Town House Homestead Tuesday

Well it's taken until the third week of April to stop snowing and completely turn warmer. This past weekend we actually had blue skies and sunshine. Temperatures went from the mid thirties on a daily basis to upper fifties Saturday, and upper sixties for Sunday. It was so nice not to have snow, rain, and mud.

We actually took the outdoor chairs out to enjoy the sun and relax a bit. We haven't relaxed like this in the last two years with all the work that has had to be done. It felt great.

Hunter is enjoying the better weather and is learning that it is okay to be out by himself. The nicer weather has brought more for him to chase and bark at. It is going to be an interesting summer watching him learn about all of these new things. 

It was such a pleasure to open the shed and have everything neatly put away. We still have some painting to do on it, but it is coming. We raked some of the winter brush out of the garden and got a two foot chicken wire fence around the whole thing. We know it won't keep the deer out, or even some of the smaller critters, but the intent is to keep Hunter out. It became his through the winter, but now it is ours to develop more. To the right of the shed you can see the root ball to one of the massive pines that were blown over with the last wind storm. Two went down, and as much a mess as it is for the neighbors to clean up, we now have morning sun for the house and garden. 

I have filled every spot I can with seedlings. These are flowers and tomatoes. We are hoping to build the pollination garden more so that we can bring in bees again next spring,

I have a great start with the sunflowers. I started red ones this year too. I keep forgetting that I have bulbs to go out too and need to leave room for them. 

The kitchen table is loaded with seedlings. In the back I have celery growing, two pots of bird house gourds, and peppers. The peppers are slow and I think it is because I can't get it warm enough for them yet. I have a heater for the shelves in the basement, but it has been so cold that most attempts at warmth have failed. They need eighty degrees to really grow, but we only need sixty eight to be warm.

I started six cucumber plants and four popcorn. Most of my gardening will be container gardening for now, but the plan is to have two raised beds fenced in, in the coming month or so, weather permitting. I have hired the work out and I know it will be done well. 

These are petunia seedlings. I was hoping that I could grow my own for hanging baskets, but again I believe they needed warmer temps. I am not giving up on them yet, but if I have to I will buy a flat and make my own baskets. I have so many different flowers starting that I can't picture them all here. Now to get the garden cleared more so we can grow them. 

Finally the last window was installed. This process started before Thanksgiving last year. One last time for them to come and wrap two windows on the outside, touch up some basement insulation they missed and call the job done. This is the bathroom window that we have had to work back into shape. Fixing molding, priming it all, and getting it painted. We are so ready to have this bathroom done so we can move on to other projects. That is what has been keeping us busy here at the Town House Homestead. Thank you for stopping by and have a wonderful week. 

Town House Homestead Tuesday

First day of Spring and it is still so cold. I think more snow is expected too. All we can do is take it one day at a time. Right? My blog posts seem to be a bit boring lately and not very colorful. I cannot wait for the gardens to awaken and bloom. 

For now, as my daughter says, if we want green we can look at the bathroom as work continues. She thought that the sink area would be the hardest job, but it appears that the window is requiring a lot of work that was left for us to do after it was replaced. Molding was not put back right, lumber they used was different sizes, and neatness was not their cup of tea. Lots of filling and sanding to get it to the quality job she wants it to be. 

With all the snow and cold I've been making lots of warm winter meals. Thanksgiving casserole and Shepherds pie are two favorites and stretch a ways.

I've also been using the abundance to fill the pantry. This is turkey and turkey broth. I will have it ready for when we need to make quick meals or we are strapped for grocery money. Planning ahead means we can do more to fix up the homestead.

There are signs all around that Spring weather should be on the way. Pots and trays for more seeds to be started. My main goal this summer is the pollination garden and a couple of raised beds. So far we are on course to meet this goal.

The seeds are sprouting in egg cartons and Solo cups. Mostly flowers, but I have peppers started too. So hoping they sprout this week. Tomatoes will be next. Most everything else will be planted in containers again this year, or in the two new raised beds.

This is Tobias. He's a German Shepherd and he came to play with Hunter. He is much older and put Hunter in his place a few times.

This is Kayia and she came along with Tobias. She is nine years old, also a German Shepherd, and wasn't having much of Hunter's child play, so Tobias guarded her for most of the visit. She has arthritis in her hip and running around with Hunter was not going to happen, but he was exposed to more dogs and that's what he needs. He is growing up. Still very rambunctious, but the change to adult is happening. 

Hunter was the little guy. At the end of the day we heard that Kayia and Tobias were as zonked out as Hunter. It was a good visit. So that's what is going on here at the Town House Homestead. Lots of work, lots of fun, and most assuredly lots of growth. Thank you for stopping by and have a great week.

Town House Homestead Tuesday

Temperatures this past week reached a high of sixty, and garden fever started to set in. I got out to do little clean up things and took the time to enjoy the fresh air. No lawn chair time yet.

With the mild temperatures I worked on teaching Hunter to go out and play by himself. He did a lot of exploring and in a week has gained the confidence to be alone for a while. I think he even forgot that he was alone. 

In one twelve hour overnight, the temperatures went down to five degrees and we go a nice cover of snow. At least twelve inches with higher drifts. Very normal for January. With Hunter's new confidence though, we had to struggle to get him to come in. He is a snow dog for sure. I can now just open the door and let him go. Training a puppy has been a chore, but he is learning a new word this week. The word is "love". When he doesn't bite or jump we are repeating the word love and rewarding him. This may take a bit longer, but it's working. 

I did, however, have to have my daughter keep him inside while I shoveled a path to the compost bin. This would have been a festival for him, but unsafe for me. He will learn to walk with me I'm sure, but for now it's a tag team chore. 

Now that he will go outside for more than twenty minutes alone, it gives me time to make him cookies. These are sweet potato carrot cookies. Money saving and healthier for him. Takes no time at all to make, and I could have just sliced them, but it's fun using the cutter. 

To get my garden fever under control I started some chamomile. It seems to take a bit longer to get strong enough to transplant so I started it early. With the demise of the bee colony we can now take the time to build a good pollination garden.

I have finally chosen my next knitting project. This popcorn stitch shawl is in one of my 1978 pamphlets. I have already taken the time to write out the instructions, so I can read them and have them ready row by row. I have time to think about color and types of yarn while I finish some socks and small projects. Even though this would be awesome for sitting and quilting to keep me warm, it is a while down the road before I will get to start, if not next winter.
That is what has been going on here at the Town House Homestead. We are still waiting on the windows and insulation. It takes four to six weeks to get the windows, so not much longer before major work begins. It's been a time to slow down and mend hurting bodies, and as you can tell dedicate time to raising a great pet. Thank you for stopping by and have a great week. Remember to share your abundance and love. 

Town House Homestead Tuesday

Like most weeks I never know how much I get done until I upload my pictures and actually see it. We all have our ordinary household chores to do, but for some of us who enjoy gardening, farming, and all that, "being a little more self sufficient includes", may do a few extraordinary things. This week the new cooking "thing" was sweet potatoes. I always have frozen sweet potatoes on hand, but we are trying to eat better and are including them more in our snacks and cooking. I've made chips before, but always in the oven and I was never satisfied. I received a mandolin to slice vegetables and went to work slicing them up and put them in the dehydrator this time. I liked them better and might add cinnamon to the next round. I also played with a quiche crust made from sliced sweet potatoes. This was incredibly awesome. Easier than pie crust and much more delicious. Winner, winner! 

I did a bit of sewing this week. My younger daughter asked if I could turn this vintage Snoopy curtain into a lap quilt and this is the result. Simple, warm, and cozy. She took it home yesterday. 

My eldest daughter received a vintage canister that quickly became the newest addition to her microwave cart for her studio. It just fit on the bottom shelf. It's for decoration only. I hope she feels better soon and can get back to her creations.

My seedlings are doing great. If all of them come up however, I may be in trouble. I will have to find places to put them outside where the deer can't get them and they aren't close to the bees. So many critters to deal with, but challenges are what life's all about. These are marigolds, onions, and one lonely sunflower.

This past week we had a horrible wind storm. Winds were recorded up to 83 mph and many people lost power. Most is back today thank goodness. With this heavy snow storm today, being without power would have added more stress to people's lives they weren't prepared for. Heard of a few nasty tempers flying about and was so glad we have plenty on hand. We were lucky and didn't lose power, but are ready to at least survive for a while. This was a very large piece of blowing metal coming down the road towards the house. Fortunately it blew in another direction and got caught up in the fence.

I received birthday presents yesterday. It's not until this weekend, but my daughter's both surprised me. I received a Costco cart and now I have one of my own. I will be able to use it to move things around the house easier. My knees and hip are not the best any more, so this will allow me to move things without making several trips. I wonder if the creator of these carts ever thought they'd be used to transport groceries from the garage to the kitchen via a breezeway, and would make life easier for us. This one will be inside and I want to paint it bright yellow. It was originally black and has been spray painted a couple of times, so there's plenty of work to do before I can re paint it. I also received a yellow ware bowl, a collectible Waeschersbach shamrock mug, a little man to brew my tea, two butterfly coloring books, and colored pencils. Both of my girls know me well. 

That's what's been happening around here this past week. I have lots more going on and can't wait to tell you about it. The next six weeks are going to busy getting ready for the bees, so many new pictures and tales will be coming. Thank you for stopping by and stay safe if you're experiencing bad weather. Stay warm too and I'll see you again soon. 

Town House Homestead Tuesday

I wish this could be a longer post today, but the activity around here preparing for Spring, has kept me doing just the ordinary stuff. My daughter was able to return to work today, but still will need to be slow and careful so her back will continue to mend. We have a lot more work to do to prepare the hive for the soon to be here bees, and we hope that that can start this coming week. One minute at a time.

I was able to afford another light for my germination shelf and it is already up and working. I am so ready to be outside all day, but the weather has been so mixed up lately. 

Seedlings are starting to pop their little heads through the soil and they seem so happy. I love nature and it's wonders. Every morning is a new sight. These are calendula seedlings. I have a good amount of flower seeds working. Along with the calendula I have butterfly milkweed, chamomile, marigolds, and sun flowers. If these grow well they will be in the pollinating garden surrounding the newly installed hive. 

I have some container tomatoes started also. I will be using containers again this summer for some vegetables because the food garden will come as we keep growing. I also have green onions, crimson forest bunch onions (red bunch onions), and shallots also getting their groove on. These can be put in the pollinating garden this year. There's lots to be moved to this new garden from around the yard too. We will continue to be busy I think. I hope to start some peppers and other tomato varieties so that I have at least one of each so we don't get bored with tomatoes. 

To end this short post I am sharing some more green. I hung my holiday kitchen apron and pot holders up this weekend. It's reminding me that I need to get to some more sewing, and get a few more projects done. So, love life and enjoy it. Do some simple gardening and brighten your life and those around you. Be cheery. That's what's been happening at the new Town House Homestead. Thank you for stopping by and have a wonderful week.