Memorial Day Weekend, and then some.

I had a wonderful time last week seeing old faces.

Wednesday I met some friends at the relatively new Indian restaurant The Himalayan Curry & Grill.

We also went into Bella Boo, where one of our favorite Debbies got the wee one two awesome Haba toys.  As it turns out, Bella Boo also sells gdiapers. (I would so much rather buy local than from Babies R Us.)

Thursday I was lucky enough to go back to the school where I student taught last spring!  They had their art show, and I was invited to judge the jewelry.  Talk about hard to do!!! The kids all did a great job, (it helps that they have an amazing teacher!  Hopefully I will be as good as her someday!). It was wonderful to see some of my old students, who were more than happy to watch the wee one while I looked at all of the work.  After that I went over to the big garden, and while my husband tended to the bees, I threw piles of grass clippings over newspaper paths.  Time got away from us, and we had to hurry over to the local high school, where a friend of ours had work in another art show that was going on.  

Friday and Saturday were much more mellow, but Sunday picked right back up.

My husband's band played at FlavorFest.  We started our day out early, at the coffee shop, then headed to the Renaissance Faire, where the event was taking place.  Family showed up, and overall there was a great turnout.  Of course, we had to move the party to our friends house.  That's when it really started to get good! 

PIZZA!

On a charcoal grill.

Photos? Of course not!  I was too busy feeding a baby half of the time.

I had made the dough and rolled it out.  Our food-savvy friends worked on the toppings.

Pizza #1

Apples, Candied Bacon, Thyme, (and a really good cheese that I forgot.)

Pizza #2

Pineapple, Caramelized Onion, Arugula, Coconut Gouda, Coconut White Balsamic

Pizza #3

Italian Sausage, Fennel, Roasted Garlic (and I think more arugula)

Pizza #4

Roasted Red Peppers, Caramelized Onion, Roasted Garlic, Arugula, Mozzarella

It was all delicious.

The grill cooled down, and it got late, so I ended up with two rounds of dough leftover.  

Darn.

Tonight we did pizza on our gas grill, with the little smoker box.

Pizza #1

Pineapple, Onion, Red Pepper, Spinach/Arugula Mix, Mozzarella (my husband's half had sauce)

Pizza #2

I basically just put a salad on flatbread for this one...

Avocado, Beets, Spinach/Arugula Mix, Onion, Red Pepper, Feta, Mozzarella (sauce on half this time, too)

I made the decision, we are having Pad Thai again soon.  The unused half of the noodles in the bag keep falling out and onto the counter.  It's bugging me.  

Don't you like how I decide on my meals?!

Up next:

Still trying to get working in the studio.  Ideas of jewelry bouncing around in my head.  Maybe they will get on paper first?

Showers Forecasted

Well, the bees are here!
Two boxes that looked like this  --->

It was very exciting!  I wanted to go look and see what was going on, but I had the baby, so we stayed at a safe distance.  The guys got the queens in the frames and proceeded to dump and shake the boxes to get the bees out and into the hives.  Then they put the flat feeders on top, poured in a mixture of honey and water, put the lids on, and watched.

We watched as the bees came flying back out, and were crawling all over the outside of the hive.

Well, that doesn't look right.

We called the bee place, and my husband asked them a bunch of questions.
So here's the thing.
They had the wrong size feeders.
They "ordered" the wrong size.  "Only the wooden feeders fit on that size super."  the woman said.

*Shaking my fists...  And my head.*
They had asked now three separate times  "This doesn't look right.  Are you sure it's the right size feeder?"  The response was always "Yes.  It's the right size."

So what should have been a few hour adventure turned into a two day ordeal.   First they had to take the feeders off and again, literally DUMP the bees out of the honey water.  Way too many of which had drowned in it, since they should have never been able to get to the mixture to land in it.  Luckily, masses of bees who looked like they would never make it cleaned each other off, and presumably, went about their business.
But the next day, my husband had to go get the proper feeders.  They had to be painted and then brought up- again to mess with the hives.  It was 4pm by the time everything was settled and done.  The whole thing started at 7.45am, the day before!

But we have bees now!   I hope they are surviving well.  It was looking pretty bad for a while there.
Fingers crossed.

Beyond the bees, I had a pretty productive weekend. 

 This is the nicer of the two diaper covers I worked on.  It's not finished, as it still needs a front waistband, but it's getting there.  Besides, the baby isn't quite ready for the next size yet.

The first one I did, as kind of a sketch, I used an old tank top, the kind with a built in shelf bra.  I was able to use the wide elastic for the waistband.  Smart thinking, if I do say so myself!  But like I said, it was a "sketch", so it's sorta... ugly.

I made these using snap tape that fits the gdiaper liners, because...

gdiapers are pretty great.  

1.  They are cute.

2.  They are cloth.

3.  They are EASY! (On so many levels.)

The Easy part.  Let me describe.  Now, I have no issue with good old pre folds.  

Fold it, pin it, cover it, Done.

But my husband and his mother, both of whom are wonderful, and really the only two others who change the wee one's diaper, seem a bit intimidated with regards to which covers or diapers or whatever to use.  gdiapers are pretty darn straight forward.  (But they can be put on backwards...)

The other reason they are so easy is that the soaker inserts are smaller and not folded, and therefore  so much simpler to wash out.  I chose to kinda copy their style because I wanted to make covers for my girl and I don't feel toooo bad, because I am still supporting them by purchasing the snap in inserts.  Win-Win.

*********************************************************************

 And then there was food.

I made some super delicious rhubarb muffins.

This week is looking like:

leek & potato soup

a big ol' salad

macaroni & cheese

mustard chicken

sesame fish & quinoa

and then parties over the long weekend.

So maybe a pasta salad?

Up next:
Adventures in...  finding adventures.

Busy Bee Week

Tomorrow is Bee Day.

The hives are ready and waiting.

There is so much greatness to the farm.

Bees.

Hens.

Garden.

(Not to mention the bird sanctuary with peacocks, the ponds, pool, and castles...)

The girls started laying already. 

And what pretty girls they are!  Photo soon, i swear!

But we have had some fresh eggs.  Yay!

                

(Oh, and in there was a doubler.)

The eggs aren't the amazingly deep orange yet, but when the purslane starts coming up, and there are spare tomatoes on the vines, im sure they will be!  Gotta feed the girls well :)

I've been trying to get my flower garden up to snuff, and get the weeds under control.  

My neighbors were helping last week to get mulch, and they piled it around for us while we were away.  (They piled it, but didn't spread it. Phew!)  So I even moved the mulch out of the way so i could put newspaper down.  It may sound crazy and OCD, but I've had some dealings with periwinkle in that garden.  It may be nice in some settings- but there, it's just a weed, and im sick of it.  So i used as much paper as possible so any potential remnants of that dont see the light of day!  All it takes is one little dead-looking stem to get some sun, and that stuff takes over, like it owns the place.  

The backyard vegetable garden is going well.  We have harvested some *yummy* lettuce for salads.  And tried a radish.  Spicy and awesome!  We went to the Mother's Day Plant Sale at the Landis Valley Museum on Saturday, where We got a pineapple tomato.  Those are so good!  I can't wait.

Other than that, I'm just working on the day to day stuff.  Hardly a chance to work in my studio with the housework, gardens, baby...  (But I must say, she is AMAZING.)

Onto finger foods- rice puffs.  Yes, we got the organic ones. And i am just waiting, impatiently, to have carrots come up in the garden for her to try.  Snow peas, too.  The frozen peas that I cooked up didnt go over so well.  (Not that I can blame her, I don't care for them much either!)

Recent Recipe Goodness:

Veggie Stromboli

Pad Thai

Veggie Quinoa

Soba Noodle Salad

*We watched Vegucated.

I had been intrigued.  It was a SERIOUS letdown.

They were so excited to have vegan mayo, and oreos, and all sorts of other, prepackaged, extremely processed foods.  

I was on a brief kick of realizing "haha- i just made a vegan meal by accident"

And on top of that, what i make is so much healthier- vegan or not!  But with our fresh eggs, you couldn't pay me to be a vegan.  (But you could try.  Throw some numbers at me.  Lets talk!)

Up next:

Farming highlights

Shiny silver

On the Rise

Right now, Lily is out with grandma.  Probably at the park.  I expect them back any minute now.
Also right now...  My daughter is SIX MONTHS OLD!   Ooh.  I hear her bell.  They're home!!

Also right now.

Bread Is Rising! 

Maryetta's Oatmeal Bread, to be exact. 

From Beard On Bread.

We own it.

My parents own it.

My husband's parents own it.

Everyone should own it!

Two regular loaves.

One with cinnamon and sugar.

Yum!

Also, a week or two ago, I made this delicious (If I do say so myself!) meal. 

Roasted Asparagus & Peppers with Feta.

1 bunch of asparagus
1 large sweet pepper, (or the equivalent)
drizzle (or glug) olive oil over it, and grind some black pepper on
top with crumbled feta

Roast at 400°F about 25-45 min (until veggies are done to your liking.)


And, in other news:

The big garden is just about completely planted.
We need some hungarian wax peppers- of which I am STRICTLY limiting myself to 6 or less.  Sad, but it must be done!

Lily helped with the garden-- so did lots of people!   That helped make short work of the planting.
We have potatoes, peppers, squash, watermelon, tomatoes, onions, carrots, beets, peas and beans.
Yesterday we got rain, too.  Great for the gardens!

This is how I feel right now.

I love giraffes.  They are just so darn cute.  (Even if they do have freakishly long, black tongues.)

The laundry is clinking away in the dryer. 

The baby is sleeping.

And I can see the grey skies outside, clear as a bell.  

That's right.  More spring cleaning happened yesterday.

Sparkling windows, and the scent of vinegar. 

It's the little things that make me happy.

Vinegar, by the way, is the best for cleaning!  I don't have to worry as much that the baby will try to drink it, and the windows are WAY less streaky than when I would use actual cleaning products.

WIN.

Anyway, we had a pretty good weekend.  

We went to cheer on a friend for her first half marathon on Saturday.  

We are talking about doing a half in June, too.  

Of course, if I am going to run 13 miles, I need to get going with the whole running thing.

So I ran on Saturday, too!  It was pretty great.  

And then we pigged out on some beef chuck roast that was cooked low and slow all afternoon.

I would show you a photo, but it disappeared far too quickly!

Sunday was the window cleaning event (whoop-de-doo, right?)

Then fishing!

Of course, I caught nothing.  The cute little bluegills that I so desperately wanted to catch just looked at and swam around my fly.  They followed it, and were really intrigued, but just wouldn't bite. 

Oh well, there's always next time.

Felt animals are posted on Etsy. 

*love*

Husband is awesome and brought the sewing machine down so I can work on bibs.

A mass posting of those is soon to come on Etsy, too.  I'm just waiting for some better light for photos. 

*Birthday awesome:

Camera Flash from my in-laws

This pen from my guy (I think he really likes me!)

Oh, and he worked on cutting out his knife yesterday, too.  

Yeah, obviously I like him.  I got him a sheet of steel for his birthday!

I hear a baby stirring. 

Off to start another week of adventures, activity, growth, and making!

First step: water the seedlings!  Photos to come.

Life begins to emerge

Warm sun

Water

Life!

Another season of gardening begins.

A very productive weekend is now behind us.
First of all, it's great to have a spring birthday because my mother in law brings me daffodils from her house :)

And, my husband is the best, because he planned to surprise me by having friends over for dinner and then going out to the pub.
Love.

But then, the two beehives were painted, and an extra, top bar hive, was mostly put together.
I planted more seeds in the backyard garden. Spinach, carrots, beets, and swiss chard. Also the herb section: sweet basil, thai basil, dill, cilantro and parsley.

And we went up to the big garden. Lily watched as her daddy and I pulled out all of the old structure from last year, the soaker hoses, and any plastic bits from markers or ties. Then farmer Wayne brought over three scoops of mushroom mulch and tilled it in, along with all of the plant matter left from last season.

"Sugar." he said.

It's going to be like sugar. He will retill on wednesday, when the temperature is supposed to reach 80°, and then again, right before we start to plant.


Today the wee one let me get started on the house chores while she slept in. Laundry filled the line and is almost dry in the warm sun. Nothing like the smell of fresh, line dried sheets on the bed!
Bread is rising, and Lily is sleeping on my chest.
Hopefully this spells a productive week to come.

Up next:
*Finish my spring cleaning (I won't bore you with those details.)
*Sewing
*Polishing

Easter, etc.

So I planned to make my daughter an Easter basket.
I was all pumped to do it.
And then my mother in law showed up.
(Don't worry, she really is a great mother in law!)
She had a basket.
It is handmade, split oak, and really nice. She guessed she got it in 1985.
There were a few toys, and a cute My First Easter outfit
(that she got before we even knew if it was going to be a boy or girl. She was prepared!)

Turns out, it's a good thing she gave her a basket.
As with all of our trips to Vermont, my mother and I have all sorts of intentions to do all sorts of things- such as making an Easter basket for my daughter- and we never get to everything.






We did, however, get to dying eggs!
I have a serious aversion to fake food coloring. (Especially when there's color in something that is, was, and obviously always should be brown- but that's for another day.)

For all of the colors, I boiled water with the ingredient and let it cool before I dipped the already hard boiled eggs. I used way too much water for the amounts of colorants, though.

It was pretty fun to play chemist.  I tried changing the color of the blueberries with baking soda.  It worked, but it wasn't pretty.  Don't try to mess with something good.

Blueberries for blue.
Spinach for green.
Turmeric for yellow.
Paprika for orange.
Red onion skins for red.

I heard that you should try to leave them in the liquid overnight.
I also heard you should use vinegar to get more vivid colors.

...Meanwhile, my husband did the "naked egg" project with his class a while back. You soak raw eggs in vinegar and the shell basically dissolves.

*Think, Catherine. Think.*

So we put some vinegar in some of the jars of dye and stuck them in the fridge overnight.
The eggs in jars with vinegar had bubbly looking shells in the morning, and the color wiped off with the top layer of shell.  Sigh.

Chemistry, you got me good this time!

At any rate, the colors were nice, but brighter would be better. I can live with that. At least I learned from this one!

When I got home, I decided that I just couldn't let go of the fact that I had tried making vanilla sugar from beans that had already been soaked in vodka to make vanilla extract, and the sugar, first of all, didn't taste very vanilla-y, and secondly, turned into a useless clump.
So I had to try to use these beans for something before they went to the compost.
Vanilla simple syrup!
I already had the ingredients right there. Just add water!

And ta-daa!

And then there's the last project I did.
Start some seeds!
I like to recycle, so I used old cardboard egg cartons (thank you, husband, for the idea!), cut up and labeled, and some of last years burpee pots.

Right now they are near a window, and over the heat vent. We just need to set up the grow light.




Up next:
Who knows...