Birds, bumble bees, and butterflies

It's God's little things that make me happy.

Don't you just love Spring?

Things are blooming

I have been busy sewing a costume and a few chemo caps for Relay For Life in July. I've also been planting a few more things in the garden and enjoying all my pretty flowers in bloom. I'll just share a couple pictures of my garden. It's small but enough for me to keep busy at.

I have a few pole beans, broccolli, corn, lettuces, collards, radish and chard that are growing. I just planted my tomatoes, jalapeno plants a couple days ago.

I'm still hoping to get some kind of a green house up this year. I would really like to get a lot of tomatoes and peppers to can salsa.

I saw this on a homesteading blog. I got them painted, now I need to fill them with dirt and plant some more veggie starts.

I am trying to incorporate more color around my home this year.

With more warm days ahead, I also hope to squeeze in some camping days out at the lake soon. Hope your days have warmed up nicely for you too.

My First Attempt At Dandelion Wine

This is my first ever attempt at making a wine. I have read various articles on making dandelion wine and I thought, why not. I have no shortage of dandelions this year in the yard and what better thing to do with them but try making a wine out of them.
I found one You Tube recipe I really liked. It was made by Erin Bried and she says this recipe is over 100 years old. I like old things so this was another reason to try it. (Plus she has a great sense of humor)

So I picked a coffee can full of dandelion flowers. It took several weeks to collect the good ones so I kept the can in the freezer until it was full. I then cleaned them and placed them in a crock and put boiling water over the top. Here is where they sit for 3 days at room temp.

After the 3 days I then strained the juice through a cheesecloth into a large pan. I then added 9 cups of raw sugar, the juice of 4 oranges and 3 lemons. I stirred this until the sugar dissolved.

Next I strained the wine into another pot and put a packet of champagne yeast into a half cup of warm water until it dissolve then added it to the wine. Next I poured the wine through a funnel into my bottle and placed a balloon over the top. I will periodically check it to release any gases that form.

I then placed the bottle in a dark closet and here it will sit for 6 weeks. After the 6 weeks I will strain the wine again and then put it back into the bottle, taking out whatever settlement from the bottom of the bottle.

 Now all I can do is sit back and try to be patient.

'To Do" list, do you have one?

old door

Ahh, the wonderful 'To Do' list. We all have them and I have been busy trying to get some of the many projects done while our weather is warm.


We had our front door replaced since it was cracked through. We found this new one at a yard sale for $100 and a friend of ours put it in for the use of our weed eater. Don't you just love it when you can trade for work?

The new one is metal so will hold up better with our weather. We still need to paint it and put trim up, but that we can do ourselves.

new door

This we had done on Monday as we had snow, about 3 inches a few days before and rain the following two days. We are now looking at weather in the 80's so I jump on board to get done what I can.

Tuesday, I cleaned out the much needed chicken coops. After several months of Winter they were in need of a good cleaning. This is the big girls clean coop.

Since the baby Banty's are now 2 months old, I decided they needed more room to move about besides the water trough they have been in. So I spent about 7 hours building them their own space on one side of the Banty coop.

I began by removing tons of dusty, dirty stuff out of the coop along with several bags of old straw and went about measuring off an area to divide their side of the room. With no real plans in mind, I began cutting wood and screwing it in. I then put on chicken wire and jerry rigged a door until I can make a better one. After setting everything back up, putting down the new bedding and feeders, I brought the babies back in from the outside cage to their new home. As you can see they are loving their new space. One is even dusting herself in the bedding.

Now the other hens can watch the babies grow and get more familier with them. I had to separate the momma from them as she was still laying on 11 eggs but only one more had hatched but it did'nt make it.

Wednesday's project was thinking what furniture to put up on our newly covered deck. Well if any of you have priced outdoor furniture lately you would understand why I decided to refinish what we have and who knows, maybe I'll get lucky and find more in yard sales this year.

So I started with my wood bench chairs. Paint, stain, nothing stays on long with our weather. Even when I keep it under cover.

As you can see, this was in need of a new paint job so I went to Home Depot and looked at paint samples and asked the clerk "don't you have a paint color called barn red?" He said no but had a paint that was barn red and much cheaper, like 12 dollars cheaper, so I bought a gallon of that.

before

after

 I think it turned out real nice, plus the fact it saved us a few bucks. I think I'll make chair pillows with a buttercream yellow. Would'nt that be pretty?

I still have several old metal chairs I will be painting and a few side tables too. Then I have a fence to move, one to repair, planting to get done, then it will be time to mow again. Oh, you get the idea. With all these projects there is no time to get bored.

But today since every muscle in my body is telling me, enough, I decided to catch you up on what I have been doing and then I'm going to sit out on my porch, relax for now, and read a good book.

Thanks for stopping by and I do look forward to seeing what all of you have on your 'To Do' lists and what great projects you have accomplished so far.

Have a wonderful day.

Recycled vintage linens

I love collecting old vintage linens and have an abundance of tablecloths. Since deciding to renew curtains in my vintage Aristocrat, I thought I would use tablecloths for the kitchen/dining areas. A few posts back I showed where I had recycled an old chenille bed cover into curtains for around my bed area in the trailer. I really like how everything has turned out. Just simple curtains with a much lighter look. What do you think?

I really did'nt have a pattern or much of an idea in mind. I just started cutting and measuring and came up with this. They are not as busy as the first set I had made for in here. I still have pillows to cover in another old chenille throw which I will toss on the bed. One can not have enough pillows for comfort.

I am so looking forward to taking her out. Our weather is beginning to finally hold steady in the high 70s and 80s. My first trip I would like to take her out and spend a weekend at the lake.

Just gotta start stocking her up with all the necessary essentials. Good thing I now have a truck to haul all the 'extra' stuff I'll need for a proper glamping trip. I'll let you know when she's ready. Would love the company.

Turn back time

Up at the Lava Beds National Monument, in Northern California today was a reenactment of fur traders, homesteaders and Army soldiers in the Modoc War. I love living history stuff. Everyone dresses in period clothing and cooks and lives the way of that time.

Our first stop was at the fur traders camp where they had their morning coffee brewing over an open fire pit. 
Laurie was busy spinning wool and showed me some of her hand made pine baskets that she had been working on. She also said she would give me lessons so I did get her number.

Here is her hubby showing off his rifle and coyote coat and bonnet.

Some of his tools of the trade.

After a nice visit with these folks we drove on down the road and came upon this homesteading pioneer family.

All their belongings fitting into a covered wagon. This belongs to my friend, Margie (blue apron). She is quite proud of her wagon, as she should be. She did an awesome job with the details.

Margie showed us her dinner she had cooking on the fire. She made this pie and in the other covered pot was a lovely veggie fritta. I was told from the fur trader that she makes the best apple pies around. I plan on doing some camping with Margie this summer. She will teach me a lot of ways to cook outside.

Here another woman was spinning wool. Something I tried but never could get the hang of it.

From here we went over to the Army fort where the medic was talking about the kinds of medicines that were available at the time.

The types of terrain that the Modoc War was fought over.

We hiked around some of the lava beds where they had once fought this war. Not an easy place for walking, let alone having to fight there.

From here we went up to the visitors center and picked up a few souveniers then headed back home. It was a lovely day to get out and about. We even had to put on the air conditioner. It was up to 80 degrees!

Tomorrow it's back to yard work.

Lots and lots of mulch

We are having such nice warm weather that I am spending most of my time in the garden. There are so many weeds to pull.

My hubby has been making me some raised beds which will help define my garden space much better.

I decided to lay down a weed cover and lots of mulch in hopes to keep out as many weeds as possible. Besides the fact it will look so much nicer.

I have planted some lettuce and pole beans which are beginning to appear.

I'm not sure what all I will be planting in my beds yet, but one thing for sure I want a lot more herbs.

I will be removing the gray brick and putting in the red cedar boards in its place. Everyone must have the same idea about mulching right now as they have run out of this particular mulch. Hope what hubby brings home will be at least close to this same color. Sure do want to get it down before all the grass and weeds decide to pop up again.

Very time consuming work but I gotta admit, I love digging in the dirt.

I think I am going to put in a lot of annuals this year too, just so I can fill in my garden with lots of color.

I just hope we continue to have Spring weather for awhile and not jump right into Summer like it has the past two years. It would be so much easier on the plants and me, of course.

Hope your day is as bright, sunny and warm as mine. Enjoy!

Thrift store finds

While shopping at our local thrift store yesterday, I found these cool items. The vintage water cooler is in mint condition so I will be using it to carry our well water in for making tea while camping in my vintage trailer. The little suitcase has three drawers inside and it looks like it held those square projector films so I thought I would use it for makeup and stuff for the trailer.
The coffee grinder has no markings anywhere on it. The color reminds me of something either Dutch or Swedish. Here's a better pic of the color.

I just love this blue don't you? So cool.

The colander is in pretty good condition to be able to use in my kitchen. It's been hard to find one in this good of shape around here. They are usually all rusted out and chipped.

The tablecloth I purchased on Etsy last week. Is'nt it pretty? I hope to use it on my small round table that I take when I go glamping. A gals gotta have just the right touch for an all girl camp nite, right? What's wrong with a little lace and frills?

I'm still in the process of making my kitchen curtains for the vintage. Had to put that on hold as I am busy making baked goods for our Relay For Life bake sale we will be holding tomorrow in town. If you would like to donate, click on the button on the right. But if you want cookies, you'll have come over.

With today's weather, snow in the forecast, I hope to warm the house with the oven on and the smells of good home baked cookies. If you're in the neighborhood, stop on in and I'll put on some tea and we'll have some cookies while we chat.

Blog gone? No Way!

What a scare I got when I logged on and found my blog had some how said it had been removed. So first thing, after a bit of panic, I log onto blogger and ask what happened. Come to find out all I had to do was give them my cell number for them to send me a verification number, type that in and my blog was back. Thank goodness.
There were some things to look for that may have caused the problem, but of course I could'nt figure out how to get where they wanted me to look. Can't say that I like this new blog look. Heck, I just was figuring out the old one. Although, I am grateful to have learned from another blog a couple weeks back, on how to back up my blog. Something we all should learn to do.
Open your dashboard in blogger and click on Settings, then click Other, click Export blog,and click to download blog. Once downloaded you can click Open Containing Folder and view your downloaded file. It's that easy.
I guess if I have any more problems, I can at least find my blog in my documents file. It is just a scary thought to think of losing everything I have written.
Anyway, hope this might help you if you get in the same situation as I just had.

Have a great day everyone.

Hugs,
Gail

Glamping fever

After pulling my vintage trailer out from under cover, I started with a much needed cleaning. Unbelievable how much dust can accumulate inside with all the windows closed and a tarp covering it all Winter. But I'll get her all cleaned up and ready soon for a mini vacation getaway. I decided to make new curtains for the bed area which I made from an old chenille bed cover, and I will be making new kitchen ones from a vintage tablecloth. The old ones have faded quite a bit already. Besides I'm going for a bit of a new look.

before

Here's the first set of curtains I made.
And here are the new (recycled) curtains.

after

 What do you think? I think it softened it up so much nicer. I'm making new covers for a couple of throw pillows also. 

Just playing around and as an idea strikes me I am going for it. I have in my head a plan of how I would like it to look, will just have to see if I can get it there. Trying to use up some vintage pieces I have laying around.

I am so looking forward to taking her out. Not sure where I'll go first, but fishing has to be nearby.

One of these days I gotta hook up with the Sisters on the Fly. They seem to have so much fun when they all get together. I could learn alot from those women. They have been doing glamping for quite some time now.  I figure I got some practice runs to do first. Don't want to miss out on Glamping weekend June 2 and 3rd.

After a full day of cleaning and working around here, I took one look at my hammock and figured it was as good a place as any to take a break and enjoy some warm, breezy Spring weather. Would'nt you like to join me?

Out of Hibernation

Finally, a day of warm high 70's, no wind and beautiful skies. I feel like I've come out of hibernation from 6 months of Winter.
Today I planted a new apple tree, got my hands dirty in the garden, pulling weeds and planting Seeds of Change seeds of Fordhook chard, Tyee F1 spinach, collard, arugula, sugar pod 2 snow pea, redina lettuce and simpson lettuce. With all the yummy worms I've found I hope to have a nice plentiful crop of greens to start out my Spring veggie garden. Have you begun yours yet?
I have so many weeds to pull and beds to get ready, but believe me when I say I am one fat lady out of shape. I get so winded just doing 20 minutes of labor.
I started out this morning puttin up fencing to keep my dogs in their own space. I have too much invested in my yard for them to continue to dig holes and make the landscape that much harder to walk over. I have found blooms on my fruit trees just starting to come about. The smell of Spring is in the air with the different wild flowers and sage brush I can get wiffs of. I even brought out Ol' Henry my tractor and did some ground dragging of old dead brush on the property. Boy is there a ton of work there.
Oh, and I discovered today that so far I have two new baby banties that have been hatched. One is gray and the other white. Thank goodness that the weather has warmed up like it is. I feel I should'nt lose any to cold. There are two momma's that have been sitting on them this time. Taking turns to make sure they stay safe and warm. The one momma was just not a good momma the first time and we lost two of the three babies. Sure hope they are hens this time. Roosters have to go bye bye.
Well enough chatter for now, daylight is burning and I want to enjoy as much sunshine I can. Thanks for stopping by. Let's get outside and get our hands dirty!

Hugs,
Gail

I'm spending most days inside either sewing or catching up on some of my books I so enjoy reading. Our weather has yet to make up its mind if it wants to be Spring or Winter. Lately it has been snowing and raining. I had one day last week where I was able to get out in my garden and remove all the old strawberry plants. I had so many worms that I could'nt stop smiling. It has taken me several years to finally get the kind of soil one loves to touch with bare hands, smell it and most of all watch something grow in it. Now if the weather would cooperate, I could get my peas and onions in the ground this next week. Suppose to get up in the 60's for a few days anyway.

Here is how it's been looking of late. Too cold for what I want to do outside.  For the past 3 days it has rained. Can't complain much on that even if I still can't get out in the garden, everything needs the water.
It's also burn season around here, so many of the neighbors have started burning their brush. I tried to capture the smoke from one of the neighbors burns early when the sun was coming up. Thought it looked pretty cool.

After snapping this picture, I went and let out the chickens and saw all of these deer in the front corner of the property. They were not quite sure where they wanted to go with so much smoke in the air.

They are looking pretty skinny this time of year. All we mostly see around here are doe, occassionally we'll see buck but not very often.

Well, keepin' my fingers crossed I see the warmer weather for the next few days. I'm tired of being a bear and hybernating inside. It's time to start gardening!

A Safe Reminder

I've for years now said my memory is as long as my blink. Well I've blinked, Spring is here and I forgot to change the batteries in our smoke alarms. This I usually do every time we Spring forward on the clock and Fall backwards.

I was just telling my hubby the other day I had forgotton to change them, and still did'nt at that time either (blink, forgotton). So of course, at 5 am this morning we were pleasantly woken from a deep sleep of chirps going off. Sure enough it was the alarm in the living room reminding me of what I had forgot to do a second time.

Once up I begin looking for the needed batteries only to find some for the carbon monoxide alarm. The fire alarms will need 9 volt batteries which I will have to pick up in town tomorrow.
Tonight we'll sleep without beeping and pray there are no fires in the forecast. I'm just glad I had the gentle reminder to do what needs to get done.

           Have you changed your batteries lately?

It's A Must Have

           Yeah, I know, I can't help myself. The ground is still too soft to be out trying to plant anything with all the rain we've had lately.
                             So what's a gal to do? Bake more cookies.

             You can't have an empty cookie jar, right?

            Especially if you're a Gramma. My granddaughter has always said "everytime I go to Gramma's house, she always has cookies in her cookie jar".

        I think I've been doing this since my granddaughter was born.
            Keeping the cookie jar full.

       She doesn't come over much since she lives hours away now, but I try to keep the jar full just in case. 

    With mine and hubby's sweet tooths (his more than mine), I'm always having to refill it on a weekly basis.

      With that being said, I have another new recipe I tried. This one I got off the Food network channel.

                            Banana Chocolate Chip Cookies

                                       3 very ripe bananas, mashed
                                       3/4 cup shortening
                                       1 cup sugar
                                       1 tsp. vanilla
                                       1 egg

Mix the shortening and sugar together in a bowl. Add the bananas and mix, then add in the vanilla and egg and mix thouroughly. In a separate bowl add these dry ingredients.

                                       1- 1/2 cup all purpose flour
                                       1/2 tsp salt
                                       1/4 tsp nutmeg
                                       1/2 tsp baking soda
                                       1 -3/4 cup oatmeal
                                       1 cup chocolate chips

Mix all the dry ingredients together then slowly add a little at a time into the moist ingredients stirring after each addition. 

Using a cookie scoop (my first time using one) place onto an ungreased or parchment lined cookie sheet approximately  1-1/2 inches apart.

 Bake in a 350 degree oven for 20 minutes.

  Remove from oven and let cool on cookie rack before placing them into your jar. Don't forget to at least try one.

     I think I'll put together a care package for my Granddaughter so she won't forget what Gramma's cookies taste like.

                        Hugs and cookies. They're a must have.

                                          Gramma