Preparing to Plant Seeds

I love this time of year. When the weather warms up just enough that you know spring is coming and the itch to dig in the dirt and grow something gets under your skin.

In the past I have used yogurt cups, egg cartons, butter dishes, and more to start my seeds in. This year I am almost exclusively using old cans and old butter dishes. In fact, now I am kicking myself for not saving every can I’ve used in the last six months. This isn’t nearly enough for what I have planned.

So, I’ve been scrounging around trying to find any empty container that will suffice for seed starting. Every year I start my seeds in my favorite room in the house – my sun room. For a few months out of the year the room is crowded with two tables full of seeds and the windowsills fill up, too.

The down side is… my beautiful room isn’t quite so lovely with all the seed packets and garden clutter. (Actually, the room needed to be straightened up a bit when I took this photo. )

Side note: See my darling dragonfly lights? We found them at Target!

I have LOTS of seeds!

The upside is… this room has the most sunshine in the house and warms up beautifully everyday if I keep the doors closed. Kind of like a green house. Wish I had one of those!

 

 

Great Homeschool Convention Giveaway!!

I was excited when Kim from GreatHomeschoolCoventions.com  emailed me with this amazing offer. As a homeschooling mom, I know how much fun these conventions are! And just think, two of you will have all that extra money that you would have spent on tickets -to spend on books and materials for your homeschool instead! How great is that?

You could be the winner of the

GREAT giveaway of a Family Registration to the convention of your choice!

Includes: Parents, Children and Grandparents for all three days and gets you in to all of the exhibits and all of the speakers! 

Choose from FIVE Locations:

Greenville, South Carolina, Memphis, Tennessee, Cincinnati, Ohio,

Long Beach, California, Hartford, Connecticut

The Great Homeschool Conventions family registration gets a family into one of our five conventions of their choice. Our conventions are in the following locations:

March 22 – 24, 2012  –       SouthEast Homeschool Convention –        TD Convention Center (Greenville, SC)

April 12 – 14, 2012  –         MidSouth Homeschool Convention     –     Memphis Cook Convention Center (Memphis, TN)

April 19 – 21, 2012    –       MidWest Homeschool Convention    –       Duke Energy Convention Center (Cincinnati, OH)

May 24 – 26, 2012        –   California Homeschool Convention     –     Long Beach Convention Center (Long Beach, CA)

June 14 – 16, 2012    –       NorthEast Homeschool Convention  –       Connecticut Convention  Center (Hartford, CT)

Be sure to visit Great Homeschool Conventions website, read about all the fabulous speakers you could hear while at the convention, and check out all of the (over 400) exhibitors.

How to Enter:

You get two chances to win:

1. Leave a comment below.
2. Give a shout out on Facebook and leave a separate comment below letting us know.

Leave separate comments for each chance. In other words, you can make up to four comments. I will draw the winner at random.org and the winning two comment numbers will win. PLEASE fill out your email address in the comment form below!

Winners will be announced on Thursday, March 1 at 9:00 p.m.! So enter right away!

I will need the winners information by Friday morning so we can get the tickets to you! Watch your email!

 

Laura’s Garden 2011

My daughter, Laura – age 8, surprised me by planting her own garden and working the soil, right in the middle of our front yard in an old stump we had been filling in with dirt. I didn’t even know she had planted the garden until she came running in one day after campmeeting and told me her cantaloupe seeds (that she planted before Campmeeting) had come up! She also planted a beautiful sunflower. She also planted Tommy Toe Tomatoes (Yellow Grape Tomatoes) and Watermelon. Everything did very well. You can see how proud Laura was in the photos below:

Last Year’s Garden – 2011

I was so proud of my garden last year. For the first time my tomato plants did not get blight and grew so big and beautiful! Some of the plants were five feet tall! I had 17 of them in all. Plus, I grew squash, cucumbers, strawberries, radishes, potatoes, peppers, and herbs. I didn’t get everything planted that I had wanted to grow, but everything I planted did fantastic. I am hoping for another (even better) year.

I never had a chance to post the photos, so here are a few photos of some of my plants: (wish the photos were better quality – the garden looked much nicer in person, despite the weeds!)

I started these tomato plants from seeds I purchased from Baker Creek Seed Company!

 

My squash ended up with a fungus, but it didn’t seem to affect the production too much.

The basil did nicely.

Mulching kept most of the weeds at bay all summer. There were a few stragglers.

I wish I had more photos of ripe fruit, the harvest vegetables, and my other plants. Oh well, I’ll try to remember this year to take more/ better photos!

I’ve had this mint plant for several years now. And the oregano, too:

And in honor of Bare Face Day, here is a photo of me in the garden, working with no make-up.

Yes, I took the photo of myself, hence my weird posture.

Menu Plan Monday

We’ve been sick with a nasty cold the last few days. Thankfully, I think we are on the tail end of it. Needless to say the last couple of days I haven’t done much cooking and menu planning made me really hungry. So, at 7:30 p.m. tonight I decided to get up and cook something yummy.

Also, is it just me, or have you found the most amazing recipes through Pintrest? You really must check out my “Recipes to Try” board on Pintrest.

Like this photo of Lemon Merigue Pie!!! Which has inspired me to make a Lemon Meringue Pie with a Double Meringue for our Sabbath Evening Meal on Friday. Gorgeous!

Source: flickr.com via Melissa on Pinterest

 

Sunday:

B – Cereal and Soy Milk

S – Veggie Hot Dogs and Homemade French Fries

 

Monday:

B – Cereal with Soy Milk

L -Fettuccine Alfredo

S -Indian Chickpeas, Rice, Asparagus with Rosemary Citrus Butter

 

Tuesday:

B – Bagels and Gluten Free Brazilian Cheese Bread with Cream Cheese

L – Crockpot Enchiladas, Black Bean Salad, and Guacamole

S – Cabbage and Onions, Mashed Potatoes, Pimento Cheese Fritters with Homemade Apple Pepper Jelly
Wednesday:

B – Sourdough Blueberry Muffins and Scrambled Eggs

L – French Lentils, Garlic Cheese Biscuits, Steamed Cauliflower

S – Cornbread Pancakes with Honey Butter Syrup, Fried Eggs

 

Thursday:

B -English Muffin Sandwiches, Grapefruit

L – Crockpot Taco Soup, Salad

S – Stewed Tomatoes and Rice, Salad

 

Friday:

B – Cheese Grits or Cream of Wheat

L – Homemade Gouda Cheese Crackers, Salad, Boiled Eggs

S – Tacos, Lemon Meringue Pie with a Double Meringue

 

Sabbath:

B -Cereal, Yogurt

L – Potluck: Oatmeal “Meatloaf”, Sweet Pickled Apples, Scalloped Potatoes

S – Leftovers

Snacks:

This week we’ll be eating lots of citrus – a few bushels oranges, tangerines, and grapefruit that need to be eaten before they go bad now that spring has sprung.

Baking:

I’ll be busy every afternoon baking Brazilian Cheese Bread, Sourdough Blueberry Muffins, Amish Sourdough Sandwich Bread, Gouda Cheese Crackers, and Double Lemon Meringue Pie.

 

Be sure to check out Organizing Junkie for hundreds of ideas for your meal planning!

What are you eating this week?

Wallpaper Love

Okay, so I’ve been wanting to redo my entryway/ hallway/ landing and dining room for years. The striped wallpaper is original to the house and wasn’t hideous, but wasn’t something I would have likely picked out on my own. However, living with it for 9 years now, I think it is time for an update, but I never could imagine anything else on the walls… until I saw this on The Painted Hive:

 

Liberty

Time for Starting Seeds

It’s that time of year again. Actually, I’ve been putting it off for a couple of weeks now. I plan to plant my peas in the garden tomorrow. I usually shoot for Valentine’s Day for Pea planting. So, today I went to our local Wal-mart to check out the selection of seeds and was thrilled to find that Seeds of Change has a display of organic seeds! I mean, I’ve ordered from their catalog before! The display wasn’t huge, but it has all of the most common seeds you would want to order. For $2.00 a packet!

I still have plans to order a few seeds from my favorite seed company – Baker Creek Seeds. You can download their amazing 196 page 2012 catalog here. I would love to be able to visit their farm and village during Festival time. I appreciate the fact that the couple who owns the company are Sabbath keepers, too.

I spent some time this morning planning what to plant and where to plant. In the spirit of the Victory Garden, I am planning to not only utilize my 12 (4 x 4) raised beds in the back yard and my large containers, but I am planning to plant my front flower bed with bush beans and cabbage, another flower bed with squash and pumpkins, plant an old stump with melons, and if I can get my husband to agree, I’d like to plant a 10′ x 25′ or 10′ x 50′ space in the front yard with corn. At the suggestion, my children were like, “Mom, do you know what neighborhood we live in???” Meaning, I assume, that we live in a nice neighborhood and who wants to see corn growing in the front yard? It doesn’t bother me. I am a farm girl at heart. I have 1 1/2 acres to my name. Most of it is sloped on the mountain or shaded by huge oak trees. I can’t plant corn any where else. So why not join the Front Yard Garden Movement?

Menu Plan

Sometimes I really hate menu planning. I love to cook. I love to eat. I love feeding my sweet family food they love to eat. But sometimes actually coming up with what to eat is a real chore. Needless to say, menu planning is very helpful because it is even more of a chore to figure out what we are eating five minutes before everyone is ready to eat.

I must be tired this afternoon. Mentally tired. Maybe because we are currently working on high school math in our homeschool and its 4:30 in the afternoon.

Lately, rather, the last few months, I have had to spend even more time in the kitchen. Sometimes I feel like I spend at least six hours a day in the kitchen  (sometimes more) just cooking and cleaning. Since Sarah has gone wheat free and mostly vegan for her health I have to prepare two of everything, very often, and it takes forever. Gluten free foods cost so much, we can’t afford for everyone to eat them. So when we have pasta, I make a separate dish for her. It’s okay. I really don’t mind. I love her more than anything in the world and spending more time preparing food is soooo worth her feeling healthy and normal.

Here’s my latest attempt at making a yummy gluten free sandwich bread:

Unfortunately, it tasted gross. I have not yet found a sandwich bread using gluten free flour that tastes good. I was excited about this recipe because I had made pizza crust for her and that turned out nice and tasted good as a pizza and had a good texture. So, I thought, why not try it as a loaf of bread? Yuck. I don’t know. I am planning to try making my own Brown Rice Flour Mix soon. Something about the Bob’s Red Mill Gluten Free Flour is just not appealing, the smell, the taste, the texture. Sorry! I think I prefer the King Arthur Brand Gluten Free flour, but unfortunately, we bought several ( a lot ) of the Bob’s Red Mill flour when it was on closeout at Big Lots, because the price was so much lower than at the health food store. So, I need to find a way to use it up. Maybe some sweet breads would taste better.

Anyway, back to the whole cooking and meal planning thing…

The fact remains, cooking takes time. For instance, my husband requested Lasagna last night, which Sarah cannot eat. I hate for her to feel neglected without just as delicious food to eat, so I made her a single dish of Eggplant Parmesan. It took me about three hours to get dinner on the table. We’ll have Eggplant Parmesan again (all of us later in the week).

There are days when I really want to just have something quick and easy like hot dogs or veggie burgers, but since she can’t have them, I try to keep prepared meals in the freezer for her. Like her favorite enchiladas, gluten free pizza crust and toppings, gluten free oatmeal patties that can be eaten with gravy, rice

So here’s the rundown for this week:

Sunday:

B- Tea Towel Biscuits with Milk Gravy  and Spelt Biscuits with Tomato Gravy (for Sarah)

D – Vegetable Lasagna, Salad, Fresh French Green Beans with Fingerling Potatoes (Eggplant Parmesan for Sarah)

Monday:

B – Krispy Kreme Doughnuts ( a very rare treat)

L – Leftovers

S – Fruit, Cream of Wheat

Tuesday:

B – Sourdough Blueberry Muffin, Scrambled Eggs

L – Southern Fried Tofu (from Earth Fare in Johnson City, TN – its amazing!), Fresh French Green Beans, Cornbread, Mashed Rutabagas

S – Salad with Boiled Eggs and Beer Bread Toast

Wednesday:

B -Oatmeal with dried fruit, walnuts, and soymilk

L – Eggplant Parmesan, Salad, Garlic Cheese Biscuits

S – Leftovers, Cereal

Thursday:

B – Toast and Fried Eggs, Veggie Sausages

L – Chickpea Salad Sandwiches (tastes like Tuna), Fruit

S – Pancakes, Pecan Oatmeal “Sausage,” Tangerines

Friday:

B – Cereal, Yogurt, Toast

L – Fruit, PB&J Sandwiches

S – Black Bean Soup, Cornbread

Sabbath:

B – Cereal

L – Potluck – Oatmeal Meatloaf, Pickled Apples, Scalloped Potatoes

S – Leftovers
Desserts:

Georgia’s Cornmeal Pie with a Spelt Pie Crust

Strawberry Pretzel Salad (made with gluten free pretzels)

Raw Vegan Chocolate Cream Cake

Baking: 

Amish Friendship Sandwich Bread (gluten free experiment and wheat flour versions)

Spelt Garlic Cheese Drop Biscuits

Beer Bread

If you didn’t notice, in an effort to be healthier as a family, help myself and my husband lose a little weight, we are eating our biggest meal at the lunch hour and a lighter meal in the evening when your metabolism slows down.

What are you cooking this week? Be sure to stop by Organizing Junkie for hundreds of ideas for meal planning!

The view from my back porch this morning…

…was incredibly beautiful. Despite the fact that this winter has been unseasonably warm, and we are used to getting snow every week during the winter… yesterday it snowed and snowed. I think we got about five inches or so accumulated.

The girls went sledding yesterday afternoon and are currently out there enjoying the snow and their sleds. Hmm. They asked for a carrot and some raisins – to build a snowman, I suspect.

Here’s me, the height of fashion wearing pink, green, and blue stripped pajama bottoms, a green and brown flannel shirt, and green muck boots – standing on the back porch with Lucy who looks like she is kissing Charlie, the next door neighbor’s pup. Lucy is our sweet, sad little dog. She’s mostly blind and deaf (and dumb.)  Charlie likes to spend her days at my house. See how she’s sitting on the porch next to me, like she belongs??? That’s okay, we like Charlie. You can also see some of our firewood ready to be burnt up today.

Here’s my husband scraping the snow off the rental car so he can go visit his brother Steve in ICU this morning: (No, he wasn’t too keen on my taking his photo, hehe.)

So while I was standing there taking pictures of Mykal, I noticed over next to the driveway, my first flowers of spring peeking out of the snow!

Hannah and Laura have been spending warm days building this fort:

They have a lot more planned for their fort, but it stayed pretty dry in there:

Here is our little bridge that leads over the path to the fort:

One of these days maybe there will be a little fish pond under the bridge!

And finally here are some more random pictures from around my yard:

 

 

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