rising sap

The sap is rising and we have spring fever pretty bad around here!  Most of our days have been spent out of doors eating, playing, digging, walking, biking and relaxing.  Oh, and working.  There's been plenty of that too! 

Outside

Peach (left) and plum tree blossoms

Jason cutting up hop vines

Iris, garlic, chives w/ sorrel in background

Tilled garden

Inside

Seed starting setup

Leeks!

Mama mia, pasta machine!

Vintage tins

The whole garden is tilled. I did some of the tilling this year, huzzah!  Usually I'm busy doing other spring chores or wrangling Abby and Jason ends up doing the tilling but this year he hurt his back just in time for tilling, so I helped him out.  Just a little.  We also filled about 30 lawn bags with leaves from our white oak and dead plants from last growing season.  Our fruit trees are blossoming even more with the last two days of sunshine and the plum blossoms smell heavenly!

Inside we have been making a lot of homemade pasta with pullet eggs from Cathe's chickens.  The noodle machine, as I have dubbed it, has gotten a workout!  I bought it 10 years ago in Ames and haven't used it in about 7 years, I don't know why.  Fettuccine has been the choice noodle but this week I'm going to make some butternut squash ravioli.  Yum! The inside chores have not been at the top of the priority list lately but I have had time to clean a little and refresh the top of our antique buffet where the decorations change seasonally.

As for seeds, I have shown you the seed starting setup with two layers, soon to be three (sorry not the best photo).  I'm not planting anything or starting seeds until March 25th, which is the next good day according to the lunar calendar.  I get my planting advice from this guy, he's a super star in my book!  Come the 25th it will be all out planting mania around here.  Starting the rest of my seeds.  Planting onions, shallots, radish, lettuce, spinach, chard, peas, carrots and some other stuff I forget. Usually we work from morning until it is too dark to see what we are doing.  I relish those days and the good feeling of a hard day's work when I go to bed at night, which is what I should do right now.

Before I do though, please notice the fancy button to the right.  This week I'm starting a new sewing project for myself and will be blogging about it then entering the final product in a contest.  You can read more about the contest at Made by Rae.  Good night!

lost book

"Here is a test to find whether your mission on earth is finished: 

If you're alive, it isn't."

Have you read this book? 

I have read it twice in my life: in high school, then again in graduate school.  Both times it opened up new ways of thinking, seeing and being. And both times the book landed in my life like an apple on Newton's head.  I can't remember exactly how I came to read it,  but I know I didn't search the book out either time.  I'm not a religious person, but I am a spiritual person and this book speaks to that sentiment.

Lately I have been sorting giant piles of paperwork, artwork, bills, catalogs, and receipts.  I came upon the dust jacket for this book but cannot find the book anywhere.  I imagine my book being read by someone, somewhere in the world.  That's what this book deserves.

So, should I buy the book or wait for it to work its way back into my life as it has before?

Much of the book takes place in the Midwest with its rolling hills in Iowa and ancient lake plains flatter than a pancake in Illinois. Maybe that is why I am drawn to it.  Or maybe it is words like this:

"Argue for your limitations, and sure enough, they're yours." 

getting ready

It's been busy around here lately.  I finished a bunch of sewing for Abby including a shirt, pants, two dresses and two skirts.  The dresses are from the Oliver + S hopscotch dress pattern and were made from men's t-shirts from the Gap.  So, while they weren't exactly Old, they were given a new identity.  I didn't realize until I got the shirts home that I had bought ketchup and mustard colored shirts.  Lots of both get eaten around here, so that's cool.  The skirts are Lazy Days Skirt from Liesl at Oliver + S as well.  They have such sweet and simple pattern designs with easy to follow directions.  The shirt is from Anna Maria Horner's Seams to Me book.  While it was easy to make, I'm not sure that I like how large the arm holes are or the length of the sleeves.  It hasn't actually been donned by Miss Abby yet.  She has a strange habit of running away when I want to test the fit of something I am sewing for her.  When I'm sewing for a customer or for someone else, she is all about it.  Silly girl!

This year will be my third at the farmer's market and I am so ahead of myself this year, I may just have to start reading the third Game of Thrones book tonight.  I started seeds last week (eggplant, pepper, leek, herbs) and will start more this weekend.  Just now there are tiny green sprouts coming up in my seedling flats and outside.  It was warm and windy today.  We are on our way to spring at last!  Also:


--We saw Foghorn Stringband on Monday.  Seats right next to the band, good friends, new friends, lots of dancing, beer and some of the best music on Earth, woo hoo!
--Watched our friend Cathe (of Seven Sister Farm) shear sheep with help from friends and neighbors.
--Finished painting a cabinet to house our bulky office stuff.  
--Jason made those English muffins he had been talking about making for oh, I don't know, 3 months or so.  Verdict: tasty!
--Finding some great fabric at my local second hand stores.
--Trying to pet and snuggle more with our cat, Albert.  He is about 13 years old and is on meds for his heart.  He is our first baby!  
--Lots of coloring, painting, dry erase boarding and sidewalk chalking lately.  Abby can't wait to do outside painting again.
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This space will be changing in the next couple of months.  The South Prairie Street Farm information will have a different home in the form of a Facebook (groan) page.  I know how I rant about how I don't like FB but for the Farm, it is the best solution for now.  This blog will continue to include information about the farm but primarily will be for showcasing my frazzled, stay-at-home-mom thoughts and activities.  The FB page will be used to announce dates for selling at the Market at the Square and availability of produce/flowers.


Thanks for reading and I'll keep you updated!  
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