Spring Blooms

Hello, friends.  I've been enjoying all the spring blooms, and gathered a few for a bouquet.  Last week, J and I pruned trees and cleaned up flower beds.  Some years, there are beautiful days in February when I can get a head start on these things, but this year wasn't one of them, or maybe I happened to be away those days, so we're getting to it now.  I had hoped we could gather leaves for putting on the asparagus and berry patches, but it's been too breezy.  Hopefully, things will quiet down this week.  Suet was made for the birds.  We attempted to turn on the WarblerFall birdbath, but there's an issue with it, which J needs to look into.  

It's been nice to begin harvesting some things.   I'd mentioned the low temps killed the primary broccoli stems over the winter.  Last week I was able to harvest the side shoots.  Nothing like a nice big broccoli head, but any broccoli is a good thing, in my opinion.  Also harvested were chicory and lettuce, and the first of the asparagus.  Most of the potatoes are up, but sadly, the rabbits are really putting a hurting on the peas.  I expect they would be a lovely, tender thing for a rabbit.  Ah well, I suppose they need to eat too.  The largest of the Amish tomatoes were transplanted into individual cells. 

All laundry was dried on the clothesline.  A number of items were hand washed, with homemade soap gel.  I'm still making biochar, for as long as we have the woodstove going, and am gathering material to use for it.  The number of days is rapidly dwindling on that front.  We haven't had a fire for a few days, but we do have some lower temps coming up, so we'll have a few more.  It looks like we'll end up with about 16 gallons of biochar, possibly a little more.  Some of the wintersown plants were getting too tall for the containers, so I raised the lids, where squirrels then dug around in two of them.  Sigh.

It's common for me to break out a jigsaw puzzle, for J & I to work on, whenever we get snow.  We didn't do that this winter, so I decided I needed a puzzle fix, and pulled out this one, of NC craft beers.  I had fun with it.  I believe it was passed to me by one of the local potters, and I'll pass it on down the line, to one of our neighbors.  As I'm typing this Sunday, I'm on the final day of the cleanse, and very much looking forward to enjoying potatoes tomorrow.  I hope your week is a good one!

Spring Has Sprung

Hello, friends.  I took it slow last week, giving myself time to recover.  Though our energy is still not back 100%, J & I are doing well.  Late in the week,  I got together with my sister one day, and went to see a musical my brother was playing the next day with my SIL.  I harvested lemon balm and nettles, and began jars of glycerite with them.  We finished weeding the asparagus, and J has enclosed the newest asparagus bed and berry patch.  The deer were munching on both of these last year, so we wanted them to have some protection this year. He put up deer netting, with white tape, to deter the deer, and hopefully keep the birds from getting tangled.  The first of the asparagus are up.  

berry enclosure

The potatoes and peas are coming up nicely.  Most of the fall garden died over winter.  There appears to be one surviving kale plant, two remaining beets, and several carrots, out of good sized beds.  None of the chard made it.  That's the gardening life.  You just hope for the best.  J moved all the grow bags, to behind the SoulSeeds shop, and planted them with potatoes.  They'll get the rain off the roof there, and not quite as much direct sun as where they'd been.  The potatoes were all planted with pieces with eyes, saved from when we were cooking.  He reused the same soil, as we had such a small harvest last year.  Hopefully, they'll be happier this year.  He mentioned wanting to put some more fruit near the grow bags, so I picked up two Nanking cherries, which we planted.  In the early years on the homestead, there were several sand cherries planted.  They were never especially prolific, so my ex cut them down.  One survived, but it has never fruited again.  Perhaps with these other cherries nearby, we'll get a decent harvest.  

I separated sixteen of the largest pepper seedlings, and transplanted them into individual cells.  Some of the Amish tomatoes are ready, so they'll be up next.  Being I hadn't been eating as much recently, and it's spring, so easier for me to handle all raw food, I went ahead and started the first 3-6-9 cleanse of the year.  I'm happy to report the MM protocol for rheumatoid arthritis has taken care of my symptoms, which is truly a blessing, as the function of my hands had really been affected (ie: couldn't squeeze clothespins or open jars).  I hope the weather is becoming milder, where you live.  Wishing you a beautiful week.  

Under The Weather

Hello, friends.  We have both been down with the flu, so this will be a short post.  J got sick on Sunday, and I came down with a milder version Monday evening.  It's been up and down, but we're both on the upswing.  I'm very saddened to have had to cancel attending a concert with friends, which I've been looking forward to for months.  Ah well, this too shall pass.  I did try a grocery pick up, for the first time, and was pleasantly surprised how easy it was.  I prefer picking out my own produce, as there are significant variations in size and quality.  For example, the celery I got ranged from 1 lb 3 oz to 1 lb 13 oz, which is significant, when you buy as many as I do (to juice).  But to keep everyone safe, this worked well, and I'm thankful for the option.  Kind neighbors also brought us groceries.  J asked if they could pick up bananas, if still in town, and they ended up bringing us three bags of things, mostly fluids.  The bananas were the only thing he felt he could eat that evening, and he'd already eaten all we had.  We're blessed to have such good neighbors.

Several days, I managed to work on my inbox, and cleaned it up significantly.  Much of it was recipes to print, things to read or watch, or something kept as a reference, or for another reason.  One was sent by J in '22, a home canning water-level measuring stick.  This would be really useful, and I intend to make myself one.  In garden news, potatoes and peas are coming up.  The indoor grow stand was rather neglected for a few days, but most is doing OK.  The greenest pot in the photo is from the pepper core I planted.  The rest are all tomatoes; the Amish tomatoes are in the round pots.  Separating seedlings is on my to do list.  That's it for now.  Stay healthy out there.  Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Local Sculpture Garden

Hello, friends.  I hope you've been doing well.  Since my last post, I made cookies and a sweet potato pie.  Some of the cookies were shared with our mail carrier.  A 30% coupon code and 4% cash back was used on a food order.  All laundry was dried on the line.  I mended the hem on a long wool skirt, and cut a long holiday table runner in two, removing the damaged portions, turning it into two runners.  I made a GF version of Staci's eggless blueberry lemon cake.

The two pepper seedlings that came up have died, so J suggested I try planting the core of some store bought ones, which happily has produced many, healthy looking seedlings.  I've begun watering the Amish tomatoes, and started more varieties.  A neighbor gifted us several packets of seeds she wasn't going to use.  Of the wintersown seeds, bachelor buttons, borage, and tansy are coming up.  

Our holistic vet came to give the pups their annual check ups, and pronounced them doing great for 14 years.  Especially since McNibs had his "walk-about" a little over a year ago, I've been more conscious that every day with them is a blessing, and daily try to shower them with love, as if it might be their last.  Though it hurts my heart to think of it, I've been praying that they leave their bodies without suffering or illness, and not need outside intervention.  I do hope we have many more months with them both, and we get to enjoy some great skoolie adventures with them. 

A friend and I went to a couple of local shops on Saturday, as there was a special event going on.  I bought local honey, two plants (witch hazel and lavender), and a small hanging tile for the skoolie.  In our small town, there is a fine arts foundry, which has placed installations throughout the country, as well as some others around the world.  They have a sculpture garden, and after lunch, we headed there, for a stroll around the pond.  They invite other artists to contribute work to the garden, so some pieces are finer, while others are not.  Though I've said it before, I'm thankful to live in an area with so many creative folks.  

Knowing it would soon be lighter in the evenings, with longer nights gone for some months, I wanted to enjoy some of the Angel Studios movies these past evenings.  My favorite so far has been Cabrini.  I may be biased because my grandparents were all immigrants, and my maternal grandparents Italian, but I thought it was a wonderful story.  The Last Rifleman, with Pierce Brosnan, was also a favorite.  Though some of the subject matter is difficult, it's really nice to know there will be minimal violence, and no highly sexual content in their movies.  I do feel they're an organization doing good things, and worth supporting.  May you be surrounded by light this week, and share any overflow with the world.  

First Ride

view from the co-pilot seat

Hello, friends.  We've just gotten back from my first ride in the skoolie!  Before you get too excited, it was just to the local hardware store.  But, we already figured out a couple of things that need attention.  My seatbelt needs to be adjusted, and Joseph's seat needs oiling, as it was quite squeaky.  The point of our little foray was to see if we could identify anything that might need tweaking, so mission accomplished. 

After an appointment this week, I picked up a couple of things for the skoolie.  I was delighted to find a pack of various shelf liners for $2 at the thrift store, and then found a scrubber for $1 at the dollar store.  The circular vegetable scrubbers I usually buy are around $6, so if this works well, that's a nice savings.  Joseph added shelves in two of the kitchen cabinets, and the armoire we'll be using as a pantry, which should help with storage.  That's the latest.

It's All In The Details

Hello, friends.  Joseph did get the bus inspected, shortly after I last posted, then went on to get permanent tags, so we are road legal.  On the way home, he filled our propane tank, so we're ready to cook, heat water, and make power with the generator.  We plan to use the generator only when we're not hooked to shore power, and the solar isn't keeping up.  We hung the thrifted slate welcome sign near the door.  

We're slowly taking care of details.  I bought a paper towel holder, and kitchen wrap holder, and he hung those.  I've run kitchen items through the dishwasher, and have begun putting them away in the skoolie.  First, we put the type of shelf liner that grips in the cabinets for plates, bowls, and drinking vessels.  This will help things stay put while traveling.  I have more liner left, so I'm deciding where else I want to use it.  It may be I'll want it in every drawer and cabinet, and will just need to buy more.

We're figuring out window and door coverings.  This isn't the best pic, but you can see a rod above the right side of the door, and if you look closely, another one above the bedroom window.  A few months ago, I thrifted fabric for curtains.  I'm using it to make the two bedroom curtains.  If there's enough, I'll make another for the bedroom door.  Joseph worked on the vent piping for our water heater, and finished that. He installed magnetic latches on the armoires and the above bed cabinets, and added the knobs.  Cleaner was purchased for the radiator and intercooler exterior, and that job was done.

We were looking at knife racks, and decided we liked the vintage hand-painted ones.  The majority seemed to be chickens with a nearby axe, not exactly the aesthetic we were going for.  We found this one, with painted daisies, on ebay.  Joseph repaired a power steering leak.  Exterior storage compartments are being organized.  He was giving the cabinets a second coat of paint.  I asked him to lighten them as much as he could, as they turned out a bit brighter than I envisioned.  He added all the white paint that would fit into the can, which made a slight difference.  They will certainly wake us up every morning :o).

Blessings & Treasures

Hello, friends.  Slowly, there are little signs of spring appearing.  Many trees are starting to bud out.  It seems we got through last week's teens without any obvious damage.  Before the frigid spell, I did some winter sowing.in various containers.  The seeds I chose this year were four o'clock's, sunflowers, calendula, lupines, borage, forget-me-nots, rudbeckia, hollyhocks, bachelor buttons, milkweed, cosmos, orach, phacelia, rose campion, mullein, tansy, nasturtiums, red carthamus, evening primrose, black haw, and black-eyed susan vine.  I already had all these seeds, without buying any this year, and decided it was silly not to plant them. Here's hoping for good germination.  An online food and supplement purchase was made with a 15% off coupon, and I went through Swagbucks, which gave me an additional 5% cash back.  

We were happy to get some snow.  On Tuesday, it was a very fine snow, which some call hominy snow.  On Wednesday, there was a very pretty snow, with bigger flakes.  Even so, we believe we got less than an inch.  J requested chili for a dinner.  I haven't been a great fan of chili, but as it had been a while, I did make some.  Turns out I'm still not a fan.  It's funny, because the flavors and ingredients are not that different from the sloppy joes I make, but something about it has never appealed.  All laundry was dried on the line.  I put the sheets right back on the bed, which always smells so good.  J planted onions, and prepped an area for me to plant peas.

On Friday, I was able to spend the afternoon with my sister.  We of course went thrifting.  At the first store, I found a vintage pillowcase with crocheted edge, sewing supplies, and two types of velvet ribbon for under $4.  Our next stop was the Goodwill bins, where I found Smartwool socks, a Cherokee tie-dyed cardigan in like-new condition, two ribbons, and a small vintage linen for $1.92.  We then headed to my co-op, which was nearby, to enjoy a beverage, and sit and catch up a bit.  During the week I canned garbanzo beans, pints this time, and made golden paste for the pups.  

For Valentine's Day, J had ordered two dozen roses to be delivered through Amazon. When they arrived, there were only a dozen.  When he spoke to them, they tried to get him to agree to a 20% refund, which he said didn't seem fair, when half the product was missing.  They came back, and asked if he would like them redelivered correctly.  He agreed to that, so another delivery of flowers arrived on Wednesday.  How blessed am I?   I hope you're finding things that bring you hope and peace, in these very interesting times.