Checking In

It seems like everything is on hold around here.  Held hostage by the weather for the most part.  We didn't properly put the gardens to bed last fall and so there is work that needs to be done on that front.  When the weather cooperates we are trying to get things done.  Mars has the plans in his head and although I really want to keep reminding him there are things that need to be planted now,  I've learned to try and let him do his thing without too much harping on my part. The current push is on the row we will plant potato's in.  It's got all manner of Bermuda grass in it and so we're digging as much of the roots out as possible.  It's taking some time but there's nothing we can do about that. The main goal since starting the gardens has been to make it harder and harder for the grass to grow and making the soil better and better. It'll be a continuous fight but much more manageable in the long run  This will be the third year we've had the garden.  Every year the soil keeps looking better and better and we're finding more and more worms out there lending us a helping hand.

 We got a pretty good rain here this weekend so now we'll have to wait till it's dried up enough to be able to get out there again. So it looks like I'll not be boring you to death just yet with the garden progress report. 

Free Seed Catalogs

I love it when my seed catalogs start coming in!   Many of them have some wonderful tips and information that's new to me. I think I could spend hours reading them.  Well I realized a few weeks ago that with moving out to the Hillside Homestead I wasn't going to get any catalogs if I didn't order them.  So while I was poking around the net I compiled a list of Free Seed Catalogs from companies that carry heirloom and open pollinated seeds.  I thought I would share some of the ones I found and some that have been favorites of mine for a long time. Oh and did I mention they are Free?  I just love that word!  

 Free Catalog List  ( heirloom/open-pollinated seeds)
 
Abundant Life 
Baker Creek
Bountiful Gardens  
Heirloom Acres Seeds  
Johnny's Selected Seeds  
Potato Garden 
 R.H. Shumway's
Sandhill Preservation Center 
Seeds of Change  
Seed Savers Exchange 

This is in no way a complete list. It's just a start.   If you have some that are your favorites, please share them with us!!  I just love reading them.  There is something I find wonderful about being able to hold them and flip the pages... I can make notes and use a highlighter too when I come across something "cool".  ( Don't tell anyone but I even "ohhh and ahhh" over some of the things I want to try)
I've also found an excellent source of seed catalogs by the state from Mother Earth News. 
                             ~~~~~~  Hey... I'm Just Sayin' ...  ~~~~~~

I'll Be Back

Sorry for the silence.  I'm recuperating from another back procedure and honestly haven't felt much like doing anything.  Even though I knew they told me that this "procedure" wouldn't be as easy as the last couple I never expected to be in this much pain. Walking is a major problem as is any sort of bending, standing, sitting or for that matter much of anything else. 

I'll be back soon.

Caution.... Possible Seed Porn

Like everyone else I'm so very ready for spring.  Or at least warmer and less windy days.  Those 40mph wind gusts remind me of part of the reason why I moved away from the coast just as soon as I was able.  I have nothing other than a pot of lettuce sprouting in the greenhouse either.
With so much to do to get the garden ready for spring planting I feel as though I'm far behind where I should be.  The greenhouse should be full of trays by now.  With no heat yet to keep the seeds warm at night it is fruitless to even try.  Heat and ventilation have yet to be worked out. That's on "The List" too.  It's times like these that I have to sit back and remind myself that everything has it's own time, it's own natural rhythm.

I've already resigned myself to the fact that I'll end up buying tomato plants and other early spring plants like broccoli and cabbage this year. It's ok, even if I DID want to start them from seed this year. Things could be worse. We are having a much better winter than many folks.  Especially those North and East of here.

OK, now that I got my "whine" out of the way..... I have just got to share this with anyone who's not clicked that big X at the top of the page yet....
 
My dad is one of those guys that hardly ever picks up the phone to make a call.  He told me years ago that kids should call their parents and not the other way around. Of course whenever he  does call, my heart skips a beat or three wondering who's died or injured.  He's also not one for using the mail either.  He's been telling me that he's got some seed he wants to mail to me.  Much  of it is seed from strains he's been growing for years. So yesterday when I received a box in the mail and I saw who it was from I knew exactly what was in it.  I might have even done a little happy dance.

Seeds, seeds and more seeds. The picture is what the first layer of the box looked like.  Dad saves his seeds in  old medicine bottles like these, which is half the battle of keeping them in a dark place.  There are two or three layers under those bottles. Baggies of all kinds of different varieties of seeds all saved by my Dad!

If I thought I was ready for spring to get here before, now I feel like a kid waiting for Christmas to finally get here. I'm trying to ignore the fact that another cold front will be moving in on us over the weekend with highs in the 20's and possible rain,sleet and snow.

Stay warm folks... this can't last forever!!

French Vanilla Coffee Creamer (DIY)

Most of us can't get ourselves motivated in the morning without a cup of coffee or three. I take mine with cream and sugar.  I also really like some of the flavored creamers that are out there.  Me being cheap.... errr... frugal means that I just won't spend the extra money on those expensive flavored creamers.  So when I ran across this recipe for making my own French Vanilla Creamer I just had to try it. I happened to have a can of sweetened condensed milk in the cupboard I'd picked up for making a batch of ice cream. I then kept forgetting the heavy cream and no ice cream was made.

A couple of things here.  I tried this as written and I didn't care for it one little bit. I added more milk (Like to the rim of the jar) I used some Vanilla Coffee Syrup the first time.  It was wayyy to sweet. 

I should have let Mikey try it, he likes everything. (For those too young to remember - there was a commercial for Life cereal  a few years ago  "Let Mikey try it, he likes everything")  Good grief I feel older than dirt for having to explain that one.! 

 Back to you Jane..... :-)

 I would recommend using the vanilla extract instead of the syrup.  It's much better and besides this recipe is already pretty sweet because of the condensed milk. You might even want to add more milk. I think next time I'll make my own sweetened condensed milk as it's pretty simpe to make too.
 I had to make this a couple of times, playing with the measurements but for all this build-up its a recipe as easy as it gets.

Here's the original link
And here's mine

You'll need
14oz sweetened condensed milk
2 cups milk (any kind will do)
2 teaspoons vanilla extract OR Vanilla Coffee Syrup(if you like it ultra sweet try using the syrup)
1 quart mason jar

Pour it all in a  mason jar and shake shake shake.
Add it to your coffee!  How simple is that?

So there you have it. I can't afford to buy fancy creamers for my coffee but when I can find the condensed milk on sale I'll sure grab a couple of cans and whip up some fancy coffee creamer!  You can also make a host of different flavors using this as a base.  You might even want to add more milk.   Or dream up your own! I think next time I'll make my own sweetened condensed milk as it's pretty simple too.

Here's a link for some ideas.

Who knows....one day I might make some ice cream too.