Raising Seedlings in the Cold

About three weeks ago, something in me snapped. (If you ask those at Bettendorf Chiropractic that do my prenatal adjustments and massages they would say it was my back and hips, 3 pregnancies in 2 1/2 years has done a number on my body.) But no, it was nothing physical it was the domestic diva section of my frontal lobe! I looked around my house and I was disgusted! I have living this house 3 years and there was so much I never did or cared to do, and it showed. I wanted to make a change, so I did, and boy does my house look better in those three short weeks:-) I owe all the praise for my home's transformation to my mother (Love you!) and Pinterest (love you too!) I will also give myself a little credit for also doing a lot of time consuming organizing, and pitching of accumulated crap.   The biggest transformation was my kitchen! My mother and I (mostly my mother) redecorated my breakfast nook to provide seating and storage for under $200. It looks fabulous and I now have redu...

Here are some Grandparents Day Printables for You and Yours. I printed mine on photo paper and framed them for my parents, in-laws, and grandparents for Grandparents Day, which is Sunday:-) (Sorry I ruined your gift mom and dad, but time is of the essence, and I couldn't keep these a secret any longer:-)) Go here to download these in best quality. Grandparents Printables . Great Grandparents Printable.

 My first reaction upon seeing the above sight, was "Joshua Martin Brueggen, What the f&%k am I going to do with all of these tomatoes!?" (The kids were asleep...) They were three and four tomatoes deep near the middle of the table.  Plus this actual picture is missing the tomatoes I used to make 11 pints of the salsa below! I was overwhelmed, not just whelmed. The idea of processing these tomatoes, and in a timely fashion, made my head spin. I may have the patience of a saint (I am a teacher after all), but I have the attention span of a five year old. The twelve pounds I used to make salsa took me up to 8 hours start to finish to process. I cried and swore I would let these tomatoes rot rather than spend hours over the stove and sink peeling each frickin tomato. Oh and that I would never go hungry again, as I took a juicy bite. Damn Good Salsa Damn Good Salsa Add Mrs. Wages Salsa mix and 1/4 cup vinegar to (6lbs tomatoes, 2lbs onions, cilantro and jalepeno to ...

I know this is the type of post one should write around New Years, but right now sounded good to me as well. Josh recently asked for (asking for it/ challenge for me to find flaws in his man skills) a list of all the things that needed to be done and updated around our "urban homestead" as he likes to call it. Well since he "asked for it" I am going to give it to him with no malice attached :-) I think many of the projects we want accomplished are the same many others want accomplished around their homes as well, so I am not only going to post the list, but show how we accomplished each task as we went, and do them ALL in one year! Challenge Accepted! And it is going to be Legen....wait for it...dary! Here is the list: Install crown molding in living room. Finish shelving units in the living room Install new fireplace mantel Paint fireplace Install shelves in our new pantry, and organize food stuffs Install TV above fireplace and hide wires. Display ...

                           Cinnamon Pumpkin Coffee Cake This week marks my first as a stay at home mom. I must say, I have a new found respect for my own mother, and want to know how in the hell she retained her sanity all these years. While the time with TJ and Jack has been precious, when they were asleep (both at the same time) or were enraptured in some new toy or another, I had no idea what to do with myself. So I tried playing along with the new toys (crayons) but I didn't color in the right spot and we had a serious melt down. So I picked up a book, the booked sucked... (need some reading suggestions...) So I picked up my cross stitch I started with my last pregnancy, and realized it was more boring than staring at the wall, which was what I was doing before, which is also better than what was currently on TV (Elmo's world...) So...

 amount  OK, time for an update.  To the left is a photo of the greenhouse currently.  Due to the warm early weather I did a lot of planting of summer crops early in March.  On account of this we are about 45 days into the growing season.  I have begun constructing raised beds according to the grand plan, and filling them with soil removed from an area of my basement.  Below is a string of close up photos of a few of the crop beds; they are looking pretty good considering without a hoophouse most of these crops would barely even be planted yet.  First Planting of sweet corn, green beans, and sweet potatoes.  The green beans are beginning to bloom, and the corn is about waist high. This bed contains the second planting of green beans, sweet corn, and sweet potatoes which have been planted as sister crops.  Visible in this photo are tomatos, and sweet bell peppers.  Note the heavy bloom set on the tomatos. Thi...

Orange Cranberry Oatmeal Muffins 1 2/3 quick cook oats 1 1/4 flour 3/4 cup brown sugar 2 tsp cinnamon 1 tsp ginger 1 tsp baking powder 1 tsp baking soda Put oats in blender and pulse until a coarse meal. Mix in the other ingredients listed. Make a well in the middle of ingredients In a separate bowl, mix 1 cup buttermilk 1/2 cup orange juice Zest of one orange 1/4 cup vegetable oil 2 eggs Whisk these ingredients together. Pour liquid into the well you created. Mix dry and wet ingredients just until combine. It will look a little thin and lumpy. Mix in dried cranberries. About a cup. Bake at 400 for 16-20 minutes.