spring appears to have sprung

Last week we were able to get our citrus trees planted. I can't wait to see the area in a couple of years when the trees have filled out. We planted a Myer lemon, a Satsuma orange and a CaraCara orange (at least that's what the man on the side of the road said it was). We still want to graft a grapefruit tree this year. The lemon tree that came with the house if full of blooms - you can stand at the back door and if the wind is blowing right smell the blooms. The bees have been all over it.
 

The blueberries are blooming. Blueberries are so funny because they loose their leaves in the winter and then bloom in the early spring and then regrow their leaves.

The cabbage, kale, lettuce and broccoli I planted in January is doing great. They are really responding to this warm winter. I hope it doesn't get hot too soon so we can enjoy these greens for a while.

We planted about 100 red onions and about 300 yellow onions a few weeks ago. They are also doing great. We also plant about 80 garlic cloves the other evening.  Some neighborhood children were over and decided to help us.

We planted 5 pounds each of red , yukon gold and russett potatoes.  We have so much tilling to do that I decided not to till the potato bed.  Potatoes don't need particularly good soil to grow.  So, we laid a thick layer of leaves down and then put some mushroom compost on it.  Then we cut the potatoes and laid them on the leaves and covered them with straw.  Once they start growing we'll keep adding more straw and leaves and grow them up instead of down.  I've heard of people growing them in trash cans and in straw - we'll see if it works for us. 

The seedlings are doing pretty good.  None of the peppers have come up but most of the tomatoes and squash have come up.  I'll probably buy a few transplants also.  Now we just need to get some more areas tilled up. 

Do you garden?  If so, tell us how your garden plans are going?

This post is linked to The Barn Hop and Tuesday Garden Party.

drama, sunshine and extra children

This week we are in the depths of costume making for our homeschool drama club.  We also are supposed to have lots of sunshine so tilling up the garden is on the agenda.  And just because one can never have too many children running around one's home, I have two extra preschoolers this week.

All this to say, I'll be absent from this space until sometime next week.  I'll be back with (hopefully) lots of pictures of costumes, gardening and the antics that happen with extra children. 

{this moment}

{this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.(Amanda Soule)


If you're inspired to do the same, leave a link to your 'moment' in the comments for all to find and see.

making bath fizzies

In the spirit of "keeping it real" I thought I'd share a fun, but failed, craft we did the other night. It all started when we were planning out a co-op class for our younger elementary students.  We're learning about Valentine's Day this month and thought these bath fizzies would make a fun craft. 

Apparently citric acid is not something you can readily find here and the one pharmacy that could order it for me wanted $16 for 4oz....yikes!!  Then I read that you can use Fruit Fresh if you can't find citric acid.  So off the the grocery store to get Fruit Fresh.  The day of co-op both my co-teacher and I forgot a spray bottle and so when they did the craft they just added water.  (I was teaching another class by this time) But they preserved on, and when I went to get the tray to take them home to dry they were a goopy mess.  So I decided that we would remake them at home, using a spray bottle this time. 

But they aren't real solid and they don't fizz when we put one of them in water.  But they smell good and we had a lot of fun making them.  I'm sure the problem is user error, because Ms. Martha said it works.  I think you really need citric acid, Fruit Fresh has some citric acid but it also has other things in it.  Also, you really do need a spray bottle, if you use too much water at one time the acid and the baking soda will react.  You don't want them to react until you put them in the bath.

So, there you go, "keeping it real" at the Schneider's.

In the garden...starting seeds

Last year when I started seeds I used toilet paper rolls to start them.  It worked well.  But then I saw the soil block builder.  Never heard of a soil block builder?  Let me introduce you.  It's this cool tool that takes soil and compacts it into a block.  You plant a seed in the block, cover it with soil and let it grow.



We started with seed starting soil and added some mushroom compost
to it.  You need the soil very moist so that it will stick together.

Mixing up some more soil.

Fill the block builder with soil.  Push down the handle to release
the blocks.

 

The blocks even have a little divot to put the seed in.  Cover with a little soil.

Our labeled tray...Esther did the all black one

Can I just say that I love this little toy tool? In just a couple of hours we started 250 seeds.  I'm sure that's way too many, especially since we haven't finished tilling up the garden beds.  But I can always give away what we don't plant.  I also started some flowers.  I'm not much of a flower gardener, but I've always wanted to be.

We put up some shelves outside and put the trays on them.  I've also filled a spray bottle with water so that we can just mist them instead of flooding them with water.

This post is linked to Homestead Barn Hop and Tuesday Garden Party.

in the kitchen...dehydrating tomatoes

A friend surprised me with a lot of grape tomatoes.  Usually when I have too many tomatoes I can them, but grape tomatoes would give me lots of skins in the tomatoes.  So, I thought I'd dehydrate them.  I love sun dried tomatoes.  And while these aren't quite "sun dried" I think they'll do nicely.


Some went into the trash, some to the chickens and the good ones went
into the dehydrator



One bowl filled four trays



The four trays filled one quart jar after dehydrating



To Dehydrate Tomatoes:

• Wash {I used a little vinegar water as some of the ones we threw away were quite yucky}
• Slice {no larger than 1/4" thick}
• Put in dehydrator {skin side down, it they are cherry or grape tomatoes}
• Dehydrate on 150 degrees until all the moisture is out {these took about 24 hours} 

I usually use dried tomatoes in stir fry type dishes but I've heard that you can grind these into a powder and then mix it with water and use like tomato paste. I think I'll try this when we make spaghetti sauce with our tomatoes this summer.  I'll also use it when I make mexican rice - the tomato bullion that I can find locally has msg so I try to avoid it. 

This post is linked to Barn Hop , Works for me Wednesday and Tasty Tuesday.

{this moment}

{this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.(Amanda Soule)

If you're inspired to do the same, leave a link to your 'moment' in the comments for all to find and see.

corners of our home::the girls room

Phoebe worked in her room for hours the other day.  There are definite cons to rooming with a two year old.  Things like freshly folded clothes being thrown all over the floor, books being taken off the shelf and left here and there and, worst of the worst, little feet rubbing on you while you're trying to go to sleep.  But then there's the hugs and kisses and having a real live "baby doll" to dress up and fix hair on that's pretty cool.  So it balances out.



Eventually I want to paint all the furniture the same color of white.  And I need
to figure out how to fix the drawer pull on Esther's dresser.



Phoebe uses a doilie and embroidery hoop to hang her earrings. 



My grandmother painted this picture and the vase of roses over the
dressers.  I'm so happy that Phoebe wants them in her room.



The canopy got a little squished in the move, we need
to get a new hula hoop to round it back out. 



Bookshelves full of "treasures"  when you're the only granddaughters
on both sides of your family you wind up getting lots of figurines.  We still
need to find a place for the porcelain dolls.



Phoebe loves mysteries.  Some of these are from Carl's childhood, most
are from Christian who has decided he's outgrown The Hardy Boys.



I'm so thankful I keep the picture books from the older children.  It's so fun
hearing them read to Esther and tell her how much they liked a
certain book.


We still have some things we want to do in here like paint the walls, make a new duvet (Esther got nail polish on this one) and make some curtains.  Phoebe really likes the draw cord on the drapes so I think I'll try to make some kind of curtains that use the cord.  But this room is pretty low on the list, in fact it isn't even officially on this years list. 

Any ideas for paint colors?  Phoebe kind of wants lime green, pink and purple. We have a friend whose room is done like that and is beautiful.  I just don't know if it will be too crazy here. I prefer muted colors.

in my kitchen... chicken and dumplings

We've had a really warm winter and while it's been great for being outside and getting some work done, it really hasn't made us in the mood for soups.  However, this weekend was super rainy and cold, at least cold for us, and so I took the opportunity to make some chicken and dumplings.

I roasted several whole chickens in the roaster oven the day before.  We had one for that night's dinner and then we (as in Gabriel) picked the meat off the bones of the the other ones.  I can get three meals from two chickens if I shred the meat and use it in soup or a casserole but if I serve it whole the whole chicken is eaten and the boys are clamouring for more. 

I saved the stock from the chicken, skimmed off the fat and used it to season the soup.  In a big pot (a 12 qt. pot)  I put the chicken stock, meat and chopped carrots.  Then I added some salt and pepper.  I will sometimes add a dash of cayenne if we are sick.  This is my basic chicken soup "recipe".  I can add rice, barley, noodles or, in the case this weekend, dumplings.

To make the dumplings:

2 cups flour (I used all purpose flour - I've never used whole wheat although I should try it)

1 Tbsp. baking powder

1 1/2 tsp. salt

1 cup milk (you can add up to 2 Tbsp more if you need to)

Mix ingredients in order given.  Roll out to 1/2 inch thick.  Cut into 1" square pieces.  Drop one at a time into boiling broth and cook until done.  The dumplings will puff up and float and then sink when they are done. 

Enjoy.

For more great recipes, check out Tasty Tuesday. 

Seven Habits, One Thousand Gifts and other January Books

Earlier this year I picked two books a month to read and listed them out.  I normally read more than that, but since my way of picking books is usually just perusing the new section of the library there's books I've wanted to read that never get read because I don't have a list. So for January I read...

{Seven Habits of Highly Effective People by Steven Covey}

I read this book because it is part of a class we put together for our homeschool co-op.  Each month the students read a book that will (hopefully) inspire them.  Moms are rotating in to teach the class.  So I taught January's book. This book really could have been used for a semester or even a year long class.  There was that much information in it.  It was a lot to try to take in for a month.  Most of the kids didn't care much for the book, it is definitely written for an adult audience.  However, we had great discussion about private victory and public victory.  I really appreciate that this book is not just about changing habits, at its core its about becoming a person who values others and a person who is self disciplined.  These two traits will carry a person far in life - no matter what their definition of success is.  I think the kids will revisit this book when they get a little older. 

{One Thousand Gifts by Ann Voscamp}  This is a book I've been wanting to read and it's been all the rage in the blog sphere.  Friends have been astounded that I haven't read this book "yet??"  Apparently they don't know how randomly I pick my books.  A dear friend gave me this book for Christmas with an inscription that I will cherish forever.  Because I have read both positive and negative reviews on Amazon, I knew that this book was written very poetically.  I'm good with that kind of writing but only for short periods of time.  So I knew I'd be taking this one slow, what I didn't realize was just how slow.  I'm still reading it!! I've determined to just read a small section or two at a time and so it's taken me a while.  I wonder if those who wrote the negative reviews would have done that if their review would have been different?  There's such goodness in here, although I will say, I almost didn't make it through the first chapter.  So far, I've thought deeply about gratitude, grace and the goodness of God.  It has been oh so very good.

{The Heirloom Life Gardener by Jere and Emilee Gettle} This couple owns the Baker Creek Seed company and has a love for heirloom seeds.  The photographs are amazing in this book.  They are printed on matte paper and almost look like paintings or drawings instead of photos.  It was filled with tons of information about heirloom seeds and growing different plants from seed.  This was one of the books I would flip through before going to bed.  Very easy, light, feel good reading.  

{Practical Guide to Patchwork by Elizabeth Hartman}  Elizabeth blogs at oh, Fransson!  and is a very talented sewist.  Her book is filled with great tips and fun projects for the beginning quilter.  Because I'm deep in the costume making business right now and since I have several incomplete quilt tops in my sewing closet, I knew this would be a picture book for me.  I read through the first couple of chapters and then just enjoyed looking at the pictures.  Because at the end of some days picture books are what I need.

{Tell Your Time by Amy Lynn Andrews - ebook} I loved this little ebook.  What I especially liked about it was that it was short, has very practical advice and has some planning pages... and it is cheap.  I like that Amy suggests using envelopes of time just like our family does for finances.  It's very easy to get over committed and this book helps you think through your time. 

{Making It by Kelly Coyne}  A friend suggested this book to me and after waiting forever for someone to turn it back into the library I finally got to read it.  It was so good I actually bought it.  It is full of great ideas for making things instead of buying them.  Ideas that range from gardening, home improvement, even keeping chickens and bees.  I found out that sweet potato leaves can be sauteed and eaten like spinach or kale.  I really want to try some in a container, but I need to get over my reluctance to eat house plants. 

I only planned out books for the first half of the year, if you have suggestions for the last half please leave them in the comments.