The Ward House

Change

2011-10-04T13:01:00.000-04:00

Change is neither good nor bad; it just is. Earlier I mentioned the need to make some changes to the Ward House and allow it to go with the others and remain part of the past.

As it turns out, there was more than just Annabelle here; another family along with Madeline. There was much sorrow as Annabelle has passed and was searching for her mother - Madeline was here and very sad as her husband was someplace else. A friend and kindred spirit, Pamela, helped me to help them move into the light. This house is brighter and feels much lighter, as in not heavy. Have you ever walked into someplace and it felt heavy? Well, no more. Along with this transcending, I realized that the past was holding on due to restraints I'd placed myself; naming my blog and email the Ward House, keeping the same door knocker, etc.

So a clean slate. Some may become lost in the process and I am going to try to let everyone know about the change.

My new blog is called Woman Dreaming and can be found here. It is an email I choose many years ago and it is fitting. This name was choosen and, without realizing it, then this song was found:

Fitting, eh? I hope you will continue on this journey with me. A bright future we have!

Finger tapping

2011-09-29T16:22:00.000-04:00

Not in a musical way. This is day four of waiting for this blog to convert to www.lanniee.com. *sighs* There are graphical changes I want to make, posts to post and well... now I wait. Perhaps this is a lesson in patience and it does force me to do chores rather than sit in front of the computer screen.

Tomorrow, if all goes as planned, a friend is going to help me get rabbits to freezer camp, and then the work at the spa picks up - yes, I have had four days 'off'. When self employed, one is never really 'off'; there are still phone messages to check so I still go to the 'office' to take care of that, check on the treatment rooms, etc.

So in the meantime, I am working on chores, making apple juice, grape juice, and potion bottles > pictures to follow.

A change

2011-09-22T19:50:00.000-04:00

I have been thinking and rolling around some ideas; you'll see some of that happening here. Back in the day, when this blog began, choosing a blog name was difficult and I went with where I lived. Becoming the The Ward House has created some challenges on this end.

Those bumps in the night? Annabelle? Well, they are all related to my keeping the past in the present. Not a good idea when dealing with quantum physics and the like. So the changes I am making have involved getting rid of the Ward door knocker, my wardhouse email and other related electronic/whatnots. Honoring the history is fine and it is good to remember. Keeping the past active and in the 'here' not so much.

The name of this blog and the specific address are going to change as well. > more on this is to come. =)

Hold on folks; it'll get just a little bumpy.

Winning recipe

2011-09-16T09:00:00.000-04:00

This recipe apparently won at the West Virginia State Farm (or so I was told), and since it was shared with me, thought you'd enjoy it too!

Cheesy Taco Pie

1 pkg refrigerated crescent rolls
1 1/2 lbs. ground beef
1 pkg taco seasoning (made my own taco seasoning since most commercial brands include MSG)
1 can Rotel Tomatoes (I just used diced tomatoes)
1 can refried beans (heated); cold beans do not spread!
1 bag shredded Mexican-style cheese
1 pkg crushed tortilla chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lay crescent rolls flat in bottom of 13"x9" baking dish. Bake according to can directions. Brown beef in large skillet, drain. Add taco seasoning and tomatoes, mix well. When rolls are baked, remove from oven, top with beef mixture. Add a layer of refried beans, thin layer of sour cream, a layer of cheese and crushed tortilla chips. Return to oven, back at 350 for 10 minutes until heated through and cheese melted.

So yummy!

More vows

2011-09-15T13:38:00.000-04:00

This past Saturday, A20 got married. Not sure I've written about A20 much; she is Ronnie's oldest daughter, M16 (was 15) is his youngest and the same age as my K15 (will be K16 next month). Confusing, eh? Anyway, after much drama, they married at Garth Newel; a beautiful place to hold this type of event.

Not only did I gain a stepson but also a step grandbaby. Yup, I am 44 and a cool step grandmother. LOL None of those words look right or string together well. This realization just hit me today. Let me clarify just who this child is - he is A20's husband's baby with A20's cousin. That is the very 'OMG' part of this whole thing. I can say that knowing what I do about the cousin's family, this little baby will never spend time with us.

So am I still a Gramie?

Holiday Prepping

2011-09-13T20:47:00.001-04:00

In between making grape juice (the quick and easy way), I've begun planning for Halloween; our most FAV holiday. This year I'd like to create some 'potion' bottles. I found these freebies from Love Manor's Flickr page. Oh, the plans!

More to come - need to skidaddle.

Facebook page

2011-09-06T09:50:00.002-04:00

The Warm Spirit Spa, where I work, is moving to a larger space just down the street. This has prompted our move into the NOW thus the creation of a Facebook page and website. It is during this creation that I realized... Facebook page creation requires a skill set that I do not possess and must now learn.

You'll see a like button on this page and when I clicked the 'like' button, a message appeared that it would need to be approved. Huh? Any insight? Oh, and we need 25 Likes in order to publish. Would you like us?

Concords

2011-09-04T12:44:00.002-04:00

I've written before about the amazing grape vine that came to us with the Ward House. Learning how to prune this vine took some time and time well spent. The fruits of that labor are amazing! To look at the vine, one would not miss this 2nd bushel.

Last year my Dad and Anna sent me this little beauty - a distiller. It is perfect for making grape juice that can be sweetened and drunk as is or turned into jelly. Oh what a time saver! This is not a review, just had to share my new love with you.
Combine 5 cups of concord grape juice with a box of pectin and stir until it begins to boil. Then add 6 cups of sugar (scary, right?) and stir until it returns to a boil. Boil for one minute then ladle into hot jars and process in a boiling canner for 10 min. Voila! Grape jelly. Tasty. So far we have processed 13 pints of jelly and have more juice in the fridge to use along with a whole arbor to pick.

*whew*

I finally have my laptop back (K15 had borrowed for school) and am carrying it with me to work. More blogging appears to be in my future!

Whats simmering on your stove?

An introduction

2011-09-01T11:11:00.002-04:00

To the pink lady. Yuppers, this is A17 and her senior year pink hair... and my medusa head. Karen, over at the Art of Doing Stuff wrote about how teenage girls dress and that reminded me that I had not shared A17's pink hair.

I believe it is time to purge the top of the fridge, eh? All flat surfaces seem to collect 'stuff'.

Babies?

2011-08-29T16:19:00.000-04:00

Early on Saturday morning (8/27), Beatrix began to deliver bunnies. This first litter was not successful; out of 5 births, she killed two of them and then did not care for the remaining three. Her lack of motherhood instincts sent me to the web to see what might have gone wrong and how I may help her next time. In a few months, she will get one more shot at a litter; my thought was that she may have been two young (5 months); 6 months for the bigger rabbits is the norm and the Dutch breed is a bit smaller. We'll try one more time when she is 7 months. If that litter is a failure, then she'll go to a new home as a pet or to freezer camp.

Fall temps and feel seem to be in the air and it would appear to be a good time for lettuce and swiss chard; temps are good, lack of water is not. *sighs* These'll go into the ground within the next few days. Today I had one mid-day client so had the morning to clean and this afternoon I am thinking of dinner and what to do next... Well, talk to you was top on the list.

Since the mini-rex (our velveteen rabbit) really needs to go to a home, I used Ebay classifieds to create this ad - what do you think?

Minirex Flyer 8.29.11

Pigs

2011-08-25T08:30:00.001-04:00

Our pig is going to butcher next month. While I have some experience with beef, pork is something new; both at the butcher shop and cooking. While the below is pretty detailed, I'm comfortable with pork chops, roasts, bacon (belly cuts), ribs, and sausage.

Ronnie's step dad was known county wide for his sausage recipe - sadly, it went with him to the grave. Anyone have a recipe to share?

More babies

2011-08-24T21:21:00.000-04:00

This evening, while watering and checking on the rabbits, I noticed that Beatrix (the dutch rabbit), had pulled hair to line her nest. Babies may arrive tonite or tomorrow. Yippee!

Oh, and here are pictures from the Californias - they look like neekid mole rats!

California baby rabbits

Pickles and other goodness

2011-08-24T11:59:00.000-04:00

I'm sure everyone knows about the earth quake that hit in Virginia yesterday; others felt shaking and I missed it! Was finishing up a massage and missed it! K15 was at the highschool working on computers and felt the floor shake. A17 was at home, in the kitchen; she did not feel the floor shake yet heard the stuff in K15's room (which is above the kitchen) shake. At first A17 thought Annabelle (our ghost) was being super active and was frightened. When she learned it was an EQ, she was not concerned! LOL I find that funny.

So today I am wondering about aftershocks and my whole prepper status. I feel pretty good about where our house is situated and a little concerned about water. It is gravity flow and 'should' work just fine without electricity; still gonna set additional water aside for just-n-case.

One could easily be consumed by prepping and worrying; worrying can paralyze and I am not going to spend my time worrying. What does one do instead? Why, can pickles of course! And do laundry, clean rabbit cages, etc. And then go to work this afternoon.

My canning recipe comes from Better Homes and Garden's canning magazine. I'd like to share it with you here yet fear I'll violate a law and people will get cranky. *sighs* Oh, I do have pictures and a recipe to share... later though. Need to get ready for work. =)

Selling

2011-08-22T19:01:00.000-04:00

The california 'babies' are growing fast, especially in the last week or so. I've done quite a bit of reading and, aside from placing them each in their own cage (not enough room for that), the advise from print and other breeders is to feed them rabbit pellets that are comprised of at least 18g protein and this little concoction: equal parts oats, barley (for soups), black oil sunflower seeds (BOSS) and flax seed. Mix and add 1 tbsp daily with pellets. I had everything except the barley; per the 'test kitchen' (rabbits), it is a great success.

With rabbits running out the ears (no pun intended), I decided to post on Craigslist and Ebay Classifieds. So far, we have had one reply to the Craigslist post. *cross your fingers*

Of work vans and rabbits

2011-08-22T18:50:00.000-04:00

Last week Ronnie and I had an adventure. He purchased a 2001 GMC Savanah cargo van (complete with shelves already installed) from a gentleman on Craigslist and yesterday we drove to Rocky Mount to pick it up. This van needs a new fuel filter, which we knew about ahead of time, so pick up involved borrowing a heavy duty truck and trailer. The trip down was uneventful, our loading experience while there was .... interesting. Alan (the seller) is a great guy and was extremely helpful in getting this cargo van rolled/come-along cranked on to the trailer.  In the midst of all this we punctured a tire and had to change it before finishing the load up.

Long story short, it took about 2 hours to get this bad boy loaded up. Allen even texted us to check on our progress. Thanks Alan - we love this truck!!

This brings me to rabbits; it'll make sense in a minute.  As you know, I have been waiting several MONTHS for Mark to bring me a male to go with my California doe. Nothing, nada, zilch. Ronnie is friends with his wife and he called to catch up on the news and to ask her to follow up with Mark about this rabbit. Since Mark is not good on follow through, I asked Ronnie to stop at this rabbitry we pass every time we drive to Roanoke - We pass this same place on the way to Rocky Mount. He raises New Zealands and American Chinchilla's, which when bred together, make a Californian. We walked away with a beauty of a buck.

Would you believe that when we arrived home at 9:45 that evening (we left for Rocky Mount at 11:00 am), Mark had called and said that he would bring the buck by? LOL  I did not believe that Mark would be by but went ahead with my evening...carrying a small glimmer of hope. That hope blossomed into truth and he brought the buck by to spend the night. This is not the buck we get to keep though... I am still waiting on that. In exchange for the studd service I told Mark he could take one of the 8 1/2 week old buck's from the California's first litter.

That was on Friday (8/19)...we still have the buck. LOL

Mark was impressed that I was able to purchase a New Zealand from the rabbitry - Mark had been trying for several months to acquire one to no success. Hmmm.

Free Fall

2011-08-15T20:02:00.000-04:00

Its amazing how, when one is able to set their own hours, time management skills go out the door. My energy levels are higher than in the past, though still low. *whew* Slow and steady wins the race... that's my story and I am sticking to it!

Any tips on how to get out of this funk that I have slipped into? Perhaps feeling overwhelmed may be a better word.

The Criminalization of Poverty

2011-08-11T08:28:00.000-04:00

I had something else planned to post for today... until I read this. There are some blogs that I cannot read everyday; those links are moved to the side column under the heading "Must Remembers" and are read when I am ready to take the time and have the energy to not let the drag me down. Reading the real life decline of our society as a whole is disturbing and paralyzing. There are many days when I do not want to read what is going on in the 'outside' world; stick to canning, gardening, and rabbits.

WTH are we allowing? Inaction is non verbal consent; this scares me.

Barbara Ehrenreich on the Criminalization of Poverty: "

From Counterpunch, Ehrenreich, who, along with Jonathan Kozol and the late Joe Bageant and a vanishingly few others, tells the true story of American poverty more clearly than anyone else explores how we punish the poor::

The viciousness of the official animus toward the indigent can be breathtaking. A few years ago, a group called Food Not Bombs started handing out free vegan food to hungry people in public parks around the nation. A number of cities, led by Las Vegas, passed ordinances forbidding the sharing of food with the indigent in public places, leading to the arrests of several middle-aged white vegans.

One anti-sharing law was just overturned in Orlando, but the war on illicit generosity continues. Orlando is appealing the decision, and Middletown, Connecticut, is in the midst of a crackdown. More recently, Gainesville, Florida, began enforcing a rule limiting the number of meals that soup kitchens may serve to 130 people in one day, and Phoenix, Arizona, has been using zoning laws to stop a local church from serving breakfast to homeless people.

For the not-yet-homeless, there are two main paths to criminalization, and one is debt. Anyone can fall into debt, and although we pride ourselves on the abolition of debtors' prison, in at least one state, Texas, people who can't pay fines for things like expired inspection stickers may be made to 'sit out their tickets' in jail.

More commonly, the path to prison begins when one of your creditors has a court summons issued for you, which you fail to honor for one reason or another, such as that your address has changed and you never received it. Okay, now you're in 'contempt of the court.'

Or suppose you miss a payment and your car insurance lapses, and then you're stopped for something like a broken headlight (about $130 for the bulb alone). Now, depending on the state, you may have your car impounded and/or face a steep fine -- again, exposing you to a possible court summons. 'There's just no end to it once the cycle starts,' says Robert Solomon of Yale Law School. 'It just keeps accelerating.'

The second -- and by far the most reliable -- way to be criminalized by poverty is to have the wrong color skin. Indignation runs high when a celebrity professor succumbs to racial profiling, but whole communities are effectively 'profiled' for the suspicious combination of being both dark-skinned and poor. Flick a cigarette and you're 'littering'; wear the wrong color T-shirt and you're displaying gang allegiance. Just strolling around in a dodgy neighborhood can mark you as a potential suspect. And don't get grumpy about it or you could be 'resisting arrest.'

In what has become a familiar pattern, the government defunds services that might help the poor while ramping up law enforcement. Shut down public housing, then make it a crime to be homeless. Generate no public-sector jobs, then penalize people for falling into debt. The experience of the poor, and especially poor people of color, comes to resemble that of a rat in a cage scrambling to avoid erratically administered electric shocks. And if you should try to escape this nightmare reality into a brief, drug-induced high, it's 'gotcha' all over again, because that of course is illegal too.

One result is our staggering level of incarceration, the highest in the world. Today, exactly the same number of Americans -- 2.3 million -- reside in prison as in public housing. And what public housing remains has become ever more prison-like, with random police sweeps and, in a growing number of cities, proposed drug tests for residents. The safety net, or what remains of it, has been transformed into a dragnet.

It is not clear whether economic hard times will finally force us to break the mad cycle of poverty and punishment. With even the official level of poverty increasing -- to over 14% in 2010 -- some states are beginning to ease up on the criminalization of poverty, using alternative sentencing methods, shortening probation, and reducing the number of people locked up for technical violations like missing court appointments. But others, diabolically enough, are tightening the screws: not only increasing the number of 'crimes,' but charging prisoners for their room and board, guaranteeing they'll be released with potentially criminalizing levels of debt.

Here's the question - as more of us become poor, do we fight the criminalization of poverty, or do we accept it?

Read the comments on this post..."

Its raining!

2011-08-09T08:55:00.002-04:00

A steady, ground soaking rain – perfect! While waiting to see if I am needed in the office, dishes are being washed, I writing to you, and then out into the rain to refill the timothy feeders for the rabbits. Beans need to be canned, squash pickled, and bread baked.
Speaking of rabbits, I separated 4 into a cage of their own. Did not really check to see which were boys and which were girls as they are still too young for it to make a difference. I hope that Mark comes through with a male for my California so I can continue this line of breeding. Beatrix is due next week. *whew*
Tomorrow afternoon I head to Dabney Lancaster Community College for K15’s Governor School orientation. Should be ‘delightful’.
I am off to finish chores. If not needed in the office, work at the spa will begin at 11:30.
Ciao!

Hippity Hoppity

2011-08-03T09:08:00.002-04:00

Today is a slow day, as far as ‘jobs’ go. There is plenty to do at the house; which I am not getting done whilst sitting here writing. =)
Thought I’d give you a quick update on the bunnies. The book says they will be ready for freezer camp (4-5 lbs) by 8 weeks; these are 6 weeks old. I cannot see them putting on that much more weight in two weeks. Perhaps a scale investment would be appropriate? I am hoping that a friend of mine, before they move to Canada, will help me with freezer camp preps; he has experience with raising and butchering rabbits (humane ways). Oh, this cage is much larger than it looks (2’x3’). When I am outside, they all rush to the door, looking for snacks. Silly rabbits.
Two weeks ago we put Beatrix (dutch female) in with Dutch (Dutch male) and if it took, she will deliver a litter on or about August 16th. *crosses fingers* We’ll see what happens!
Have a great day today. Got lots to do around the house and I will check in a bit later.
Ciao!

Interesting

2011-07-31T23:34:00.000-04:00

How the blogging platform/software used to publish can affect one’s ability to write. For me it is about the features and ease of use. Windows Writer has it all and the challenge has been to find a way to load and use with Ubuntu. And for those that are Linus savvy, WINE will not load this software.

And pictures? I hope to share pictures of kits, flowers, and squash. Windows Writer allows one to watermark pictures along with other sweet presentation features. Sounds exciting, eh? Anyway, looks like I’ll have to get to Ubuntu and partition a drive, etc. Something that the forums will help me through….unless someone out there knows what needs to be done and can walk me through. =)

We have just returned from dinner at Ronnie’s brother’s house and I am, well, pooped. Ciao til tomorrow!

sizzle

2011-07-21T10:39:00.000-04:00

It's been hot here... Not as hot as it is over at the Homesteading Neophyte; that kind of heat is difficult for me to imagine. It is hot enough that our usual 5-6 eggs are now down to 2-3/day, still good - they are still laying. Yesterday afternoon A17 helped me clip the younger hens wings as they kept flying out of the run. I would not worry too much about this if there weren't that husky running around the 'hood (no leash law out here).

Catching the young ones was not unlike trying to catch a greased pig - humorous to all watching. The older hens did not understand why we were not interested in catching them - they were good sports, though, and played along anyway. That's what happens when one does not spend enough time petting and hanging out with the animals. They experience 'stranger danger'. Something I hope to rectify in the coming months.

The rabbits continue to do well, resting up against their frozen water jugs (sad to hear Phelan, that yours are ignoring theirs). We bred Beatrix (Dutch female) with Dutch (Dutch male) and am now counting the days. I am not entirely sure it took and will palpate her this evening to see if I feel 'grapes' in her abdomen. Nancy's (Californian) litter has begun to wean themselves, jumping into the feeders and chowing down, pulling timothy hay from the hay thingy (yes, I am sure these have a technical name, just cannot think of it at the moment); I have not yet seen them drink from the water'er; a bunny will not eat if it cannot drink so I am guessing they are still nursing or have figured it out how the bottle works. There are two water bottles in the hutch, one lower than the other to help with shorter bunny stature.

Squash and blue lake beans have begun to come in - time to spray the squash plants with a soapy mixture to kill the shield beetles. *whew* It has been a full couple of days... Oh, I forgot to share about the Camero leaving us stranded in Lewisburg WV. Ah, a story for another day.

Stay cool, folks. Perhaps if I wash the car tonite and make it rain. =)

Culling

2011-07-14T11:37:00.000-04:00

First things first - this morning our neighbor called at 7 a.m. to state that a large dog was nosing around the hen house. I was out like a flash and caught site of him at the coop door. We made eye contact, I pointed at him and yelled 'NO!'. He took off like a flash, it was almost as if he disappeared. I have not seen a husky/malamute this big before. His back was easily close to door knob level; bright blue eyes. In retrospect, as I never saw him run away, it was almost like he was a spirit guide come to visit. I had not yet released the hens from their coop into the run so they were not aware of perhaps how close they had come to becoming someone's breakfast.

On to the topic of the title - this is a husbandry story and is kind of graphic, so if you of a more delicate nature, just stop here. I'll have other good reads coming up!

The California's litter is growing well. Yesterday morning I discovered one of the kits had his hind foot caught in the floor mesh. I helped him extract and later that day noticed that his foot was swollen. Other than that he was moving around with the other kits, hopping, etc. I placed two more comfort pads in the cage (making a total of 3) to prevent anyone else from 'slipping through the cracks'. This morning, after the above incident with the Husky, I discovered this same kit had found an unprotected spot and slipped his other foot through the floor. *heavy sigh* Long story short, in his struggle to free himself, he created a compound fracture - yes, the end of his femur, above the hock was sticking out of the bottom of his leg. Breaks my heart to write that I was not able to save the kit. Ronnie had to step in and help me.

I did not cry then; writing this now brings crocodile tears to my eyes. Understanding that this is the true cycle of life and a first hand experience of where our food comes from, I have to wonder if I am cut out for raising meat rabbits. Perhaps an adult will be different than a kit (trying to use rabbit vocabulary). There does not appear to be written material that details how to cull a litter; breeders do it often when a rabbit does not meet show standards.

What non painful method (for the kit) does one use to cull a kit? Breaking it's neck is hard as they are so tiny... Cannot believe I am writing about this. It is life though, and if unshared, cannot help another.

Its.... so.... muggy

2011-07-13T16:02:00.000-04:00

Brings back memories of this 80s hit...

In other news, the summer squash is fruiting - so thankful! Tomato blight battles are still going on, though an old timer did tell me that in the onset, if I place rusty nails around the plant, it will take care of the blight.... I wonder how that works. I have not been consistent with the diluted milk application so cannot comment on how well/or not that went.

The baby bunnies are growing fast and started to hangout outside the nesting box; I removed the box this a.m. In other rabbit news, I have to wonder why the male Dutch rabbit I have, likes to spray. What's up with that? Clean up/wipe down has become a twice weekly thing.

We have babies!

2011-06-30T09:44:00.001-04:00

Much to my surprise, and great pleasure, Monday afternoon we discovered pink, neekid, long eared rats in our California doe's nesting box. Yes, there are pictures, though these are saved a computer other than the one I am using now. Pictures are difficult to take as the wire mess tends to scew the focus. Anyway, because I believed this doe to NOT be pregnant (none of the checks that other breeders told me about confirmed), we drove to Covington on Sunday and picked up a Dutch buck, a 10 week old doe and a Mini Rex male (9 weeks old). Neither the Dutch doe nor the Rex male are old enough for breeding - not until the doe is 6 months and then she could be bred to the Dutch buck; I do not yet have a female to do with the Rex male.

California's are nigh impossible to locate (via the web that is) and I was prepared to switch my program from California's to the Dutch; the Dutch program will still continue as this breed is not quite as long and a little easier for me to handle.

These rabbits are not papered and I understand that to some, this is heresy; if showing was in the plan, then papers they would have. I do have plans for the pelts and that is a post for another day.

To date, I've just been watching, feeding, handling, and waiting. Not handling the babies mind you - not til they come out of the cage. One breeder told me that they handle the babies at 14 days and 'open the eyes'; not sure why that is as I have not seen it in any of the books. I'll let you know what I find.

In the meantime, a blight of some sort is infecting my tomato plants - even those in planters. Will let you know what I find.

150/110

2011-06-26T07:24:00.000-04:00

Numbers in and of themselves are not 'bad'; the above number represent a problem and that being Ronnie's blood pressure. Friday we ended up driving to UVA to see his doctor and spent the afternoon sitting in a office 'crunching numbers'. The doctor drew some blood, performed an EKG (all is good there) and asked a slew of questions. We left with a new prescription and another appointment set for July 8th. She does not want Ronnie to do any additional exercise until his blood pressure is closer to 'normal'.

High blood pressure runs in Ronnie's family, on both sides. While this may be normal for him (he had no chest pain, dizziness, shortness of breath, etc), it is not considered 'normal' by the medical community; wigs them out, actually.

In addition to adding some walking to our lifestyle, we will be adding more greens, and some vinegar water (see Bragg Apple Cider Vinegar). I am not being paid or compensated for that link - I'll share more about that in another post.

Anyhoo, it is early and I am headed out to feed the hens, check on Nancy and get ready to go to town.

Have a great Sunday!

Oregano

2011-06-23T11:46:00.000-04:00

What is munching on the Oregano?

Our prolific oregano appears to have 'caught' the same pest that has wiped through our lemon balm and mint. Does this look familiar to anyone?

Because the oregano that grows behind the garage is prolific (though munched upon), it made sense to 'brew' some oregano vinegar. After the mixture cools, it tastes wonderful; I can only imagine what it will be like after sitting with fresh herbs, in a dark cabinet for 4 weeks!

Tastey! Now to create a few more flavored vinegars.

Babies?

2011-06-22T16:34:00.000-04:00

Yes, I have been absent as of late; still balancing two jobs - training my replacement at one, working at the other, tending to the garden, chickens, rabbit, daughters, and in bed by 10:00 pm.

Nancy, the rabbit, is due this weekend and it has been a challenge to get the nesting box into her area; we ended up modifying the cage to give her and the nesting box the necessary room. The potatoes in a bag are still potato but free; they do have some flea beetles, though, and I'll be looking up on how to deal with them. I've read (and posted) about how ashes discourage these beetles and am not sure how that will affect the acidity of the soil. Will share once I have a definitive.

Our tomatoes have also picked up some sort of cootie - looks like scales on the leaves, which shrivel then die; the Mr. Stripey seem to be most affected.

Time to plan dinner - we are out of mustgos!

Mustgo - its whats for dinner

2011-06-17T09:12:00.000-04:00

A coworker of mine used the above term when speaking about dinner and I had to ask, "what is a mustgo?". Her reply was, those items in the fridge that must be eaten or go into the trash can (or in our case, the compost pile).

With the number of kids that float through our house, mustgos are rare indeed!

State of The Ward House Address

2011-06-09T09:13:00.000-04:00

A friend of mine was asking how the new career was going. GREAT! This work is more healthy for me both physically and emotionally. I do not need alot, just enough.

On the garden front, the potatoes in a bag are growing wonderfully, just as in the videos. The key will be come harvest time. Mulch for the remainder of the beds continues to be a challenge for me. What can I use that will not attract slugs - straw perhaps. Not hay - too many seeds.

What do you use? Or do you mulch?

A poop story

2011-06-02T14:37:00.000-04:00

First, my confession; I love horses and horse poop - not to roll around in, mind you. I am not bothered by the smell and it is WONDERFUL for the garden. I am talking about the seasoned stuff, not fresh.

The Homestead Stables, which is about a mile from the house, will give as much as one can carry... as long as you have a way to carry it. We have a truck AND tractor just dying to carry poop to the garden. Muhaha.

Ronnie and I drove up to the stables yesterday to have a look at the pile; the track was so muddy that the van was parked and we 'hoofed' it in - sorry, a little horse humor there.

This is Pebble

While visiting the pile we became aware of a bear cub peeking at us from behind a tree, about 20 feet away. How cute! Ronnie and I looked at each other and mouthed, "where's the momma?" No sooner out of our mouths then she peered at us from around the other side of the tree.

We graciously apologized for intruding on her and the cub's evening walk and quickly exited. *whew* When she was no longer in sight, we noticed how the horses in the close pasture were watching the woods - watching the 'family'?

These are black bears and a family that has been seen in the area for many years; even when wild animals are used to living close to humans, one must never think of them as tame. These are WILD animals.

Tomorrow, I think, Ronnie is headed to scoop some poop.

There comes a time when

2011-06-01T09:43:00.000-04:00

tough decisions must be made. Blogging started out as a way to keep my family updated on our lives, out here in tim-buck-two, and to share learning experiences. This sharing lead to friendships and a realization that I was not alone on this homesteading journey. Fast forward to oh-I-need-to-increase-my-readership and The Ward House was linked to Facebook. While this step did increase readership, as it were, it also opened the door to potential issues with county officials.

Now comes to my decision. The Ward House is no longer linked to Facebook. Blogging about living here in rural America, where obsolete zoning laws and ignorance abounds, public county officials are Facebook "friends" and... well... I do not want to send up any red flags or create additional issues. If they want to read, then sign up via RSS or subscribe via email. Unfriending was another option and...this was just easier.

So, on to some new news. I would like to introduce you to Nancy, our first doe of the Ward House meat rabbit clan; she is a six month old California and will have her first litter about June 26th. A friend of ours made the cage and gave us this doe. Out of another, unrelated litter he will give us a buck. Out of Nancy's first litter I will give him a doe. *whew* Sounds complicated, yes? Is she papered? Dunno. Not a concern as these litters are for freezer camp and not the show ring. Did you know that rabbit is the most lean meat AND more protein than chicken?

Rabbits can take cold as long as they are out of the wind and rain. Keeping cool is more of a challenge and one that I believe we have solved; this lean too is on the side of the garage and will need to be expanded to hold two more cages - one more doe and a buck. I'll post more pictures once we get the arrangement right.

Her cage currently has a pan and that may also change... more on that later. For those of you that raise rabbits for food, any tips on how to keep records, care, housing, etc. are appreciated.

Strawberry freezer jam

2011-05-31T12:56:00.000-04:00

Yesterday Ronnie and I took the bike to an orchard located just north of Afton Mountain (Chiles Peach Orchard); they have so much more than peaches - apples, cherries, peaches, strawberries, tomatoes, pears, etc. Just a wonderful place to spend the afternoon. And these berries are picked ripe, no need to wait for the fruit to ripen. It was more a question of, can we get all this processed before the fruit flies carry it away! Last night A17 and I made 8 pints of strawberry freezer jam, and two quarts of strawberry syrup.

The freezer jam recipe comes from here:

2 Cups of strawberry puree
4 Cups of sugar - I scrimped on this last time and the jam did not set up right.
1 box pectin

Combine the strawberries and sugar in a bowl, stir and sit. In a small sauce pan combine the pectin and water as noted in the freezer jam part of the pectin directions; for my Sure Jell, this was 3/4 Cup water. Bring to a bowl, then stir into the berry/sugar mixture. Make sure the sugar is dissolved or you will have a layer of granular sugar in the bottom of your jar. Spoon/pour into your containers and freeze. I used glass pint jars, not filled to the brim, and then placed into the freezer.

This syrup has pieces, something I prefer when using fruit; the picture shows a much finer consistency.

1 pint strawberries, halved - I used 1 pint of pureed strawberries
3/4 c sugar
2 tbsp corn syrup
1-1/2 tsp lemon juice
1/2 tsp butter

Puree strawberries. In a medium saucepan, combine all ingredients and bring to a boil; cook and stir for 1 minute. Skim, strain off seeds, and serve warm over waffles or pancakes. Refrigerate leftovers.

One of these quarts is destined for canning; we do not eat lots of pancakes so this syrup may not last as long as I would like.

Eat up everyone!

Please, have a seat.

2011-05-27T21:35:00.000-04:00

I am about to embark on a new adventure. Something that had to be kept under wraps until now; co- workers and clients see the Ward House via Facebook and talking about this here, prior to 'official signatures' would have created unnecessary havoc.

My news is that I am leaving Clarkson & Wallace to devote myself to massage therapy... full time. Working less and doubling my income is, well, very appealing. Yes, the economy is in uncertain times. Life is short and most of us do not realize just how short that time is - how can we? I cannot preach to my daughters to do what they love and the money will come when I am unable to live those words.

For the last 43 years I have lived my life by what others thought and expected (no anger here); now is the time for me to follow my instinct and heart. Yes, uncertain times are here and yet this decision brings with it such a peace of mind, it is overwhelming.

My replacement, for those of you that are local, is Trudy Woodzell. Yes, I did hear that sigh of relief and, no, I'm not gonna leave you hanging. Transition time will be...a fluctuating time; I will be in and out of the office, as I have clients, training, teaching, guiding. My insurance license will remain in tact and with Clarkson & Wallace so that if/when Trudy needs help or is on vacation, I can step in and keep 'business as usual'.

No worries all. I am glad you are here to share this with me!

No more

2011-05-25T11:22:00.001-04:00

No more working for the 'big man'. Ronnie is going back to being self employed sans employees. Just him... well, and me keeping track of receipts and such. He had his own handyman business, including employees, for 20 some years and the paperwork became too much - insurance and the tax code is burdensome and unfriendly towards small businesses (shocking yes?). He did not get to do the work and that is what he misses. So, back to being a self employed handy-man, the lone ranger. We are already getting phone calls - Whoot!

My camera has been on walk-about and returned this morning (I had put it away). Perhaps this afternoon I can get pictures of my potatoes that are growing in a bag. Why a bag when I have perfectly good soil? Aside from allowing the soil to rest under a cover crop of clover, those potato bugs that winter over in the soil, will hopefully die out (so old timers say) and we can plant the potatoes straight into the ground next year.

The bags would be... yes, plastic. Not my first choice; however, burlap will not hold up... from what I've read. The compost/manure mixture is $4.79 for a 45 lb bag; this bag will house those po.ta.toes (three to a bag) and the compost/manure to fill in the bags as the potatoes grow.

I have been preoccupied as of late and have left everyone out of the loop; a solution is on the way. =) More on that, along with garden pictures, later today. *crosses fingers*

UPDATE: Looks like Ronnie's situation has changed - looks like he is going to stay at the Grist Mill!

Words to live by

2011-05-20T13:37:00.000-04:00

This all may be moot since Judgement day is scheduled for tomorrow... HA! Anyway, Tammy over at Rowdy Kittens, posted this reminder :

“Living your truth embodies the art of marching to the beat of your own drum. It’s expressing yourself colorfully & uninhibitedly in everything you do, big or small.”

This phrase tends to fly in the face of how we are 'trained' as young children and people. This guy is right on - and has a cool British accent to boot. It is worth listening to for just his accent.

Gives me the chilly willies.

My inspiration

2011-05-18T20:33:00.000-04:00

It does not matter how many times I watch this - it inspires me!

Enjoy!

Missing

2011-05-18T14:33:00.001-04:00

As with most writers, there is a reason for my absence - one of those reasons flared up yesterday. A root canal that was installed in December 2010 failed Saturday night - split this premolar into two pieces. The long and short is yesterday, when my regular dentist was unable to fully extract the tooth and I ended up driving 1.5 hours south to Roanoke to have it removed (drilled out to be exact), and then drove that same distance home.

It is the first time I've ever cried when at the dentist. The emotional response while in that chair caught me by surprise; how can a missing tooth bring tears? This gap is felt when sitting, talking, and most acutely when eating. Only soft foods at the moment...and no straws. I tear up now just sharing this with you.

The moral to my story is, be mindful of your teeth and take good care of them. If you are a soda drinker, stop. I was a 2 Dew/day for a decade or so and my mouth is evidence of what can go terribly wrong; a perfect tooth one moment, broken the next.

A missing tooth creates a sense of self consciousness, especially when smiling. I somehow feel less whole.

There are other big changes going on, and ones that I cannot yet share (no, we are not moving). The sharing is coming, though. So in the meantime, let's just sit on the front porch (oh, which is under renovation, so be mindful of the stripped paint) and enjoy the rain (which does not seem to stop).

Strict Liability Laws

2011-05-12T11:53:00.000-04:00

Thank you, Rolf, for forwarding this article to me. While the title mentions raw milk, this applies to anything.
Raw Milk can get you into Hot Water

Lovin' Lancaster

2011-05-11T22:09:00.000-04:00

What am amazing place. Yes, it may be different when one lives there all the time, though visiting... it is just amazing. The Amish area always gracious and very tolerant (or so it seems) and we enjoyed visiting with the family that we have befriended over the years. Suvilla taught me a different way of doing laundry and I taught her some beginning knit stitches. One of her sons is pictured below cutting the grass. An amazing family.


Amish lawn mower

A forgotten cemetary

Lancaster or Bust

2011-05-07T08:45:00.000-04:00

I don't believe I posted about this; Ronnie and I left for our annual motorcycle trip to Lancaster PA, which for us this year, is like a honeymoon. Terry drove up from Roanoke to hang out with the girls at the house. Yes, we have a unique setup; how many ex's do you know would drive up to spend the weekend with his kids at YOUR house.

We had an eventful trip up:

At Buffalo Gap we passed a car wreck where the fire department had to turn a mustang into a convertable. A father and his two kids going to the high school; the kids did not make it.
One of the bikes in our group did not turn sharp enough and took his bike onto the curb and into the grass. We thought his wife broke her ankle; a bad bruise.
horrendous storms. That's all I'm gonna say.

Today looks to be beautiful weather. I'll post pictures tonite.

Waste not

2011-05-05T14:04:00.000-04:00

Rebecca, over at First Ways, posted about this video and, well, it is truely amazing. I have been working hard to learn about the food that grows at and around the Ward House; this video is inspirational.

I've asked Ronnie to help me build... that's not exactly right. I asked him if he would build one of these. Thank you to Gardens for Wildlife, for sharing this information about wild bees and their homes.

A new garden method

2011-05-02T09:36:00.001-04:00

Gramercy Farm Spring

Dunn's Gap Run

With all the rain comes spring growth... especially in the grass department. Saturday we rode to Ronnie's Mom's house to cut her grass and just enjoy being outdoors. We went the back way home and these are some of the views. I just love Gramercy Farm; It would be a spectacular B&B; instead it is a second home that is rarely used.

We also worked on the garden shed and created some raised beds; yes, I am going to try my hand at square foot gardening. Several friends are using this style with great success so we are going to give it a try. Let the adventure begin! Sunday morning started up with rain and cool temps leaving us content to get a few things done around the house. These few things included laundry, some cooking, and cleaning. We had family over for dinner and fellowship; I really enjoyed just sitting in the warm kitchen and chatting.

Garden shed

On the laundry front, making soap without borax produced an easier to use, less clumpy mixture. Sans borax should clear up the dermatitis that Ronnie has been experiencing around his collar.

What I have not shared with you is our newest addition to the Ward House and that's coming; look closely at the garden shed picture, middle way lying down to the left of the grape arbor.

Hmmmm.

Touchdown

2011-04-28T11:27:00.000-04:00

Not something I thought to see here in the mountains; several severe storms blew through the area last night and I was awakened at 2 a.m. to witness tremendous winds, hard rain, sequential and seemingly simultaneous lightening flashes, followed by thunder claps. It was like being in the movies. Where the Wardhouse sits, it would be nigh impossible for a tornado to form; we the valley between the two mountains is too small for the wind pattern to form. However, not it is impossible for sheering winds. The valley does open up further down and a tornado did touch down in Lake Moomaw (a water spout at that point) and moved onto land in Mountain Grove; this part of the valley is very open and flat. There was one other report of a touch down (unconfirmed at this point) in Warm Springs, which is a bit closer to home... like 8 or so miles away.

Despite the horrific storms, our community came through unscathed; no trees down, no flooding, no injuries or deaths. Thankful considering what blew through. This morning A17 left on a school trip to Virginia Beach for a Culinary conference and display; she is handling the pastry part. I am so proud!

Speaking of amazing and mind blowing, check this out. . .

Chris Chabris: When Intuition Fails from PopTech on Vimeo.

And we have a winner!

2011-04-25T19:07:00.000-04:00

Yes, I am late... and a dollar short (as the saying goes). I had three entries and if there were more handkercheifs made, we would have more than one winner; using Random.org, the winner is LindaB - Linda, the link with your name is invalid - I hope you check this. If I have not heard from her, another winner will be drawn this Friday.

Easter holiday was busy; planting container gardens, digging, traveling, coloring eggs, etc. Funny how I have all these things to share with you and when I sit down to write... they all disappear!

Oh well. LindaB, please email me. =)

Brooding babies

2011-04-21T15:35:00.000-04:00

The Wardhouse is full of life and growing things. These little chickies now have most of their feathers are are too big for their 'crib'; thus graduating to a 'brooder' within the coop. This way the older ladies can become acquainted with the younguns and visa versa. We took a barn screen door (not sure of how else to describe it), cut in half, applied chicken wire, and created a box, of sorts, in a corner of the coop. We then had to redo the roost (something I wanted to do anyway) and will need to create a wider roost for when the adolescents are ready for the general population.

In speaking with another chickee-momma, she had a chicken farmer friend stop by for a visit and stated that her chicks were ready to be in with the regular hens; her chicks and mine are the same age. Integration (or, in Borg Speak, assimilation) may be tested this weekend when I am home to observe and intervene if necessary.

Lisa Leonard Designs

Other interesting/helpful tidbits for you:

Use salt to scour a cast iron skillet/pot. Wish I could remember who shared this with me - some amazingly accurate and helpful/useful information.
This bowl, crafted by Lisa Leonard Designs, speaks so much truth; a truth I am trying to drill into the minds of my children.

We will be coloring eggs this weekend, though not our eggs - fresh eggs do not peel well...Will be an interesting tale. =)

Fried squash sans squash

2011-04-20T15:47:00.000-04:00

I know your wondering how that can be; one cannot have the taste of fried squash without squash, right? As impossible as that sounds, it is true. One can have that same taste before the first squash fruits in the garden and no, I'm not talking about a drive to the grocery. Dandelion blooms. Yes, you read that correctly. Joyceann wrote about it here, including the batter recipe and, since we have a yard full of dandelion blooms, I decided to give it a whirl. Oh my these are good! So the greens are great in a salad, the root dried and ground into coffee, and the blooms as fritters.

We ate ours plain but Joyceann suggests ranch or, for a sweet twist, dip in honey or maple syrup.

Let us know what you think.

Crones Gazette & a giveaway

2011-04-19T09:22:00.000-04:00

As some of us are part of the same circle, you may already know about the publication of the Crone's Gazette. There will be some great giveaways attached to this release and right now you can enter to win a year's subscription.

Why do you need a subscription? Well, aside from the fact that this includes an article I wrote, it contains all sorts of 'old school' information and tutorials. Kathie is hosting a giveaway that includes a year's subscription to the Gazette (four issues).

In celebration of this publication, I would like to offer my own giveaway. As most of you know, we (the Ward House) are all about trying to return to the 'old ways' - living simply, following the three R's (reduce, reuse, recycle). This giveaway focus' on the reuse. An old sheet, that was no longer serviceable as a sheet, has become some amazing handkerchiefs. These measure 7.5" x 9", are 100% cotton, and have a hand rolled/sewn hem. Machine washable and either dryer or line dry.

Entering is the easy part; you do not have to follow or fav me (though that is always nice). Just leave a comment on this post by 5pm on Friday, April 22nd; I'll use a random number generator to pick the winner.

Good luck!

Dadada?

2011-04-16T10:53:00.000-04:00

This was just too cute and I had to share. Wonder what they are talking about. . .

Pretty Boy

2011-04-15T11:28:00.000-04:00

Remember yesterday when I wrote about the peacock that was keeping me company at Meadow Lane? Here are some of those shots. He was not waiting for me this morning; another beautiful day and hopefully I can get a few shots of the other baby animals.

I thought the back was just as interesting.

Another world

2011-04-14T10:27:00.000-04:00

Yesterday afternoon through Sunday I will be working at Meadow Lane Lodge & Cottages; manning the phones, checking email, and reserving stays. It is a nice change from the usual pod life that I live at Clarkson & Wallace. Driving up the lane, through fog laden fields, catching glimpses of the dew encrusted webs in the tall grass - stunning. The batteries in my camera have died and I will have to wait until lunch before I can get more. Meadow Lane has a resident male peacock, amongst other farm animals (and babies!); he is so beautiful! I will capture a picture of him and the other farm babies.

While here, inbetween calls and emails, I am working on knitting two socks at a time on one L-O-N-G circular needle using the magic loop method. Hopefull this link to her Ravelry page will work. I am not getting paid to share this with you. Gotta share a good thing when I find it.

Another good bit of news - the Crone's Gazette, of which I am a contributor, is now available. Be sure to enter the giveaway for a year's subscription. By tomorrow I hope to have my related giveaway posted so be sure to check back.

A17 is preparring for her culinary competition in Virginia Beach at the end of this morning and we have been discussing sugar coated violets to use as part of her pastry display - pastry swans and other assorted sugary sins. Yes, mouth watering pictures to follow. In the meantime, I need to hit the web and find out exactly what type of sugar we need to encrust those violets. If anyone has experience or a link, please share!

Ok, time to knit and check email - we'll talk again soon!

Swap a dish cloth

2011-04-13T14:27:00.000-04:00

I enjoy a good swap, especially when it is something so simple as a dishcloth. So, if you are interested, check out Rhonda's swap over at Down To Earth.

The rain is gone...not!

2011-04-12T10:50:00.000-04:00

Yesterday was amazing - sunny and temps in the upper 70's; it was a slice of heaven amidst rainy, dreary, cooler days. Not complaining about the rain - need it, love it. It was nice to, after work, hang clothes up on the line and have these dry by the time the next load was finished. Schweet!

I also discovered that we have a yard full of wild lettuce and so enjoyed a salad of young wild lettuce greens, dandelion greens, violet blooms, and tomatoes with olive oil and balsamic vinegar. Yum.

Then about 5 this morning the rain started again and when leaving for work, Ronnie and I discovered that we had each left our driver side windows open. Mmmm. Hello towel, hello trash bag. Yup, towel down first then the trash bag to keep my bum from getting wet. *sighs*

Oh, and Bella (the Belarus tractor) has fixed herself. Suddenly both the front and rear hydrolics began to work again and... well, we cannot explain what happened. Perhaps she just does not like the cold and needed a good warm day to loosen up. *shrugs* Go figure.

I now pronounce you . .

2011-04-10T20:28:00.000-04:00

Yup. I am now married with children. No joke. Really. Today, at 1:00 pm, Ronnie and I became 'one'. Well, we were one before, now we are one according to the Commonwealth of Virginia.

With family and friends in attendance, we had a brief ceremony in the front lawn and then it was food, cake, and champagne.

Cat herding

2011-04-08T19:20:00.000-04:00

Today I helped to chaperoned the Sophmore Biology class field trip to Douthat State Park; 50 degree temps, in the cold water and wind. This video kinda sums up my day...

Turf Toe

2011-04-06T09:00:00.002-04:00

When I first heard this term, I thought it was a swanky way of telling someone they had grass stains on their feet. As it turns out, K15 has turf toe from playing too much volleyball and not spending enough time strengthening and stretching.

Photo Credit

The short and sweet of this is it is:

can occur after a very vigorous upward bending of the big toe. It got it's name due to the fact that it occurs frequently in people who play games on artificial surfaces.

Add to this the lack of strength and tight muscles and one has failure up the entire chain. This translates into pain and loss of function from her toe up to the buttocks/hip. I need to mention here that K15 cannot flex her foot to the neutral point, which means, her gastrocs and soleus are so tight these muscles cannot stretch far enough for her to reach neutral. This places and extreme amount of pressure on her achillies tendon.

Photo Credit

Yesterday the physical therapist told her she was done for the remainder of the traveling team season (not that there were too many games left). He said that if she wanted a chance of playing this fall, she needed to stop and heal... NOW. So icing twice daily along with stretches for her soleus, gastrocs, and hamstrings. Looks like all that personal training information will come in handy... again.

Jeepers Creepers

2011-04-05T14:14:00.000-04:00

We now have peepers! Nope, not frogs, though I did hear the first of those peepers last night. It was in the 80's yesterday and this morning we had snow and sleet.

The peepers to which I reference are these; ours are barred rock and black. Realizing that our ladies are older, it was time to think of the future. The future 12 now live in a tub with a heat lamp. They are too cute and full of energy...until it is time to nap. At that point, they just kind of flop over and sleep. Funniest thing I've seen in awhile. As soon as recharged, or they hear someone close by, they are up and peeping, hoping, and running the length of their tub.

Wing feathers have come in quickly with tail feathers close behind (haha! A little chicken humor there).

The April/May issue of Mother Earth News arrived yesterday. This issue is packed with good articles including Homesteading Helpers and this article about Backyard Chicken Basics:

They eat ticks, grasshoppers and lots of other pests. More good news: Raising chickens won’t break the bank. A handful of chicks will cost less than a large pizza and require less effort than a house cat.

There is more to this article, and it is one that is available online. Check it out.

NOTE: this is my personal opinion. I am not being paid or compensated in anyway for my statements above (and following).

Ronnie's next project

2011-04-02T09:00:00.005-04:00

2Kathy's post about finding a new massage therapist, who works out of a cute log cabin, got me to dreaming about work spaces. Now that the coop is finished, I've hinted that Ronnie's next project be to build a vardo that we can use for travel and, possibly, for massage therapy (on-the-go). These puppies can be built to the size one wants, all it takes is building supplies (translated as $$).

Tiny House Blog

The inside could not be finished as a living vardo, but one for work; wide enough for a table and for one to work around that same table. Dreaming? Yes. I have the perfect set up with Linda at Warm Spirit Spa so do not need a work Vardo. These visually appeal to me.

Tiny House Blog

This Vardo, though, would be great for camping trips, going to the fair, etc. I love the round top vardo and would require that when night falls, there be a way to secure the entrance.

Photo Credit

Don't you just love the interior? Why do I love these Vardos? Perhaps it appeals to my minimalist tendencies, (though you would not know it to look at my house), creative style, or ease of movement. One cannot collect or hold on to much when living in one of these. Minimal yet highly functional is key.

The Tiny Life

Related to the vardo, I found this E.D.G.E. Wow, I love how this house is put together.

Egglets with a good read

2011-04-01T09:53:00.000-04:00

which one of these is not like the others?

This afternoon we are headed to my Dad's to deliver and set up the coop; I am excited to see this installed and more so Daddy's expression when he sees it. Emily, my youngest sister, will also be down for a visit. It has been several years since we have been able to get together so this'll be good! Down today, back tomorrow; I work at the Spa this Sunday.

Oh, and remember yesterday when I told you about that xtra, xtra small egg? Check it out!

Tammy, over at Rowdy Kittens, introduced me to some amazing blogs; their message was so right for me, where I am today, that I had to share them with you - thank you, Tammy, for the introductions.

And the rain came down

2011-03-31T14:37:00.000-04:00

A steady drizzle, to be more accurate. I am NOT complaining as any rise in the ground water level is a good thing. No torrential rains, just steady, easily-soaks-into-the-ground rain; a patience generator. In the meantime, K15 is off to Atlanta this weekend to play Volleyball, A17 has a SAT prep course, and tomorrow (hopefully) Ronnie and I will take the chicken coop to Daddy's house.

I have not taken more pictures of the coop and will include some from Daddy's house once we have it 'installed'. His chicks are in and hanging out at a friends house until they are old enough to move to the coop. Which reminds me, one of our hens, this morning, laid an egg that was an inch in diameter. Guess the increasing daylight hours are helping to activate their egg laying mechanism and someone's is a little dusty. I'll post a picture this evening.

Silly girls.

Grounding

2011-03-30T09:51:00.000-04:00

Yes, I have been quiet as of late. The reflexology class I took this past Sunday was simply AMAZING and uncomplicated. So we were gone most of the weekend and in our absence, it snowed. No accumulation, maybe an inch, and it was gone by the time we arrived home.

My insurance job has been taxing at best so when arriving home, I just 'collapse'. The mental fatigue gets to be overwhelming and when it is still so cold outside, detoxing in the dirt is not an option. I have taken to holding some of my stones and have carried one that is not in use to have at my desk; a grounding stone.

On the happy end of the spectrum, Phelan's prik-e-gnu seeds arrived (yeah!) and I won the For Him notecards offered by Annalea's birthday's celebration. Yea me. =) And today... it is snowing and sleeting outside.

Continuing education and a Coop

2011-03-25T14:14:00.000-04:00

The bureaucracy involved with State licencing is mind boggling. I completed the Massage Therapy program through Dabney back in December and am still 'fighting' with the school for my transcripts to show the completion so the State will issue my license. Completed is the key here. Not graduated, just completed. *heavy sigh*

Photo from Barnes & Noble site

So in the meantime, I have started continuing ed as 24 hours are required for each year. This Sunday we travel to Edinburg VA for my class in Hot Stones and reflexology. Of the 24 hours, two need to be in ethics; who could turn down such an 'easy' read? Ethics for the New Millinium by the Dalai Lama. This is not a book review, nor am I being paid to write about this. An incredible book so far and I am only in the second chapter. Aside from his comparison of religion vs spirituality, this statement (so far) has been most profound:

religious belief is no guarantee of moral integrity.

Wow. Glad this book was an option for continuing ed - cannot wait to see what other ah-ha!'s are waiting. Just had to share my moment.

Speaking of sharing, the coop has progressed nicely. We filmed this video to make it easy for my Dad to get a feel for the construction.Daddy's hens will be laying in style.

Winning is good

2011-03-23T11:44:00.000-04:00

Photo belongs to A Homesteading Neophyte

On Monday, my friend Phelan of A Homesteading Neophyte, held a spring giveaway. And what was she giving away? Why prik-E-gnu seeds, of course. I know you are wondering what this is and promise that you will not find much about it online; it is a small HOT pepper. Ronnie and several of our friends, enjoy hot peppers so let's see how many men we can get to tear up. *wink* As Phelan does, I plan to dry and grind to use in various recipes.

So exciting! I'll let you know when these arrive and, of course, when they are sampled!

2011-03-23T10:35:00.000-04:00

Spring has been fickle here, with temps spanning in the 40's through the 60's; depends on the day. What has been nice is the rain is happening in the evenings and at night so I can get yard work done through the daylight hours and then go to sleep to the sound of rain.

Saturday past, we stopped at Delberts (the produce guy) and snagged some baby vidalia onions. These onions came with a recipe:

           1 cup diced baby Vidalia Onions
           1 pkg kernel corn (we used canned corn from 2009)
           3/4 cup fresh diced tomatoes

3/4 cup fresh diced green bell pepper
Mayonnaise or dressing of your choice

Use enough mayonnaise or dressing to toss well. Salt and pepper to
taste. Chill in refrigerator. Makes 6 servings.

I didn't really follow the cup measurements, just cut up what looked good, chilled in the fridge then enjoyed. The first night, we used a balsamic vinaigrette as the dressing and the second night just lemon juice; the lemons were my fav. And for a sweet finish...some Limoncello cookies.

Last night we made some split pea soup - so wonderful! I'll share that recipe with you tomorrow.

Three cheers for Sedgwick, Maine!

2011-03-18T15:24:00.000-04:00

And a thank you to Homesteading Neophyte for bringing this article to my attention: Maine town declares food sovereignty. Nice to see a whole town of people with cahoonas willing to take a stand. Our county will get there; more people need to grow some cahoonas though. It may take awhile.

I'll knit while I wait.

Let me eat cake

2011-03-18T12:02:00.000-04:00

Sheet Cake

For A17's birthday, K15 made the cake and icing. We do not buy commercial mixes so the cake was entirely from scratch. Interesting how K15 will forego the easier task (washing some left over dishes) to tackle the more difficult of baking a cake from scratch.

The cake turned really well. We've used a similar recipe in the past, one that I thought was posted; apparently not. So here it is, from Mel's Kitchen:

*Makes enough for two 9-inch layer cakes (bake according to recipe), or one 9X13-inch cake (bake for 30 to 35 minutes), or one 12-cup bundt pan (bake for 40 to 45 minutes), or 24 cupcakes (bake for 18 to 20 minutes)
*Note: the recipe calls for cake flour, which I never have on hand so I substituted 2 3/4 cups plus 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour and 3 tablespoons cornstarch for the three cups of flour called for in the recipe. It worked beautifully.
2 cups granulated sugar
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups cake flour
1/2 cup nonfat dry milk powder
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
16 tablespoons butter (2 sticks), cut into 1/2-inch pieces and chilled
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
Process sugar, flours (or flour and cornstarch if making the substitution for the cake flour), milk powder, baking powder, and salt in a food processor for 15 seconds to combine. Add butter and vanilla and pulse until the mixture resembles coarse meal (you want this much finer than, say, a pie crust). Freeze the dry mixture in a zipper-lock bag for up to 2 months or use immediately.
To make the cake, adjust an oven rack to the middle position and preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour your pan of choice (see the note above the recipe).
With an electric mixer, beat the prepared cake mix, 1 1/4 cups warm water and 2 large room-temperature eggs until the mixture is smooth, about 2 minutes. Scrape the batter into the prepared cake pan(s) and bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 25-27 minutes for two 9-inch layer cakes. See the note above the recipe for alternate cooking times with other baking pans. Cool the cake(s) in pan(s) for 10 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack. Cool completely.

We did not have cake flour so used the substitution indicated and perfect! Not overly sweet, and a firm not-heavy consistency. Mmmm. K15 had to take some with her to school to share with friends. The icing is another story. K15 originally made the icing with granulated sugar so the icing was... interesting. She remade the icing using confectioners sugar, as per the directions, and added a bit too much milk so we had more of a glaze than icing. That's ok. It was tastey.

And we will continue to use the number three candle for all birthday's until it is all burned up. This started out as a saving money kind of thing and now it is a joke. Everyone is three.

On the shirt tail of disaster

2011-03-18T09:26:00.000-04:00

I've been watching...and reading... and watching events unfold in Japan and the U.S. This has brought back memories of my Daddy saying "you'll see this in your lifetime". Funny how one does not realize how smart their parents are until one is themselves a parent. There is a slew of information out there about whether or not radiation will hit the U.S. from the Japanese reactors and which is better to have, Potassium iodide or idodate. While I do believe that fall out is global, I am unsure of which news broadcast is most accurate; the media will tell you what they want you to hear.

Coop view from the back (access panels)

At the house Ronnie is finishing Daddy's chicken coop and I have been creating steps through the bank to the new back door... planning for lettuces and the such. According to the Farmer's Almanac, now is a good time to plant peas - our neighbor has already planted 9 rows!

A Time of Celebration! 17 years ago yesterday, A16 was born. Yup, she is now A17. So hard to believe. I remember, shortly after delivery, holding her in my arms and wondering what to do next. Thinking, "Wow, in 10 years, who will she be?". Seventeen years later, she is an amazing young woman, full of grace, beauty, and an understanding beyond her years - thought sometimes this 'understanding' is questionable. *grins*

A17 (froefront) & K15 (funny face)

We love you A17 - Happy Birthday!!

Homemade cosmetics, liner

2011-03-10T16:47:00.000-05:00

I do not wear makeup, as a rule, yet there are times when I'd like to wear mascara or some eye liner. The question becomes do I want to put chemical schtuff onto my skin. Rather not.

Online there are several makeup tutorials that involve activated charcoal, one for mascara and the other is eye liner. In the past I have bought creme kohl sticks from Queen Kohl (no longer in business) and there was much discussion about the metals that were naturally occuring in kohl. To apply, one would take the stick, place just the tip in the outside corner of your eye lid, close lids and then 'drag' the tip to the inside corner thus lining both the upper and lower inner lid. Sounds scary, I know. It is not; you can use the same method with commercial eyeliners.

Still, we are back to the chemical thing. So why not use powdered activated charcoal as an eye liner; not on the inner lid, just along the lash line. Simple enough; activated charcoal is often used in pads and applied to the eye to combat pink eye. There are several articles online that advise to add a few drops of water to the powder and then apply with an angled cosmetics brush or forgo the water and apply dry for a more smoldering look.

Opting for the smoldering look, I used the brush and powder, no water; it worked! Not sure why that suprised me. Now I need to learn how to artfully apply eyeliner. The most difficult part was pulling the capsule apart without making a mess. Not too bad for the first try, eh?

Mascara is next, as soon as I pick up some Aloe Vera that does not have menthal in it. And they put menthal in aloe gel, why?

Please share if you have made your own liner before or have another makeup recipe.

Lazy flakes

2011-03-09T11:31:00.000-05:00

These big fluffy flakes are just gliding past my window. Floating denotes a lazy, meandering style that is not the case for these flakes. Earlier, yes. Now they are moving faster than a mosey but not fast enough to be a fall or plummet. Can snow flakes really plummet? Does that not require a bit of weight?

outside my window

I have not taken the time to truly understand the physics of snow flake dispersion and, while fun to word out, not something I really need to understand. I do need to be mindful how this snow flake distribution affects the roads. A16 and K15 were headed to Roanoke this afternoon for volleyball practice...that is assuming their coach hasn't decided to cancel due to road conditions. I know some of you still have snow piles; we have been pile free for about a month now. Historically, though, it has snowed several feet in March (several decades ago) and I was here to witness a killing freeze in June. Glad the days of wonderfully warm temps did not lure me into putting seeds into the ground. Looks like that'll still be an indoor activity for now.

Stay warm!

Boric acid = Borax

2011-03-08T16:07:00.000-05:00

I've been using Borax in my laundry soap for over a year now only to read that borax is boric acid; this is used as a pesticide/insecticide and is, well, really bad for you. All this time I thought Ronnie was kidding me when he said it was the borax in the laundry soap that was causing the occasional skin irritations. Yes, Ronnie was right... AGAIN! Mother Earth and Enviroblog have both published findings. I am now reevaluating the laundry soap recipe; borax is added as a booster so I am leaving that out of the next batch.

Last week I wrote about planting a living fence citing Osage Orange as a candidate for this fence. Well, after reading Root Simple's post I think I'll have to pass. Do not want to plant a headache.

Ronnie still wants an actual fence fence and Chiot's Run must have been reading his mind, 'cause she posted about fences; ok, I agree. There is something about the look of an actual fence that just adds a little something. Chiot's Run included this picture from Eliot Coleman's Four Season Farm. A simple fence that has a beauty all its own.

I also have another bit of good news and was going to wait to share... just cannot. Ronnie and I are looking to add to our .5 acre of heaven by purchasing an adjoining .19 acre lot; this .19 acre was part of the original lot that was later divided into our lot, the neighbors, and then this .19 acre that the original family kept. It is wooded and brushy, much like the back of our lot and that's ok. We'll keep the fruit trees, that are currently hiding, and clean the rest up.

So exciting!

Hot water heater experiment

2011-03-07T10:50:00.000-05:00

Saturday, while in town, we picked up a 38 gal hot water heater. Our current 50 gal tank seems to be doing ok, though I believe it to be at the end of it's energy efficient life. Did you know these tanks have anode bars that are self sacrificing and will corrode to protect the tank from mineral wear? However, if one does not check and change these two bars, chunks can break off the bar, fall to the bottom of the tank to be churned around each time water moves within and can crack the tank . I was unaware.

Where the experiment comes in is this, hot water comes in from the outside furnace and flows through the tank until used. Prior to the new tank, the old tank was hooked up to electricity and the tank would keep the water warm until it was called for. Well, this new tank we did not hook up to electricity, to see what would happen. Our thought was that the furnace circulator would continue to move water through the tank and it would be available when needed. Yes, our furnace is hooked up to the water supply so as the hot water is used, it is replaced with fresh water. Cold water which it then heats to about 170 (roughly). So far, we appear to have enough hot water. Time will tell. In the meantime, I am not using electricity for the hot water heater. Yippee!

This move was prompted by another electric bill: 990 kwh for the month and a $135 bill. This is proally low for some people but is high for us. We do not heat or cook with electric and light use is monitored - actually, the girls have become good (most of the time) at cutting off lights. That just leaves the hot water heater.

Our question now is this summer, when we do not use heat in the house, how do we get the furnace blower (not the one in the house) to come on to stoke the fire and heat the water? Still working on that. If you have experience with these things, please share.

Fridge follies

2011-03-06T12:38:00.001-05:00

It rained most of yesterday and continues to pour into today. Since outdoor activities are out, why not tackle the fridge, right? When was the last time you really looked at what was in your fridge. When did you last clean your fridge?

I am sad to report that my fridge has been neglected. Baaad mommy. *sighs* I did not get a picture of before, but here is a picture of after. Sad to say there were a few, not alot, but a few biological experiments growing. And bottles of condiments that I bought awhile ago, kept, and not used... why? Is it for the "just in case"?

I've stated before, how can a condiment that does not go bad after spending months in the fridge, be good for you? These had to go. Except for the Hershey's syrup, in the back of the top shelf. When M15 comes to visit, she'll sometimes have chocolate milk.

Ah, a much better picture. Except for the styrofoam. I really need to remember to bring my bento box when we go out...not that this happens often. The going out thing, I mean. Eating out tends to upset our tummies. Yesterday we drove to Roanoke to watch the Charger's girls basketball team play in the quarter finals and while there, we picked up a few things for the house and got a bite to eat out. Yuppers. As soon as we arrived home, Ronnie and I were both reaching for the Rolaids. *shakes head* You'd think we would have learned.

Oh, you want to know what I used to clean the fridge? That would be soapy dish water and baking soda. Yup, a girls best friend.

So today is a cleaning, puttering around the house, finishing odd jobs, day. I hope you have an equally restful yet satisfying day.

A living fence

2011-03-02T15:33:00.000-05:00

Yup, still looking at fencing though the cost of a man made fence is looking to be cost prohibitive. What about something green, that gives something back? Yes, I will need to trim both sides of a hedge making a living hedge more maintenance. It does not leach into the ground and can provide food for the critters, mine and 'wild'.

Mother Earth News has a great article on the subject, including history and plant options. Those I am considering are:

Honey Locust (George Washington's shrub of choice)
Tagasaste (leaves are good for hens, 20-27% protein)
Osage Orange (found here)

Does anyone have experience with any of these? Or have suggestions?

Hungry, hungry....

2011-03-01T16:20:00.000-05:00

you thought I was going to say Hippo, didn't you. Ha! I remember that game; never owned or played it, just saw it advertised on t.v.

Back to garden planning. I'd like to grow some supplemental feed for the ladies, with thoughts of enough to carry through the winter. Idea so far include corn (heavy feeder), field peas, and millet. The thing with millet is that I can also feed it to the rabbits. Any of you plant grains for animals? On a small lot?

Photo Credit

Oh, and Rebecca, over at First Ways, posted about purple dead nettle - an herb that grows happily at the Wardhouse and with which I have no idea how to use. Apparently this goodie is in the mint family and has a square stem; it can be harvested with abandon as it is an invasive 'weed' from Europe.

The best part is that the entire plant, above ground, is edible - leaves, stems, and flowers. This powerhouse is high in antioxidants and iron (amoungst a list of additional WOWs). The leaves can be bruised and applied to cuts to stop bleeding and aid in healing.

Time to check the yard. . .

Survey

2011-02-28T22:13:00.000-05:00

Since passing the boards, it has been a whirl wind of activity: applying for my license, lounging in the Jefferson Pools with Ronnie's sister and her family, replacing blown off shingles on Mom's roof, and getting the front porch ready for warm weather lounging. I'll post some pictures for your viewing pleasure. *grins*

This garden thing, and that the lot is shaped differently than I thought, has kind of thrown me for a loop. The garden plot, as it is, will be devoted mostly to potatoes and onions. I am thinking that the other items we eat (lettuces, chard, tomatoes, etc) will need to go in closer to and around the house. Which is not a bad idea considering it is 'wasted' space at the moment.

So here is a shot of the completed survey. The 0.143 acres in the 'back' is wooded. I'll write more on this later, like where I'd like to plant the corn and such.

And we've been doing more brainstorming about the fence. As much as I love the look of the willow, not sure it will be durable enough against the winds that rush through here (not enough for consistent wind energy).

.CMT

2011-02-25T10:16:00.000-05:00

Can you guess what those initials mean? And no, it is not country music television.... Ok, I cannot wait for you to guess. Those are the initials that will follow my last name. These represent 500 hours of class work, several hundreds of dollars, sweat and tears; certified massage therapist.

Oh happy day!

Potatoes

2011-02-22T18:59:00.000-05:00

Photo credit

Ronnie came home yesterday, talking about growing potatoes in plastic bags. I'm sure the look I gave him was the same as if he had another arm growing out of his head.

Google backed him up - The photo credit will take you to the article. I'd not heard of such a thing before and growing in plastic makes one wonder about what is leaching into the soil. I wonder, though, if the potatoes growing in the bag instead of the ground will keep the potato bugs away. A local shared with me that potato bug adults winter over in the ground and she said that if we squished them while in the ground, we would not have bugs that year.

Have any of you tried this? If so, what kinds of bags did you use? Did it work? Hmm.

Good Neighbors

2011-02-18T10:37:00.000-05:00

Good fences make good neighbors ~ Robert Frost, Mending Wall

Never really understood that term until recently; never worried about exactly where the line was. No, nothing has happened. We have been VERY lucky to have had good neighbors. Since moving into the Ward House five years ago, the house next door has changed hands three times, and will go back onto the market again soon.

Gardener's Supply Company

Ronnie and I have often talked of fencing and now seems like a good time to walk that talk. We want something that will look good as well as contain the hens and provide some privacy. This willow stick fencing looks to do the trick. It will need supports and most people place this on the visible side of an existing fence to pretty it up and provide some privacy. The price seems reasonable; a 5'x13' section is $45.

What do you think? What do you use?

Two left feet

2011-02-18T10:18:00.000-05:00

K15, not once but twice (two days in a row), wore two left shoes to chatelaine practice. Yes. She IS blonde.

Self Hosting

2011-02-17T11:07:00.000-05:00

Too bad there isn't a guide to help one in setting up these things. I am sticking with Wordpress.org as the platform is familiar, which is comforting. One must have patience when working with servers and such - there no instant gratification. Right now I am waiting for Wordpress to update itself, including plugins. How can an installation, on a T1 connection, take sooooo long?

Prior to making the decision to self-host, I thought I was pretty software savvy. HA! A humbling experience it is.

Spring is springing

2011-02-16T13:08:00.000-05:00

I don't want to jinx the amazing weather we've been having; I'll say it anyway... Spring is springing. Each morning, promptly at 7:00 am, we are greeted with what we call the courting song of a male chickadee. He perches upon the top of a front porch column and begins his song.

Minutes later, as I walk out to feed the ladies, other birds blend their song with that of the chickadee, waiting for the feeder to be filled and iced over water to be chipped free.

Lastly, the ladies; my little bundles of feather and down. So happy to see me, whether I bear treats or not. Yesterday evening, it was so nice out, and they crooned so sweetly, that I had to let them out to wander the yard. Happy little hens make healthy eggs.

While the ladies wandered about, checking for new bugs and sprouting greens, I walked our newly surveyed property. Interesting that the lot only vaguely resembles what I have on paper - a decades old survey. My copy of the new survey will arrive in the next few days. This means that Kate, I need to ask you about purchasing a 6x20' strip of your lot to kind of even out mine.

For those that are not familiar, Kate and John are the new owners of the Grist Mill Inn (Ronnie's employer) and our neighbors. They were our neighbors first. The Inn and Kate and John are a good match; they have loads of resort experience and are great with people. The Inn will prosper under their ownership. And no, this is not to butter them up. They are good people and we will miss them as neighbors. This segues into my offer to purchase that strip before their house is place on the market. If it is a no-go then Ronnie and I will work with what we have.

The garden planing has been on hold pending the outcome of the survey and this 6x20' (roughly) strip. We know what we want to plan, the wear is just on hold.

Wow-za

2011-02-14T21:16:00.000-05:00

Exciting times at the Ward House:

My dad has decided to have laying hens so I've been coordinating between him and Ronnie to create the design and order supplies
The Ward House will be self hosted by Host Gator
Scheduled my practicals for 2/24 (studying like a mad woman)
Submitted a second article for the Crone's Gazette - so did not like the first one, LOVE the second.
Paying a local to built the correct size hutches for our upcoming meat rabbits.

*whew* that about sums it up; that is where I have been. *grins* Exciting times!

The Plan, THE PLAN!

2011-02-03T14:37:00.000-05:00

In preparation for the upcoming garden season, I have started a 'layout of the land', as it were. Get the most from our little .5 acre of heaven and create an aesthetically pleasing homestead. With the help of Powering Down and Sharon Astyk, a graph paper layout our plot has begun. Now, a parcel that is 50'x379' is interesting to graph out. This is how the deed looks. . .

See, interesting. I do plan to have this surveyed to confirm what I can put where and make sure I am not intruding on another's space. Our parcel reminds me of a galley kitchen and, in a way, it is! Anyway, using the scale on this copy, 1" = 30' and using the graph paper we have on hand, our parcel translates into to each square equaling 4.21'. This narrow, longer graph paper layout allows for notes and such above and below the layout, so it'll still work. I'll post the layout this weekend.

Related to my garden endeavors, Two Frog Home is holding a giveaway for the book, Soil Mates; Companion Plants for your Vegetable Garden. Entering is easy - comment, like on Facebook, and blog. You have until 5 PM MST on February 7th to enter so do not procrastinate...

GMOs - do we really want to eat this stuff?

2011-02-02T16:06:00.001-05:00

A big thank you to First Ways for sharing this information. Nerve gas slightly modified to create pesticides - and we are eating this stuff?

Shazam!

2011-01-31T16:23:00.000-05:00

Interesting times, eh? There has been much activity at the house, some of which I could not share until today. So, here is the quick & dirty:

With the cost of food continuing to rise, we are going to start raising meat rabbits. I already have two customers lined up.
Finished the laundry room - mostly. I just realized no pictures of the glorious new laundry and will correct that as soon as possible.
fiddling with the old sewing machine and will need to order the bobbin holder.
working on my article for the Crones Gazette
Learning to knit using the magic loop method
Studying and practicing massage to get my flow ... well, flowy.
Ronnie may not have a job in the next two weeks - The Inn has been sold and we are unsure if the new owners are going to keep him.

This last bit of news has had us preoccupied - it was not officially announced until today but we had suspicions. The new owners are also our neighbors - I will be glad to have them back 'in the hood'. Kate and John, you are great neighbors and I've missed Turley, especially with the passing of Odis.

So there you have it. Stay warm - the next storm is on its way!

What do bar codes tell us?

2011-01-26T13:14:00.000-05:00

I received an email the other day about how product bar codes will tell you the country of origin for your food stuffs. Sounds pretty simple, so I went to snoops2.com to see if there was a write up. Apparently, this information is only partially true. Please read the article linked above; the short of it is, this code reflects the country in which the bar code was assigned, NOT the country of origin. To use their example, if Mexico packages fruit from Guatemala, the bar code will be that of Mexico and not Guatemala. We still need to read the label and look for Made in USA or Canada. Still check out the link above as it spells out the various country codes and may still be useful in avoiding items shipped from places other than the U.S. or Canada.

Related to food, Rowdy Kittens (RK) has an excellent post about living without a fridge. Not something I believe The Ward House can do while the girls are home, though if the cost electricity continues to rise, we may need to revisit. My grandparents grew up without a fridge so it can be done. In this article, RK makes some good points about how we relate (as a whole) to food, including the amount of waste, and includes links to how to store food without plastic (very interesting).

Any item that can live in a fridge, opened, for more than a year and still remain 'good' is not good for you. Fridge cleaning is on the list for today!

It is snowing like crazy right now; time to grab the camera and take a walk.

Huff, and puff, and ... huff

2011-01-24T14:35:00.001-05:00

Tonite the local Board of Supervisors have a joint meeting with the planning and zoning board; they will discuss a wind power ordinance. The scary part of this is that these peeps are trying to protect us from 'unsightly' personal wind generators (a commercial ordinance is already in affect). If the view shed was such a concern, then the power lines would have been buried instead of criss crossing the country side. Logic vacuum, remember?

I digress. Before one can benefit from a personal wind generator, one must live in an area has wind. Sounds like a no brainer. The vote is not in on whether or not we, in the valley, have enough wind to benefit from a personal generator. Most of these maps show we have enough wind.

Based on this calculator, a 5 kw generator could save us 33%. There are variables that I cannot include, and that is cost per kwh; this number changes depending on the season. Last year The Ward House consumed 10670 kwh of electricity (thought we were doing better than the average). If we use the cost of electricity as .12, then last year I paid $1280.40 for electricity. A 33% savings could drop the payout to $845.06/year; a savings of $422.53/year.

If I were to purchase a system, it would be the Honeywell (this is not a paid review or advertisement). At $6499, taking off $500 for a tax credit, it would take me 14.2 years before this unit would begin to pay for itself (if my math is right).

How many regular people can afford to make that change? And those that can afford the initial cost are usually not interested in 'going green'. If you use wind, please share the unit you decided upon, savings, all the details.

Vintage sewing

2011-01-22T11:19:00.001-05:00

Our neighbor was cleaning out her house and was about to pitch this beauty out the window. Thankfully A16 was helping her and saved this from the trash heap - isn't she beautiful? According to the Sears Company website, this machine was manufactured in Clydebank Scotland, at the Kilbowie factory. Alloted March 15, 1951, there were 4000 made; machine class (model #) 206K. Sad that I cannot download a manual for this machine 'cause the numbers do not line up and the Singer Company office is closed 'til Monday.This machine does not have a peddle; instead, your leg pushes that lever to the right and, voila! The needle moves.

Youtube provided some helpful information about the front (more like under) load bobbin and it was then that I discovered, I have the wrong bobbin holder for this machine. Ronnie's mom has the same machine only it is not electric but a pedal machine (trendle?). She is going to check that bobbin and see if the nobbie faces the other direction << that statement will make more sense once I have a picture to share.

Anyhoo, have a great weekend; I will share more soon. Love'n it!

Let's Disqus it

2011-01-21T11:42:00.000-05:00

Several followers have asked about how to comment, as Disqus is not seem on most blogs. Why do I use Disqus instead of the built in blogger form? Disqus helps commenters/readers interact with not only me, but other reader/commenters. Helps to create a sense of community.

Disqus is super easy to use, just click on the Comments word: in this example, there 0 Comments. The other buttons to the right are if you want to email, blog, Twitter, Facebook, or Google Buzz this post to other people.

You do not need to sign in to Disqus (if you have a free account) or Facebook to leave a comment, just type away. After clicking on Post As the next window to pop up will allow you to post by logging into a social media site, if you choose. Or you can just post as a guest by entering your email address and name as you want it to appear on the comment.

Then click Post Comment... and you are done. What's cool is you can reply to a comment made by another person, if you wish, or post a fresh comment, add video, etc. Pretty neat, eh?

Chat away!

Its all in the fingers (folding an Origami Envelope)

2011-01-20T15:14:00.000-05:00

Making those seed envelopes inspired my finding another tutorial on how to fold an envelope for mailing. At work, we use the following template to determine postage and make sure mailings will be approved through the USPS system.
USPS mailing template

My current mailing template involves cutting and pasting...too time consuming and will not work if I do not have access to scissors or tape. This link from wikiHow has a great tutorial for making an envelope measuring 4 x 3.25. Not big enough to send through the postal service; the minimum is 5 x 3.5.
Then this one appeared; no cutting, or gluing.
Origami Envelope

Ah, and it fits the postal requirements. Still needs a piece of tape across the back, just to make sure; its still not my fav but works to mail out the mortgage payment. Then I found this one - Ureka! My new fav. Sadly this is not one I can print out or even save as a .pdf; something about the Adobe in which it is saved. Thankfully, the folding template loads easily enough.

Do you have a favorite folded envelope pattern to share?

Fold, fold, tuck

2011-01-19T10:35:00.001-05:00

This post from Chiot's Run inspired me to clean up my seed basket. The question now housing those seeds that I have saved and do not have an envelope? It needs to be something that I do not have to glue or tape and that will reuse something already on hand. Well lookie at what I found. Remember all the letterhead that work was going to throw out? Makes my heart sing.

Here is the above in .pdf format.

Top Flap Envelope

There are many other tutorials online about how to create a seed packet. This one was chosen as it fits all the criteria listed above: no tape, no glue, no waiting. As close to instant gratification as I dare.

Do you have a template or fold to share?

Limoncello cookies

2011-01-17T21:34:00.000-05:00

We have some limoncello liquor in the freezer and it is not something that I drink. Check out this recipe that I found on Food.com; a great way to use up unwanted liquor.

12 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature
3/4 cup confectioners' sugar
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons lemon zest
2 tablespoons limoncello ( Italian liqueur)
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon granulated sugar

Glaze

1/4 cup confectioners' sugar
2 teaspoons limoncello

Directions:

For the cookies:
Cream butter and confectioner’s sugar with hand mixer. Stir in flour, lemon zest, limoncello, and salt until dough forms.
Roll into log, about 1 1/2 inches wide and 10 inches long. Wrap in plastic wrap and chill for a few hours or overnight.
When ready to bake, preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Line cookie sheet with greased parchment paper. Take golf-ball-size piece of dough and roll between palms to form a lemon shape. Flatten until dough is 1/4 inch to 1/2 inch thick.
Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, or until cookies just begin to brown on bottom. The dough will not expand on cookie sheet.
Remove from oven and cool completely.
For the glaze: Mix sugar and limoncello together in small bowl.
When cookies have cooled completely, drizzle glaze over top or spread on lightly with a knife

So tastey. Not something I would carry to work though; while the alcohol in the cookie dough 'cooks out' that is not true for the glaze. *grins* Sooo tastey!

Be Prepared

2011-01-17T14:59:00.000-05:00

I received a copy of The Backyard Homestead and it has rejuvenated my soul. The beginning of the book has a sample garden layout depending on the amount of land one has. That alone was eye opening. Ronnie and I talked about what we wanted to plant this year, including corn for the ladies. The relocation of the back door makes a kitchen garden more practical, so lettuces and herbs will be close to the door for use. I am so excited!

Gavin, of The Greening of Gavin, posted on the Simple, Green, Frugal Co-Op about pickling eggs and also spoke of a Be Prepared Challenge. Yes, there are many challenges going on at the moment, many I must pass by as they are not a fit... at the moment.

The food riots in other countries has me wondering what will happen here as fuel prices continue to rise and major food exporters, like Australia and Brazil, are experiencing severe weather that has not been seen in recorded history. With the local economics continuing to tank, this challenge has given the push I need to get through this funk that is lingering; a sense of helplessness actually. That and frustration. Gas is now $3.05/gal, which is less than some states (like West Virginia), still more than I want to pay to drive to Covington to shop. The savings in groceries would be lost to the cost of gas to get there.

The first assignment was to decide on where to store stockpiled food. At the moment, that is in the basement. This is an old house, the basement is hand dug and stays cool. Humidity, though, is an issue; our dehumidifier runs most of the time. Any suggestions on how to combat or work with the existing humidity?

What to gift

2011-01-14T18:24:00.000-05:00

The Amish compliment brought to mind the Amish family that befriended us on our last visit to Lancaster; our motor lodge was next door to their farm. We stay at the same place every time so seeing her again will not be an issue. I would like to knit a gift for her and, well, am not sure what to create. Perhaps a scarf or shawl? I know it cannot be something bold or 'vain'...

Any suggestions?

Garden Dreams

2011-01-13T15:25:00.000-05:00

Even with snow still on the ground, I feel the garden call to me. Her dreams flit across my waking mind; visions of flowers in bloom, bees skimming across soft petals, the cool soil covering my toes, tender plants reaching for the sun. *sighs* There is an online class I'd like to take, Garden & Farm design, offered by Sharon Astyk. I was gifted with taking her adapt where you are class and it was eye opening.

Our little .5 acres could grow more with some direction. I already know which parts of the yard get sun, part sun, and shade, and have an idea of what I want to grow... it is a question of where and how; a little direction would go a long way.

It was this song on Yahoo music (Ben Harper, If I could hear my mother pray again) that brought garden dreams my way.

what a compliment!

2011-01-12T08:44:00.000-05:00

My neighbor's son, who has lived in an Amish community, thought I was Amish! That is the nicest thing anyone has said about me in awhile.

Too long away I have been

2011-01-11T11:57:00.000-05:00

Feeling a bit Yoda-ish at the moment. Gotta love him!

I heard from a friend today, who follows the blog, and realized that I have become quite the recluse. Loosing Odis created a bigger vaccum than I realized; work activities have picked up, renovations, and goanimate have all intervened to distract.

There is much I want to share and ideas come to me while working in my little cubby...and then are gone. The idea remains, the creativity leaves. Such is the life of a cubby rat, eh? Back to my friend, he shared this easy, yet tastey sounding recipe. There is a pack of kale in the fridge that is calling to meet this recipe:

First I cut a few pieces of fresh Ginger and cook it together with a few cloves of garlic in some chicken broth (I make my own stock). After they have been simmering for about 30 minutes I add a few chicken drum sticks and cook them until they are almost done. Then I add the kale and cook it until the leaves are soft and the chicken are done. I usually remove the ginger slices before I serve it. I call this a soup. It's really good.

Easy is good for me. We have some wings in the freezer and I am up for a new recipe.

Hugh the Barbarian

2011-01-08T22:10:00.000-05:00

A fellow blogger introduced me to goanimate.com and I just had to make this video about a current laundry room renovation mishap.

Dr. Jager and electricity by wardhouse

Like it? Create your own at GoAnimate.com. It's free and fun!

Ronnie was not hurt... He is Hugh the Barbarian, by the way. That name is a story for another time.

Kale Krazy

2011-01-04T17:54:00.013-05:00

This green is on the garden list for 2011; the prior avoidance has been my inability to fix it into something that the Ronnie and the kids will eat. Well, well, well. Lookie at what I found. So far, my two fav recipes are:

Sauteed Kale with Smoked Paprika: I did not have smoked paprika and used regular. We had no left overs.
Pan-fried Corona Beans & Kale: did not have corona so used cannelloni instead. No leftovers.

The girls are still not ecstatic about kale - they'll grow into it.

Who else has a kale recipe to share - I'd love to give it a whirl.

Cluck, cluck, cluck

2011-01-01T13:56:00.002-05:00

Which in chicken means Happy New Year. Yesterdays temps were unseasonably warm and, since A16 and I were cleaning up in the yard, splitting kindling, and stacking firewood, we let the ladies out for a bit of R&R. It is interesting to note how close they stayed to where A16 and I were working. We girls need to stick together, eh?

What does a hen for R&R? Well, she takes a dust bath close to the wood furnace, that's what. It was so funny to hear them croon; I love that sound.

I hope your New Year is filled with all the good things in life, including dust baths on a warm day!

A bit batty

2010-12-30T10:07:00.000-05:00

While at work yesterday, one of the maintenance men was talking about how one of the vacation rental guests had a bat in the house. Unusual for where we are; not bats and not bats in the house but bats, flying in the house, in winter. Yes, bats get a bad rap...and that's a shame. Not saying I want to snuggle with one; my garden and the environment in general needs them. We need each other.

Endangered Virginia Big Eared Bat

I've owned two houses over the years that have had a colony of bats living within the walls: here at the Ward House and a home in the City of Roanoke. It was the Roanoke home that was the source of most of my bat know-how. One evening we waited, counting the bats as they left the attic for an evening of bug eating; we stopped at 180. Over the few years we lived there, I caught two jueveniles and a half dozen babies (the babies are easy). These escapades prompted my call to the Mill Mountain Zoo where I was able to speak to someone about bats. Here is what I learned:

Juvenille bats get lost when trying to return to the colony and that is usually the bat one finds flying around their home.
Entry ways are usually through old, improperly sealed chimney vents, etc.
Baby bats clutch to the mother when bats leave for the evening and sometimes fall off or are brushed off while in flight. If you find one, just set them under a bush outside and mom will pick him/her up the next evening.

Most everyone is aware of the beneficial aspects of having bats around; there are some downsides as well. The home we had in Roanoke, one room, had bed bugs. Sleep with one of those and you will be gifted with painful whelps wherever the critter snacks. That was my only complaint...

"Sleep tight and don't let the bed bugs bite". Now I know from whence that phrase comes!

For the Commonwealth of Virginia, some interesting bat facts can be found here. I need to do more research and set up bat houses outside. What I do not know is if bats will winter over in a bat house, assuming it sits in a protected spot. Anyone know?

The Ward House

Change

Finger tapping

A change

Winning recipe

More vows

Holiday Prepping

Facebook page

Concords

An introduction

Babies?

Pigs

More babies

Pickles and other goodness

Selling

Of work vans and rabbits

Free Fall

The Criminalization of Poverty

Its raining!

Hippity Hoppity

Interesting

*sizzle*

Culling

Its.... so.... muggy

We have babies!

150/110

Oregano

Babies?

Mustgo - its whats for dinner

State of The Ward House Address

A poop story

There comes a time when

Strawberry freezer jam

Please, have a seat.

No more

Words to live by

My inspiration

Missing

Strict Liability Laws

Lovin' Lancaster

Lancaster or Bust

Waste not

A new garden method

Touchdown

And we have a winner!

Brooding babies

Fried squash sans squash

Crones Gazette & a giveaway

Dadada?

Pretty Boy

Another world

Swap a dish cloth

The rain is gone...not!

I now pronounce you . .

Cat herding

Turf Toe

Jeepers Creepers

Ronnie's next project

Egglets with a good read

And the rain came down

Grounding

Continuing education and a Coop

Winning is good

Three cheers for Sedgwick, Maine!

Let me eat cake

On the shirt tail of disaster

Homemade cosmetics, liner

Lazy flakes

Boric acid = Borax

Hot water heater experiment

Fridge follies

A living fence

Hungry, hungry....

Survey

.CMT

Potatoes

Good Neighbors

Two left feet

Self Hosting

Spring is springing

sizzle