Monday, October 31, 2011
Been a long time, friends
I've deciding to rekindle the old blog - and to start things off, how about a little catching up, shall we?!
(By the way, if you're in my blog feeder, I've been lurking.)
Last we spoke, I was starting seeds from scratch. That turned out well. Very well! We actually were up to our eyeballs in tiny plants. I couldn't give them away fast enough.
But since then, lot's has changed. Here's a quick run down:
My marriage has ended. No need to elaborate. It was a long time coming and something that had to be done. For me and my sanity. For my kids. If you were to encounter us together, we get along fairly well. Dare I say we make better friends than spouses? Yes, yes we do.
I have had another baby - mmm hmmm. Mom of 6 now. Delaney is almost 6 months old.
The kids and I had to move. It was quite traumatic for all of us, yet we had no choice in the matter. 7 months into the "new" house and we've settled in quite well. Sometime soon I'll be writing about the new house and why it's such a blessing. The chickens moved along with us... the labradors didn't. They are happily running on 13 acres - lucky dogs! We do have a new dog, a pug named, Pug. Or Buddy. Or Bugsy. He has many names and responds to them all.
I coupon, a lot. I photograph, a lot. I love on my kiddos, a lot.
Looking forward to getting back to blogging and chatting again.
Monday, March 1, 2010
Seed Starting Basics
How about starting a few plants from seed this year? It's really not as hard as you might think. Let me share a few tips that I've learned over the past few years.
Step 1: Choose your seeds. I realize this could be an entire blog post and I may write up something. What you need to know is: your growing zone and what you want to grow. I prefer growing Heirloom seeds (i.e. not genetically modified) because I can save seeds from this year's crop and grow them again next year, and eventually, it will be a zero-cost garden.
Most seed packages will tell you if you should direct sow or start indoors. Finding the last frost date for your area is a simple check of google. Count backwards the # of weeks indicated and then you'll know when to start your seeds indoors. Suffice to say, don't wait until May to decide to grow tomatoes from seed - there's just not enough warm season left to do this (well, it CAN be done, but it takes more work!)
Step 2: Now that you've gotten your seed, what do you grow it in? A few years ago, I stopped at the seed store and picked up several flats: sealed bottom, perforated bottom, divided and clear dome lids. Now, you don't need to go to this expense. Prior to that, I started seeds in leftover plastic containers (think salad bar to go boxes) and plastic wrap. ANYTHING that will hold soil will be fine to grow seeds in. I just upgraded so I'd have the uniform flats to re-use. All I need to do is wash them with a bleach/water solution prior to using. For growing medium, I use a mixture of Peat Moss and Vermiculite. You can see that I buy the X-LARGE bags of each. I use a lot of growing medium as we start over 600 plants each year. You may be fine to get the smaller bags, but for savings, get big bags and share w/ other gardeners. I mix at a 50/50 ratio in a large rubbermaid tote and wet it down as I go. TIP: mix outdoors! It's a very dusty!
TIP: Leave one spot open in the middle - it'll be very helpful for watering later on. You can also leave a corner spot open. It's just easier to water this way vs. lifting the edge of the tray. (The growing tray is inserted into a sealed bottom tray to contain the water overflow.)
TIP: Use old mini-blinds for plant markers. Just cut to fit inside the lids and mark with a sharpie.
Step 3: As soon as the seeds sprout, REMOVE THE LID and water from the bottom only! Let the surface dry out. If you don't, damping off can occur. See above plant - the roots are literally growing above the soil line. There isn't much hope of saving plants when this has occurred. It's best to chuck them and start a new batch of seeds. Watering from the bottom will encourage plant roots to grow down. A lot of seed growers use oscillating fans to help keep the surface dry. Fans also strengthen the plant as it gets blown around (similar to outdoor conditions.)
Step 4: Once the plant has it's leaves formed, it's time to get them under a grow light. You CAN grow in window light, but you'll have more spindly plants and you'll want to turn the trays daily to avoid the hard lean that develops.
TIP: You can make your own grow station. I have this wire rack shelf I got from Target for around $35. It hold 6 flats on the 3 shelves with lights hooked to underneath shelf above via S-hooks and tiny chains. I can raise/lower the lights as needed. I set my lights to about 2" above the plants and move them up as needed. I purchased the lights from Walmart and have grow bulbs in them - not florescent bulbs.
Monday, January 25, 2010
Happiness Project: Aprons
Apron courtesy Flirty Aprons
So, when I saw this contest over at The Suburban Jungle, I knew I had to enter and share my love of aprons with you. My choice, if I were to win, would be the Sassy Red apron, because, I LOVE red and *ahem* have been known to be sassy. :D
Which one would you choose?
Thursday, January 21, 2010
Happiness Project: Photos
Radish Flower
As we missed pulling a few radishes, we decided to let them grow, just to see what would happen. These delicate blossoms were the result. They grew on very long stems and waved gently in the breeze. So pretty!
I really LOVE photographing buildings and their details, especially windows & doors. Here's an old warehouse. I always wonder what was manufactured in them. Who worked there? When was the last day of business? What does the inside look like? Who painted the awesome antique themed mural on it's north side? If the building could talk, what would it say?
This is a photo from one of my favorite buildings here in town... it's an old train station. When I was a little girl, our family traveled via train to go to our home state. Plus, my grandpa was a train conductor, so I am still enamored by all things train related. :D
Saturday, January 2, 2010
2010: The Year of HAPPY
The year I lost my idyllic mom-life. The year I lost my business. The year I lost dear friends. The year I lost my trust in the system. The year I lost so much.
(In way way, it was the year of gain: I gained 35 pounds by not dealing with the loss.)
2009 was the Year of Grief
When I suffered one loss after another, instead of dealing with the emotions that surrounded the events, I stuffed it down, way, way down. Buried deeply so I could just motor on, moving thru life, dealing with the day to day stuff that consumed me.
But when you stuff, eventually, it has to come back out. And it did. Hard, fast and overwhelming. Over and over, the grief came out. It made me physically ill. It brought my life to a grinding halt for months. It was the most painful year of my life. One that I vow I will never repeat.
But in the grief, I did find joy. I found many things to celebrate and I found my self. My true self. The one who deserves so much more.
I no longer will be a people pleaser. I will no longer go with the flow, not questioning what my gut is screaming about. I will no longer suffer silently. I will no longer give to others at my expense. I will re-frame my life and my dreams. I will rebuild what was lost. I will reclaim what is mine. I will rise above and soar.
On New Year's Eve, I declared 2010, the Year of Happy
I will only do things that make me happy.
Before After
As a tribute to my resolution, here are a few things that made me happy in recent days:
I re-did my laundry room. No more ugly yellow wallpaper, in stages of removal. No more reminders of the project I abandoned 5 years ago. I chose a gorgeous shade of purple plum, despite what others commented on, because it makes me happy.
I grew loofa.
I took photos.
Tuesday, November 3, 2009
Photo Op
I took Emma and my camera (that I am still trying to master) and snapped a few pix.
This one is one of my favorites... total fluke how it happened though...
As we were walking back, I heard a distinct crackling to my left and caught this doe by surprise.
Yeah, I KNOW!! What do you think? 6 or 8 points? (I'm not sure how to tell.) Then, I totally missed the next shot, an even bigger buck!! I love seeing wild life up close like this.
Saturday, October 31, 2009
What I see Out My Window
I absolutely LOVE red leaves! We planted a Red Maple and a Red Oak the first month we moved here. 5 years later, the color is fabulous! About the time the Maple looses all it's leaves, the Oak turns. Ah, fall. :D
Friday, October 30, 2009
Public Service Announcement
I'd like to thank everyone for their kind emails and comments. I'm doing much better and hope to be back to my regular self very soon. It's been a tough road, but what doesn't kill me, makes me stronger. (All props to Kanye for the quote, which has been my song of inspiration lately. :D)
Friday, June 19, 2009
Still here, I promise
I've not fallen into a crack in the road - just hit a speed bump that slowed me down a little. :D
Remember when I posted about the volunteer potatoes ~ the ones that came up from last year? Well, I needed to mulch the garden and also plant things that needed to go in, so I dug up the volunteers. 12 pounds of potatoes - all because during last year's harvest, some potatoes got left behind. That's frugal gardening, I do believe!!
Monday, June 1, 2009
Independence Day Challenge Week 5
1) Plant something:
3) Preserve Something
4) Prep Something
7) Work on Local Food Systems:
Planted extra Row for the Hungry. Donated some tomato plants to community garden.