they don't teach this in kindergarten

Winter is often a strange time for me.  Even though the weather has been awesome (60 degrees in December?!), I have still been a little bored and stir-crazy.  Usually, when the colder months come rolling in, I get my craft on.  I have been seeing a lot of people posting on Pinterest and other sites (here and here) about melted Crayon art.  I really like the way all of the colors blend together, and I knew I had to try it!  You simply use a hot glue gun to affix naked crayons onto a canvas and prop the canvas up at a little bit of an angle.  Then, use a hair dryer to melt the crayons into oblivion. 

I opted to paint the canvas black to add more contrast.  And I only picked out the colors I liked, instead of going for the rainbow effect.  The results?  I love it!  I just don't think this is what my Kindergarten teacher had in mind when we had "Crayon Time" in the classroom. 

Here are some helpful tips I found along the way:
1. Use a diffuser, otherwise the wax will splatter all over the place. 
2. Take your time!  You can have a little more control over the final product by directing the hairdryer in the direction you want the wax to run. 

Artsy Crafty Photographic Awesomeness

I love to create, whether it be food, clothes, knitted wonders, art, jewelry, music or what-have-you.  There is just something about combining the thoughts in your head and the hands you were born with to manifest something that was not previously there that is intriguing, mysterious, and fulfilling.  When it comes to gifts, it also adds a little "Bam!" that you can't buy in a store. 

For Matt's birthday last year, I wanted to give him something especially awesome.  Family is very important to him, and I came up with the greatest idea!  Off to Hobby Lobby I went and bought black resin letters that spell out our last name.  I set up my tripod and had each of us hold one of the letters in our hands and...Voila!!

One awesome picture!  The floating frame works great for this display, but you could use individual frames or a sectioned frame as well! 

Don’t get drywall dust in your eye, and other lessons.

Progress on the house is finally being made!  The tile will be installed by the end of November, and then the carpet will follow soon after that.  The only thing left to do will be to finish the kitchen (cabinets, countertops, appliances, etc.  You know, the important stuff). 

What follows is a list of various things I have learned so far through this looooong project:

1. Dream big, but plan realistically. 

2. Drywall dust turns into drywall mud once it hits your eye, so always wear protective eyewear.

3. All of the blue painter’s tapes are liars.  They will pull off paint, no matter what they say.

4. Sometimes items do come with extra pieces.  I swear. 

5. Paint thinner will eat through plastic Solo cups and turn the whole thing into a gooey, sludgy mess on the floor.  Good thing the tile had not been installed yet. 

6. There is no “standard size” to anything, be it vent covers, light switches, outlet covers, dryer vents, trim, windows, and the list goes on.  Please note number 7. 

7.  The employees at any hardware store are unable to help you in the following situation: You come into the store looking for an item.  They ask how big said item needs to be.  You respond by holding your hands out and saying, “About that big by that big.” 

8. Flat-head screws and screwdrivers are worthless.

 

I’m sure I will learn many more tidbits along the way!

The weather has changed, and that means that my garden has gone into hibernation.  It seems like just yesterday I was placing my little seedlings in the ground and waiting with anticipation.  Where does the time go?  Autumn is definitely a bittersweet time.  While I love the little bit of chill in the air and changing leaves, it’s definitely sad to look out at the garden that is now just a dirt rectangle.  The idea of the “circle of life” is driven home. 

After pulling out the tomato cages, I pulled out all of the plants.  Some of them went into the compost bin, but the rest of them were mowed over and have been worked back into the soil.  Next year’s harvest will be strengthened by this year’s remains. 

Even though I will not be harvesting anything, does not mean that I am not still benefitting from the garden.  The garlic and onions that were picked in August will last in my basement for months, and the jars of stuff I canned will surely be eaten soon!  There is nothing like a little taste of Summer in the dead of Winter. 

Now to begin planning for next year…

Lesson 2 in Canning: Peach Jelly

One of my favorite fruits of summer is the peach.  I hit the jack-pot when I bought my house because there is a peach tree in the back yard.  Last summer, I had more peaches than I knew what to do with.  We had a lot of peach cobbler last summer and fall, but I also turned a lot of the peaches into juice and froze it.  I am glad I did that!  This summer was terrible (perhaps due to the crazy plague of locusts), and my tree did not have a single peach on it. 

Since my sister has been demanding peach jelly from me for a year, I thawed out some juice and got to work.  Jelly is an awesome way to preserve the sweetness of summer fruits to enjoy all year long.  One swipe of this jelly on a piece of toast in the dead of winter will bring all the thoughts of summer and sun right back. 

Peach Jelly Recipe

Ingredients:

3 cups peach juice (about 3 pounds of ripe peaches and 1/2 cup water)

5 cups of sugar

1/2 cup bottled lemon juice

1 box powdered pectin

Directions:

To Prepare Juice: Wash and slice or chop fully ripe peaches.  Do not pit or peel.  Crush fruit.  Place crushed fruit and 1/2 cup water in saucepan.  Cover, bring to a boil, and simmer 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.  Extract juice (I usually squish the peaches through a mesh strainer for this).

To Make Jelly: Measure sugar and set aside.  Measure prepared juice, powdered pectin, and lemon juice into a large sauce pan.  Bring to a full boil over high heat, stirring occasionally.  At once, stir in sugar.  Bring to a full rolling boil that cannot be stirred down.  Boil for one minute, stirring constantly.  Remove from heat, quickly skim off foam.  Pour jelly immediately into hot, sterile canning jars, leaving less than one inch space from rim.  Wipe jar rims and adjust lids.  Process for 10 minutes in a boiling water bath. 

And be sure to send a jar of it to your sister!

The Awesome Girl's Guide to Easy Canning

While fresh food from the garden is delicious and great, it unfortunately does not last forever.  Thankfully, someone in the 1800's put his brain to use and discovered canning!  Even though food preservation has been around for years and years (just ask your grandma), many younger people are showing an interest in it.  This might be tied into the organic trend or because it is simply awesome! 

The canning process is relatively easy and uniform with just a few tweaks depending on what you are actually preserving.  So get yourself a big ol' pot and can something by using the steps below!

1. No matter what you are canning, you will need some basic supplies.  Large stock pot, glass mason jars, lids and rings, tongs, and a glass of wine (to sip while you wait for the water to boil).  Also, a sweet polka dot apron might come in handy.
2. Fill the stock pot with water and get it on the burner.  While you are waiting for the water to boil, prepare your food (tomatoes, apples, or what have you).  Because you are dealing with food, you will need to sterilize your jars and lids.  I usually put them in the boiling water for about five minutes.  Putting the lids in the boiling water will also help to make the rubber portion a little tacky, which helps the lid to seal onto the jar.
3. Take the jars out and put in your food.  You want to get a good seal between the jar and lid, so be sure to wipe off the rim of the jar.  Set the lid on the jar and screw on a ring. 
4. Some stock pots come with a metal rack that is used to lower the filled jars into the boiling water.  Don't fret if you don't have this.  You can use tongs!  Either way, lower the jars into the boiling water.  Be sure that there is at least one inch of water covering the jars. 
5. Now, sit back with your glass of wine for about ten minutes while the water boils.  Depending on what you are canning, this time may be different.  Once the time is up, remove the jars from the water and set them on a counter at room temperature.  The urge will be there to touch them, but leave the jars alone! 
6. The best part is yet to come.  As the jars and their contents cool, the change in temperature creates a vacuum, which pulls the center of the lid in, sealing the jar.  If you listen, you can hear a distinct "POP!" when the lid indents.  This tells you that the jar has sealed and is safe to move to it's storage location.  If you press on the center of the lid and it presses in, the jar has not sealed and you will need to boil it again. 

Look for more posts on canning specific foods! 

Tomatotopia

I might be deconstructing my house little by little, but the garden lives on!  The zucchini production has slowed down, but I am still harvesting one or two a week and just as many yellow squash.  Unfortunately, squash bugs invaded, and only a few brave plants were able to withstand their attacks. 

Tomatoes, however, are another story.  For approximately three weeks, the tomato plants were only producing one tomato a week.  I was certain that I had done something wrong, and that they were a lost cause.  I did not factor in that it was very early for tomatoes to even begin to ripen.  And then it happened...Tomatotopia.  I quickly realized that my wimpy mixing bowl was not going to suffice.  I went back into the house, picked up a laundry basket, and went back out to the garden.  Keep in mind that my neighbors are already not particularly fond of me and my garden endeavors, but on this occassion, they seemed especially confused and concerned. 

I started harvesting tomatoes, and by the time I was done, I had picked 68.  In one day!  Over the course of the next week, I went out to the garden four more times and ended up with a grand total of 236 tomatoes in a one week period.  Instantly, a new rule was instituted in my house: Everyone must eat at least one tomato at every meal. 

Right now, when I open my refrigerator, all I see are tomatoes.  I have been slowly working on turning some of them into sauce and other various creations, but I think that this coming weekend will be full of canning tomatoes!  Keep an eye out for more posts on that...and perhaps even a video if you're lucky.

Project #3- Why walls are like snowflakes

I have realized that no two walls are alike, no matter how similar they may appear on the outside.  In my grand remodel, my plan was to open a doorway between the kitchen and living room and to remove the wall between the kitchen and dining room.  The progress on the doorway between the kitchen and living room has been great!  There were two outlets that needed moved, but that was not a big deal. 

I recently began work on removing the wall between the kitchen and dining room.  I used a similar method for removing the drywall, but instead of a hatchet I used fists and feet this time.  Unfortunately, the results were not as good.  After several holes had been punched/kicked in the drywall, the following was revealed...

That is correct.  That is a giant metal pipe behind the drywall.  Some detective skills revealed that it is attached to the hot water heater in the basement, and that it runs completely through our house and out the roof!  My favorite search engine informs me that this is used to vent harmful carbon monoxide gas out of the house.  It also tells me to never attempt moving it unless I want to die in my sleep from carbon monoxide poisoning.  Do they really have to be so dramatic?  I say yes, because until I read that, I was still considering moving it. 

For now, my plan to eliminate the wall between the kitchen and dining room has been altered.  Removing a wall sounds simple enough, but you never know what will be inside!  Could be nothing...or it could be certain death!  And that, my friends, is why walls are like snowflakes.

Project #2- I think this wall would be better as a door

As is common in older houses, my house has a separate kitchen, dining room, and living room.  Unfortunately, that is not my style.  A more modern look is the great room, open floor plan concept.  While I may not be able to fully achieve this without my second story becoming one with my first story, there are definitely some things I can do to open up the space. 

This picture is taken in the kitchen, looking out into the breakfast nook.  As you can imagine, this area was not used for dining, as evidenced by the elliptical.  On the other side of that wall, is my living room.  I thought it would be so much better if that wall was a doorway instead.  So...

...I got to work.  Yes, that is a hatchet.  I am sure there are other, more appropriate tools for this job, but this one seemed to work well.  Until...





...I thought for sure I smashed through to the other side.  Eventually, I will need to smash through to the other side, but now is not the time.  Luckily, I did well and ended up with an opening about 7-feet tall. 

I promise, this will be awesome when it is completely done, and you will want to do the same thing in your kitchen.  Now, what to do about that wiring.  

 

Project #1-Get rid of the popcorn

Since my house was built about 30 years ago, it is a given that it has popcorn-style ceilings.  I have no idea why anyone ever thought popcorn ceilings were a good idea, but whoever invented them is most certainly my worst enemy right now. 

Luckily, I am not the one actually doing the work on this one.  We hired someone to do this for us, and believe me, it is worth it.  The method they are using is to scrape off all of the popcorn, prime the exposed drywall, texturize the ceiling, and then paint it.  It seems relatively easy.  What's the worst thing about this project?  The fact that the entire first floor is covered in a quarter inch layer of white dust.  While the contractors did put up sheets of plastic to keep the dust to its designated room, it doesn't appear to have helped.  The coffee maker had to be moved to the upstairs bathroom, the stove cannot be used, and I am pretty sure that is not flour in my blender!

The contractors assured me that they would clean everything up once they were finished, but I am skeptical.  I anticipate the ceilings on the first floor should be complete within another week, and then on to the next project!

Construction: According to Pandora

My husband and I have lived in our current house for a little over a year.  We have a history of remodeling every house we live in, and this one will be no exception.  After putting up with the green "faux-marble" laminate counter tops, abnormally shaped pantry, and awkward flow of traffic through the first floor for the past year, we have finally given in. 

Historically, we begin with one small project which quickly snowballs into a full-on remodel.  In our first house, replacing one interior door turned into replacing all of the interior doors; painting the bedrooms; re-carpeting the stairs; painting the stairway, dining room, and living room; installing new flooring in the living room and dining room; and installing new light fixtures.  Let's just say, our motto has become "Go big or go home!" 

Our renovation on our current house has begun, and I will be occasionally posting on the progress.  Please keep in mind that I know very little about construction so the way that we do something might NOT be the "right" way. But it will most likely be entertaining!

One Enemy Defeated

Based on where I live, I was convinced that deer were going to be the biggest enemies to my garden.  There is a walking path behind my house where I have literally seen a herd of deer going for a late night stroll, straight down the paved walkway.  I have seen them step over our neighbor's fence and also pick every single apple off of my apple trees that was within 10 feet of the ground. 





Caught!



Even though I decided to put in a four-foot fence around the yard, I figured this would do little more than irritate them.  To my surprise, I have not seen them in the yard since the fence was installed.  This might be in part to my dogs Ajax and Dante who patrol the yard and bark at anyone or anything that might so much as even look in the general direction of the yard.  Needless to say, the neighbors adore them. 

Dante and Ajax

I have read about numerous methods to deter deer, such as putting out human hair, rubbing soap on trees, and even urinating around the perimeter of the yard.  But it seems as though the best deterrent is having two big, loud dogs.  Glad I dodged the bullet on peeing around my yard, and I'm sure the neighbors would rather put up with the dogs.

Sneaky zucchini

Zucchini has always struck me as some kind of mystical vegetable.  It has a way of magically appearing in the break room at work, hanging in bags on strangers front doors, and even finagling its way into birthday gift bags.  A check of the garden in the morning yields nothing, but by the time the evening sets in, a zucchini the size of a VW Beetle has miraculously appeared.  The guiles of the zucchini are limitless.

The inexperienced gardener, such as myself, is often tricked into planting several zucchini plants.  The instructions on the packet of seeds directs you to plant two to three seeds per hill.  What the seed packet does not state is that every seed you plant WILL grow into a plant.  In my situation, I planted four hills with three seeds in each hill.  That is a total of twelve zucchini plants.  And, I have learned that every plant will produce approximately (this is a rough estimate) one million pounds of zucchini. 

The problem then becomes what, exactly, to do with 12 million pounds of zucchini.  So far, we have grilled it, sauteed it, baked it into muffins, and fried it.  Soon we will be experimenting with options such as stuffing it and baking it, making "hash browns" (squash browns?), and using it as lasanga noodles.  Perhaps I could use it to build a log cabin. The possibilities are endless!

Zen Garden?

Well, the garden is in full swing, to say the least. 

One of the most exciting and calming things at the end of a day is to walk out to the garden and see what is happening.  It seems as though one short day, where I feel like I accomplish next to nothing, can yeild so much activity in that little garden world.  Did I tackle even half of my "To-Do List"?  No, but the zucchini has tripled in size since yesterday!  I did not get all of the errands taken care of, but there are beans that were not there this morning! 

Through this experiment, I have learned something unexpected.  This garden is nourishing more than my body.  I am re-learning how to take time, even just a few minutes a day, to marvel at the way nature works.  Just because I have a bad day at work or forget to buy something at the grocery store, doesn't mean that the world stops.  The tomatoes keep on growing, the zucchini keeps getting more and more monstrous, and the sugar snap peas keep flowering.  Is this what is meant by a "Zen Garden?"  That will require a little more contemplation, but expect more to come on that topic!

Welcome to the jungle room

Anyone who has ever planted seeds before is familiar with the vague directions printed on the back of the package.  "Sow 1/4 inch deep, spacing 6-8 inches apart.  Harvest in 65 days."  The package might as well say, "Put in dirt.  See what happens."  And that is what I am doing.  I am taking the directions the supplier gives merely as suggestions.  "Plant 18 inches apart."  18 inches?!  That is so much space.  How about 12 inches?  I am sure that there is a reason they suggest 18 inches (each plant needs more room to spread out, competing for resources, etc.), but I am trying to maximize my space.

A few posts ago I reported on the seeds I had planted.  Well, due to my impatience, I planted more seeds inside about a week ago.  Realistically, I still have at least four weeks before I can plant any of these little plant babies outside.  My thought was that if I started them early, then they would be big and strong once I was ready to plant them outside.  One thing I did not count on, however, was how quickly some of them would grow.  My miniature greenhouse has a plastic lid to keep heat and water in.  Within one week of being planted, the bean plants have become so tall and so strong that they were literally lifting the lid off the greenhouse.  All of a sudden the story of Jack and the Beanstalk came back to me, and it all made sense.  Those weren't "magic beans!"  Jack simply started them inside in a small greenhouse way before he should have.

These latest seeds that I have planted have far surpassed the previous ones both in speed and strength.  Seriously, not only are these bean plants as big around as a drinking straw, but they emerged from the soil two days ago and are already nearly three inches tall.  The laundry room may soon become known as the jungle.

This should be interesting

The garden is taking shape.  Several weeks ago, we rented a tiller and tilled the area for the garden.  After much deliberation, I decided on an area that is 39' long and 17' wide.  That is 663 square feet!  I seriously considered creating another garden of the same size on the other side of the yard, but that would have been more than 1300 square feet for me to take care of.  I did not foresee that turning out well, so I stuck with what I had. 

During a conversation with my mom and sisters, I realized that, perhaps, I have little to no idea what I am doing.  But that is not necessarily a bad thing!  We were discussing potato plants because my sister plans on planting hers in a container of some sort.  I explained that I had just planted mine and then planted strawberry plants in between the potatoes.  My sister laughed and said, "You know that you will have to start digging potatoes up a few feet around where you planted them, right?"  This could very well mean that I will have to dig up the strawberry plants to get to the potatoes.  We will have to see how that goes.

After tilling the garden area, we realized that our dogs might invade it, so we decided to build a small fence around it.  I think it looks pretty awesome!  Talk about sustainable living.  I just hope our neighbor doesn't care that we took all of his branches.

Get up close and personal with your food

Americans tend to be disconnected from their food.  To many people, it does not particularly matter where their food comes from or how it comes to be.  They do not think twice, or even once, about the lettuce and tomato that came from thousands of miles away to sit atop the hamburger they just picked up from the drive-thru window at the nearest fast food restaurant.  So many of us pick our fruits and vegetables from the produce section at the grocery store with the same amount of consideration we give to selecting a box of cereal. 

Vegetables can be easy to grow.  You may say you don't have an area big enough for a garden, but if you have ten feet of space, you can grow a lot.  Don't have a yard?  Plant tomatoes, lettuce, and herbs in containers on your porch or deck.  Don't have a porch or deck?  Plant things in containers inside in front of a window.  What I'm getting at is there are no excuses when it comes to getting up close and personal with your food.  Michael Pollan has illustrated this well in his numerous books about food and gardening. 

Many people say they don't like the taste of vegetables.  I'm willing to bet that if those people tasted locally grown, fresh vegetables straight from the garden, they would be amazed at the difference in taste and quality.  A tomato that is ten feet away from my backdoor definitely has a different taste than the tomato that came from two thousand miles away.

Early Risers

Two weeks is a long time in the life of a seed, so I have learned.  It has been two weeks since I planted some seeds in a miniature green house in my laundry room.  I had heard that it is a good idea to start things such as broccoli, cauliflower, tomatoes, and peppers inside several weeks before it is time to plant them in the garden, so I did just that. 

Every day after planting the seeds, I would stare at the dirt, looking for something to indicate that this was going to work.  After four consecutive days of being disappointed, on the fifth day things began to change.  The tiniest little green stem was sticking out of the dirt.  I didn't even care what it was, I was so excited!  Naturally, I beckoned everyone in the house into the laundry room to marvel at this little speck of green by yelling, "It's growing!!".  Every day after that, something new would sprout up until, eventually, all 50 pots had something alive in them. 

Now my spindly little forest is getting bigger and stronger every day, just waiting for me to plant them outside.  It's kind of funny how all of the plants grow at an angle toward the window, but within one day of me turning them the opposite direction they grow back toward the window.  What is even more incredible is that out of one tiny seed no bigger than the question mark on your keyboard will come ten, twenty or even thirty pounds of food. 

Let the games begin

To some, it may seem a bit early to be thinking about gardening.  I mean, the snow has just melted from the blizzard.  But it is almost March!  I might not be able to plant much, but I can definitely get started on several things.

Today, it was about 50 degrees, so I began clearing out the old flower garden to get it ready to become part of this year's vegetable garden.  While I did think the black eyed susans were pretty, I would rather put something out there that is both pretty and delicious!  So the leaves have been raked out, and the flowers have been removed.  The strawberries that were already there are turning green and will be ready to flower soon.  Also, the garlic that I planted in October is starting to come up, and it looks like it is doing well.  Yum! 

Within the next few weeks, I will start planting the lettuces, broccoli, spinach, potatoes and other cool-weather items.  My goal is to make this an edible but aesthetically pleasing garden, not just boring rows.  Check back for updated plans and pictures as the weather gets warmer!

Don't wait for the future

I recently re-read a portion of Pema Chodron's book Comfortable with Uncertainty.  While Chodron addresses many topics surrounding meditation and Buddhist practices, the chapter in Comfortable with Uncertainty I keep going back to is titled "Slogan: 'Abandon any hope of fruition.'" At first, it sounds a little dark, but Chodron explains that this slogan means that as long as you are hoping for things to change, they never will.  People often orient themselves toward the future, thinking "Once I (fill in the blank), things will be better" or "As soon as I (fill in the blank), then I will be happy." 

For many people, the thought goes something like this: "Once I lose weight, then I will be happy and satisfied."  Is it good to strive for improvement?  Absolutely.  But staking your happiness and satisfaction on something that may never happen sounds pretty risky to me.  What are you supposed to do in the mean time?  Be sad and dissatisfied with yourself?

This orientation toward some future event is wasted energy.  If we decide to enjoy where we are and how we are with all of the quirks, this allows us to live in the present rather than wasting the present on a future that may never come.    I challenge you to enjoy every moment of every day, no matter how good or bad the moments may be.