Building a Bridge ~ Using All Recycled Wood

Finally.  I got hubby to help me with building the bridge we needed.  On our property, we have a crick (what the kids call it) that runs off the creek.  It runs thru a corner of the property.  On the other side, are fruit trees that were planted by past owners.  Today, we picked one pear from one of the trees.

We built our bridge with measurements of 12 feet by 4 feet.  In the future we may add sides and flower boxes too.  

For now, it's a basic bridge.  We built it out of free wood that my husband got from a co-worker.  The co-worker, a few years ago, tore down his house deck.  My husband gladly took the wood and we have not put it to use.

I'm working on clearing out the weeds around the bridge, and freeing up the water-way below it.

I'm also looking at a couple of possible locations to build my wall tent or place to rest and relax (with a mosquito net). 

It was nice to have leftover angel food cake after this long day.  Yum!  It's so moist and delicious, and made with our farm fresh eggs. 

I was multi-tasking today also.  I guess it's been pretty normal for that around here lately.  While we were out building the bridge, I had pear butter cooking in the crock pot.  Yum.

I guess the homemade noodles will have to be made tomorrow.  I ran out of time today.

Disappearing Heirloom Green Bean Plants ~ Hubby In The Dog House

Yesterday I made a shocking discovery.  I was out picking tomatoes, and saw (eyes popping open, then squinting in anger) none other than mower wheel tracks.  Right there smack next to the corn, and in between the broccoli.  

I wish I took pictures then, because it rained last night . The tracks are gone, but I found out hubby lied.  The shock.  The horror!  My heirloom green plants. Gone.

This morning we had a conversation about the missing green bean plants.  They were not just green beans, but heirloom.

"So, do you remember those missing green bean plants?" I asked him.  My 12 year-old daughter was in present company.

"Well, your Dad mowed them over and told me he didn't know what happened to them," I said to my daughter.

"Aww!  Daaaaaaaaad!" she replies giggling.

"Well, what do you expect when you see a crazy woman with shovels in both her hands, waving them at me from the garden.  She was screaming, 'What happened to my bean plant?' and looking pretty mad," said my husband.

My daughter busted out laughing and replied, "I know!  She came in the house all freaked out and screaming (more giggling followed by rolling laughter)."

Yes folks, my husband was trying to chase the chickens out of the tomatoes.  And with the lawn mower.  Right over my heirloom green beans.


It wasn't a rabbit, or deer, or ground hog.  It was my husband, who won't ever do that again.

Our $2.00 Vacuum Cleaner

While I'm sitting here, waiting for the drill battery to charge, and my hubby to get back, I'll share another "funny" with you.

My husband bought us a sweeper at a garage sale for $2.00.  The problem with it, was that the power button would not work.

We took that thing apart, and had a horrible time figuring it out.  I told him how Mary Jane Butters once took a sweeper apart (I think I read it in a magazine maybe), and when she put it back together it worked.

It was when the weather was badly hot, and you know how grouchy two people get at the end of a work day when it's that hot.

Well, every time he could not get the problem solved, he'd hand me the sweeper and say, "okay Mary Jane Butters, you fix it!"  Ha ha ha ha!

We did get it fixed and it works great!  And it's bagless, so no more sweeper bags.  Yay!

The kids heard him and they started laughing.

Farmgirl Funny

My oldest daughter walked out to the barn and watched me cut wood with the table saw.  When I shut off the saw, and took my safety glasses off, she stood staring at me. 

"Yeah, what do you need?" I asked her.

"Uh, Mom?  So you can shoot a shot gun and use the saw? Should we be worried?" she asked with her eye brows going up.

New Discovery!

For years, my husband has had to take over the counter medication for stomach problems (heart burn etc.).  Guess what?!

After finally getting to the point where processed foods have been weeded out of our diet (we need to do a bit more weeding), we made a discovery.

We had continued to buy canned tomato sauce from the store for many recipes.  However, now that I have been using my homemade sauce, with chemical free tomatoes, hubby doesn't get heart burn after a meal.  

Imagine these medication businesses going out of business if more people made their complete diet without processed foods.

The medication he used to take was not cheap either.  I had no idea that canning my own food would bring us more benefits than it already has.


I just had to share. 

Got More Tomatoes? Make Tomato Jelly

Yesterday was a very long day.

The pantry was blessed with yet another 5 1/2 quarts of tomato sauce.  I used one quart to make my spicy crock pot pork chops this morning.  Along with garden green peppers and onions.


I am having to push my pear butter making to another day.  I took pork chops and 2 chickens out of the freezer, making more room for tomatoes.

My day was shortened today, on account of going to the bank to get my oldest daughter her very first checking account and debit card.  

When I arrived home, I used about 9-10 of my larger tomatoes, and made my very first tomato jelly.

I'm not sure how this will taste.  It will be used on grilled meats, for pasta dishes, dips, and a lot more, if it passes the family inspection test.

I saved the leftover tomato juice, from making the jelly, and will use that to make a pot of chili in a few days.  The leftover tomatoes were also saved and some treated to our billy goat.

After making 4-1/2 pints of that, I was left with about 5 dozen large tomatoes. I kept 2 for lunches and the rest is going in the freezer.  I wanted to can tomato soup, but I don't have a pressure canner yet.

Even after that, I have yet 1 1/2 dozen roma tomatoes, green peppers (more), and a handful of cayenne peppers.

I still need to bake my angel food cake, and start on homemade noodles. 

Tomato and Other Garden Updates

I had to turn my to-do list into two lists - one for today and one for tomorrow.

My today list, just became today and tomorrow lists:

Friday:
Today's list:
-can tomato sauce - Reducing on the stove

 
-wash and dry dishes and put them away - Done
-pick, blanch and freeze Swiss chard - Done

-cut fresh basil to dry - Done

-cut fresh oregano to dry - Done
-freeze green peppers- Done
-make fridge salsa - Done

-wash, dry and put away more dishes - Done
-pick tomatoes - Done
-put laundry on the line - Done
-write
-write farmgirl penpal
-create template for sales receipts - Done
-some where in there, make dinner

Saturday:
-ship craft store order (my first order - YAY!)
-library returns and pickups
-can pear jam 

-can zucchini relish - if there is time

Without a list today, I would have forgotten to put the last load of towels on the clothesline.  Phew!  Normally, I don't use a list.  I just go with the garden flow - what's ripe gets processed, canned, picked, frozen.

It's about 86 degrees in the kitchen right now.  I had hoped to get as much of the canning done early, but it's the reducing of the sauce that takes more time.

I better get back to work.  I have a lot more to get done today, and it's almost time for school to be out.

It's hard work, but worth it.  The way I see it, why grow a garden and not utilize it?  I don't want to waste anything. Not after going through all the work to grow it.  Four trips to the compost and to the goats today also - Orion loves those leftovers (green pepper tops, tomatoes, Swiss chard stems etc.)