Farm School-Week Two

Farm school was back in session on Saturday.

It was about 20 degrees warmer this week.

Seedlings waiting their turn to be transplanted.

Brussels sprouts planted a little over a month ago

will find a new home soon.

I've never seen these grown,

so I look forward to witnessing them come into their own.

Would you look at these beauties?

Lynn has babied these through the recent cold snap

and he is being handsomely rewarded.

Clusters and clusters of gorgeous green globes

with plenty more to come!

Anyone gettin' hungry?

Faye raises a large variety of amaryllis plants.
What a lovely sight in the garden.

The peas should be ready for harvesting by next week.

Fork poised, here.

My lunchtime salad just ain't the same without 'em.

Wish you could taste how sweet and juicy these lil' buggers are.

A welcome guest.

We worked on the leeks today.

Another favorite of mine, 

although I haven't yet tasted Lynn's offerings.

He has his own magical mix for growing.

It's gotta be the perfect combination of ingredients,

because his crops are so healthy and abundant.

We cleared the pots of any loose debris (leaves and such),

then added a bit more soil mix.

A few more weeks and we should be able
to make some delicious homemade soup.
Grow, babies, grow!

 
&
eat make grow 

Tuesday Tidings-Garden Time

Sunday mornings are usually spent in the yard.

It's the one day of the week when I know I will have time

to dedicate to gardening endeavors.

Sometimes it's just to pull weeds

(I'm an expert weed grower),

but being outside centers me in a way that nothing else does.

Here are a few things growing 

during this mild winter season.

 

These periwinkles come up all over the place.

They're volunteers.

These were growing near the rain barrel 

on the southeast side of the house.

 I dug 'em up and transplanted a few in the back bed.

They're low maintenance and don't mind being moved.

 I'm working on filling in all the bare spots out there

and using what we already have.

The look I'm going for is lush, full and bountiful.

The garden will be a reflection of my very abundant life.

 The sweet potato vine seems to be cozying up 

to the Society Garlic.

 Lantana provides for the butterflies that visit.

Plumbego's blue hue adds coolness to the garden.

 I was surprised to see one of the Amaryllis popping up.
They are about a month early.

(Excuse our proliferation of weeds.  

It's time for more mulch.)

The bulbine seems to be happy 

no matter where it is located in the garden.

I have some in full sun, others in partial shade.

It just keeps growing.

The Gerbera daisies have been enjoying  
greeting our mail carrier each day.

Rosemary lends a pleasant scent 
when the mail is collected. 

Love that Florida-friendly and native stuff!

Thrifty Thursday

We do most of our shopping at thrift stores.
There's just something about the thrill of the hunt.
You never know what you'll find,
but you are sure to find something.
I've been using this to rinse the lettuce for my daily salads.
It's worked fine for a while now.

But when this was spotted at a thrift store for $1.00,

I knew it would find its way home with me.

Not only is it low-tech, indestructible, and easily stored,

it's just like the one Mimi used to have.

 

Washing home-grown lettuce is now a daily reminder

of how my mom provided delicious food for us every day.

I'm on the hunt for a few more of these bread pans.
This one was picked up for twenty-five cents.
It's the metallic kind with the non-stick coating.
I wouldn't use it for baking, but... 

it's the perfect thing to corral my hair products

in the bathroom drawer.

I prefer not to use plastic when I can,

so I'll be on the lookout.

This container is plastic, but at least it's made in the USA.

It's meant to be used as a cutlery tray,

but I can imagine many uses for it.

It now holds some of the stray items

housed in one of our kitchen drawers.

Junk drawers are not allowed in our house.

Big K says he won't be able to find anything

if I keep organizing.

These lamps weren't found at the thrift store.

They were in a neighbor's recycle bin.

They both work and there's not a mark on them.

The shades have already been donated to our favorite charity,

and a visit to Jane's should help us find

just the right replacements.

Don't cha just love finding discarded treasures?

The blessings are all around us,

if we just care to notice.

"The hardest arithmetic to master

is that which enables us to count our blessings."

-Eric Hoffer

Shared on:
down home blog hop
the farmgirl friday blog hop
repurposed ideas weekly
eat make grow blog hop 

Wordless Wednesday

Thrifty Thursday-Close That Door!

We're visiting Sister in North Carolina.

One of the things we try to do when we come up

is help her out with things that need fixing.

Big K is extra handy and it's so nice to be able

to take care of a few things around her place.

Last year, one of our tasks was to

put in a closet system for her.

This time, the closet doors housing

her washer and dryer needed attention.

Seems as though they'd been worked on before,

but the repair never stuck.

We thought we'd give it a go.

Here's how it looked when we arrived.

The door had been unusable for a little while,

so she had removed it.

Here's the culprit.

The overhead track had gotten twisted somehow.

Big K removed the remaining door

by holding down the spring-loaded plastic washer

with a screwdriver and pulling the door out of the groove.

The replacement kit was found

at a big box store for under $20.

These were the only tools needed to do the job.

The kit comes complete with everything needed

to install bifold doors,

although we only used a portion of the contents.

With the old track removed,

the new one was installed in minutes,

using the same screw holes.

The most difficult part was

getting the doors realigned properly,

so that they hung evenly and allowed for free movement

when opening and closing.

Another easy project completed.

It's rewarding to finish a job,

knowing that it will make someone's life a bit easier.

We're on a roll!

Parmesan Crackers

Since discovering that most aged cheeses contain

no sugar and therefore,

no lactose,

I've been enjoying eating my share of cheddar and parmesan.

This recipe is adapted from Ina Garten's series

The Barefoot Contessa "Back to Basics".

It's the perfect cracker for a picnic, just snacking

or bringing along in the car.

Cream 1 stick of unsalted butter.

Grate 1 C Parmesan cheese.

Combine with 1 t thyme

(I used Italian herbs)

1/4 t pepper and 1/4 t salt.

Stir to combine.

Add 1 1/4 C flour and form into a disc.

If it seems too dry, add 1 t water.

Roll in wax paper or plastic wrap until you get a 9" log.

Refrigerate at least 30 minutes.

Cut into 1/2" slices and place on

parchment-covered cookie sheet.

Bake at 350 for 22 minutes.

That is one good cracker.

Enjoy!