Tuesday, May 25, 2010

plan the work and work the plan

then pray that you don't fall or have a bout of extreme pain in between.
my sister in law is coming to visit
i love her
i have planned out the stuff that needs doing between then and now
oye
then i started to do it
however i forget all the time how long stuff takes to air dry without the woodstove...........oye oye
so instead of starting with one group of things such as 'winter handknits' to be washed
i am going to do the 'hang on hangers' to dry group but just freeze the handknits for now
so i have to find the delicate things net bags that i use to wash acrylic sweaters in the machine-
i'll start doing that
i'll freezing winter coats ( wool stuff gets frozen for bug control-just in case)

i am up at 5am.........i am hoping to get back on track with house work and knitting work
i haven't knitted in a while with all the other stuff plus my shoulder...i have sample knitting that i want to get done for a very wonderful person. i feel bad that it's not done yet

last night for supper (warning..abrupt change of topic..... opps too late for the warning) i made a roast angus beef, scalloped potatoes (with cheddar) out of my home dried russet slices, and fresh broccoli cause we had it in the fridge
it was a fantastic dinner
i soaked the potato slices in water for a few hours before i added the homemade onion/white/cheddar sauce then baked it in the oven with the roast.......BIG HIT
so that's a good thing
boy, it was fast
now drying potatoes is not an easy thing to do
you scrub them very very well, slice them 1/8'' thick ....blanch them
- wash the starch off then dry them until they get a bit translucent or even transparent
i did 50 pounds of russets.......OLD russets
but it was either that or we would have lost the bag
dried potato slices are a good thing to have around as they are FAST in stews, soups and scalloped potatoes or fast ham/potato casserole
so the work pays off big

(another abrupt change of topic.......you should be used to this by now) i planted cucumbers. not enough cucumbers, mind........... but a few.....three different varieties
northern pickling
burpee pickler
bush pickle
( i think those are the names)
the northern is a vine about 6 feet tall,  i put that on the fence post, the other two are bush, one is two feet tall the other one is 1.5 feet tall.
i am going to have to get small trellises for them (small tomato cages will do)
i moved a few more bush beans, i snapped one plant clean off......damn- as i don't have more bush bean seeds right now, (ordered them from heirloom acres........we'll see if we get them before august.....they have good seed but TERRIBLE customer service and shipping, so i don't recommend them)
i have to fill the next bed which will be pole beans and cuc's
now the last bed will be i think chard and salad.......or maybe spinach later....
the slugs are going to town on my bush beans so i put the sluggo with diatomatous earth down.
i have to pick them for the chickens

the chickens btw, are learning the joys of slugs, bugs, digging in the dirt, eating weeds....so they will be Xpen'd in the main garden to weed for me.......good chickens.....very good chickens
the new pullets are taming down fast now
the one that is laying is coming to me the second she sees me now..... so we are going to name her
i think collette..... (YES we still have budgies to name...... i am thinking emma, with the other one,  maybe fanny...so far nothings fit that yellow one)
anyway this chicken is the partridged one with the lighter head....... there is another partridged one with a darker head......then the chocolate one, last the orpington looking one
they glisten in the sun
henrietta as well as dulcette are getting on better with the new ones.... henrietta though i think is having a few problems with her little arthritic feet

now you are caught up with most everything right? it was so humid yesterday that i bought a folding chair out to sit in for a bit until i could stop sweating. i pitched a bit of weeds into the chicken palace after i realized that the girls are trying to get through the fence to eat the weeds.....that's FAST.......so i am trying to pitch as much weeds into the pen as i can
they are voracious- mommy's little garden bulldozers.......hahahaha
they need to get the slugs now too.

as to pictures..........i need to get batteries for the camera, which won't be today that's for sure... so right now no pictures. i am so sorry
ok coffee's ready

2 comments:

  1. Anonymous12:42 PM

    Thanks so much for the instructions about drying potatoes. I hope to start preserving more food. You are an inspiration!

    flicka

    ReplyDelete
  2. Just sort of stopped work and am thinking about how to fill four little plastic glasses with milk, choc milk, and OJ. Cute glasses, too. Clear with a round of flowers, birds, and butterflies. But not straight sided, so an increasing cylinder, sort of, with a smaller bottom than top. Probably plastic canvas for the bottom and top (inside the yarn) and stuffing between. Have white yarn, of course, but the choc milk and OJ colors will be a slight stretch. No, I can't go shopping for yarn at this point. Going to be packing them Friday evening.

    ReplyDelete

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vi