Saying goodbye

Once the weather warmed up, I opened up our 3 hives to see what I would find.  Unfortunately, I found that all 3 of our hives did not make it through the winter.  This seems to be very difficult for bee keepers in my area as we have talked to quite a few of them.  After careful deliberation, we decided to take a year off from bee keeping.  It makes me sad as this is a hobby that has been passed down through my family.  But it's not crossed off the list permanently.  We will try again when we have more time to focus on our bees.

I emptied all the frames of honey and wax (wax for salves!) and here's a few pics from the day:

uncapping

beeswax

Yes, I'm still here!

Wow! It really has been a long time since I've written a blog post. I’m surprised you haven’t left me.

 I took some time off from my blog and urban homesteading in general. I try to use the winter time to tuck my wool covered toes under a warm blanket by the fire and read or hand sew or sometimes just sip a cup of tea. I've had the time to really consider what I want out of my life now that we are no longer stuck in school and my kids are getting older. For awhile there, we seriously considered making the jump to buy a rural piece of property for our very own homestead. But in the end, our offer wasn't accepted. So it was just not meant to be (yet…).

 
Once the weather warmed up, Matty and I considered what we DO want to do to our suburban homestead this year. I want to focus on making more handmade everything. More soaps, more salves, more herbs, and more sustainable living. The first project we tackled was building a shed for Matt’s new tractor. He also wanted me to have space to grow my own plants in a safe place (aka: away from the cats that eat them). I can use this as an unheated greenhouse! It’s awesome.

 So here are the suburban homesteading plans for this year:

•   Grow more berries
•   Start my own natural first aid kit
•   Learn about foraging and edible weeds
•   Make my own compost at home
•   Possibly start my own worm bin?
•   Set up my rain barrel (our neighbor gave us the barrel 2 years ago!)
•   Update all my gardens with flowers and herbs that I want to grow
•   Make more of my own clothes So I promise to update more of my adventures.

I hope to complete my plans for the year so I can make a new list next year. Thanks for sticking around!

foodie penpal reveal

Wish I could remember the blog I found out about this great food fun but I can't remember (sorry!).

I signed up for my first swap with no expectations but trying something new.

Then, the third week of November I received my box full of goodies from Cierra.

Included was Bay Spice (something Cierra told me was a local spice used in her neighborhood), root beer 

twislers, dried kiwi (which is something I never tried before but they are perfect for a snack at work), delicious cookies (seriously delicious), chocolate covered pretzels which were snagged by my son (he loved them), jelly beans, caramel treats and a box of tea.

In Cierra's sweet card, she mentioned this was an activity for both her mom and herself which got me thinking that I could get my kids involved.  So I plan on the next swap (oh yes- I'll be doing this again!) for my kids to help me pick out what we will send.

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Liebster Award

So just this week, I was nominated by the awfully sweet Stephanie from Never the Same Spice Twice for the Liebster Award.  Liebster apparently means darling or beloved in German.  I love branching out and making new "blog friends". So very nice of her to include me.

Now, the Liebster Award involves some rules:

1. List 11 facts about yourself.

2. Answer the 11 questions given to you.

3. Create 11 new questions for the bloggers you nominate for the award.

4. Choose 11 bloggers with 200 or less followers to nominate.

5. Go to each bloggers page and let them know about the award.

11 Facts:

1. I would rather have dirt under my fingernails than be stuck behind a computer all day
2. I have naturally dirty blonde hair that I dye brunette every fall/winter
3. I am pretty much obsessed with my favorite book "The Outlander"
4. As much as I love to travel and see new sights, I prefer my feet on the ground and haven't flown since 1998
5. I suppose I can cook but I need to strictly follow a recipe and if it involves meat, Matt needs to be around to help out (I can't ever tell if it's done or when I am about to burn something)
6. My cat Pretty was my first "baby" when we adopted her in 1995.  She would cry all day until I started carrying her around the apartment in my overall pocket
7. I try to learn a new homesteading skill every year.  (this year was cheese making)
8. My favorite chocolates are Peppermint Patties
9. I adore Pandora and my "creative tunes" playlist
10. My hero is my Grandfather (I am a second generation bee keeper due to him)
11. I'm married to my high school sweetheart and he is still my best friend

Stephanie's questions

1.  What was your first car?

my parents gave me their Chevy Celebrity station wagon

2.  Do you have any tattoos?  What and where?

not yet but I think I finally figured out what & where

3.  What is the first thing you ever learned to cook?

Mac and cheese (the boxed kind)  

I think we ate it every day during summer vacation after I learned how to make it

4.  What is your guilty pleasure?

The Real Housewives' Series (did I just admit that?  Next question please...)

5.  If you could have a superpower, what would it be and why?

to change mean people into nicer ones (life is too short to be mean)

6.  What famous person do people say you resemble?

I have no idea but my sister once spent her time casting "our family movie"

she casted Angelina Jolie for me and Will Ferrell for Matt (my husband)

picture those two in a movie (now that's funny!)

7.  Would you rather talk on the phone or via text?

depends who I need to communicate with

my family? the phone

8.  What was your most recent "impulse buy"?

tall black boots (and I'm so glad I bought them)

9.  What is the strangest thing you have ever eaten?

octopus (and it was good!)

10.  What is your favorite song at the moment?

"Stubborn Love" by the Lumineers

11.  What is the last movie you saw in the theater?

sadly, The Hunger Games

I'm a family movie night on the couch kind of girl

My Questions:

1. What is your favorite book?
2. What time period do you wish you lived in?
3. What is your favorite salad?
4. What technology could you not live without?
5. What is your favorite color?
6. What is your favorite app?
7. What country/city would you love to visit?
8. What is your favorite quote?
9. What is your favorite date night movie?
10. What is your favorite flower?
11. What would you do if you became a millionaire?

Here are my nominations:

Kristen @ Szarek's Den

Kate @ the peony and the bee

Leslie @ Comfrey Cottages

Carrie @ Cook, Study, and be Crafty

the hysterical Finny @ Finny Knits

Lauren @ Craft My Life Away

Melanie @ Adirondack Birds and Trails

Hannah @ Sparkly Pink Star

Kristen @ Going Country

sauerkraut making

When my sister invited me to go with her to my Grandfather's to make sauerkraut, I had to take her up on the offer.  I tried making sauerkraut a couple of years ago but it was an epic, stinky fail.  My Dad and Mom also came out for the day trip so we ended up with 3 generations of kraut makers!

this is my sister with the shredder

We started by cutting each head of cabbage into 4 and cutting out the core.  Then we shredded the cabbage with my great-grandmother's shredder (how cool is that?). Here's a close up:

We layered about 3-4 inches of the shredded cabbage in the crock along with about 1 tablespoon of canning salt.

Then we sprinkled a very small handful of cabbage over the the salted layer so it wouldn't stick to the handy tool my grandfather built to pack the cabbage into the crock:

We continued doing this as we filled up the crock.  The higher the layers, the more liquid started to be produced.

We filled the crock to just about 3 inches from the top and wiped down the sides.  The hope is to make an airtight seal.

We placed a garbage bag on top of the packed down cabbage and filled the bag with some warm water.  This is in place of the wooden lids they used to use held down with a brick.

The bag was tied at the top and then covered entirely with a black garbage bag to sit inside for 5-6 weeks.
We'll be going back then to can it up.

I am now on the lookout for another crock.  We've seen them at antique fairs and they tend to be a bit pricey.  The one I bought had a hole in the side and I now think it is a vinegar crock.
My grandfather has my great-grandmother's original crock and boy it is a beauty:

My Grandfather also has another one with a really interesting design on it.  He heard the design makes it a rare and valuable crock.  Need to look into that!

After we finished filling the crocks, I checked out the supers of honey my Grandfather harvested for the year.

Now that's alot of honey!  I'm jealous.
Be sure to come back in a few weeks to see how the kraut comes out!

Food Swap #2

I participated in my first food swap this past spring and really loved it.  I was ready to jump in and stay local when I found the From Scratch Club swap.  I brought a few of my grape jelly jars and bottled up some of our honey to swap.  Of course, in my prepping for the swap I completely forgot to make samples.  Oops!

Here's what I swapped for: eggs (the little ones were for Scarlet), tabbouleh (super yummy!), salted caramels (Scarlet said salt and caramel?  I didn't think they'd go together but they do), XXX apple cider, granola, pumpkin sugar scrub, quince jelly (been wanting to try this for awhile), cranberry jelly (perfect for Thanksgiving leftovers), cinnamon bread (that was devoured by the kids the next morning) and super yummy cupcakes.

Looking forward to many more swaps and so happy to meet so many great people to swap with!

lately

listening to: Matt finally figured out how to get my favorite radio station in the kitchen.  I have been happily listening to 102.7 while spending time baking.  I know it is going to be a great day if I hear something by the Beastie Boys in the morning.  There is something about their songs that just make me ready to take on the day.

watching: loving this season of Project Runway All Stars.  My picks for the finals: Ivy, Althea, Anthony Ryan, and Joshua.  Can't narrow it down from there just yet.  And of course- my all time favorite show Parks and Recreation.  Got me a Leslie Knope bumper sticker just in time for the elections.

looking forward to: cozy fires in the fireplace- come on snow!

eating: Matt's yummy dinners and my baked goods. My kids just seem happier when I bake for them and I love hearing them say "You need to make these again Mom!"  Warms my heart. 

drinking: lots and lots of coffee.  I don't know when I made the switch from tea but it's what I am preferring right now.

wearing: nice clothes (now that I don't have to worry about dirtying them at work).  New black boots and chunky scarves.  I wanted Scarlet to know I can dress nice if I need to.

working on: making my swap items for the From Scratch Club food swap and Foodie Penpals

avoiding: getting involved with the teenage drama of middle school.  Encouraging Scarlet to not be a "mean girl" and keeping my opinions to myself.

noticing: my home garden needs some serious work 

reading: finally finished "Pillars of the Earth".  All I can say is "eh" and I can at least say I read it.  I have a huge pile waiting for me now after the library used book sale.  I'm into "Green Darkness" and it has just started to pick up.

missing: my right winter hiking boot.  Seriously!  I've been looking for it all week and wearing my summer hiking shoes at work are leaving me with frozen toes.

hating: hearing all the hype about Christmas presents.  Hoping to stay home Black Friday like I used to and make my gifts.

loving: my winter hours that allow me to spend time with my kids and taking time to do the things I enjoy

Vegetable soup stock

Now that the weather is getting colder and the garden is winding down, it's time to use up the last of the veggies.  It's also time to start making soups!

I take anything leftover from the garden, any veggies that need to go from my fridge, a handful of assorted herbs, along with garlic and onions and put them in my dutch oven.

I cover the veggies with water so they are almost all submerged, cover my dutch oven, and let it simmer all day.

When I remember I still have something on the stove due to the delicious smell coming from my kitchen, I strain all the veggies (they can go in the compost pile) and pour the liquid into containers for the fridge.

What do I put in my veggie soup stock?

• onions and garlic- no need to peel just cut in half and throw them in
• stems from kale- the leaves I made kale chips with
• the inner stalks of celery along with the leaves
• beans that were getting alittle soft
• kale and collard leaves that had holes in them from insect nibbling
• herbs- parsley, thyme, oregano, bay leaf
• garden leftovers- turnip, rutabaga (these were small and wouldn't bulk up in time before winter)
• anything leftover from my fridge- an eggplant, broccoli stems

After my stock cools down in the fridge, I like to put it in large freezer bags.  I lie them flat in the freezer and then they take up very little space. I'll get a picture of that sometime today.

Let me know what else you like to put in your soup stocks!

Bugs anyone?

So, I've been having fun with instagram (I'm alittle late to join the bandwagon but hey - it's been gardening season around here!).

Somehow I've been taking most of my pictures of the cool bugs I find in the garden.



A tomato or tobacco hornworm covered with parasitic wasp eggs

found in our high tunnel on a tomato plant.  I've been wanting to see one of these for real and couldn't believe I spotted him.  Very camoflaugy!

 

You know when you are flipping through your insect id book and you always land on the same page with a bug you think you will never see (I know this happens to someone else!)?  Well, I was making a flower arrangement when I thought I saw a miniature toad on the underside of a leaf.  Imagine my surprise when it's cute little antennae started moving.  It was then that I knew exactly what it was (well, at least on the top corner of a right handed page).  I now know what a clavate tortoise beetle looks like (cool!).



Monarchs can be difficult.  They certainly are divas in front of the camera, always moving so that you can't get a good side pic of their wings (their best side IS the side!).  Anyways, this one must have been hungry enough to stop moving for like 2 seconds so I could get this great pic.

 

Can't figure out how to get my cool instagram pic of this guy on my blog but here he is.  I was working in the high tunnel again when I felt something land on my shoulder.  I turned my head to see this guy staring at me.  Man, he's got some jagged claw hands.  He said a quick "hi!" and then jumped to the ground and stopped to pose for a picture.  He was very friendly and a welcome addition to our garden.  He is known for being a "good bug" as he eats the "bad bugs" in the garden.

Look forward to many more posts and some big changes for my blog.  I really miss it around here and can't wait to be back with more!

art journal time

I needed just one day to get my hands dirty with paint instead of dirt.  Today ended up being the day I felt inspired.  Here's the mess I made:

I started with a masking technique over a very old Creative Memories ivy border sticker.  The green paint turned out alittle too bright for me and I had a hard time finding anything to match it.  So I painted layers of green and ended up getting inspired.

 

I have searched and searched for the creator of the tree with poem.  Found it here on pinterest: Advice from a tree. {would love to give credit where due}
I love having quotes on Pinterest handy for my journal.  The tree pattern paper inspired me and I took it from there.  Even included a small piece of bark {I love using embellishments from nature}.
Thanks for looking!  More to come...