Monday, May 21, 2012

Independence Days- Catching up

I think with all the craziness going on around here I've missed two weeks of updates... I think....  Honestly, I'm not really sure.  But anyway, here is a quick update for about the last two weeks.
Plant something- Where to start...  Little tomatoes, peppers and eggplant are in the ground as well as numerous herbs starts and flowers.  I did a new flower bed by the South wall of the house and by the West side of the deck- so V doesn't have to mow too close to the retaining wall.  I'm sure there are a few other things planted as well- oh- Sunflowers. I'll be planting more this afternoon but that's for next week.
Harvest something- spinach, chives, walking onions, green onions, radishes, kale, the first of the sugar snap peas (I'll be honest- they didn't make it out of the garden!) oregano, thyme, basil and eggs (86 in the past two weeks)
Preserve something- Froze extra veggies and some of the turkey slices from Justine's graduation party.  I'll probably also be sticking some extra bread in the freezer as I can't imagine we'll eat it fast enough.  At least there isn't that much of it left.  Most important of all, I've managed to preserve my health and sanity this week.
Waste Not- composted, recycled and fed scraps to the chickens.  I do feel a bit guilty about all the disposables we used at the party.  I briefly contemplated going through the garbage and picking out all the plastic cups to recycle but I'm not sure I'm up to that.  I'll have to work extra hard at being sustainable for the rest of the year to atone, LOL!
Want Not- our beef came in.  Of course, of all the times to get the call that our half a cow from our Amish farmer was being processed- we got it last week.  So, Wednesday afternoon, in the midst of everything else, we drove the 45 minute round trip to the locker to pick it up.  I was so busy that I didn't take time to sort and reorganize the freezer like I usually do so it is kind of a jumbled mess in there right now.  I'll have to make time someday soon to sort and organize.
Eat the Food- Deviled eggs at the party- yum!  spinach salads.  One thing I served at the party was a block of cream cheese with some home canned peach salsa poured over the top.  Yum!  People marveled at the food but I also didn't want to serve a lot of processed crap.
Build Community Food Systems- picked up our beef from our farmer friend.  Justine took eggs to school for her 'On your own' class (A class for seniors to learn things like budgeting, basic cooking, laundry, etc- she is well ahead of the game so for her it's an easy A).  Eggs also went to one of Justine's friends, with my brother and with Roger and Sharon.  We stopped at the farmer's market last weekend While not food- Justine picked out earrings for me for Mother's Day and I got some for her as a birthday present But I did pick up little chamomile plants.  Oh, and I almost forgot the plant sale!  I donated 5 flats of plants to the plant sale and worked hard to introduce people to heirloom varieties and answer gardening questions.  I was excited that several people asked by name for some of the heirloom varieties I had sold them last year.
Skill up- umm......  not sure.

See, there has been more than party prep going on.  Even though we still have a busy rest of May things hopefully will be returning to as normal as the get around here.  Coming up:  Justine's last day of school is the 23rd- the senior day of service where the entire senior class goes out and does community service.  Our anniversary is the 24th, graduation is the 25th, then there is Memorial Weekend, I14's birthday on the 30th and the boys last day of school on the 31st.  Whew!  We're in the home stretch now!!

6 comments:

  1. Mmm...I'd love to see a recipe for peach salsa. Is it here somewhere??

    Sounds like it has been busy, Missy. I'm gonna take a nap, as soon as I get the granola made, the bread raising and the chicken coop cleaned...

    sigh...

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    1. Hmm, I'm not sure I've ever posted the recipe. It is one from a canning book I've got. I remember it has peaches, pears, onions, jalapenos and a few other goodies.

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  2. If you make it through the month of May (holy cow!), I think the rest of the summer will be a snap!

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    1. May has always been our busy month but this year is more so. Not only do we have anniversary and birthdays but it is prime garden season. THAT is what makes it more challenging.

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  3. very accomplished,you are ,got so much done,I'm just glad i got the laundry bag down the 2 sets of stairs to laundry room,---lol my helper is out of commission and no one has seen the size of my laundry bag . you could fit 2 adults in it-strong as a oz,the material.left-overs ,I
    'm still in a stage of panic ,more people are telling me they are gonna show up at grad party! a 1/2 a cow,when my ship comes in ,haha

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    1. Good for you for getting your laundry bag down the stairs. I would be lost if my helpers were out of commission.
      You will be fine with the party. Just do as much ahead as you can and keep anything that has to be done last minute to a minimum. And figure out your game plan! Good luck. The more the merrier! Even though it was stressful, I also had fun.

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