April Days

Hello, friends.  Last week, I listened to podcasts while packing orders.  Business cards were ordered, using a 15% off code.  I forgot to mention that the batch of  alfalfa sprouts did well last week.  I'm not getting many, but I expect it's because the seeds are getting old.  This week, I finished another batch, and started another.  I'll use these seeds up first, and get more.  We enjoyed the first batch in a salad.  I stopped and picked up books requested at the library.  J picked up some tomato and cilantro plants while getting chicken feed.   My watering can developed a small crack, and I used epoxy to repair it.  

We've been working on emptying out the outdoor freezer.  Much of what was taken out was okra from 2016-2018, the year J became allergic to it.  I've eaten it a few times, but it's difficult to use things he can't eat, so that was a frugal fail on my part.  It did all get composted, and the ziploc bags were washed for reuse.  A bag of pawpaw from that freezer was used in oatmeal, and a bag of butter beans were used in a dinner.  I made vegetable soup using leftover beans, pasta sauce, rice, and spinach, jars of our canned tomatoes, broth, tomato juice and cabbage, our garlic and frozen shredded squash.  It was quite tasty.  It did get me thinking about the possibility of needing to make soup more often, if current reports of the food supply come to pass.  The pomegranates were pruned, and a little weeding was done, mostly pulling out invasive honeysuckle vines.  One of the ear pieces on my headphones came undone.  J repaired the hardware portion of it, and I added super glue to secure it.

Laundry was dried on the line.  As I was hanging out the laundry, I pondered using the dryer more, now that our electricity is free, and I may, to a small extent, but I enjoy hanging laundry on the line, it smells wonderful, and I've read a number of times that the items last longer than in the dryer.   So, it makes sense to hold on to that habit.  I made home fries to go with a veggie burger for me, and chik patties for J.  I harvested asparagus and lettuce, and gathered greens for the pups and the chickens.  Our potatoes are coming up nicely, with the majority of plants up now.  We're still saving eyes for any spots that don't come up.  J took scrap metal to the salvage yard, with prices up quite a bit, and made a nice profit.

My sister and I spent a day together, doing some thrifting and having lunch.  We stopped by the Tractor Supply, and looked at their plants, but they seemed high, at $4.99, where J paid $2.75 a 4-pack.  Neither of us bought any plants.  I did buy a metal feeding bowl, and have started an experiment in soaking chicken feed, as others have said it cuts down on the amount they eat.  If it works, that would seem to be a good thing, especially these days.  It doesn't sound as if there are any unfavorable effects, but we'll see.  At the thrift and consignment stores, I found a cute $2 summer dress, a thick flannel shirt, which J requested, and two canisters I'll turn into compost crocks.  The carrot patch planted in the fall was weeded.  I've started a library book I'm finding fascinating, Underland by Robert Macfarlane.

Saturday was cold and windy, so it seemed a good day to bake some sweet potatoes.  While the oven was on, I baked a double batch of pecan sandies, then made MM roasted brussels sprouts... so good.  I opened a jar of our canned crowder peas to round out the meal, cooked with onion and our garlic.  Earlier in the day, I sanded and stained the countertop where my drill press will sit.  I wanted to seal the wood, as I spray soapy water as part of the drilling process on the compost crocks.  J went through our tomato seeds, planted a half dozen varieties in our truck tool box greenhouse, and I planted three  varieties, our oldest seeds, in peat pots.  He also planted peppers and eggplant in the toolbox.  On Sunday, I roasted our asparagus, and made mashed potatoes with mushroom gravy for dinner.  It's a good feeling to be using our produce in so many of our dinners.  Two coats of sealer were applied to the shop countertop, so I should be good to go on Monday.   Wishing you a peaceful and productive week.