09:31 , October 26, 2006
Shame on me. It's hard keeping two blogs, haha. And then I wander over here and realize I'm missing out. My front yard reflects the colors of this blog. And this blog is so much prettier than my other, "newsy" blog. This one makes me rest, just to be here. I hope you all are enjoying your autumn. I wish it were always autumn. So beautiful.
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08:00 , July 27, 2006
Do you know anyone who uses the ocean as a part of their homesteading? If so, will you have them contact me? We're doing an article in the magazine (THE OLD SCHOOLHOUSE). 
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01:07 , July 10, 2006
We were camping over the weekend in the beautiful App mountains of Tennessee and Virginia - right on the border. It was so lovely. Our tent was set back against a wide yet shallow (loud - lovely) creek that we fell asleep to each night. Man it was wonderful. Our friends own over 250 acres and we did a family camp. All the kids had a blast. I brought my homemade salsa and did Mexican omelettes in the mornings. They were a hit! The whole weekend was very restful, but I do have sunburn. :-)
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05:07 , June 29, 2006
Today I made strawberry/banana smoothies for me and the kids. Man they were GOOD. I included blueberry yogurt, lots of ice, and the berries themselves were frozen solid to begin with. It was so refreshing. What are some of your favorite types of smoothies?
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04:18 , June 28, 2006
Today's question on the Porch is asking us what we see outside our front door. When I open the door, I see cows. Many, many cows, on all four sides of me. Lots of pasture, and a pond to the right. I see a lonely road that stretches down to our house, the last one on the street. And I see a crooked post mailbox, one that you might see in paintings of American folklore. I see a massive tree whose branches hit another tree's, up at the very top, creating lots of shade in our front yard. And I see two barns and a couple of tractors. Best of all, I see many, many large hay rolls....something you don't see in Calif (they are small and square there). Hay rolls stacked in the field to the left, covered with black plastic, and more hayrolls dotting the countryside to the right, waiting to be "put up" for winter feedings. I love where I live in northeastern Tennessee.
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06:32 , June 25, 2006
Anyone have any good fresh salsa recipes? My sister has a good size garden, and I long for the day the tomatoes (she has a lot!) are ready. Today I had a craving for homemade salsa to go with the tacos and guacamole I was making, so I went to the store and bought a ton of bright red tomatoes, three kinds of very hot peppers, onions, cilantro....yum. Everything smelled so good. I added other things to the salsa (made in my VitaMix) to season it up, and it was a huge hit. REALLY good stuff. I made two different kinds: one was very orangy and hot; the other was chunkier, redder and not quite so hot. I have tasted a "red haze" salsa once in a restaurant; it was made with red cabbage, but I'm not sure what else. I'll have to find a recipe for that. Anyway, the summer weather has brought cravings for fresh foods. Smoothies have been a big part of our home (daily) as well. Strawberries, blueberries, bananas, peaches, yogurt and lots of ice. Mmmmm, heaven.
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07:04 , June 22, 2006
Please remember to Random Blog each day. Encourage someone new in the community. Make friends with existing members. And invite your friends to HSB.

-gena

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11:35 , June 22, 2006
I am so thankful to stretcher.com today. I had been pulling my HAIR out because each morning when I have been coming into the kitchen, I've been greeted with a CLOUD of fruit flies. I have cleaned and cleaned and searched and done everything in my power to find the "rotten banana" but to no avail.

I went to stretcher last night desperate for help. Someone said that a friend told her that she dumped bleach down her kitchen drain and let it set overnight. Turns out fruit flies sometimes live in the drains. This is a new house for us - a 70 year old farmhouse. We just moved in less than a month ago. I am sooo excited. I tried it; it worked.

See how networking helps? I want HSB to become like that - a real help for people. Keep your tips and wonderful stories coming. You never know who you might be helping - even a bumbling homesteader like myself.

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02:29 , June 21, 2006
Can you can homemade potato soup? My sister made an AMAZINGLY good batch - and loads of creamy potato soup is left over. Can we jar that up? I'm also in need of a pressure canner. Where is the best place to get something like that, Walmart? I used to can up lots of stuff in prep for Y2K (call me gullible), so I am thankful that I am able to jump right back into it, but I had given my pressure canner away (and my water bath canner for that matter). Any advice?
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06:28 , June 20, 2006
I am looking forward to picking bucket upon bucket next month. Any good recipes for blackberries you can share? How do you make blackberry jam? My sister made jam and it was all white and frothy at the top. Reminded me of rabies.
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