is there anything better?

a handmade dress from a handmade pattern using a cast off shirt and skirt of mine. i made it a bit big so it will fit her two years.

gardening notes

garden to do list for this week:

-plant potatoes (beds are ready)
-transplant herbs
-sow herb seeds
-start sowing late spring veggies (green beans, cukes, etc)
-start rest of summer seeds indoor
-mulch paths
-mulch onions, potatoes, strawberries
-weed raised beds
-order raspberry and blackberry canes, gooseberries, cynthiana grapes!,
-pot up herb plants to be sold at market started
-sprinkle lime in tomato beds

today i weeded the stawberry bed, potted up some motherwort and harvested a lot of yellow dock roots. i still need to clean them and chop them up but can save that for later.

cinnamon and lavender

next year, hopefully we'll have richer milk with our newest arrivals...nubian/oberhasli mixed does. aren't they sweet?!

cold, gloomy day projects

today i spent the day re-doing my two aprons i made w/o a pattern. the brown one i had to completely take apart and resew. i added the pockets and crossed the back straps too. i love it! the pockets have lots of room, just like i like them.

the floral print still needs the straps to be crossed but it now has added pockets and has been slimmed down on the bodice piece to fit better.

finally!

my onion order arrived. i wish i would have had it on monday when it was nice out and i was planting. it's supposed to get cold and rainy the next few days. grrr!

the next chance i get, in the ground will go 2 bunches (about 60 each) each of:
-first addition
-red bull
-cobra

i'm bummed. i thought first addition was a red and it's not. it's a yellow. only 2 bunches of red onions. hopefully the yellow will be tasty and make up for it.

also, i purchased 50 lbs of red seed potatoes today. again, they will go into the ground asap. i'll need to cut them up and let them dry out a bit first though. hopefully, they'll be in soon.

ideally, everything needs to get into the ground before sunday when the moon turns new.

let the gardening begin...

...totally AGAINST the moon cycle i might add but when one has two small children/babes to work around, one learns to seize any sunny opportunity that comes her way.

in the garden went:

radishes
spinach
beets
carrots
mixed lettuce
broccoli
cabbage
peas
turnips
kale
mustard greens

indoors, i started some tomatoes and herbs.

i pulled the plastic off the hoop house a few days ago...everything is growing like gang busters (turnips, kale, spinach, carrots, lettuce). i should be harvesting soon. in fact, i could have some turnip greens now.

proof that silver maples can be tapped....

...and believe me, it is JUST as yummy as any old sugar maple tree sap!

sitting in my kitchen are 2 cups of maple syrup boiled down from tree sap (it takes 40 gallons of sap to make 1 gallon of syrup). this is my first attempt at tapping our trees and i'm quite pleased so far.

also, our doe kidded last week and is freshened!!! i have missed our fresh milk so this is a joyous day indeed.

monthly to do

february to do

-paint dining room (oops! did this in january)

-finish moving caleb

-paint nina’s new room 3/4 done

-move nina

-paint studio

-tap maple trees

-kitchen facelift: paint, put up wainscot, replace shelves, acquire 3x3 kitchen table (want to spend more time in kitchen but have nowhere to sit), investigate flooring beneath vct in progress - painting is 95% done

-sew curtains for front and back door and dining room windows

-march & april cards

-make 1 solstice gift

-ostara gifts made for kids

-purchase kerosene heater (back up heat source, part of preparedness plan) not in budget this month

-research and purchase laptop and printer

-get taxes done

-make bloomers for girls patterns made

overall, not bad on completing the list. the kitchen has become a huge project just because of the shape of it and the multitude of stuff (food, dishes, etc) to move and work around. it is shaping up nicely and will definitely be finished by the end of this month. because i got busy working in there, i neglected other items on my to do but i will start picking back up on them.

march to do

-paint nina’s new room 3/4 done (need to paint new color, waiting on greg to finish moving his boxes out)

-make bloomers for girls patterns made

-make 2 solstice gifts

-ostara gifts made for kids

-finish kitchen: wainscot, flooring, paint, strip wood trim

-april cards, start may cards

-curtains for dining room (if i find fabric i like)

-sew apron for me (would like to have 2-3)

-write article #2 for herb magazine

-start garden! (spring greens: radishes, lettuce, spinach, kale, cabbage, broccoli)

-purchase kerosene heater

-investigate water filters