We got our soil delivered. We got scammed, really, but at least we have something to grow in. The “mushroom soil mix” turned out to be very dense, almost all clay, and lots of small rocks. The rocks will hinder our carrots but probably not much else. If we decide the quality is too poor, we’ll scrape off the top 6 inches and add in some store-bought compost. Hopefully we won’t need to do that, because the soil we paid for was expensive. I don’t want to buy more.… Read the rest
We got the domes all finished and attached. Right now when they’re open they just rest on the ground. Since the ground is rocks, I don’t think it would take long to damage the plastic. I’ve devised a system to solve the problem, hopefully it will work. If it does, photos will come soon.
We used hinges that come apart, so we can remove the domes easily when the weather is warm.
We also added handles, which really helps when lifting the lid.
We got the wood to make up the gaps under the boxes. My husband spent a few hours measuring, sawing, and drilling, and look at the results!
Getting closer to complete every day.… Read the rest
These cookies are light, fresh, sweet, and wonderful. Out of one batch, we’ll get 3 different types of cookies. Plain, these cookies have a soft lemon flavor with just a hint of spice. Then we’ll add a dollop of preserves to the top. The fruit really brings out the lemon flavor, and makes the whole cookie taste sweeter. For the last sheet into the oven, we’ll stir in some raisins. No lie, the raisin cookies taste just like Fig Newtons. This recipe will yield 27 cookies, 9 of each style. Of course you could make them all plain, or all fruit, but variety is the spice of life.
Chewy Lemon Cookies
Preheat oven to 400F.
1 cup softened salted butter
1 cup packed dark brown sugar
1/2 cup white granulated sugar
1 teaspoon orange extract
2 eggs
2 lemons, zested and juiced
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 cup preserves, room temperature
1/4 cup raisins
I use a stand mixer for this recipe. If you don’t have one, you can simply use a whisk in the beginning and then switch to a spoon.
In a mixer fitted with a … Read the rest
Why pay for fabric when you can buy thrift store clothes to repurpose? Today I went to our local Salvation Army with the intent of finding a nice fabric to line a handbag I’m making. Look at the beauty I found!
This is a sari I got for… Ready? $1. Wednesday is family day at our Salvation Army, which means clothes are 1/2 off. So I got this whole beautiful sari for $1. It’s 2 pieces that are both 4 feet square, sewn together. This will line a lot of handbags!
This is a skirt. 100% silk! Price? $1. Seriously! When I cut it along a seam, I’ll have a piece roughly 4 by 1.5 feet. This will also be lining for a handbag or two, though only smaller ones.
And this awful thing? It’s a 3 foot long leather skirt. I have no idea who would wear something like this, but the tag called it “leather sportswear.” It looks like it’s spent a few years crumpled in a drawer. Anyone know how to get wrinkles out of thin leather? This only cost $2, and it will be turned into the outer shell of a cute orange purse or two. … Read the rest
Last week was beautiful weather, and a slow week for business. This meant that my husband was home, and he did a lot of work starting our raised bed gardens. Our back yard is a slope, and was poorly “hardscaped” with small rocks on the hill. It’s near impossible to get rocks to stay on a hill, thanks to this pesky thing we call gravity. Ever read The Myth of Sisyphus?
I have the Yard of Sisyphus.
There is a “grassy” part at the top of the hill that is actually just very weedy. I’m attempting to get some grass to grow there, in the hopes of killing off the weeds sometime this summer. It’s mainly a dog pooping zone, and I feel that the dogs would be better served by grass. We’re also composting for the first time. That’s our blue compost bin in the background. I’m suffering from a lack of brown matter at the moment, and I’m not sure how to solve that problem. We also need to get some worms. Our compost won’t be ready to use this year, but hopefully our garden will be prolific and we’ll have another one next year that will … Read the rest
My seeds went in the soil just 2 weeks ago, and already they’re huge.
That’s tomatoes on the left, peppers on the right.
Look at those roots! These guys are going to need to go into some sort of container soon. Or right into the ground in a cold frame. It’s a bit up in the air right now, but clearly we’ll need to make up our minds soon.… Read the rest
