I'm not sure why we tend to hemorrhage money after, literally, making one of the biggest purchases of our lives, but it always seems to happen when we buy a home, and not just to us -- to everyone I know. (If it doesn't happen to you please just keep your smug mouth shut at this point so as not to humiliate the rest of us with your wise ways.)
Read on to see some of what we've been up to!
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| I'm so excited that we have wild chamomile growing on the property. I'm harvesting and storing seeds (dessicant is a great way to keep seeds dry when storing) to encourage them to grow in some more planned places next year! |
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| A bounty of cucumbers, but I miss my Paso Robles apron farm sink. What's the saying, "you don't know what you got 'till it's gone?" Yup. |
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| What girls don't love a nice salad for lunch? |
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| Pumpkin plants are massive, actual pumpkins not so much (yet). |
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| I have more than enough cucumber to keep us in dill relish for the next year. |
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| Big Ag built this pretty garden gate between the vegetables and the henhouse. I'm still figuring out what I want to hang on it. |
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| Soon this little, un-waterproof chicken house will become a storage shed and a larger, sturdier coop will go in its place. The wood on the ground is the form for the concrete of the big henhouse. Chickens do need lots of indoor space in places where it rains a lot, so this is really needed. |
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| This is the old property owner's dog house, which was sitting on the small slab of concrete the little coop is currently sitting on. I'm going to re-purpose it by adding doors and turning it into some kind of storage...chicken food, cedar shavings, skulls of my enemies, etc. (kidding on that last one, honest.) |
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| Sunny days mean solar cooking! This is a mushroom bread pudding I made this afternoon. |
Looks great! I do the same with seeds, I save med bottles and any dessicant packs I come across to put with them. I was going to compost my long-gone-to-seed-lettuces after collecting seed last night, but this morning I noticed Mr. and Mrs. Goldfinch enjoying such a feast and so... I'll leave at least one of them standing.
ReplyDeleteI have the same solar oven, kind of embarrassed to say I haven't tried it out yet. I'd like to try it for drying herbs and fruits as well as meals.
Prescription bottles are a GREAT idea, Christina, I will have to start doing that instead of using the ziplock bags I currently do, since those little bottles are the perfect size and can be labeled easily. I like it! So if you start using your solar oven, I'd suggest starting with stuff like meat loaf, casseroles, or quick breads. They are very easy to cook and it's nice to have the option of serving them without heating up the house by using any ovens indoors. But you will have to start at about 1 pm when the sun is high and your meal will be ready at about 3 pm, so a quick heat up in the microwave may be necessary for dinner. When I lived in Paso I even used it as a second oven for Thanksgiving dinner, but that will never work here! Too cold in November. : )
DeleteRepurposing med bottles is something I try to do because I've realized that recycling should be the last option. Avoiding plastic containers is best, but can't be avoided when people and animals are ailing. I also use them for loose change in the car (for parking meters, etc). I need to Google for more ideas.
ReplyDeleteGreat idea for using solar oven for Thanksgiving! Especially because we are going to have a smaller oven (bought a vintage O'Keefe & Merritt that fits the era of our wee bungalow). Though if/when we move, the OK&M is coming with me!
Oh, how wonderful! You should absolutely take it if you ever go, it's an heirloom and should stay with you. I'm so ready for a new oven here, but it will have to wait for a kitchen remodel in a couple of years. Jealous!
DeleteWell, they can often be had for a song on CL and FB Marketplace if you are patient -- and if you are a DIYer. The dings and dents and rechroming aren't DIY but you can at least get them functioning. Happily, there is a vintage stove shop in Ventura, so not too far if we drive it into the ditch and need help.
ReplyDeleteSounds like it's going to be a fun project! Sometimes I wish we'd bought an older house with the character where a stove like that would fit in. This place is more of a wall oven/cooktop kind of place, for better or worse. With all the work that needs to be done on the house itself, it's probably better if we get something simple when we replace the 22 year old stove currently here.
DeleteThere are so many modern stoves that I covet, you'll have some good choices for sure when it's time to replace yours.
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