tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-66174104800669150712024-03-12T21:07:36.053-04:00From Grapes to WineFollow the adventures of Ket, a city girl who is slowly turning into a homesteader. Along for the ride is loving hubby Ben, big girl Tamsyn, and bigger girl Morrigan. Oh, and the animals - 2 goats, a cow, bees, chickens, dogs, and guinea pigs!Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02305834453377145848noreply@blogger.comBlogger52125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6617410480066915071.post-62511212317609671012012-06-03T06:25:00.000-04:002012-06-03T06:25:40.873-04:00Putting "Scraps" To WorkThere are so many parts of plants that are discarded. Leaves, flowers, roots - you name it. One of these that I think is VERY overlooked is garlic scapes. These thick, vine-like things grow out of growing garlic bulbs.
And they are good. Very, very good. They taste like an odd, yet interesting mix of garlic and green onion. They are crisp and burst with flavor, especially the younger they are.
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02305834453377145848noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6617410480066915071.post-75715307989003470782012-05-19T06:39:00.000-04:002012-05-19T06:39:00.104-04:00Seeds? Oh, we've got seeds.
This, my friends, is the beginning of our spring/summer 2012 garden.
The beginning. This is set one of three.
We tried a new way to start seeds. The wood boxes are filled with compressed plugs of dirt, where we put a seed. The bottom black trays are "traditional" cells with dirt and seeds. The plugs worked... okay. However, the effort and pain in the rear factor of making them Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02305834453377145848noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6617410480066915071.post-24430454004827089242012-05-16T07:53:00.000-04:002012-05-16T07:53:44.672-04:00Wordless Wednesay: 'allo!
'allo!
Checkers says hi.
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02305834453377145848noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6617410480066915071.post-32407202646453018742012-05-12T08:27:00.000-04:002012-05-17T09:45:52.774-04:00New Four-feetsSpring is always crazy on the farm (and I do consider us a farm now).
Last year I went back to work full time, so we put most things on hold. We sold our goats, paused the gardening, and paused the house renovations.
This year we're back in full swing. I'm no longer working (at least not for pay), so I'm back "in the saddle" so to speak. Here's a quick farm tour update!
One of the most recent Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02305834453377145848noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6617410480066915071.post-40756602266588058112011-02-23T10:59:00.000-05:002011-02-23T10:59:51.060-05:00Farm Happenings, and StuffWhew!
Do you know that Wii Sports boxing can burn about 100 calories per 15 minutes?
I kid you not.
The last few nights Ben and I have been looking for something other than movies to do after the kids go to bed. We figured out that our Wii can be used for more than just netflix. ;) We loaded up Sports and actually had quite a good time, bowling and boxing. And it's burning pretty good calories.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02305834453377145848noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6617410480066915071.post-85061438319795484812011-02-14T14:22:00.001-05:002011-02-14T14:22:38.222-05:00Spring? SPRING?I love winter. Really, I love winter.
But you know what? Enough's enough. I would go into all the reasons why I'm sick of it, but, well, I'm sure you know.
Yesterday was a balmy, sunny 45 degrees. The farm jumped into action. I swear, it was like a switch had turned on. The bees came back to life (we were pretty sure they were dead) and were buzzing frantically around, cleaning out their house Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02305834453377145848noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6617410480066915071.post-41703731482215319112011-02-14T13:18:00.001-05:002011-02-14T13:18:58.768-05:00Menu Plan Monday: $400 grocery trip
We got our income taxes back and it was sizeable amount, so Saturday I went grocery shopping... and spent $400. Wow. It took me hours to put away the food, I swear.
So needless to say, we have ingredients for probably every single meal you can think of. The problem is, of course, putting them all together!
Monday - Beef stew with bread and salad. I am debating on this version, which is aAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02305834453377145848noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6617410480066915071.post-11361901835910934762011-01-25T12:13:00.001-05:002011-01-25T12:13:33.640-05:00Random Tuesday: I'm Screwed VersionOiy.
Alright, so.
Rule 1: Drinking while on meds = craptastic day the next day.
Rule 2: Having a usual med schedule of 9pm, and then taking them at 3am for two days = total screw-up of stability.
I'm teetering on the edge of stable and messed up. The last two days have been a glimpse back into months ago and suddenly I am completely 100% committed to my meds schedule.
Go me.
That being said,Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02305834453377145848noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6617410480066915071.post-60989349852437025022011-01-22T17:19:00.000-05:002011-01-22T17:19:39.981-05:00Boneless Meat: TOTALLY not worth itI hesitated writing this back when I tried bone-in chicken breasts because I figured ONE experience wasn't enough to make a judgment on. And does "judgment" look weird to you? Because my spell check SWEARS it isn't "judgement" but I swear it's "judgement" and not "judgment" cause, well, it looks weird.
Anyway. Pork chops. I bought pork chops today for dinner. I decided to get the "assorted" packAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02305834453377145848noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6617410480066915071.post-14758402638880723752011-01-19T14:53:00.002-05:002011-01-19T14:53:00.912-05:00A Most Awesome LunchWhat is this?
THIS is the most awesome lunch. Ever.
I basically threw a bunch of stuff from the fridge onto a tortilla and grilled it, then folded it omlette-style.
This one is spinach, shredded cheddar, pepperoni, and a dab of spaghetti sauce.
And holy moly is it good.
Just wanted to share.
Off to make another one. Mmmmmmmmgood.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02305834453377145848noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6617410480066915071.post-50883442177209156112011-01-18T09:52:00.001-05:002011-01-18T09:52:21.950-05:00Random Tuesday: Cake, Heat, And Who Knows What Else Ah, Tuesday, how I missed you.
Alright, so, first on the agenda. Are cake pops becoming the new cupcake? Because that would suck. Although the fight to see who would win would be awesome. I mean, the cupcake could be a sumo wrestler type fighter, and the cake pop could be like the kid from The Karate Kid, the tall stupid one who knocks people out with a well aimed one-legged kick?
Or evenAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02305834453377145848noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6617410480066915071.post-71631399289449956502011-01-17T12:02:00.000-05:002011-01-17T12:02:50.101-05:00Menu Plan Monday: Mmmmmbeef.Mmm, beef. That's this week's "featured ingredient" because I'm not grocery shopping this week, and we bought a large portion of a cow a few weeks ago, so we have a LOT of beef!
Last week I made crock pot cubed steaks, and MAN, were they good. I skipped the gravy and just cooked them in beef broth, since Tams can't have gravy, and then Ben and I smothered OURS in gravy after they were done. But Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02305834453377145848noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6617410480066915071.post-28824698440313793062011-01-16T10:38:00.000-05:002011-01-16T10:38:00.592-05:00The Bipolar Post I PromisedSo yesterday I was ranting about money and started into bipolar and it went on and on and on so I decided to make it a different post.
So, here's the background: We're talking about money, accumulation of debt, and spending.
Read on.
When you're on a high, you either don't consider the implications of spending money (not being able to pay a bill later) or you rationalize it (oh, i'll 'pay it Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02305834453377145848noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6617410480066915071.post-34222152565469229212011-01-15T16:41:00.000-05:002011-01-15T16:41:47.982-05:00It's Cold. I Feel Like Crap.I'm sick of being cold.
(Disclaimer: I'm on the low end of a bipolar cycle, and also haven't eaten all day = in a crappy, i-hate-life mood)
I am cold every day. Not just put-on-some-slippers cold. But five layer tank top - shirt - long sleeved shirt - sweatshirt - hoodie - COLD.
We wood-heat only. AND, thanks to a wonderful, lovely, screw-you cold snap in late Nov, we used a LOT of wood. Too Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02305834453377145848noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6617410480066915071.post-60367868943703827262011-01-14T12:39:00.002-05:002011-01-14T12:42:07.690-05:00Food Waste Friday, And An Honest Mail Delivery
Check out The Frugal Girl for not only more food waste fridays, but also some awesome advice and really interesting reads.
After skipping last week and posting an emo New Years post, I was a little afraid of my fridge.
I shouldn't have been!
We had a bag of deli ham that we didn't trust and gave to the dog yesterday. Other than that? A jar of bean soup, jars of beef broth (that probably could Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02305834453377145848noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6617410480066915071.post-36919503622429297872011-01-13T11:53:00.000-05:002011-01-13T11:53:04.821-05:00Hate Is Too Strong Of A WordExcept today.
My children (child?) drew on my less-than-a-year-old-expensive-tile-laminate-kitchen floor. I'm assuming it was yesterday. It is crayon. Can't be pencil, NOOOO, that's too easy to get off. Has to be crayon. Dark blue crayon. Crayon? Does not come off that floor. The last time they drew on it, it took two hours for me to hand-scrub with baking soda a one foot by one foot section. I Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02305834453377145848noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6617410480066915071.post-2399108709483176522011-01-12T17:57:00.000-05:002011-01-12T17:57:02.961-05:00An Experiment: 90 MinutesWhew.
I spent 90% of my day on the couch, drifting from awake to asleep. I don't know if it is because I've been staying up late the last few nights, or maybe because of drinking night before last, or just a mood swing, but my motivation was 0.
Around 3pm, I 'woke' up fairly coherently and realized I had wasted an entire day doing absolutely nothing. Totally disgusted with myself, I decided to Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02305834453377145848noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6617410480066915071.post-10044340666956635272011-01-11T11:50:00.001-05:002011-01-11T11:50:39.314-05:00Random Tuesday: Thinking, thinking...
For once, random thoughts aren't coming! Or, well, now they are.
I'm learning Russian. Why? I dunno. It's just always been something I've wanted to learn. One of my "life goals" is to be tri-lingual (or more) before I die. Fluently. And then Spanish. I'm not sure if I include spanish in my 'tri' or not. So, maybe quad-lingual? Anyway. Russian is awesome. The Cyrillic alphabet? Awesome. Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02305834453377145848noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6617410480066915071.post-38244542394083245452011-01-10T12:34:00.001-05:002011-01-10T12:36:56.927-05:00Menu Plan Monday Head over to Organizing Junkie for more meal plans!
This week's meal plan is fairly easy to do, since I will be working straight from our stockpile. We have $30 for groceries this pay period, so I will keep that in reserve for next week, so that we could get some fresh fruit and veggies.
Mon - Ham and bean soup, using broth from last night's potroast and ham saved from christmas. Home Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02305834453377145848noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6617410480066915071.post-16529510906738138792011-01-07T21:29:00.000-05:002011-01-07T21:29:59.648-05:00It's Almost SoothingI went manic tonight. Or at least, hypomanic - not a full blown mania, but the racing thoughts, twitchy nerves. Imagine having 6 cups of coffee, right after each other, within an hour.
That's hypomanic. Or at least, part of it. That's the best description I have.
It was like a light switch. I checked my mood journal. I have alarms set on my phone for 10am, 4pm, and 9pm to mood track.
My 4pm isAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02305834453377145848noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6617410480066915071.post-62773608835072136832011-01-07T14:51:00.002-05:002011-01-07T14:51:00.354-05:00That Darn New Years Post, 2011Okay, so I'm 6 days late in posting a "new years" post. So sue me.
This year has been... a roller coaster ride. That about sums it up. Ups, downs, mood shifts, medication shifts, LOTS of medical bills, debt. Me: insane, sane, insane again, insane X 2 in April, sane, insane X2 AGAIN in December.
This year, I said hello, and goodbye, to two angel babies. This year, Tamsyn turned 1, started Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02305834453377145848noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6617410480066915071.post-42089899896529535382011-01-06T13:48:00.009-05:002011-01-06T14:10:58.166-05:00Happy Birthday, Dear Baby GirlToday, Tamsyn is officially 2 years old.
Holy crap, where did time go?
I don't particularly have any words to say.
So here's some pictures.
Day of Birth
17 days later. Her skin was already starting to break out. "Baby acne"
A Month Later
April, 2009. Her skin was so bad, and her scratching so bad, that we had to put socks on her hands to keep her from clawing herself bloody.
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02305834453377145848noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6617410480066915071.post-17174423251129068112011-01-04T10:58:00.000-05:002011-01-04T10:58:09.392-05:00Ah, Tuesday, How I Love You
Ah, Tuesday, how I love you. Tuesday is a relaxing day for me. The hustle and bustle and "catch-up" of Monday is over. The girls are back into their routine. And, of course, Random Tuesday. Visit the Un Mom for more people's random thoughts.
It's 2011. Kabloowie, there went my brain. This year, Tams will turn 2, Morrigan will turn 4 (4??? SERIOUSLY?), Ben and I will have our 4th wedding Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02305834453377145848noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6617410480066915071.post-38533762199997834682011-01-03T16:00:00.002-05:002011-01-03T16:07:43.110-05:00Menu Plan Monday, and More
(Check out Organizing Junkie for more menu plans!
Welcome to my first post of 2011!
One thing I have been terribly lax at is menu planning. For our family, when it works, it WORKS. When I don't make one, well, we go through the rush-whats-for-dinner daily.
So here we are again. A new year. Hopefully a new start.
Mon - Sweet & Sour Beef Stew over rice, homemade french bread
Tues - BourbonAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02305834453377145848noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6617410480066915071.post-22143414552528697392010-12-31T12:21:00.000-05:002012-05-16T09:23:49.387-04:00I don't want to post this...... but I feel like I have to, now that the task is done.
Today I cleaned out our fridge.
Shudder.
I think the last time it was cleaned out was when we bought it. And then, it was just washed down, not cleaned-of-rotten-food.
I did it as part of The Frugal Girl's Food Waste Fridays. I figured, heck, we need to do this - maybe it will help us keep waste down.
Little did I know how MUCH waste Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02305834453377145848noreply@blogger.com1