Little Purple Flowers & Frugal Accomplishments

Hello, friends.  Several varieties of little purple flowers are blooming, which I'm loving.  Apparently, banana peel bacon is a thing.  They say it's really, really good, so I may have to give it a try.  I do buy Morningstar bacon for BLT's and the occasional recipe, but it would be nice if I could make a version from ingredients I had at home. If you've tried it, I'd love to know.  I created and planted a new flower bed for pollinators near the garden.  A batch of yogurt was made.  Chickweed was gathered for the chickens, the pups and for our salads.  Pasta sauce was made using our tomatoes, basil, oregano and garlic.  J & I planted 16 cabbage plants and two black currants.  It felt so nice to be outdoors with my hands in the dirt on a sunny day.  More of the wintersown plants are sprouting nicely.  The rhubarb is growing, and two of the potatoes planted weeks ago are up.  J & I created a new bed for some of my dye plants, which I've covered with cardboard.  I've begun gathering bricks to edge it.  I'm using fire bricks that were given to us, so cost nothing. 

winter greens

J tilled the areas of the garden that are not in containers or raised beds, and planted potatoes and onions.  He also planted seeds for several varieties of tomatoes, eggplant and sweet peppers in the truck toolbox he turned into a mini greenhouse.  It worked really well last year, and makes for much less work than planting in seed starting containers, moving them indoors and outdoors daily, and watering daily or more.  Every year we learn something new about gardening.  We're talking about using more raised beds in the future, with some sort of walkways that won't allow weeds, trying to figure out how to cut down on labor as we age.  Several beds were harvested, to make room for new plantings.  A bed of winter greens was harvested, and collards that were in the tool box, which were shared with my sister.  The broccoli was pulled up.  After the initial harvest, and several harvests of side shoots, they were dwindling.  I still got just under 1/2 lb., enough for one meal.  Here is an interesting and timely article on the science of soap.  A concert and a trip to the mountains were canceled.  While I am sorry I won't be seeing the Downton Abbey exhibit, it will be a significant savings. 

Life is full of big and small changes at the moment, all over the planet.  I'm loving seeing all the wonderful ways people are coming together... a hotel in Ireland that is delivering free food to those who need it, neighbors coming out on their balconies all over Italy to share music and song, and to clap in gratitude for health care workers, people sharing their groceries in the US.  Maybe this crisis is to remind us we are all in this together, and that is what is going to be required to make it through this.  How wonderful we are rising to the challenge.  One thing we can do in the coming days is self care.  I'm going to try the recipe in the link for coffee body scrub.  I also made an easy DIY toothpaste, from a recipe posted in the waiting room of the holistic dentist I've been visiting.  To make it, mix:

1/4 cup organic coconut oil (I'm sure non-organic works fine, if that's what you have)
1 tsp baking soda
stevia (optional)
15-20 drops of essential oils (I used a mix of cinnamon & clove EO's, and IPSAB)

Store in a small jar.  Use a pea sized amount for brushing. 

With several warm days and nights, we went without heat for several days, and had windows open as much as possible.  J picked up a handful of things at the grocery store, but I didn't do any grocery shopping last week.  J decided to grill on Sunday.  Besides some "beast" for he and M, he grilled homegrown eggplant and okra from the freezer, potatoes that he cut the sprouts from, and I made a winter salad.  We were all happy campers.  The hyacinths have begun blooming.  Jars of thieves vinegar were bottled.  Bird suet was made.  I made iced tea from dehydrated lemon balm, lemon verbena and lemongrass I grew last summer.  Local honey was used for sweetener.  Lemon balm is a strong anti-viral, so I will try to keep this tea on hand in the coming days.  I dug a clump of lemon balm, and shared it with my sister, as well as eggs and a pumpkin.  We took a walk while we were together.  Lettuce was harvested from the garden, and eggs were collected.  All is well on the homestead.  Stay well, dear friends.