Gifts of the Maple & Frugal Accomplishments

gifts of the maple

Once again, I'm joining in with Frugal Accomplishments today.  The maples are dropping their seed clusters, which I think are beautiful.  Last week during a cold snap, I gathered the remainder of our homegrown winter squash and canned them.  There were also 2 remaining spaghetti squash, which I baked, prepared enough for one meal, then froze enough for 2 more meals. I kept out enough tromboncino squash to make a pie.  This is the first one we allowed to ripen, usually eating them as a summer type squash.  I let it mature to save the seeds, which are drying on a baking sheet. While making the pie I tasted it, and it was quite bland.  It was fine as a pie, but I will plan to let one ripen only when I want seeds, and use tastier winter squashes for my pies.  In the future, I may use the ripened tromboncino squash to make dog treats.  I'm sure the pups will love it.  The squash skins all went into vegi broth bags.  Having several gallon bags full, making broth will soon need to be on my to do list.  I did laundry with homemade soap and hung it on the line.

tromboncino squash

I cleaned, photographed, researched 4 items, and listed them on ebay.  The friend who I am helping with these vintage and antique items gave me permission to do what I chose with the items that don't sell.  I've decided to donate the items I've been holding to the local arts guild rummage sale, which is coming up.  As she's an artist herself, I know she would approve.  That will also make it easier to access the remaining boxes of items.  I baked some of our sweet potatoes.  There are still quite a few, so I need to be baking and dehydrating them in the coming weeks.  Borrowed books from the library.  Made suet for the birds.  I believe this will be the last batch, then I'll replace the suet feeders with hummingbird feeders.  I forgot to mention I worked several hours hand stitching the binding on my quilt last week.

blueberry blossoms

I've been looking for some new quinoa recipes to try, and made one with black beans and corn which used my broth and garlic.  We both thought the recipe was a keeper.  One of the women in my homestead group works in the horticulture dept. of a local school, and let me know about their plant sale.  I went and got a good sized Rosseyanka persimmon ($10), which sounded lovely, 3 blueberries of varieties different from the ones we have ($4 ea), including a Pink Lemonade, and 33 tomato seedlings (.25 ea!) of several varieties.  Between my seeding failures and our construction project, we're behind the curve on this year's garden.  Now we have a better chance of tomatoes this year, if nothing else.  I trimmed my hair, and added the trimmings to the compost crock.

I made a pot of vegetable soup, using our tomatoes and tomato broth, garlic, squash and okra in addition to store bought onion, cabbage, carrot and the leftover quinoa, black beans and corn.  I cleaned up all the flower beds out by the road.  They could use more work, but they're much better than they were.  I still need to work on the original herb bed, which is overgrown with lemon balm and soapwort. There's a nice patch of oregano in it, and a few leeks, but not much else anymore.  J serviced the push mower, and after he used the riding mower, I went behind him to clean up spots it wouldn't reach.  In Friday's post, I spoke of planting our early spring garden, as well as various flower seeds.  I glued my sneakers where the sole was coming loose.  After the day in the garden, they were quite dusty, so I washed them, causing my repair to partially came undone.  Guess I need to get the glue gun out again :o).

can't have too many blueberry blossoms!

I washed freezer bags for reuse.  Made yogurt and kefir.  When the days are warm, we try to sit at our pond in the evening before dinner.  It's often the only time we allow ourselves to just sit and relax.  It's been my habit to join J in having a beer then.  I decided to get seltzer water, which is cheaper than beer, and 0 calories, but still feels a bit more special than a glass of plain water.  I threw some of the gifted millet in the alternate chicken yard, as I read that some people grow a crop of millet for their chickens.  It's raining, and hopefully the millet will come up with the oats I already sowed.  Walked with the pups every day for exercise.  If you celebrate Easter, I do hope yours was lovely.