Using What's On Hand & Frugal Accomplishments

Hello friends.  I hope you've been healthy and happy.  Last week, I made hummus, sweet potato cake, a broccoli quinoa dish, and roasted veggies.  I got side tracked looking for a recipe, and scorched the quinoa.  Once it cooled, I took it to the chickens, who greatly enjoyed it.  Food never gets wasted around here.  It either goes to the pups, the compost, or the chickens.  I harvested asparagus, rosemary, lemon balm, and collected eggs.  After making zucchini tots, there was still 1/2 the grated zucchini remaining, so I made two loaves of apple carrot zucchini bread, and froze one.  I'm still working on using up the last of the kale, and made two kale salads.  It's not the most tender, but fiber is a good thing, right?  I'm picking out the toughest leaves, and chopping them up for the pups dinners.  Two items were mended with the glue gun.  Laundry was hung on the line.  I finished watching the 1940's House, and was sad to see it end. 

I'd been wanting to make a card to send to my GD.  For the first time since school days, I played with water colors, and though it's not terribly artistic, at least it's cheerful.  I used washi tape to attach the pieces.  More sweet potatoes were dehydrated for pup treats.  I planted money plants, calendula and borage I had started from seed.  I made granola last week, and a new batch of almond butter.  The last batch of almond butter went bad before I used much of it.  I only want granola a day or two a week, and was trying to make my own almond milk, because the store bought always went bad before I used it.  I found it interesting how store bought almond butter can sit on the shelf for months, but  homemade almond butter that was refrigerated went bad in a few weeks.  Can't quite figure that one out.  This time, I made 1/2 batch of almond butter, which used 1/2 c almonds.  I'm hoping not to have any waste with this batch.  The guys ate hummus and sandwiches here for lunches this week, so on Friday, J got pizza from the restaurant they're trying to support, which we enjoyed for dinner and lunches.  I haven't minded cooking during this stay at home time, but I'll admit it was nice to have a break.

As a soapmaker, I gather lot of soap scraps.  I scrape out the last of what's in the soap pot and let it dry, and get all the bits from when I unmold soap and cut soap.  Last week, I whirred the scraps in the blender with water, and ended up with five and a half quarts of liquid soap.  This is what I use at the bathroom sink.  J prefers bar soap at the sink, but I use the liquid, so it's not wasted.  I used to add some to loads of laundry too, until I read that soap is not ideal for washing machines.  This will do me for quite some time, or perhaps I'll be sharing some.  I had a bit of a disappointment with the ghee I made recently.  In the tutorial I linked to, she mentions having a jar that's been on the shelf for 8 years, which she believes is fine.  When I got to the last of the jar I made, about the last half inch, it began growing mold.  It was great until the very bottom, which is nice, but the mold surprised me.  I may try putting it in two pint jars next time, to see if the decreased amount of opening and dipping into the jar makes a difference.  In the meantime, I'm using some I bought at Aldi's, as I've been using lots of our butter with all the cooking and baking lately.  A batch of yogurt was made.  While there was a 20% off sale, I bought two bones for the pups.  They are for aggressive chewers, which can be hard to find, and which McNibs needs if they're to last any time. 

I'm learning an appreciation for spoken word, through the work of IN-Q.  If you'd like to check him out, here's one-  The Only Reason We're Alive.  J was hard at work this weekend, pulling up new garden beds, and planting more peanuts, lots of winter squash and the largest of our tomato seedlings.  I harvested the first few peas.  Orders were painted on Saturday, and packed for shipping on Sunday.  I took pics of and listed several things on ebay.  Several days, I took a few minutes to practice guitar with free online lessons.  The last toothpaste I bought was a lovely combination of rose, cacao and mint.  The roses are blooming profusely right now, so in thinking how I might use them, I decided to infuse a quart of petals into coconut oil for future toothpaste.  I'm thinking I may do the same with chocolate mint, and if I'm lucky, be able to make toothpaste with a similar flavor.  I facetimed with a favorite coworker I had not spoken to in over 20 years, which was lovely.  Dog nose art was cleaned off the storm doors.  While I had the tools out, I cleaned two repurposed storm doors that are part of the chicken coop.  One of them has bothered me every time I drove in and out our drive for some time, so it's nice to have that task done.  Cat brier tips were gathered to use with the little bit of lettuce we had for salads.  Our governor extended our shelter at home until May 8th, which is probably wise.  I'm enjoying having all this time at home.  How about you?

Canning, Mending & Frugal Accomplishments

Hello, friends.  I hope you are staying healthy and happy.  Last week, a pan of crushed egg shells and a bin full of shredded paper and cardboard was added to the compost bin.  Cool temperatures returned, so I took advantage, and cut up the last of the pumpkins.  Most were cubed and frozen for savory dishes, and one was baked.  With some of the cubed, I made squash and onion galette, and make kale salad and a dish with yard long beans I'd previously canned, so it was a mostly homestead dinner.  Though the galette recipe called for butternut squash, and it was what I used the last time, it was just as tasty with pumpkin.  Seeds were saved from a cheese wheel pumpkin.  A batch of suet was made.  I'm seeing hummingbird(s) pretty much daily, and on Wednesday, the male summer tanager returned to the suet feeder.  Eggs were boiled for the pups.  I'd seen mention of keeping sour cream going, and had almost finished what I had, so I tried it.  I didn't have cream as is recommended, so used half and half, and let it sit at room temperature as directed for a day.  As expected, it doesn't seem as thick.  It smells good, but is not very sour.  I'd had the sour cream starter I used for a number of weeks, so perhaps the culture was not very strong.  I did check to make sure it was cultured.  It was Trader Joe's, and did not have any weird ingredients in it.  Next time, I'll try making some sooner. 

The day after all the pumpkin skins and bits had been added to the broth bags, I canned a batch of broth, clearing four large bags of scraps from the freezer, and adding 12 pints of vegetable broth to the pantry.  All the cooked vegetables were put in the compost bin.  With some of the baked pumpkin, I made Jackie Clay's Minnesota Harvest Bars, which are sweetened only with dates, and was good.  The recipe came from her book, Growing and Canning Your Own Food, which I highly recommend.  In addition to directions on how to preserve many foods, there are a good amount of recipes on how to use your preserved foods.  I use this book often.  While I was baking the pumpkin, I also baked our four largest sweet potatoes, to make good use of the oven.  The next night, we had sweet potatoes, a homegrown spaghetti squash and lambs quarter dish, and leftover kale salad.  Only one of our cucumbers had sprouted, or was eaten, so J replanted more, and replanted tromboncino squash, as none had come up.  The peanuts he ordered came, so he planted them in the main garden.  Hopefully, they'll do better than they did in the pond garden, when the deer ate them.

This is the handmade knife friend's gave me recently. Isn't it lovely?  Checks needed to be deposited for J's business, so I went through the drive through, my big adventure last week.  I made Brandy's Taco soup for lunches.  It is one of my favorite soups, and so quick and easy to make.  Many arugula volunteered near the overwintered plants.  J pulled up the bolted cabbage plants, and gave them to the chickens.  The pollinators have been enjoying the flowers for several weeks, but he needed to till that garden and get it ready to plant.  I printed out a free kitty puppet on cardstock, and will send it with a note to my granddaughter.  With a mix of homegrown and store bought broccoli, I made fried rice, which also used our eggs and onions.  Eggs were gathered, and asparagus harvested most days.  Yogurt was made.  J planted sweet corn, which came from Jackie Clay' s Seed Treasures, which arrived last week.  They're having a busier than usual year, as other seed companies are, but still have seed to sell for many things, the last I heard.  J had a day of working in town on Friday.  I gave him a list, and he was able to purchase everything except organic cream, which I'm not sure that store carries anyway.

I rummaged through the freezer one evening, and found grated zucchini, with which I made zucchini tots.  This also used our egg, garlic, oregano and parsley.  I also found lots of pesto in the freezer, so we had some the next night, with a salad which used the last of our garden lettuce.  I planted all of my wintersown dye plants in the new bed we made for them.  On a cool, rainy morning, I caught up on ironing while watching The 1940's House on youtube, a reenactment of the period.  It's been interesting to see the two women of the house deal with rationing.  The elder had never baked a cake in her life, and the younger had only fed her family with take out and frozen foods.  They initially felt sorry for themselves, but are now coming around, which has made it enjoyable to watch.  I did a bit of stitching on the the tote bag holes, using scraps of fabric I dyed with goldenrod a few years ago.  I've been using up the last of the store bought toothpaste in the mornings, and cut the tube open to finish using it up.  Zinnia seeds were planted, as well as a few pecans I had picked up under a tree this winter.  Not many lettuce or carrots came up, so I planted more of each.  J decided he wanted to try planting celery, which neither of us has grown before.  I think it may take a longer season than we have, but we'll give it a shot. 

A new batch of alfalfa sprouts was made, for salads and sandwiches.  Thanks to a commenter on The Prudent Homemaker who mentioned Fender was offering free guitar lessons right now, both J and I signed up.  J bought a guitar some years ago, but never learned to play it, and it's something I've wanted to learn for years.  Now to make time to do it.  I did the first few lessons, tuning the guitar and picking the strings, so some progress.  The past couple of years, a dove with a stump leg has been hanging around the feeders.  There's no knowing if it was congenital, or due to a run in with a cat or bullet, but it manages quite well getting around without a foot.  Another online concert was enjoyed Saturday night.  More lemon balm was harvested and dried for tea.  I've had two lovely pollinator houses made by a local artist for a couple of years, living in a window of my studio.  I finally asked J to hang them on the side of the shed near the main garden.  Hopefully, they'll bring more pollinators to the garden.  I learned some more information about dyeing with avocados.  One of the ideas was freezing instead of drying the skins and pits, so I will be trying that, though I still have a stash of dried. 

I've been searching for the summer slippers I like for a number years, and have been unable to find them.  I've tried a couple of pairs of similar ones.  Neither has held up as well.  The sole of one on my favorite old pair started crumbling, so I got a piece of leather I bought at the thrift store last year for I believe $1, and made new soles.  I don't know how well they'll hold up, but thought it was worth a try.  If you happen to know of somewhere I can buy similar slippers... velvet with embroidery, I would very much appreciate hearing.  I've seen occasional dragons and peacocks in bright blue and red satin-type material (not my style), but nothing feminine in a soft color of velvet in size 5.  After I hot glued the soles on, I ran over the soles with the iron, to help move the glue around a bit and hopefully get them to stick well.  Last year, I picked up two fairly large handmade wrought iron pieces at a thrift store, and finally figured out they would be great as trellises.  J and I put them in with the peas, as the sticks I originally used were not holding up too well.  That's all the homestead news I can think of.  Take care, friends. 

Weeds, Seeds & Frugal Accomplishments

Hello, friends.  There's been lots of weeding going on here.  Occasionally I pull up wild garlic aka wild onion with the weeds.  Though I have used them in the past when I ran out of onions, by the time you clean all the papery skin off, you're left with not much for your trouble.  I've been adding them whole to the broth bag in the freezer, which is easier, and they're not wasted.  Another possibility is to throw them whole into a soup or stew for flavoring, then fish them out when it's done.  This could help you stretch store bought onions or garlic if needed.  With the warm days, the chickweed is finishing up, but now there are cat brier tips to munch on, and wild sorrel.  I add them to salads, sometimes chop a few for the pups, and just snack on them as I'm walking or working in the yard.  Violet flowers are another wild plant I like to munch on.  They're also pretty added to salads.  The guys have been eating lunch here, other than a day every week or two, when they get take out to support a local business.  I make hummus for them once a week, and enjoy some too.

Another round of pots were sown with seeds, this time all flowers.  I also planted bachelor buttons in a flower bed, and a few holly hocks.   A dozen eggs were shared with a couple of friends.  The one that picked them up passes by the other on the way home, so she dropped off the second friend's eggs. When J dug up a clump of grass at the edge of an iris bed, several rhizomes came up with it.  I separated them from the grass, and offered the iris to J's business partner.  Peppers and one variety of tomato seeds were replanted, which hadn't done well.  The others are all looking good.  Lettuce was harvested, probably the last of the winter lettuce, as they're getting bitter.  We got a couple of lovely unexpected showers, perfect to help our seeds germinate.  Laundry was hung on the line.  The Hopi Dye sunflowers I winter sowed on Feb. 27 were looking healthy and sturdy, so I transplanted them into the ground Thursday evening.  Hopefully, they'll bring us cheer, as well as dye materials.

There were 2 cans of black cherries that needed using.  I made this recipe on Friday.  It strayed from my recommended diet, but hey, these are unusual times.  Another large bed is weeded.  Now it's on to some others.  For years, I've read that it's not healthy for our bodies to be bombarded with EMF's from electronics 24/7.  With the virus, J finally agreed we should be shutting off the tower each night, to keep our immunity as strong as possible.  Though I'm not sure it will be significant, an added bonus is less electricity use.  The welder we use for our orders went on the fritz.  The first set of parts we ordered didn't repair it.  The second set ended up being back ordered for weeks, so we ended up purchasing a new welder.  We'd been using the shop's welder, and this new one will be dedicated to our orders, so it should last a long time.  We're so thankful for the orders that keep rolling in.  Now it's catch up time.  I powder coated eight orders on Saturday, and two more on Sunday.

I almost stayed home all week, but J needed me to run to the bank for his business on Friday.  I filled up while I was out, at $1.35 a gallon!  A significant frost happened on Friday night.  All the tender plants had been covered up with shredded leaves.  One of the squash and a potato became uncovered, and got bit, along with the tops of our kiwi vines, and the largest fig.  That should be the last frost we need to worry about this spring.  The hummingbirds I've seen must just be travelling through, as our usual ones are not at the feeder yet.  I always associate them showing up on Easter, and saw a pair of them at the feeder Easter morning.  I made biscuits for Easter breakfast, which we enjoyed with our eggs.  With all the greens the chickens have been getting with garden and yard clean up, the yolks are almost orange.  Half of our orders were packed up on Sunday.  I'll finish the rest on Monday.  J requested cabbage and noodles for dinner, an easy, comforting meal.    The rain is moving in Sunday evening, and possible severe weather.  I've been enjoying live concerts online during the week, including Bocelli on Easter.  The three library books I got before they closed were read, so I started on a free Kindle book.  Wishing you a healthy and happy week ahead!

The Spring Garden & Frugal Accomplishments

Hello, friends.  How are you doing during this stay at home time?  Are you enjoying the time to catch up on your to do list, to relax and spend time, virtually or real, with loved ones?  Have you read some books, planted something, or gotten creative?  I'm enjoying the time here.  I do still find myself having to go out, which I'd prefer not to do.  This week, I placed an order for an item we needed for one of our home goods customers, expecting it could be shipped.  Well, it was only available to pick up in store.  J had to go to town, to pick up a part for one of his customers, so the plan was he would get it, until I read that the person who purchased it had to show up with their ID, which meant I needed to go.  It turns out they didn't ask for ID, but I wore a mask and didn't touch anything besides my order.  I also took my overflowing recyclables to the dump, and made a bank deposit, but neither of those was risky.  Hopefully, I can stay put this week.

My last visit to Trader Joe's, a number of weeks ago, I purchased a spray of pussy willows.  They, along with lilacs and mimosas were at my childhood home, and all these plants are special to me.  I intended to try to root several of the pussy willows.  By the time I did, their life force was ebbing.  One still had a green stem, so I put it in a pot with rooting hormone, and am hoping for the best.  As a member of the willow family, I thought they might root on their own in water, but that wasn't the case.  Perhaps because they had catkins on them?  A few spears of asparagus were harvested, and laundry was hung on the line.  Popcorn was made in the wok for snacks.  J planted cucumber and tromboncino seeds, and I planted carrot and beet seeds, which could have already been planted, but we didn't have an area prepared before now.  One of the varieties of carrots was a free packet of Cosmic Purple carrots. That should be fun!  While I was awake one night, I mended a nightgown and a free Vera Bradley tote.  The tote was part of the December building clean out.  I added fabric to the tattered straps, and intend to do a bit of mending with embroidery to two spots on the bag. 

For J's birthday, he requested pizza, so I made a double batch of dough, parbaked and froze one for future use.  On the pizza, I used our red and green pepper and garlic, some of the recanned olives, and mushrooms.  I gathered oregano for the sauce.  He'd been telling me about a nut cake his grandmother made, which he loved as a kid.  I asked his aunt for a recipe, which was basically adding a mixture of nuts to a yellow cake mix.  I found a recipe for yellow cake, and chopped walnuts, pecans, peanuts, almonds and a few pistachios to add to it.  J declared it a success, though it did not come out of the bundt pan in one piece.  Oh well, at least there was no one to see it but us.  He uses a nose rub from The Honest Co., which was almost out, so I researched and made some for one of his gifts, along with a homestead-related book, and the one gift he had asked for.  Strange days to have a birthday, but I decorated with balloons and birthday swags, and picked colorful papers to wrap his gifts. J planted red noodle beans, and created a bed for the tomatoes, one for sunflowers and other plants, and another we're going to try peanuts in.

I planted two celery ends in the garden, and fertilized the peas, potatoes, rhubarb, garlic and some strawberries with old chicken manure.  Then I cleaned out the chicken coop, the first time since the fall that I removed everything, as I use the deep litter method through the cold months. Three wheelbarrows were hauled out, and added to the manure pile.  Fresh mint was pulled from areas it was encroaching around the garden edge, and added to the nest boxes and floor.  Lemon balm was gathered, and dried for tea.  I am enjoying using my homemade toothpaste, and am really liking the flavor.  A dish with our sweet potatoes was made, using sorghum and sesame seeds.  I was in the mood for baked pancakes, aka dutch babies Sunday morning.  I don't eat them often, and they hit the spot.  One of my goals during these days is to spend some additional time in spiritual pursuits.  I've managed two or three days a week, which is less than daily, but more than it had been, so that's a plus.

Many swallowtails are fluttering around, and several were on one of the plum trees.  I saw our first hummingbird at the feeder Sunday morning.  A new plant dye experiment was begun, using avocado pits.  So far, it looks very unimpressive.  The directions said to add 5-8 avocado pits, which would turn the water deep red.  So far, I've added 22 pits, with some color to show for it, but not deep red.  Well, I suppose that's why it's an experiment.  It needs to sit overnight, then the fabric can be added.  Maybe the sitting will intensify the color.  I'll report back on progress.  The peas are blooming, potatoes are sprouting, and there are tiny peaches and nectarines on the trees.  I have high hopes for this year's garden.  What interests are you pursuing these days?

Some Canning, Pumpkin Soup & Frugal Accomplishments

Hello, friends.  I hope you are staying well.  Not surprisingly, our first case in the county was announced on Monday.  Last week, I canned half of the large pumpkin I had cut up.  With the baked half, I made chocolate chip squash brownies, the dogs got a little with several of their dinners, and I made a pumpkin soup I shared some years back.   There have been a few asparagus to harvest.  One dinner was winter salad, and vegetable soup made from dribs and drabs from the fridge and freezer, and our canned tomatoes.  I did attempt the banana peel bacon, but think I should not have put the marinade in the pan with the bananas, as the maple syrup made them start burning before they were done, so they never got crispy.  I'll try them one more time at a lower temp, and leave out adding the marinade to the pan.  While we still were having cool days, I recanned a #10 can of black olives, so now we have plenty for salads, pizza, omelets, etc, in much more manageable sizes.  There was one more bag of raw peanuts, so I brought them to a boil, and let them cook on the woodstove.  With the warmer days, they hadn't finished when we no longer needed the woodstove, so they were finished cooking on the stove.

For a breakfast, I enjoyed an omelet with asparagus and olives.  Last year's elderberry tincture was strained, local honey was added, and it was bottled.  Home grown sprouts were used in salads.  The collards bolted, and the plants were shared with the chickens throughout the week.  With unseasonably warm temps over the weekend of mid 80's, I harvested kale, swiss chard and lettuce before they became inedible.  Our state issued a stay at home order, beginning this coming Monday evening.  J convinced me to go out one more time for groceries, mostly produce.  With it being a transition time in the garden, there will be little available to harvest for the next month.  Though we can go to the grocery store, my preference would be to stay here and eat what we have on hand, even though I'll be longing for fresh foods before long.  With the warm days, the outdoor shower was turned back on, and I gave Guinness a bath.  He gets a little itchy, so in addition to giving him nettles twice a day, I want to see if baths help.

When you don't have a basket with you, you improvise.  I sowed flower and herb seeds in pots or various recycled mini "greenhouses", and planted swiss chard seeds in the garden.  There is a large amount of yard clean up that needs to happen.  I began with a few smaller herb and flower beds, and then got through half of  a large bed.  Bird suet and yogurt were made.  I may run out of sunflower seeds before the next month is out, but at least the birds will have suet.  The friends I shared eggs and veggies with last week gifted us back in spades.  One shared two beautiful pottery mugs and a gorgeous handmade kitchen knife; the other shared two types of local goat cheese, apples, and home grown frozen blueberries.  Once we have much garden produce again, I'll try to make it up to them.  Pasta was made for a dinner, using our tomatoes, summer squash and herbs.  A kale salad was made to have with the leftovers.  I'm finding helpful and practical inspiration for the current days on gDonna's blog.  I'm thankful for all the colorful flowers, to give us cheer during these challenging times.  May you and your loved ones remain well, and hopefully even thrive these coming days.

The First Spring Days & Frugal Accomplishments

Hello, friends.  I hope you are coping well during these stressful days.  Last week was pretty much a typical week for me, with massage work, soap deliveries, and grocery store runs.  The B&B where I delivered soap has curbside pickup at their cafe, and I bartered for food in place of payment, as I know they are struggling right now.  I intend to stay home going forward, and am looking forward to that.  We do not yet have a known case in our county, though I expect that will change in the coming days.  On our last run out to take care of a few things on Friday, J & I dropped packages off at a couple of friend's, with eggs, a pumpkin, sweet potatoes and collards, and a book for one, and turnips for the other.  It's always nice to share home grown goodies.  The chicks are growing well, and Mama hen has begun laying again. 

I ran across information about some more of the wild plants growing here.  I had not realized either had edible or medicinal uses. The first is purple dead nettle, which grows abundantly here.  In fact, I looked it up because a neighbor inquired if it had any uses, as she said it was everywhere there.  The other is forsythia, which is part of an anti-viral formula currently being studied in China, so it's a great time to learn about this plant.  As the biggest bush near the house has already finished blooming,  I wandered to see if any of the other bushes still have flowers, and found some on bushes near the road.  A new batch of alfalfa sprouts was started, and yogurt was made.   I started a batch of compost tea, which will be mixed with orange oil and molasses, and used as a drench for fire ant mounds in the garden.  We knew there was a mound next to one of our plums.  When J checked it this week, he found out they had killed the tree.  Sigh.  We've gotten our first two cuttings of asparagus, which made us very happy. 

The recently planted onion sets are sprouting.  J also ordered onion plants this week, as we learned you'll get the biggest onions from these.  Hummus was made for lunches, and another batch of lemon balm tea.  A few weeks ago, I placed an order of essential oils for soap making.  When I opened the package last week, they were all different from the ones I had ordered.  It turns out someone in Michigan received mine, but the company is having Fedex swap them for us.  I expect the companies selling essential oils are scrambling right now, with a significant increase in orders due to the current pandemic.  Our little home goods business is still plugging along.  J finished fabricating orders on Saturday.  I cleaned and powder coated them, then packed them up on Sunday.  We're always grateful for the business, but most especially now.  A customer asked us to make her stand out of steel rod instead of rebar, and it came out very nice.

A patch of lettuce was planted before rain.  Salad dressing was made.  There was some arugula which made it through the winter, and I asked J to save a couple of plants.  I've been harvesting leaves for our salads from them.  J worked on getting up piles of leaves with his electric blower.  He knew the leaf mulcher needed some work, and found out it needed a carburetor, which is on the way.  Hopefully, no strong winds will undo all his work in the meantime.  We intend to use the leaves in the garden.  I decided Sunday was a good time to tackle one of the humongous winter squash.  This time I decided to bake half for pies and brownies, and cube the other half for savory dishes.  Baking half significantly cut down on the processing time.  While the squash was baking, I threw in some sweet potatoes, to have with cabbage and noodles for dinner.

 
  How wonderful that so many free things are being shared through the internet right now... ebooks, audible books, museum tours, garden tours, TV stations (I've seen Acorn and Showtime) and music.  J & I watched a live concert Saturday night, and I happily made a donation.  Besides knowing that musicians are struggling right now, the music really lifted the weight of the world off my shoulders for a time, and I wanted to show my appreciation.   There are so many possibilities of things to do with my time in the coming days.  I believe I will just go with what calls to me.  How will you be spending your days this week?  Be well, friends. 

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.