Wednesday, August 28, 2013

Food preservation - A squirrel’s pantry

This years food preservation list is extensive already.  I’ve been working in all my free moments to put up food for the winter and my little squirrel’s pantry is shaping up beautifully. 

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This is this years list so far:

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I harvested my patch of oregano tops and dried them.  I ended up with a full quart of dried oregano.

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I dug up my potato bed and ended up with 45lbs of potatoes and 2lbs seed potatoes that I will put back into the garden just after the first frost.

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I picked my friend’s little tree clear of tart cherries and got 6 quarts of cherry pie filling, only 5 of which made it to the pantry.

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I pulled up my onions and I am so frustrated I didn’t weigh them as I weighed everything else.  But in the end I got 2 1/2 bushel baskets of onions.  I am guessing, but I think that is about 60lbs because after using a ton of them for daily meals over the last two months I still have 45lbs of them in the garage.

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I’ve gotten over 50 lbs of cucumbers from my three plants which I made into 12 pints of dill pickle spears and 10 pints of hamburger dill slices.  (I gave away a TON and just got 8lbs this morning.)

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I bought 45lbs of blueberries which I put into gallon bags in the freezer.  It ended up with 12 freezer bags full, and 16 pints of lavender blueberry jam.

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I bought 120lbs of peaches and turned that into 5 gallon bags in the freezer, 38 quarts of canned peaches and 12 pints of peach syrup and 4 pints of peach jam.

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A friend gave me 1 1/2 lbs of jalapenos which I turned into 3 pints of pickled jalapenos. 

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I harvested my parsley tops and got two quarts of dried parsley. 

Harvests that we have just eaten and haven’t preserved:

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It has been a wonderful harvest year!  I am looking forward to getting those huge zucchinis that I have to grate and freeze, and the pumpkins that are starting to turn orange, and tomatoes… oh glory!  The tomatoes!  They will be coming in force in the next two weeks or so.  It will be time for sauce

Happy Gardening!

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Tuesday, August 27, 2013

The first day of the school interviews 2013 - 2014

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Favorite Color - Golden

Favorite Season - Winter!  Snowball fights!

Favorite Animal - Honey Badger.  It can scare away lions, and it’s this big (holds arms wide) and I kinda like how it is in the skunk family.  I don’t really know what my favorite is, but I really like the honey badger.

What do you want to learn this year?

About honey badgers.  I want to learn how to make three colors to connect to make one ugly color.  I want to learn how to bake something sciency - like boiling water and then put paint in it.  That’s what I should do.  I wonder if I would see colorful bubbles?

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Favorite color - Orange/pink.. like peach

Favorite Food - Potatoes.  I like stuff that goes with potatoes, or chicken, or steak with gravy.  It all goes with mashed potatoes.

Favorite Season - Summer.  Winter is fun except you can’t do as much as summer.  You can run around, wear short sleeves, crawl on the ground, and just do more.

Favorite animals - I’m between a horse and a zebra.  I like zebras better this year because they are small and delicate and they are really really beautiful to me.They stay together even when something bad happens or goes wrong.

What would you like to learn this year?

Anything?  I want to learn about how to make big, 3 tiered cakes for, like, birthdays and stuff.  I want to learn to be able to babysit better - like know what to do if the baby is choking or something.  I’m excited about reading more and really fast.
I want to have a baking day to make doughnuts and lots of bread.  I also really want to breed chicks.

Happy Homeschooling!

For last year’s interview see here.

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Saturday, August 24, 2013

The Pros and Cons of Becoming a Homeschooler - post for Inner Child Learning

Homeschooling is becoming a popular choice.  It gives the children a flexible schedule and allows the curriculum to cater to the individual child.  Is homeschooling the right choice for you?  Well, that all depends.

The Pros and Cons of Becoming a Homeschooler

I recently wrote a blog post for Inner Child Learning that I feel like sharing here.  It is a heart warming tale of a mama who became a homeschooler (me) and what the main pros and cons have been for her on this homeschooling journey.  I hope you come check it out… because it’s just for you…

The Pros and Cons of Becoming a Homeschooler

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Monday, August 12, 2013

A walk through my garden

This year the garden has been an amazing adventure and given me some wonderful learning experiences.  I feel like there are things I do well consistently, and then all of these things I still have to learn.  But every morning, as the mist burns off and the sun comes out, the beauty of it stuns me.  Why don’t you grab a cup of coffee and join me for my first tomato, my millions of sunflowers and cucumbers, and some fun things that are popping up in the pathways.

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Enjoy!

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Happy Gardening, my dear friends!

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