurt, kefir & kombucha.  The grocery store was out of gallons of our whole milk this week, so I got 1/2 gal. of the store brand.  There wasn't enough left to make yogurt, so I made a batch with dried milk.  The pups don't seem to mind a bit.  The chickens were given some cut up scoby.  I worked the local pottery festival 2 days, & brought food and water.  There was hot water available for workers, and I brought tea and a mug.  I enjoyed a free cup of beer from a local microbrewery at the Gala on Friday.  When I got home on Saturday, I was ready for a warm, comforting meal, and made colcannon with our potatoes, and beans from our pantry.  

Here's a peek at a recent project the guys have been working on.  Once it's done, I'll tell you more about it.  We're headed out today. First, to a gathering & closing ceremony for my massage alma mater, then to dinner & a concert in Raleigh.  It's going to be a cold one.  Stay warm, friends!  I'm joining with Frugal Accomplishments.

Monster Greens, Zombies & Frugal Accomplishments

                            

Hello, friends.  Since I was here last, I picked the last of the summer garden when a frost was threatening, harvesting eggplant, okra, swiss chard, tomatoes, basil and lots of lima beans from the main garden.  J got home before dark & helped me pick the last tomatoes in the pond garden.  I covered lettuce and chard with a protective cover, and froze the basil with olive oil in an ice cube tray for future meals.  The following night, we shelled all the limas, and I froze enough beans for 6 meals.  After delivering soap one day, I shopped at a nearby thrift store, & found a nice area rug for $5, then went to Harris Teeter, stocking up on some things I don't have locally, as well as sale items.  I used a $10 off $50 coupon and $20 in gift cards that HT sent me, saving $30 on the total.  I'm happy to be joining in with Frugal Accomplishments today.

I don't know if you can get a sense of the true size from this photo, but these mustard greens are an impressive 2 ft. long.  I cut 6 leaves to make a "mess" for J.  We've not had any that grew to this size before.  They're not my favorite green, but he always enjoys them.  I redeemed Swagbucks points for an amazon gift card, and made tomato rice loaf using our tomatoes, garlic, onion and homemade bread crumbs, and steamed our chard to go along with it.  We've been enjoying the herb butter my friend gifted me on bread many nights.  It's so good, I'm thinking about making some myself.  I went through ebates to buy a Christmas present.  Our first fall kale salad was made for dinner one night, &  I cooked some of our red potatoes with a rutabaga to go along with it.

The first killing frost was in the forecast, so J & I picked the last of the dill, covered the lettuce, & dug the last of the potatoes, which were volunteers from ones we missed this summer.  I will miss the flowers, but really do enjoy the change of seasons too.  Our chicken coop has hardware cloth rather than glass over the window.  We stapled a feed bag on the outside, which we'll lift up on all but the coldest days for cross ventilation, then secure it each night.  Our Aldi's will have it's grand reopening next week, but had a soft opening this week.  It looked as though there were no more groceries, just wider aisles.  I hope they're still getting stocked up, & that will change.  After another errand, we stopped at the local microbrewery.  They were giving a $10 voucher to veterans for the pizzeria next door. J used the voucher for a dinner of calzones, which we enjoyed along with good beer & some good conversation.  While there, I purchased some beer to make soap with, something I've been intending to do since they opened.  I chose their Potter's Clay brew, added in a bit of local Seagrove clay for exfoliation, and some homegrown hops.  We enjoyed leftover calzone another couple of nights.  

                           

I tried a new fresh cranberry recipe.  It's fermented, using whey that I strained from my homemade yogurt, which should provide some good probiotics.  I hope it's as good as it is pretty.  We'll know in a few days.  We didn't have as much garlic planted as usual, and planted some more that arrived this week.  It's a Sicilian variety, which we've not tried before.  I used our potatoes and parsley in a potato soup.  A pan of bread ends I'd been drying were made into bread crumbs and frozen.  The bumblebees have been sluggish from the cold.  I've taken the opportunity to pet a few while I can :o).  I made my first ever herb butter, & froze it for gift giving.

This is a tea infuser that my stepdaughter gifted me a while back.  How can you not be cheered by a mug with a yellow submarine floating in it :o)?  The chai tea came from this local shop.  Last week, I colored my hair at home.  Paid bills online, saving stamps.  I gathered mature red noodle beans, and shelled them for seed.  The upcoming week will be a busy one, as I'll be working at two of my occasional jobs; one of them will have me working off & on until the end of the year.  It's been a tough week for many folks.  My friend M shared this song, which provided some levity & seemed appropriate for this week.  Did you know yesterday was World Kindness Day?  Each of us has enormous power to make a difference.  Be well, friends.  Let's all work together to create the kinder world we envision.

November Visitors & Frugal Accomplishments

While going through my posts looking for something recently, I realized the first post on this blog was Nov. 4, 2008, the day President Obama was elected.  Here we are back at election week.  I voted early, and am curious about what the future will bring.  Last week, I made a batch of Fire Cider which used our garlic, onion & peppers.  The first batch I made was last fall, & I really didn't know if I'd like it, but I do.  It seems to knock out the beginnings of a cold when I take it before bed.  Good stuff.  This batch is slightly different than last year's, as I use what I have on hand.  I gave both pups a bath with homemade dog soap & cut nails.  McNibs let me cut 5 nails.  I was attempting to cut the 6th when he pulled his nail away.  Afraid I could hurt him, I decided to be happy with that for the day.  Lots of praises and treats were given.  Then, figuring it was the last day of the year in the 80's, I decided it was the perfect day to pick green lima beans and sit on the porch while shelling them.  Enjoying it while I can.

I harvested tomatoes, eggplant, hot peppers,okra, basil, oregano, dried lima beans and butter peas from the garden.  Made lentil soup from pantry items and our onions, and open face tomato cheese sandwiches with our tomatoes and oregano.  I ran all errands while in town for work.  At the grocery store, I used $1 coupon for cat food, got 3 jars of olives at closeout price & organic garbanzo beans for .60 on the markdown shelf.   Bought 3 items for my shoebox with a Walgreens 20% discount, shopped at the discount grocery store and found organic raisins for $2/15 oz., a box of natural candy canes for .75, dried blueberries $1/3.5 oz ($12.99 on Amazon!), large rolls of wrapping paper for $1, a canister for $4 (which I'll turn into a compost crock for my shop), & natural peanut butter & tahini @ $2/jar.  I did some online Christmas shopping, going through ebates for cash back, & used a coupon code combined with a sale to order some more garlic to plant, as we ended up having less than usual this year to plant.

Our garlic was used in a stir fry.  We've lost quite a bit of our garlic already, as the area we're keeping it in has too high humidity for it.  We didn't realize it at first, and have remedied that by running the dehumidifier.  It's a challenge, as the potatoes like higher humidity.  Some people have different zones to keep their produce, but we haven't figured out how to manage that just yet.  I harvested the first of the collards and made my favorite collards and rice dish, & baked our sweet potatoes to go along with it.  A dear friend visited after going to the farmer's market, and gifted me lots of apples... 4 different types, a spaghetti squash, herb butter and a beautiful bouquet. The bouquet has tuberose in it, which has the house smelling amazing.  I ground several cups of Red Fife wheat for baking, and tried a new roasted eggplant recipe.  The consensus was it's a keeper.  I'm joining in with Frugal Accomplishments today.  Have a great week, friends!