a gypsy caravan

our carrots

I was a bit late in harvesting the carrots from our garden this year.  The nice thing about carrots is that they just sit there waiting patiently until you can get around to pulling them up. Our family went on vacation for part of October and, when we returned, I found the carrots were more than ready to be dug. After much scrubbing, peeling and slicing, and with our bellies full of raw carrots, we have plenty frozen for this winter's suppers, soups and casseroles.  

A couple of cookbooks that have some nice recipes for carrots:

Tender by Nigel Slater

The Practical Produce Cookbook by Ray Hoover

I have to say the latter is one of my favorite cookbooks because it is divided alphabetically by vegetable type. For example, the carrot section comes between cabbage and cauliflower. It contains 21 recipes that utilize carrots. Very handy and, well, practical. :)

Some more carrot reading:

The Carrot Seed by Ruth Krauss

Tops and Bottoms by Janet Stevens

Carrots Don't Talk by Kathryn Lewis

What Will I Do With All Those Root Vegetables? by Elaine Borish

Carrot Soup by John Segal

The Giant Carrot by Jan Peck

peaches

My friend Nicole and I canned 150 quarts of peaches last week.  My basement pantry shelves are filling up quickly. I'm enjoying the canning break this week before tackling tomatoes and, then, applesauce. I hope all of you are enjoying your summer. 

 

pickles and hungarian peppers

Pickle recipe here. 

Hot packed Hungarian wax/banana pepper rings:

Add the following to each pint jar-

1 tsp salt

1 TBLS olive oil

3 cloves garlic

1 tsp oregano

Cut tops off peppers and seed. Slice into rings. Pack jars with pepper rings. Add the above to each jar. Boil an equal ratio of vinegar and water. Fill jars with boiling vinegar mixture. Place lid and ring on jar. No need to do a hot water bath because jars will seal within minutes. 

Delicious on sandwiches or pizzas. 

june happiness

(The porch wants painting, I know. I'm hoping that's on the agenda for this summer.)

This time last spring, we planted 48 strawberry seedlings that were no taller than my thumb. We were told by the friendly older Amish man who sold them to us that we should pinch off the blossoms that first season so that the plants would put more energy into their leaves. This would make for a bumper crop next season (now). We did what we were told.  That man surely knew what he was talking about because our strawberry bed is filled to the brim with berries. Annie wakes every morning and takes her wooden berry basket out for an early picking. We've been having berries for breakfast for the last week and we couldn't be happier. I think after the shell peas are done this season, I am going to plant another bed of strawberries for twice the fun next year. 

We have a friend who redesigns kitchens and he gave us a Sub Zero upright freezer (that someone no longer wanted because it was the wrong color for their new kitchen) for the cost of one homemade pie. Can you imagine? Me neither. We are now the proud owners of a new freezer which is already filling up with produce and other goodies. 

The aforementioned shell peas are growing like gangbusters. The girls have been picking them every day but most are going into their mouths rather than into the freezer. I did manage to put away a quart sized bag before they ate them all. The other night we sat on the porch, rocked and shelled peas together.

I found a treasure at the antique show at our fairgrounds last weekend. Have you ever heard of a Mammy rocker? It is a two or three person rocking chair with a little gate behind which you can lay your baby/toddler and rock them to sleep. They were popular in the Civil War era and I have wanted one since I first became a mother.  The gate is removable if two bigger people want to rock instead of rocking a baby. I outfitted it behind the gate with a little pillow and a woolen blanket for Mae to lay comfortably. 

When I found it at the antique show and saw how little they wanted for it, I welled up with tears which seems silly, I know. But the thought of being able to rock Mae to sleep on the porch on warm summer nights while singing her some lullabies really choked me up. I hope she has fond memories of that green Mammy rocker and her Mama shelling peas while she rocked off to sleep. 

 

april ruffle wrap-yarn along

Warm weather is coming our way here in Northeast Ohio so I am trying to finish my November Ruffle Wrap before the chill is out of the air. Right now the temperatures are in the mid fifties with an occasional jump into the sixties. When the summer months come, I tend to work on smaller projects that aren't quite so warm on my lap. I like the way the charcoal grey is speckled with the lighter weight alpaca. I think I will wear it alot on cold winter nights.

I've been reading The Family Kitchen Garden and really love the way the projects are broken down on a month by month basis. We are in hardiness zone 6 which means I can follow the book as written without adjusting our growing calendar. Ben planted shell peas two weeks ago and they are beginning to sprout out back.  The strawberries also have new leaves. We should have a bumper crop for jam and for eating. 

I plan to put in an herb garden on the west side of the house this spring and am looking for design ideas. I like circular gardens with small paths between plantings so I'm considering that idea.  The Kid's Herb Book has a nice list of medicinal herbs and kitchen herbs that are child friendly plus some easy activities/recipes for children and parents to do together. 

I lost a hive of bees this winter. I heard a lot of people lost bees this year. I'm trying not to feel too badly about it and have ordered replacements to pick up the first week of May. My strong hive last year that subsequently survived this winter were Carnolians and the ones that died were Italians. So I ordered another colony of Carniolans. Here's hoping! In the meantime, I'm going to try to be more diligent to read the beekeeping books that are lying around my home and become a bit more educated in that regard. For those of you who keep bees, do you have a favorite go-to resource to answer your bee questions?

Happy Wednesday, my friends!

You can find more Yarn Alongs at Ginny's. 

a longwinded post about canning or "dear kim"

It seems so many of my posts these past few months have been recipes or garden notes. I'm sorry to those of you who aren't into gardening or canning. One thing that is important while keeping a garden is to record one's thoughts so as to better plan for next year. It's easy to forget which things were a great idea to plant and which were a bust.

 I have found canning to be an enjoyable way to spend time and an easy way to put food away for the cooler months.  This summer I canned pickles using cucumbers from our garden. I'd like to plant the same number of cucumber plants next year.  Nine plants gave us plenty of cukes over a long season. We had plenty for pickles and enough to enjoy sliced.

We also canned hot hungarian wax peppers as well as banana peppers.  I'm not sure what I was thinking when I (over) bought pepper seedlings this year.  I think I bought twenty plants too many. I have canne many dozens of pints of pepper rings and I still have about a hundred peppers still growing in mid September.  Today, I canned a dozen more pints and I decided that's it.  No more pepper rings! While they are delicious on barbeque pork sandwiches or with a burger, one can only can so many peppers over the course of a year. I even made and froze some split down the middle, filled with cream cheese and wrapped in bacon.  Those can be broiled like poppers and served as an appetizer. The rest that are growing outside are being put in a basket on a table in the front yard and someone else can deal with them. :) 

Did I show you my new cupboard? I know I showed it to Kim, (who is likely the only person reading this, I think :). I needed some extra cupboard space in the kitchen so I thought this freestanding shabby chic piece would do the trick.  It was originally painted red and then repainted white and distressed.  There is red toile fabric in the open shelving and I just love it. Right now I have some of my recently canned foods inside as well as drawers full of table linens.  It is from my favorite store (quite possibly ever) called Off Center. You can find them on Facebook. (Though I am no longer on Facebook. I found it to be such a downer that sucked the life out of me.) 

Now that I see the picture so large, I remember the tomatoes.  Next year I am only planting cherry tomatoes. They seem to be the only kind that my family will eat raw. I ended up canning a full bushel of roma tomatoes so I can make spaghetti and pizza sauce as well as soups and chili throughout the winter. I think I have about 30 quart jars. 

Do you see those few jars of brightly colored peaches? My friend Nicole cans 50-60 quarts of peaches each year so she has one quart for each week.  I had never canned peaches until this summer and now I wish I had made as many as she did. I bought one crate of peaches for $12 and got 13 quarts of canned peaches from it. Cut in halves, each jar contains about 8 whole peaches. So economical and completely delicious at less than a dollar a jar!  Next summer, I'd like to do several crates. It was fun to do them with my friend and made the process go much more quickly. 

Last week the kids and I made concord grape jam.  That is a very time consuming process but I'm glad we did it.  Not sure if we'll do it every year but it was fun for a change.  We picked the grapes at a local orchard. 

The dusty color of concord grapes is unmistakable.

The kids spent quite some time squeezing the skins from the grapes. 

The kids have eaten two jars already so I doubt the jam will last all winter! 

I am looking for an upright freezer on Craigslist. We have enough produce that a freezer would be a good investment.  I have frozen many quarts of green beans, several bags of chopped peppers and onions and many bags of shredded zucchini. Looking forward to zucchini bread in the cool months ahead. 

Thanks to those of you who've read all the way to the end of this post.  Should be one of the last canning posts unless I can find on some apples for sauce. All of our local orchards lost 90% of their crops this year to late frost. So apple prices are sky high and there are very few orchards nearby that have any apples for "pick your own". Still, hoping I will get my hands on a few.  

In the meantime, have a lovely second half of the week and thanks for visiting! 

summertime

::raw shell peas-a new favorite::

::strawberries for freezer jam::

::happy honey bees::

 ::black raspberry picking::

::paddle boating::

::eggs from a dear friend's chickens for breakfast::

::one of mary's favorite pastimes::

 

~hope your summer is off to a fun and relaxing start!

 

someone bless these seeds i sow...

There have been so many sweet children willing to volunteer: soil haulers, rakers, planters, waterers, trellis builders, weeders... 

...and toddlers who think the entire gardening process is delightful.  She will be two next month.  I can hardly believe it. Wants nothing to do with being called a big girl. "No! Big Baby!" 

::pickling cucumber seedlings::

I'm grateful for big boys who see the wonder and excitement in growing a garden. Ben had quite a nice garden of his own years ago and I'm so happy to see him tending this one just as lovingly. There is great healing in growing things and working with one's hands. He wakes up every morning and waters the beds faithfully.

:: young celery::

::pinching the suckers from the tomato plants::

We have broccoli, cauliflower, bell peppers, hungarian wax peppers, banana peppers, spring lettuce, romaine, pickling cucumbers, tomatoes, celery and strawberries. When the early lettuce is finished, I will plant string beans.  And wax beans. I so love wax beans. 

What's growing in your garden?

happenings in the gardens

"Every child should have mud pies, grasshoppers, water-bugs, tadpoles, frogs, mud-turtles, elderberries, wild strawberries, acorns, chestnuts, trees to climb, brooks to wade in, water-lilies, woodchucks, bats, bees, butterflies, various animals to pet, hay-fields, pine-cones, rocks to roll, sand, snakes, huckleberries and hornets; and any child who has been deprived of these has been deprived of the best part of his education."

-Luther Burbank

There has been much time spent in the out of doors lately.  We have taken a break from unpacking to work in the yard planting perennials, building and preparing vegetable gardens, hauling soil and readying bee boxes for their future inhabitants.

 

The guys spent two days building the raised vegetable beds. They turned out so nicely. 

(Lazy woman's method of weed control and grass removal.  Simply load soil on top and you're finished.)  

We have one 4x12 foot bed devoted to strawberries.  The remaining 3 beds will be vegetables. 

We also planted three blueberry bushes in the yard near the gardens. 

(I thought about cropping the car out of this photo.  And the garbage can.  And trying to touch up the paint on the house (it will be painted this summer), and moving the extra stone from the doorway but then I figured, it is what it is right now.)

Above is one of the perennial beds that the children planted.  It still needs to be mulched but they've done a fabulous job getting all of the flowers in the ground. As you can see, we are working on a little flagstone walkway as well. This perennial bed will be a cut flower garden to attract butterflies and hummingbirds. So far we have planted peonies, bleeding hearts (both white and pink), lupine, poppies, foxglove, daisies, coneflower, aster, pussytoes, clematis, columbine, black eyed susan, phlox, violets, lavender and veronica. There are also two rose bushes that were there when we moved in.  The rest we have added ourselves. I'll take a photo of the bed when its completely finished. 

Here are all of the plants the children chose...

I added this little flower arrangement on the door at the end of the stone walkway. 

I will post some photos of the bee equipment, possibly tomorrow. Until then, I hope you have a happy day today and that you are able to get outside and enjoy the sunshine! 

fairy houses

The girls and I had a wonderful time making fairy houses in the woods the other day.  We had only recently spent a lovely afternoon at Mary's godmother's home making tiny wooden and felt fairies.  The girls decided that those little dolls ought to have somewhere to live.  So the fairy homes were lovingly constructed.That project occupied Mary and Annie for several hours.  They built the homes from rocks, bark, lichen, moss, much mud and many flowers.  I thought you might like to see them.  

and even a fairy pond with lily pads. :) When given creative materials and a little inspiration, children can make such lovely things!

(Many thanks to Barbara, her daughter Rebecca and friends who provided such wonderful materials for the fairy dolls.)

parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme

 

I have always found it to be very therapeutic to dig in the dirt.  I have a great love of gardening in general, whether it be perennial flowers, vegetables or little pots of pansies on the front porch.  Yesterday, Christopher spent quite a while planting herbs in a divided basket.  I used to have an herb garden at a previous home but the soil here is fairly shallow with a thick layer of shale beneath.  There are a large number of tree roots to work around so we thought pots might be a better choice. 

 Parsley, sage, rosemary, lemon thyme, chives and cilantro

Benjamin took care of planting several sweet basil plants in pots for me.  I have a favorite recipe for basil pesto that I make quite often in the summertime. 

  
Mary chose a flower to plant that she could care for.  We picked a sunny spot in the yard where she could watch it grow.  She planted in memory of two goldfish pets that have died since we moved here.

  Seashell and Treasure Box's little grave that Mary made.

Annie chose a Dahlia to plant.

 As I mentioned, the property is rocky so we have pots anywhere we can find a bit of sun.  I kind of like the way the yard is beginning to look, kind of whimsical and colorful with little niches and growing spots.   There is a beautiful, magical garden center/family farm nearby that has tiny flower fairies to put in the pots and little teeny dollhouse sized wheelbarrows and garden tools for only a couple of dollars.  I may try to sneak over there on the sly and get a couple to put in the girls' pots to surprise them.  I think they would like that.

Have a beautiful day! 

Corners of My Garden--Perennial Blossoms

Ben's First Harvest

This summer as well as last, Ben has worked a garden plot in the backyard.  Last year, he impressed me by asking whether he could prepare the soil after it had been allowed to grow over for the previous five years.  I was surprised when he turned over the entire plot himself, paid for seeds and seedlings and took care of the watering and weeding.   

This year he has extended the size a bit and is working on some of the requirements for the Plant Science Merit Badge.  In the spring, he planted green beans, spinach, carrots, cucumbers, lettuce, cherry tomatoes, Big Boy tomatoes, green bell peppers and Gypsy peppers. :)  Here is his first harvest.

The green beans are coming along nicely and should yield much more in the next couple of weeks.  We have some rabbits with insatiable appetites that have made off with the lettuce, spinach and all but three of the carrots but Ben is not discouraged.  He is paying his sister to watch out the window and chase the rabbits away.  :)

Corners of My Garden: Annabelle Hydrangeas

When we moved here eight years ago, we put in several large perennial beds.  I have always loved hydrangeas and planted several different varieties.  One of my favorites is the Annabelle hydrangea which produces creamy white snowball flowers.  We have four such bushes throughout the yard.  The blossoms turn a pale green as they age and keep their beauty into early fall.   I think they look so pretty in a milk glass vase.

Corners of My Garden--the Kousa Dogwood

When my father passed away a few years ago, two of Mike's aunts sent a gift of a Kousa Dogwood by which to remember him.  The Kousa Dogwood is sometimes called a Japanese Flowering Dogwood.  It is different from other dogwoods which blossom before getting their leaves.  The Kousa blooms much later, well after the other dogwoods are finished blooming and after the tree has already grown its foliage.  I thought you might enjoy seeing its pretty blossoms.

My friend Jackie had sent a little garden angel when we planted the tree and I placed it at the base of the trunk. 

I think the variegated green and white hosta look so nice next to this tree.  Right now the dogwood is about twelve feet tall, though very thin.  I understand they begin to branch out horizontally as they age.  I hope to be able to sit in its shade someday when I am much older and watch the world go by.   

Peonies in a Milk Glass Vase

I am so happy that my peonies are blooming.  Last week, I thrifted the milk glass vase and antique hand-knit doily.  It always makes me smile when I find something for only a few cents that makes my home look more lovely.

Lily of the Valley

Under a shady area in one of my backyard flower beds, my grandmother's Lily of the Valley grows alongside variegated hosta and Annabelle Hydrangea to make a pretty scene of green and white.  Grandma always had a bunch to give to anyone who visited her home around Mother's Day.  This flower is so cheery with its pretty white bells and it smells Oh-So-Heavenly.  Just looking at it makes me smile.  :)

Two summers ago I was at a yard sale where the hostess was selling plants from her lovingly tended perennial gardens.  She had a single pink Lily of the Valley plant in a pot for sale.  I had never heard of pink Lily of the Valley, much less seen one, so I purchased it on the spot.  This year there were quite a few pink blossoms in amongst my grandmother's white.  I thought you might enjoy seeing them.

Flowers in Bloom

Our yard is growing in color with each passing day!  Here are some of the plants ready that have been blooming or are ready to burst into color.

Bleeding Hearts

Violets

White lilacs

Pink Azalea

White Azalea

Peony buds

Lily of the Valley--almost ready!  Should be open just in time for Mother's Day.

What's blooming in your yard? :)

April Showers

"April showers bring May flowers."

We have had our share of April showers this past week!  Our May flowers are always beautiful so I am not going to complain about the rain. :)

The children always have such a fun time in the temporary pond that fills our backyard.  A few times a year we get rain heavy enough to cause most of the backyard to be covered in water.  Our soil is composed mostly of clay, as our backyard used to be a streambed, way back when. 

The other morning we awoke to find some new visitors in our yard, a mallard couple!  I had hoped to get a better photo of them but they were a bit camera shy the first time I tried to take their picture so I kept my distance.

The mallard couple stopped by last year for a short stint but have been here three days this week.  It is so funny to see ducks floating around in the huge puddle that is our backyard.  :)

Here are some other signs that Spring has arrived in Northeast Ohio.

Snow Drops or as my little Grandma used to call them, Snow Peeps.

Speaking of my grandma, her Lenten Roses (or Hellebore) that are growing in my yard have begun to blossom!  I am anxious to see the opened buds in the upcoming days.

As a side note, I thought I had re-uploaded all of the photos from my previous blog to this one but a  kind visitor reminded me that I am missing all the photos in my Nature Study category.  I will try to upload them  sometime this week.  Thanks for noticing!

I hope you have a wonderful, relaxing Sunday with your family. 

Autumn is here!

Unfortunately, I did not compile a post in time for Michele's Loveliness of Autumn fair.  Please, do stop by to read  the wonderful posts and ideas that are shared there!   

There are so many ways that we can make our homes welcoming with each season change.  I really enjoy the change from Summer to Autumn, not only because the latter is my favorite season to be out of doors but because the changes within my home are the simplest for me as well. 

Our previous home, which was a rental, had gorgeous woodwork and leaded glass windows with built in china cabinets and window seats.  We now live in a 1940's bungalow which has small rooms that do not have a whole lot of character.   This home really relies on its decorating colors and furniture to make it interesting.   I have painted most of the rooms in warm tones so Autumn decorations really work well here. 

This is the view into our front door.  The wood burning fireplace gets a lot of use in the colder months.  I try to decorate the mantel and the area above it for the season at hand.  I purchased this wheat wreath from a small, family-owned company several years ago.  I hang it from the beginning of Autumn until Advent.   The mantel is decorated with some silk autumn leaves and small artificial pumpkins/gourds.  These, I purchased at a Dollar Tree store.  The entire mantel's decorations cost $5, excluding the candles which I bought many years ago.

Some other ways to highlight the seasons are by using interesting photo frames around the house.  I often purchase these after the season is over and they are much less expensive.  Added to a table with some other photos, it gives a little touch of Autumn for a small amount of money.  This one, of iron leaves, adds a little character to the table alongside the vase of fall flowers and foliage that I change each season.

Also in the living room is the piano which just asks to be decorated!  It is here that we place our Advent log during Advent, decorated with greens and berries.  During the fall, we use fall candles, seasonal photo frames and other decorations to bring it to life.   

The view from this room into the dining room...

My dining room is our only eating area in the house.  It is home to a table and six chairs.  There is no room for anything else.  I keep the decorations simple in there, just a runner (also used at Christmastime) and small basket of leaves and gourds.  Once again, the basket and gourds were less than $5 at the dollar store. 

Here is a shelf in my little sunroom, which is joined to my dining room.  My mother likes to bring fresh flowers for me now and then (which I really love! ) This time she brought mums to brighten my day.  They really add a nice fall flair to the room. 

On the outside of our home, we have a couple of these fellows hanging around the mums and pumpkins.  The littles really like them .  When it is dark in the evening and I have come back from being out, I have been known to jump pretty high, thinking they are a real person by my door! 

Thanks for letting me share these few, simple ways that I have tried to bring Autumn to my home.

Perhaps your home has a season that looks just right within its walls.  My mother-in-love's home is a wonderful, festive place in the winter with all of its decorations for Christmas.  For which season do you most enjoy decorating your home?