Why, hello there

I have been gone for a while. I have had you in my thoughts often.

Many, many things have come into my thoughts that I have wanted to share here that I just have not had the energy to post.

I realize now I have been slowly getting sick. Hopefully it'll pass this weekend. I plan on forcing myself to rest,

Ugg..... I like the idea, but then there are soooo many things around the house that I want to get done!!!

This week I discovered little ways to bring nature into my new office! Like....

This really freakin' cool tea!

I am sure many of you have seen this tea before, but to me it is brand new! You place the individual packet in a cup or small pitcher, pour hot water on and watch it bloom! This one was jasmine green tea, which happens to be one of my favorites too :)

I did find time to make some plum jam. I had to do it last weekend. Or else the birds and time would have ruined the beautiful crop of plums I had this year!! 

It still makes me sad that I will have to wait another year to get a batch of home grown plums...

The best way by far, to spend a long time in the kitchen ;)

I will go into more detail on how to make plum Jam later. 

Now I suppose I need to go rest. I have already been running around more then I should ;)

Happy Friday!

Smell of summer

I realized my new summer smell is the scent of boiling water.

Yes, I realize that doesn't really have a scent but when you throw freshly wash and prepped fruit, and a clean tea towel in on top it does.

That scent when I am canning.

I am glad it is no longer the fake lime and coconut scent of my younger, tanner days.

This fresh water scent seems homier, more friendly.

Oh, by the way, I shot at my first animal today ( speaking of friendly.... Eh...)

We have rabbits that have been terrorizing our garden and multiplying for years.

My HH decided he wants to hunt for meat this year. Since one of the reasons I love him is in-ability to kill things, I told him he had to kill, clean, and eat the rabbits. If he could accomplish that we would talk.

It might sound harsh, but I have never had a problem with people killing to eat. As long as there is no overt cruelty involved its just a part of life.


However, my husband is not quite as good of a shot as I happen to be.... So.....


I missed, but it's a new to me gun, so I just need practice :-)

Anyway, I'll let you know how that goes.

By the way, my new job is sitting in front of a computer, all day every day. .

I can't wait to have my land and self sufficient farm.

Can't wait.

My corn is crooked, how about yours?

I realized too late that our painstakingly planned garden is about 5 feet too far to the right. Which caused part of it to be in partial shade. Which caused part of it to lean.

Most prominently the corn. Oops. Well, that will have to wait until next fall to fix.


So as of tomorrow I will officially have 3 jobs.

Yep. I am tired all ready.

Granted, only one will be full time. But still, sheesh....

Hopefully though this will enable us to live like no one else later.

On to nicer things.

My plum tree is ripe for the picking, here comes plum jam!!! Yay!

I also will give a good amount to our friend who leads a similar simple lifestyle, and who is always generous with us .

I also picked the first produce from my garden.... And the winner is green beans! They are the first plant to produce!

Get it? Produce? Hardy har... See, I can still have fun, ;-)

I will talk to you again soon. Wish me luck for work tomorrow :-)

What I'm making

Garden fresh southern dinner of pinto beans, squash and zucchini, fresh picked tomatoes and cucumbers, mushrooms and onions. If we were not on a diet a batch of biscuits would be cooking too.... Oh well.....

I am also making healthy home made nutra grain bars. All the recipes I found had a cup of butter, and sugar! Ugh, so I modified

1/4 cup butter
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup of pear sauce from my pear trees ( you could use apple)
1 1/2 cup flour
1 1/2 cup oats
1 tsp vanilla

Jam of your choice, I used strawberry jam my mother in law made.

Mix everything but the jam, the dough will be pretty sticky. Add more pear sauce if needed.

Spread half the mix into the bottom of a greased pan, I used a finger spoon combo to get it spread.
Top with jam, then top with the rest of the mix. If this doesn't spread perfect, that's ok.

It will still taste good :-)

Bake at 350 for 20 ish mins! Allow to cool before cutting.

**update**
Darn it! I just thought that I should have added my flax seed meal, that would have been an excellent nutrition addition....

Outside

I wish sometimes that I could bottle the feeling I get being outside. It's impossible of course, but I still wish I could.

With the breeze turning the 80 degree weather into a pleasant feel. The wind chime casually clanging around, the overcast sky turning everything a vibrant and deeper rich green.

It's even staring to sprinkle now, and it's just making the air smell fresh and clear.

It's wonderful spending time out side.

And the cool thing is I now know how to blog from my phone so I can do it from outside :-)

Last week the HH informed me that he has about 10 weeks of solid work, them after that it is uncertain.

Uncertain.

Ugh I do not care for that word at all. I work however, the nature of my work leaves paychecks up in the air, and not coming down reliably.

I don't tell you this to cause you worry, though a trouble shared is a trouble halved, but to explain my absence after the declaration that I would blog at least 5 days a week. And then my almost immediate absence.

Oops.

I felt like I was detracting from my small family by spending time blogging instead of the many other activities I could have been performing.

And I was kind of pouting. Shameful, I know, but it's true.

But that's silly. I am working as much as I can, so is he. Other then that living our simple frugal lifestyle is the only other way to get through difficult times.

Writing here is free, fun, educational .

I see no reason to stop. Especially now that I am done pouting.

Attack of the blobs!!!

I was trying to puzzle out what was eating all my plants. They look like the rabbitts have been munching on them, however they also have small holes in the middle of the leaves.

Then I saw the perpetrator..... SLUGS

I have never had a slug problem before in my garden. But I think that was because I had never had an organic garden before.

SO I promptly started searching out the slugs and pinching them off. At first I was just throwing them away from the garden, then I realized, they will just slide on back.  So I started squishing them. Yes, yuck, but by then I was so angry at all the damage they had done, that I did not mind.

It grossed out HH when I told him what I was up to squatting by the garden so intensely.

Turning over the leaves on each plant revealed more damage then I had ever suspected! There were munching marks on all of them. I'll be surprised if half of my plants recover from this. (Ugg!!! SO much work for not)

Sure these are just the cotyledons (fancy word for the first leaves :), but there is lots of damage on all the other leaves too. Stupid slugs....

In John Seymour's book The Simple Life and How To Live It he mentions that slugs like beer, so you are supposed to bury a saucer of beer right at ground level, and the slugs come to it then drown themselves. 

I am off to get the slugs drunk right now. Wish me luck!

I like the smell of old wood and clean clothes

You know that smell an old house has? Its not a bad smell, it just lets you know that the wood supporting the walls around has been around for more then 50 years.

My house has that smell.

It is not present all the time.Usually I have chased it off with the smells of cooking or baking, and cleaning.

 Just every now and then I will get a whiff of it. Like this morning mixed with the smell of my clean laundry.  That had to be one of the homiest smells ever.

I like being at home. I know that if I let myself I would become a reclusive hermit. Its in my blood. I have an uncle that moved into the desert for that reason.

I do not plan on letting that happen, but still. I could do it. I do enjoy being around my family and close friends. But I am the happiest at home, with my husband.  If I could just work it out that everyone came over to my house (While still leaving at the perfect time) and I never had to go to the grocery store again, that would be perfect :)

Scary what you find under 40 year old vinyl siding. 

Haha.... I know that's not happening. And really I am sure I do not want it too. Even though it sounds great right now.

I have to make conscious choices to get myself out there. To go see people, and talk to them.  My willingness and ability to do this changes day to day.

HH tore off a piece of rotten wood. Birds took advantage of it to make a nest in my house. 

I always wished to be a charmer who can put all around at ease with a few smart words, and entertain people easily. Some days I am closer then others. And still some days I feel I can not pry my mouth open with a crowbar.

Good thing I married a charmer. I can stand back and let him go at a crowd and he has the whole place laughing in minutes.

Bet you don't see old vents like this very often.