"Warmed Up Roses" was featured in the treasury "Violet and Scarlet" picked by cornflowerbluestudio on Etsy.
Thursday, May 12, 2011
My Item was Featured in the Treasury: Violet and Scarlet.
"Warmed Up Roses" was featured in the treasury "Violet and Scarlet" picked by cornflowerbluestudio on Etsy.
Real Estate Hankerings: A House for My Sister.
My sister lives in Indianapolis. Whether she believes it or not, she needs to move from the big city with her kids and find a place in the country to raise them. I'm slightly biased about rural living. Anyway, there is a property in Elnora that would house her brood rather comfortably. It's a 5 bedroom, 1 bath farmhouse. It probably needs a bit of work, but for the price I would think it could be turned into a super-nice farm.
It has outbuildings, but the listing doesn't say what size the lot is. I imagine some of the farm ground around it could be bought to add to the property. It looks as if there is plenty of open land around the house.
It has outbuildings, but the listing doesn't say what size the lot is. I imagine some of the farm ground around it could be bought to add to the property. It looks as if there is plenty of open land around the house.The property is located at 11616 N. 275 E., Elnora, IN 47529. They are asking $48,300, and I'm curious what the house looks like on the inside. It's got lots of potential just from the pictures to me.
Chow Down: Greek Macaroni and Cheese.
I don't know if I could convince Mike to eat this, but it sure sounds delicious to me.
Greek Mac and Cheese
3 slices crustless white bread, torn into small pieces (I'd use Whole Wheat and probably leave the crusts on)
9 tbsp. unsalted butter, melted
Kosher salt, to taste
8 oz. hollow pasta, preferably elbow macaroni
1/4 cup flour
3 cups milk
4 cups grated graviera or kefalotyri cheese (about 12 oz.) (I imagine any cheese would be good here, but a mixture of provolone and jack cheeses will probably be my choice)
3/4 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/8 tsp. freshly grated nutmeg
Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
2 tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
8 large shallots, finely chopped (I'll switch the shallots and scallions for half a large onion and a couple cloves of garlic)
16 oz. baby spinach, roughly chopped (I'll use a little less for Mike's sake)
8 scallions cut into 1/4"-thick rounds
1/3 cup roughly chopped fresh dill
1 3/4 cups crumbled feta (about 8 oz.)
1. Put bread into the bowl of a food processor and pulse until finely ground. Put bread crumbs and 3 tbsp. butter into a small bowl and combine; set aside. Bring a 6-qt. pot of salted water to a boil. Add pasta and cook until cooked halfway through, about 3 minutes. Drain pasta, rinse with cold water, and set aside.
2. Heat remaining butter in a 4-qt. saucepan over medium heat. Add flour and cook, whisking constantly, for 1 minute. Still whisking constantly, slowly drizzle in milk and cook until sauce has thickened and coats the back of a spoon, 10–15 minutes. Remove pan from heat. Stir in graviera, cinnamon, and nutmeg and season with salt and pepper; set béchamel sauce aside.
3. Heat oven to 350°. Heat oil in a 5-qt. pot over medium heat. Add shallots and cook, stirring often, until soft, 3–4 minutes. Add spinach and scallions and cook, covered, stirring occasionally, until wilted, about 3 minutes. Stir in the reserved béchamel sauce, the dill, and the reserved pasta and transfer mixture to a 9" x 13" baking dish. Sprinkle evenly with reserved bread crumbs and the feta. Bake until golden brown and bubbly, about 30 minutes. Let cool for 10 minutes before serving.
SERVES 8–10
Craigslist Cravings: Thomasville Chair.
Granted, it may be hideous when you see it in person, but I really like the way it looks. I even like the stripe colors. They are asking $150 which I imagine it's worth, although I'd much rather pay less than $100. I'm sure one will cross my path someday that is similar to this and I can nab it for less. Here's the link if you're interested.
Wednesday, May 11, 2011
From Where I Sit.
The pasture from where I'm typing this post (my house is in the background).
I'm introducing my goat girls slowly to the new baby. The easiest way to do that is take them all out to the east pasture and let them graze together while I play guardian if the baby feels he is being picked on. So this is my view this evening. I'm typing this as they eat. The bugs are eating me pretty well, but it's so nice out I am trying to ignore them. A wild rabbit just came within five feet of me and just stared, then hopped slowly past as if I was no threat. I appreciate that.
The girls aren't paying him much attention tonight. Last night, the Alpine kept chasing him, but I wasn't surprised because she chases the dogs and tries to butt them all the time. She's not nearly as mean tonight, but then again he's keeping his distance. The LaMancha is indifferent toward him. She just takes everything in stride. "Oh you bought another animal, alright." kind of mentality. I wish I had about 4 more just like her. Don't tell my husband, although he actually likes the goats more than any other animal on the place. They don't cost anything to feed, and they don't take up much room. Surely he wouldn't notice if a few more showed up, right?
The Name Game.
Image via books.google.com.
I've been dwelling on naming my breeding stock since I got my goat does, and the buck and doe rabbits last summer. Nothing seems to fit them, so instead of trying to do it all by myself I'm going to ask you to help me name everybody. I've got 6 rabbit does, and 2 rabbit bucks, plus two goat does, and 1 goat buck who all need new names. I think the best way to do it is for me to post a picture of each animal plus a short description of their personalities next week, and you submit names for them either by commenting on the post or emailing me or by whatever means necessary. Whoever comes up with the best one for each animal will get their name put in a hat and I'll be drawing 2 names out to get a signed art photography print by me! So, start thinking of names and be ready when I post photos of the cuties.
Tuesday, May 10, 2011
Renewing Community.
I think the first key to a thriving community is a sense of 'oneness.' To get people together and out of their solitary, fast-paced lives communities have to come up with inventive event ideas. I'm hoping Worthington will become a "Stars Hollow al a The Gilmore Girls"-esque kind of a community by the time I'm old and gray. I'd be happy with a community event every week of the year. Here are some of the community events across the country that I think would be fun.
A chicken coop tour in Austin, Texas. The poster is by one of my Etsy favorites Joe Seppi.
Petaluma, California has the Butter and Egg Days. You can buy this poster via here.
The Tacoma, Washington Film Festival. I couldn't get the website to come up, but I love this poster. The lumberjack cracked me up. Via Google Images.
And of course the farmer's market. I think we need one in town every week. We've got a nice sized park, or the high school's parking lot is a large size. You can buy this beautiful poster via Etsy too.
I am not sure how to go about campaigning to get 52 events planned for next year, but I'm definitely going to see what I can do. The events we do hold annually could use a bit of help too. The festival I sold at (or at least set up my booth at) last week was very poorly advertised for, so I don't really think anybody knew it was going on. That's a big key to making something work: advertising, food, and easy parking make for good crowds.
What events do you have in your community? I'm truly curious.
Monday, May 9, 2011
My Item was Featured in the Treasury: On the Edge.
"Slanted Herd" was chosen for the treasury "On the Edge" which was picked by Birdnestsandpaper on Etsy.
My Item was Featured in the Treasury: Fresh Air.
"Fresh" was chosen to be included in the treasury "Fresh Air" which was curated by Birdnestsandpaper on Etsy.
Sunday, May 8, 2011
Craigslist and Bee Swarms.
Yesterday when I came home from the rained out festival (my first time selling didn't go so great) there was a swarm of bees in the tree just off our front porch (I took some photos, I'll post them as soon as I unload my card). Last night we had a decent storm, and somehow they were still clinging to the limb today. By early afternoon I decided that perhaps if I put an ad on Craigslist somebody may be able to collect them and actually get them into a hive. I hated to see them go to waste if somebody had the capabilities to use them.
This is what amazes me about today's technology. Within an hour I got a call from a guy whose brother would be interested. He said this brother of his would be calling in a few minutes. Sure enough, Corky, the brother, called me and would head my way as soon as possible.
So, not two hours after I posted the ad about the free bee swarm, in the driveway pulls a guy to collect them. Now here comes the good part. He was new into bees, and had never collected them like this before. So, picture this...my husband with loppers and this guy holding the tree limb with the basketball sized swarm of bees hanging off of it. Believe it or not, it wasn't as scary as you'd think (although Corky was shaking like a leaf), my husband seemed pretty calm and I wasn't but about five feet away from the action. The bees were never aggressive and after the limb was cut he set the bunch down over the open frames of the hive. They all started crawling in except for a few who took to landing on another limb in the tree. A few more snips of clumps of bees on limbs and everybody seemed to get the point that the queen was now in the hive and that's where they needed to be.
Joe was watching pretty intently too. I explained what they were doing and she seemed to understand. I thought it was a pretty neat experience for an eighteen month old to witness. Heck, I was finding it quite amazing to see the bees go from hanging on a branch to entering a new hive and all that potential danger contained in peaceful bees. Not everybody gets to see that in their lifetime. I've seen three swarms now since I've lived here. They seem to come back every year.
Corky was actually heading to Kentucky next weekend to pick up a couple of farm raised bee colonies. He was talking about how expensive it was to get into. His simple hives were about a hundred bucks by themselves, then you add the cost of buying the bees which is almost another hundred. Plus other random supplies for another fifty bucks and you've invested over two hundred dollars for one hive. So, you can understand why he'd be excited (he was the happiest guy I've ever seen) by the proposition of a free batch of bees. He was like a kid on Christmas morning (except he was slightly worried about if they were Africanized or the regular kind of honey bee). When he first looked at them he said, "Well if you see me out here running around and screaming...don't come out and help." We helped him anyway.
The whole time there was a girl, maybe sixteen, who was sitting in Corky's truck. Obviously she was not a beekeeper, nor did she want to help in any way. She just rolled the windows up and looked out at us like we were insane.
I would love to learn how to keep bees. They offer classes just south of here every spring, and I think it would be neat. I'd love to have a row of hives at the back of our property. I doubt I'd collect the honey, but it'd be nice to know I had neighbors pollinating all my fruit trees and flowers.
So, to end the story, it's pretty obvious to me that you can get rid of anything on Craigslist.
Wednesday, May 4, 2011
A Little Bit of Sunshine.
Joe's first ever pair of sunglasses that she picked out herself.Since my last entry was such a downer of a post, I thought I'd share something that always makes me smile. My daughter is a real dandy. I don't know if you can see it, but her pants are soaked to the thighs, and she's wearing knee-high rubber boots. She was born to raise a ruckus in a mud puddle. Pure joy goes across this kid's face at the mere sight of standing water.
The "abnormal cells" are honestly the last thing on my mind. I've got Joe, and she's the only thing my uterus is ever going to produce (we decided before ever having children that one was the magic number), and I think my uterus did an outstanding job. So the important part is completed, and technically I don't need my female parts anymore no matter which way the cells decide to go. I've also got the most amazing husband a girl could ever ask for. He loves me and Joe with a heart that is so big I think it must take up his whole body. I think he was more devastated by the phone call than I was. I had to talk him into staying the rest of the day at work (he immediately called his Mom to come over and hug me as soon as he hung up with me though--she wasn't sure why she was hugging me, but she's so great she did it anyway). I married into an incredible family, and Joe is so lucky to have such a tight little group of people watching her grow up.
This life of mine is a roller-coaster, but I truly believe that things happen for a reason. It took a lot of little things to line up just right in order for me to have ever met my husband in the first place. A lot of them were bumps and turns that weren't much fun, but I'd do everything all over again and more to make it to this point. I love my life. I love Joe. I love Mike (my husband). I love this house. I even love my cervix (abnormal cells and all)--see I'm hoping if I talk nice to it, that it will decide to cheer up and get better.
Even at twenty-five I've got quite the legacy. Just look at that picture of Joe. She's got big things destined for her. She's amazing, and she makes my days (and anyone's who is around her) sunny no matter what.
So, I'm all smiles. Life is great, and I'm still really excited to see how the festival and my first ever booth goes. Let's hope for big sales, and lots of people loving my photography.
Tuesday, May 3, 2011
Unexpected Phone Calls and Tarantulas in the Sink.
Got a phone call from the doctor yesterday. Usually they are just "Your results came back, and everything was normal." "Okay, Thanks." and that's that. Well this time it was a bit different. "Your results showed some abnormal cells, we'll test you again in six months." "What?" "It's no big deal really. Usually your body will shed the cells and it's nothing to worry about. If they don't go away then we'll have to do a biopsy to see if they are cancerous." "Oh..." "If you have any questions, just give us a call." And the nurse hung up. It's easy enough for a chipper nurse to tell me that it's no big deal, but here I sit a twenty-five year old girl wondering if in a few months my news is going to be good or grim. Quite a life-checking situation. So...I bawled. I bawled like a big baby. I'm sure people get this phone call all the time, but it was the last thing I was expecting. After a few good minutes of weeping I pulled myself together, and tried to look at the bright side. If it is something serious it has been caught, and the doctor will monitor it. If it's nothing, and it rights itself, then I'm none the worse for wear. I'm just glad I'm not the nurse that has to make those phone calls all day long. I'd be bawling right along with the patients. With that news, I'm just hoping for the best and in six-months I'll know one way or the other.
Being that life seemed a little more precious the past couple of days (as only a scary phone call can induce), I've not been able to murder the giant spiders that have been getting caught in our sink. Every single day there is yet another monstrous arachnid dwelling there. The one I set free outside this evening was the biggest I've seen yet. It was the size of the palm of my hand, and you could hear it's footfalls on the sink. I tried repeatedly to get it to stay on the piece of paper that was to be it's carrier to the freedom that was waiting outside but it kept jumping back into the sink making an audible "thud" each time. Good thing spiders don't make me queasy or squeamish, but criminy sakes if they get any bigger I'm wondering if they are going to shoo me out the door instead.
So that's where I'm at for the moment. I can't let things get me down, just have to stay positive and focus on the good things and not the abnormal cells and giant spiders in my life.
Monday, May 2, 2011
My Item was Featured in the Treasury: Take Me Back to Dear Old Blighty.
"Summer Wash" was featured in the treasury "Take Me Back to Dear Old Blighty" curated by morganstreet on Etsy.
My Item was Featured in the Treasury: Day Dream Believing.
"Bloomfield Barn" was chosen to be included in the treasury "Day Dream Believing" by secondhandsundays on Etsy.
My Item was Featured in the Treasury: Pale Shades.
"Greene County Barn in Fog" was chosen to be a part of the treasury "Pale Shades" by ahueofduckeggblue on Etsy.
Nervous, Nervous.
"Field and Clouds No. 1" by me.
In less than a week I'll be selling at my first ever festival. I can't express how nervous I am. I've got lots of prints, but I need to put them in plastic and label them. As I started to write this, my business cards arrived (they look great by the way), so I'll have plenty to give away at the booth. I guess I just don't know what to expect. The festival is the "Worthington Old Fashion Day" and since we live in such a small community I'm not expecting record-breaking numbers, but putting your work out there for people to look at is a scary thing. I'm just hoping for a good reception.
I'm worried it's going to rain, as it's been doing for the past month, and they will have to cancel. There is a rain-date, but I'm ready to get this first festival under my belt. That way I can move on, you know? The second festival won't be as scary as the first, and the third one won't hurt at all I imagine. So, if you're not busy on Saturday (and it's not raining) make your way to Worthington and find my booth.
I've been getting a lot of attention on Etsy for my work (as you can tell by the treasuries that feature my items that I've posted about). You have no idea how much every single one of them means to me. To know that somebody chose me and my work out of the throngs of AMAZING artists on Etsy is a very humbling thing. I hope the rest of this year keeps heading in the direction it's traveling so far because things have been going splendidly.
Running my own business has been a dream I've held close since I was just a kid. Making that dream a reality has been a scary, exciting, and life-changing ride, but I feel truly lucky that I get to stay home with my daughter every day and do what I love for a living. Combine The Gallivanting Girl with the rest of the dreams I'm working on and you've got a very busy mom, wife, and girl in general. The farm is going pretty well (although I've officially killed all the seedlings that were doing so well). This rainy weather has been unhelpful in so many ways. We've not been able to plow up the garden, and my seedlings sprouted great, but the lack of sunlight made them weak and spindly and when the sun did shine I set them outside and the wind destroyed them. Oh well. I've got more seeds, and they'll just have to be started late.
The livestock are all getting along fine. I'll be getting some chicks, ducklings, and goslings in the next few weeks. I'm still looking for a couple Brown Swiss calves, but I'm not having much luck. My goats should be due in August, and we should have some more rabbit kits at the end of this month. My adult chickens are actually buying their own feed this year because we've been selling eggs in town. So, all in all, the farm is starting to take shape. Slow but sure.
Tuesday, April 26, 2011
Monday, April 25, 2011
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)