tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-73758623605887229552012-02-16T03:41:30.697-08:00CMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01958687890076873005noreply@blogger.comBlogger911100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7375862360588722955.post-74976008962827842472012-02-11T10:37:00.000-08:002012-02-11T10:39:22.627-08:00

Please pardon the cross post.... I received this event poster in my email the other day. All the info about the Seedy Saturday event in Creston for 2012. As usual it is at the New Life Christian Church just east of the high school on Elm in their basement. There will be seeds to trade, pick up and to purchase. Local farmers are encouraged to bring in their products as well. There is no charge to

CMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01958687890076873005noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7375862360588722955.post-88949120181662065112012-01-21T20:48:00.000-08:002012-01-21T21:17:34.028-08:00

It was busy, it was crazy, it was life.I did post over at the seed blog today, check it out.I have plans, seed catalogues, and gardening books, I am a dangerous woman.Now that we know for sure that we won't be moving this spring out to a farm I can focus on the improvements we'd like to see here in town. Asparagus, for instance. Dh put in new counter tops in the kitchen, he's working on the

CMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01958687890076873005noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7375862360588722955.post-66195300078744553572011-06-16T14:07:00.000-07:002011-06-16T14:07:00.213-07:00

I hate mowing around our stop sign, it is always a messy tuft of long grass. Youngest ds took care of it for me, both beautifying it and making it easy to mow around.First he cut out the sod around the sign in a circle and mixed in some potting soil and compost.Then we walked to the greenhouse and picked up some full sun flowers that he proceeded to plant. Well done son! We'll have to check back

CMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01958687890076873005noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7375862360588722955.post-66744801034499564792011-06-12T13:46:00.000-07:002011-06-12T13:46:00.151-07:00

Once in a while, maybe once a year, I find mushrooms in the discount bin at the grocery store. LOVE.This year's haul:Firstly ds and I filled the dehydrator with them, all six large trays of our Berron's.Then all of the rest were pickled as per this recipe. Delicious, I could live on these!This was the final result; nearly 2 full 2 quart jars of dried mushrooms and 11 one quart jars of pickled

CMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01958687890076873005noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7375862360588722955.post-35588816779920212812011-06-08T12:35:00.001-07:002011-06-08T13:36:27.547-07:00

The biggest change around here has been in the garden. Once upon a time we had a tiny front garden and planted a row of raspberry canes on the west side. Then they expanded down the north side some. And we expanded the garden itself to the north, and then to the west. Which left us with, basically, raspberries in the middle of the garden shading way too much and interfering with other plantings,

CMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01958687890076873005noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7375862360588722955.post-12486196095315763982011-05-29T14:17:00.000-07:002011-06-08T15:12:16.134-07:00

As usual we ordered a tonne of seed, the above photo is only one of our seed orders. [This one from Heritage Harvest Seed in Manitoba] Many of these needed to be grown out for seedlings. With a last frost date of mid May we can get a jump on the season as well as getting long season plants such as tomatoes ready by planting them early. [You must be asking 'whattheheck??' Why would a seed grower

CMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01958687890076873005noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7375862360588722955.post-37441279277949897382011-04-15T11:32:00.000-07:002011-06-08T11:51:27.852-07:00

When we renovated the bathroom we kept the drawers from the vanity, there had to be SOMETHING that they could be used for! Three of them are in our garden stacked up holding the sprinkler up high. Here is another use. Looking through the shed, basement and greenhouse for a planter for the lettuce seeds I started last month lead me to these. Hmmmmmm this could work. Take one old drawer, clean it

CMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01958687890076873005noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7375862360588722955.post-32347353572761360672011-03-31T12:54:00.000-07:002011-03-31T12:59:55.659-07:00

Our local town council does not currently allow for chickens or for bees. We would like to see that change. So if you are from Creston BC and would like to join us in this endeavor let us know!You can leave a comment, and/or join the Facebook group, 'Creston Urban Chickens & Bees' and let's get Creston flowing with eggs and honey ;-)

CMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01958687890076873005noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7375862360588722955.post-60657735793443991182011-03-10T22:54:00.000-08:002011-03-10T23:08:33.166-08:00

Yes, it is time for a new project! According to Joanne Gailius we can grow sweet potatoes here so I'm going to give it a try.Step one was putting the sweet potatoes into water so they can begin to grow slips. It is very important that you purchase organic so they haven't been sprayed to prevent sprouting. Time will tell if this will succeed. As I am food intolerant of regular potatoes I am really

CMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01958687890076873005noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7375862360588722955.post-57503148748813661712010-09-01T20:34:00.000-07:002010-09-01T20:52:36.824-07:00

Today was a nice puttery type of day. Started off by hanging 3 loads of laundry just in time for Biblical flooding. It will dry faster on the line than scrunched up in the basket but still!Next we canned up another ten 2-quart jars of dill pickles, nearly to our goal of 50 jars!Youngest child and I made an addition to the compost bin by adding another bay. Compost bins can be made for free using

CMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01958687890076873005noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7375862360588722955.post-42537761442754100902010-08-30T14:10:00.001-07:002010-08-31T11:54:45.571-07:00

Or how the Trowel and Son went foraging and found lots of cool berries.....Sunday ds was home sick and after a morning hacking out a lung he was feeling chipper enough to take advantage of a brief spell of sun. We grabbed up an ice cream pail, wicker basket and a set of clippers and set off down the railroad tracks to see what we could find. (Should have also taken garden gloves, but I get ahead

CMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01958687890076873005noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7375862360588722955.post-69173820740241782112010-08-28T16:59:00.000-07:002010-08-30T15:09:26.532-07:00

The bean plants were dieing. Must be some dreaded plague infesting my garden which would spread to all 28 varieties, wiping them out and ruining my business. Not to mention all my friends would shun me and never share bean seed with me again. Life was over.Turns out the beans in question were simply done. As in finished growing. Like, bean seeds were mature and dry so pick us already would ya! I

CMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01958687890076873005noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7375862360588722955.post-82711128553555901182010-08-16T14:41:00.000-07:002010-08-27T11:31:01.978-07:00

My mom can grow cabbage, man, can she ever. Me, not so much. Which is weird. I mean how hard can it be? You put in the transplants, water when dry, and they should grow, right? Anyways, mom is only one person and she has this habit of growing way too much cabbage for herself so we get blessed with it regularly, which is great, as I can't seem to get the stuff to grow at all.I thought it time,

CMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01958687890076873005noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7375862360588722955.post-28152381600849966462010-08-14T11:36:00.000-07:002010-08-16T08:31:51.164-07:00

sourdough starter and jelly juice in front of our flour millAm I a Radical Homemaker? I'm really not too sure. Dh and I were farmers, I was a farmer's wife. This is just what we did. Moving into town didn't change who we were.I have been reading Shannon Hayes' book Radical Homemakers and while I'm thinking that the historical part was

CMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01958687890076873005noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7375862360588722955.post-10338516550381982852010-08-12T09:50:00.000-07:002010-08-12T09:50:00.081-07:00

[With apologies for the lousy pictures, must get my camera fixed!]One of the most popular posts here at The Urban Trowel is the bucket pickle recipe. It is for a sweet pickle though and I'm thinking that people may actually be looking for a quick and easy dill pickle in a bucket. Nothing ventured nothing gained!I do know that Margaret's dill pickle recipe was originally not processed but stored

CMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01958687890076873005noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7375862360588722955.post-82882225008625565602010-08-08T14:34:00.000-07:002010-08-08T14:34:00.256-07:00

Our town has a wonderful program called Harvest Share. Basically anyone who has any type of fruit or vegetable that they don't want or can't pick can call in and have volunteers come and pick for them. One third of the produce goes to the owner, one third to the volunteer picker, and one third to the food bank, the seniors' program, or some other feeding the needy agency.Last week we got the call

CMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01958687890076873005noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7375862360588722955.post-91431381855447073692010-07-22T08:39:00.000-07:002010-07-22T08:57:22.803-07:00

Made every one's commute to work a little more surreal this morning. We live on a main road in town that a lot of people take to work each day. Combine that with deciding to scythe the chicory in the lawn as well as edging the weeds around the front yard garden. Not a sight you see on way to work very often, someone scything their lawn! One of the walkers thought scything was how we kept our lawn

CMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01958687890076873005noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7375862360588722955.post-81114242352367723822010-07-19T22:33:00.000-07:002010-08-08T10:33:07.810-07:00

That is the way to remember when to search out these gems. Last year it was too dry for a good picking of saskatoons, this year with all of the rain they are huge, like blueberries. DS and I stopped along the side of a rural road and picked an ice-cream pailful today, we plan to pick more tomorrow. I'm trading driving lessons with him for his help picking. Dual purpose for our gas usage!After a

CMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01958687890076873005noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7375862360588722955.post-71828002827002834252010-06-26T18:59:00.000-07:002010-06-27T19:05:24.633-07:00

FINALLY! And it was delicious. Don't tell the children they are ripening ;-)As we replanted the bed this spring I'll be purchasing strawberries, yet again, for our jams. [I NEVER buy strawberries from the supermarket, only local growers.] Hopefully our new patch will eventually meet production requirements. If not we'll just have to plant another!

CMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01958687890076873005noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7375862360588722955.post-84681623581765159132010-06-25T12:57:00.000-07:002010-06-25T13:45:08.984-07:00

Our oldest dd picked for Sutcliffe Farms this year. She was able to bring home some yummy asparagus!!! The favourite way of preparing them here is by stir-frying them in butter with plenty of minced fresh garlic. Double yum. On the last day of picking she brought home about 30 lbs of asparagus. Time to do something more with them, even our horde of veggie lovers couldn't eat through that much

CMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01958687890076873005noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7375862360588722955.post-307376524319031722010-05-24T13:41:00.000-07:002012-01-23T14:34:33.690-08:00

Dabbling in the garden, still afraid of a frost so I'm taking it slowly. Today I set out the seedlings for 4 different lettuces, 9 plants of each. I started these seeds in our greenhouse ~ yeah us ~ more from seed, less from commercial greenhouses. These are the start of the hopefully 10 lettuces I'm growing out for seed. So far we have:.:blushing butter oakleaf:..:tom thumb mini-butterhead:..:

CMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01958687890076873005noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7375862360588722955.post-45998358847864302012010-05-21T21:48:00.000-07:002010-05-22T00:37:47.441-07:00

I just plain got too busy to post (and at times lazy, and other times too sick, can we say WOW wasn't that flu a DOOZY!). Canning, canning, canning, and drying and freezing, not to mention homeschooling and finishing my Community Library Training Program courses. I'm glad I found the photo daughter#2 took of the canning room, she wanted a visual to explain to her new big city school friends how

CMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01958687890076873005noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7375862360588722955.post-37830307034359350732009-06-18T22:35:00.000-07:002009-06-18T22:36:48.754-07:00

The problem with the modern world is simple. Hothouse Tomatoes. "Geronda, why don't we have patience today?""The current situation does not help people to become patient. In the past, life was peaceful and people were peaceful and had the endurance of the patient. Today haste has invaded the world and people have become impatient. In the old days people knew they could eat tomatoes by the end of

CMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01958687890076873005noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7375862360588722955.post-15545126870246264382009-06-15T20:56:00.000-07:002009-06-15T20:56:00.170-07:00

I am just too thrilled! I've been drooling over Excalibur Food Dehydrators for weeks, months even. They are wonderful, but PRICEY. I read literature on picking out a food dehydrator, looked at various models.... Then one day as I was searching out more information about a Canadian made dehydrator by Berron I came across an online ad for one for sale in a city my in-laws have to drive through to

CMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01958687890076873005noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7375862360588722955.post-17282556859294845482009-06-13T20:07:00.000-07:002009-06-13T20:07:00.473-07:00

Back in the day when we were farming and making a whopping $2-3,000 a year making do was very important. One way I stretched our dollars was by darning dh's socks. Now good work socks, wool socks, can easily cost 3-8-12 dollars a pair depending on the thickness and quality. Dh kept wearing them out in the same place on every pair and I found after they were darned that they lasted FOREVER because

CMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01958687890076873005noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7375862360588722955.post-33612634984231355642009-06-11T21:05:00.000-07:002009-06-11T23:09:30.248-07:00

Lately I've come across recipes for radish greens, really. Are they truly edible???Dh grows a lot of radishes, 300+ every week in his market garden usually, not this year though as germination has been horrid. If these things are edible we want to know!Fresh from the garden they are .... unappetizing:After washing and trimming .... Well the basket of them left out had children nibbling from it

CMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01958687890076873005noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7375862360588722955.post-49426596522246583772009-06-09T22:02:00.000-07:002009-06-09T23:03:08.846-07:00

Plant Something: Italian bush BeansOnion transplantsDill Harvest Something:ChivesPreserve Something:Nothing this week...Preparation and Storage:Started sorting through last year's lentils to pull out wild oats and dirt clods, maybe if they were clean I'd use them more. Reduced Waste:Used more baler twine in garden.Took grass clippings from friend's mowing service and mulched the whole garden, it

CMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01958687890076873005noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7375862360588722955.post-67097922427969022402009-06-03T08:40:00.000-07:002009-06-03T08:40:00.715-07:00

For the last two years mint's been growing in the garden and it hasn't spread ... It was contained by growing it in a chimney flue liner sunk into the ground. Keeping this in mind I planned our new herb bed, a way to limit the spread of the herbs. I wanted it to be in the middle of the garden, kind of a focal point, once the raspberry canes are moved to the edge of the garden in a couple

CMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01958687890076873005noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7375862360588722955.post-40175348387385135462009-06-01T14:39:00.000-07:002009-06-01T15:32:12.260-07:00

Whew! What a busy two weeks we've had. Plant Something: 42 tomato plants (12 different varieties)carrots under burlap:16 cabbages under floating row cover (It will go over the hoops):60 green bell peppers1 green zucchini1 yellow zucchini1 row leaf lettuce1 row of English cucumbers'Beurre De Roquencourt' bush beansSet up and planted our herb bedHarvest Something:RhubarbMintTrimmed the onion

CMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01958687890076873005noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7375862360588722955.post-667765427601929052009-05-21T11:29:00.000-07:002009-05-21T12:07:15.107-07:00

How come when you have time to post there is nothing to post about and when you finally have something to say, there is no time!?!Better late than never :o)Plant something: Still busy getting the garden ready to plant, just got the last section weeded out. For some bizarre reason my nicely weeded front garden was a mass of weeds this spring. So bad that I didn't want dh to rotovate it and risk

CMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01958687890076873005noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7375862360588722955.post-11555732881247521152009-05-11T11:42:00.000-07:002009-05-11T14:01:29.658-07:00

Plant something: The tomato seedlings are starting to recover now that they have been transplanted into other soil, they might make it yet! The cucumbers are doing well too, the peppers though are really really slow in growing. I'm thinking they need it much warmer! We did get the peas planted finally, still no sign of them coming up though. It is still quite cold and wet, unusually so, thus I'm

CMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01958687890076873005noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7375862360588722955.post-84046174191493723952009-04-16T08:26:00.000-07:002009-04-16T08:51:38.045-07:00

I got to dig in the garden yesterday - finally. There is a real need to get the peas in, it's late. I was thinking of how to edge the garden on the side of the pea bed and tried a couple methods before I said 'screw it' and went back to plain dirt.So the first bed has been weeded, dug, and hilled. The rest of the garden hasn't been touched, there are a lot of weeds and grass that need to be

CMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01958687890076873005noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7375862360588722955.post-12727158840299376712009-04-13T21:48:00.000-07:002009-04-13T21:48:01.115-07:00

Last year I found I wasted valuable space on veggies we don't eat that often and didn't plant enough of others that we do. With hubby's big market garden supplying some of our needs I still have to maximize the space I have to grow what he doesn't. For example, he grows all of my cucumbers, and since we do 100 quarts of dills plus sweet pickles and relish that is quite a load! He doesn't plant

CMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01958687890076873005noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7375862360588722955.post-46748975720275725922009-04-11T12:41:00.000-07:002009-04-11T13:24:26.886-07:00

Last night I saw my mother's tomato plants, planted after mine and just tossed on a table by a window. She has leaves people, leaves! My babied plants have only cotyledons! That's it. The. Gloves. Are. Off.Today I bought a new bag of potting soil and potted out cabbage, green peppers, English cucumbers, and more tomatoes. Nothing fancy just used pots of dirt on old take out boxes cut into trays

CMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01958687890076873005noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7375862360588722955.post-24986567003316914702009-04-10T21:48:00.000-07:002009-04-11T01:15:43.172-07:00

After weeks of rain and months of overcast skies it finally cleared off and got warm, YUM!I was too buy to take advantage of it until today. The baby lettuce and swiss chard that were doing so poorly downstairs went out into the greenhouse:The oldest ds wanted to have a bunch of friends over for a LAN party so he did some landscaping to butter me up. The nasty patch under the dining room window

CMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01958687890076873005noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7375862360588722955.post-84236549256654127112009-04-01T19:50:00.000-07:002009-04-01T20:27:37.555-07:00

For days now I've been telling dh that my seedlings downstairs aren't doing well, not well at all. And he's been brushing me off laughing at me saying I'm just impatient just wait they'll grow give them time. HA. I did some checking, they were planted on the 20th of February, it's now the 1st of April,and the seed packets say they should be harvested in 65 days or so. I'm looking at these tiny,

CMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01958687890076873005noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7375862360588722955.post-91810378399604143792009-03-27T15:10:00.000-07:002009-03-27T15:23:10.985-07:00

It was lovely warm in the greenhouse again today. I just had to plant something even though we haven't solved the air leakage problems yet. I put in two rows each of spinach, romaine lettuce, Swiss chard, and beets. Then I put radishes in between the rows as they will mature and be pulled before they are crowding the others. These are short rows the depth of the planting bed so only about 4 or 5

CMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01958687890076873005noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7375862360588722955.post-42260889561572217122009-03-26T14:53:00.000-07:002009-03-27T15:10:04.867-07:00

My family loves alfalfa sprouts! They are even better when you grow your own instead of buying them at the store. So yesterday I went looking for seeds. None at either of the grocery stores, finally got some at the health food store. They. Have. Got. To. Be. Kidding! about the price. OMG! It was $12.38 for 1 cup of alfalfa seed, that just can't be right. My first reaction was to look online to

CMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01958687890076873005noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7375862360588722955.post-40136320220612757632009-03-24T20:48:00.001-07:002009-03-24T21:33:04.468-07:00

Our family LOVES pickled mushrooms. Really loves them. I remember one year our then 4yo dd asking for pickled mushrooms for Christmas and doing a gleeful dance around the living room when she got her very own jar in her stocking. You used to be able to buy them at the store but not any more. I found this recipe in a traditional Ukrainian cookbook and made it every year for one of our 12 dishes

CMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01958687890076873005noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7375862360588722955.post-10328216883678570922009-03-21T19:43:00.000-07:002009-03-21T20:10:40.134-07:00

It finally warmed up in the greenhouse enough to defrost the ground!!! I wanted to dig in the cement block a couple inches to form the edges of the raised beds. As I was digging I noticed two things. One - the blocks we set the greenhouse on were in the way of digging the edges right against the windows, we'd have to set the bed in a couple inches. Two - and this was the deal breaker, there were

CMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01958687890076873005noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7375862360588722955.post-64771963737432582402009-03-19T19:34:00.000-07:002009-03-21T19:42:52.851-07:00

The tomatoes kept drying out on the table downstairs so I brought them up, covered them with a plastic bag fastened down with duct tape, and put them on top of the refrigerator. I've heard that it is warmer up there and it's a good place to start seedlings but we have an all-fridge, no freezer, and it isn't warm up there. Maybe it will work maybe not.

CMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01958687890076873005noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7375862360588722955.post-12761781298967733692009-03-18T14:25:00.000-07:002010-08-08T08:52:52.319-07:00

Have you ever had to slice a whole cabbage or maybe more? Doing it with a knife usually doesn't produce the results you want, shredding takes impossibly long, and they are both tiring, very tiring. Thinking back to Grandma-on-the-farm and all she did for making sauerkraut and for borscht lead me to the cabbage mandolin. A handy device made specially for those days when you have lots of cabbage to

CMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01958687890076873005noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7375862360588722955.post-70100826494811446452009-03-17T19:35:00.000-07:002009-03-17T20:20:45.536-07:00

The Urban Trowel got to go on a field trip. Now usually I'd just think of it as a drive out to a friend's but ... when you are buying organic Red Fife Wheat from them AND ... your friend is Joanne Gailius, yes, THAT Joanne Gailius, it becomes a blog worthy field trip.I had mentioned to Joanne at a physio appointment that we were almost out of wheat from our grain CSA share, she thought there

CMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01958687890076873005noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7375862360588722955.post-82610109311621513502009-03-15T15:02:00.000-07:002009-03-15T15:37:16.776-07:00

I couldn't resist. It is a little early for seeding tomatoes, should be around the 24th but I am planting some in the green house and others in plastic covered towers so I did want an early start. That's my excuse and I'm sticking to it.Out to the greenhouse I went to get another plug tray to fill.These tomatoes will need careful tagging so as not to get the varieties mixed up. think ... think ..

CMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01958687890076873005noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7375862360588722955.post-28384893461922573722009-03-14T19:36:00.000-07:002009-03-14T20:04:34.212-07:00

Today was Seedy Saturday! Our first I believe. There were two presenters Brenda Lukasiewich on the basics of seed saving and Dan McMurray of Grunt and Grungy's Garden on tomato seed saving. He and his wife maintain 700 varieties of tomatoes on their small acreage. Their blog links to albums showing how they germinate, grow, save and store their seeds.Afterwards you could peruse the offerings at

CMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01958687890076873005noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7375862360588722955.post-92116082082138434332009-03-08T21:26:00.000-07:002009-03-08T22:50:14.779-07:00

The little seeds I planted are now little seedlings of swiss chard, spinach, and lettuce. I was thinking of saving the seeds from these for the seed-to-seed challenge but that depends on a few factors. 1- can I grow them without killing them 2- will they live long enough to go to seed 3- are they open pollinated varieties 4- how hard are they to isolate and save the seeds from...So let's do a

CMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01958687890076873005noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7375862360588722955.post-24400238519800631542009-02-20T16:08:00.000-08:002009-02-20T16:18:57.723-08:00

I hauled myself down to the mall today. Well actually I coasted most of the way down and the hauling came later on the trip back up the hills home. *GASP*I don't think I've been down there since August. The trips about the town core aren't as hilly so I was quite breathless on the way up.So TA DA!Of course I've got NOTHING on Erich and Katherine but any day on the bike is a good day! (Have you

CMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01958687890076873005noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7375862360588722955.post-466595104652009292009-02-20T15:47:00.000-08:002009-03-08T22:56:49.764-07:00

I popped into our little greenhouse Wednesday for some odd reason and was pleasantly surprised to discover it was quite warm in there. About 17 degrees! Thursday it was overcast and I was working so I couldn't go play. Today I did!I've raked back the gravel and pulled back the landscape fabric in preparation for the new raised beds. Last year's buckets relied too much on regular watering which I

CMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01958687890076873005noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7375862360588722955.post-48405504597309415402009-02-18T13:01:00.000-08:002009-02-18T13:13:52.521-08:00

Today I popped the frozen dough out of the freezer and tried it two ways. #1 loaf sat on the counter defrosting and #2 loaf in the oven with the light on. I had visions of them defrosting and rising to 'loaf size' before baking.After two hours I was bored and set them both in the oven and turned it on for the usual 46 minutes at 350 degrees F. I was expecting them to need extra time to bake as

CMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01958687890076873005noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7375862360588722955.post-80572644407014984022009-02-17T13:15:00.000-08:002009-02-18T13:58:20.544-08:00

Yesterday I brought home a grain mill. I'm quite apprehensive as it plugs in and I'm, how shall I say it, a bit of a Luddite, and things that plug in, well, they just don't like me. For example, I make meringue with a rotary beater, whipped cream too. Anyhow.... I brought it home and looked at it, yup, there it is...Won't touch it till I've read the literature that came with it... That was

CMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01958687890076873005noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7375862360588722955.post-47202586997375509222009-02-16T17:48:00.000-08:002009-02-16T17:55:04.891-08:00

LOCAL FARMER COMES OUT OF THE CLOSETIt's official. Local farmer Randy Meyer is going to grow chickens for sale locally. He will be building a 'docking station' for the mobile poultry processor. Anyone can bring their own birds for processing there as well.Way to go! I've signed up for 6 beak per harvest to start. *big grin*In other news.....I've been offered a used grain mill through

CMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01958687890076873005noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7375862360588722955.post-48116377811297823432009-02-09T19:08:00.000-08:002009-02-09T19:59:41.368-08:00

I've been noticing in blogland lately many many new bakers of fresh homemade bread. There is one thing I don't understand though ... Why are they making artisan, takes forever bread right from the start?I can understand artsy types who've been making bread for ages branching out to occasionally making these workhorses ... but newbies???!!! Talk about burnout potential! There is no need to take 3

CMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01958687890076873005noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7375862360588722955.post-66921113244571203142009-02-02T08:31:00.000-08:002009-02-02T08:47:59.518-08:00

Faster than a speeding bullet . . . CSA oatmeal! Well definitely faster than store bought rolled-oats oatmeal. It was quite the surprise.4 cups water1 and 1/2 cups oats, not yet rolledyour choice of brown sugar, dried fruit, nuts, etc.Put the water on to boil and go get the oats and oat roller. Hook the roller to the table, roll them oats. Put them in the just boiling water,reduce heat, maybe to

CMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01958687890076873005noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7375862360588722955.post-71584592511240105862009-01-12T13:18:00.000-08:002009-01-12T13:55:57.681-08:00

This started out as a plan for a roast chicken dinner, one of Hubby's favourite meals, and heck, the children are up for any meal that is an excuse for mashed potatoes and gravy.I went to the store to get a roasting chicken....who. do. they. think. they. are. kidding???I think we got bigger birds from the hatchery! They certainly didn't match up with what we grew back on the farm, nor did they

CMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01958687890076873005noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7375862360588722955.post-6125387819324770402008-12-17T09:16:00.001-08:002008-12-17T09:41:44.232-08:00

Our family is getting into saving our own seeds. We've had great success with tomatoes and are starting to branch out. Why is this important?There was a fair bit written this spring and summer on the seed shortage, many companies saw a dramatic increase in sales to the point of running out. Many comments were made that as more people see the wisdom of growing your own this problem will likely

CMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01958687890076873005noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7375862360588722955.post-12362647795102380482008-12-15T09:06:00.000-08:002008-12-17T09:43:44.678-08:00

Friday I biked to work, biked home at noon. Nothing too amazing for this warm December but by the time dh got off work at 5 it was a different story. He came in covered with snow with the temperature dropping. Wind and snow and very low temperatures have turned our streets into sheets of ice.None of us has been on a bike since. It has been very cold, I think it got up to -10 yesterday. Dh, who

CMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01958687890076873005noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7375862360588722955.post-74995188492121420412008-12-05T13:47:00.000-08:002008-12-05T13:58:42.394-08:00

I'm a people popsicle.After riding about town today I can't imagine how dh feels after biking to work before the sun is up! Yesterday it was -10 when he headed out. Our family bikes. Dh, myself, our oldest dd all ride bikes to do our everyday things. The rest of the family pretty much walks. If, and it's a big IF, we head somewhere as a big group we then take the van, 120km for example, makes

CMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01958687890076873005noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7375862360588722955.post-65818826283188094562008-11-26T08:21:00.000-08:002008-11-26T08:21:00.691-08:00

My Grandma NEVER used measuring cups, didn't even own any, and wouldn't write down her recipes or share them. Luckily I have a sneaky aunt who watched very carefully and managed to translate what she saw into a workable recipe. Made up a batch of this last night for lunch today. It has the teenage son's approval, he ate it for breakfast after putting a quart in his lunch. Dh likes borscht from

CMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01958687890076873005noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7375862360588722955.post-43027519252855242012008-11-24T15:18:00.000-08:002008-11-24T15:18:03.419-08:00

The library has a new biking magazine and it's NOT anything like the usual spandex-sporting commercial consumer-fest mags you usually see.Momentum is 'The Magazine for Self Propelled People' , 'reflecting the lives of people who ride bikes and providing urban cyclist with the inspiration, information, and resources to fully enjoy their riding experience and connect with local and global

CMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01958687890076873005noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7375862360588722955.post-6324264326135094362008-11-22T14:39:00.000-08:002008-11-22T15:17:20.042-08:00

Ann has been trying to get me to meet Karen at the local community college for a while now. Life has been busy. We finally met yesterday. Karen invited me to the college greenhouses to see what she has been up to.Amazing!WOW!I was seriously impressed.It was like visiting Eliot Coleman of 'The Four Season Harvest' fame.The first greenhouse is heated and currently housing a collection of tomatoes

CMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01958687890076873005noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7375862360588722955.post-50266302887129815692008-10-19T23:21:00.000-07:002008-10-19T23:36:42.728-07:00

Well it didn't go quite as planned. We did plant 48 peppers. They certainly did produce well, this is only some of them. We had enough to eat all summer, plenty for the salsa we canned, and all of these for the freezer:BUT ... our friend decided he didn't want them after all. We ended up with 2 families worth of peppers. Time to set up the production line and get to work!The children traded off

CMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01958687890076873005noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7375862360588722955.post-42249928950565680092008-10-18T19:59:00.001-07:002008-11-25T08:44:19.146-08:00

I made a lovely soup yesterday for supper and served it with homemade bread. Tonight I served it again with a little tweaking. YUM.Day One:2 Quarts canned tomatoes, pureed (dh's)1 small onion, minced (dh's)3 cups cut up potatoes (mine)3 cups sliced carrots (grandma's)1 patty pan squash, peeled and seeded, cut up (dh's)1 green zucchini, large shredded (mine)and a sprinkling of seasoned salt from

CMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01958687890076873005noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7375862360588722955.post-203200014946589952008-09-16T23:03:00.000-07:002008-09-17T00:16:00.010-07:00

2 ice cream pails of blueberries are about 10 lbs.This will make 3 batches of jam equaling 10 pints.Will also leave enough berries for munching.Buy more for freezing, actually send dh and older children to pick!

CMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01958687890076873005noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7375862360588722955.post-88177650314913996692008-09-16T12:58:00.000-07:002008-09-16T12:58:01.126-07:00

We were on the hunt for fruit today, a quick consultation with dh and we were off to his friend's. Seems she has blueberries and a sweet deal going on. Pick 2 buckets for her and then you can pick one free for yourself. With the help of our three youngest I got to bring home 2 buckets - 10 lbs. total of lovely blueberries. What fun! And a good time chatting with our friend. She also has pears,

CMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01958687890076873005noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7375862360588722955.post-51539887450687772422008-09-14T22:26:00.000-07:002008-09-14T22:26:00.227-07:00

I missed getting transparent apples from my uncle's tree when they were ready as we were in the midst of the whole dd/exchange/VIP thing so I went in search of apples at our favourite fruit stand instead. Their cold storage kept these soft summer apples in pretty good shape considering how long they have been off the trees. The trick is to do them the day you get them home as they bruise easily

CMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01958687890076873005noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7375862360588722955.post-80182937737176655472008-09-12T23:21:00.000-07:002010-08-15T23:17:22.507-07:00

When growing and canning your own cucumbers it's always a challenge to figure out what to do with the ones that got missed the last pick, the large ones, the ones that just will never be dills. Luckily for me Margaret came to the rescue with this recipe for bucket pickles. They are lovely, ready very quickly, and don't require canning.Start with a nice clean ice-cream pail (with lid) fill with

CMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01958687890076873005noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7375862360588722955.post-17410082933631236962008-09-10T11:36:00.000-07:002008-09-10T11:36:00.615-07:00

I had a busy week-end. It was time to admit the beans needed canning, the children didn't sell all the tomatoes at the Farmer's Market, and yesh, there were MORE cucumbers needing pickling.When the dust settled we had another 16 quarts of beans, 24 quarts of salsa, and 5 - 2 quart jars of pickles to add to the stash. This is just 4 jars shy of my goal for pickles, I think I'll call it quits on

CMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01958687890076873005noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7375862360588722955.post-11778402162654750672008-09-09T11:19:00.000-07:002008-09-09T11:36:18.336-07:00

The first thing you get when you start canning are fruit flies, millions of them! It is important to keep everything scrupulously clean and covered to reduce them and an effective trap is essential.I've had great success with this:Simply a cup or a glass jar with yeast (about 1 tsp.) and vinegar (about 1/4 cup). Stretch plastic cling wrap tightly over it and puncture with a sharp pencil to make a

CMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01958687890076873005noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7375862360588722955.post-92055251061296449762008-09-09T11:07:00.000-07:002008-09-09T11:17:52.060-07:00

Sorry I've been absent. We shipped a daughter off to France for the year, took in an exchange student, and had VIP company as well. That plus canning. Still canning (and canning and canning...) but the dust has settled from switching children around and the VIP visit went very well.I did take pictures of the interesting things we've been up to garden wise. I'll update ASAP. And have to

CMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01958687890076873005noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7375862360588722955.post-13864625378481871862008-08-08T17:53:00.000-07:002008-08-09T17:58:08.436-07:00

I finally baked bread. It's been weeks since I've baked and the family was craving some good homebaked bread. (And ready to revolt if I didn't!)Lovely stuff.

CMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01958687890076873005noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7375862360588722955.post-31908989476644424722008-08-07T17:58:00.000-07:002008-08-09T23:19:26.821-07:00

Ever try someone's recipe and have a EUREKA! moment? I did with this dill pickle recipe. Thanks to Margaret my family now eats great quality pickles.I've compiled this photo essay for how-to-can the best darn pickles. Step by step for those who've maybe never canned before.Step 1: wash and scald your jars, these are 2 quart jars with some 1 quart jars if I decide to make sweet pickles today too.

CMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01958687890076873005noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7375862360588722955.post-51580320764715005682008-08-05T14:00:00.001-07:002008-08-05T14:36:46.613-07:00

I'm sure we've all heard the stats on how much replacing our bulbs with CFLs will save us cash wise. See the image above if you haven't. (Though the price of the CFLs has dropped since this comparison was made.)In yesterday's post I admitted that we had changed all our bulbs but 2. A strange thing happened after the change though. From some where in my childhood or reading came the 'knowledge'

CMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01958687890076873005noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7375862360588722955.post-41351406290913306722008-08-03T21:11:00.000-07:002008-08-03T23:29:11.249-07:00

Some months ago I received an e-mail from my now-hip-living-in-California cousin tooting the benefits of CFL bulbs. He went on and on and on and on about this wonderful new invention. About how he, the one living in California where they are at the head of the pack of all things cool not like the hicks he was evangelising, was going to change his ways and install a CFL bulb. Yes, folks, A CFL,

CMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01958687890076873005noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7375862360588722955.post-29276019730200675562008-07-26T13:43:00.000-07:002008-07-27T14:44:45.211-07:00

(to the tune of "strawberry wine")Today I went raspberry picking with my three youngest. WOW! An ice-cream pail and a half of berries. That combined with the berries picked two days ago made 3 pails! These from our own front yard, off our wild untamed canes. Free food, free food...I broke out the certo and discovered that the directions have no measurements for plain ole raspberry jam. Hmmm...

CMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01958687890076873005noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7375862360588722955.post-50581214291125628142008-07-25T14:09:00.000-07:002008-09-09T13:00:17.301-07:00

It was time to pull out the lettuce from the south facing front flower bed. It was great to plant lettuce in it way back in late March but now in late July ... the lettuce is all bitter and bolting, time to go. My two youngest daughters and myself hopped on our bikes and headed to the greenhouse down by grandma's house. We have just expanded our biking range to 4 kms from home. If a destination

CMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01958687890076873005noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7375862360588722955.post-64532305121080214252008-07-22T22:27:00.000-07:002008-07-22T22:44:29.416-07:00

Well ds had his day in the sun with his winning of the first tomato of the season. Today my fist tomatoes were ready, two of them, from my 'sub-artic maxi's' in the greenhouse. I'd post a picture of them, the greenhouse plant and its sister plant in the garden but dd dropped our camera. sigh.Also picked today, one yellow and one green zucchini. Two green peppers are growing but not yet ready to

CMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01958687890076873005noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7375862360588722955.post-82506928813029268242008-07-22T21:49:00.000-07:002008-07-22T22:25:10.655-07:00

Monday our youngest started attending Young Naturalists for the first time as an all-day'er. Very exciting. Full days for a whole week in the marsh and in the woods learning all about our local environment. When we arrived at the centre our dear friend Erich was manning the gift shop. "Did you two bike out?" he asked with a grin. I had to admit we didn't, 11 km out then to turn around and peddle

CMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01958687890076873005noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7375862360588722955.post-79018755885061074612008-07-18T12:46:00.000-07:002008-07-18T12:58:04.915-07:00

Only there aren't any pictures. I saw youngest ds going into the greenhouse knowing that today was the day for the picking of his tomato. I followed and said," Hey! Let's get the camera!" but it was too late :o) the deed had been done. Ds wins the first tomato contest for the second year in a row. Dh says it isn't fair as he used the greenhouse, I said it was 'cause he could have put a plant in

CMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01958687890076873005noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7375862360588722955.post-27482666283920582462008-07-16T22:22:00.000-07:002008-07-16T22:46:09.006-07:00

Why a post about dh's lunch?!?!?Well lunches can be a huge source of GARBAGE and WASTE.Last year we tried to reduce waste by sewing everyone drawstring lunchbags that could be used over and over. I also made it a point of washing out the necessary sandwich bags and reusing them. They break/rip far too easy! I tried using glass juice jars but when a lunch got dropped there went the jar. I didn't

CMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01958687890076873005noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7375862360588722955.post-6198050469034228152008-07-15T21:35:00.000-07:002008-07-16T22:16:57.101-07:00

We were discussing laundry at work one day. My boss, single and childless, and a co-worker, only one child, were shocked by how much laundry I do. Four loads every day! But HEY! I use a front loading machine, only full loads, always wash in cold water, and hang to dry. I pointed out that I could be more environmentally friendly only if I did them with a rock!I fit these loads of laundry onto an

CMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01958687890076873005noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7375862360588722955.post-59249373273704739092008-07-12T22:31:00.000-07:002008-07-12T22:40:11.121-07:00

Looks like the raspberries are starting. Very exciting! We have some wonderful canes that a friend, a former raspberry grower, gave us. It took 3 years before they were producing well but they have more than made up for it. The fruit of this variety is very large as you can see. That is my 'ladies - large' hand in there.The raspberries are the large bushy hedge you see in all our garden photos.

CMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01958687890076873005noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7375862360588722955.post-88338615182038211902008-07-12T15:40:00.000-07:002008-07-12T22:59:52.199-07:00

Usually the view across the street looks like this:But every Saturday it changes!Let's just say we are in easy walking distance of our local Farmer's Market. Really easy :o)This makes the attempt to eat locally very easy too. If it's available locally someone is likely to be selling it here. Today we bought 3 dozen free-range brown eggs. $3 a dozen and we gave him our huge pile of empty cartons.

CMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01958687890076873005noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7375862360588722955.post-88565023202668009342008-07-09T23:16:00.000-07:002008-07-09T23:50:47.458-07:00

Finally. Though what do you expect when it gets planted so late. Still these are my baby corn and I am so pleased.Also managed to get most of the garden addition mulched with grass clippings. I need another load or two to finish the addition and freshen the mulch in the original garden.Today I hoed the garden, crawled around and hand weeded most of the new flowerbed, and gave the Lemon Boy

CMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01958687890076873005noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7375862360588722955.post-55677891080833961512008-07-03T09:49:00.000-07:002008-07-04T10:09:38.051-07:00

Our neighbours are probably wondering what we are up to now. It does look like a dirty sheet lying in the garden held down by rocks. What can they expect from people who garden their front yard! It isn't a dirty sheet though, it's floating row cover protecting the brassica bed. I did get the cabbages and broccoli transplants in that my boss grew in the community greenhouse. She grew too many for

CMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01958687890076873005noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7375862360588722955.post-17708723669807532982008-07-02T09:24:00.000-07:002008-07-04T09:44:09.964-07:00

Finally, finally I got the corn in. No succession planting this year, I'll be lucky to get a crop before frost. If they do ripen before then the plan is to freeze or can the excess. I'm not enamoured of pressure canning but I have done it ... once! I do want to can instead of freeze for as much as possible. We have had our freezer unplugged accidentally once and I want to save as much room in

CMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01958687890076873005noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7375862360588722955.post-36936202299441784552008-07-01T09:04:00.000-07:002008-07-03T09:37:10.054-07:00

Earlier this gardening year my dh and his dad built a small greenhouse for us. I've been thoroughly enjoying trying out various projects in it. One idea was to start tomatoes in it to #1 have tomatoes earlier in the year and #2 to have tomatoes after frost.I was casting about trying to think of what to plant the tomatoes in. Big buckets that I'd have to buy? Hmmmm..... Then I spotted the stack of

CMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01958687890076873005noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7375862360588722955.post-28203087709137951832008-06-30T16:07:00.000-07:002008-07-01T16:26:31.255-07:00

I love my bike.Simple as that. After being told I'd never ride again to be able to hop an and run my errands on it is pure bliss. I forgot how much I loved it.My last bike, like dh's, was stolen. It is the sad part about living in town. I was bike less until our second dd bought a new one back in May. I inherited her garage sale bike. It was never good enough for her, I don't think she gave it a

CMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01958687890076873005noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7375862360588722955.post-4485108054753782372008-06-29T15:31:00.000-07:002008-07-10T00:02:56.377-07:00

It took me, with the occasional help from my two youngest, a week to spread the dirt delivery. At one point I was considering calling it "Little Red Hen's Garden", and it seemed to be another task that was to be done one bite at a time. Doing chores like this is a bit of a Zen experience; doesn't take a lot of thought, is nicely repetitious, and your mind just relaxes. It's a bit like doing

CMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01958687890076873005noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7375862360588722955.post-67009295906748393552008-06-28T23:14:00.000-07:002008-07-16T22:51:48.832-07:00

The last couple times we got take-out I picked it up on the bike. Rather exciting I thought. This time I took it a step further, I phoned them up and asked if I could bring my own containers. After a bit of discussion it was decided that I could, if I brought them ASAP and waited while they cooked our Chinese food.We've used the some containers for lunches all school year and they have

CMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01958687890076873005noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7375862360588722955.post-13602639966374687862008-06-27T23:53:00.000-07:002008-06-29T00:28:28.425-07:00

A couple of weeks ago the rhubarb was ripe and ready to go. I did the usual rhubarb whip, changed a plum cake recipe into rhubarb cake, and then ventured into the unknown with canning it. Now I can a lot, 6 kids a lot, shelves a lot. But I've never tried rhubarb. So I dug out my handy-dandy canning book and found out how to do it. Of course I can't find my notes on what I did as to number of cups

CMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01958687890076873005noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7375862360588722955.post-27008458455378811732008-06-26T00:31:00.000-07:002008-06-29T00:54:39.667-07:00

Finally, finally, finally we got the garden expansion to the point of getting a dumptruck load of topsoil brought in a few days ago. Weeks it took to dig up the sod in the 28x32 addition to our 16x32 front yard garden. I began to refer to it as eating my elephant one bite at a time. A daunting task.When the sod was gone we discovered TREE ROOTS massive tree roots. Another week of digging and

CMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01958687890076873005noreply@blogger.com0