Wild Weather/Front Yard Garden Redo, Thrifting Scores!

 

Wild Weather/Front Yard Re-Do:

Life has been busy, so NO blogging lately! Settled in my new job nicely, took a lot of brain power I will say. We've had some very WILD weather since May, a lot of rain, some snow and wild temperature swings. We had some flooding on the street right near ours two weeks ago. The force of the water pushed the manhole covers up and off! We had some severe monsoon type rain. Then rain off and on mild temperatures. We had another monsoon rain last week. That resulted in the basement office (across the hall from where I work) having 4 inches of water on the floor. Luckily it triggered an alarm for cleanup and there was no permanent damage. Getting cool again with a freeze advisory in Oregon tonight. The rain's been great for the perennials!

 

 

 

 

 

It's been tough on everyone's allergies sadly. Pollen city. It has made it hard to do gardening trying to work between the weather systems. I've gone between wearing summer clothes and winter clothes. We had  some firefighters in the Boise National Interagency Fire Center going up to Canada to help with their fires. I feel really bad for them but I think this is going to become a regular thing sadly. Crazy weather, excessive rain and droughts. 

Before shot

Last year the county came through, widened our street and added sidewalks which were much-needed. We knew it was coming, which was good, so we were able to plan ahead. Since we had a lot of shrubs and perennials right along the front sidewalk we were able to move some of them to the back yard. We figured we would save of those more mature plants. After the process was done the county had added a steep slope on the front with turf. We decided to let it winter over and then re-do in the spring. Dave was able to remove the first strip of turf closest to the sidewalk by hand. We both went shopping and picked out some things we liked. All drought resistant and low water.  I thought it would look nice to have something tall that would stay green year round in the corner by the sidewalk and driveway. I think it looks nice! It's  a Juniper-

 

 

We opted for some different kinds of plants with different colors and textures. We choose a nice tall grass by the end and then mixed in with some different perennials and shrubs. We relocated one of the shrubs from the backyard into the second section, but it died. Bought a replacement. The other one survived. Dave did all the planting, then put down weed barrier and bark-dusted. With a tight budget we're going to do the rest of it this fall and next spring so that the whole slope will be landscaped, no mowing.  I would like to remove all of the front yard turf but Dave is not a fan so far. Time will tell. Really happy all our fruit trees are really loaded this year! Love our peaches-

 

Red Haven peaches

With various projects and the weather we got kind of a slow start getting the vegetable garden planted. We went through this last year! Luckily I had started some things from seeds and we had planted some cucumbers, two different kinds, kale and collard greens. Those have done okay with the crazy weather. I also started from seed some rainbow Swiss chard and added a couple store-bought ones and started those in a wooden planter box. I also started some basil,  transplanted outside into another planter. We finally bought some veggies, Dave planted the various tomatoes, yellow squash, Italian and Gypsy Sweet peppers. They will be slow to get going, but worth the wait. Our normal summer are so hot they will grow thru most of October-

 

Thrifting Scores!

I hit a local thrift store this week and got some really great deals! My non-stick 13" skillet I use all the time was starting to fade. I spotted was a 12 inch like-new non-sick skillet. The lid I already had fits perfect, $4.00-

 

 

I found a Stanley coffee mug for $3.00-

When I got home I realized part of the lid was missing that you push to drink. Luckily the Stanley website has replacement caps, so for $10.00 I ordered one, then will work. Still saved quite a bit on that one. It will be good in the winter to be able to take my own hot tea to work. We don't really have a break room in the part of the building I'm in. No where to get hot water.

I've been meaning to make a "bug hotel" but then saw one for  $10.00. We mounted in our backyard on our maple tree! Will attract pollinators that don't sting and hopefully they will find it this year. To buy the bamboo alone to make one of my own would have cost more than this-

Got a fun little wreath for my kitchen dining room display area. $2.00! Fits right in with the color scheme. I previously had a thrifted French style clock, but decided I did not need a third clock in the dining room-

Spotted a nice Fleur-de-lis statue that I will paint for somewhere in the house. Not sure what color yet, maybe dark blue? I only found out a year or two ago that I'm part French. There is quite the history with the symbology of fleur-de-lis going back to very ancient times, including the Egyptians. It's a really fascinating symbol. I always thought it was just associated with the French but it goes way back before that-

Found a nice summer weight blouse for $4, perfect condition. Nice large glass container that I will put flour into, $3.00. Really interesting that a lid that came with it actually has a canning-type rubber gasket on it, it fits inside the screw on lid, never seen this before-

 

 

 

Independence Days Challenge

 

Independence Days Challenge-

Here's what's been going on! It's finally warming up, grass is getting a bit green. Hopefully no more snow!!!

 

1. Plant Something- Getting ready to plant some lettuce starts in a little pot inside just to get something green growing. We've relocated a few things, trying to find room to put up our grow light rack to start some early vegetables. Otherwise too cold outside! After multiple mini snow storms we finally got into the 50s. Happy dance!

 

2. Harvest Something- Chives are up in the garden. So happy the girls have started laying! We have almost two and a half dozen eggs so far. It appears only two out of the three but that is another story listed below. I could be wrong on that, with two laying brown eggs and one white. Once we get three eggs a day we're good!

3. Preserve/Store Something- Bought some deeply discounted artisan breads and stashed those in the freezer. Keeping an eye on canned goods, etc. and stockpiling those. Found some good deals on some Augason Farms Butter powder on Amazon. Got a #10 can for $19.00 on sale. Got three freeze-dried entrees from Mountain House, nice to have on hand.

 
4. Manage Reserves- Get a Good Deal/Barter/Stock Up/Prep- Clearance priced wild bird food, clearance price winter clothes, and  several used Dvds and books from eBay. My food processor died, found a good deal online. My most recent read, highly recommended, this would make a GREAT movie!!!

 5. Eat the Food- Try New Foods/Recipe- Working on trying some new Mediterranean diet recipes with some new and used cookbooks I was able to find. Another used book, while very heavy on the dairy (for us) great recipes!-

 

6. Build Community Food Systems- Not at this time. 
 
7. Recycle/Re-Use- Dave has been cleaning up and reorganizing our garage. He needed to reorganize some specific areas. We were able to donate quite a few things and get them out of the garage. We're trying to create more workspace, with two cars and limited storage. It's much better, but a work in progress. I have the new kitchen "buffet area" (previous computer desk) done, with mostly thrifted items! I went for a Mediterranean feel, just waiting on buying some butcher block for the new top!

8. Skill Up- I got a new job. Much higher pay, better benefits. My old job was a sinking ship and no one seemed to care. That gets really frustrating when you're trying to do the job right! I will be working part-time in the office and part-time at home, which is a nice bonus. Originally it was supposed to be fulltime in the office. Saves gas and the commute time! Kitty Bonnie will be happy.

9. Regenerate What is Lost/Salvage Something- Saved the life of our hen Debbie. I looked at one day a couple months ago, when it was really bitter cold, and she was standing there with her tail down looking pretty sad. Didn't know what was going on so I brought her in right away, got her warmed up. When I was handling her I realized she was really, really thin. I thought maybe she was egg-bound since the other two had started laying. I gave her a warm bath and blew her dry. 

 

She almost fell asleep! I waited a day or so nothing happened. So I did my first vent inspection and found no egg. She did have a hard little rubbery yellow thing attached to her tail feathers. I don't remember now what it was called, but it sounded like she might have a bacterial infection. Luckily I had some poultry antibiotics on hand and gave her several doses over the course of a couple of days. I also gave her food that she would eat, loves cat food apparently! So I tried to get her hydrated and eating, inside where it was wzrm. A double laundry basket worked great! With my work schedule I finally decided to put her back out with her flock. I would go out three times a day and give her some canned chicken, tuna, with water and oats, etc. She seemed like she got her appetite back. Within a week or two she started perking up and moving around more. She seems to have recovered completely, from what I can tell. She's eating, looks normal but not sure if laying yet? I'm really happy she pulled through and we'll see how things go from here. She's only two or three years old so she should have a long life ahead of her. Long live Debbie, named after Debbie the Space Chicken from Lost in Space-

 

Thinking Outside The Box About Retirement- Five Ways to Prep for Retirement That Don't Include a Bank Account

 

Thinking Outside The Box About Retirement- Five Ways to Prep for Retirement That Don't Include a Bank Account -

When I am thinking about when I can "retire" I think about a lot of things besides money. When I saw this blog post, by one of my favorite bloggers, I knew I had to share it!!! Please read and let me know what you think? She sums it all up quite nicely. Thanks Wendy!!!  Five Ways to Prep for Retirement that Don't Include a Bank Account    (link fixed)

Costco Shortages/ Prepping Deals! Harvest Time, 2023 Winter Forecast?

Costco Shortages/ Prepping Deals!

We're still in the 100s/upper 90's and the heat dome will be moving on soon. It's been a cooker! I am very grateful that we have air conditioning and well air-conditioned workplaces. I feel sorry for some of my co-workers who don't have central air. I grew up in Southern California, never had air conditioning though and we survived. Just keeping everything well-watered has been a daily project. We have mulched even more this summer. The chickens are doing well but are not laying as much as usual. They just get over heated, nature's response. We're making sure they have plenty of water, cool treats, they have already lots of shade, and keep wetting things down. Was 55 this week which was a nice change and days getting shorter! I made a nice summer dinner this weekend, spicy fried chicken (great cold!), potato salad, fresh homegrown organic tomatoes and green onions. Yum! 

We went to Costco recently and they were out of their famous apple pies. NO APPLE PIES! Staff told us they were out of apples. Dave mentioned that this last spring a huge apple storage facility in Washington state was hit with ants. They lost their entire facility. Good reminder to not assume anything nowadays with perfect storm of supply issues. The good news is they had bags of unbleached bread flour $9 for 25 lbs. Since I've started making homemade bread regularly, I bought one bag and then went back and bought two more. It's Turkey Brand from Lehi Mills in Utah-

           25 Lbs for $8.99!

 

I also bought more local honey, a bottle of vanilla, raisins, not only for winter baking but just food in general. Our summer garden has finally kicked in! 

The "before" picture-

After-

Cukes, kale and collard green

Tomatoes

Peppers and tomatoes

Strawberries still alive!

A pot of color on the deck

As far as harvesting we're getting a regular supply of blackberries, tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, Kale and Collard greens. We also harvested all of our peaches! I canned about 12 quarts, froze about five and we have more in the kitchen that are ripening. Most of those I will probably bake with soon or eat fresh. If that's too many I will freeze the rest. I love the Red Haven variety, amazing color and flavor-

Liquid sunshine! 

Ready for winter

Rack ready for canned pears soon!

Ripening in the kitchen, or squirrels will eat!

Nice pears soon and lots of them! 

From Farmersalmanac.com

2023 Winter Forecast?

Interesting forecast! Any signs of Autumn in your next of the woods???

Heat Dome/Garden Progress, A More Resilient Kitchen, Dehydrating Eggs!

From Survival Quote Series Year Zero

Heat Dome/Garden Progress-

I don't know about anybody else but we have been under the heat Dome that's been all over the news. It's been in the 100°s for the last 2 weeks. But we lucked out today, it was in the '80s and it RAINED this morning! Not a lot of rain, but enough to really cool things down. We have just been watering, watering and watering the yarden. I've been taking extra cool care of our chickens. I use a water mister near their shade area, hose it down once or twice a day, and give them cool treats. Our tomatoes been growing like crazy in the heat! Typically tomatoes don't set fruit over about 80° or so, luckily there were lots of baby tomatoes already on the vine. It's made a HUGE difference in the production in the garden with more SUN. We did a major professional prune a while back. What a difference!!! 

We finally had our first harvest! I picked one medium sized tomato and two lemon cucumbers. The lemon cucumbers are doing amazing, they are growing so fast! I decided not to plant any pickling cucumbers since I found a wonderful local farm where I can buy them fresh. I made the best fermented pickles ever last year using their cukes! We have a good amount of peaches on the front peach tree, just starting to change colors. Our apple tree is running a little bit light on the harvest this year. That's nature. That's why I wanted to plant three different kinds of fruit trees. The blackberries are ripening now as well. Pretty soon I will be canning fruit! I also bought a pressure cleaner so I'm going to start canning some meats and non-acid vegetables. I hope to be also canning soups for the winter. With potential blackout/brownouts/fuel shortage good to have easy, healthy fast foods on hand. If you're not getting prepared for some future difficulties better late than never! I heard about a shortage coming of Garbanzo beans so I bought about eight lbs. of dried in the bulk section. They're tucked away in glass jars with O2 absorbers. I also got a great deal on Augason Farms freeze dried strawberries, $20.00 for a #10 can, nice deal. Still on Amazon clearance. Never to late to get things in order...

A More Resilient Kitchen-

When we bought our house almost 20 years ago there was a built-in desk in the dining room/kitchen. That worked out pretty well and we decided to use it for that. Later I really wanted to remove all of that and put in a buffet, but we never put new counters in the kitchen. I had hoped we would be able to do solid countertops and turn that area into a buffet for storage. Fast forward to now. I decided since I'm not working from home anymore to move our kitchen office into the spare bedroom. I'm hoping we'll be able to put some butcher block where the current countertop is. In the meantime I decided to take back my kitchen. We moved the computer system into the home office, where I previously worked at my job. That opened up the entire counter. I cleared everything off and wiped everything down. It's amazing how many dust bunnies were under there! I even had room to put out my radio/CD player!

I made 2 loaves of bread in the new (thrifted) bread machine there, Honey Oat bread (recipe in my Pinterest bread folder)-

Great flavor and crumb!

Next I used the same recipe, but used 1 cup WW flour and 1 teaspoon dough enhancer, excellent result!

Hole from the paddle, great otherwise! 

I will keep playing around and plan to make some herb breads too. One of the things I wanted to start using the area for is for dehydrating-

Orange slices for winter teas

It will be really handy to have that area for cooling home-canned bloing jars instead of the top of my dining table. When we have lots of company over in the winter for the holidays I can use it as a serving area. So far so good! I'm leaving the dehydrator there for now so I can run various batches including eggs. More on that below...

18 eggs in there!

Dehydrating Eggs!

I've seen a few different blogs and YouTube videos that had information on how to dehydrate fresh eggs. I decided to try that! Since we have a bumper crop of our own organic eggs it's a good shelf stable way  to preserve them! Basically I ran about 9 of our eggs at a time through our Magic Bullet until blended, 18 totla in the 1st batch. I had previously bought some silicone trays for inside my food dehydrator, link here Dehydrator Trays I had the trays stacked and simply carefully poured the eggs in. The temperature I read everywhere was to do about 140° for about 18 hours or so. Probably depends on the humidity where you live. Here's the photos of the process-

Mostly dry, checking for doneness

dry and crispy, looks like corn flakes!

I ran the chunks thru the Magic Bullet again (clean and dry), came out perfect. I added to O2 absorbers in the glass jars. Just treat like raw eggs and cook. You can use in baked goods, for scrambled, eggs etc. 

Great video here from one of my fave Youtubers with lots of info!  From RoseRed Homestead-