Fall into Winter...

Lots of things going on around here.  We picked all the pumpkins in October...my little backyard harvest was lovely!

The blue pumpkin (which I cannot remember its name for the life of me) was just beautiful.  It's one of the sweet pumpkins that are mostly flesh.  We cut it open and it is lovely!  I am making pies with that one.

My big field pumpkin weighed in at a little over 22 pounds.  That's the biggest one yet that I have grown!  We also have been making preparations in the garden for winter.  The coop was cleaned out and all the beautiful bedding and manure is just gorgeous...I am enhancing many of my garden beds with it.  Most of my beds can also be converted to hoop houses.  I usually use the hoop house/low tunnel in the spring for tomatoes.  I have never done it in the fall, going into winter, going into spring.  The winters here get extremely cold.  I am going to experiment with some thermal techniques.  I have three that I am using.  I have kale, spinach, and beets growing.  Of course, the weed of my garden, cilantro, is popping up everywhere.  We will see what makes it.  I think they will probably do well.  For now, they are quite snug.  We had a very light snow.  We will see how they fare once winter really packs its punch.

My husband and son have also gone hunting.  They got a large doe that yielded about forty pounds of meat! Most of that has been canned, and the roasts are in the freezer.  We have an exciting venture this weekend.  If it pans out, I will definitely post about it because it is a great secret that is worth revealing! Not only will it add to my larder, but it will do miraculous things for my garden.  Stay tuned!  I hope you all are getting your homes and gardens ready for the winter.  Blessings to you!

Creative upcycling: sewing an apron out of gently used material

Now how cute are these aprons???  I was in apron mode earlier this summer because I wanted some pretty aprons for my girls and myself and possibly to make as gifts.  I was perusing through the thrift store and saw this fabric and it immediately struck me that it would be so pretty as aprons. But this was not regular fabric; it came in a much different form, but I got inspired because of the pretty print and lace.  Here is what it looked like when I bought it:

That's right!  It's a dust ruffle.  Dust ruffles are perfect to make aprons because they don't get much wear and tear, plus they have beautiful prints.  The tag said $6.99, but lucky me it was the color tag that was 50% off so I got this material for $3.50.  I made the three aprons you saw above, plus I have enough to make 3-4 more.  That is an amazing savings.  All I did was cut the print material that shows from the flat sheet portion that goes between the two mattresses.  I made a simple continuous tie and sewed that on.  In the first picture you can see I made one that was double...it's so pretty that way that I got to thinking how cute this would be to make little girl skirts as well.  Really, the possibilities are endless!  You could even make some pretty valances for your windows.

Speaking of valances, here's what I used to make adorable aprons for two of my nieces.

It is actually a valance, but I thought the print was sooooo sweet and would be perfect for little girls. What I like about using these gently used fabrics to make aprons is that most of your seams are already in place.  I am no seamstress...I can quilt, but putting in lace and ruffles is not something I am good at so why not get it already in place? Here's what it looks like on my sweet niece:

I made this at home so I didn't have a size reference when we visited on vacation, but it just fits her.  I made another one for her younger sister and that one she'll have plenty of room to grow in.  These are just some ideas on how to think outside the box when you need to make something.  Fabric is so expensive so why not look at garage sales and thrift stores or even your own home for inspiration.  I would love to hear what you are upcycling!  Be blessed and be inspired!

Delicious Recycling

Stick a spoon in me because this is just delicious!!!!!!!!  Saw on another blog post about these cans at Target.  Well, they are so graphic and have such fun colors that I had to get a set.  For $0.75 a can, not only did I get soup, I got the best colored pencil holders around.  I just washed out the cans, being careful of the labels, and dried them out well.  I couldn't help it...and my youngest daughter was so excited that she organized by color group according to the labels and was so inspired that she just had to go color something.  Love it!  May you find inspiration in a can!

Summer's end update...

Wow...I can't believe we're in the middle of September already.  I started the kids' school right after Labor Day.  We also went on vacation at the end of August so I am literally two weeks behind where I should be.  I was thinking I should probably wrap up the summer.  The garden got a bit neglected this year as two of my kids were going to do a major competition and it required a lot of our time.  I still have a lot of tomatoes and my pumpkins are awesome...one in particular is the largest I've ever grown.  I'm anxious to see what it weighs!  In a few weeks it should be ready!

I've been doing quite a bit of canning.  Remember all those raspberries I told you about from my yard?  Well, I used them all up (all ten pounds) for my yearly jam session.  This year I tried many different varieties of jam.  One delicious creation has raspberries, blueberries, and strawberries.  It is delicious.  I also make a mango+raspberry=the sweet nectar of God!!!!  Oh, it's good!  Then there's the new this year: raspberry + peach.  All in all, I made 62 half-pints & pints.  While I was finishing up my jams, lo and behold, peanut butter went on sale for $1.49.  We have been skimping on the peanut butter around here because it is so WICKED expensive.  This sale did it for me...I have enough for a year (I hope).   I am not one of those people who likes to stockpile for ten years worth of food...I just want enough to last us for a bit.  I know prices are going up and I just want to be prepared.  I also canned up a bunch of peaches and some peach jam.  I also got in a salsa session.  I think I will need another bushel of tomatoes because I need to make some more.  I'm hoping to do some beets.  I have pictures to share from our vacation that goes hand in hand with canning.  Plus, there's been a lot of crafting/sewing going on, too. I hope you are winding down from the summer.  We are enjoying some cooler temperatures here because this summer was a scorcher.  Blessings to you!

Garden Harvest

Here is my haul from yesterday (plus one more egg).

The garden is slower this year because of some unforeseeable happenings that took place at the beginning of June, but the garden is starting to crank up now and I need to get back on track.  I will be putting in the fall garden (I know, I really need to get moving) and hopefully I can get some more produce.  My tomatoes are going like gangbusters, but no ripe ones yet.  Maybe within the next two weeks I'll get some tomatoes.  The peppers are just gorgeous.  I roasted them and will probably put them with the eggs.  The raspberries are almost done producing for this season.  I think I have about ten pounds in the freezer...it's time for me to make some jam!!!  The beans are just now coming in.  They are so beautiful.  It's a French pole filet bean...they are nice! Even with this heat, I still have lettuce...it's only because I have cilantro shading it.  So, still taking advantage.  I hope you are having great harvests.  It's been hard with the heat, but the peppers and tomatoes are loving it (me, not so much)!

Cow appreciation day!

Here's what we all looked like going to Chick-fil-A today.  Four of us were under this "cow costume" and we were sweating like cows!!!!

It was a fun time!  My daughter was the head of our family heifer!  We were a bit creative with her face.

Here's one last look...

Hope you had a fun day with a free meal!
Blessings!!

Introducing our Chunnel: the chicken tunnel

I turned the big 4-0 last month and my husband made me something very special (which my husband tells me ordinary women would not even want)! Let me take you on a visual tour.

This is at the back of my suburban homestead.  I am standing right next to the coop.

To the left of the coop is the run.  For a year this was all the space the chickens had and I knew they needed more room.  On top of the run is a new addition...it is my lettuce box.  It provides shade for the chickens and protects them from the rain so they can still be outside.  I can grow on top of the run without losing any space.  Space is a premium here in the suburbs.  I had to figure out how to give the chickens more room without taking anymore garden space.  If we extended this run to the left, it would sit right on top of one of my prime growing areas.  So here is our solution:  a chunnel.  That's right...a chicken tunnel.

Directly to the left of the run is the juncture where the chunnel connects to the run.

Then we travel more to the left...you see the chunnel behind my pea trellis and some chickens looking for some treats.

Then the chunnel turns the corner and heads down the western side of my yard along the fence.  I had such weeds that grew here...and now you can see not a single thing is left growing!!!

And here is the scene that causes me the most amount of joy!!!!  Every time this happens I giggle like a school girl.  All I have to do is call the girls and they come a runnin'!!!!  I am at the very end of the chunnel.  They run like there is no tomorrow and it is so fun to watch! (note: do you see there is no longer one green thing along the side of the fence!)

This side of the yard gives them lovely shade in the heat of the afternoon.  I have to say, living in the suburbs I have to protect them from lots of critters...we have foxes and birds of prey everywhere.  This is as close to free range as we can get for them and they don't need supervision.  The chunnel is very secure and they are indeed much happier!!!

This is the very end of the chunnel and it has been fun showing you our solution of adding more room without taking much space!  Hope you have enjoyed this post.
Blessings!