Plotting 2015

It's that time of year again!! Seed catalogs are coming in but Brenna and I have a seed stash and we went through it last night. We talked with a lot of hope that this year's garden will be better. We discussed what worked well, what didn't. We also discussed the fact that I'm not working right now and with current plans should be home more to be the active force in the garden. We only have a few things that will have to be bought at the store like onion sets, lettuce seed, potatoes, etc. I feel like we are getting off on the right foot. I also think there is way too much squash in this garden but we shall see.

Not pictured....the basket I left in the living room, doh!

Brenna is my go to model

Funky Friday

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.

1. We weren't bought out by another vitamin company
2. 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.
3. If my job gets outsourced I will get unemployment which opens up some other opportunities for me
4. 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.

Super planned weekends have begun!

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!

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.

Happy News

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.

Getting in gear

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?

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.

4th of July recap and a sundry of other stuff

Just a note, I haven't forgotten that I was tagged for "What Things I Refuse to Do Without" I just really needed to take a bit to think about it in an honest light.

The first 4th at the house wasnt too eventful. I had to work from 8am t0 4:30 on 2 hours sleep. Caught an hour sleep during lunch in my car and another hour upon coming home. Bill and the Teen cooked and then she was off to see fireworks while we ran some errands and then came back home so that I could catch up on everyone's blog and he can finish belt favors for our fighting group. Ragnorok went well from the perspective of establishing a name for ourselves as a fighting group. It was also a great way for me to meet up with The Unusual Farmchick. As far as a honeymoon it was disasterous (with the storms, the chaos of Ragnorok and all, not to mention the truck crapping out on us). I would really like to save up some vacation time and go away for a weekend, even if its just something round here. Southern Illinois is actually very beautiful with the Shawnee National Forest, Garden of the Gods, FernClyffe, etc. Or maybe we could hit Cape Girardeau, MO or Paducah, KY since both are about an hour away.

The garden is chugging along at a steady (I think) pace so much sprouted and took off while we were gone. We did lose some seedlings, but I am happy with what we have so far. I worry with us getting started as late as we did that we will behind or have poor yield and not much for me to can. We tilled a chunk of the back yard up and I worry that I haven't used the space as efficiently as I could have. But I remind myself that this is our first month at the house let alone our first year, mistakes will be made, losses will be sustained logged and hopefully learned from and avoided. I have pictures on my flickr badge if you follow the link you can see my pics. I will be shooting more frequently because I got asked permission for use of one of my pics for a participatory news group called Now Public.com. I was slightly amused, part flattered and said sure.

Another cool thing that happened lately was that I found out I won a reuseable tote bag from Earthbound Farm with a newsletter, some coupons and a book. I vaguely remember signing up for it back in April I think.. So all in all good day. But now Im tired and going to relenquish the computer to Bill. I have to get up and take pics of the garden...and weed like no tomorrow and also we are going to the farmers market.

So things are starting to even out I think. We had to rent a tiller to do out the back yard. Bill has once again taken over but I can say that I've put in a good deal of work myself. We started some more seedlings that have already sprouted but we also bought some live plants at the farmers market and Lowe's. Also Bill hit Rural King. Its my weekend and I will get pictures of everything.

In other news we are getting married this Friday, the 20th. We are going to the court house with some family and friends in tow and then we are having a reception at our house. You guys are all invited (seriously) but I know you more than likely can't make it...but once again...there will be many pictures. I work the next day and then we leave for Ragnorok on Sunday morning. I want to leave after I get off work at midnight but Bill is wanting to leave at around 4 am :( Its about 8 hours or so to get to Cambridge and I would like to get there before noon so that we can set up. We will be there for a week. I have no idea what Im going to where, my bodices are too big and I don't believe Bill will have time to fix them like he said he would.

I bought some bananas today that Im going to put them into the dehydrator.. its first job! I haven't gotten to do any canning for lack of fresh produce...not to mention that its been super busy. There is so much I want to tell you guys about! I feel really blessed, equally scared and sometimes nauseaous but we are holding down the fort.

Monday to Tuesday

Monday we have the final walk through at 10am. Tuesday I close at 1:30pm.

I have 4 (72pellet) Jiffy greenhouses with seeds planted. Yeah might be overkill but Bill has taken over :) He insists that we are behind, I think he has become obsessed ;) I think I will have more plants than I will ever need for that matter. But it's all good. I have spent the last couple days working and trying to chill have become obsessed myself with seeds including the soon arriving set that Tammie has been gracious enough to send. To easy my anxiety of all this bruhahah I have been blasting Type O Negative and my 80s mixed cds...yes i know, its a little...different.

S cleaned out his closets, Bill and I cleaned out some of ours and we swapped...lol except for my clothes they are being donated to the womens shelter. Bill got some really sexy army cammo shirts and some steel toed boots....I miss having combat boots myself. Im going to read up on everyone then I'll come back later and blab more.

The weekend is here!

So Im trying to plan a garden. I have some left over seeds from last year (radish, green onion, and an unopend packet of lettuce) plus seeds that I saved from some green peppers. But I really need to sit down and plot out what else to get and stuggle with the fact that I might have to buy them from Walmart (shudders) or maybe Rural King instead of the seed catalogs. Does this make me bad?? The farmers market is suppose to start up the first weekend of April but Im not sure if I will be able to afford a lot of live plants. I can't keep a rosemary plant alive lately it seems and there are just some things Im going to need at the house ASAP. Im a little frustrated. I've never canned anything in my life. Haven't gotten to use my dehydrator either but Im a pretty decent freezer LOL :) I worry that I'll not plant enough or that I'll plant too much and be overwhelmed. Im really worried that I'll sicken or kill everyone with my canning attempts. Everyone starting out goes through this right??!

Also, I've come to the conclusion that bread baking...for the moment...is not something that Im going to persue at this time. I'm not suppose to have it during my 1st phase of South Beach and Bill isn't a big fan of bread either. Really, I'm going to try to focus on the gardening and tackling things like canning and dehydrating and of course, the chickens. Then of course there is the frugal and thrifty living that we want to do so that we can not worry so much about money and bills and enjoy life. I realized that I keep trying to fit everything in and Im giving myself a migraine. So Im prioritizing and once certain things are tackled I will move on to things like bread.

Earthquakes and bakes

So I get online about 9pm or so Tuesday and the first thing I see is that Britain had an earthquake and I'm all in a panic. The second thing I see is that my friend Matt (who lives there) is on my yahoo messenger. So I'm blazing up an IM to know that him and his are all ok...they are thank Gods. So it got me to thinking that I really need to show and let ALL my friends know how much they mean and have meant to me even when I don't see them that much or in this case, at all. I've known Matt for many years but I've never actually met him. I actually "met" him online via my ex husband and an online game called Everquest. Anyway, over the course of time Matt became a great source of friendship and sanity for me when everything went to hell in a handbasket. Sometimes we'd lose track of each other and what we were doing for long periods of time but I still consider him a my friend, and that is a rare thing in my world let me tell you. It's kinda funny how life is. So I have a project in my head to go with "I need to let my friends know I care" kind of thing.

In other news I have a dutch oven that I'm borrowing coming tommorow and I am going to attempt to do the "No knead bread" recipe that was featured in Mother Earth News magazine.
It will be my first attempt to make bread. I am also trying to find my glass bread pan to use for when I attempt "normal" loaf style bread..I have no idea what I'm doing on bread stuffs.

Wrapping up 2007 and starting off 2008

Ok so after I wrote the last post Teen decided she just had to take the decrept(sp?) particle board entertainment center/armoire out of her room and I had to help. Not that I mind, I LOVE when she takes her own initiative to clean her room...it is is a complete disaster much of the time. So now its after 4am. But anyways... I got caught up with peoples' posts here's whats going on. It's your typical mix of good and suckage that everyone deals with.

Christmas in Decatur went well. I got my food dehydrator from my parents and 2 extra trays. I also got a hot stone massage kit and room fragrance set and enough money to pay for gas and snacks home. Bill made out like a bandit. He got a circular saw, new screwdriver set AND a gift card to Sears. My family is all about tools :) Teen got great gifts that teenagers like to get and she uses her camera we got her a lot.

The Recycling bins have been a success in the trailer. I have clear glass, tin, plastics #1 and #2. We have a lot of plastic containers that we are repurposing as tupperware stuff. All of them seem to be plastic #5. I don't know what the differences in them are but I do notice more now.
I put all my canvas totes in the car tonight. Teen and I had gone grocery shopping and I had forgotten them on the countertop but I had 2 in the trunk and we used them. Bill has used the giant book tote that I got from my workplace as well. I will have to do another shopping run this weekend so the plastic bags are going to the recycling box they have set up at the grocery store. Hopefully its the end of platic shopping bags for us at least.

The house thing is slow in coming. I haven't applied for a loan yet, Im still trying to get stuff paid off. Medical bills from two admissions and subsequent unneccessary medical procedure have made it frustrating. For my birthday last May I got kidney stones...yep 2 of them. One that I passed (they couldnt find it when they did the cystoscopy Fun!) and one that is hopefully not going anywhere..oh and an ovarian cyst. But thats nothing shocking, I have Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome. I'm down to about $300 in medical bills that Im still trying to pay off along with my credit card bills. I shredded the one card and put the other one up so I can't use it. Bill actually helped pay on my radiology bill today, which made me almost cry. He said "This is OUR bill, we're getting married ya know" that is a HUGE thing for both of us. I've contemplated taking on a second job which he is completely against. He knows I'd probably burn out. Right now Im working full time 2nd shift. I signed up for as much overtime as I could for the holidays but they had so many people volunteer that they drew names to see who would work and I didn't get picked. I want to get this taken care of before I start applying for a mortgage loan but I don't think we'll have that much time, things here are still going downhill.

Thing here are sucky to put it mildly. J is waiting to hear back about if she got the place she wants, its flipping cold as hell out and the duct work doesnt work on one entire side of this double wide...guess what side our bedroom and teens bedroom is on? I mean the outside cats get in there for the love of Pete! Mainly its just really cold air that seeps up out of them, we try to keep them covered. I dont even want to know what the power bill is gonna be like. Oh and today the washer decided to spew water all over the floor because something is wrong with the drain. I dont know when or how S is going to get that taken care of as he's leaving for the week soon. So Teen and I had to take the rest of our wash and all our towels that got used to soak up the water to the laundry mat.

On my last note I made lasagna for the first time tonight and it was divine :) I am trying to cook more often and stuff that actually takes more effort than a pizza or hamburgers.

I'll have a green, green, Christmas..errr Yule yeah :)

So in our household most of us are Pagan, except for Teen she's figuring it out herself which is fine. But anyways yeah we celebrate Yule, Winter Solstice. I came home early partly because Im still battling this wicked sinus infection and partly because I really wanted to give Bill his gift. We get his boys tomorrow to give them their gifts but I could not wait and pestered the hell out of him to open his. So we decided to open our gifts...save one that Teen could open while her brothers are here.

So I got what are in my opinion THE best gifts a girl who is dying to go "Green" .....6 canvas totes, that I can also embroider, a new hobby Im trying out, and 4 recycling bins!!! He got me my recycling bins!!!!! So now here I am happy and giggly as all get out. I am going to print off signs for bins and recycling will commence immediately! He doesn't think that he got me anything special!!! Silly boy made me almost cry. He has no idea how special this is, that its an enormous show of support and a huge gesture of what he wants our future together to encompass...silly boy.

Decisions, decisions

So I decided not to take the job. The fact that I kept questioning it was one of the deciding factors. The other one was the fact that I would give up my Xmas bonus and would not be getting one at the new place whatsoever. That money will not only help with Yule but also help pay off bills. Paying off bills leads me to have more money for things like a house and land :D I found a kit house that I want if we can't find land with a place on it. Actually there are two that we really liked. There were a couple possibilities in the classifieds today that I hope to call about. I also have been scouring the papers and Freecycle about a pressure canner to no avail.

The library called today to let me know that "The Encyclopedia of Country Living" arrived so we went and got it. I didn't get to read much of it tonight at work because of the paper hunting and well, and I did have to actually work too. I found that two grocery stores are having VERY good sales. I need to do some inventory and see what we need. Hard to pass up 10 for $10 sales and loaves of bread for 88 cents. They do freeze well. Then I need to re-arrange the cabinets and the pantry. I want more room mwahahahahahahah.

Tomorrow I am going to try to drag Bill out of bed to help me take the ac unit out. I miss having a window I can open and it is officially too cold to have it. It needs to be properly wrapped and put in the shed. J got on the roof of the trailer over the weekend and cleaned and recoated it. But it hasn't rained or stormed again to check the seal. I brought the rosemary plant in and we'll see if I can keep her alive. The jalepeno and cayenne plants are still producing but it's getting down to 34 F tonight don't think they will be around much longer..they did splendidly this year with little effort ...however I have way too much cayenne... note to self... six plants is too many for us. I've dried quite a bit for Bill to use for cooking and I have given a bunch away as well. I could probably try 2 jalepenos next year and definitely more bell peppers. Ohhh but planning the garden for next spring must wait as I am still waiting to hear about if the park dist. is doing allotments this next year... otherwise Im gonna be screwed. My little plot just doesn't get enough good light to warrant making it bigger.

On to another weekend

Second interview went well but as much as I want to get back into the hospital Im not sure this is the job for me. That and right as they were calling me in the power went out! Kinda says something to me. Bill says if thats the case and they offer it to me then say no. Im worried that this will be my only shot back into the hospital but I guess it really isnt. Its just after 3am and it's my "weekend". What is on my agenda? The library again....hoping to get books and to also hit the Co-op to price check and gather some other info. Still want my own place, now more than ever. I ended up spending $39 on a new pair of pants and a new pair of shoes. I think Im going to have my bike checked out tomorrow and see if I can bike into town....that should make for an interesting post. I have some new pics but Im not sure what to put up or what anyone would want to see.