Going Green In Southern Illinois

Plagues and names and such

2012-01-11T21:36:00.000-06:00

I'm still here! I've been recovering from a bout of "plague" which basically caused me to be off almost a week from work and almost threatened to go to pneumonia but it was a bluff. Though my doctor was poised to through my butt on antibiotics I managed to avoid it. I'm feeling much better. Unfortunately the rest of Sister Zim (excluding her and Baby) are now in various stages of sick (but they are presenting different so it might not have been me).

We (Sister Zim and I) went over the entries for the naming contest. We really liked them but none seemed to really set to us, instead they set us off on tangents and fused with other names. In the end it ended up being a mash up of a couple entries and several of you had the same word used in your entries so 4 people are getting seeds.

So my garden is now called......."The Arkham Acres Funny Farm" and I would have to remember all the tangents, make a flow chart, explain how Bedlam and Anachronistic turned into Arkham but yeah I'm lazy and not going to. So Judy, Catherine, Lamb and Annie M....send me an email (link is on my profile) with the address for me to send your seeds :)

Reminder!

2011-12-31T15:07:00.001-06:00

Tomorrow is the last day to get in on the naming contest!

Naming Contest

2011-12-13T21:17:00.000-06:00

Ok I need a new name for my homestead. Rules are simple you have til January 1st to submit names. Then I will gather them up and we will sort them out choosing the one we deem best fitting. The winner gets highlighted on my website and they also will get a packet of my heirloom "black cherry" cherry tomatoe seeds as well as a suprise gift. And yes, you may submit more than one name.

New Year. New Cast. New Name?

2011-12-13T18:19:00.000-06:00

The new year is almost upon us. I am looking forward to it, but then again I usually do. This year was a particularly wonky mix of awesome and pain and as much as I'm glad it's going to be over with I'm thankful for it as well. My life has gone through some drastic cast changes but the stage is the same for now. I will say though that there are plans on the table for a move in a couple of years. While I love southern Illinois I'm finding a growing urge to go elsewhere. However, like I said, it's a few years off still. Many things need to be done to get me to the point where I can leave (mainly house repairs/improvements/selling) Until I get to that point I'm doing my best to enjoy my life here. So without further ado I introduce you to the current cast of characters:

Me: You've been with me for a couple years now but for the new people Im Stephanie, a 33 y/o pagan who located to Southern Illinois from Central Illinois about 6 years ago. I got married, I got divorced and now I own a house in a tiny town outside of Carbondale where I live with my roommates, cats and a pitbull. Besides urban homesteading I like to participate in a sport called Dagorhir and also becoming active in the SCA (Society for Creative Anachronism).

Cool Roomie(Walley): He's been my roommate for over a year now! He's currently a metalsmith student here at SIUC, he also participates in SCA and Dagorhir and is a gnome. He tinkers and fixes and creates. I have even trusted him with a torch under my house and he only set fire to the beam once or twice ;)

Cool Roomie 2- Aka Jodie. I've lived with her off and on since I first moved down here. She's a forestry graduate who is getting ready to go off to basic training and tech school for the Air Force Guard. It's going to be different not having her around.

Sister Zim and her menagerie: Doom, doom, doom! She's not one that I've talked much about before, she is a friend who has become a sister in my heart. When I'm not home I am at her house a lot with her, her husband and their roommates, Monkey and Basement Troll. They have been instrumental in keeping me from going completely destructive over the past year. They are my immediate family down here now. My mother has accepted them as family as well. Sister Zim held my hand while I went through hell and at court to get my divorce, her husband and I held hers while she brought the most gorgeous child into the world. Baby is the apple of all of our eyes and I am thoroughly enjoying being Auntie Stephie. Sister Zim is an awesome crafter and has been encouraging me in cross-stitch and crochet and has offered to teach me knitting if I get the urge to learn it. She also is a baker of epic cookies and muffins.

Brenna: You've already met the Brenna during the great cheese fiasco. Another sister of my heart, we are actually both from the Central IL area. She's in love with goats and is a fan of the fiber arts. She is usually my partner in crime for most of the homesteading activities/schemes and we often are found at one of her jobs daydreaming over gardening, chickens and (for her) goats. She's mainly a vegetarian and she loves to bake and cook ethnic foods.

So those are the people you may hear about or even see on this blog. Now on to other news......

I need a new name for my place. My ex had dubbed it "McNelly City Farm" but that no longer is applicable. Hrmmm maybe make it a contest? Besides fame I'm sure I have something here to sweeten the pot.

Back in the saddle again

2011-11-29T23:06:00.001-06:00

Hello friend and fellow bloggers. I know I've been out of the loop for a really long time. I tried, I really did, to keep up and stay in touch. I failed. My crazy life was spiraling all over and while it will always be crazy and slightly chaotic it has settled down some. My divorce was finalized this August, my name is reverted back to my maiden name, and I am getting on with my life. Still in the house in De Soto until I decide I want to try to sell it. Parts of my life are still the same, parts are jarringly different and not necessarily in a bad way. One thing that I have found is this: I miss writing. I miss the connection I had with you guys and when it comes down to it I wanted this life before I had a house, a marriage or was even in Southern Illinois so the core of what I want is still pure, still intact. I just need to shove off all this garbage that I let myself get bogged down in. I have a saying on my desktop that I read everyday. "If it's important to you, you will find a way. If it's not you'll find an excuse."

End of January

2011-01-26T18:19:00.001-06:00

It's been good then bad then better then worse and now its just "meh". One of my roommates ditched out on me with a weeks notice. Grrr. Brian is still here though and I also have a friend emergency crashing at my place after her and her guy split. If she gets the job she's going for then she will probably become the new roommate. If not then she's moving up north to stay with fam or in with someone who can afford to let her stay rent free, as is I could only offer her a month. I feel bad but there's not much else I can do. I can't afford it. I need paying roommates.

Things with me and Bill have deteriorated significantly. We get along for a bit and then it goes all to hell. I still love him, I miss him but there is no hope of reconciliation. When it's all said and done no matter how bad it gets between us I want only good and happy things for him. I have yet to file for divorce, I don't have the money for a lawyer (I'd rather just do it ourselves) but Im trying to save up. Maybe I will have enough after taxes. Im still kinda lost on this and I still get depressed a lot about the whole thing.

One thing that has helped is the planning of the gardens. They are a mess at the moment. I did a piss poor job of putting it to bed. One thing is for sure I want black cloth or paper to lay down, concrete blocks and mulch. Oh and a fence I must have a fence this year. Lots of plans to travel short trips and long. Short trips like going to see Bakers Creek Seed Company just over in Missouri, a trip over to Ohio and maybe Kentucky. The bigger ones like Ragnarok will be interesting to try to swing this year. But Im up for the challenge. What are you guys doing to pass this damnable cold weather?

1 week of December down

2010-12-07T23:11:00.000-06:00

Im still here. I have 2 renters in now. Things are starting to be a little easier. It's that slow time of year (for me) that dark reflective time that comes after Halloween. It's below freezing here, unusual for my area at this point in the year. I found the package that I was suppose to send Phelan (Sorry!!) So I need to take that to the post. I am needing to make another batch of bar soap, start planning the new gardens, work on my crochet and I need to just....breathe. I've missed reading everyones' blogs. I started the other day and realized how detached I had gotten and how much I missed what I had started.

2010-10-18T21:41:00.000-05:00

William has moved out. Eventually we will get around to a divorce. The house and everything is in my name alone, which is both a comfort and a worry (isnt that how it goes?) I have 1 renter moving in and Im awaiting confirmation from another. Both are guys who I've known for ages who are stand up people. Outside of that Im just dealing with crap best I can. I got left with the dog, which severely limits my travel unless the renters would be cool helping me out with him. I don't know how much into the homesteading lifestyle they would be or how they will adapt to how I live (and vice versa). Its adapt or die time for me folks....and I choose adapt.

2010-09-14T12:39:00.000-05:00

Will be on hiatus. My husband and I are splitting up. I can no longer lie to myself about not wanting to have kids. Even though it's not a guaranteed thing with my PCOS, I can't live with myself unless I at least try. He has always been upfront that he did not want more children....which when the doctors were pretty sure I couldnt have one that was fine, it was a relief. But then the doctors had run some tests and said that I had a green light I just needed to try THATS when the whole thing changed, and I changed That was right before my step daughter got pregnant. Just goes to show that a little bit of hope can be a destructive thing. We are and probably will remain very much in love with each other but there is no getting around this, so here we are both destroyed.

Dear August....You suck

2010-08-28T23:47:00.000-05:00

Its been so dry for so long that most of the corn has been harvested in my area. My garden is a mess and I really need to raze it and plant some fall crops. I've been working OT so not much else has been done. That and when I do have a little time I just find Im tired :( I have set time out tomorrow to get craft stuff made after work.

This month has sucked with the heat, not just in the garden but in my pocket book. I've also managed to kill 2 pairs of jeans. I've hit the thrift store hoping to find jeans but to no avail. So I'll wait. Actually a girl I work with is going through her closets again so I may get another pair if Im lucky.

With William working more it means that Helen and I are left to our own devices for making dinner. So far we are doing pretty well. With the heat finally letting up I am looking forward to cooking...and to baking. I'm going to make and can a batch of alfredo sauce again. I just need to go get the stuff for it. I am actually thinking about opening up my house to friends and offer to do a canning party for sauce. Im just not sure if they'd be interested. Well I know Brenna probably would. I have put in an attempt to build some community. I posted on my facebook asking if people in my area would be interested. We'll see how it goes.

My mom has asked what I would like for Christmas/Yule. So far I've thought maybe a food sealer. But now Im seriously considering asking for gift certificates to Menards, Lowes, or maybe some nurseries. I would like to build some raised beds with concrete blocks instead of wood and I need to get some fencing for the back yard. I'd like to get some blueberry or blackberry bushes and (though I lost the website) was eyeballing a dwarf fruit tree collection that supposedly would work well in a 10 x 20 spot. I think it was called a postage stamp orchard. I think I would like some more stock pots now that I'm thinking about it. Writing always makes my brain take off.

Oh and Im thinking it's that time of year that people are saving seeds and (possibly) already planning what they want for next/spring summer. I am contemplating do a blogger seed swap. Suggestions are more than welcome.

RAIN!!!

2010-08-12T20:28:00.000-05:00

Got a nice thunderstorm that came and drenched the area. Rain barrels are filling up, ground got a great soaking. We are getting a break from the 115 degree heat index. I've been working a bit and in spare time between calls at work ( i work in a call center) I have been trying to work on a budget. I get to update it now cuz.......William has a job!!!!!!! We are all pretty happy. I'm still going to pick up overtime as its offered and put extra on bills. But what relief!!

Tonight is the peak of the Perseid meteor shower. Last website I saw said it should be grand with the best times being from midnight to 4am. I took a nap this evening with the belief that the storm system will clear out in time to do some stargazing. I thoroughly encourage you to do this also!!

PS Phelan I have not forgotten ;) No one has been able to catch the elusive dancing Stephie on film in time

2010-08-07T22:02:00.002-05:00

Still here, lots of work and moving of several friends has kept me off the computer for any good stretch of time. But tomorrow I hope to have a relevant post fleshed out for you guys.

And the winner is........................

2010-07-25T20:58:00.000-05:00

Phelan!!!! Congratulations your name got plucked out of a hat by my stepson last night. So I will need you to send me an email so I can get your package sent to you! Phelan's challenge to me is dancing. So at some point there will either be a picture or video of me dancing. No worries I won't chicken out.

Thank you to everyone who participated in my giveaway. I really had fun doing it and plan on more in the future.

Happenings around the house

2010-07-20T22:08:00.000-05:00

Tater passing out on my couch. Don't let his angelic look fool you.

The garden is doing well. This evening William, Helen, Julian (you haven't been introduced) and I worked in the garden pulling in a huge harvest. I think I may have picked the eggplant too early. It did not want to separate from the hull and I hope it didnt ruin it.

Misadventures in cheese

2010-07-17T22:22:00.000-05:00

So my friend Brenna calls me up and says "Hey! I have this great recipe for mozzarella we should get together and try to make it!" Of course I agree as I've always wanted to make cheese and hanging out with Brenna is always fun. So we make arrangements to meet at my house today after she hits the Carbondale Farmer's Market and the Co-Op. I get up get dressed this morning and realize I had forgotten to pick up milk. At about the same time that I realized this my phone rings and it's Brenna.

"Stephie darling, they are out of rennet at the Co-Op. Im running over to Rural King to see if they have any."
Since I was on my way to the store myself I told her I'd check there also. Kroger's was a bust, so was Rural King (which suprised us) but then Brenna hit up Schnucks and found rennet tabs and all was good. We used the "30 minute Mozzarella" recipe found in HobbyFarms magazine. But I encourage you to visit the author's website Cheesemaking.com and use her updated recipe.

We had a great time but unfortunately our cheese making escapade did not work out as intended. Instead of mozzarella we ended up with a cheese spread that we herbed up. According to her website the problem wasn't us but our milk. Nowadays a lot of companies are pasteurizing the milk at higher than needed temperatures but just under the temp that would put it into the "ultra-pasteurized" catagory. Sad indeed as we were looking forward to mozzarella. So I do believe that we may be looking into different sources for milk. If you have any tips on store bought brands we would love to hear them. I wouldn't mind finding some local cow or goats milk but I don't know anyone in the southern Illinois area. Otherwise we will be running to get raw milk from The Family Friendly Farm just north of Cape Girardeau, MO. It's illegal to openly sell raw milk in Illinois I guess. We are completely up for doing this again though.

Here are some pictures of our misadventure!

Funky Friday

2010-07-16T19:19:00.001-05:00

Today they said it would be a high of 86, yeah, they lied. If society ever breaks down Im heading north to an area that doesn't have summer weather like southern Illinois. Two evenings ago one of my friends, who has no AC in her trailer, came to my house for a bit to escape the heat advisory and borrowed my kitchen to do some sewing. In order for me to survive a summer with no AC I would have to shave my head and live in shorts and a tank top. Oh am I soooo grateful for my central air! We keep it at about 75-77 degrees.

I set the water hose out last night then I just realized I dont remember turning it off. So my rain barrels may be empty when I get out there, I could really kick myself but it's too hot and I'd probably injure myself badly in the process. Yesterday I picked up a gallon of white and apple cider vinegars in anticipation for canning. Today I ended up breaking down and getting a microwave. Helen and I split the cost. William is ecstatic that he doesn't have to leave meat out to thaw (he says its just asking for trouble)

Tomorrow my friend Brenna is coming over and we are going to be making Mozzarella. I've never made cheese before. We had originally wanted to do salsa but none of our tomatoes have ripened. Then later in the afternoon Helen and I are contemplating making a new batch of soap. Yay for DIY projects!! Speaking of projects don't forget to sign up for my giveaway!!

So on a serious note. I found out yesterday that the company I work for is being "acquired" by an investment group. We had no forewarning. I walked into work and got mobbed by people telling me we've been bought out and to check my email, not really how I want to start my day ya know?! For those who don't know I work for a vitamin company, a rather larger one. Usually it's my company that buys up/mergers with smaller companies. We are going from a publicly owned company to a private one.

What does this mean for me? I don't know. Am I worried? @&*% yeah! I am not running around like a chicken with my head cut off though for a couple reasons.

We weren't bought out by another vitamin company
My company has an extremely loyal customer base and this company has done its research on that. It really seems that they bought us because we are pretty epic.
If my job gets outsourced I will get unemployment which opens up some other opportunities for me
I really, really, really can't afford an ulcer and don't want to increase my occurrences of migraines.

Ok I feel better just getting it all out. William and Helen know the deal, they themselves are in the middle of starting their own business together (but thats for some other time to talk about)

Im off to go help William in the yard, he has decided to mow the yard this evening.

Going Green Giveaway!!

2010-07-14T20:43:00.000-05:00

I like giveaways, who doesn't?! So I've decided that I will be doing one of my own. What is up for grabs??? So glad you asked ;) There will be 2 bars of homemade soap lightly scented with chamomile and 2 half pint jars of homemade bath salts, one Eucalyptus scented and one Peppermint scented (good for tired foot soaks).

What do you have to do to get in on this wonderful care package? Well one way is to leave me a comment telling me what you would like to see me do on here. If you post a link on your blog going back to this post and let me know so I can confirm it I will put in another entry for you. Get your entries in by July 23rd!

Garden Photos/Garden Status Mid July 2010

2010-07-14T20:25:00.000-05:00

Again we are under a heat advisory :( I have been working in the garden later towards sundown. I keep trying to get up early to water and harvest but I epically fail at that. I think what I will have to do is have a couple drinks and go to bed at like 8 pm in order to get up at like 5 or 6 am. So here is the garden, while I was working in it...it looks much better now but Helen hasn't gone back out to shoot the after. We are getting a lot of zucchini, yellow squash and cherry and black cherry tomatoes. The pumpkin is fruiting and the spaghetti squash is too but she didnt get shots of them.

All that grass behind the okra/next to the carport is gone!! YAY!!

PA is beautiful, IL is just hot and sticky :(

2010-07-06T22:42:00.001-05:00

It has been supremely hot here in Southern Illinois. Hot enough that I've neglected the garden a bit. I'm still clearing grass with the hand held scythe. Just a ten foot square area between the pole bean tripods and the carport where I have the spaghetti squash. I try to wait until dusk so it's cooler, It's almost done though and then I am going to till the cleared areas. My cucumbers are dying out and I believe it's mosaic disease. I'm not sure. If I can get things cleared then I will try and replant in a different area. I actually have a pretty good growing season down here for another round I believe. It's worth a shot. As of right now I don't have enough to do any pickles and I was hoping to have started that by now.

As a boon (?) of my neglect some of my zucchini are the size of my forearms. So I will be making zucchini bread, with this I can barter, well that and I still have some of the soap Helen and I made. I am itching to do another batch. The okra is starting to produce but I am unsure on when I should be picking them, what size, etc. Eggplant is starting to set and I believe the first one will be ready in a few days. The potatoes seem to be doing well. I need to hill them up in a bit. The corn is starting to get ears and the beans are starting to flower. Ahhh yes, the beans.......I'm starting to hate beans as beans equals Japanese beetles. The fight is on again with them and I am losing. The Stella blue pumpkin that I got from the seed swap is fruiting so is the yellow squash and spaghetti squash. I'm optimistic about the tomatoes and that's all I will say lest I jinx myself.

Going and spending a week in Slippery Rock, PA (where Ragnarok was) was beautiful. I had a really great week and I even met up with some similarly minded people. Talked a little bit of garden shop but not nearly as much as I would have liked, just not enough time. I unfortunately didn't get many pictures but other people did and I'll try to get some put up. I am wanting to do a road trip soon not really sure when but I'd like it to be before September. September will be one busy month! I have a wedding in Pittsburgh the first weekend, and then I have a fighting event in Holden, MO the second weekend. Third Sunday of September is a fighting event at my home field in Carbondale and the last weekend of Sept my friends are talking about going to the St. Louis area for a PirateFest. (I'm not really sure what it's called). Maybe I should wait until October? LOL

2010-07-02T17:33:00.000-05:00

I am at Burger King soaking up the WiFi. I am without internet at least for a week or so grrr. I'm taking a two hr break and grabbing dinner and running some errands. Today I've been working a bit in the garden. I am having to clean up the garden with a hand held scythe. Its working pretty good, well better than the weed whacker, that keeps getting messed up in the tall grass. We have been getting a steady crop of jalepenos, zuchinni, yellow squash and cucumbers. I havent done any pickling yet though. The peas did not do well again this year and my herbs are meh. However the beans are looking ok and the stella blue pumpkin has fruited!! I will get picks up soon after I get the garden back in shape. When we leave here its back home to work some more in the garden. Oh and I forgot to mention... for anyone interested I have a facebook :) Feel free to add me

2010-06-26T22:41:00.000-05:00

Well the big trip was over with in the last two weeks I have driven over 2200 miles. We got home from Ragnarok Monday at 5 in the morning. I went to work Tuesday and then after work Bill and I got in the car and drove to Indianapolis for my grandmother's funeral, she had died the Friday before while we were at Rag. I am in the middle of doing massive loads of laundry, unpacking and also getting my garden back into shape. I have missed reading you guys' blogs. I will attempt to catch up on everyone this week. Im hauling the laptop with me to Burger King on my lunches to soak up the wi-fi.

2010-05-29T17:26:00.000-05:00

We are in Decatur today and a big chunk of tomorrow visiting my parents. I will try to get pics of my parents yard. We showed Dad how to make rain-barrels and I've encouraged Mom on gardening. All in all its looking really nice and their saving money with the barrels. I may drag William out around town so I can catch up on things here.

Garden May 2010

2010-05-27T23:12:00.000-05:00

Before the rainstorm chased us out of the garden we did get some pictures, including the grassy raised beds :( But its coming along, slowly but surely. Warning its pic intensive

That is the view from the compost pile looking toward the back of the house

The first bloom in the garden!!

There are more pictures but I have to resize them and what not. I hope everyone has a wonderful and safe holiday weekend

2010-05-27T19:10:00.000-05:00

Today I am officially 32 years old.

2010-05-04T19:32:00.000-05:00

So it cost my coworker $50 bucks for her supplies and took about 1.5 hours to put in a 4x4 square foot garden! I am very happy for her as she can now plant seedlings I took over to her and split the direct sow seeds that we had purchased together. Put there will be no planting for me :( All we have had is rain, rain and more rain. Not as bad as Tennessee or Kentucky mind you but enough that it is a big ol' muddy mess in the back yard. ::sigh::

Yesterday I received a package from the folks over at Pile O'Melays that had the most fantastic smelling soap!! My husband was wonderful enough to not open it but he danced it in front of me and confessed to sniffing it a LOT. Any way you can share the secret recipe??

So it's only 7:30p and Im restless, William is on the computer and Helen has the kitchen table occupied cutting out patterns for garb clothes. I need to find something to do :(

2010-04-29T15:44:00.000-05:00

Today was pajama day at work but it turned into passing a kidney stone day for me. I passed one smaller stone there and another piece when I got home and since then I haven't noticed any significant pieces. The pressure and pain in my right kidney and back has started to ease up a bit. I barely had any warning this time, though I must admit, it was not nearly the type of pain the last two times were. But it's kinda hard to be on the phone when you feel like you have to pee everyone 5 -10 minutes so I came home. I've taken Motrin and Aleve and so far I'm feeling ok, just a little tender. Which is good as I told my coworker I'd help her get her sq. foot garden up today.

2010-04-28T09:31:00.001-05:00

I got on at Curves through their 30 days for $30 promo. When that month ends then I will sign up for a 1 year commitment through a special from my health insurance. I am very happy about this. I have been going 4-5 times each week during my 2 week trial, which ended yesterday. I feel soo much better after the work outs and I feel like I'm actually doing something instead of sitting on my ass complaining about my weight. I don't know if I've lost any weight, I'm staying away from the scale. As for how my clothes are fitting this week is not the week to depend on that measurement. But the point is I FEEL better. I look forward to my work outs (even if I hate the squat machine)

Garden is still not in. It rained off and on Thursday through Sunday. We lost power a couple times. So everything is wet. Today and tomorrow are suppose to be nice and dry. I have no illusions of planting anything today but maybe tomorrow after work...I can hope right? Friday and the weekend its suppose to rain again. Bill reminded me that when we first moved into the house it was the end of May and that I didn't get the garden completely in until late June and that first year we had a kick ass garden. That reminds me, I need to call the power company and see if they'll drop a load of wood chips off in the backyard. Free mulch is good mulch no?

Working through it

2010-04-21T23:45:00.000-05:00

Yesterday and part of today I found myself in that rut of "What the hell am doing with my life?" I felt overwhelmed and without any control. I was questioning my ability to do the suburban/urban farmer thing, beating myself up over my cowardice to tackle the chicken ordinances and feeling like a hypocrite for encouraging other people to do things for themselves. I worry about money (but who doesn't?) I want everything done right now and I just dont have the funds to do it. I also want to not have to worry about being able to do some things for myself (I need new jeans) and extra stuff like go out for my birthday. My birthday is in a little over a month and I will be 32. Typing that out just doesnt look right to me but there it is, 32. Wow, yay me for surviving the wacky world that long eh? :) Speaking of wacky...............

My mother is coming!!! YAY!! And she's staying until Sunday!! Double YAY!! Tomorrow I have to get the extra room ready for her, she took Friday off so she didn't have to rush down here. It's a 3hr drive from Decatur to De Soto so I think she'll arrive somewhere around or after noon. It will be another supercharged weekend. Friday I am suppose to go and help my coworker and her mom set up the Square Foot Garden beds. Saturday and Sunday is the Southern Illinois Irish Fest in Carbondale and all of us who do medieval fantasy fighting aka Dagorhir will be out hamming it up for the crowds. Mom and Helen are taking pictures so Im sure I will have some to share. I will be trying to fit a party in Saturday night, and yeah my mom's invited too. My friend is holding a post Irish Fest party at his place and has some really good mead he wants to try out on all of us. Yay for friends who make their own mead!

arggghhhh

2010-04-20T23:13:00.000-05:00

Has anyone else NOT gotten their garden in? Im having a beat up on Stephie day and I feel like a failure (and I know I shouldnt) It feels like too much to do and not enough money, time, etc

Super planned weekends have begun!

2010-04-09T12:45:00.000-05:00

This weekend looks promising so far. I got up got laundry started and hung out on the clothes line. I have 2 more loads to wash and hang. I want to get some more onions into the grow boxes (which grass is shooting up through grrrrrrr) We pick the boys up this afternoon and Im not looking forward to it, tonight will have to be cheap pizza night and they will want to go eat BK's or McDonald's...tough. Im sorry I do love my stepsons but they are spoiled rotten on some things. Ok enough on that.

Its been weird weather in southern Illinois. First some rain, then heat, then winds and thunderstorms,then heat, more wind and now cold. I woke up today to 40 degree weather. But it's not raining!! I was hoping that all the wind would have helped dry out the garden but it doesn't seem to have helped too much at all :( My seedlings are looking a little pale and Im worried that they are going to die or something is wrong with them. Also they are not as big as I would like them. I may try transplanting them into the plastic tubs I've been saving. Less than a week to the last frost date.

Tomorrow is Farmers' Market Day!!! Best day of the week hands down. We are all going to head out there. Well except for Helen, she has to work all day tomorrow :( I also have a wedding to go to at 1p tomorrow. After I get done with all that I will head home and I hope to get back into the dirt. I am debating getting a roll of landscaping fabric and redoing the raised beds. I also need to lay the cardboard down for the greenbean A-frame. I need to get the peas planted...and the potatoes...and the lettuce and spinach. Damn, I need this next week to stay dry and above 50!

2010-04-03T15:42:00.001-05:00

I hurt. Yesterday I used the front tine tiller on about 1/3 of the garden area, making 3 passes. That was on top of the one pass Bill tried to make over it the day before yesterday. Of course last night it poured so no tilling today.GRRRRRRR. I did however get the last batch of loofahs soaking in bleach water and I got the clothes on the line. So now its Aleve/Motrin time and then a nap.

2010-03-30T22:41:00.000-05:00

Gorgeous weather out today!! I got the sprouted onions and garlic out in the raised beds yesterday. There was a light frost this morning but they seem to be doing well. I've been taking the seedlings out for a couple hours each day when I get home if William hasn't done it for me. He's been busy in the garage building more weapons and shields so I dont expect him to remember all the time. I was contemplating taking a half day tomorrow but Helen has to go to Kentucky and William is going with her. Hopefully she will be bringing back her lawn mower!! I'd like to not have to get one.

In other news Im finishing up the Square Foot Garden book that my friend Temetra's mom got me. I am helping them out with a gardening this year and I belive the SFG will be their best bet. I am tempted to put in some myself now, but Im torn because I also want to improve the soil that I have. Yeah I know its more work that way, maybe Im just being difficult. With all the nicer weather I feel re-energized. Im wanting to do more in the yard, I just need it to dry out!!! Well Im off to upload my next article for Homemakers Who Work. It's about my attempts to use my clothesline even though I work during prime drying hours.

2010-03-28T19:17:00.000-05:00

Today was a fairly awesome day. I got up fairly easy (not a morning person) I got to work on time and I had an awesome day at work. My co worker's mom got me a copy of Square Foot Gardening (I am helping them set up a system and went in on seed orders with them) I have been meaning to get a copy for myself. Today was rainy but the coming week is suppose to be rain free!!

I also found out I won a bar of soap from Pile O'Melays! How awesome is that?

PS- How are you liking or disliking the new background and layout?

Spring fever and fear

2010-03-26T23:33:00.001-05:00

It poured all day and night yesterday. I have standing water in my garden area :( It was nice today and is suppose to be nice tomorrow then rain again Sunday then its suppose to be nice & dry 'til the following Sunday. I hope to get the onions and garlic planted in the raised beds. If it dries out completely (crossing fingers) I can do some tilling. It does not look like I will get to put up tunnels this spring but I hope to maybe in the fall.

I'm sorry still no pictures. I am chugging along with things here though. Things have changed since my last post. Dillan moved out. Things with him and his wife fell flat and she was paying his rent, so he went back to his mom's but then opted to stay with other friends. I believe he has decided to go into Job Corps and I wish him well, however he skipped out on paying us for the last month and I had plans that were contingent on that money. He told Bill he would pay us back but I am not holding my breath. Soon it will just be me, Bill and Helen. My step daughter and her baby have gotten a place about an hour or so north of here where her mother's family is, I wish her well also. For a little bit there wont be anybody moving in. We don't know anyone else who needs a place to stay that we'd be cool opening our house to. The house is far from quiet tonight though as we still get the boys every other weekend.

The house is a hopping place at the moment with both Bill and Helen making things. Helen is going with us to Ragnarok and she needed clothes for her persona. She has been a shopping and sewing mad woman. Bill has been busy making a mushroom chair (Pics as soon as I can get good ones!) as well as weapons, tabards and other things. What am I doing?? Gardening stuff. Seedlings and grow boxes and garden plans have kept me busy. I also have been doing quite a bit of crocheting dishcloths.

I should be working on clothes also but I just cannot bring myself to do it. I have gained a lot of weight over the fall and winter and the thought of trying on anything or making anything at this point in time makes me both anxious and depressed. Places I'd rather not be. I have no idea what my weight is at the moment other than it's unhealthy. I think I am at or past my highest weight just before I got my PCOS diagnosis and to be honest Im scared to death. Bill is extremely worried about my health and finally confessed it to me. I have a plan in motion to help out and it will cost me a little but if I don't do something soon I am going to end up diabetic and on heart medication or worse. My blood pressure wasn't good last time I checked it at the store. Diabetes and heart disease run in my family so Im scared. I'm not going to the doctor and creating yet another set of bills. So I will try this first and see how I do after I drop some of this extra weight.

Score!!!

2010-03-18T17:52:00.001-05:00

I forgot to tell you about the wonderful score that we made about 2 weeks ago! On the 4th we were out and about and on coming home we stopped at the 4-Way gas station to get William a soda, it was a slight deviation to our normal route. On making our way back home we came from the north instead of the south and as we were driving I happened to look over and notice about 13 boxes on the side of the road that said Kerr or Ball. We looked at each other and decided that we would mosey on down the street to our house and "take the dog for a walk".

So with Tater and my middle stepson in tow we proceeded with our recon. Sure enough the boxes were actually FULL of jar! I went up to the house and asked the owner if he minded me taking them (just in case) and he said "Sure I was just gonna toss em" which, of course, made me ecstatic. While the men stood and guarded our wonderful score I ran back up the street and grabbed the blazer, got them loaded up and brought home. We went through them all, some of the boxes were crappy and some of the jars were bug graveyards but only 1 out of all of them was broken. They had rings attached to most of them but they were corroded and rusting out none of them could be saved. It took several full loads of the dishwasher to get them all cleaned. The boxes they came with were burned and I got new boxes for storage from work. I believe all in all it was about 150 jars, not all the boxes were completely full. They were mainly quart jars with some nice pretty fruit pint jars included. I have pictures of some of them laid out all over the kitchen table but I will have to ask get them from Helen and put them up.

Ides of March

2010-03-16T23:47:00.000-05:00

Yeah I know I haven't been on. Today I took a half day and got some things accomplished. I worked on the raised beds. Several onions survived the winter. I also got pots filled for seedlings and I also started some onion bulbs. My house goes through a LOT of onions. I also sprayed vinegar around the house to kill off weeds. We'll see how well that works. If it does I will be planting a flower mix called Real Shady Mix on the north side of the house. Later this evening I finally caught up on blogs and also managed to get a half hour of belly dance work out in with Helen. So yeah its quarter 'til midnight and I'm going to bed. My schedule at work has changed so I go in an hour later!! YAY! Getting up and going to work when it's still dark outside sucks and I don't have to do it anymore.

BTW, I hope everyone has a Happy St. Patrick's Day.

Thawing out

2010-02-27T20:34:00.000-06:00

Sorry I haven't post much lately it's been a bit chaotic for me at home lately. I'm back on track now though and will update more. We are still colder than usual. It got up to 48 degrees or so today, I must say it was quite wonderful. I had a really great "weekend" having Friday and Saturday has its perks. I can attend events that fall on weekends only. For example, today I got to attend the first seed swap which was held at The Neighborhood Co-op. It was PACKED!! I was ecstatic to see so many people such taking interest in their own food. The wonderful woman who set it up, Sarah (you'll have to forgive me I can't remember her last name) was very gracious in her time and if today was any indication of interest I think she will have her hands full planning more get togethers. She is talking about getting together a canning group. I wish that I had known that many people were going to show today, I would have brought more types of seeds. I told her I would be more than willing to bring more if there is another one soon. I offered up spaghetti squash, black turtle beans, black cherry tomato, tendercrisp celery and cloud nine eggplant. I came away from the swap with daffodil bulbs, calendula, four o'clocks, mammoth sunflower, jalepeno, butternut squash, Stella blue pumpkin, Thai basil and fennel seeds. I am actually pretty set on seeds for here, but it was nice to score a couple seeds of new things that way we could try them out. I'm especially excited to score the butternut squash. Bill is eager to test the Thai basil, though he has a staunch love of the Genovese. I wish I had more time to get to know the people at the event. I am so very wanting to have other people to talk with face to face. I did leave my name and email with Sarah (I hope Im spelling her name correctly) and when I hear from her I will try to pass along any info I get on events. Sadly, I forgot to take my camera so I didn't get any shots.

Giveaway!

2010-02-22T17:15:00.000-06:00

I write articles with other wonderful people over at Homemakers Who Work and we are having a poll with a giveaway. Feel free to pop over and look at it and give us your thoughts as we are wanting your input on what you'd like to see more articles about. I know I'd really appreciate it.

Full House -DeSoto Edition

2010-02-04T18:48:00.000-06:00

My house is full, over full. Raven and the baby are staying here a month while her paperwork and what not for an apartment are getting taken care of, she says it will be a month. Of course we rented out her old room to Dillon (who incidently is an ex-boyfriend of hers lol) so the playpen/bassinet is up in the living room and she is on the couch with their stuff squirreled away in parts of the craft room and Dillon's room.

It's different let me tell you. The cats and Tater do not know what to make of Lili. I didn't know how well I would be with a baby in the house (envious, mopey, pissy, etc) It's not a secret that I would like to have a child of my own. Sometimes I struggle with it, other times I do not. I also didn't know how things with me and Raven would be. I worried about the added expenses of the two in regards to the utility bills, but I just quit worrying about it cuz what can you do? But so far so good no butting of the heads have occurred.

Happy News

2010-01-29T22:01:00.000-06:00

As I write this the snow is coming down en masse again. I believe we are to get 3-5 inches out here in De Soto. Getting home from Carbondale was a nightmare tonight. I am consoling myself with a cup of hot tea and going through my seeds that I just got. Yes, it's early but I am not actually planning on starting anything until this current snowfall melts out and even then, its going to be onion seed and brassicas. I will try to get Helen to snap some pictures of the new grow-box that we made from our old fridge. I still need to re-foil the grow-box out on the back porch. I meant to get the pictures up of the Aerogarden as the plants are HUGE and I have my first marigold flower.

In other news, a gentleman in Carbondale has proposed for city to change the ordinances regarding chickens and goats. I also found out he is part of The Permaculture Project. Yep, I really need to talk to this guy! Alright, I have to go and finish my article for Homemakers Who Work.

Canners I need your help!!!

2010-01-25T21:46:00.000-06:00

Im in a little panic, can anyone tell me if you can use a pressure or bwb canner on a glass top stove? When I got my gear I had an electric with the metal coil burners. But then we got the free stove from my parents neighbors and I didn't think a thing about it...til now!!

Shower and soap updates

2010-01-23T18:53:00.000-06:00

Well we got the shower fixed today. $147 in total. I haven't been in it yet as I let William and Dillon go first and took the opportunity to wrangle the kitchen back to submission. I also ran the dishwasher so I wanted to let the hotwater heater catch up. The dishsoap has been used also and truth be told Im not won over by it. I know you dont need bubbles to equal clean but there was glycerin in the formula so I expected some bubbles. If I put it directly on the loofah and then attack the pan it seems ok, but straight added to water and I start having doubts. It does lovely as a hand soap though. As slong as it works I really dont care. I would like to use the sink more and the dish washer less with soooo many bottles made from one batch it would be a shame not to.

The next adventure for me and Helen will be making homemade soap with lye and fats/oils. Yep, there will be pictures to share.

2010-01-22T20:25:00.000-06:00

Well we came home from shopping to find out the shower faucet apparatus had broken. Right now as I type there is a huge hole in my bedroom wall where they are putting on an entire new set up. It was that or a new shower surround that I dont have money for. Supplies ran me and Helen $102 so far. Hopefully that is all cuz Im almost broke. We were suppose to go out to a friend's tonight, I've been looking forward to this all week, but we may not if we cant get most of this done.

In good news before the shower problem Helen, Bill and I had successfully tracked down and purchased the stuff for making bar soap and dishsoap. We made up a batch of the dish soap before the water got shut off. Here is the recipe:

1 gallon warm water
2 cups shredded bar soap (we used Ivory)
2 tbsp liquid glycerin
2-5 drops Essential Oil (we used geranium)
5 drops Tea Tree Oil (as an antibacterial)
Large pot (we used the same enameled pot that we use for making the laundry soap)

Mix the warm water and soap flakes in the pot and dissolve it over low heat. (The finer the soap flakes the faster this will go) Continually stir while it is heating. Stir in glycerin and remove from heat. Let cool until almost room temp and then add lemon juice (it says you can also sub with white vinegar) Mix in the essential oils. Pour mixture into bottles (Good thing I kept a LOT of old bottles)

As you can see by the picture below it makes quite a bit. At first I was concerned as it was not thick but on cooling it does thicken up some.

2010-01-21T18:50:00.000-06:00

I guess I was overdue..At 4 am I woke up with a rip roaring migraine. I called into work and burned a sick day. It was two hours and massive doses of meds later before I finally quit puking and passed out. I don't remember laying down to bed. I woke back up around 11am. I got up for a while, groggy and zombie, ate what was presented to me and tried to wake up. I ended up going back to bed for another hour and a half before getting up for the rest of the day.

I am agitated and restless. I want to be doing something productive or fun (or both) but cannot find something that I want to do. I'm tired of staying home all the time, I hate days like this. I guess I should chalk it up to cabin fever. There is a lot I could be doing getting prepped for the garden but my seed catalogs are not here :( I hate off days like this.

Funny thing I forgot to mention.....

2010-01-06T21:06:00.001-06:00

We no longer have a working microwave. We had one that was working but was starting to rust a little and though I really didnt want to we got rid of it for a microwave that Helen had in storage, less than a week later it quit working. I don't want to buy a new one, if we plan ahead and use the stove top or (gasp) the toaster oven we shouldn't really need one. I dont really miss it. Im not sure how the rest of the house feels about it.

New year, new crew

2010-01-04T18:08:00.000-06:00

I've been working on those goals for the new year and though its still a work in progress here's what I have so far...

Grow at least 50% of our produce
Become more proficient at crocheting things
Lobby my village council to allow me to have some laying hens
To be more frugal, pay off my credit card again and get something into savings
To eat more organic, if not organic then local
To make more meals from scratch (including things like bread)
To build my pantry up and so I can shop less often

I am cautiously optimistic for this new year. I have a lot of hopes and the biggest obstacle for them is me!! I know I can do these things, maybe not to the degree I want right away but they are not impossible ideas.

There were a couple changes lately here in the household and I wanted to introduce you to my new "crew" :)

This is Helen.......and the wall behind her she painted herself crafty person that she is, the swirls are freehand. She was in the middle of reorganizing her craft desk when I shot this.

And this is Dillon, who just moved in on th 28th. I've known Dillon since I moved down here, Bill has known him longer. Long story but basically he's like our son (we are the closest thing to parents for him) He's a good kid (lol hes 19) AND he likes to garden :)

In good news today Bill got called back to work today to start at 3pm!! We are still trying to get him on at my workplace though as it would be better for him. Things will once again shift around in the house, and dinner will probably not be as phenomenal but we will be better off. Keep your fingers crossed for us.

Here are the updates from the AeroGrow I promised!

So far so good and everything has at least sprouted now. One down side is that someone put a cover over all of it to block the light and when I pulled it down when I got home the tips of one of the calendula sprouts had burned a little. They have been instructed not to do that again.

Counting down

2009-12-29T17:17:00.000-06:00

The new year is almost upon us. I am wanting to make some wishlists for the new year and some goals. I am also contemplating editing out my blog. There is a lot of crap, and I mean crap, that I've gone through this last year and though I needed to vent at the time I no longer feel that it deserves space with my original vision for this blog. It's a purging and cleansing Im going for. What better time than now?

Christmastime in Decatur

2009-12-25T20:58:00.001-06:00

Made it up to Decatur and it is beyond cold up here, it's snowing and my doors on my car have already frozen! But it was worth it to see my folks who I only get to see 2 or 3 times a year. Here's a pic of me and my zany mom taken on my laptop. I hope all of you are having a wonderful winter season.

2009-12-18T16:29:00.000-06:00

Well, I got the Aerogrow up and running today. We got my stepsons last night as they didnt have school today and my stepdaughter and her baby are over and we are going to do pizza and presents tonight. I got a hankering for baking when everyone got here so I whipped up some Cinnamon Raisin Swirl bread and Im waiting for it to rise. I gotta get stuff cleaned up then head into town to meet Helen to get the last of the stocking stuffers and pizzas. Pictures soon!!

Cool Yule gift and Recipe dilemna

2009-12-13T20:23:00.002-06:00

I now am the owner of an Aerogrow spacesaver 6 elite grow system. Helen got it for me for Yule :) We are really bad at waiting to give gifts in this household. The seed set that came with it is Incredible Edibles, which is edible flowers. They have a couple awesome sets, including a salad set, herb set and a create-your-own type of set. I can't wait to set it up!

In other news we are trying to find a recipe software program that will allow Bill to database all our recipes that we have now and catalog new ones. I see there are a few programs out there. Does anyone have any experience with them?

2009-12-09T21:34:00.000-06:00

At about 8:45 pm we got the power back. The kerosene heater is doing a splendid job though so we decided not to run the furnace until we get ready to go to bed. Showers are taken and phones and computers are charging. Lights are still minimal as we were thoroughly enjoying the glow from the heater and tea lights

2009-12-09T16:29:00.000-06:00

Well I should have known better. The wet stopped and the wind kicked up. Now my town and about 30 others have no power. I woke up at 5am and noticed it was out. Its suppose to get down to 16 degrees so on lunch I went to Rural King and picked up a kerosene heater, thanfully I am getting my xmas bonus on Friday I should be able to not feel it soo much in my pocket for a while. The latest information from the power company is they hope to have it back on by 5 or 6 tonight. We will see. I am torn if we don't have to use it tonight on whether to return it. They told me if we didn't open the box it would be fine. But A) I got it for a good price and B) This is the "beginning" of our winter and what if this happens again. Well, now that I actually wrote that out...I think I know the answer.

Hows the weather?

2009-12-08T13:50:00.000-06:00

Its wet as in really wet. While the top half of this state gets the blizzard down here in Southern Illinois we get wind and rain. Its getting cold this last week. Night before last it sleeted a little but it was gone by the morning. No actual snow yet. Bill wants snow for his birthday. Me? I just want to get the shrink wrap on the windows.
Right now Im hanging at Burger King on my lunch soaking up the free WIFI. My friend Brenna also works here so I got to gush about gardening with her. We are ready for the planting to start. She oohed over my spreadsheets and we have seeds to swap out to each other. She informed me that come next Fall she will be moving to the Columbus, OH area which sucks for me, another loss on the urban homesteading front and one less person for me to hang out with in person and talk shop with. But Im glad she's getting out at the same time.

The second loofah batch stilll has some black spots on them. Im not sure if I should do another bleach soak or just cut out those sections. Any ideas? I need to figure out something fast as some of these were going as Yule presents. Which leads me up to the goings on at the house......We have a small Christmas/Yule tree up. Its on top of the dining room table instead of the kennel. Now the cats won't stay out from under it. Aggravating but it is too cute. I just hope they don't break any of Helen's ornaments.

2009-12-05T22:44:00.000-06:00

I decided to take inventory on our seed stock and also do some spreadsheets to keep it straight. No more rifling through the boxes to double check whether or not I have something! My stepsons Dylan and Donovan helped me out by reading off the packet information so I also have the maturity information on the veggies. There are a couple that I need to do viability testing on as they are 2 years old but other than that the rest seem fine. I already have a wishlist of things from Seed Savers Exchange that I am interested in.

We are processing a small batch of loofahs that I let soak overnight as they had some particularly stubborn spots. I need to drain and rinse them. The ones that are hanging in the garage are not looking very good. I hope they turn out alright.

Winter.....Time for hunkering down

2009-11-30T20:31:00.000-06:00

Well the garden has been put to bed for the season. The gourds, loofah and zuchinni did well I did get enough of the black beans to use for next year. I was disappointed this year in the garden. It wasn't a complete failure but I did not have any to put over for the year. I am more than willing to say goodbye to this year and move on to the next. Next year we are going back down to the original size of the garden and I am either doing a series of raised, dedicated beds that I can rotate or I will go back to making my rows as running north south (this year we did east west running rows and I believe it contributed to poor drainage).Also here is to hoping we won't have any more "derechos" The Seed Savers Exchange has already sent out their new book and I am extremely hopeful looking at it. My mother asked me what I wanted for Christmas. I told her I really needed wasnt extravagant. I'd like to get some new bras, underwear and socks etc and I told her I would really like gardening supplies or gift certificates to things like Seed Savers Exchange.

Bill was laid off again as of last Monday. He's trying to stay upbeat but he only has about 10 weeks left of unemployment. He hasn't gotten call backs or he's been told he is overqualified because of his management experience. I just try to do what I can here to make it work. What else can I do? I am not as worried as I would have been as we now have a girlfriend, Helen, living here too which helps out with the bills. She is awesome, a photographer (as in went to school and does it for a living) and she is also a crafty person she is going to teach me more with crocheting and photography. She has family that has some homesteading type roots to them but she is more of a city girl, she can appreciate the rewards of homemade/homegrown but it's just not her thing.

Like I said the loofahs did pretty well this year and got quite a few of them to fully dry status and then processed, a first for us. Then we have about 20 or so more in various stages drying in the garage.

Heeeeere's Stephie!

2009-11-26T10:12:00.002-06:00

So I took a couple months off from this blog. I have still been contributing to Homemakers Who Work though. But I'm back now and I'll not bore you with the crap of the last two months. I will be able to post more often as Yule came early and I have a latop. Which means I can take my time getting my pictures the way I want before posting, no rushed posts, etc.

2009-09-03T22:58:00.003-05:00

Yay a weekend for me to do stuff!!! The garden is on the list. It is horrid, I am ashamed to say that in some parts the grass is hip high. I want to tear it all down. Well except for the broccoli and some romas; they and the gourds are the only things that really are doing anything. More venting on that later. Saturday is the last tour day for the Family Friendly Farm and we are going! Will have my camera this time too!! I can't wait!!

2009-08-03T22:27:00.003-05:00

Well anyone who has kept track of my updates knows I had been in a depression. Had is the operative word. I’m out of it. Several things have turned around. #1 My husband found work!! #2 As mentioned before, I spent several hours in the garden trying to reclaim it. It is turning around nicely. #3 I went on an adventure which has led to the revival of my soul and is the real reason I wanted to post.

Saturday I took a trip to Cape Girardeau, MO to visit the Family Friendly Farm for one of their tours. I drove by myself (haven’t done that in a LONG time) but met up with my co-worker and some of her family. Walked around through pastures filled with cows and chickens and I even got to catch and hold one myself! (Chicken dude, not a cow!) It was really nice to see positive stewardship of the Earth and genuine concern for the animals that are raised there. They sell eggs, chicken meat and other various chicken bits, raw milk and beef. They also sell local honey from a guy in Jackson, MO. These folks were wonderful to talk to answering a slew of questions from us. Their son also is a sweetie and you can tell he is being brought up right. I do recommend that if you can swing a visit that you do so!!

The egg on the left is from the Family Friendly Farm and the one on the right is an extra large from the store.

I bought a half of a gallon of milk, a dozen eggs that wouldn’t even fit in a jumbo egg carton, a pint of honey and a butter bell. I had never had raw milk before. It was something I’d always read about. I did sneak a glass before I left it in the fridge to let the cream rise on it. Oh and another thank you to Rachel, who I had to call after I got home because I didn’t know if the cream would still rise if I put it in the fridge. Like I said, I’ve never dealt with raw milk and had a noobie panic moment. But that’s ok I called my co-worker first and she didn’t know either :P When that finally happened I was calling Ginsu to come look at it. He laughed at me and walked off shaking his head chuckling. Yesterday I finally got around to making butter, which was also a first for me. I used my food processor and had a blast. Once I got it washed, pressed and salted I packed it into the butter bell. All in all I came away from the weekend refreshed. I just need to keep that feeling in the front of my mind.

2009-07-29T20:31:00.001-05:00

Tonight I soak my pickling cukes. Tomorrow I make Limed Pickles :) and yes...recipes will follow.

2009-07-21T23:59:00.003-05:00

The garden got away from me. I spent 9 hours Saturday wrangling it back. I mowed quite a bit down. I still have more grass to pull mainly from the beans and the spaghetti and yellow squashes. The area I had set for the herb patch was a bust. We have reclaimed it as a bonfire/campfire/hangout area. My garden is doing very poorly except for onions and radishes that are in the raised beds. I looked at the pictures from this time last year and it is markedly different.

To be honest with you all I am in a depressive funk. I will get over it I know I will. I don't want to do anything hardly anymore and I feel like crying at the drop of a hat. I am tired all the time. There is always some sort of stress here whether its dealing with my stepdaughter drama, Bill can't find a job drama, people at work driving me nuts drama, etc. We still haven't found a roommate. I'm tired about worrying about bills. I'm tired of feeling like a homesteading failure. To top it off I feel unappreciated. So yeah there is me in a nutshell, sorry its a bummer at the moment.

2009-07-07T22:20:00.004-05:00

Well I have switched to a new schedule this week at work. I will now have Friday and Saturdays off. YAY!! This means that I will be able to go do more things like visit family and friends and I will also be able to go to my beloved farmers' market which is on Saturday mornings. Things here are slowly shaping up. I putter around the house until about 7pm when it is cool enough for me to go out in the garden (sorry I am a wuss) and then pull grass and weeds until I can't see anymore. Roughly it's about 2 hours of work an evening. The grass is slowly being defeated. I did have to spray for squash bugs...they are attacking my zuchinni and the japanese beetles were destroying my pole and turtle beans I lost one of my zuchinni to squash bug larvae in the vines :(

I did get to do some harvesting today!! I got 1 medium and 1 large zuchinni, 1 massive head on the broccoli that will be enough for me and Bill to steam up for dinner some time and about 20 or so radishes. My bibb lettuce is going to seed and Im letting it. Then I will gather the seed and try again. I did manage somehow to save 2 of my heirloom tomatoes that we all thought were dead...well the rest are. The corn is still struggling despite the rains yesterday and the day before. The 2 cabbages seem to be going well as the late broccoli I planted. The roma and cherry tomatoes are small but I cleared the grass around them and some of the peppers and I hope they recover. Spaghetti squash, cantaloupe and yellow squash seem to be holding their own. Onions are still doing great and the carport of loofahs and birdhouse gourds is completely green. My herb patch was a total failure and the garlic is scrawny. It will be the next thing I hit tomorrow after I finish clearing the rest of the grass from the peppers.

Jodie has moved out for the most part, she has some stuff still here that she has to get but she's got the majority of it out. We are still looking for another roommate but have stopped short of placing an add in the paper. We've mainly searched through friends and family. Trying to find someone who isn't a nutcase AND has a stable income. We will be ok with just us but I would like to have more people in the house and every little bit helps.

2009-07-01T22:38:00.002-05:00

So we got back from the best vacation to find that A- My post for Homemakers Who Work went poof. and B half my garden is dead or dying. My heirloom tomatoes had completely dried up as well as one side of my pole beans and my black beans were covered in Japanese beetles and my corn is not happy either. My friend who watched the house and animals said she watered and pulled some weeds.......umm yeah....moving on. However, my cats and the dog are great and the house was a little cleaner than when we left. Im not giving her any crap as her parents barn burnt down while we were gone and it had all her house stuff stored in it.

2009-06-18T18:07:00.002-05:00

Here the house has been a beehive of activity. Ragnarok is coming upon us!! Well not literally the end of the world no...it's the major, national gathering for those of us who are in Dagorhir. It's medieval combat, with a fantasy base. Yes I am that much of a geek :)

Anyhoo Ragnarok this year is the 21st to the 28th in Cambridge, OH. We will leave the house around midnight Saturday to make the 8-10 hr drive. My friend is staying at my house for a week to take care of the animals, normally I'd just have someone come in once a day to check in but cant do that now that we have the Tater-pup.

I love going to Rag but the week before there's always soo much to do. 11th hour projects abound. I am guilty myself. I have made 1 skirt, 1 mens tunic and I need to make a half chemise and finish up another skirt.. I also had to dye a few pieces. Bill is working on belt favors for our unit. Him and a friend have been working on a pavillion for our camp. The roommate is trying to get packed and find all her garb. We are trying to co-ordinate caravans. Yeah pretty busy.

Outside of the house the weather has been crap for humans but great for some plants. It has been tooooooo hot, in the upper 90s, very humid (when its not storming) and I got sick trying to "suck it up" out there. The garden is a mess :(

2009-06-14T21:24:00.003-05:00

I went to help a friend clean up her place after I got off of work today. 3 hours later my friend is feeling a hell of a lot saner but my feet hurt and Im kicking myself. Considering the last time I had a day off was the 3rd it was just not a good idea. I cannot wait until Tuesday so I can sleep in (hopefully) Tuesday and Wednesday are UberBusy. I have a lot of stuff to do here to get us ready for our vacation. Among them is making a new skirt and a new chemise blouse or two if I can swing it. And I have to dye a skirt and top.

2009-06-12T22:53:00.002-05:00

They are starting a standby list for OT at work starting this weekend. This is a good thing. I should be getting my days off switched soon to Friday and Saturday which is a most awesome thing. One week and one day til our 1st wedding anniversary. One week and 2 days until vacation. Im very blessed and content. The bed is callin me now.

Hard week

2009-06-11T20:35:00.002-05:00

So this week I have had to do mandatory overtime. We are only required to do 4 hours..Im clocking almost 20. It will cover me going to Ragnarok in Cambridge, Ohio for a week. We look forward to this all year. I feel like I could drop though. My throat hurts a bit from so much talking. I need sleep and I've lucked out that its been rained a bit making the garden a little inaccessible. It seems to be coming along from what I can tell.. I finally found my battery charger so I will get pics soon.

On a different note, my middle stepson has been staying with us this last week. He has mentioned staying with us for the summer. I have a sneaking suspicion that he might want to live here permanently. He's 9 though and I think kids in Illinois cant actively pick until they are 12.

A new opportunity!

2009-06-04T20:10:00.003-05:00

So I was asked if I'd be interested in writing for Homemakers Who Work and I said yes. I'm really looking forward to working with these people and all the advice they have to share as well as whatever knowledge I can share. Go check it out my intro was today!

2009-05-26T23:13:00.002-05:00

Well it is the eve of my 31st birthday. Yes in about 7 hours and 14 minutes I will start fielding calls from my zany relatives. For some reason in my family we all know what time we were born. My aunts and mom start calling me at 6:26am (well sometimes Aunt Cindy forgets that shes an hour ahead of me and thats a real fun call lol) Im kinda wishy washy about the whole thing, varying from blah to dread and everything in between. There has been so very much that has happened since last year....On Friday we will have been at this house for a year! Can you believe it?!

We have had a nice rain the past day and a half. The rain barrels have been replenished and the garden is clipping along at a good pace. Most everything that was direct sown has sprouted. I still need to get the spaghetti squash in and buy some thyme to replace what I lost. My broccoli started to flower, I had tried to tell Bill that we needed to take what small heads there were he did not agree and now they are mostly blooming....grrrrr. The spinach bolted so I will need to replant, along with the radishes which we ate. I harvested the some lettuce tonight for a big dinner salad to go along with some homemade bbq pulled pork. Hmmm good food for nearly free. The pork we got from the boys mom for taking them for a week while her power was still out. We spiced it and boiled it up before putting it on the grill, which left me with a bit o broth thats now being frozen. I'll use it to cook up green beans later. What leftover meat we have is being frozen in small batches for future lunches.

All in all today was a good day. I hope for the same tomorrow.

2009-05-24T21:57:00.003-05:00

98% of the garden is in. We started planting Wed a lil after 9am and didnt finish until just after 8:30pm. I had to direct sow a lot of things but the peppers seem to be fairing well, I also had a couple cucumber plants that didnt get thrashed by the foul weather. I need to buy some spaghetti squash to plant and some thyme plants. I will get pics soon.

I volunteered to work Memorial Monday. Im gonna need all the OT and extra that I can get. I finally got ahold of my insurance guy who verified that yes, the claim on groceries has to go through my deductible first and its just not worth it as its a $500 deductible. Useless since we didn't have any other damage.

Wednesday the 27th is my birthday. Im not sure that we are going to do anything. I would like to do something, just not sure what.

I will write more and in more detail come my weekend.

Going good in So. IL

2009-05-16T20:36:00.004-05:00

Well Friday the rest of So. IL seemed to get their power back on. The boys went back to their mom's and Bill and I got the house back together. We were without power from Friday until Monday. Everything in the deep freeze thawed and we lost quite a bit in the fridge as well. We just didn't have enough room in the cooler. :( We had a kick butt cookout and invited as many people as we could to help us not let it go to waste. Friday I called the State Farm hot line and the girl told me I had a $500 deductible on my homeowners. My groceries might total out @ $200 max if that. We didn't have any car or house damage so.....yeah according to what she was telling me we are on our own with groceries. I am going to call my insurance agent Monday and double check. Bill says not to worry and that things will be OK but I am very aggravated. Not so much with the insurance people, I expect that but that we were unprepared...and that is my job!

I have been lucky as my workplace had generators and I was working my normal days..Many people weren't so lucky. I had the option to not come in due to circumstances but I would not get paid...not an option. There weren't many of us but we did just fine. I work in product information and not sales anymore so it was not as busy.

It stormed again last night but I didn't let it get me too down as I love storms. Yes there is still standing water in parts of the garden and it is a mess. It is suppose to be nice and sunny and slightly warm for the next couple days. Actually, it's not suppose to rain again until Thursday!! I am hoping to be able to get it planted either Monday or Tuesday...Wed at the very latest. So much to catch up on. I hope that everyone is well where they are.

2009-05-12T21:31:00.003-05:00

Ever hear of an inland hurricane in Illinois? Who knew?! But thats what the National Weather Service is calling it. The power FINALLY came back on late yesterday....little damage to the house and we are fine. The garden....not so great, thankfully it wasnt completely planted. There are still thousands without power so my house is a little crowded at the moment so I will write more when I have more time and privacy.

Its back

2009-04-28T23:25:00.001-05:00

Well not by popular demand but I've been asked.... I put my playlist back up. Its not on auto start so if you want to hear any of it you will have to hit the play button yourself. I will not force my music on you :)

2009-04-16T06:01:00.003-05:00

I will not be online for a while. Im berating myself at the moment. I screwed up my bank balance and found out I would be short for bills. I had been reading my online balance wrong it shows a combo of mine and Bills as we have seperate accounts. So I would have to take money from my husband which would leave him broke and without gas or cigarettes for about a week to be even. If I can get the water bill squared away things will be fine pay it later or whatever but still I feel lower than a piece of crap, and my husband is furious with me (and he well should be).

This made my day!

2009-04-08T22:51:00.001-05:00

You've been sent a Flickr Mail from Enjoy Illinois:------------------------------------------------------------:: Carbondale Farmers Market photo
Hello,
My name is Nick and I work with the Illinois Bureau ofTourism. We are working on building sets on our photostreambased off people's favorite things in Illinois. This month,I asked people to tell me (via Twitter @enjoyillinois) whattheir favorite IL park is and the Carbondale Farmer's Marketat the Murdale Parking was one of the responses. Would it be possible for me to use your "Carbondale FarmersMarket" picture (link below) in this set? We may also use iton our Facebook page. I'll of course give you credit, linkto your photostream and won't use the photo anywhere elsewithout your permission.
Thanks,
Nickhttp://www.flickr.com/photos/labyrinth080305/2740290369/------------------------------------------------------------

2009-04-08T13:49:00.003-05:00

Yesterday I made Cinnamon Raisin Swirl Bread! Thanks to Kathie over at Two Frog Home for sharing the recipe. Everyone loves it here at the house and that was really a confidence boost for me. It was also very therapeutic for me as I was having a bad day at the time.

April Fool's Day

2009-04-01T21:32:00.002-05:00

It's too wet to till but I did set out stuff in all of the raised beds. I put down spinach, the broccoli plants, jalepenos (yeah it might be too eary) onions, bibb lettuce, loose leaf lettuce, radishes -both globe and french breakfast - an elongated strain. I am running out of room again in the grow boxes.

We did however go fishing :) We went Mon evening, Tuesday evening (after it stopped raining) and most of today. I only caught 4 bluegill, 3 were big enough. Bill caught 13 and had to throw 2 or 3 back. There WILL be more fishing. My wonderful husband takes care of the cleaning. I cannot handle that part very well. What was left over is buried in the compost. We use ALL the buffalo in this house :D

2009-03-27T22:27:00.001-05:00

I have more pictures to take and upload I WILL get the introduction of Tater done soon..But I need sleep.

The new pantry and yard pics

2009-03-27T21:59:00.005-05:00

This is how you turn an ordinary mostly unused coat closet into a pantry.

I had him keep the original shelf and bar for super tall containers and for hanging things like herbs.

This is the new grow box complete with flip top lid....much easier to use both are now full!!

The carport in back is not used really so it is now trellised off for gourds. The spot front of it now has 4 raised beds but I didnt get those shots yet.

The compost bins are now 3 wide and covered with black plastic to help cook.

This is the trellis for the beans it is 6ft tall. It is covered in mesh to help them climb.

There are window boxes under the windows now except for the north side of the house.

My plants are getting huge.. I hope they can hold on for another week or so.

Happy St. Paddys Day!

2009-03-18T00:48:00.003-05:00

Things here are good all considering. Bill had a visit to the dentist and it all sucked. My poor Bill has 2 really bad abcessed teeth, a sinus infection and its creeping up into his eye. He is now on antibiotics and pain meds though he will only take half of a Vicodin and then some Motrin. He will be getting one tooth pulled next week. I am on watch for swelling in his face and eye with instructions to take him to the ER if that happens. I, myself, have a lovely little sinus infection with an ear infection. I missed a day at work because my balance was way off. I now only lose my balance when I blow my nose. I still have a bit of pain here and there but I just follow Bill's lead and try to work through it.

We have been very busy lately, especially Bill. Since the weather in Southern Illinois has been fair the past few weeks (with occasional cold snaps) he has been a busy bee. I think the recent influx of tools has helped tremendously too ;) He is building me another grow box with great improvements. It will have a hinged lid instead of the bulky top I currently deal with. But regardless I am more than grateful that I have a grow box. The plants are doing wonderfully. I will get new pictures. We have been busy outside the house too. We made an A-frame trellis for the pole beans and remodeled the carport to act as a trellis for the gourds. Bill pulled all the Yuccas and transplanted them to the ditch out front. He also built window boxes for most of the windows around the house. We re-did the compost area and built on a third section. Bill also hauled in some composted manure from Giant City Stables... in the blazer no less. He used an enormous tarp as a liner lol. If it doesnt rain this morning he is going to till the garden. It may be a little premature. I think it is sufficiently dry but who knows. It will be the first firing up of the new tiller.

Ok its 1am and Im going to go pass back out.

2009-03-03T20:35:00.003-06:00

My tax return had arrived and, as per my previous post , I got some vital things taken care of. So with some of the rest of it we decided to put back into the local economy aka we went shopping :D We bought a 6.5 hp tiller at Rural King. Bill is now the proud owner of a table saw, reciprocating saw, and a new electric drill. For the Blazer we had to replace a lot of things on it lately that all tied into his serpentine belt. We need to get him a new radiator eventually. He also got some new shoes, his Vans are almost dead after two years. We bought a membership to our neighborhood co-op!!!! We also picked up some odds and ends there, including some eco-friendly Seventh Generation dishwasher detergent. We also bought a rice cooker (we go through a LOT of rice here) so now I won't scorch the pan anymore. We also ordered some seeds online through Mississipi Moon Seeds, Seed Savers Exchange and Botanical Interests. It's really hard to find pepperoncini seeds locally. Oh and we got the puppy fixed. Oh but I haven't introduced you to the latest member of the family.....Tater. I have to remedy that.

The grow box is working well. It is still a bit cold in the garage (damn this weather, its suppose to be 50s tommorow and close to 70 on Thursday) so I added a portable room heater on low. The box does not have any insulation though I may be putting an old blanket over it soon. I transplanted a lot of seedlings to 3" pots. I need to see about getting some natural liquid fertilizer or maybe buy a bag of compost and mix it in with my potting soil which doesnt have anything. We will be making another trip into town tomorrow for groceries and more gardening supplies. I also have a lunch date with a friend that I don't see as often as I'd like.

Paid off

2009-03-01T19:40:00.002-06:00

My credit cards
My car

Also....
Got new tires (3)
Got parts for Bill's truck
Got 2 new pairs of jeans bring my total to 3

Seed starting

2009-02-26T20:02:00.003-06:00

This is what I planted yesterday.

Black Cherry tomatoes x 3
Roma tomatoes x 9
Genovese Basil x 6
Poblano peppers x 6
Luffa gourd x 6
Honey Rock Cantaloupe x 6
Purple bell peppers x 6
Pickling cukes (saved seed 2008) x 6
Bloomsdale Longstanding spinach (leftover 2008) x 6
American Flag Leeks (leftovers) x 6
Green Goliath broccoli x 6
Mammoth Dill x 6
Lavender x 6
Oregano x 6
Summer Savory x 6
Sweet Marjoram x 6
Pepperoncini x 2
Cauliflower x 4
Jalepenos x 6
Calendula x 3

There are some other in the grow box right now but I dont remember off hand what they are. I have more peppers and tomatoes to plant and then other things that I just cant start early..like corn. But I will keep up on things and report back.

Grow box, take 2

2009-02-26T19:51:00.003-06:00

When I came home from work Bill was already at it again making another, smaller grow box. Here's the pics.

Updates on multiple things.

2009-02-26T19:15:00.005-06:00

Sometimes I forget to take "before pictures". Like of Raven's room.. before we cleaned out 4 full trashbags of CRAP. All the clothes were washed except for what was hanging up because we couldn't be sure of what was clean. You could only see patches of the floor. Her father had a really hard time but he is doing ok. You wouldn't recognize the room now :) Anything that is hers is put up and away in the closet. Including the bedset that I bought for her. I put a new set on. That way she can't complain about other people using her stuff. She is keeping her stuff here until she either moves back in or til June. After that she needs to come get it before we get rid of it. The room will be used for visitors and for when we have her half brothers every other weekend. They now have a clean room to stay in. She came by today to get some cds and didn't stay 10 minutes. She didn't say anything about the room.

On a more pleasant front. Bill finished my grow box..its a huge monstrosity. He wanted to let you know that only the foil was purchased for this project, all the rest of the stuff we had. The cardboard is a "bionic cardboard" that is 1/2" thick and had to be cut with and jig and band saw. The light fixtures he had from a tool box he picked up at an auction and the wood is pallet wood. These are the pics of it. He is already making a smaller one for a friend of ours.This is the base its an extra bookcase laid on its back.

Bill trying to make sure it fits up right..it does for the most part There is some sliding around I can do for air and we are discussing vent holes.

The outside wiring and the handlebar

Did I mention the that this thing is huge?!

The inside..yes that is 5 light receptacles...I blame Bill I did not specify how many to use.

I did get to do some work on it. Heavy duty aluminum foil...the only thing I had to buy....$2 dollars for 2 rolls and I have lots left over for the kitchen/grill.

We didn't foil around the light receptacles we worried it would fall. It has 1 incandescent and the rest are CFLs of varying wattage.

This is it all set to go. I do have some seedlings in there I may have to boost them up closer to the light but it's definitely 80 times better than what they were getting in my kitchen. We put in a thermometer and while it was high 40s/low 50s F in the garage it stayed about 75 F and this afternoon the highest it got was 80 F. We plan to run it about 13-16 hrs a day with us unplugging it before bed and me plugging it in before I leave for work. Comments and suggestions are welcome.

2009-02-24T23:34:00.003-06:00

Bill is making me a grow box for my plants. I will get pictures of it when he is done. He is really mad at me at the moment we got into an argument about using the pallet wood instead of going and buying stuff from Lowes. I offered to help take the pallets apart but he stormed off. I didn't want him to start on it tonight but he did. I need to just start trying to make stuff myself so he doesnt have to. That way he doesn't have to deal with the frustration of dealing with me when I want things to be the way that I think they should be. (Regardless of whether it should be done or can be) or when Im trying to be "helpful" . I just didn't want to spend the money on new timber. So now I feel supremely horrid.

2009-02-22T18:53:00.003-06:00

Well, I know I haven't been on for a while but things are a bit crazy here. We had to update the computer, the motherboard and processer had gotten a little fried. But we are up and running again. I have spring planting fever :( But it dropped back down to 18 the other day. I am waiting on my tax money to pay off bills and then I will tackle some other fun things.

Raven decided to move out Wednesday after her father laid down some rules. She basically wants to walk all over people but she wants them to take care of her hand and foot. Thats not gonna happen here. While I am worried for her (going to school, gettting to work etc.) I also feel a relief, I think I am horrible for it at times and then I read back over journal entries and blog entries and I stop feeling guilty.

I am not online very much just sporadically. Bill is playing a lot of World of Warcraft. I am very much up for snail mail correspondence though if you are interested then send me an email...there should be a link on the profile and I will get back with ya.

Hunkering down

2009-01-26T21:52:00.002-06:00

So about 8pm the forecasted winter mix storm rolled in..its pouring buckets of sleet :) I'd get pics of it but the camera battery is charging. The weather is suppose to be like this for my whole "weekend" We have schools already cancelling so no one here has to get out of the house, which is a good thing.

I've been productive the last couple days. I hit the Organized Home and printed off checklists for pantry/larder inventory and freezer inventory. I am currently trying to track down a spending log that I like. We will be tracking our spending for next month. We also have planned out a dinner menu for the next week and did the shopping for it. It cost a bit more but a lot of the ingredients will last for more than one meal. I got the inventory sheets done for the pantry and the freezer...and while cleaning out the freezer I found a hidden gallon bag of corn on the cob, YAY!!

The seeds I tested have started coming up so we should be good for next year. I have to finish the list of stuff we are wanting for the next years that I dont have and then cross reference that with my homesteading and organic yahoo groups that have seed swaps.

I did buy something new today that we desperately needed...a vacuum. Its bagless and large enough to handle an actual house...my last one was basically for a small apartment and liked to overheat to boot. We are focusing on paying off more bills and looking for a tiller. No longer looking for a rear tine though, he has decided we could do well with a front tine since the earth has been broken already. I will be scouring online and craigslist to see what I can find.

2009-01-25T16:14:00.001-06:00

I have been properly scolded :) I did not mean that you guys are not there...I was lamenting the fact that none of your faces was up on my followers bar thingy. I humbly apologize and beg forgiveness.

2009-01-24T18:17:00.000-06:00

I have no followers :(

Getting in gear

2009-01-21T20:46:00.004-06:00

So today I slept in until 9am. I puttered around the house till around noon when company came over. Around 3pm after said company left Bill and I went into town to check out Lowe's again. I did not find any cool cheap things like Unusual Farmchick but I did get pricing for several cold frames and picked up a seed starting kit. When we got home from all that I went through my seed stash going over what I had left over from last year and what we saved from plants...then I decided that since the seeds had been in out in the unheated garage that I would do a viability test and planted a few seeds from the leftover seeds (the saved seeds have been in the nice temperate house) So we'll see how that goes.

Today while visiting with my company I found out that she has a bread machine that she never uses...I will be getting it from her. I am very much looking forward to this. Jodi also brought loaf pans when she moved in so I plan on making bread both ways.... Phelan you will be hearing from me soon :)

I forgot to mention yesterday that I hit the thrift store and got a great find! And I only paid $0.99 for it. She told me it is for tomatoes but I think its for any type of food isnt it?

2009-01-20T23:05:00.003-06:00

There are some good things that I want to share with everyone. I have my car paid off and I did get my brakes fixed thanks to Jodie paying her rent for 6 months upfront. Also, I am getting a cash settlement from my insurance minus my deductible and we are going to be paying off some of our debt. I am extremely grateful it answers a lot of our prayers.

Bill has been putting in applications online and today we hit the pavement but to no avail. We ended up missing the inaugaration because of it. There is enough coverage going on though that if I felt up to it I could catch up on it.

I also talked to Bill today about starting a spending journal and that it would be imperative for both of us to take part in it and the importance of saving every receipt. If anyone has forms,pdfs, etc. that would help in organizing the household I would appreciate it. I am also wanting penpals. I can do email penpals too but Bill is playing a LOT of Diablo 2 to keep sane and between him and the Teen I don't get much time online as I use to...if you are interested let me know. I have run out of books here (even the silly romance ones!) and De Soto does not have a library.

We are suppose to get up to 40 F tomorrow woohoo! and Friday is suppose to get up to the 50s.

Refocusing

2009-01-14T22:46:00.002-06:00

Im trying to regroup and refocus for 2009. Im trying to get a list of goals going and I should have some good news here in a couple days. Hope everyone is doing ok with all this cold spread throughout the country..it is currently 13 degrees and windy as hell

Umm guys???

2009-01-07T11:19:00.002-06:00

Ok i have 6- 1 gal bags of frozen roma tomatoes with their tops cut off. Bill wants to make diced tomatoes and can them. How do I go about doing this? Is it any different from canning whole tomatoes?

New beginnings

2009-01-03T18:36:00.002-06:00

It's the new year and I have hope. Hope that this year will be kinder to us all. There are many things that are going on here. Jodi has completed the move to our house. I'm beyond happy that she's here I've missed her she is the closest thing I have to a sister. The money she is paying for rent will help alleviate some of the bills...most importantly I can get the car fixed and paid off. That is something to look forward to. I got my first seed catalog in and Im not very impressed with it. Im going to go over my lists again with Bill and then I am going to hit my Yahoo group, they have a seed exchange. We'll see if anyone is looking for stuff I saved but a lot of my stuff came from the store Im pretty sure they say that the seeds I got from my crops won't be the same as what I originally planted.

2008-12-30T22:42:00.002-06:00

So after my cathartic post I am feeling lighter. Thank you for your kind words and support.

Late last night I got a call from a friend of ours who is getting ready to move up to Chicago (6 hours north) and he asked if we want his queen size bed and box spring, we just need rails. I said of course! So we got that today from them and visited a while. Later,we ran back into town and did some errands. On the way back home I see a bedroom furniture set sitting on the side of the road. Long story short we got a huge dresser a nightstand/cabinet thing and an amoire for free. They had been in storage for 2 years and are in really good condition. I just got done cleaning them out. I will get pictures tomorrow.

Also, I received my first seed catalog today. I need to find my leftover seeds and check them out.

Help me....I dont understand

2008-12-29T17:43:00.002-06:00

Im at my wits end. I've avoided posting because things just haven't been good here and I didn't want to talk about it. So I thank you in advance for listening to me. Bill got cleared to go back to work on the 15th only to get laid off along with 23 other people. He is going to get unemployment but it hasn't kicked in yet. But there is that inbetween where all there is is my paycheck. The worst part of this whole mess is that the Teen is pregnant again. I've tried so hard guys you have no idea. I tried to talk to her and her dad...I pushed for the goddamn birthcontrol that she dragger her feet on. I feel hurt and betrayed (again) and I feel like she did this on purpose (and have been told the same by other people who came to talk to me about the situation as the pregnancy and other information got around) But I will say no more Im so tired, hurt and raw.

Outside of that there is other crap going wrong. Bill is behind on child support, there are issues going on with the boys' mother and a VERY real possibility that they could be coming to live with us if shit doesnt change. The damage to my car hasn't been fixed as I can't afford the deductible and no one has ever gotten back with us about the other driver. My poor car is falling apart......the brakes are grinding, not squealing, she needs an oil change and a tranny flush...she's slowly creeping up to the 100,000 mile mark. There is little to no money left over after mortgage and bills for much else and I had to hit the food pantry a couple times. I know its what is for....I know that I have done more than my share of donating to that and other things and that its ok but sometimes.....

The stress levels here have been insane at times. Bill is miserable and he tries so hard. He has been doing so much around the house as he can. He is no slouch but the stress has been getting to him for some time and now all this. We have been talking, trying to not snap at each other, trying to support each other but I worry about us as well are fuses have gotten shorter than what they naturally are.

I've been trying, Im trying to pick up cleaning jobs and what not, I've been trying to be frugal but then mess up. My mind goes blank, I just don't think like I use to. And it's winter to boot.
Someone tell me what to do, I don't know what to do. I know there are things I should be doing that I just can't think of.

Broken update

2008-10-08T23:20:00.003-05:00

Nasty fracture of the thumb...its currently casted but if he doesnt do right by it his thumb will be SERIOUSLY jacked up. He's got paper work in for FMLA at work, which may or may not help. I found out today they gave us a raise of sorts (I think to adjust for the minmum wage hike we had, not really sure) they say it will not affect our performance raises we would get towards spring. Training is going well, I really think I will like the people in this dept...we have a buddhist, one of the other supervisors does a LOT of canning and another girl and I got into a discussion about our liking Mother Earth News magazine.

Changes and a Mac Truck

2008-10-07T22:56:00.003-05:00

So there is much going down on the homefront. Monday I was told that I got the position I had applied for about a month ago..Which means day shift...same days off, same pay. Oh and by the way could I work Monday night til Midnight then come back in today at 8am. Sure! No problem...thats why the gods invented coffee and mt. dew. So I should be sleeping but Im still up cuz Im a huge ball of anxiety. Bill broke his thumb....not sure how bad but bad enough that he has to see an orthopedic doc tomorrow (cant go gotta train grrr) and I don't know how long he will be off work. Of course being the spaz I am I have obsessed over everything. Its driving Bill nuts and I hope to feel better tomorrow.

In other news I did harvest some more roma tomatoes, jalapenos and green peppers.

Doing Not Thinking Challenge Update

2008-09-30T01:42:00.002-05:00

Ummm not really sure what week it is I've lost track. Not done a whole lot garden wise. But its my weekend that will change. Saturday Bill purchased 2 huge plastic drums from the recycling center and made rainwater harvesters. Some guy had come in a few days before that and bought 80! At $6 a pop! He's probably making collectors too and selling them for $70+. Grrr smart guy though lol. Anyway...tonight we had a small rainstorm I will check the barrels in the morning.

2008-09-25T01:33:00.003-05:00

Im getting a little worried. Ok Im waay past a little worried. Im panicked. I watch the news online and its making me nauseous so I quit. Still no word on the new job position. Talked to Jodi today. Her and a girl from my fighting unit came over to help me pick green beans and can them. So far I did another 7 quarts but it looks like 2 of them might have seal failure. Grrrr. Anyway, was talking to Jodi and she mentioned that her king bed would not fit well in the extra bedroom and the possibility of swapping beds with us for the 5 or 6 months she would be here. We have the biggest room but only a full size bed. I told her that would be fine with me if she was cool with it. So that seems like the probability of her moving in is high. Of course nothing is in stone..Its a long way to January. Im trying to get my 2 credit cards consolidated. I also still have the car payment. Once I know about the job position thing then I will be picking up a second job. I dont care if its working along side the Teen at Burger King. I am making myself sick worrying about us having enough money to pay bills, gas and food. I do NOT have enough put by to see my family through winter without supplementing from the grocery store. The more I try to curb my spending the more that seems to go out the window. Quite honestly right now I feel like s#*t.