Spring has sprung and today as I walked through the greenhouse I was so excited to see what was blooming and what was ready for harvest. I picked a large handful of strawberries and also a small bowl of snow peas. Below are a few pics from the greenhouse. The first one is asparagus peaking through the soil the bottom two are strawberries in bloom. Enjoy your day and be blessed, Tina
It’s such a beautiful day out today. We have windows open, we’ve pulled weeds, cleaned up the shelter, I picked some nice snow peas from the greenhouse, the birds have been chirping and J’s been putting up siding. It’s just been a wonderful day around our house! After picking these gorgeous snow peas I thought I really should take a few photos of these green beauties before I eat them. So I’ll leave you with a few pics. Enjoy and I hope you’re also having a wonderful day!
This is my first post since we rang in the new year. I have a few goals in mind for the blog this year but I’ll keep them to myself. For some reason when I tell my goals, I have a harder time accomplishing them! Somehow it feels refreshing to be starting another year.
Ponce de Leon lighthouse
My seeds are ordered and I’m looking forward to another year of gardening. Am starting to read up on how to improve my soil and J is planning on getting shade cloth for the greenhouse. With the heat of our summers there are just things that won’t grow here in the summer but they would make great additions to salsa, etc. J also helped me build a neat two bin compost system using pallets and an old sliding glass door. I like the idea of keeping it a bit more contained. It’s not beautiful to look at but it’ll get the job done!
I have been getting that crafty bug again and have so many projects I’d like to make that I feel like I won’t have time! I made my first thing over the weekend. It’s a magazine rack that I made from the leftover pallets we used for our compost bin. I’m posting a picture but it doesn’t show the copper glaze that I applied over it very well. I also decided having a few craft get togethers would be fun so I’m working on planning that too. I’ll post pictures of some of the finished projects.
We also took the past few days and rearranged some furniture. We seem to always be doing this around here and most people who stop by on a somewhat regular basis cannot believe how much we change things around.
In November we went on a little organizing streak and closed up the windows of the sunroom and made it into a nice sized pantry. J also redid the girls’ closet as well as ours. It has made a huge difference! I wish we would’ve taken pictures to show before and after. Our closet seemed packed full before but after we can’t even fill it up!
inside lighthouse
The last week of December we took a trip to Daytona. It was really nice. Our first time in Florida. The water was a bit chilly for my taste but everyone else got in and I enjoyed sitting on the beach taking it all in.
Daytona Beach
Have a nice weekend and I’ll be writing more soon! ~Tina
As I walk through the grass I feel the dew on my feet. It must’ve rained last night, I think, but in the garden beds I see that the earth is dry. I turn on my rain machine – the garden hose – and spray generously where I recently seeded.
Walking through the greenhouse, I admire the tall, bushy asparagus. I turn to look at the green apple cucumbers and think what I read was definitely right when they said they’re slow to start but take off once they do. I hear the bees buzzing all around. It’s like music to my ears.
I pick what’s ready, dropping it into my bucket and walk down to the garden beds. As I stand down there admiring the beauty of God’s nature around me I watch bees buzzing around down here too. Picking the bright yellow cucumber, a bee follows my hand straight down into the bucket. Trod lightly little bee the beans have been planted, I think to myself.
I walk over to the tomatoes and start to pick. Right in front of me are black cherry tomatoes ripe for the picking. They look like a bunch of grapes and I admire them first before plucking them. The black cherries have come to be one of my favorites.
I fall into a deep thought. The garden is where I spend time talking to God -pleading, crying out, praising Him. As I stand there entranced in my own thoughts I’m interrupted by the youngest girl child asking if it’s time to swim. "Yeah" I say, "go ahead and start getting ready. I’ll be up."
#145 – 158
watermelon on a hot summer day
early phone calls
books finished
friends visited
my own lens
“weeds” with brilliant flowers
giving up (in this case coffee)
waterparks
fresh vegetables
story on tape
paper crafts
His hands
organizing together
making movies to share with friends
I’ve been writing this post in my head for what seems like weeks now (and very well may have been). I have just had a hard time articulating my thoughts lately. Most of the e-mails I’ve written are so hard to follow that I’m not even getting responses back from people. It’s ok, I know I’m having a hard time getting these thoughts out in a way that’s understandable to most. With all that being said I have actually been up to a lot around here in recent weeks (or months).
I have been drawing more lately and am happy to share a drawing I did of a friend’s little girl. After a much needed critique from a few other artists I started all over and am happy to share the end results. I’m also showing the original photo she gave me to work with.
My sister & I have been doing a photo scavenger hunt. I’m not really sure how much of a hunt it is though but it’s been fun nonetheless.
I’ve also been reading up on foraging for wild edibles. There are many good books out there. Some really have better descriptions and photos than others though so I’d suggest checking them out at your local library before purchasing any.
Comfrey growing from the crown cuttings I bought recently. I’m really impressed at how quickly it’s growing!
My celery. I still have to figure out what dishes are worthy of this tasty treat.
Chives flowering.
It’s definitely gardening season which keeps me busy enough. I’m very excited to say that this has been the first year that the elusive celery has done well for me. I’ve had them start before and grow tiny but this year they have grown to grocery store sized celery and they are delicious! I cannot even tell you how much better and more flavorful they are than what we’ve grown up eating from the produce aisle. Unblanched, dark green beauties without the loss of any nutrients. I cannot wait for another cool season to grow more of them!
We were also happily visited by family last month. It was a nice visit and we did get a few photos. And when I say a few that’s exactly what I mean!
I’ve also started dabbling in hypertufa. Not sure what that is? Well it’s a mix of a specific kind of cement, peat moss and sand to produce a stone look once finished curing. The curing itself takes a very long time. It’s been fun and now that I’ve figured out how it works & molds a bit I’m excited to try sculpting it a little rather than just molding it over pots/bowls/litter boxes. The possibilities seem endless. And fun. If that still isn’t giving you a clear picture I’ll be posting the finished products soon since mine are almost done curing.
I hope to start writing more regularly on here and not be such a stranger. Soon to come more pictures also! Have a blessed week 
Last week I started working on portrait drawing with the two younger girls. They have been enjoying this as have I. It’s been so long since I’ve drawn that I’m shocked you can tell what it is! They both did very well. We started with the eyes and will then move on to noses and then mouths and so on.
J built me an island. We’ve been wanting one for years! They’ve always been too expensive with the price of cabinets, etc. Well, one day we were walking through the local home improvement store when I noticed two corner cabinets sitting in the middle of an aisle with clearance tags on them. J walked straight past until he heard the inevitable, “hey honey”. To which he replied, “oh no! how much is this gonna cost me?”. Well after a few minutes of rearranging the cabinets right there in the store we decided they’d work. We took them home rearranged a bit more and came up with the right design for our kitchen. It has helped so much as far as counter space and cabinet space goes. I now have four lazy susans and so I’ve been able to take a lot of the things that would normally sit on the counter and put them in a cabinet.
I’ve also been making soil blocks for the past several weeks now. I have tomatoes, herbs, peppers, eggplants, and more popping through and growing taller reaching for the sun. Today I have to sow about a hundred more. I cannot believe how we’re only about a month away from transplanting out to the garden! This year has really flown by. I cannot believe we’re already a week into March!
The oldest went for her first actual orthodontist appointment yesterday and in about three weeks will have here braces on. She’s now on a quest to chew as much gum, and eat as much popcorn and corn on the cob as she can in the next few weeks! This will be a new adventure as I’m not used to many restrictions in the kitchen.
The oldest has finished her soap making course, bought all her supplies and actually made a batch of soap. A friend of mine and her daughter sent her several essential oils in the mail yesterday. She is so excited to make scented soaps next! We took a box and made a soap mold yesterday to help her get started with more uniform soaps until we can make a wooden one for her. J has just been too busy to get to this and although I could do it I haven’t had the time with so many appointments – we’ve been averaging about 5 a week for the past several weeks! Anyway, her first go at making soap didn’t produce real uniform bars but it’s a start and she’s learning. I’m very excited for her!
Well, it’s that time again. Time to figure out what to use to mark my soil blocks. I’ve tried a few different ways to do this over the years. Last year I cut up milk jugs and used that to mark my plants. The milk jugs work but aren’t perfectly straight or easy to cut.
This year, however, we had a six foot vertical blind that was broken and needed to come down. When J told the girls to put it out for the trash I saw my opportunity and ran with it! Literally! We broke them all in half and hid them behind the washer. Not well enough though because he questioned me about why they were back there within a few days!
They have worked out great though and are so quick and easy to cut.
So next time you’re looking for a way to mark your soil blocks, or even those seed trays, look around and try thinking outside the box before pitching something like an old broken blind.
Oh, and as a side note, I still have way more of the blinds left than I’ll need so if anyone who lives nearby needs any let me know!
Today is cloudy and rainy out. I do like these days but I must admit today I’ve spent entirely too much online! I hear Christafari in the background behind me & the littlest one asking me what she should write on her blog. M is in the kitchen finding a snack & the oldest in her room finishing up schoolwork. We did manage to make a milk jug skeleton today. Little one plans on making her own and the half gallon jugs are currently soaking.
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So I’ve been drinking the kombucha the past few days and am probably a week overdue on seperating the ones I have fermenting. From what I hear though it’s not as big of an issue as you’d think. I now am looking for local friends to share the scobies with. If I don’t find anyone I’ll be sharing it with the compost bin. I did try putting it in Ben’s food bowl and he picked around it. I will be chopping it in the food processor next time to see if I can get him to eat it.
My sister & I have a little pet project going in the form of a blog. It has been much funner than I thought it would be. We originally envisioned it more as a photo blog but so far it has turned into more of a writing blog. Fictious writing. It has been interesting and I think it’s started both our creative juices flowing quicker than before. She’s also good about keeping me on target as far as making sure I post every other day which for me can be a task at times.
Yesterday I found some cilantro I had planted in the summer that never amounted to much. Well, it’s growing now! I know this isn’t a big deal for most, but it is hard to grow cilantro around here. Mostly because it doesn’t like our summer heat. I must’ve planted a bunch because I had enough to share with a friend! I dug some up this afternoon & planted out in the greenhouse. Now I just need to pick up some limes. I’m gonna make some lime cilantro basmati rice.
We also had friends over yesterday for an art project. We used watercolor and painted, nothing particular, on large sheets of watercolor paper. Next time we get together we’re going to cut them down & turn them into journals. I’m excited to see how they turn out! I’ll post pictures of the finished products:-)
Next post, I’m hoping to have more photos to share. They’ve just been taking so long to upload lately and honestly I just don’t have the time tonight!
Wow, how fast the weekends go! It has been relaxing, fun, exciting and extremely quick. The only thing missing from the weekend was exercise!
I finally got around to making some soil block mix and then I made up some soil blocks. Tomorrow I will be seeding some snow peas, lettuce, spinach, arugula, carrots, celery, some other cole weather beans I bought when I ordered seeds, a few herbs and whatever else I have. I’m also gonna try propagating my rosemary. J built four beds inside the greenhouse which are currently growing several broccoli plants.
Today I have been out at the thrift stores to just look. You know, there are always those things that you are keeping an eye out for just in case you get lucky enough to find it. J found a whole house water filter. He’s been wanting one for some time. It was, of course, something he never thought he’d run across (esp. for so little) but he’s been pricing them online for some time & knew what he was looking for. And knew what they cost. We also like getting his work shirts at a local Goodwill that has a 50 cents clothes rack they have on Sundays.
I’ve also had some Kombucha (pronounced komboocha) tea brewing in the closet. I can’t wait to try it & see how it works for me. And the girls. I’m pretty sure J would stick his nose up at it. For all you interested in learning about it here’s a link
I also found out recently that I was, apparently very iodine deficient. I have been absorbing iodine for the past week & a half or more. I finally am no longer deficient and have so much more energy! It’s amazing. I’ve been sluggish and tired for so long now but could never figure out why. Who knew it could be something so simple? I’m still amazed at the difference it made!
The girls are now waiting for me to watch the much anticipated Letters to Juliet so I must sign off. Have a great week and be blessed!
