Little feet...

What is it about their little feet that is so endearing?

There's a First Time for Everything...

This is the story of a set of dishes...dishes that I gazed at routinely growing up...dishes that I never...not once...ate off of. The story started with a marriage, my mom and dad to be exact, and some very expensive tableware that my parents registered for. It is rumored that the plates cost $15 each...in the 70's! These dishes were so nice that my mom lovingly placed them in the hutch, and never took them out again.

Yes, these dishes were given as wedding gifts to my parents, but never used...really...not even once. This past week, my mom gifted them to me and we intend to put them to good use. The photo above was taken to commemorate the very first use of these awesome dishes! (Homemade applesauce with a dollop of yogurt cheese and a sprinkle of wheat germ...my kiddos' favorite snack.) I love them (the dishes...oh, and the kiddos, too, of course)!

She's at it again!!

Awhile back my husband's grandmother gifted me with several gallons of plum juice she'd carefully processed and frozen. She does not feel like doing the hard, hot work of canning any longer and was considering throwing out this last batch of juice she'd put away...I could go on about the sentimental value of this jelly...but I'm pretty sure you all are with me. I'm hoping that this batch wins a blue ribbon at the county fair that I can give to her along with several jars of jelly. Isn't it lovely?

Come on, everyone....get in line....

This brings back my days as a teacher! I've decided to be a bit more organized in my garden plot. Hopefully this will help me utilize every inch of my space and make weeding a bit easier. In the past I've been one of those rogue, random seed spreaders...no rows, just...well....ummmmmm, clumps! Yes, that's it, clumps! While I enjoy more natural garden designs, I have come to an understanding that the veggie garden is not the best place for this. Keeping records of the rows will allow me to be more purposeful in my testing of varieties and will encourage more careful seed choices in the future. All of that being said, let me explain the photo. I've been using a string stretched between two stakes to help in laying out semi straight rows. These are my little yellow onion sets all nestled in compost enriched soil. I made sure to follow the Farmer's Almanac lunar calendar recommendations for planting root crops.

I've also found a fantastic "app" for my iPhone that is called iGarden. This app allows a gardener to keep records of the date of planting and counts down the days to harvest for each veggie. It's so nice to see those harvest days grow closer...even when I am away from my garden I can sort of virtually check in with it via iGarden. If you have an iPhone, I highly recommend this app! Have fun!

Finally, I'd like to take a moment to say a hearty "THANK YOU!!" to the inventor of rubber mud boots. Honestly, how did I garden before these beauties came into my life?

Ahhhhhhhhhhhh...

Of course, I knew spring would come...but it seemed like such a loooong, cold winter for us Okies. Now, if we can just avoid one of those late frosts...

Pre-packaged protein...

It was a long winter without these lovelies flowing in each day! We're back up to 4 eggs most days and our family is so thankful for the provision of such perfectly packaged protein. There is something just lovely and artful about eggs, don't you think?

Garden news!

Here's the newest gardener at OAH! I highly recommend enlisting the help of a bunny rabbit for your gardening efforts...they make fast work of composting your veggie scraps and offering up some wonderful garden fertilizer in return. This little gem has been named "Snowball," she is a Dwarf Newfoundland (sp?), so she should remain small and will hopefully show well in the County Fair for my girls.

Here are the potatoes, cut and curing the night before planting!

These beds contain spinach, onions, lettuce, and peas! They're still a little rough...this is a garden in progress, people! On the right, you'll see the potato plot...cock full of seed potatoes planted, in part, by this little person:


Take a look at the newly tilled space...this will soon be built into beds like the ones above.

Here's another pick of the bunny...nestled in a bed of lamb's wool. She is just adorable!

Wheat, Coop, and Local Foods

Check out this wheat pic! The one on the left is hard white winter wheat and the one on the right is hard red winter wheat. The white variety has less protein; however, it is not as heavy...so I purchased 25 pounds of it, and only a small bit of the red winter wheat.

Several of you asked about where I will be buying wheat berries for grinding. After much deliberation and gnashing of teeth over shipping costs...I decided to go in with a friend and join the Oklahoma Food Coop. All the food is made right here in Oklahoma and much of it is organic and is created with a whole foods philosophy. I can order once a month and don't have to pay any shipping (yippee!). Here's the label from my wheat:



I love knowing where our food is coming from and that is is relatively local. Can you believe I only paid $12 for 25# of organic wheat berries?

For my first order, I only got two items...the wheat and a divine little product called "Yogurt Cheese." It tastes a lot like cream cheese and the girls loved it mixed in with our home canned applesauce and sprinkled with some wheat germ.



This Saturday, WatSourced and I will be attending the annual Coop meeting and tasting lots of yummy local foods! I'll be sure to take lots of pictures and report back. I'm so excited!