That Naughty Wheat Bread...

I so wish I remembered to get batteries for the camera! I wanted to show you my amazingly flat and dense wheat bread. I made the mistake of rising, punching down, separating into loaves and then (attempting to) rise again. What I should have done was to separate into loaves, rise, then bake. Because when I punched it down, it had risen beautifully. And it did not rise again! Ahh...such is life. Trial and error. Hubby and the kids are use to my cooking mishaps and they are far too gracious.

A Truly Fascinating Blog....

I have long adored the Amish and their simpler, old-fashion way of life. I've devoured book after book about them. I've made bread from their recipes. I've visited their local community. I've gawked in awe and admiration, and smiled when I see them around town.

One of my favorite blogs is about a non-Amish family who bought an Amish homestead and now live, off grid complete with outhouses, among the Amish. It has been a fantastic journey and dream come true for them and I absolutely adore reading about their latest happenings. Please check it out here http://eclecticculturefarm.blogspot.com/2009/01/welcome.html

On a side note, it was a super busy weekend and my camera has dead batteries, so I'm not up to posting much else right now. So in the mean time, please check out the blog above and also check out the others listed on the right...so many fantastic people up to some amazing things!

Who's up for some fun?

meme from Tansy who got it from karl who got it from Naturally simple who got it from Tabitha:

The first five people to respond to this post will get something made by me. I will try to make these be about or tailored to those five lucky people. This offer does have some restrictions and limitations:

1. I make no guarantees that you will like what I make!
2. What I create will be just for you.
3. It’ll be done this year
4. You have no clue what it’s going to be.

The catch? Oh, the catch is that you have to put this in your journal as well, if you expect me to do something for you! And please link to your blog so that I can visit and read in case we are new friends.

*The giveaways I have seen on other blogs have had me thinking about doing one of my own. I think this will be a wonderful place to start!

A Quick Check In....

Well, my Anti-Procrastination Week items have been put on the back burner because the weather is too beautiful to be inside! Yesterday was sunny, around 50 degrees so I worked in the yard. Today is to be the same. I'm not fooled though...I know winter is not over! I'll get back to the indoor stuff when this beautiful weather passes.

I was able to mark DONE next to one of my TO DO items in the right hand column. I found a local source of wheat berries! They are certified organic too. Not as local as I wish, two hours from me but with a drop off point about half way, but I am thrilled to have found them. I found them on craigslist, from this farm http://gasperfarm.com/ . Check them out! I spoke to the Mrs. of the farm on the phone yesterday evening and she was delightful and very helpful. Now, to get that grain mill...those things are not cheap! I am going to raid, I mean clean, the attic and basement to see if there might be one lurking and ask around before I go buying one. But I already know which one I want if/when I do buy one, the Family Grain Mill http://www.pleasanthillgrain.com/family_grain_mills.aspx . I want it with the motor base and the free hand crank. I better start saving my pennies!

Oh, I forgot to add, that my hubby has been inspired to think about growing our own wheat, which got me very excited! Not only excited to grow our own, but that have him more on board and involved with one of my endeavors. I think we have the field space and the equipment already here. Wouldn't that be fantastic? I'll keep you updated.

I did get that green peasant skirt done, more about that later. For now, I gotta run! How are you doing today?

An Almost Finished Skirt....

Well, I ran out of thread! This type of skirt uses A LOT of thread. I need to get the elastic it calls for too. I think the biggest challenge with this skirt was the layout and making my fabric work.

I thought about cutting a pattern from brown craft paper, but instead decided to just measure, press, and cut.
I think it is turning out really cute, though the pictures do not do it justice.

I have to make a trip to town today anyway, so I'll pick up the thread and elastic. I've never made the kind of waist band this skirt calls for, so it should be interesting! But after the town trip and before working on it, I will be getting back to Anti-Procrastination Week. My goals for today are to do the windows/blinds in at least two more rooms and to clean out the floor vents of the rooms whose windows are done.

Well now, that is some serious dirt!

I noticed something (other than the dirt) in doing this Anti-Procrastination week challenge...I procrastinated even starting it today! But that led my staying busy (to avoid doing it!) and getting the entire house all tidied up good, and then I had no more excuses and HAD to start the challenge. So I did. And it is a GOOD thing...just look at this dirt on the underside of this valance in the little living room!


And on the window frame....

I was expecting dirt, but not THAT much! So I worked on two rooms...the little living room and my craft/sewing room. The curtains were washed, the wood and window sills misted with warm water and orange oil and wiped down, the windows washed, and the mini blinds got a shower. And now....




....it feels so clean and bright! And it is a beautiful sunny day! I'm trying not to think about all of the rest of the windows that need done. Instead I am going to enjoy what I have done and work on some sewing. See that fabric on the ironing board? I bought it to make skirts and I am going to try making this peasant skirt http://www.jcarolinecreative.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Store_Code=JC&Screen=PSKIRT that I found the link to from this blog. http://beautythatmoves.typepad.com/beauty_that_moves/ I think I am going to use the green for it.

I'll keep you updated on my Anti-Procrastination week progress and my skirt adventure! How are you doing with your Anti-Procrastination tasks this week?

Spring Cleaning and Anti-Procrastination Week...

Country Mom had it listed on her blog from Brandi's Blog so I thought I'd join in on Anti-Procrastination Week. Over the past two weeks I have started "spring" cleaning and de-cluttering...so I can spend spring doing other things. But there are things I just keep putting off and putting off. So they have inspired me to just DO IT this week!

I'll have to make a list, but one thing I can think of off the top of my head is window sills and mini blinds. Since we heat with two wood stoves, the house always seems to be dusty and the window sills and blinds seem to just pile it up. My plan for the mini blind future is to get vertical blinds instead of the current horizontal ones. Vertical just seem like they'd be easier to keep clean and that would keep the cats and the kids from breaking them and messing them up looking out the windows. But for now, I have what I have and they need cleaned!

What have you been putting off? Join in and make this your Anti-Procrastination week too!

MY LIST FOR THIS WEEK....

1. Window sills and mini blinds
2. Floor vents
3. Mud Room Closet
4. Anything else that I come across

How to Keep the Snow Away....

Apparently it is as simple as coming across a recipe like this and sticking it on your fridge. We've barely had a flurry since Christmas and since finding this recipe.

The Scavenger Hunt...AKA Our Re-purposing Journey

The farm we live on has been in my husband's family for four generations now. The main house was built by his great grandparents. The stairs to the basement were being poured the day that Pearl Harbor was bombed...and I have heard that story, as well as many others, only about a zillion times and I still love hearing them. My Father In Law is the type that can't hardly throw anything away, someone might need it someday. (He can't seem to put anything away either, but that's another story!) At first, it was annoying with piles of this and that around the farm...I tend to be anti-clutter. Now I am thankful for his habit!

There are outbuildings, of course. Among them a big barn, a hog barn, 2 big sheds, little sheds, and a chicken house. I only recently ventured out to the hog barn for the first time to poke around and man, did it get me excited! In it I found an old wood door. And it still had hinges! JACKPOT! It will become the lid to the cold frame I am building. That inspired me to go on a scavenger hunt to see what all I could find to work on my new endeavors. Hubby and I jumped in his truck and around the farm we went.

In a large shed, a pile of all types and sizes of building wood. That will make the rest of the cold frame as well as other things, like a frame for the seed starter. Fencing for the chicken house was found. Materials to use for a duck pen, found in the hog barn. In an old stove I found racks to use for drying. In the old red barn (picture of it on the right), lots of well rotted cow manure and on the top level straw bales. In the shed, a florescent light fixture to use for the seed starter I am building. And my absolute favorite (and I must take pictures!) is the top cover to a horse wagon - it is a steel frame that is going to make a wonderful my-first-greenhouse! We also found shovels, shovels, and more shovels as well as rakes - can never have too many of them around. And there are a whole bunch of big black mineral buckets that I have already used one to start a compost bin and plan to use several more for that purpose. I'll post as these projects get underway.

I have to say, I now am looking forward to cleaning out the basement and the attic! There are generations worth of stuff there and it will be exciting to see what we find and see what we can use or re-purpose. Our trip around the farm and our time will save us a ton of money and it was actually a great fun "date" for hubby and I. I look forward to doing it again! And quite frankly, all these empty farm buildings have the wheels in my head going...

I'd love to hear your scavenger hunting and re-purposing stories!

A Super Easy Dress...

I made this little dress for my daughter this evening in under an hour. It was super easy to make and consists of a purchased t-shirt and 3/4 yard of fabric. It cost about $6 to make. Unfortunately, I didn't take pictures of the process, but I do plan to make more as my daughter loves it! I think it is pretty cute too and maybe I'll try a grown-up version. I'm invisioning a white v-neck tee with a light colored, light fabric skirt. We'll see. However, she can't wear it to school tomorrow...the wind chill in the morning is supposed to be a whopping -21. Brrrrr. So instead she slept in it tonight! :)