The days in Between

 

 

 

 

 

 

We are just trying to stay busy here, in between the days of Snow and mud..The Roads are pretty much clear( though muddy) and the weekend is supposed to be gorgeous! 60-65 degrees and sunny.

While its going to be nice, its still a bit too muddy to do very much outdoors.. Although I have started some seeds...  too early , you ask?? maybe a little, but I always start a few trays to hold me over until its "officially" time. I find that starting them a bit earlier gives them time to grow big and strong too..

Norah has been on a letter writing kick.. I believe she has written and mailed out around 6 or 7letters. It makes me happy to see her doing this when almost every form of communication these days happens via the internet. She has been begging and pleading for an email, hehe, for what, I don't know, but she really wants one for some reason ( probably because mom has one ;)... I briefly explained to her that before  days of tinternet ( when I was a kid) people used to write letters all the time, this is really how people used to communicate or say hello, if there were not talking on the phone.
She wrote some friends from camp and some relatives, I really hope she gets some letters back and continues to write.

The sewing machine has been pulled out briefly. I made a skirt and a small quilted table runner for our table.... I have so many fabric scraps that really need to be used up, as they take up so much space ! This was the perfect project to use some of them. It really started out as a full blown quilt before I decided I just didn't Love the fabrics,, and didn't want to invest time in a quilt if I just felt "meh" about it everytime I looked at it. It looks nice on the dining room table and brightens it up a bit ......

Besides that, we are just really waiting for things to dry up before working on a million projects outside. My mushroom hoop house ( that keeps my shiitake logs in the shade) collapsed during the snow storm so that need fixed. We have 5 fruit trees to move, a grape trellis to put up, trellis for the peas, 2 chicken tractors need built, and on and on and on.. I always seem to get anxious this time of year,, so much that needs done for spring,, and so little time. It all gets done though, always does....
and our chickens, well they hate snow, haha.... so yeah they are happy about the thaw too...


Blessings

The Cools

It's a Jungle out there

Its a jungle out there! No I'm not really referring to life in general , but more my garden. Over the past month ( just like every year) Canning, Soap making , filling honey jars , and everything else that comes along with having a small farm/homestead, has  taken a majority of my time.

I'm not complaining! Honey and Soap sales have been amazing and its kept me on my toes, printing labels, filling honey jars, taking care of online sales, and making soap.


Our harvest this year has been outstanding, so the kitchen has been an all to familiar place for me,, canning and putting up the years harvest ( oh so worth it come winter!)

 Robb has been attending the farmers market every week to give me time to catch up on canning. But I did get to attend the Howard Street Exchange Fair. Depsite some showers, it was a great turn out , and sales were good!

 

and here I am,, with a goofy look.. I think I may have been mid blink ;)



 So anyway....This morning I found time to walk out and face the inevitable , my back garden. once a sight to behold, now looked overgrown and somewhat  well, errr,.....abandoned.

        Pretty!!!!

And Pretty embarrassing , I know.......


Now if I want to plant a fall garden , I need to do it soon. So the first step, before I even swoon over some heirloom seed catalogs ,  was getting in there and pulling out  spent plants, wrestling tomato plants from their cages, and weeding weeding weeding.. It was an absolute gorgeous 70 degree morning and cloudy.,a gardeners perfect weather! It felt so good to get my hands in the earth again and reclaim my space as I pulled each weed from the dirt!

A couple of hours later and bit of sweat n elbow grease and Ive made a substantial amount of room for some fall planting.

and I even got some goodies outta the deal ;)

and made a friend :)

 I picked a good amount of Basil for more pesto ( see recipe Below) and then Ill pull the rest of the plants. While I hate to do it, I just don't need anymore basil and need to make room for some cool weathers.


And back to the house to make more Homemade Pesto and freeze some basil for wintertime seasoning....

We use pesto for Pasta ( obviously), Fajitas, Pizzas, and its makes an outstanding topping on your favorite cracker combo!


Pesto Recipe

4 Cups Basil leaves ( packed
1 cup plus 1 Tbsp Olive Oil
2 Cloves Garlic
1 Cup Pine Nuts ( I use almond slivers, you can use any nut really :)
1 Cup parmesan cheese ( you can add this now or later, If I am out, I just mark the bags to remind myself to add it once thawed.)

Stick all of it in a blender and blend.....

I pour mine into ice cube trays,, and them throw in the freezer, once frozen pop them out and put them in quart freezer bags. Be sure to suck the air out of the bag with a straw so they don't get freezer burn. ( I put a straw in the corner of the bag , suck the air out and quickly remove straw and seal.) I put about 4-5 per bag for a serving.

Freezing Basil on its own......

Want some fresh basil in the middle of winter??Just remove leaves from stem, toss in olive oil and freeze!! Voila!

Next up... The Greenhouse........... Like I said.. It's a Jungle out there ;)


Blessings,

The Cools

recycled , reused, and repurposed; projects on the homestead

 

 

 

Having fun making some improvements inside and out this  past week :) Our new hoop house is done! My folks were here to visit last week and helped put the plastic on.

 

 If you are interested in how to make your own hoop house be sure to check my next blog post! I will have a basic how to on how you can build your own!

Most everything in our home is second hand or recycled. Not only because we cant really afford new but because I find a total thrill in buying something used for a fraction of the cost(who doesn't love that rush! haha), and knowing that I am treading lighter on the earth buy reusing something is important to us.

Our hoop house is made with almost all recycled materials. The base and the plastic are the only two things we bought new.

RECYCLED items include:
wood for framing on walls, rustic wood on the outside, those super duper cool camper windows, the pvc conduit piping, the door... oh and those gorgeous gold ceramic pots ;)

I was also able to spruce things up inside the house ! I went shopping with my mom, and ya know when you go shopping with your mom, you naturally go to the thrift store and buy a light pistachio green retro couch ;) Got it for a steal and its in amazing condition!
My living room is quite dark ( I love earth tones,, browns etc, maybe a little too much,) so brining some color into the room and brightening it up was a great idea.....

The bluebird curtains are made from Old/Recycled sheets I scored at the goodwill. I wasn't sure what I was going to do with them, I thought maybe some clothes for my little one. My mom mentioned that curtains would look cute, and she was right ;) I finished them up yesterday and they turned out lovely.

 

 

Stay tuned for the "How to build your own recycled hoophouse " blog.. I will need my husband to sit down and blog with me...

Hopefully we can find time in the next couple days to sit down and get that done..

Blessings

The Cools