Sorry, Grandma. I'm cheating.

My grandma had such high hopes for me. She took what precious little talent I had and dreamed me to be the crafty, perfect-quilting, can-do-everything woman that she was. Granted I was all she had to work with. Neither of her daughters nor any of the other grandchildren showed the interest I did. My sister brings me clothes to have a button sewn on. My mom would too if she wore clothes with buttons (they generally require ironing as well). So can you blame a sweet old lady for wanting her legacy to live on?

Unfortunately, I don't have what it takes. I'm not sure if its skill or just patience that I lack, but the bottom line is I'm in the process of creating not only an imperfect quilt (something she never did), but a cheater, imperfect quilt.

Now I've made "real quilts" before... never perfect. The corners don't line up. I get puckers and pinches quilting the top to the back. I rarely use a biased edge for finishing... and most people don't even know what that means, but true quilters would just stop reading here for the horror of it. But as for cheating... Nathan's getting the ultimate in cheater quilts.

Gloria's quilt was quasi-cheater. I designed a "bug quilt" where I used geometric shapes to create 6 different bugs, stitched them together where I could and used fusible interfacing for the rest, then stitched each bug down to the squares I had prepared for them. And the squares still didn't line up. And I still had puckers in the quilting process. I didn't cheat at all on Aaron's, but his was one gigantic airplane. Lots of straight lines. That was easy. And yet I still had shifted corners and all those puckers.

But for Nathan I decided to make his in a farm theme, a square for each type of thing we have growing here. Chickens, ducks, goats, orange tree, pumpkins, and sunflowers. Well, have you tried to find quilt patterns for those things??? I finally decided to do what my grandma would find unthinkable... mostly because she never used the internet. I found clipart for each of them, printed the pictures out, and cut out the pieces creating templates for applique. I used only 9 fabrics to cover everything... like the chicken's feet is the same fabric as the ducks feet and bill and the sunflower's petals. Then I wonder undered the fabric and traced my templates on the back. That's fusible interfacing by proper name. In a single late night I had all my pieces ironed, traced and cut out. And in an hour this afternoon I had them all ironed onto the squares. This kind of work would take a true quilter eons! I still need to stitch things down, but that's going to be a breeze compared to the alternative... real applique. So, with 7 weeks till my due date, Nathan's quilt is one step closer to being complete. My grandma, in time, will roll back over in her grave.

That is until she sees my cheater bread recipe.

Refusing to be Sissified

I'm waiting... for sleep... or at least bit of sleepiness to come upon the Buddy Boy. Its late. The goats are still unmilked. The pipe out of our pump that runs to the house broke last night and so we turned off the water. It not a major problem at all. And still having a hose in the pasture that can get water, I was very tempted to just go the whole day without water and let Randy fix it when he got home.

And then conviction hit... am I getting sissified??? I DON'T want to be one of those wives who can barely tie her own shoes without help from her husband. This is a simple problem of cutting out and splicing a bit of PVC. And I want to make my husband do it just because it falls under the category of plumbing? I realized all the times when a chicken pen needed mending and I conveniently let him take care of it. Or replacing light bulbs in a ceiling fan when it required taking down a bowl. Or refilling the grain barrel because the bags of grain are a little on the heavy side. No. I can handle this little repair. I will not be sissified.

So we've already ventured to see our friends at the hardware store... which exilerated the little man and so his morning nap is looking a bit delayed. And I'm itching to get started at this thing.

Though I'm not excited to be sitting in the pasture with Chuck running around. He's gotten to be a bully and will see his last meal Saturday morning. Then he becomes the meals. I've watched him totally throw Annabelle right onto her back, slam goats against the barb wire fence and he's tried to charge me a few times. His days are numbered. But hopefully he'll be busy with something else while I'm sitting in there with my back turned to him.

Oooo... a slight wimper and an eye rub. Here we go.

Yet another...

At this time 4 years ago, I was in an interior bathroom at our church home (where I was living at the time), preparing to get married... and a horrible storm came through and knocked out the power. I had to put my make-up on in the driveway (after it stopped raining) because it was the only place with any decent light. Yet the weather at Washington Oaks State Garden was perfect... for a perfect wedding.

Aaahhhh, anyway, this second little blurb is just to say that this blog is only going to be a family blog for now. I don't know how realistic it is for me to think I'll keep up two, but I've posted my first "real" post on the new blog http://www.flhomesteader.blogspot.com/ regarding fall gardening. If you really enjoy the family aspect on this blog, please let me know. If I don't get much response, I'm not going to bother with it.

On that note... both kids are sleeping... a little reversed. Aaron is in the big boy bed while Gloria is sleeping in the crib. Aaron's still getting used to napping in the bed so everything is a bit shuffled for now. But the quiet is quite therapeutic... Now for that rooster...

4 years...

Today, about 4:30pm, marks 4 years of wedded bliss. And it only gets better. Marriage to the greatest man on the planet is a wonderful thing. I love you, Randy!

To celebrate... well, we may make gingerale this evening... if we have time after the bare essentials are done. On Friday we'll prep for Slaughterfest XI and on Saturday we'll laugh gleefully as we axe the head off the rooster that's been crowing at 4am for months now. Along with about 20 meat birds who are just beginning to cackle, but usually wait until 6 or so to begin. Some, hopefully fertilized, chicken eggs are sitting in the incubator now with our 3 muscovy duck eggs. We should have some hatch on or around August 9th. I hope we get something from keeping that rooster all this time!

We've gone through an entire trailer load of compost and still no wood chips. I'm going to call other tree guys today to see if someone's got something we can have. My tomatoes are getting big. Charleston Belle green peppers only had a 10% germination rate while the Sweet Chocolate peppers had 100%. Go figure. Got 100% on some Blacktail Mountain watermelon, but zilch up on Sugarlee watermelon. Cukes, collard greens and beans are all up. I'd say I can hold them back maybe another 10 days before I'll need to get them in the ground. Come on, Pappy (my tree guy), don't fail me now!

Chuck is getting to be quite the handful. He almost escaped the pasture yesterday. I'm glad I was out there and watched his beginning attempts so I could at least make it more difficult. We were hoping to wait until September to slaughter him... do it when Randy's home anyway with Nathan's birth, but we just may need to take a Saturday and do him in early.

We've also decided to dry Annabelle off when Nathan's born. She's giving very little milk and it tastes awful. VERY goaty. Noel and Fudge still give great tasting milk though the quantity has waned some. Annabelle is loosing her hair too. She's just looking very old. We're going to try to trade her for a buck to begin our breeding cycle. To get the doe's kidding spaced as we want, we'll need to keep a buck on hand for 6 months. So... since most people only have goats for pets anyway, we figure Annabelle could have a very nice retirement where they'll enjoy her cuddliness and not try to make her work for her supper as we do.

Our okra is really producing. We eat it several times a week... as there's nothing else green out there to eat right now! We read that luffa leaves could be cooked and eaten like spinach... tried it. Yuck! Cowpeas are doing great... and I'm VERY glad to have a little girl who loves to shell them. We have 3 different varieties going right now: purple hull pink eyes, California black eyes and Mississippi Silvers. The purple hulls went in first so that's what we're getting in abundance right now making it hard to tell which is more prolific. All taste fine. Mississippi Silvers are supposed to be the best, but honestly, I really like having the purple hulls to make harvesting easier. I've passed right over a LOT of silvers and californias just because the pale yellow that they fade to doesn't stand out the way the dark purple almost black does.

And some VERY good news... Randy spotted a HUGE black snake on the shady side of the house a few days ago. Its quite relieving to hear that after a neighbor thought they saw a pygmy rattler. We inadvertantly killed our black snake with the electric fence over a year ago so its comforting to know another has made the Palace home. For those of you who don't understand the glee... black snakes are very territorial and will eat invading rattlesnakes. :->

And again, happy anniversary to the world's greatest superhero, Husband Man! (Also known as Superbabinator Man to his younger superhero fans)

Clearly I'm Slowing Down

So... this is my 3rd post in a week's time. Yup... I've started my list of "butt jobs". This last trimester as hit me like a ton of bricks... sometimes that feels rather literal. I threw my back out yesterday picking up Aaron. Gloria NEVER weighed that much while I was pregnant with him. I'm moving ok, but cautiously today. Did some work beyond the immediately demanding outside today and am now awaiting my lovely daughter to pick up all the random toys her brother has strewn about the house before I vaccuum and mop.

I ripped out all my oregano. That stuff should be labeled invasive. I was planning on waiting till fall and drying a bunch for storage, but frankly, I wouldn't have an herb garden left if I waited any longer. It was climbing my gardenia (the only ornamental we have), had already choked out some rosemary and cilantro and was also burying a few aloe plants. I saved some which I put into pots. I'll bury one pot back into the garden when its established (lounging in the shade right now) and give away the other. I hope the pot will contain it a bit better. The rest FILLED the entire wheelbarrow. All that from a single plant bought from Publix last year.

With all the open space, I moved our green onions from the "demolition zone" and planted some okinawa spinach that has rooted well from cuttings. Then I pulled out the pepper plants and got them in pots which means the orchard garden is totally ready for complete demolition. I considered pulling out some spent plants and feeding the goats, but decided my back may not like me for that. The kids were ready to go inside and eat anyway so we called it a day.

I also noticed that a stevia plant is as tall as I am now. I'm no giant, but still, that's insane. I did a bit of research and learned that drying the leaves and running them through a coffee grinder is all it takes to make green stevia powder which can then be substituted for sugar in baked goods. We've only used it in tea thus far, but with so much available I'll be changing that.

Yesterday, prior to throwing out my back, Gloria and I planted some sprouted cowpeas in the pasture to make room for more seedlings. I moved my Aaron-proof sprouting station to a sunnier location and then Gloria and I got to work planting watermelon, cucumber, collard greens, and a few bean seeds. She loves planting seeds. Our tomatoes all sprouted-(Cherokee Purple and Uncle Mark Bagby) and the peppers are starting to pop now too (Sweet Chocolate and Charleston Belle). That will be it until I can get them in the ground and make more room for the real fall garden crops- brassicas galore!

The Real Trooper

Ok... so I was a bit premature in crowning myself as Pinedalian Trooper. My sweet neighbor is the one that has stolen my crown. She called Sunday (a full day after all fish fertilizer and guts had been completely done away with) to say that her house was swarmed with buzzards and that the smell outside was sickening. I don't know what happened as it really didn't smell too bad at our house come Sunday. But... needless to say our free fertilizer is just not going to work unless we intend on having a few acres of buffer between us and our nearest friends. However the military may be in contact with me to help design a whole new line of weaponry. Its disappointing, but at the same time relieving. I've started researching compost tea more and that also looks like a viable option though maybe not quite so high in nutrients. That would entail very little stink, very little stewing and an occasional stop by our horse-loving friends for a load... or even just a bucket or two would last several weeks. And they're open on nights and weekends.

In garden news, the okra is really starting to put out now. I'm getting at least a big handful every day now. The cowpeas are doing great too. We have beautiful yellow flowers all over the loofah, but no fruit to be seen yet. I planted some beans and tomatoes in the okra bed... and those are not doing so well. I think I'll rip them out to make more room for the okra. The spring garden is basically spent. I'm still pulling a few green beans off and the peppers are fruiting well now, but our expansion is going to require everything to be ripped out within a couple weeks. I'll stick the peppers in pots and pull/mow the rest. My tree guy said he'd be by as soon as he had a load of decent wood chips for me. I hope its soon! Though... I do have to confess... expanding and reconfiguring the garden at 7 months pregnant was a bad idea. Yesterday I put in a single bed (after doing normal chores and mowing almost a half acre with a non-riding mower) and by late afternoon I could barely move. Randy came home to find me wadling SLOWLY around the house. I'm still feeling it this morning. Maybe a delay in the wood chips will keep me from feeling like it all has to be done at once. Though I'm not getting any smaller... and doing it at 8 months pregnant probably won't be that great either. How did the pioneer women do it?

On that note, quick story... yesterday while I was shoveling compost into a wheelbarrow at 2:00 in the afternoon with sweat dripping off of me, a man in an air conditioned city truck pulled up and rolled his window down and said, "Ain't you had that baby yet?" I don't know this man at all, mind you. I smiled as politely as I could and said, "No, I still have 2 more months." "You're HUGE!" Again, smile and refrain from launching a shovel full of horse crap right into his face. "Yeah, I get big. Happens every time." "My daughter-in-law is due next month and she's half that size." At this point I'm really wondering what in tarnation gives this guy the nerve to criticize my belly. Does he have no fear of a large, hormonal pregnant woman with a pointed shovel? "Well, my last one was a 10 pounder." I say, trying to laugh but wanting to ask him if he's accusing me of being a lazy blob. He's still sitting in his air conditioned truck and I'm still shoveling compost. "Wow. Well, good luck to ya." Yeah, thanks. Your "blessing" is very much appreciated. And come November when I still look pregnant, you can come back around and tell me how your daughter-in-law left the hospital in normal clothes. Word to the wise, when in doubt over what to say to a pregnant woman, go with things like, "Wow, you're glowing!" (even if its just sweat). Or how about, "Gosh, I don't know how you do it all." (even if the house is a wreck and the lawn is up to your knees). I mean, come on. Just be nice, ok?

Ewwww- Gross!!!

I've given myself the "Trooper Award". And for anyone who doesn't think I deserve it... well they can just sniff my hands.

This morning was the day when I was to fertilize the garden and trees with our first batch of home brewed fish emulsion fertilizer. Now I've been stirring this bucket of fish guts and water everyday... and it has had a bit of an odor, yes. Well, lacking another good bucket with a tight sealing lid, the second batch was merely put into an old trashcan with a not-so-tight lid. When I went to stir that this morning, I found... no joke... maggots an inch thick covering the entire top. Had this been my first trimester I would have barfed on the spot. I did my usual "freak-out-dance" and then called Randy for some idea bouncing. We decided the best thing to do would be to scoop them out as best as I could and feed them to the chickens... hoping they were hungry enough. Certainly won't be protein deprived today! So, after filtering out the solids from the first bucket, watering my trees and dumping my filter apparatus in a rain barrel to feed those fish, I then took the bucket and proceeded to scoop out cup after cup of maggots and run across the yard with them to dump them into a chicken pen, cheering "Eat, girls! Eat!" between my own gags. My sister had brought her kids over to play with my neighbor's grandson. She hollered over that I was loosing friends- they could smell the stench of it clear through the 5 yards of brush and trees and another 15-20 yards of space from our shed to where they were playing. Yeah, they had NO idea how bad that smelled from my perspective. So when I got as much of the maggots out as I was going to, I had the pleasure of dumping the solids in the compost pile and standing right next to them as I burried them in compost. The stink had gotten on me so flies were swarming me like I've never experienced. I covered the not-so-tight lid with a garbage bag and a tight stretch of elastic to hope it kills off the remaining maggots and prevents more... though I think its too little too late. I'll let Randy deal with it tomorrow. Meanwhile, I'm still trying to get my hands to stop stinking. I've rubbed in lemon juice and then apple cider vinegar (I used all my white vinegar this morning in a load of laundry... which was hanging outside during the worst of the stink). I have a slight headache from constantly smelling it. Suddenly that hour of travel and $10-12 for nicely bottled fertilizer doesn't look so bad. But honestly, I'm not ready to give up already. I think there's a better system... we just need to keep trying. So if you catch a whiff of something icky, your probably close to our house. And praise God for good and patient neighbors!

And for those who have heard of our computer woes, we're working through them pretty well. If we suddenly seemingly drop off the planet, know we'll be back in business as soon as possible.

Another Busy Weekend

Happy Birthday, America! A little belated... sorry. I realized how ironic it is that the primary method of celebration of our independence is done promoting the Chinese economy (fireworks)... on whom we are very much dependent to continue funding our need to spend and never have a balanced budget. Interesting... Randy also started a tradition... that we read the Declaration of Independence each year to remember what we have to celebrate. Its amazing the things that our forefathers died for... the rights that we are signing off and ignorantly allowing to be taken from us again. Why die for independence to relinquish our rights to the United Nations? Why die for independence to have international trade limited and forced by subsidies and genetic engineering? Why die for independence to be taxed mercilessly for programs promoting social dependence and "health care" that will NOT make us any healthier? In all the world, America really is the best nation... and worth fighting for. Praise God our present day fighting is calling senators and representatives, educating ourselves and voting and not tossing our 10 year old boys onto a field with a musket and a prayer. I think its an easy thing to do to protect our freedoms.

Now onto other thoughts: though we spent some time lounging by a pool and took in a nice display of Chinese pirotechnics, we also did a LOT of work. That extra day off for Randy was really nice for me!

Friday we shaved udders and trimmed hooves. I haven't trimmed hooves in months, but they weren't bad at all! I think those scrub piles they've been climbing on is doing some of the job for me. But at any rate, all but Chuck and the little ones are nicely pedicured. Then we tackled more work in the garden expansion and realized my 250 pounds of compost I had snagged off craig's list wasn't going to go far at all. We then finally bit the bullet and hauled our trailer off to get a new tire... where it took less than $50 and maybe 15 minutes. Now we're ready to see our horse-loving friends and load up with another full load of rich compost.

I've also been increasingly frustrated with the fertilizer options availble here. First of all, its a 15 min. drive (make that an hour long trip when you include loading kids, unloading, making the purchase while kid-wrangling, re-loading the kids and again unloading) to the nearest nursery, a bottle of liquid fertilizer is over $10 and lasts maybe 4 weeks. Does NOT seem like a sustainable option for me. BUT we have this GREAT little fisherman's co-op nearby. We swung by there Friday afternoon, bought some yummy fresh, locally caught fish and took home all the fish guts they had on hand and also arranged for a weekly pick-up of their wasted treasures. We found a few recipes for fish emulsion fertilizer and have our first attempt stewing in the shed right now. Aaaahhhh, local, sustainable... and I can leave the kids in the car, run in dirty and stinky and make it back home before nap time. The smile on my face is BIG. Now to find a local, sustainable source for potash (what fish guts lack)

We also have collected 3 more duck eggs... so borrowed an incubator. I'm, right now, between sentences, trying to get the temperature adjusted to the 99.5 its supposed to be. The thermometer has been a problem... we only had a candy thermometer that would fit in the established hole, but it was so low on the range it wasn't giving us an accurate reading. So last night I went hunting for a good old fashioned mercury thermometer. A neighbor found one... but geeze, neither Randy nor I can read the thing. So now I'm using our standard digital thermometer and sticking the whole thing inside, waiting for the beeps, checking the temp, adjusting the thermostat, letting the thermometer cool down and repeating the process. But the goats are calling and I may just have to finish this process later this afternoon. Muscovy eggs take 35 days to hatch (I think) so it will be a while before we even know the futility of this, but we'll also throw some chicken eggs in while we're at it... just to see. In our straight run of replacement layers we have only 5 hens so we'll need a few more going before the barred rocks start molting anyway.

We also rearranged Gloria's room to bring down the bunk bed and make room for our big boy... who has now spent 2 nights in a big boy bed. Its going rather well. After a few more nights, I think they'll both be well adjusted to the new sleeping arrangement. Gloria is thrilled to have her brother in her room with her... except when he wakes up in the middle of the night confused and crying. Then she opens the door, ushers him out and closes it behind him. Kinda funny if it weren't 3 am when nothing is too funny.

And just as I was signing off, the thermometer beeped... at a lovely 99.6. Close enough. In go our precious 3 eggs with hopes I shall find another in just a couple minutes. Gloria is running and screaming with glee about baby chicks. Just another glorious, God-given day at the Pinedale Palace.