Creating, planting and chilling

I am spending a lot of my time cleaning and creating. My grandson wanted another octopus... 

Our state has a stay at home order in place, so yes, we are staying at home.  

Some substitutes you might find useful during these times.

I watched a video by Jamie Oliver on how to make soda bread, measuring with a tin can.  He also made biscuits and cinnamon rolls with the same recipe. 

I tried the cinnamon rolls. I like them but Dude missed the yeasty taste. These do have a wee bite of soda.

We are also taking time to plant. 

We got out the heat mat for the tomatoes and peppers, along with the trays for planting. 

 We do use a seed mix so as not to introduce bacteria to our gardens. We can't sow right into the grow yet as we still have frost … and sometimes snow. 

I began herbs without a heat mat. 

Dude got the grass seed spread before the snow flew last night. 

Things are growing in the greenhouse. 

Garlic 

Lettuce and spinach.  There is more planted in another area. 

Beets are all coming up .

I made some cards today.  Many people are connecting with each other more that ever now. Today I learned about ZOOM and had an online "meeting" with my grandson and all the grandparents. It was so good to see his little silly face and the antics he ensues. 

One of our friends requested we all send cards for her daughter whose birthday is coming up. You can make cards quite simply with a piece of cards stock or paper.  

To get the size of an A2 card simply cut it in half and fold. 

I found scraps of paper, you can use things you print of the internet, old books or magazines. 

Glue or use double sided tape to tack down in place. I like to embellish cards and found scraps of sequin tape to glue down. 

I had these piece of fake flowers and bling. You can also take apart a fake flower for pieces to add to your card.  Stickers work well too. The Happy Birthday piece below, I simply typed in my search engine "happy birthday images" and found this and printed it off. 

Just get creative and use what you have around the house.

We did get a nice gentle snow last night. 

It is already melted.

Love, compassion and empathy.

Monday 5- 21- 2018

It was a busy Monday morning.  We slept in until 730am.  It's the first time in a long time that both of us have slept all night. It was great to see it was late when we finally woke up. 

We had a nice breakfast together of fruit parfaits made with yogurt, berries, cinnamon, and walnuts. 

Dude got right to work fixing and slimming down a drawer that swelled. I broke a glass container filled with hot tea yesterday (all over the tops of my feet -ouch). I didn't realize I hadn't gotten it all wiped up and swelled this drawer, getting it stuck and not able to open.  He is amazing and got it trimmed in no time. The drawer holds our onions and the narrow shelf holds our baking pans like cookie sheets and muffin tins.

Then he headed outside to feed the animals. 

I made a few pickled eggs. I am the only one that likes them so only made six of them. I peeled them and put in a canning jar.

Here are the casts of characters for my pickled eggs. 

Basically you heat 1.5 white vinegar, 1 cup of water and whatever you want to pickle them with . I added salt, pepper corns, pepper flakes, minced dried onions, and dill seeds. 

Heat and pour over the eggs. Refrigerate. 

My grandson now wants to be a chef (and yes, still the Grim Reaper and a Cowboy) so I got out some fabric to , at least, make the hat. Hopefully he will like it. 

Summer, the horse that stayed behind, began the day running the fields crying and calling out for her sister.  By midday she was doing better with the sheep out in the pasture with her. 

Dude spent the day in the garden. He did get cantaloupe (it does very well here), watermelon, more beets (I want to dry them and use the powder) and cucumbers planted.  Last week he planted a few rows of sweet corn. Yes, we are late but we are replanting due to dud seeds and the dog digging everything up and chewing down the fruit trees and roses.  We put up a fence and began again. 

The swarm that took over our old hive is still there.  It is right in the garden and facing it. This swarm is strong ,large and flying all over. We need to turn it around and move it. We will probably do it the way my dad taught me.  We will attach the two supers with brackets and block the entrance (all done at night) and then move it. I need to get an epi pen first -the one we had was super old. It is used in case of an allergic reaction to a sting. We had decided we were not going to buy (usually about $250) a swarm since we keep losing them(everyone I know is losing them) but we would collect swarms.  This one came to us. God had other plans for us. 

The honey wagon will arrive to empty the septic tank on Wednesday... yes, not everything is on the homestead is cozy fire stoves and growing vegetables - smile. 

peace

Tunic pattern, bread recipes and other Thursday happening

I got up very early (okay, I couldn't sleep) and cut out a top for gardening. I don't want working in the garden or with the chickens an easy out for looking frumpy.  I have definitely been failing in the later category. It is a simple tunic with two pockets on the front. The shirt will be powder blue and pockets are yellow with different phrases about bees , such as  - Let it Bee, My Queen Bee, etc. Can't wait to stitch it up. Hope it doesn't end up looking like a house coat!

Dude surprised me with a yellow (Grandiflora) rose plant. I want to start a rose garden again. The old one was destroyed while the roof was going on last year.

New packets of bread for the bread machine arrived in the mail.  The first one I tried is a New York Dill Rye from Prepared Pantry.  When I opened it, it was like Pandora's Box. The smell of dill and wheat flew out of the bag.  I couldn't wait to get it in the machine. I followed the directions exactly, including the use of a thermometer for the water to be a perfect 80*.

Turned out beautiful. 

I did get another tray of flower seeds planted. I would like to be able to sell mini- bouquets.  I buy one from a grocer near work every week for $10.  I could do that (says my inner dreamer) and I am going to give it a try.  Let's see if I can make it work.

My mom called. She said she had old family recipes for Easter breads for me . She would gladly trade for a bottle of wine to go with her Holy Thursday meal. I don't drink but I do collect wine for cooking and trade... plus I just like the bottles.  Sounds strange, I know, but true. My kids tease me about it.  I found a Cabernet Sauvignon to give to her.
  (yes, mom requires a deposit of my first born at times ...smile)

There is a lot of work in these recipes but when you have family and ancestors right here you need to honor them and take full advantage of the gifts they have to offer. 

Thank goodness I wrote all this this morning.  Exhausted and need to go to bed early. It's an 8pm retire night. 

We won't be on tomorrow. We have a tradition on Good Friday of no electronics, television, or radio from 3pm until Easter Sunday.  It is a time of quiet and prayer. 

peace

Wool dryer ball, quilting, seed planting, and a prayer walk

Happy Palm Sunday. 

We had a good day. We celebrated with a fun and simple game. It is a box that can be tilted a travelling  pinball to see who can get the most points. Dude loved it. 

We had to head to town for feed and potting soil for the seeds. 

When we got home Dude put everything away and made a bigger area for the chicks since they are growing. 

I worked on wool balls for the dryer.  I used scraps that I had carded and then made into roving.

I pulled wool through a spoon to make roving. 

Then wound them into a tight ball. 

I put them in a panty hose leg and tied a knot between them. 

They were tossed in a load of laundry twice and through the dryer twice.  Then I cut them apart and removed them from the hose. 

Now they are ready to be full fledge dryer balls.  We will put essential oils on them before putting  them in the dryer. They are suppose to reduce static cling, reduce drying time and be used in place of dryer sheets. 

Dude got trays of soil ready for seeds. We will use one whole tray for each type of seed, for example... this one will be all beets. Another will be only lettuces, another for collards, etc. 

I finished two lap quilts ... finally. 

After all that sitting it was time for a prayer walk. 

We said hello to the horses on the way out.  It was cool and very windy today. 

I brought in fire wood. It's suppose to snow tomorrow night. 

 We started watching The Ten Commandments for our Holy Week Tradition.  I began to make 10 inch crocheted squares for a yarn bombing event in Virginia. I am so excited to send a bunch of squares. 

Faith

"Live simply and justly in solidarity with the poor and marginalized and be a good neighbor. Make no war on them, rather, be one with them in spirit, truth, and love. "  -Archbishop Oscar Romero

Yesterday, I mentioned one of my favorite movies for Lent = Romero.  Today is the anniversary of his assassination. On March 24, 1980 , Archbishop Oscar Romero was murdered during mass.  He was a champion of El Salvador's poor. Today, Pope Francis has cleared him for sainthood. 

"ASPIRE NOT TO HAVE MORE, BUT TO BE MORE." -OSCAR ROMERO

peace