Town House Homestead Tuesday

Well it's been another exciting week here at the new Town House Homestead. As Spring awakes all the plants that have been neglected for a couple of years are becoming our new discoveries. We had a good idea of what some of the bushes were. Others are still to be identified. The view to the right of our kitchen window shows you one of two Lilac bushes. This is in the back yard, there is another magnificent bush in the front. There was a small tree, possibly a pink dogwood, that had to be removed because it was 90 percent gone. 

Imagine our excitement, and I mean that literally, when we discovered what we could do food wise with Lilacs. Although they play with our allergies heavily, my daughter proceeded to harvest some. It seems a few go a long way. 

Here, she is preparing the buds and blossoms to use for Lilac oil, Lilac extract, and Lilac sugar. It was time consuming, but hopefully we will be rewarded by taking advantage of what the property has to offer. 

Here they are starting to work. It's a matter of watching the length of time that they need to steep and blend. I will update with the results. I did make some Lilac muffins that turned out to be more of a cookie in a cupcake liner than a muffin. They were edible, but didn't really taste of Lilacs. I will be trying again with a recipe of my own for basic muffins and add the Lilac blossoms to it and see how they turn out. Update later.

It has become knowledge to us that this land and the land around has not been chemically treated. We have Dandelions all over the place and we've gained a new respect for them. No fighting nature here. My daughter is steeping Dandelions in oil to prepare a muscle salve. So far things are moving in a positive direction. Lots of work to be done yet to bring the house and the land back to a good point. 

This very healthy rabbit is one of the animals that will be part of the battle for the garden. It doesn't have to worry too much this year because there's plenty of work before anything can go in the ground there any way. Just look how plump it is. 

With Spring also comes the grass. I'm sure the neighbors are pleased that after a few years of downhill for this property, it's finally being taken care off. This was the maiden mow. My daughter was trying to beat the rain and she got the front done to a point of neatness. The back is still waitning. She had never mowed a lawn before, none the less driven a riding mower. This was our four week point here and we both crashed, literally, once the storms moved in. 

Why a photo of coffee you ask? Well this one pound bag of Starbucks coffee and the twelve ounce bag of Gevalia coffee was our big savings of the week. Using coupons and rewards and finding a discounted item these two bags of coffee came to a grand total of $2.04. I can tell you that every cup so far has been perfect. So that's the goings on here at the new Town House Homestead. Thank you for stopping by and have a wonderful week.