Things are going fairly well here. We’re finally thawing out from the blizzard on Christmas Eve, and temperatures are staying above freezing again, so I can get some work done.
I’ve been making bread more often. I found that if you use the Five Minute Bread recipe but divide it and put it in regular bread [...]
It’s been hot and humid here, with no rain for a couple of weeks. We could use some rain.
Planted: corn, more tomato plants, shallots.
Harvested: chard, onions, peas, blackberries, a strawberry here and there.
Froze the peas, also still drying weeds for the bunnies. Have a couple large bags full now.
Today I’m making broth out of chicken [...]
Seems that summer is here — temperatures in the 90+ range, sunny, and humid.
Planted four more tomato plants, harvested a lot of onions and scallions, some peas, and a couple cups of blackberries (which disappeared like magic! ). And of course lots of weeds for the rabbits.
Made a braid of six of the [...]
Been fun the last couple of weeks, getting ready for my daughter’s graduation, my boys starting the high school band (they integrate the junior high kids into the high school band right about now), and of course doing all my usual.
Here’s the recap:
Planted two tomato plants, and put up a post and twine trellis for [...]
Sharon Astyk’s post reminded me about Independence Days, which I had thought about in the “oh yeah I need to be doing this” but not in the sense of “oh yeah I need to do this NOW”. Thanks for the nudge!
So we’re back on. She has altered the rules a bit … every day you [...]
I like the idea of not wasting stuff.
People talk about how much restaurants and supermarkets throw away. I stood in Brahm’s yesterday and watched the people behind the counter throw away three orders of fries and an order of chicken strips that fell on the floor, then a whole waffle ice cream cone – just [...]
I’ve been gone a while, haven’t I? Didya miss me?
This week I went to a wedding, went back to playing World of Warcraft (my whole family got copies of The Lich King), and have been having fun on chess.com
And it’s supposed to snow today! Yippee!
But Sharon posted her Independence Days update the other [...]
A friend on the SharonFoodStorage yahoo list (who wishes to remain anonymous) posted this:
I was surprised … no, shocked…when I heard Ms. Anon E. Mouse squeaking at me yesterday afternoon. Ms. Mouse and I have frequent chats, but always before they have been in the dead of night, when EvilKitty is safely shut into the [...]
Dinner was fried local ham, local apples and local butternut squash (I cheated and cooked them in the microwave), and homemade cornbread (with cornmeal from Kansas, so that’s regional). Simply delicious.
Planted: more garlic. I just got in a dwarf Orinoco Banana plant, which is supposed to be hardy to zone 7. So I potted it [...]
Because that’s what I’m usually involved with.
I have tooooo many links over there on the right side; I have more there than I have writing in the middle. So I’ll be making a page for all my linkies, in case you wonder where they’ve gone to.
Also, I’m on twitter (redstategreen). Yeah. Might not be too [...]
Just thinking about how things have been going in the news lately, I’m beginning to think that these Independence Days are more important that ever. Anything that makes us more self-reliant, less tied into the global economy and more tied into our local communities, makes us more able to take care of our own and [...]
It’s a beautiful day here today, and cool enough to get some actual work done. I’ve started my fall cleaning (which I do instead of spring cleaning since I like fall better).
Planted: garlic
Harvested: a particularly large sunflower head, some green beans.
Managed: composted some bunny litter and shucked a couple of sunflower heads that had been [...]
You don’t always have to go to the store to get something for dinner.
In fact, I very rarely set foot inside a grocery store anymore. I did yesterday, since my husband was home and wanted to drive his car around he’s going to sell (he got a new, better mileage one. Anyone want a Honda [...]
I realized that I haven’t posted my doings for a while. Here goes:
Planted: Parsley. I also have these carrot plants that sent up lovely white flowers, which are now brown and curled up into a cup-like structure at the top of their stalks. I know that’s where they keep the seeds, so today I rubbed [...]
AKA using what God gave you.
We throw away wayyyy too much stuff here in America, and the time will come when that isn’t an option anymore, whether through financial tightening, lack of supply, or lack of landfill space. Part of being self-reliant/independent is managing the things you have so you aren’t being wasteful.
I [...]
I love dehydrating food.
I had never done anything like this before, but it sounded like a good thing, so I got an Excalibur food dehydrator (which I absolutely adore).
I haven’t had much from the garden this year, so I’ve gotten tomatoes, apples, and peaches from the local food co-op to learn all these things (canning, [...]
(If you don’t care for rants you can skip this one )
I’m seeing an interesting trend on some of these groups I belong to: people who start on something (like canning or gardening) then at the first sign of anything that might not be picture-perfect, ask if they should “throw it away”. One [...]
I wish I were talking about a picture of a guy or something.
A lot of my plants outside are wilting, and my stevia out front died. 100F and humid! Yecch.
I brought Leon outside this morning, and it wasn’t too bad. I went out just now and the heat was awful.
So other than composting some bunny [...]
Well, we’ve had fun this weekend so far. We watched a good part of the Twilight Zone marathon on the Sci-fi channel, and had a barbecue on the Fourth (with local meats, regional hamburger buns, and I made the hot dog buns from local flour).
And now Sunday has appeared as if by magic!
Harvested: a bit [...]
… other than pontificate about weeds.
Planted: Lakota blue squash, the strawberry plants, and all the rest of the sweet potato slips!
Sweet potatoes are wonderful things. If they grow in your area, grow them. They are so easy to propagate; just cut off a piece of the vine and stick it in water, where it will [...]
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