tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-68612054617483114492024-02-20T20:39:24.139-08:00Growing Every BitThis is my special place to share my life, creativity, triumphs and trip-ups with others. My many adventures in backyard farming, gardening, crafting, sewing, knitting and anything else that tickles my fancy will be recorded here.HI ALL,http://www.blogger.com/profile/06310160981240210206noreply@blogger.comBlogger54125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6861205461748311449.post-15434854080175876922011-06-12T12:41:00.000-07:002011-06-12T12:50:24.316-07:00happy hens, happy home<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/AnnAAiMbib0?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>HI ALL,http://www.blogger.com/profile/06310160981240210206noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6861205461748311449.post-21958537277524776082011-02-27T11:38:00.000-08:002011-02-27T11:38:29.026-08:00Flower Power <div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhd4n8A8PDjcHCc_IGte2O4ptBRtWqjujsRpfChAVbq5m0J0QA38rny9lw8u3DZwFpalQUIVcc9LN0VuqIYqWY6gj2ts7leu4SG0dLCyzuJrsww4PW6d-hH2c7AQoULNbnKjWcBnWiCAvY/s1600/headband9.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" l6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhd4n8A8PDjcHCc_IGte2O4ptBRtWqjujsRpfChAVbq5m0J0QA38rny9lw8u3DZwFpalQUIVcc9LN0VuqIYqWY6gj2ts7leu4SG0dLCyzuJrsww4PW6d-hH2c7AQoULNbnKjWcBnWiCAvY/s320/headband9.JPG" width="240" /></a></div> <div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">We went to whistler over New Years Eve and I kept seeing these really cute over sized headband/ear warmers. I have always disliked wearing hats because I have really long and thick hair (believe me, I'm not complaining). It is just is hard to find hats to fit and look good and then I always have to have my hair <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZ395zycq_SFn_H8yedzAZR9MWXn4lTJgUnP5Pd5Vxu-WdcpxvT5m0xADiflXx-czlrD17p2Z91P6yREm3N88kp7g6xiaR5b1XPAxNbnJpdCP1JvKOXY83RHrv_ekGaNwcuv_cK30s2nE/s1600/headband7.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" l6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZ395zycq_SFn_H8yedzAZR9MWXn4lTJgUnP5Pd5Vxu-WdcpxvT5m0xADiflXx-czlrD17p2Z91P6yREm3N88kp7g6xiaR5b1XPAxNbnJpdCP1JvKOXY83RHrv_ekGaNwcuv_cK30s2nE/s200/headband7.JPG" width="150" /></a>down (which I hardly ever do). The supper cute and easy solution... the over sized flower headband. I used a beautiful deep purple in Ultra Alpaca, which I love making hats with and am also currently knitting a sweeter for T in. I found the headband pattern on Ravlery; <a href="http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/knit-earwarmer-with-crochet-flower">Knit Ear Warmer with Crochet Flower by Ashlee Prisbrey</a>. I changed the flower and knit individual petals and sewed them together, then added some various tones of green beads to fancy it up a little. While I love the way it turn out it is a little to out there for me. The first time I wore it I received many compliments and had to pass on the pattern on to others, so maybe I just need to learn to branch out in my fashion (understatement or what!). Happy Knitting!</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7UjOJRfM26lQGB_VToz2WAIaqit-WZA9Sh7biryuOwFt0Lpv9YmXzrQDHaHCPcfdV-tfYeBrofQsgYTXCx2OhabDyWqAgLOPsvg7bnD0IEET9GCxzy0M8NEZ19mN9CDIEEN4dDBgwbWA/s1600/headband8.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" l6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7UjOJRfM26lQGB_VToz2WAIaqit-WZA9Sh7biryuOwFt0Lpv9YmXzrQDHaHCPcfdV-tfYeBrofQsgYTXCx2OhabDyWqAgLOPsvg7bnD0IEET9GCxzy0M8NEZ19mN9CDIEEN4dDBgwbWA/s200/headband8.JPG" width="158" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My mom had this great button that just happen to match perfectly!</td></tr>
</tbody></table></div>HI ALL,http://www.blogger.com/profile/06310160981240210206noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6861205461748311449.post-52262377171503676802011-01-14T09:04:00.000-08:002011-01-14T09:04:44.760-08:00Blog it, when you got itI have finally realized after almost two years of blogging, that while I would love to post a blog everyday with a project finished, photographed and written about each time, that will never happen. So with no further fuss, I am declaring... blog it when I got it! Maybe I'll have a post each month or maybe one every other day (fat chance), but it shouldn't feel<span style="background-color: white; color: black;"> like</span> a chore (surely we all have enough of those already). So when it's finished and ready I'll share.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyKf2OsnIYkCerCCe_vLc4kX2i8LA7fYrwc1vYPqjlzSPmlSbVbGv1-UnJWG3R3yKQIBudAyx_82gmrj34RFv2s_wsOooJPUgwA20CqbvbKKKrpphD73QdIrtoj6xmTjGHUiWPlNPX0_o/s1600/tealeavessweeter2010.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="231" n4="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyKf2OsnIYkCerCCe_vLc4kX2i8LA7fYrwc1vYPqjlzSPmlSbVbGv1-UnJWG3R3yKQIBudAyx_82gmrj34RFv2s_wsOooJPUgwA20CqbvbKKKrpphD73QdIrtoj6xmTjGHUiWPlNPX0_o/s320/tealeavessweeter2010.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>Enough of that, for a Christmas gift I finally put together all the piece of C's sweater and bonnet. I finished the <em><span style="color: #38761d;"><a href="http://www.madelinetosh.com/store/proddetail.php?prod=tinytealeavescardi">Tiny Tea Leaves Cardi</a></span></em> and matching bonnet (I made up) ages ago. Yes, this does happen to be the sweater I posted about on June 6th. I made a post about starting it because I wanted some pressure to get it done sooner than the last kids sweater which took me 9 months.While I didn't post it, I did get it done much quicker than the last, it just took me 5 more months to get the buttons on it and sew the i-cord onto the hat. Well in any case it's done and it was easy and very cute. Now I just need a photo of C in it! She'll have a bit of growing to fill it out. Happy Friday All!HI ALL,http://www.blogger.com/profile/06310160981240210206noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6861205461748311449.post-89097582973947405072010-11-24T17:31:00.000-08:002010-11-24T17:31:35.570-08:00birthday hats for the snow<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWS_lrEjQKCPxY-zmY9UrD2CAWsN30fyXN4ORvV6tBm4bUurQXynGUWZUKHcLA9TcmQI-aKAUXSppT7ZeiKGE1aC119QIehDA3R7hi4l8NCgtRtCi2BLfmN-F81UiUfBYYFWPdnkDaoCo/s1600/snowhat2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" ox="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWS_lrEjQKCPxY-zmY9UrD2CAWsN30fyXN4ORvV6tBm4bUurQXynGUWZUKHcLA9TcmQI-aKAUXSppT7ZeiKGE1aC119QIehDA3R7hi4l8NCgtRtCi2BLfmN-F81UiUfBYYFWPdnkDaoCo/s320/snowhat2.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><br />
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</div> <div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">Since I have tried to write this blog three time already and haven't got past a few words I will make this short and sweet. My brothers birthday was last week and a I knit him the best men's hat ever. I have knit almost every man in the family one. They're warm, easy and fit everyone I'll add the pattern another time. Well, Happy Birthday D! What better time to take a winter hat's picture then in the snow, which doesn't happen here too often. And yes we have been having our fare share of fun in the snow!</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"> <table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><tbody>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Who needs a sled.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoaMCnlQaczlhveCNv8f_ikIhOK3AIlkmIueb0tOx-K1sJ3kpO2xwq5aFoQXcEOc3h9PO3UjVmRB57TG_PZwqZy7iVCD4WIMIroI8BRD7nqilD11RskgDnyT8DtPHJLHt0fbABl4LwrV8/s1600/gavinsnow.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" ox="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoaMCnlQaczlhveCNv8f_ikIhOK3AIlkmIueb0tOx-K1sJ3kpO2xwq5aFoQXcEOc3h9PO3UjVmRB57TG_PZwqZy7iVCD4WIMIroI8BRD7nqilD11RskgDnyT8DtPHJLHt0fbABl4LwrV8/s200/gavinsnow.jpg" width="150" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ready to hit the slopes!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjj6lmBVqITBkEMUkultYT9fE0xh4HIgUOLAq0_5caotebP6TWfd_RTah7OrMdMXGO-y1o7QDrWmtzJ15ATmoHt-S5mSLF5_zBQx2mwrAIanhY_I8v4iZDLEdyS1NgZklvZ-smpLhBRzvA/s1600/palmsnow.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" ox="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjj6lmBVqITBkEMUkultYT9fE0xh4HIgUOLAq0_5caotebP6TWfd_RTah7OrMdMXGO-y1o7QDrWmtzJ15ATmoHt-S5mSLF5_zBQx2mwrAIanhY_I8v4iZDLEdyS1NgZklvZ-smpLhBRzvA/s200/palmsnow.jpg" width="150" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: center;">Our palm tree in the back yard looks even more strange with snow on it.</td></tr>
</tbody></table></div>HI ALL,http://www.blogger.com/profile/06310160981240210206noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6861205461748311449.post-91846608628424464492010-11-13T16:27:00.000-08:002010-11-13T16:27:31.114-08:00Chicken pot pie<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXqCFk_XSdT2r0wS9PC58wSLNvPYyQ1LE6BA6qZfePNt_4Rc1wBu7awYHKi-XbHVQnF56_FTubu3y4S5c9ajeQcdCGGzD6Xwi8rFtvohTniCpRNqLhf5YaPxlQ8Od67m-cLQl9DoiRiL4/s1600/chickenpotpie3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" px="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXqCFk_XSdT2r0wS9PC58wSLNvPYyQ1LE6BA6qZfePNt_4Rc1wBu7awYHKi-XbHVQnF56_FTubu3y4S5c9ajeQcdCGGzD6Xwi8rFtvohTniCpRNqLhf5YaPxlQ8Od67m-cLQl9DoiRiL4/s320/chickenpotpie3.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgruCvwx6oI6qe1AavThrI2o6X_2ra8k0RnlKZ3cQnChWlSxxh2O0RFpcpHlTmc9pUK9rAbaXX429uFtfG6FW1EjFrTxVWXkPX7WgI5BPrKbNOFe-VCMrGD-KIQpSlHpdUdc0SILsm-QmU/s1600/chickenpotpie6.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" px="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgruCvwx6oI6qe1AavThrI2o6X_2ra8k0RnlKZ3cQnChWlSxxh2O0RFpcpHlTmc9pUK9rAbaXX429uFtfG6FW1EjFrTxVWXkPX7WgI5BPrKbNOFe-VCMrGD-KIQpSlHpdUdc0SILsm-QmU/s200/chickenpotpie6.jpg" width="200" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvUJ6RP1QbSFlVs1twOCquapiNWju5kZqiCfA1-Qn3wq-Pqx5hEIs4rAJ3J3sJe4OCNnoHYaQAOPdPhp24xXdIm0XjQpgljMTu4j2pHASoFfcr5nsr8p6urUhuj_VCZeAOjbQzf7DF75w/s1600/chickenpotpie5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" px="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvUJ6RP1QbSFlVs1twOCquapiNWju5kZqiCfA1-Qn3wq-Pqx5hEIs4rAJ3J3sJe4OCNnoHYaQAOPdPhp24xXdIm0XjQpgljMTu4j2pHASoFfcr5nsr8p6urUhuj_VCZeAOjbQzf7DF75w/s200/chickenpotpie5.jpg" width="200" /></a>Comfort food here I come. I am into comfort food this fall, more then usual. It just make you feel warm and cozy, you can't help but cook more! I have been trying to cook at least one meal a week where I make two or three extra, entree sized, portions to freeze. It has been working out really well, except for our limited freezer space. With so little space it means we have to go through the frozen dinners pretty quick, which is not a problem when there is a delicious chicken pot pie in there. I made a whole chicken, chicken pot pie that was part experiment and part recipe with help from <a href="http://allrecipes.com//Recipe/chicken-pot-pie-ix/Detail.aspx">alrecipces.com</a>, it was their highly rated Chicken Pot Pie IX recipe. I had a whole organic chicken and I guessed that would be enough for three pies, my family doesn't eat lot of meat and when you add a bunch of veggies you never notice it might be light on the chicken. The recipe called for chicken stock, actually it tells you to boil chicken and veggies and then toss out the water and add chicken stock, this didn't make any sense to me, so I boiled a whole chicken and the veggies and herbs in a large pot and in the end had made the chicken stock while cooking the other stuff. I also added potatoes (I just couldn't see a good pot pie with out them), green beans, collards and kale. I think corn would be excellent in this too, any veggies you have handy could be thrown in and it makes it that much more filling. Next time I would add more collards and kale, they were great and added some different texture. I made the crust with whole wheat pastry flour and butter for the flavor, I didn't really care that it wouldn't be flaky (it was great!). "T" ate at least half the pie for dinner. I didn't get around to making the other two pies until the next day and you know that made it really easy to have the different parts (filling and gravy) already made and then make the crust when I was ready to put it all together. It is a bit labor intensive, but so worth it and it freezes great!<br />
<div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRM_BA4usMyIQA3ZgyP7uc4PDy_kTSzBCt2s2SKxb_RYm0WD5ZdikbNQHWZVj-p9_h5XfY4Wv-A8N1FKq1jFRVzbCrnuWAsY5CqMhp2I8GrA_eZWNHJIm6BWK-4wJcSvaB0-1bAN2SC4Q/s1600/chickenpotpie4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" px="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRM_BA4usMyIQA3ZgyP7uc4PDy_kTSzBCt2s2SKxb_RYm0WD5ZdikbNQHWZVj-p9_h5XfY4Wv-A8N1FKq1jFRVzbCrnuWAsY5CqMhp2I8GrA_eZWNHJIm6BWK-4wJcSvaB0-1bAN2SC4Q/s200/chickenpotpie4.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"></div>HI ALL,http://www.blogger.com/profile/06310160981240210206noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6861205461748311449.post-60780071834454569682010-10-30T21:48:00.000-07:002010-10-30T21:52:52.141-07:00Halloween Eve<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIHe5bhKqtku0YK4IIcYd2mmX4F7IpSLPSTmhiIdjzzblwdo78-D6pLwU9rxBp2Z9dl2TbQA84DBEzhlG3fndkDYkPLnL0-rZx0p9GSsb4b2Gh0F3gD9FrViIUb9dDndbSYeAW0QfrrvA/s1600/pumpkin+deco.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="199" nx="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIHe5bhKqtku0YK4IIcYd2mmX4F7IpSLPSTmhiIdjzzblwdo78-D6pLwU9rxBp2Z9dl2TbQA84DBEzhlG3fndkDYkPLnL0-rZx0p9GSsb4b2Gh0F3gD9FrViIUb9dDndbSYeAW0QfrrvA/s320/pumpkin+deco.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDSsZrjBcXBie6DEZvit3sn_PzlgnZoBvImzrfgShgqDI-YUG8uAyEECPTdhpPZUvjQQoh-QVvFAQEy2eo9uueyUN4gNBd9DVzuPgJXFw5P86wiDfqEhcy8k2d9WgvMYKWtjvmHhaJKFo/s1600/chickenstock2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="177" nx="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDSsZrjBcXBie6DEZvit3sn_PzlgnZoBvImzrfgShgqDI-YUG8uAyEECPTdhpPZUvjQQoh-QVvFAQEy2eo9uueyUN4gNBd9DVzuPgJXFw5P86wiDfqEhcy8k2d9WgvMYKWtjvmHhaJKFo/s200/chickenstock2.jpg" width="200" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi12N05btEIc90SQuejFzjEridAgRflPX_gIcIpgy3ia0Fex2A55ANZxUpJOOFVYpsyXbSulEAFF3jpikgjQrISOk0o5zuq988UqpmYFCJYXR8S3Xgz9ffnNYOP-IKET_y9E8pE1CLfnwM/s1600/chickenstock1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" nx="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi12N05btEIc90SQuejFzjEridAgRflPX_gIcIpgy3ia0Fex2A55ANZxUpJOOFVYpsyXbSulEAFF3jpikgjQrISOk0o5zuq988UqpmYFCJYXR8S3Xgz9ffnNYOP-IKET_y9E8pE1CLfnwM/s200/chickenstock1.jpg" width="150" /></a>It's been a slow and puttzy (word?) kind of day today. T is out till morning and the boys and I have been enjoying a cozy afternoon inside. The rain has been coming down and the fire place has been keeping us toasty. I love fall days! I had plenty to do, but I was a slow mover today. I had a bunch of recipes to make and freeze, but needed one or two ingredients from the store and was just too lazy to get the boys in the car and head down the road a mile. Instead I made chicken stock. It really drives me crazy when I have to pay $10 for 2 32oz. containers of organic chicken stock (and that's on sale). Especially when I use it in recipes I often use two or three, that's 10 bucks I just added to the cost of that meal. It's sad really because it's stupidly easy to make stock. On days I know I'm home I throw the chicken carcass from the night before or when I buy whole organic chicken (which is the only way I buy chicken now) I cut up the chicken and freeze the pieces. I put the wings in a bag and after two or three chickens I have enough to make stock. I throw in s&p, carrots and celery (maybe those slightly sad ones is the fridge), parsley if I have it, thyme and rosemary. I let it go in a big pot all day, it goes between boiling and simmering (keep a lid on it or it will disappear). Then I strain it into freezer containers (Ziplock makes BPA free containers!). I love it because you use the pieces of chicken you would normally just throw away. All day the house smells like the most delicious soup (it reminds me of Thanksgiving). I tried to satisfy my hunger all day but never could get it right because there was never anything to actually eat. So I snacked on yummy roasted pumpkin seeds from our jack-o-lanterns (they are full of zinc, great for a cold!). Now lets hope I can get the finishing touches on the boys Halloween costumes. Show you next time, Happy Halloween!</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgx5M963JC8Ks3DiDNtfLTxj8gbZF8HZZ4YuaT9lBan05T3MxMejSmEPVhX9Rw49GM_N-22oeCIKnzJXjixlbnpo7HeJylP0_0C7IyT9Van9R3mdYuhNUycuPcHQ3SwoN_D-Eur_BAEN5s/s1600/pumpkinseeds.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" nx="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgx5M963JC8Ks3DiDNtfLTxj8gbZF8HZZ4YuaT9lBan05T3MxMejSmEPVhX9Rw49GM_N-22oeCIKnzJXjixlbnpo7HeJylP0_0C7IyT9Van9R3mdYuhNUycuPcHQ3SwoN_D-Eur_BAEN5s/s200/pumpkinseeds.jpg" width="183" /></a></div>HI ALL,http://www.blogger.com/profile/06310160981240210206noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6861205461748311449.post-44422669742449054402010-10-25T11:17:00.000-07:002010-10-25T11:17:12.422-07:00one potato, two potato, 100 potatoes more!<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNI_ffZpaKyb9wTL-ytdHMz02NejyedJTOMWnTrXEtdSzqjuqvZaOR6bI1KLUOb0WIMc1ZgrVe3OPn6NTi-RPHylte-KUwqE-H12026TUl7q6ZFSXYxc_Ean7kb8fQQoOZSJC9z35bTYU/s1600/bucketopotato1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" nx="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNI_ffZpaKyb9wTL-ytdHMz02NejyedJTOMWnTrXEtdSzqjuqvZaOR6bI1KLUOb0WIMc1ZgrVe3OPn6NTi-RPHylte-KUwqE-H12026TUl7q6ZFSXYxc_Ean7kb8fQQoOZSJC9z35bTYU/s200/bucketopotato1.jpg" width="150" /></a>Yes, it has been an exceptionally long silence, but I have a feeling it's over now. I think I'll start off slowly so I don't hurt myself or chase anyone away, a simple post about a monster.</div><br />
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<div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5FBhbqoUhyphenhyphenuElBerm17Cdpl60XHOQfCENCp_VtF0divSMmcHNy0tvp4YwYT6tJf5kLhQr_EKL43gFxyFQCRspCZ0fTrXJpeWmcK2E3NEx0ycx3gp_Vt4CP3E6Ooomij-9SKcsKEek6Ys/s1600/potato2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" nx="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5FBhbqoUhyphenhyphenuElBerm17Cdpl60XHOQfCENCp_VtF0divSMmcHNy0tvp4YwYT6tJf5kLhQr_EKL43gFxyFQCRspCZ0fTrXJpeWmcK2E3NEx0ycx3gp_Vt4CP3E6Ooomij-9SKcsKEek6Ys/s200/potato2.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"> During our terrible fall storm of 2010 this last weekend (boy, was that over exaggerated or what!) T and I were out in the garden putting it to bed for winter. Taking down the bean tepee and bean fencing, pulling the spent squash, pumpkin, and cauliflower plants (the goats were happy to get the treat). Digging up our potatoes was a really fun. We planted them mid May this year because we had moved into a new house and that's when we got the garden going. I would normally plant them in March or even February if the weather was right, but our garden was ready in May and I didn't want to lose my seed potatoes (they wouldn't make till next year). All I was hoping for was to increase the 22 seed potatoes to a few more for next year. We cut the plants back on 16 hills and waited a week for the skins to toughen a bit so they store better, we dug a surprising amount of potatoes, now I know a 5 gallon bucket is no world record, but I was certainly surprised. And then we dug the funniest monster of a potato I have ever seen (it reminds me of some kind of crystal in the way it has grown, don't you think?). Most of these are Rose Finn Fingerling with a few Ozette Fingerling here and there. I switched to the Rose Finns after growing Ozettes for a while. The Ozettes are a little dry and hard to clean because of all their eyes, the Rose Finns are a little more creamy and don't have as deep of eyes to hold the dirt. They both store well. After digging potatoes we replanted garlic in the space. I can't wait for homegrown garlic. Well, here's to the start of a great winter garden!</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioCM9v__DlKLeyNKjzybJDkPR4sNT-0wZ9BftYFBGv-9PjwFPKGE4paem2aB2NJbz-W7hMDodS9ZJmMNdHgoXOkzYXqp6FsCaqWJmP1mQebpqU4ZRjptvtRVr6o9vM427KfqUJUb_kQz0/s1600/potato1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" nx="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioCM9v__DlKLeyNKjzybJDkPR4sNT-0wZ9BftYFBGv-9PjwFPKGE4paem2aB2NJbz-W7hMDodS9ZJmMNdHgoXOkzYXqp6FsCaqWJmP1mQebpqU4ZRjptvtRVr6o9vM427KfqUJUb_kQz0/s200/potato1.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>HI ALL,http://www.blogger.com/profile/06310160981240210206noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6861205461748311449.post-42519010438255220652010-07-01T15:45:00.000-07:002010-07-01T16:13:21.258-07:00In A Jam<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJoOfwA07MzAqp-yn_HkumY6eGOtotj2R9RC0hn05RYiFERqU9ly1gyfhnLcQNiIiVJAurN0qox83j9e_2vtSz5GNttwRflfRNBQ3lRFsS8EjkxlR4B04kCRggafK4YaSiRy4UPb8zvr4/s1600/jam3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJoOfwA07MzAqp-yn_HkumY6eGOtotj2R9RC0hn05RYiFERqU9ly1gyfhnLcQNiIiVJAurN0qox83j9e_2vtSz5GNttwRflfRNBQ3lRFsS8EjkxlR4B04kCRggafK4YaSiRy4UPb8zvr4/s200/jam3.jpg" width="175" /></a></div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2L4AUqOE2xn7_b3tpRLZN7qlX6GwI3OQvzuZwk_wDRVK_xSPoEHKHvXAX_2oPg2YK4meUzBdN4YRn6TfdeX3_b-eGqS_40fV4pWxcmxy6hqMPiRf-BAX9jsXt1pFSxXkVY3HH7YzDMpc/s1600/jam2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2L4AUqOE2xn7_b3tpRLZN7qlX6GwI3OQvzuZwk_wDRVK_xSPoEHKHvXAX_2oPg2YK4meUzBdN4YRn6TfdeX3_b-eGqS_40fV4pWxcmxy6hqMPiRf-BAX9jsXt1pFSxXkVY3HH7YzDMpc/s200/jam2.jpg" width="156" /></a>I feel as though I am up to my eye balls in jam and in fact I almost am. For the last several days my sister and I have been smashing, stirring and steaming; strawberries, rhubarb, raspberries and cherries into a sweet decoration for our morning toast. I tried my first batch of freezer jams and it turn out great! I followed the SureGel pectin directions and can't wait to try it. Because the fruit and berry season is at hand, many of preserving supplies are on sale, I found the freezer containers for $2 for 5, not bad. The nice thing about freezer jams is you don't have to process the fruit as mush so the flavor and color hold up much better, the down side is I don't have a lot of freezer space, give and take. My sweet cherry recipe didn't turn out as well, it looks more like cherry syrup. It is so sad when your jam doesn't set, but you know it still taste the same. It usually means you didn't use enough pectin/sugar ratio or you didn't let it stay at a roiling biol long enough. I love to give jam away as gifts and detest buying it at the store and now I have made enough to satisfy both.HI ALL,http://www.blogger.com/profile/06310160981240210206noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6861205461748311449.post-62602521294043713152010-06-28T09:15:00.000-07:002010-06-28T11:44:21.509-07:00yummy snack<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg146wAGEKXBE3utiQpElCaFxJNiwJOqwHOQRueaw-eujsxy-DlLOCoRHmjZAGy_w5iIxhveTPegZ-1qU4-cNQeomyVPLOjuZNA-IhxhcNdPnBw607DSidkYlFVM3QsM-m5nG31UoXEjno/s1600/Traci'sgoatcheesedip+003.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="287" ru="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg146wAGEKXBE3utiQpElCaFxJNiwJOqwHOQRueaw-eujsxy-DlLOCoRHmjZAGy_w5iIxhveTPegZ-1qU4-cNQeomyVPLOjuZNA-IhxhcNdPnBw607DSidkYlFVM3QsM-m5nG31UoXEjno/s400/Traci'sgoatcheesedip+003.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">Saturday 3pm, three hungry boys (one being the husband), quick what's in the fridge? We had been playing and working outside all day. Lunch and food was forgotten in the beautiful sun and new slip 'n slide. The oldest announces he is hungry and the little one repeats "hungy!". I ran into the kitten chopped up some Kalamata olives (we always have some) mixed it with our goat cheese and sliced a baguette. It took 5 minutes and then you have a wonderful snack or great hors d'oeuvre to take to an event. </div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">Traci's Goat Cheese Spread</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"> 8 oz. Chevre</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"> 1/3 cup Kalamata olives diced </div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"> 2 T olive oil</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"> 2 clove garlic diced</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"> salt and pepper to taste</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">mix all ingredients together and serve!</div>We have a lot of goat cheese because it is the easiest to make (milk goat's in the backyard). A friend came over and showed us this simple spread that her mom makes, we have taken it every where and it always gets great reviews.HI ALL,http://www.blogger.com/profile/06310160981240210206noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6861205461748311449.post-62879909799712890922010-06-26T12:39:00.000-07:002010-06-28T11:54:50.791-07:00A Step Up<div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjO_M9SGAAB0QflhZRRFKR6INZ3xG_90B4K_ujTwptC2La0K4pzYCc_gQUoOp2HfFPbozRnjo97WlBfM3ykH7O5cibObk8nhR0hZFia0bJ5m-Fsv33jx4HBemTHAUrANZlx_2ZV5wEV5Xk/s1600/footstool2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" ru="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjO_M9SGAAB0QflhZRRFKR6INZ3xG_90B4K_ujTwptC2La0K4pzYCc_gQUoOp2HfFPbozRnjo97WlBfM3ykH7O5cibObk8nhR0hZFia0bJ5m-Fsv33jx4HBemTHAUrANZlx_2ZV5wEV5Xk/s400/footstool2.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOjMHje_2DBmtIhxYPdo1zV_N0nUhwVxWvlIeo5drtcOqzu_34BSnde7CJbGdomXmR5QbzA6_Auii2Nc5yniNR-krfEzsJ0eUQSG3r8A3Bo3fh6fbcF5Tv4xZcnBwLcp6yt0gN-bVFpwE/s1600/footstool9.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" ru="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOjMHje_2DBmtIhxYPdo1zV_N0nUhwVxWvlIeo5drtcOqzu_34BSnde7CJbGdomXmR5QbzA6_Auii2Nc5yniNR-krfEzsJ0eUQSG3r8A3Bo3fh6fbcF5Tv4xZcnBwLcp6yt0gN-bVFpwE/s200/footstool9.jpg" width="173" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6yDHePmlGpaN17ulD3hFXw6oXfq3ng40jKmCkyduyzDTHsXwv4i4tJUbUzByy8QzTqjPm4xKeur0q6YGJ4t_ReVNLZnKrTaCXDgmThg7JdQkfvIsCRDm9AOzk-FqRtMZCkICd9XnCw5Y/s1600/footstool10.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="135" ru="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6yDHePmlGpaN17ulD3hFXw6oXfq3ng40jKmCkyduyzDTHsXwv4i4tJUbUzByy8QzTqjPm4xKeur0q6YGJ4t_ReVNLZnKrTaCXDgmThg7JdQkfvIsCRDm9AOzk-FqRtMZCkICd9XnCw5Y/s200/footstool10.jpg" width="200" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwSTfTmDP53e-o9ytzh1CIhIT7mDUhuK-KYN_2VJO5IHMvRpF5GJarLwrOxr5ZksENa5boQOzIF-W625QhJVrgJPKtPWflcp1MDKJyDGr1CzcA3k8foL4cMtndOl6WFG2-jYRG534XESk/s1600/footstool7.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="164" ru="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwSTfTmDP53e-o9ytzh1CIhIT7mDUhuK-KYN_2VJO5IHMvRpF5GJarLwrOxr5ZksENa5boQOzIF-W625QhJVrgJPKtPWflcp1MDKJyDGr1CzcA3k8foL4cMtndOl6WFG2-jYRG534XESk/s200/footstool7.jpg" width="200" /></a>I love this project so much, I know I am way more excited about it then anyone else will be. It is just so cool to have something go from being thrown out to being an original piece in your home. This was a foot stool that was in my grandparents home, it is some where between 35-50 years old, one of those items that hung around for no important reason. I took it home when my grandmother past away a year and a half ago with the plans to repaint it, it was a flaking bright orange color. It took me awhile, but I did it. I wanted something the boys could carry, and I didn't want it to look like I bought it at a store, I think I hit the mark. With all the extra paint we had from our recent mini remodel, I had all the parts right at home. Stenciling the boys feet didn't work out as well as I had envisioned, but I am happy with the finished project. I drilled two hole in the top for some rope, as a handle, and voila! </div></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWXbvbee677G1qliaXOq5sjlg33dZ-MZAB9KauLNxs4clXl0O0A2JOLjBix6_HXlfvvpOLlum_fjz1iuZGq6WPYogfM9zR0n2UDH0-64Vp0CSw513wH3bZ2CxO8Uxs0NU4ynhOo0whHnc/s1600/footstool4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="143" ru="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWXbvbee677G1qliaXOq5sjlg33dZ-MZAB9KauLNxs4clXl0O0A2JOLjBix6_HXlfvvpOLlum_fjz1iuZGq6WPYogfM9zR0n2UDH0-64Vp0CSw513wH3bZ2CxO8Uxs0NU4ynhOo0whHnc/s200/footstool4.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>HI ALL,http://www.blogger.com/profile/06310160981240210206noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6861205461748311449.post-17851441508476577972010-06-25T15:03:00.000-07:002010-06-25T17:00:06.532-07:00Fresh & Clean<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgv9sydxQd4wKOvbAnTnncWWp68eMsLd9_p4kwFDynR_cLZSkih3prdiD-V_trMSbtCQX-7QSFp_9GSDtIy9GQYGB9G4CkJCi95igj_jR3UgIJWfAV6Pvi2AKkUwuAfhRtJr6n6d9OwIcw/s1600/Laundry+soap+ingredients.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="308" ru="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgv9sydxQd4wKOvbAnTnncWWp68eMsLd9_p4kwFDynR_cLZSkih3prdiD-V_trMSbtCQX-7QSFp_9GSDtIy9GQYGB9G4CkJCi95igj_jR3UgIJWfAV6Pvi2AKkUwuAfhRtJr6n6d9OwIcw/s400/Laundry+soap+ingredients.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>I finally got around to making laundry soap yesterday. One of those things that I have wanted to do for years , but never actually did it. I can't figure out what took me so long, it was so easy! I guess I was finally sick of spending over $15 a gallon at Costco for "natural soap" that I don't really know what's in it. The hardest part was choosing a recipe and finding Washing soda (apparently not the same as baking soda). In Washington state the best place to find washing soda is Fred Meyer. I also needed to find a container to hold the 2+ gallons of liquid laundry soap, and old laundry soap bucket with lid worked well. I had a junior high decorating moment, mostly to keep T from throwing my bucket out or using it for something else. I found many recipes for liquid laundry soap, almost all contained washing soda and borax. I used a recipe off <a href="http://tipnut.com/10-homemade-laundry-soap-detergent-recipes/">Tipnut.com</a>. After I use up this batch I plan to try a different mix, but so far I really like this one. <br />
Recipe #1 Liquid Laundry Soap<br />
<br />
1 quart Water (boiling)<br />
2 cups Bar soap (grated)<br />
2 cups Borax<br />
2 cups Washing Soda<br />
Add finely grated bar soap to the boiling water and stir until soap is melted. You can keep on low heat until soap is melted. <br />
Pour the soap water into a large, clean pail and add the Borax and Washing Soda. Stir well until all is dissolved. <br />
Add 2 gallons of water, stir until well mixed. <br />
<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjF_zavjvZXklOymxbjlFkUkoqjmZc25BQevDnT3b2SdfJ0xeuw794QgCUWgCV3tzwQl9DiO2KxbCS-HO_pwfD8aOW7iDxh5a754kIxCbpLVK-5d2JnSdrBa1SsiNCu0mGx1eUM4evFr4/s1600/Laundry+soap+bucket.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="197" ru="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjF_zavjvZXklOymxbjlFkUkoqjmZc25BQevDnT3b2SdfJ0xeuw794QgCUWgCV3tzwQl9DiO2KxbCS-HO_pwfD8aOW7iDxh5a754kIxCbpLVK-5d2JnSdrBa1SsiNCu0mGx1eUM4evFr4/s200/Laundry+soap+bucket.jpg" width="200" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmOYI37oXTYS8mN7rU687PokHI_1siAoVCcCpc9VZpqWbRIK4_H3oIIXFjjli3euPMp9fqgyzE0AySR240su9Rfmy1VR0mlWGuuPlGSqmJhs1h7p0kcx-gA6Y6R9yqk5EZXcyq5PbdYhc/s1600/laundry+soap.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="165" ru="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmOYI37oXTYS8mN7rU687PokHI_1siAoVCcCpc9VZpqWbRIK4_H3oIIXFjjli3euPMp9fqgyzE0AySR240su9Rfmy1VR0mlWGuuPlGSqmJhs1h7p0kcx-gA6Y6R9yqk5EZXcyq5PbdYhc/s200/laundry+soap.jpg" width="200" /></a>Cover pail and use 1/4 cup for each load of laundry. Stir the soap each time you use it (will gel). </div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">The first time I use a recipe I follow it close to get the correct feel and then play with the ingredients and amounts the next time around. I used Fels-Napths this time, but I think I will use one of my own homemade goat milk soaps next go 'round. It smells like what ever ground soap you use, so keep that in mind when choosing one, I think I might try some drops of essential oils next time too. Make sure and use a large pot to melt the soap on the stove, it will bubble up a lot. I tried to put it all in an old liquid soap pour container, this doesn't work as the soap almost instantly gels after you mix all the ingredients, I haven't figured out the best solution yet. Also, I haven't done the exact math, but I think for 2+ gallons, it cost less than 4 dollars, wow who could pass that savings up! My other laundry savings tip is to hang dry clothes, I only use my dryer one in every 5 or 6 loads, that's a lot of energy savings and it's as easy as hanging up a shirt. You save more than money and energy, you save wear on your dryer and clothes and you're much less likely to shrink your favorite shirt. Rain or shine I move a folding rack on the deck or into the garage (next to the washer).Well, now on to dish soap.</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">And, more done on the sweater, one sleeve down one to go!</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2GO_s4d3SwH_goScJegUN4hbKyq2nKIe9_wZyYX-JYwF5B6U6KjGDxMiIdTbnwqZSQkLnovjWn60w_BnV_Od8dSpcMFs_vizPwcPjEFIw0fg7rJdHJfZOugIPDoUEKshyphenhyphengUHmmYOz-Dg/s1600/sweatersleeve.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" ru="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2GO_s4d3SwH_goScJegUN4hbKyq2nKIe9_wZyYX-JYwF5B6U6KjGDxMiIdTbnwqZSQkLnovjWn60w_BnV_Od8dSpcMFs_vizPwcPjEFIw0fg7rJdHJfZOugIPDoUEKshyphenhyphengUHmmYOz-Dg/s320/sweatersleeve.jpg" /></a></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><a name='more'></a>HI ALL,http://www.blogger.com/profile/06310160981240210206noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6861205461748311449.post-89023734238331127542010-06-21T19:18:00.000-07:002010-06-21T19:20:50.276-07:00Summer!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvTtEHCxbLYT_k5cvDweTwHxGN3uj_Luv9h-Z15zyZ8iChz29Xh9DRt-KIh6tKdVbQo4CS7PHMCJQxnGePuNpY-qlhdN3VBnFSYh4m9XQtux3UynZ5AWHk-GOwbj60XghKiRvuE46wLzY/s1600/P1010486.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" ru="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvTtEHCxbLYT_k5cvDweTwHxGN3uj_Luv9h-Z15zyZ8iChz29Xh9DRt-KIh6tKdVbQo4CS7PHMCJQxnGePuNpY-qlhdN3VBnFSYh4m9XQtux3UynZ5AWHk-GOwbj60XghKiRvuE46wLzY/s200/P1010486.JPG" width="200" /></a></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9rjCVNX4jkB1gxIv_TusJKfIQcVm7Q902C9YaBH7WSLvuTpzP5in7BBHS2aLhSauWQysjkD6qx74EK9XrcGP8pfCCTfJg9SEm_Ubv2zCkGId0pFUD0llUkwkoZ96VlaYD3VJ4Gsgxj54/s1600/shovelplant.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" ru="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9rjCVNX4jkB1gxIv_TusJKfIQcVm7Q902C9YaBH7WSLvuTpzP5in7BBHS2aLhSauWQysjkD6qx74EK9XrcGP8pfCCTfJg9SEm_Ubv2zCkGId0pFUD0llUkwkoZ96VlaYD3VJ4Gsgxj54/s200/shovelplant.JPG" width="189" /></a>It does happen to be the solstice, but you wouldn't be able to tell by the weather we have been having around here. This is the wettest and coldest spring I can remember. I have to remind myself it is June because it sure does not feel like it. Regardless if it feels like, IT IS SUMMER!!! I love summer, I think it is my favorite season, as a kid it was because my birthday is in July (not the motivating factor so much any more). I love the heat (when we get it) the family outings, the gardening and playing in the water. I believe the solstice is a special day and should be treated as a holiday (I know it is in other areas of the world, sadly not here) unfortunately for me today I feel under the weather, I guess so does the sun it seems. So, no bonfires or outdoor dancing for me today, I will be celebrating summer in spirit.On another note, you may have noticed I have been revamping my blog, blogspot had mad it so much easier. Due to this my blog had been getting whip lashed from my day to day whims, hope you don't. I know I will settle on the color and spacing I like soon, until then please be patient, I will be back with many improvements and awesome posts and projects. Do you like the new header picture, can you guess who's dirty feet those are? Well, lets all go and celebrate the growing season!!! P.S I have been working on my latest sweater. I can't remember what day I'm on, but I don't think this one will thake 6 plus months to finish.</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyfBNSm_fBsdNBqLPN4t6hgvM3UWfmb8GkCbYVelckdgWmTg_C9zs8mOGNDK06Ifdd1AAJmYDLMmjk4HyfSCNjzE_Cfs9tv40XrgHEitEF7WEWxxJrzaqEJq2Af2hnmkneIdLK-spvjL4/s1600/tea+cardi+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="264" ru="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyfBNSm_fBsdNBqLPN4t6hgvM3UWfmb8GkCbYVelckdgWmTg_C9zs8mOGNDK06Ifdd1AAJmYDLMmjk4HyfSCNjzE_Cfs9tv40XrgHEitEF7WEWxxJrzaqEJq2Af2hnmkneIdLK-spvjL4/s320/tea+cardi+1.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>HI ALL,http://www.blogger.com/profile/06310160981240210206noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6861205461748311449.post-7953781280312260942010-06-09T21:30:00.000-07:002010-06-09T21:30:52.677-07:002 rows forward, 10 rows back Well, it only took a day to loose my momentum. I had great progress to show you all and I even had the pictures to prove it. But, as I mulled over the the photos I saw a mistake, so I left the sweater and busied myself with something else. I haven't decided if I gave the sweater the cold shoulder in hopes it would fix itself or just to get used to the fact I had to pull most of it out (so sad). I did and it was fine, like I knew it would be, I mean it wasn't that many inches anyway (even though your body is screaming "No!" the whole time). So I won't go into how far I was before the confusion, now I'm at...<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbgpXe-3WXYVtGWvnYyDhjWd5fF49uI0yotnlYdxvZMth0DeP7_kKq4DWeM0YVngHAViigEdsK32DQX0nPVOq2D_EUIkt0hDzMCjCZE7SBGgiYOaXbhWaG2L9b9rixN5Ck9L7anIeEjGs/s1600/knitting.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="267" qu="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbgpXe-3WXYVtGWvnYyDhjWd5fF49uI0yotnlYdxvZMth0DeP7_kKq4DWeM0YVngHAViigEdsK32DQX0nPVOq2D_EUIkt0hDzMCjCZE7SBGgiYOaXbhWaG2L9b9rixN5Ck9L7anIeEjGs/s320/knitting.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>Day Three~ 1&1/4 inches and Row 12HI ALL,http://www.blogger.com/profile/06310160981240210206noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6861205461748311449.post-23697965903784770552010-06-07T16:13:00.000-07:002010-06-21T16:19:47.625-07:00Ready, Set, Go!<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjG6DqlFw_08qaKoukROjQz6nv7UW0innXRtsPo2nYTPwb9Le0oRzzNueF1AVLPlQxzXU1MNPWjJVKIq0lCzz5ydVTJNRR8l5OLZEkmF871eaE1sUNZvzH0Ipk1q3IIXBFcn133BHO3_eM/s1600/sweaterpattern.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" qu="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjG6DqlFw_08qaKoukROjQz6nv7UW0innXRtsPo2nYTPwb9Le0oRzzNueF1AVLPlQxzXU1MNPWjJVKIq0lCzz5ydVTJNRR8l5OLZEkmF871eaE1sUNZvzH0Ipk1q3IIXBFcn133BHO3_eM/s320/sweaterpattern.jpg" width="320" /></a>I am trying our a new motivational trick. I am going to blog my way through my next knitting project. I am going to knit my neice a sweater for this fall. I hope to document each day's progress in the attempt to expedite the project. The last baby sweater took over 6 months, lets not have that happen again. So here I go. I started the sweater yesterday waiting in the ferry line, thanks to an extra long ferry back up, I got further than expected The <span style="background-color: white; color: #38761d;"><em><a href="http://www.madelinetosh.com/patterns-tiny-tea-leaves-cardigan.html">tiny tea leaves cardi</a> </em><span style="color: black;">by Melissa LaBarre,</span><span style="color: black;"> is</span><em> </em><span style="color: black;">a simple and very sweet top down sweater. The yarn is as local as you can get, it's called Moclips and is 25% mohair and 75% Coopworth lamb's wool, it actually comes from my shearing mentor (I thought this was too cool because my sister picked out the yarn). The only strange part about this pattern is how often you switch between needle sized, this is to get the puckered effect in the yoke. I am knitting size 2 for C, it will be large on her, but I am a very tight knitter so we will see. I did go up in needle sizes to account for my tension.</span></span></div></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5R0E2lDCNgK2vi4UHiVIA7lfD8IeabHANTAyD4lvo0_h0XgPlGISYMzKeunbX0mA5WDZN5zQrtZYF2qj9sOB9L9zStk5JmeSLApfp2_02KdCkVjZexY6C8Xk0H02jP856Jc_kD4hUvUo/s1600/sweater2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" qu="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5R0E2lDCNgK2vi4UHiVIA7lfD8IeabHANTAyD4lvo0_h0XgPlGISYMzKeunbX0mA5WDZN5zQrtZYF2qj9sOB9L9zStk5JmeSLApfp2_02KdCkVjZexY6C8Xk0H02jP856Jc_kD4hUvUo/s200/sweater2.jpg" width="150" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjohsQQS2HsXFQKtUW3LG1QL776H3VDAu1B7-beN7HkudN9pfIGsuY4eakf9WgF3CtFPQlM24JqIojQ_jeyTMnSuliiJKYsWt2XzE7uIiWfYCM-GsjCQR9tMuG60FkrcCqo2WefZV7vyMU/s1600/sweater1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="165" qu="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjohsQQS2HsXFQKtUW3LG1QL776H3VDAu1B7-beN7HkudN9pfIGsuY4eakf9WgF3CtFPQlM24JqIojQ_jeyTMnSuliiJKYsWt2XzE7uIiWfYCM-GsjCQR9tMuG60FkrcCqo2WefZV7vyMU/s200/sweater1.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">Day 1: sweater measurement to date~ 2 inches and on Row 16 </div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><a name='more'></a><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"> </div>HI ALL,http://www.blogger.com/profile/06310160981240210206noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6861205461748311449.post-42587383890725071522010-06-03T21:33:00.001-07:002010-06-03T21:53:17.289-07:00another sweet hat<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHwpfO2pzTM8_VZWiFHNZ7ZbMjm1kdJCEF7U6YxzG5YFJHxbq5ZMBNMwfK27DAVTUbw75d-lYl7arPvgbKGWB5lhtyCB8xfnFu5XBk-zo0nnJw8YyHOlvcgWCRZXsVtdsUNauA8K22Ug0/s1600/hat2.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5478776674381608594" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 150px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 200px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHwpfO2pzTM8_VZWiFHNZ7ZbMjm1kdJCEF7U6YxzG5YFJHxbq5ZMBNMwfK27DAVTUbw75d-lYl7arPvgbKGWB5lhtyCB8xfnFu5XBk-zo0nnJw8YyHOlvcgWCRZXsVtdsUNauA8K22Ug0/s200/hat2.JPG" border="0" /></a> Baby hats are just the easiest thing to give as a gift at a shower. They don't take very long or very much yarn and who doesn't melt when you see a tiny sweet baby sporting a hand knit hat (ok, maybe not all hats). I try to have some knit in advance so all I have to do is pick the right one, right, in my dreams. <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjj6Pjio7VZRNUOdVR1rfRnpXkKsKyPCfVJZGa1dhJvbVJX2gtMjdxw1PSamrITkiDNl6_hR71Y5Sl273uW-xFX94aAbBotTnU9kMwuseyfvHNCCWOroUK4SoIW_BJVWr12uVcUco_M0K0/s1600/teddyhat1.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5478775902207146434" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 151px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 200px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjj6Pjio7VZRNUOdVR1rfRnpXkKsKyPCfVJZGa1dhJvbVJX2gtMjdxw1PSamrITkiDNl6_hR71Y5Sl273uW-xFX94aAbBotTnU9kMwuseyfvHNCCWOroUK4SoIW_BJVWr12uVcUco_M0K0/s200/teddyhat1.JPG" border="0" /></a>A co-worker of T's is due in a couple of weeks and I always like to find new hat pattern or make one up as I go. This one is a little bit of both, it is a pattern from <em>Hats Mittens and Scarves.</em> It is kind of a cool book, well it's not a book at all, it's a box with a collection of patterns each on their own card, it makes it really easy to carry about. The hat is called a baby aviator hat, but after I finished it the top looked like it was missing something. So, I added a pompom and that's what made it look like it belonged in L.L. Bean's winter catalog. Yes I do know that we are going in into summer and being June already this hat might look a little silly. After it was blocked it loosened up some and I think it will fit this winter, of course that all depends on baby. C<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmFUTvzBteifdeVpSYa6Mgb4az7gAq5R6N0ph89BlQ_9CLj-XfuivXY6ixOEYx9fLhqBkT0nYZfC6g16TMexIkMkZo5rBBSoeiV-dbOaJ_QyLpVbRMksjQzgnFkOdZxkW2eFWOCbhVvN4/s1600/hat1.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5478776553515318178" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 191px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmFUTvzBteifdeVpSYa6Mgb4az7gAq5R6N0ph89BlQ_9CLj-XfuivXY6ixOEYx9fLhqBkT0nYZfC6g16TMexIkMkZo5rBBSoeiV-dbOaJ_QyLpVbRMksjQzgnFkOdZxkW2eFWOCbhVvN4/s200/hat1.JPG" border="0" /></a>ongrats A, you are in for the most wonderful times of your life! And of course Teddy was the only model who the hat would fit and the only one who would sit still for a photo shoot.HI ALL,http://www.blogger.com/profile/06310160981240210206noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6861205461748311449.post-32816179722236008552010-05-31T21:33:00.000-07:002010-06-01T15:43:59.989-07:00table top jungle<div align="center"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgh52QvrKKmhch4VSkWRa_O_nutCkajLUK_rzwAGh5vy8lpUuek90KZudMYIpyLJJkXyKY0k_KZnvBNr76twlS1rlFw4N4-P6TOqZ-nGEt1abnvSU1RNKQr0pphoDmbBIRsxtzoC70-rs4/s1600/isaacgardenjungle2.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5477939139555133202" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 254px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 320px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgh52QvrKKmhch4VSkWRa_O_nutCkajLUK_rzwAGh5vy8lpUuek90KZudMYIpyLJJkXyKY0k_KZnvBNr76twlS1rlFw4N4-P6TOqZ-nGEt1abnvSU1RNKQr0pphoDmbBIRsxtzoC70-rs4/s320/isaacgardenjungle2.jpg" border="0" /></a>What a difference I couple of weeks makes. I was feeling stressed about not having the garden ready to plant yet so I relived it with some improvised seed starting. Even though we still have stacks of boxes and our living room looks like a storage locker, that all can wait (yes I know I sound a bit nuts), but the summer garden calls the shots in this house. <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAo8eYoiym32T8JDme4l2QXK_yGiAFBXAHPZ0gWgiH6YPp_brNvU5VqFNcg2DcFPC1KJiAEI-PKNFzNmwiMohldwYr0CCn1C29L3PPJx5IVmT1WVESWbUhnWP8NXhRH6cW_Wz3yrX00Pk/s1600/tablestarts.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5477938958806141362" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 158px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 200px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAo8eYoiym32T8JDme4l2QXK_yGiAFBXAHPZ0gWgiH6YPp_brNvU5VqFNcg2DcFPC1KJiAEI-PKNFzNmwiMohldwYr0CCn1C29L3PPJx5IVmT1WVESWbUhnWP8NXhRH6cW_Wz3yrX00Pk/s200/tablestarts.jpg" border="0" /></a>The boxes are not going to sprout in a week when the weather gets sunny, although it does seem like they are multiplying, but my beets and cauliflower will. <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5RfTjp-gdOfFtS0h_YsXPbcezA7nArJNpzoNx8rWXoQEy9bFltl6JgfruvABXAwsOVb6ekLnhAVMJNTRsFEo8Nk_eRi_aWBga_Ct4v-OgdqC6vk5fuPfsMj7u-pjnQMCc-Z1_fOvtBjc/s1600/gardenjungle.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5477938202356209858" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 149px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 200px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5RfTjp-gdOfFtS0h_YsXPbcezA7nArJNpzoNx8rWXoQEy9bFltl6JgfruvABXAwsOVb6ekLnhAVMJNTRsFEo8Nk_eRi_aWBga_Ct4v-OgdqC6vk5fuPfsMj7u-pjnQMCc-Z1_fOvtBjc/s200/gardenjungle.jpg" border="0" /></a>Before I could get into the garden I started some seeds on a table by the window so I wouldn't be too far behind. Zucchini, winter squash, crookneck squash, pumpkins, cucumbers, tomatillos and basil and dill. It's really easy to start seed on the table, you need to remember squash and cucumbers do not like to have their roots disturbed, so that's why I used the peat pots, you plant the seedling and pot in the ground together. There is no need to spend the money on those pots for other seeds. <img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5477937240661121538" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 276px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 320px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgb6RmFx88tUJNCwruj3T-9emtePOziuSwp_MwEJbdXpgy2_KIfe3mXya3iZ3iAHZLVTsaJbksENUj4h9ytcl9ET71D6ACUKX1Q3Oo5GoyTCtGBAO9yq4QTFLP-4WOLdAiSuZB-EzqyNok/s320/isaacgardenjungle.jpg" border="0" />I use the large trays with small individual seed cells year after year for herbs, cold crops, and anything that isn't too sensitive. A window will start your seeds just fine (assuming your house is warm enough, 65-70 degrees), you may find your plants getting "leggy" long and skinny. Most of the time they grow out of it, if they don't they will not be able to hold up the weight of their own fruit. They best thing for indoor starts is a grow light. Keep the light an inch above the plants, as the plants grow move the light up. The small, standing, shelf green houses are great, inexpensive and for most people plenty of room for all the starts you want. I bought my tomatoes this year, I bought small plants, you usually get three for $2ish, I replanted them into larger pots and put them in the window (it's too early here to put them out). Remember when repotting tomatoes and tomatillos to pull off the bottom leaves and plant as far up the stem as you can, leaving three or four leaves on the top. <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBCrvCKRLQFE0qohWo00BqTME5X1BtMtbPJW-NHSxPjDFHl4dl4nDw1vJ93N6q6GkD2UGe4Tds295gi7cRwpl0nJ7LQZsWAPDeTfyPyeJQHUQpHd2M9uCLNNmmdbY-t6iNZizQDk3sPJY/s1600/seedstart1.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5477937897095460242" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 156px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBCrvCKRLQFE0qohWo00BqTME5X1BtMtbPJW-NHSxPjDFHl4dl4nDw1vJ93N6q6GkD2UGe4Tds295gi7cRwpl0nJ7LQZsWAPDeTfyPyeJQHUQpHd2M9uCLNNmmdbY-t6iNZizQDk3sPJY/s200/seedstart1.jpg" border="0" /></a>It will help make strong thick stalks. In two weeks you have a whole garden that cost a lot less then buying all those starts, not to mention family and friends love the left overs! Did you catch the little garden helper in the pics? My boys are excellent garden helper, we will see if I say the same when all the garden goodies disappear before making it to the table.</div><div align="center">P.S when using basil off a grown plant snip a whole stalk off, cut the stem right above the bud above the dirt. Your plant will spout many more stalks off this cutting. If you your plant starting to go to seed (flower columns coming off the top) snip these off. </div>HI ALL,http://www.blogger.com/profile/06310160981240210206noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6861205461748311449.post-74966305906508384292010-05-30T19:03:00.000-07:002010-05-30T19:24:07.343-07:00Cotton Tail<div align="center"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi51qMrifM2nb097Ag4BfK8cgpwX59IMEHDeVSlwYoiT2EuoXyfAIEodTGqvJ8HRhqMZwBo-6RPxye0-tcGolFhQ1YsdIUv_njbfyZWd5YWusvIeyvYrMvY5yzVomdiVcUbtXCcFYJ21mI/s1600/bunny+hat+1.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5477253919436355170" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 238px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 320px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi51qMrifM2nb097Ag4BfK8cgpwX59IMEHDeVSlwYoiT2EuoXyfAIEodTGqvJ8HRhqMZwBo-6RPxye0-tcGolFhQ1YsdIUv_njbfyZWd5YWusvIeyvYrMvY5yzVomdiVcUbtXCcFYJ21mI/s320/bunny+hat+1.jpg" border="0" /></a> These long breaks really put a dent in blogging. I know I'll get a pattern down sooner or later and maybe get some regular readers. For now presenting... yet another oh so cute baby hat from <em><span style="color:#6600cc;">Itty Bitty Hats</span></em> by Susan B. Anderson, who it turns out, while I was writing this blog I discovered, has her own blog on blogspot <a href="http://susanbanderson.blogspot.com/">http://susanbanderson.blogspot.com/</a>, how cool! I totally plan on becoming a faithful reader because if her blogs are half as good as her books then we are in for a treat. For <em>Bunny Hat</em>, as my brother-in-law would say I went shopping in my stash and came up with this soft, multi-color (pink, white and brown) DK yarn and held a strand of white Kid Silk Haze with it to add a soft "halo" effect. It turned out very sweet, I would use white ribbon for the bows next time, but in the move I still have not unpacked that box and have no idea where it might be residing. This was a very belated gift for little Mikalya (spelling?) to wear this coming winter.<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwH_04_Rvd7SGgCyJcMtpGFCsb9e5_XxRwJjS34VkCCHUukaxHY4shyphenhyphenFwlSeJ_pc8nVUIB_WoAw7oKWKOgiLHJyfaeTYxgFImMWMzX2KCy8WZnk6qbs3ML-xrwACW5PCr0uutsFRldOK8/s1600/bunny+hat+2.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5477254039176218674" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 266px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 320px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwH_04_Rvd7SGgCyJcMtpGFCsb9e5_XxRwJjS34VkCCHUukaxHY4shyphenhyphenFwlSeJ_pc8nVUIB_WoAw7oKWKOgiLHJyfaeTYxgFImMWMzX2KCy8WZnk6qbs3ML-xrwACW5PCr0uutsFRldOK8/s320/bunny+hat+2.jpg" border="0" /></a></div>HI ALL,http://www.blogger.com/profile/06310160981240210206noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6861205461748311449.post-29015302961216986722010-05-05T15:51:00.000-07:002010-05-05T16:23:58.965-07:00Love and Logic<div align="center"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIKk5y2tEYUnkZLUVi-dgc389fX48572MPwz32oFAfhrYn-4Fgwkuc_LJWKvv6LxnQNXB2IQ_J39NfHkN3jcoD1hoCL4u-VO5TtqrUhuVfE_-RMCgNQxu5Jg5I9ZudxDLvi8u8XPIivWc/s1600/maplerocktree+book.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5467929796824319554" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 254px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIKk5y2tEYUnkZLUVi-dgc389fX48572MPwz32oFAfhrYn-4Fgwkuc_LJWKvv6LxnQNXB2IQ_J39NfHkN3jcoD1hoCL4u-VO5TtqrUhuVfE_-RMCgNQxu5Jg5I9ZudxDLvi8u8XPIivWc/s320/maplerocktree+book.JPG" border="0" /></a>I don't have any fun projects to show you today, none that are done anyway. I am always working on a few here and there, it's just the type "A" in me that won't let myself share them when they're not finished. So I decided to share a parenting gem. Jim Fay and his son Dr. Charles Fay are parenting gurus and use a very simple, loving and logical manner to empower yourself, kids and family to live peacefully. It's called Love and Logic <a href="http://www.loveandlogic.com/">http://www.loveandlogic.com/</a> and it's used not only in homes but through out the education systems in schools. It is for all age ranges and is easy to pick and choose what works for you and apply it to any situation. They have books on tape and DVDs along with books concerning all age ranges and issues. I grew up on love and logic and now we use it to the best of our ability in our house. </div>HI ALL,http://www.blogger.com/profile/06310160981240210206noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6861205461748311449.post-29233015805247010702010-05-02T19:52:00.000-07:002010-05-05T12:19:40.118-07:00Great Idea<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWQ5qvIgHXXw3OLdVF12BXW0a7fAh5UQyBSEVoZitsbiWo5WH_gQwwSn0no7gBqym8o7trYsYewLmN1govozJoOBLUERT6aFuj_53BlcbWbuP-z6eraLdCoUDaOMNJfI55q3Hh8bUWX5M/s1600/Isaac+on+sod+in+truck.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5467845904336207266" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 298px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 320px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWQ5qvIgHXXw3OLdVF12BXW0a7fAh5UQyBSEVoZitsbiWo5WH_gQwwSn0no7gBqym8o7trYsYewLmN1govozJoOBLUERT6aFuj_53BlcbWbuP-z6eraLdCoUDaOMNJfI55q3Hh8bUWX5M/s320/Isaac+on+sod+in+truck.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div>You never know where each day or weekend is going to take you. You make your plans and to do lists, but if you're anything like us, you rarely stick to them. We are always flying by the seat of our pants, where ever the wind blows! </div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBXHpLYDbeBbuZA1s3Xgex-gQW5A1NFR_Sm-wEt97CA-gX0GYQ7BVSS84lQNOLldFol4K-AkxLFWQwZlhyphenhyphenC8QkMTfYKGSVlKtAmDrMNM1SPDYPo3N2ZwkqrSrPxMZSaxvtayhV2Diyo1o/s1600/abstract+sod+and+truck.jpg"></a></div><div></div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBXHpLYDbeBbuZA1s3Xgex-gQW5A1NFR_Sm-wEt97CA-gX0GYQ7BVSS84lQNOLldFol4K-AkxLFWQwZlhyphenhyphenC8QkMTfYKGSVlKtAmDrMNM1SPDYPo3N2ZwkqrSrPxMZSaxvtayhV2Diyo1o/s1600/abstract+sod+and+truck.jpg"></a></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBXHpLYDbeBbuZA1s3Xgex-gQW5A1NFR_Sm-wEt97CA-gX0GYQ7BVSS84lQNOLldFol4K-AkxLFWQwZlhyphenhyphenC8QkMTfYKGSVlKtAmDrMNM1SPDYPo3N2ZwkqrSrPxMZSaxvtayhV2Diyo1o/s1600/abstract+sod+and+truck.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5467844903117311666" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 128px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 200px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBXHpLYDbeBbuZA1s3Xgex-gQW5A1NFR_Sm-wEt97CA-gX0GYQ7BVSS84lQNOLldFol4K-AkxLFWQwZlhyphenhyphenC8QkMTfYKGSVlKtAmDrMNM1SPDYPo3N2ZwkqrSrPxMZSaxvtayhV2Diyo1o/s200/abstract+sod+and+truck.jpg" border="0" /></a>On Friday evening we cut the garden space and berry beds out of the lawn with a sod cutter, which worked great by the way! Anyway, Saturday morning we had a surprise visit from a couple of friends and after feeding them and chatting a bit about what to do with all that sod someone had an epiphany. Who am I kidding, I'm not going to be modest in the least, that incredibly creative idea came from yours truly (only I was half joking when I said it). I was teasing when I said lets make a play house for the boys out of it. Boy, did that get the ball rolling, the ideas just came pouring out (not just mine anymore). After we make a house, let make the three section compost bin I've always wanted (thanks Alan!) and then lets make the goat shelter out of sod and... <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQwaoilDd_lMJjkeaIsI8IsZ_cR1IA1v2wpyH6OJfVJCFyGffIk8wp4ictRpjaN2_qTyxk4AsBAItA3SPT5DVbDveah8a9T9rkiR-sC5uJQhMdh6FipS3NXeXT3qF4RjAQSTyQuWPjzI0/s1600/Isaac+helping.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5467845209422851938" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 140px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 200px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQwaoilDd_lMJjkeaIsI8IsZ_cR1IA1v2wpyH6OJfVJCFyGffIk8wp4ictRpjaN2_qTyxk4AsBAItA3SPT5DVbDveah8a9T9rkiR-sC5uJQhMdh6FipS3NXeXT3qF4RjAQSTyQuWPjzI0/s200/Isaac+helping.jpg" border="0" /></a>Now I don't think we have enough sod to cover all those project, but doesn't it all sound cool.<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCR8tUyR2gD7iQQhTU6bWVodAFEbU3HM7oT7-NLtYPhYacSbQ94-VSunC4XSfDGwOW5atEdfuX_zBchnblQxrZOZEBBfdvPk-nkO5LSDsgopTF5O-OTu1YErl96Dfde8tAynFU9V9AGFI/s1600/sod+house.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5467631812932894706" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 177px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 200px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCR8tUyR2gD7iQQhTU6bWVodAFEbU3HM7oT7-NLtYPhYacSbQ94-VSunC4XSfDGwOW5atEdfuX_zBchnblQxrZOZEBBfdvPk-nkO5LSDsgopTF5O-OTu1YErl96Dfde8tAynFU9V9AGFI/s200/sod+house.jpg" border="0" /></a> As we cut, hauled and stared to build the boys' play house someone said " you know, this is just what the settlers did" minus the gas powered sod cutter, the truck to haul the sod and the rebar to hold it up. We did have lots of sod, dirt and help,which I am sure is the way the settlers did it, thanks guys! </div><div>You know I just love the idea more and more, a living structure could be so much more beautiful and inconspicuous in our backyard. By no means are we finished yet so we will have to let you know how it all turns out (keep your fingers crossed). Here's to shelters growing every bit!</div>HI ALL,http://www.blogger.com/profile/06310160981240210206noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6861205461748311449.post-14340786670815928092010-05-01T17:31:00.000-07:002010-05-02T14:50:56.906-07:00Happy May Day!<div align="center"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmviHKC-krWGoyCd1xr81qawBDfceEL-4itmEgOYj9ck2IhdRRgKb2u_64yYJCQhNIOUBG7WFySMecud94pHvseGzxJAxm9DCcG6oEhpTsjWFAVi4xcRXBuomfIAkpyd6tRLdnAvnNIHo/s1600/May+flower.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5466725909631644530" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 222px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 320px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmviHKC-krWGoyCd1xr81qawBDfceEL-4itmEgOYj9ck2IhdRRgKb2u_64yYJCQhNIOUBG7WFySMecud94pHvseGzxJAxm9DCcG6oEhpTsjWFAVi4xcRXBuomfIAkpyd6tRLdnAvnNIHo/s320/May+flower.jpg" border="0" /></a>The sweetest thing happened today! Our door bell rang and by the time we got there to answer it, there lay beautiful flowers on our door step with a note "Happy May Day" and no one around. Well, Happy May Day to you too, anonymous flower leaving neighbor. One more reason I love our new town!</div>HI ALL,http://www.blogger.com/profile/06310160981240210206noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6861205461748311449.post-73251590236003908532010-05-01T12:14:00.000-07:002010-05-05T12:21:07.520-07:00From Grass to Garden<div align="center"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikDgcOEPCXtOEy31mNclcRd0DtaB7qH5VAbl9LwDw3740hO0lDFehYFWTzKWHRGMmuhB8_ymlx-bajF2wj8TF6yCsQkCIOUltGi6hEuiGHRfkzzC809KsHJbtwJqu52GDfRiIC7UA4dkI/s1600/Sod+cutter.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5467183062332144434" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 225px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikDgcOEPCXtOEy31mNclcRd0DtaB7qH5VAbl9LwDw3740hO0lDFehYFWTzKWHRGMmuhB8_ymlx-bajF2wj8TF6yCsQkCIOUltGi6hEuiGHRfkzzC809KsHJbtwJqu52GDfRiIC7UA4dkI/s320/Sod+cutter.jpg" border="0" /></a>It may not be garden yet, but it is much closer to pouring out fresh lettuce, tasty zucchini and juicy cucumbers this summer. Some might say we have our priorities skewed since we are still living amongst towers of boxes, but it's so exciting to be almost ready to have my own garden at my very own house. I have done lots of gardening, but never in my own garden where I call the shots (or at least I think that's how it's going to work). While speaking with one of our neighbors and talking about gardening, she suggest a sod cutter because the our entire yard is grass. So on Friday night Ty rented a sod cutter and Voila! we have a start to our garden. <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoKoq6LXRyzHnOH9__UlSwmQwRdKh7BnVD0WL16eEcfObgT1L-QFKj8xl1ajg4ygvUm0Q2TT3x9rsuJI74BJdrQXD0TOr8icec1PyEoTjMARoBxB0-FdOF7k5RRCY5Rvqu3ruX4WHOexQ/s1600/Sod+and+shovel.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5467182925105610066" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoKoq6LXRyzHnOH9__UlSwmQwRdKh7BnVD0WL16eEcfObgT1L-QFKj8xl1ajg4ygvUm0Q2TT3x9rsuJI74BJdrQXD0TOr8icec1PyEoTjMARoBxB0-FdOF7k5RRCY5Rvqu3ruX4WHOexQ/s320/Sod+and+shovel.jpg" border="0" /></a>I know, it's not ready to sow any seeds yet, but at least we can see where it's going to be. </div><div align="center"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaofkXz5TbbYw0wHGbIFLppnqd29gPk9CelUlWD1LBZgzPjmbc-P-O1F7lYbWDavT8sExL4R-4LQ_uGlNJ0ko6q8yTdlulHCg1cUybQigCzlJKSkwY5plbM9_zJ9kndYileeaHlrBmQn8/s1600/Rollong+sod.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5467182769443941778" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 202px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaofkXz5TbbYw0wHGbIFLppnqd29gPk9CelUlWD1LBZgzPjmbc-P-O1F7lYbWDavT8sExL4R-4LQ_uGlNJ0ko6q8yTdlulHCg1cUybQigCzlJKSkwY5plbM9_zJ9kndYileeaHlrBmQn8/s320/Rollong+sod.jpg" border="0" /></a></div><div align="center"></div><div align="center"></div><div align="center"></div><div align="center"></div><div align="center"></div><div align="center"></div><div align="center"></div><div align="center"></div><div align="center"></div><div align="center"></div><div align="center"></div><div align="center"></div><div align="center">To get the most out of the rental fee we also cut out our blueberry patch and flower beds. We have a whole lot of sod. I wonder what were going to do with it? </div><div align="center">The sod cutter makes the activity of sod cutting manageable, don't get me wrong it is still a chore (just look at all the work Ty is going through), but doing it by hand with a shovel would be out of the question, believe me I tried and last about 5 minutes. This cutter cuts about a 12 inch row, you can get up to 18 inches I don't think it makes it any faster. After you cut all you do is roll it up into a roll you can't lift (now what do I do with it?). The trick is cutting straight so you minimize the little slivers of grass that are still attached to the ground, you have to remove these with a shovel. We did find out that you should steer clear of wet areas for sod cutters don't come in 4wheel drive and are darn heavy. The whole thing worked well and made life a little easier, of course easy for me to say you don't see me in any of the pictures do you. </div>HI ALL,http://www.blogger.com/profile/06310160981240210206noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6861205461748311449.post-42352980402574741072010-04-27T12:58:00.000-07:002010-04-29T10:16:44.188-07:00Welcome Home<div align="center">No banner or balloons, but we are still excited about them coming! <img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5465602864642914578" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 157px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3p_qV5FPxFU_yODNK4km8PnRCCyHkWgxoH1VeyKkayPzyMc8ZkRJWJEBAzrGe6Thb7FOqDesiH_c5Ha_vnWYagH6zkloIghlADr3cCVGR9GfXXSuOGoFkme1ni0KwYHsF1Digxma6GlQ/s200/baby+goat+face.jpg" border="0" />As I said in my last post we just bought a house on a half acre lot. When we originally started the house search we (or maybe just me) thought we couldn't live without at least 10 acres, then reality hit and being closer to work (not to mention financially do-able) meant a much smaller lot. <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPFUElbJLelxB2z0IDef4E6hyphenhyphen_X5n_62PceHCliY8WcDadGAPLfvSi5Dp2UVEbke4mPPFtbNFSXbv0U-a9WYkF7U1vdhuQ1ostUaOmaVThxUQxsBytlFQqZ6sc3ZGmvIkIpVsZQzv0LhY/s1600/goats+in+brier+3+girls.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5465340707706539650" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 150px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPFUElbJLelxB2z0IDef4E6hyphenhyphen_X5n_62PceHCliY8WcDadGAPLfvSi5Dp2UVEbke4mPPFtbNFSXbv0U-a9WYkF7U1vdhuQ1ostUaOmaVThxUQxsBytlFQqZ6sc3ZGmvIkIpVsZQzv0LhY/s200/goats+in+brier+3+girls.jpg" border="0" /></a>So, the lot sizes slowly shrunk week by week, till in the end we were look at house lots as small as 8000 square feet ( and that's not a bad sized lot either). It seems we just have too many interests to fit in anything less then 20 acres. But, no we did not move to a secluded town of 300 on a 100 acre farm, at least not yet anyway. Instead we moved closer to work, shopping and many other amenities and still managed a small plot in a rural feeling suburb that embraces the rural lifestyle we so love. We are surrounded by houses and yet I can hear a rooster crow from at least 3 different directions. Our city has it's own riding arena and on our lot size we are allowed to have three large livestock animals (3 cows, 3 horses, 3 goats it doesn't specify). We went the more realistic route (maybe not to everyone) and brought our three small milking goats + one baby. These are the same girls from my first blog post over a year ago, they're Mini Nubians and just the perfect size for this place. We are so excited to have our goats close and be able to milk regularly. So welcome Lucy (Nigerian Dwarf), Sunny and Cher (Mini Nubians) and baby (no name yet). <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8JSHHEnS4dwBU7Q3OQMAO1uvz4yV3vgRrEoOX_4-7HCAWjYA8uO-X9Uq2RuxawbH8SQPf2q5B_iuYO7GUPyAhn-nOe1ToHKGUTH0Szjw-waClafRX2W2vAP5kOTXXvQ14HOPH4gD7uuQ/s1600/goats+in+brier+baby+goat.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5465340549060850226" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 192px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8JSHHEnS4dwBU7Q3OQMAO1uvz4yV3vgRrEoOX_4-7HCAWjYA8uO-X9Uq2RuxawbH8SQPf2q5B_iuYO7GUPyAhn-nOe1ToHKGUTH0Szjw-waClafRX2W2vAP5kOTXXvQ14HOPH4gD7uuQ/s200/goats+in+brier+baby+goat.jpg" border="0" /></a>I love her lopsided black spot over her lips, guess she doesn't have a mirror to put her lipstick on. Wait and see, we are going to farm this place down to the last inch, I bet we can fit at least ten acres in here!</div>HI ALL,http://www.blogger.com/profile/06310160981240210206noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6861205461748311449.post-18653193895435102772010-04-26T09:43:00.000-07:002010-06-21T17:43:35.234-07:00I'm Back! and It's Done!<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8Jiep9IdgicgFXzixzw4xMbNxL2jnXMVNO6mBxeCxMkSDG2ElbjABcE4pi1WxCoipG3vxO72MtwWcWKSfzuwG6VOvabcFf9d8PRTPlqRwrwGWROd4qVJqCrR8SPz7AQ5i9shbudGKE5E/s1600/lamb+sweater+ferry.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5464907259775433506" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8Jiep9IdgicgFXzixzw4xMbNxL2jnXMVNO6mBxeCxMkSDG2ElbjABcE4pi1WxCoipG3vxO72MtwWcWKSfzuwG6VOvabcFf9d8PRTPlqRwrwGWROd4qVJqCrR8SPz7AQ5i9shbudGKE5E/s200/lamb+sweater+ferry.jpg" style="cursor: hand; float: right; height: 200px; margin: 0px 0px 10px 10px; width: 140px;" /></a><br />
<div>It's 7 months later and I am finally ready to start blogging again, some break huh. Well, I don't know if anyone will read me now but it's still fun to blog and record life. Speaking of life what a 7 months it has been! For the last year or so we have been on a hunt for our first house to buy. I will have to admit that this is not my favorite of hunts one could go on (give me treasure, Easter eggs or mushrooms any day). House hunting was just such an emotional roller coaster and metaphorically or Busch Gardens I really don't like roller coasters. After a few offers and no deals and the countless times someone telling me "the house you end up with will be the perfect one" (Oh how I <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">absolutely</span> despised this statement after a few let downs) It turns out that of course those wise folks were right. After some ups and downs to get the deal closed, we bought our first house in March and did a 6 week remodel in 3 (thank you, thank you, thank you family!) moved in and am waiting for the day life goes back to "normal". Can that really happen?<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRSamFQGMjoPspFGcRiT7NIY1oCQSDtrDRy3tkrp-sZnINO_rPC7kdDp_9JQJgHn3-N1xcjeJLzPQJKkAlIJQH1yPNKZ34Mw1lBcnsLCHfql5HDmkpiD70p6wCnVGdkfL9u2Fe66uJHAw/s1600/lamb+sweater+back2.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5464905759806481490" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRSamFQGMjoPspFGcRiT7NIY1oCQSDtrDRy3tkrp-sZnINO_rPC7kdDp_9JQJgHn3-N1xcjeJLzPQJKkAlIJQH1yPNKZ34Mw1lBcnsLCHfql5HDmkpiD70p6wCnVGdkfL9u2Fe66uJHAw/s200/lamb+sweater+back2.jpg" style="cursor: hand; float: left; height: 200px; margin: 0px 10px 10px 0px; width: 150px;" /></a> Our current decorating theme is "city of boxes", very chic. So you might think we would be unpacking and sorting out what goes where? No, no we are fencing the back of our 1/2 acre lot for our milk goats who are all in milk right now (priorities!). I keep looking at the garden space wanting to dive in and then having to remind myself that this will not be the year for bumper crops of peas, pumpkins or beans. <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifpMjjcVN59MaTKZYIheBr_tnBh5Wy3gfxo-2HrVizPcVvly4dbMjRApbyNzlYIgPrwgZXbc4rVann3liZojHDnDMF_Kr6c7Ju3L9MeDdGtoYvXo0OK87MemDP90xlJVSYqbDvVZbY0pM/s1600/lamb+sweater+front+no+face.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5464905501389146946" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifpMjjcVN59MaTKZYIheBr_tnBh5Wy3gfxo-2HrVizPcVvly4dbMjRApbyNzlYIgPrwgZXbc4rVann3liZojHDnDMF_Kr6c7Ju3L9MeDdGtoYvXo0OK87MemDP90xlJVSYqbDvVZbY0pM/s200/lamb+sweater+front+no+face.jpg" style="cursor: hand; float: right; height: 200px; margin: 0px 0px 10px 10px; width: 150px;" /></a>I did however manage to get my first sweater done in the midst of a move, vacations, an addition to the family (that would be my new niece Clara) and even an Olympic event in February (what a fun <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">experience</span>!). I started the Curly Lamb Sweater (<a href="http://www.knittingsoftware.com/pkits/curlylamb.htm">http://www.knittingsoftware.com/pkits/curlylamb.htm</a>) last August for my youngest and now have finished in time for it to still fit (good thing I made the largest size). It's not perfect and I made plenty of mistakes, but I just love the way it came out. I used Dark Horse Fantasy Yarn and in hindsight I don't know why because I really only like knitting with natural fibers, so if I did it again I would use wool. I thought these buttons were too cute. <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhCRZSk96Jn-eISaWk5mdRx5-BW5grjAGjpI6piRQqPScuMH65uFPIG2dhunE_ndOJwJeh-xJRXrwNUOl8pit8k3w6zqnz-C_sIXwCdTv1FmwwW25LSrwMG9CGvD3rWfRiSXh9ArZKTrA/s1600/lamb+sweater+front+off.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5464902960736081042" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhCRZSk96Jn-eISaWk5mdRx5-BW5grjAGjpI6piRQqPScuMH65uFPIG2dhunE_ndOJwJeh-xJRXrwNUOl8pit8k3w6zqnz-C_sIXwCdTv1FmwwW25LSrwMG9CGvD3rWfRiSXh9ArZKTrA/s200/lamb+sweater+front+off.jpg" style="cursor: hand; float: left; height: 150px; margin: 0px 10px 10px 0px; width: 200px;" /></a>I would usually go for more classic, simple buttons, but when I found these at Joann's I knew they were for this sweater (the legs dangle freely!). <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZlfuQHI9xo14_893iahX1Fib53kc5PmCjWcYbE3MLYbc6iphZwwh_IqL4mafxLLVY8OqqFIy7ABKeJ2SWHXn63zHCcUn7JjIKljepNYMJq4oftFbuvtidnB8MroUaK_vUx0C1qbZM178/s1600/lamb+sweater+buttons.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5464904338244645250" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZlfuQHI9xo14_893iahX1Fib53kc5PmCjWcYbE3MLYbc6iphZwwh_IqL4mafxLLVY8OqqFIy7ABKeJ2SWHXn63zHCcUn7JjIKljepNYMJq4oftFbuvtidnB8MroUaK_vUx0C1qbZM178/s200/lamb+sweater+buttons.jpg" style="cursor: hand; float: right; height: 200px; margin: 0px 0px 10px 10px; width: 130px;" /></a>The pattern has six buttons, but with the size of the lamb buttons I only used four.</div><br />
Now on to the next sweater for baby Clara!HI ALL,http://www.blogger.com/profile/06310160981240210206noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6861205461748311449.post-3141900480128439992009-09-19T15:05:00.000-07:002009-09-21T09:42:50.621-07:00Sauerkraut<div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:arial, serif;font-size:x-large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#006600;">4 gallon crock</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#000099;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#333300;">+</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#000099;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#006600;">2o pounds of shredded cabbage</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#000099;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#333300;">+</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#000099;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#006600;">pickling salt </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#333300;">=</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#000099;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#006600;">A whole lot of sauerkraut!</span></span></div><div><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmT_8ydDEb02_6URDdftR3-X4q8dJnJW6JaUJmrB0mKcs5P4ZHOyIh7P4QiemISgG3iIInfj65XC-xL47Fc9vvdaPo7yBBhhjo2-KTuqhaOcA5bKdi9OUEeebCcNdF8PtwcBTiMExWsr4/s320/sauerkraut6.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5383958268856806994" /></div> This was my first time making sauerkraut and after reading many recipes I decided on the old fashioned way to do it. I used the recipe out of <em><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FF0000;">Putting Food By<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#000000;">,</span></span> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal;">by Janet Greene</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FF0000;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal;">and made it in an old family crock. My Dad gave this crock to me not too long ago. I'm sure he intended as decoration or storage (it came with 35+ year old news papers of the moon landing and other major headlines). I don't think he had intended me to use it for a more practical purpose and maybe after the 5Th quart of gifted sauerkraut he'll hope he had never given it to me. I just love the idea of using it for like they did back when it was made in 1908.</span></em><div><em><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span> </span></em><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjV774PTieT9ioXnjE3LxQu0-JuP6VuE4k5ve0fqUCKKVhxuVrINfstKBTIc8oTu8VAt4PnBmksnVgou50OL7B80aHTRGTYy1zEZceuUt69gLlfX50SE8b4Y4re6IS3NjTf6rG4vazlEgQ/s320/sauerkraut5.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5383957969251268178" />I shredded cabbage from the garden using my Kitchen Aid mixer attachment to do all the shredding, it work fabulously and went really fast! I layered two pounds of shredded cabbage in the bottom of a 4 gallon crock with a 2 1/2 teaspoons of pickling salt. I then packed the cabbage down with the bottom of a jar and repeated until I reached twenty pounds of cabbage. The cabbage leaches water and creates a brine with the salt (this happens astonishingly fast).<br />I covered the cabbage with a cotton cloth, placed a plate that fit snugly in the crock and put a gallon jar full of water on top to keep the plate under the brine level.<img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXx_E_QAnqs5furzW1OMkTNxnvEvXU81WJ8i26aKsXZ7D_m-ypnIClbeyYafTADVOJpkRMpAHmCe6XOP2dFWJbxeTaqzGZh40SLH9Sxi5wWiTtFEEfgNvDl_fqqlUpA8p2ZVP4kbonAAk/s320/sauerkraut2.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5383957220043629250" /> It is important to change the cloth and clean the plate everyday, the recipe says to scrape the "scum" of the top, but so far I have not seen any, only yellows brine. <img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6prLXgNZDY5rrk1jhQnuuezjDuVIFMlOE-OETOLa1BcHFQS7h98pafGeeFkaiwJNT4-Udelc2LNFbKXKmXCfxFX1r0S2D_wNJ6l8GToY4KqFg6zySkf_zIFcgZs0EoP_-USK5YfCj2IM/s320/sauerkraut4.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5383956591493096146" /><br /><div><br /></div><div>Twice I have had to make a week solution o brine to </div><div>add to the crock to keep the liquid above the cabbage, 11/2 teaspoons of pickling salt to 1 cup water.</div><div><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>A few of the recipes I have read disagree on the time to let it ferment, 10 days to 4 weeks is what I am going with. </div><div><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span></div><div><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"></span><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>The fermentation period also depends on the temperature at which you keep the sauerkraut. The lower the temp the longer the process, the most important thing is to keep the temp as constant as possible and never above 72 degrees (it will spoil).<img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 258px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiT7OCzRJr4aXAaUmiSsh8zFyNV_A3A3rXnDMDnKjSMachNfVkMm7GwxwklEcmxqC5rER0yn0oKBKIZpz8GCzBqiCCvbqGCMeRT976QlVTHrbU3cwtW5Vco5rcDvgGM4S2f_lhQ0XTSknc/s320/sauerkraut1.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5383957664417673234" /><div><div><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>I am going to can mine once it is ferment because I could never use 20 pounds of sauerkraut fast enough (I can't even imagine trying) and it would be nice to give some away (isn't it just what everyone wanted). You could keep it in the crock and use what you need as long as you keep the brine level about the cabbage. I'll let you know how the canning goes.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div></div></div></div>HI ALL,http://www.blogger.com/profile/06310160981240210206noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6861205461748311449.post-42971903569264538082009-09-18T11:16:00.000-07:002009-09-18T11:39:15.030-07:00A Showman is Born!<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQVlygPuqQD3ool-As4FTWm3ex9nBDY2xX8T5Bqhb4IrVn1OZCueXqmz1heSVT97NDed-wgcRu-Ozpau5-emuZXUhrSjcWwJ11PKvPsPXKbwsCkgcQLai2PTi9yu9ZXE9XCejGdJRQfv0/s1600-h/Isaac@lads&lady1.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 292px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQVlygPuqQD3ool-As4FTWm3ex9nBDY2xX8T5Bqhb4IrVn1OZCueXqmz1heSVT97NDed-wgcRu-Ozpau5-emuZXUhrSjcWwJ11PKvPsPXKbwsCkgcQLai2PTi9yu9ZXE9XCejGdJRQfv0/s320/Isaac@lads&lady1.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5382877616556642242" /></a><div style="text-align: center;">We have been done with fair for a few weeks now, but I just haven't gotten around to sharing a few really sweet photos. I am the 4-h co-superintendent of the sheep barn @ the Kitsap County Fair and Stampede, along with my mother who is the other co-superintendent. It is a busy job that requires us to live at the fair all week. I love it! I have always loved the fair and have only missed one since I was 10 years old when I started showing my sheep in 4-H. I even made it the two years I was really pregnant with each of my sons, who were born in Aug and Sept (the fair is the last week of Aug), the youngest was born the Sunday of fair.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#0000EE;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=""><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); ">Anyway, this year was a whole different kind of experience with</span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#0000EE;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=""><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); "> two little ones with me all week. Thanks to my mother, I could not have done it without her. </span></span></span></div><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 306px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8WpxqsxPekEfUNHnDcpo8vYohjcraZxEUEBOP0rAsATjT2MFhI0x79Ji4pHJ8LzBoQq-O3mUyBne2d9Nkdec8FJvcs1C-OlhDsgKKcnM42pTYT661PyUZ15NYrytpgCDZXDLfS5Epya4/s320/isaac@lads&lady2.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5382876983982978322" />My oldest got to show his first sheep in a show called Lads and Ladies Lead. It is not a costume show, but instead it is to display wool as a functional material to wear and to promote the wool industry. We had a great turn out in contestants this year, it is open to all ages and garments. Whether the outfit is knit or sewn, second hand or commercially bought, there is a category for all. I didn't have any of my own sheep at the fair, so my son borrowed the cutest Shetland ewe, she was the perfect size. I was amazed at how well he walked her around the arena, he is used to sheep, but not leading them around on a lead. He won his category and Grandma won for her hand sewn, green vest of Pendelton wool he wore. It sure was a lot of fun! We also had fun with some silly photos of daddy and the boys with Uncle Burt ( a dummy we take to fair every year). <img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 296px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8ViEmpQRsv1uuHOOjk2kXkMemdx6XObbv5CKBlWonztVpDPAABGGcfLZqlfnc7RUA8UbS1ebnay8bYv04RBcuislhGLUAAKq_gFhlLK8C7souV77GwG5PxZ10mXi2lYsoOPDAV-lWsDM/s320/boys@fair1.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5382877324006607154" />He is a really popular guy, everyone loves to get their picture with him (and of course he is stuffed with wool and has a great hair piece made from wool).HI ALL,http://www.blogger.com/profile/06310160981240210206noreply@blogger.com0