Recent Entries
Some Water Saving Ideas
Fabulous Baked Beans
Pumpkin Muffins yesterday, and Baked Beans Today
Excuses, Excuses....
Yes I'm a copy cat -- but does look like fun...
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Life...More Abundantly
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Thursday, February 4, 2010
Some Water Saving Ideas
Posted in Frugality and Stewardship
Now that I am officially a housewife. Funny not until the other day when Patti told me she hoped I was enjoying my new status as a housewife did it occur to call myself one. I like it  .
Any way, now that I am officially a housewife, my hubby and I are refocusing our minds on saving energy where ever possible.
I wanted to share some of our ideas on saving water.
- First of all, we installed water barrels some time ago. We don't get rain for a large part of the year but it does help. We use that water in the garden and my hubby occasionally washes the car with the water.
- Did you know the average load of clothes uses 40 gallons of water to wash. So I've started washing easy items like intimate clothes and blouses by hand. I can wash a whole load of clothes in less than 5 gallons.
- Don't run the faucet full strength for most tasks. When washing hands its not necessary to use tons of water. And shut it off during such things as brushing teeth.
- Do you run the water in the shower for a minute before it heats up? Why not collect that water in a bucket. Use it to water plants, wash the bathroom floor, or even flush the toilet.
- Take a military shower - turn the water on to get wet, turn off to soap up, and back on to rinse.
- Repurpose water -- I save my water from such things as boiling potatoes or even doing the dishes and I use it to water plants. I don't water anything from the veggie garden with the dish soap water but it doesn't go to waist.
Is there anything you do that I might be missing.
Sandy
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Thursday, February 4, 2010
Fabulous Baked Beans
Posted in In The Kitchen
Yesterday I mentioned I was making home made baked beans for the first time. They came out great. I wanted to share the recipe. And as the book states once you try them you won't ever go back to can -- I agree completely.
1 lb. small white dried beans (navy is good)
1/2 cup maple syrup or molasses (I used molasses)
2/3 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup finely chopped onion
2 tsp dry mustard
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 lb salt pork, cut in chunks (I used bacon)
Hot water, as needed
- Soak the beans overnight in water to cover by three times the depth of the beans.
- Preheat the oven to 275 degrees
- Drain the beans and put them in a pot covering in water. Bring to a boil and simmer them, partially covered, until softened but not cooked through, about 30 minutes. Drain the beans well and transfer them to a 2-quart ovenproof casserole with a lid.
- Add the remaining ingredients and stir to mix. Add hot water to cover the beans by 1 inch. Partially cover the casserole.
- Bake 5-6 hours, stirring occasionally and adding more water as needed to keep the beans moist.
After that enjoy them. Let me tell you how good they are. My husband does not like baked beans, but he liked these. Still not his favorite he tells me but he liked them.
One more note, I divided up my left over beans and froze them. I'll let you know how that works but it should be fine because I freeze beans all the time.
Happy Cooking
Sandy
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Wednesday, February 3, 2010
Pumpkin Muffins yesterday, and Baked Beans Today
Posted in In The Kitchen
I have the cook book that I absolutely love. Home-cooking Sampler by Peggy Glass. I've had it for years and I use it all the time for my quick breads and muffins. There are a lot of recipes that I haven't tried yet, like baked beans, even though I've had the book for over 15 years.
The book is so good that I could make and share a different recipe from the book each day, like Amy Adams character in Julia & Julie. But I won't.
I am sharing with you the Pumpkin Bread recipe however. I've used it for years as bread and muffins. See my notes at the bottom of the Recipe on how to use as muffins.
Pumpkin Bread -- makes 1 loaf
2 cups flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp powdered ginger
1/4 tsp nutmeg
2 eggs, at room temp
1 1/2 cups sugar
1/2 cup veg. oil
1 cup pumpkin or squash puree (canned okay)
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
Preheat oven to 350 degrees -- grease loaf pan or muffin pans
Sift flour, baking powder, salt, and spices
In another bowl, beat eggs and add sugar gradually - beat till fluffy. Add oil gradually until smooth.
Add dry ingredients and pumpkin to egg mixture alternately. Beat on low speed until combined. Stir in walnuts
Pour batter into pan/pans.
Bake at 350 for about 1 hour, 10 minutes for bread. Check center with tooth pick to make sure it is baked through.
Cool for 15 minutes in pan and then fully on wire rack.
Notes: I make this same recipe for muffins -- only thing I change is that I bake them about 25-30 minutes. Same temp and all. I get about 20 medium muffins.
Instead of walnuts try pecans, raisins, or dried cranberries.
Tomorrow, I'll share the baked bean recipe -- I'm trying it for the first time for dinner.
Happy Baking
Sandy
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Monday, February 1, 2010
Excuses, Excuses....
Posted in Down The Adoption Path
Monday, February 1, 2010
Yes I'm a copy cat -- but does look like fun...
1. Started your own blog
2. Slept under the stars
3. Played in a band - High School Marching Band
4. Visited Hawaii
5. Watched a meteor shower
6. Given more than you can afford to charity
7. Been to Disney World (Does Disneyland Count?)
8. Climbed a mountain
9. Held a praying mantis
10. Sang a solo
11. Bungee jumped
12. Visited Paris
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea (Does the Monongahela River Count?)
14. Taught yourself an art from scratch
15. Adopted a child (almost)
16. Had food poisoning
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty
18. Grown your own vegetables
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France
20. Slept on an overnight train
21. Had a pillow fight
22. Hitch hiked
23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill -- maybe ;0)
24. Built a snow fort
25. Held a lamb
26. Gone skinny dipping
27. Run a Marathon
28. Ridden in a gondola
29. Seen a total eclipse
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset
31. Hit a home run
32. Been on a cruise
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors
35. Seen an Amish community (helps when your mom is PA Dutch)
36. Taught yourself a new language - not myself but I do speak two languages.
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person
39. Gone rock climbing
40. Seen Michelangelo’s David
41. Sung karaoke (unfortunately for those who were there)
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant
44. Visited Africa
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight
46. Been inside an ambulance
47. Had your portrait painted
48. Gone deep sea fishing
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling
52. Kissed in the rain
53. Played in the mud
54. Gone to a drive-in theater
55. Been in a movie
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Started a business
58. Taken a martial arts class
59. Visited Russia
60. Served at a soup kitchen
61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies
62. Gone whale watching
63. Got flowers for no reason
64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma
65. Gone sky diving
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp
67. Bounced a check
68. Flown in a helicopter
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy - still have my first doll her name is Becky.
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial
71. Eaten Caviar
72. Pieced a quilt
73. Stood in Times Square
74. Toured the Everglades
75. Been fired from a job - is being laid of included.
76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London
77. Broken a bone
78. Been on a speeding motorcycle
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person
80. Published a book
81. Visited the Vatican
82. Bought a brand new car
83. Walked in Jerusalem
84. Had your picture in the newspaper
85. Read the entire Bible
86. Visited the White House
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
88. Had chickenpox
89. Saved someone's life
90. Sat on a jury
91. Met someone famous
92. Joined a book club
93. Lost a loved one
94. Had a baby
95. Seen the Alamo in person
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake
97. Been involved in a law suit
98. Owned a cell phone
99. Been stung by a bee
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Monday, February 1, 2010
What Does Suburban Simplicity mean.....
Posted in Just a Thought
I posted this before when I first started my blog, but now that I am staying home I wanted to talk about it again.
The original intention of this blog was to chronicle my husband and my journey to create a urban homestead in one of the largest suburbs of one of the largest cities in the country. With the idea that if we could do it anyone could.
But it has become so much more since that time almost two years ago. I'm not even sure my meaning of a homestead is the same or where I feel we are on that path. We definitely make more things from scratch and if we can grow it we do. We don't have any animals yet, but maybe some day.
However, what I really think suburban simplicity now means to me is finding that simple peace in life. Something that we are still striving towards. How do we do that:
- not focusing on the materialistic items. We have a sign on our wall that reads "the best things in life aren't things".
- not keeping up with the Jones. That is a vicious cycle that is easy to get into here in Los Angeles. But I think we are finally at peace with who we are and that helps us not fall into these traps -- most of the time :0)
- Taking time out to enjoy life, stopping to smell the roses, enjoying the simple things like a good glass of homemade lemonade.
That is suburban simplicity to me now a days. And that is what you will be seeing a lot more of on my blog.
Sandy
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Monday, February 1, 2010
Adjusting to my new life....
Posted in Keeping The Home
I can't tell you how excited I am to be staying home for now. I'm not sure how long it will last, but I'm going to enjoy it. And God willing, it will be permanent when our adoption comes through.
But I tell you, its going to take some getting use to. I've set a few rules for myself:
- I'm still getting up at my usual 6:30am.
- The TV is not to be on during the day. Not sure how this one will work, because my mom is use to having the news on all day long but she didn't today (her idea) and I think that will be better for her nerves and too it will save electricity.
- I'm only doing errands two days a week at the most, unless I get a temp job or something. And if it is something small that I can get there on my bike I will.
I also have to rearrange my schedule of household chores and I'm going to take on more of the chores my mom use to do. I use to wash clothes on Saturday but now I can wash a couple loads several days during the week and hang them out, weather permitting. We're expecting rain on Wed and Fri so I'll have to work it out. My goal is to finish all my work during the week so on Saturday I can help my hubby with projects around the house and then Sunday is free.
Another plan is to walk every morning. I didn't get a chance this morning because I took my mom for some blood work, but starting tomorrow. I really feel I can lose quite a bit of weight now that I'm home, because my job involved a lot of sitting and I'm not doing that here. Also, I find I eat less when I'm home.
Other than that I'm not going to make a schedule of what gets done each day. I get bored easy and like the flexibility to see what needs done. Instead, what I do is make myself a list of things I need to do, and then I go through the list and check them off one by one until they are done.
So I am adjusting to my new life. One-day-at-a-time.
Sandy
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Friday, January 29, 2010
Last Blog Post From My Job
Posted in In Blogland
Over the past 2 years of blogging here at HSB I have probably posted at least 75% of my posts from the desk at my job.
So I thought it only appropriate to make this post on my last day here. I thought I would be a lot more sad and panicked but I'm not. I know God has something fabulous in store for me. I don't quite know what that is yet - but there are a few things in the works that I will share with you in the days to come.
My boss and I have developed the attitude that when one door closes a better one opens.
One other thing -- company policy has prevented me from stating where I worked all these years and too I've always held back because I had some silly fear that others might judge my wanting to be a homesteader while I worked for one of the biggest corporations worldwide.
So today let me just say there is a mouse in this house where I work and he and his friends have probably all been to your house as well ;0)
Sandy
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Saturday, January 23, 2010
It Cost Me How Much to Make Laundry Soap!!!!
Posted in Frugality and Stewardship
At the start of this new year I want to refocus on some things that I stepped away from.
One of them is making my own laundry soap which I did today.
But I was shocked at the price when I calculated it. I knew I was saving money but just didn't realize how much.
Here is the breakdown as I calculated it.
- 1/3 bar of Lirio Laundry bar soap (a Spanish brand available around here) = .87 per bar = 29 cents for the 1/3 bar.
- 1/2 cup each Borax and washing soda.
- The borax cost 3.49 for a 76 oz box (I get 18 1/2 cup(4oz) out of a box) at 19 cents per 1/2 cup
- The washing soda cost 3.29 for a 55 oz box (I get almost 14 1/2 cup(4oz) out of a box) at 24 cents per 1/2 cup.
29 + 19 + 24 = 72 cents.
Add to that 2 gallons of water. My water bill says we pay 1/2 a cent per gallon of water.
Grand total is 73 cents to make the laundry soap.
Now my recipe says to use 1/2 cup per load of laundry. If I figure I have 2 gallon's of soap -- that means I get 64 loads of clothes washed for 73 cents. (Note in most loads I only use 1/4 cup so it actually give me more).
I'm sorry but no matter what laundry soap we buy there is no way to get that many washes for that little.
So I solemnly promise never, ever, ever, to buy laundry soap again.
Oh and in case you are wondering I used Crystal's Laundry Soap recipe.
Sandy
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Thursday, January 21, 2010
Etsy Name - Would Love Your Opinions
Posted in The Craft Basket
I'm going to take the plunge into Etsy and I'm trying to figure out a name. I would love your opinions on what I have so far, or if you think of something else please let me know.
My plans are to sell crocheted items as well as embroidered plastic canvas items. So here are some of my thoughts based on not wanting to use the word crocheted in it. I would also like to associate it with my blog if possible. The last suggestion is because there are quite a few stores with Sandy in the title - so I used my first an middle initial.
-- Sandy's Simple Crafts
-- Simply Crafty
-- Sandy's Craftworks
-- Suburban Craftworks
-- SJ Craftworks
Sandy
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Wednesday, January 20, 2010
Saving Money by Staying Home
Posted in Frugality and Stewardship
In my last post I said I wanted to write some more on how one saves money by staying home. Inspired by a great article at Down-to-Earth here are some additional thoughts I had as it relates to our situation and maybe yours.
In Rhonda Jean's article she talks about how not working saves money on such items as child care, transport, work clothes, hair cuts, and makeup. I would add to that lunch. I try to bring my lunch to work, but on days I don't it can cost me between $6-8 to eat at the employee cafeteria. It is less if I go off campus, but then you have to figure in gas expense. That means on average I spend $35 a week on lunch or $1800 a year. Staying home I would probably eat left overs or a nice salad out of the garden for practically nothing.
I can also take this one step further. My hubby almost always buys his lunch because he likes a hot lunch and with the work he does I don't blame him. However, he loves soup for lunch and if I was home full time I could make soups for him to take with home made bread or what not and he would be so happy. This would save us another $1500 - $1800 a year.
Rhonda Jean also talks about budgeting and shopping for sales on food, etc. I would add being home full time would mean our garden would be more productive and things wouldn't go to waist. We really don't waist much of our garden produce because we give away what we can't use.
However, if I was home I could make more efficient use of what we have -- having more time to can, etc. I My mom currently does a lot of our small canning jobs like making a batch of jelly here and there and then we do the bigger jobs together. But she is going to be 80 this year and I know it is getting harder for her.
In addition, I could plant more crops that need to be planted in succession - such as radish, carrots, and beets. A lot of times we don't get big crops of these items because we just don't have the time to put more seeds in. Its possible to say that with me home our veggie budget could become zero.
Lastly, I wanted to talk about how Rhonda Jean says that things last longer around the house, because one is home to see what needs doing. And you find ways to recycle and re-use items around the house. Or make things from scratch. I couldn't agree more -- while I'm working I always try to find the time to make things from scratch. Example, last night when I got home, I quickly put a loaf of bread in the bread machine. It was finished right as I was ready for bed. Also, I love to make my own laundry soap, but sometimes I just buy it because I don't have the time to make it.
Also, I noticed when I started hanging out our laundry that I would notice little things that needed sewn and was able to fix it and then we did not need to buy new items. Oh, and lets not forget having the time to actually sew the items. I can see this happening in other areas of the household with me staying home.
Lastly, I just want to add that it is not only about the money. It occurs to me that if I'm home to do things during the week, then on weekends we have more time to do things as a family. And that is a good thing :0)
Sandy
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Wednesday, January 20, 2010
A Moment of Clarity
Posted in Just a Thought
Well I think I'm finally coming to peace with what God has intended for me and what I want to do.
Yesterday as I'm sitting in a job interview I couldn't help but think why am I doing this. Going through this, subjecting myself to the torture of interviews when what I really want to do is be a homemaker and get things going for when our adoption is final. I know some of you are thinking, Oh Boy, here she goes again -- when will she make up her mind!
I truly know this is what I'm meant to do but I keep letting things get in the way, like thinking I need to work so I can afford health insurance for myself.
When I got back to my office I was catching up on one of my favorite blogs Down-to-Earth and one of the posts was about living on one income. She makes a lot of good points. Even if you've been living on one income for years you should read it. And if you haven't discovered her blog yet you should - its wonderful. I also have some ideas on how me staying home will save us money which I will share in another post.
Last night my hubby and I sat down and discussed everything. And this is the plan:
- Jan 29th will be my last day of work.
- The money that I will receive from unpaid vacation and severance will go into our savings account.
- I will apply for unemployment once I'm allowed (think 1st week after layoff).
- Then each week we will transfer from savings the difference between unemployment and my usual pay check.
- I will try and earn money where I can (temping, helping former boss, Etsy) to supplement everything. This way the amount in the savings account will last longer.
- However, my main focus will be on getting through my radiation treatments (which turns out to be 4 not 2 weeks), and getting my home the way I want it. I have so much to do -- I want to organize things, throw things out, maybe even sell some things on E-bay. We have so much we don't use -- it's time to get rid of it I think. After all our goal is Suburban Simplicity.
- I have unfinished craft projects around the house and its time to get seedlings started for the spring/summer garden.
- We will also be working on things such as budgeting and debt reduction. Oddly enough, I think we may be able to reduce our debt faster with me not working. I'll write more about that later.
- We also plan to finish our adoption paperwork this weekend and submit it next week.
- We will also monitor every month if it is working for me to stay home, etc.
The only exception to these plans would be if I was offered one of the two jobs I interviewed for. Then we would have to discuss it. At this point, I'm not applying for any other positions -- I do have a few resumes out there and we'll see.
I'm very excited but very nervous -- I don't know if I'll know how to handle not working. On the other hand, I feel like I'm actually going to have more work to do. And I'm going to have to commit myself to a schedule so I get things done.
Sandy
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Tuesday, January 19, 2010
I Haven't Floated Away Yet!!
Posted in Around the Homestead
Thanks to all of you who are concerned about our weather here. As of last night we had received somewhere between 3 to 6 inches of rain depending on where a person lives.
We are expecting two additional storms to come through -- it just started pouring rain a few minutes ago after a couple hours of sun/drizzle. Not sure if this is the second storm or still the first. They are saying we will get somewhere between 2-3 inches of rain each day through Friday and possibly Saturday.
Let's add that up -- Tues-Fri is 4 days, or 8 to 12 inches add into that the 3-6 inches we already got Sunday and yesterday that is 11 to 18 inches. Well that's not the 20-40 inches they predicted but 18 is pretty close and if we get rain on Saturday as well we will hit that 20 inches.
Now the cool thing for me is that we had thunderstorms. Why is that cool? Because we don't get thunderstorms as a rule in California and I miss them :0)
On the other hand we were under a tornado watch for about 45 minutes this morning. I was okay where I was, but my hubby was in the area where the watch was. That was not cool.
But at least I'm glad its not snow. Because 20 inches of rain would equal about 200 inches of snow - depending on how wet or dry it is.
Keep Dry
Sandy
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Monday, January 18, 2010
I Think We're Going To Need An Ark
Posted in Around the Homestead
After two weeks at near 70 degree weather we are back to our typical January rainy weather.
However, the crazy weather people are predicting that we are going to get somewhere between 20 to 40 inches of rain this week in some areas. Apparently we are going to get hit with 3 storms back to back. This is crazy -- 40 inches!!!! That is like 8 inches short of four feet.
So this weekend we spent time preparing the homestead for the impending weather. Finishing up some work that is suppose to be done this time of year. I finished pruning the roses and hubby and I pruned the peach and apricot tree. And of course hubby checked out different things around the homestead and put some things away so they wouldn't get damaged by the rain. Oh and he cleaned out the gutter that feeds the rain barrels.
We pulled out a bunch of overgrown bushes that we decided we didn't want along the front of the house. The plan is to put herbs in there and maybe a few veggies. We are trying to use every bit of garden space for food this year.
We also went and bought a couple fruit trees as we wanted to get them in before the rains came. We got a plum, pomegranite, and a lime tree. We also bought raspberry bushes and a few more strawberry plants. I think we now have all the fruit trees we want, unless something else occurs to us. My niece and nephew went with us to buy the trees and she was just amazed by all the fruit -- she was especially intrigued with a citron tree that had actual citron on it. She couldn't get over the shape of that fruit.
It started raining yesterday as we got home from church and as I look out my window I can see the rain dripping from the roof which tells me it is still raining.
Today, I have what I hope to be my last doctor's appointment for three months. Other than that we are staying in. Going to put the crockpot on with some nice beef stew, bake some bread, and I think I may start some of my seeds for the summer garden.
Keep Dry.
Sandy
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Monday, January 18, 2010
Sad News Out of Haiti
Posted in Prayer Requests
Yesterday at church we prayed for those affected by the Haiti earthquake.
During the course of our prayers we were told that the Catholic Archbishop of Port-au-Prince, 100 priests, and another 100 + lay workers were all killed in the quake.
This is so sad to me to think we lost that many Christian workers and that is only in the Catholic Church. It gives me the chills to think how many other workers for Christ were lost.
Our pastor has asked us to pray that those who had come to Christ before the quake do not lose their faith, and that others will come to Christ in wake of the quake. That the lives of the dead priests and lay workers will not be in fain.
He also asked us to pray that others will step into the roles left behind by these deaths. Whether it be people from outside Haiti seeking mission work or Haitians themselves feeling a call to minister to others in Christ.
Sandra
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Sunday, January 17, 2010
New Favorite Blog
Posted in In Blogland
I wanted to share with you a new favorite blog of mine. The blog isn't new, I was just introduced to it by another blog I read.
Dutch Blue is a great blog to read if you like to sew, craft, or just like looking at pretty crafty things.
I highly recommend sitting down with a cup of coffee or tea and reading this blog not mention looking at the cute pictures.
Enjoy
Sandy
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Sunday, January 17, 2010
Citrus Punch
Posted in In The Kitchen
One thing we are trying to do here is get away from soda and things like crystal light. We are trying to drink more natural juices, lemonade, or ice tea.
If at all possible we want to use what we have around the homestead to make these drinks. So here are some pictures of the Citrus punch I made the other day.
These are oranges and mandarins from our trees. The one darker orange in the middle front is a blood orange I got at the farmers market. We had never tried blood oranges and I was curious -- they are quite tasty actually. So to make this punch I juiced three oranges, two of the mandarins (not an easy task), and the blood orange (which gives it the pinkish color). Then I add the same amount of water as the juice, a Tbsp of sugar, and ice cubes.
And this is what we got --
And I must say it was yummy.
My mom made a similar pitcher a few days later but she put in the juice of one lemon instead of the blood orange and it was equally as good.
Cheers
Sandy
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Sunday, January 17, 2010
Great Movie Recommendation
Posted in Just a Thought
Last night DH, I, and our nephew went to see The Spy Next Door. I highly recommend it. It was hilarious and touching.
Basically it is about a Spy who is dating his next door neighbor and he retires and asks her to marry him. But her kids hate him. So he is given the opportunity to spend time with the children while she is out of town but something happens pulling him back into his old life. There are a lot of lessons learned along the way which makes it great as well. Its also funny how he uses his spy skills to handle the kids.
There is a little bit of violence -- but no one dies or gets shot or anything. Basically it is Jackie Chan karate type moves with props used as well. And there is no bad language that I can remember.
I admit I wasn't interested in seeing it - but hubby and nephew wanted to. But I'm glad we did.
Sandy
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Saturday, January 16, 2010
Priorities
Posted in Just a Thought
Wow! I didn't realize it has been 8 days since I posted. I guess I let other things get in the way.
Mainly, I started focusing on finding a new job and it took over my life. I know I've been saying I want to become a SAHM, and I do. However, I let fear get in my way this past week. Fear of not paying bills, of not being able to afford Cobra, of not having the money for our adoption, etc.
Then I came on HSB this morning and it all became clear - what am I doing. I don't want to be that person who's life is consumed by her job. I thought I had left the person behind. And after reading some of my favorite blogs it hit me - I've let my priorities shift this week. And I don't like it.
I was also moved by Bev's post at Furbelow Cottage on how we need to let go and let God catch us. You know that is the second time I've heard something similar in a month or so. A friend of mine told me that sometimes you just have to get out of God's way and let Him do what he needs to do.
So that is what I'm doing now -- resetting my priorities. A good friend of mine actually suggested temping after I lose my job because I would have flexibility to work when I wanted. Great idea and actually how I got my current job I've had for 10 years. She even helped me start my list of people in our company to let know I'm temping. I know a few former employees who have been temping for years at the company. And this way I can focus more on our Homestead as well. On weeks when its busy, like during canning season I can stay home.
I do have an interview next week at my company for a job I'm really interested in and would enjoy. If that job offer comes through I will take it, but beyond that I think I'm stopping to look. Now I can refocus my energy on my homesteading -- including my homestead friends here :0)
Sandy
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Friday, January 8, 2010
Seed Time
Posted in Out In The Garden
One of the main things we do around our homestead in January is figure out what seeds we'll need for this year. We are slowly learning to save seeds from year to year. But some seeds we will buy and also we like to try new things each year.
This year we are sticking with heirloom seeds and only ordering from Seed Savers Exchange.
Here is a peek at what we decided to order:
Good Mother Stallard's bean (a red/white speckled drying bean)
Arikara Yellow bean -- we really wanted to increase our drying bean production this year.
Stowell's Evergreen Corn -- been a favorite in our family for generations
Blue Jade Corn -- this will be an experiment. Blue corn is very popular in El Salvador where my hubby is from so we wanted to give it a try. May use it to dry and grind -- again an experiment.
Double Yield Pickle Cucumber -- a favorite. Haven't learned to save cucumber seeds yet.
Purple Pickling Eggplant -- another favorite. Again we haven't mastered seed saving of eggplants.
Gold Rush and Red Salad Bowl lettuce.
Christmas Lima Beans -- we wanted to try an heirloom lima this year -- we've been seed saving the one we use but want a change.
Long Red Florence and Yellow of Parma onions -- I really recommend the long Red. They are awesome.
Alma Paprika Pepper -- in the mood to try growing/drying/grinding my own paprika.
Ancho Gigantea Pepper -- want to add ancho's to our garden this year.
Anna Swartz Hubbard Squash -- we wanted to add a winter squash this year. This one seems promising.
Round de Nice summer Squash -- this was hubby's pick -- it reminds him of a summer squash his grandma use to grow.
Only tomato we are adding this year is Amish Paste - we already save our seeds from tomato plants and we have a nice assortment that we like. This will add to it nicely.
Blacktail Mountain watermelon -- we already grow sugar babies but we wanted to try something more this year.
And that is pretty much it except for some culinary herb seeds such as basil and chamomile. I need to remember to let at least one plant of each of my annual herbs go to seed. Usually at the end of the season I pull and freeze/dry what is left.
Here is to a good 2010 Gardening Season
Sandra
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