Bittersweet Boots

Happy Friday!

With wet spring behind us, I began clearing out our shoe closet aiming to put away the winter boots and rubber boots until next winter and spring.  I came across two pairs of boots that all four of my girls had worn and that all four girls had outgrown.

Looking back at these little boots I was flooded with memories... Sammy in the ladybug boots with matching ladybug raincoat; Nicole in the orange boots and nothing else.  Seriously, our eldest loved being naked and spent so much time during the months 9-12 that I was seriously concerned what her profession later in life might be.  Thankfully at 13, nakedness nor boots are an issue.

These poor boots were not fit for donation and I just loved looking at these tiny pairs so this morning I turned them into planters for the front fence.

 This project really is a great mash up of crafting, gardening and power tools.

Love me some power tools!!

First thing was first... using the drill I made a few more holes to add to the worn out soles for drainage.  Just a few little ones.  I filled the bottom of each boot with a little bit of gravel from the driveway also to help with drainage.

Next, the boots were filled with a soil/manure mix and some little annuals that our local supermarket had marked down to $1.49 - SCORE!

Back at it with the drill, each boot was screwed through the back of the leg of the boot into the split rail fencing.

The nice thing about rubber boots is that they LAST... I am hoping to use these as planters for a few years to come.  Though the feet in the house have grown so much bigger, these little boots hold overflowing memories.  :)

Jeanette

Over the Garden fence {{WORDless Wednesday}} June 15, 2016

Happy Wednesday!  

Take a walk around our veggie patch!  Its so exciting to see what is growing!  And, of course taking note of what is needing a little help... Come on carrots!!  

We have: pumpkin, watermelon, four types of beans, four types of cucumber, celery, lettuce, kale, broccoli and cauliflower, large and cherry tomatoes, green pepper, jalapeños, radishes, potatoes, onion, asparagus, corn and peas.

Full garden plus manure pile in the background.  :)

On the request of Derek and Nicole we added a very hot "ghost pepper" plant!

The green peppers are flowering!!

left - cucumber, centre kale, right tomatoes.  Behind: Carrots and beans

Very happy potatoes between squash and watermelon and a row of celery

Left - jalapeños, centre radish, right cabbage

And these newly hatched little cuties.  Ahhh.. the cuteness!

I am fascinated each morning by the changes I see in the plants... and the weeds *sigh*

Jeanette

Ice Cream Bicycle Basket - My OWN SCHNICKism

Hello Friday; Helloooo Weekend!

Okay.  So though I am a SCHNICK by marriage not by blood, I do seem to have SCHNICK ideas of my own and impressively they do work out once in a while.  :)

Last week our darling Krista with her armful of stuffed pets threw a little tantrum at not being able to maneuver her bike whilst holding her babies.   A whoooole lot of tears.  Draping her purse filled with her lovely creatures over the handlebars only caused her to really scream when she found she couldn't steer.  Okay... don the thinking caps.

What this poor child needed was a bicycle basket... and pretty darn quick.  Okay.  But have you seen how much WalMart and Canadian Tire want for those plastic woven baskets??  Not too mention the half hour drive to either store from home.  There's the little bit of dutch that has rubbed off on me mixing with my will to lead a environmentally-minded life.  I needed to come up with an idea.  Ice cream always helps with the brainstorming.

Thankfully the week prior our local grocery store had had ice cream on sale and so the freezer contained what I needed... brain food (aka sugar) AND a solution to our stuffy-toting problems!

This is what I came up with... an ice cream container bike basket.  But now how cool would one be tearing up the asphalt with Heavenly Hash splayed across the front??  Enter my yarn stash.  For those times when Derek has given me "the why are you keeping this?" look... this my dear is WHY.

Over a couple of days I found enough quiet moments to sit and hook.  I'm thinking of writing up a crochet pattern for this, but basically I used half-double-crochet stitches to mimic the shape of the ice cream container and cover it completely.  My tool of choice for making holes in the ice cream container to "sew" the basket cover in place was a handy-dandy two inch screw.

The next task was to consider HOW to attach the basket.  Crocheted straps would stretch with any item weighing more than a few stuffies - and the collection of rocks on my dining room table can attest to the treasures this one brings home.

I opted for plastic cabling zip-ties.  Finding my way around Derek's workshop had me raising my eyebrows though not questioning "WHY?  WHY are you keeping this??"  I completely get it... and I did find some.  Again, my trusty screw was the perfect tool to make the holes before threading the zip-ties through and attaching around the handlebars!

Voila!

Ofcourse, Sammy spotted my SCHNICK success and asked for one for her bicycle as well.  Never one to disappoint my children, I took to eating more ice cream.  ;)  A second basket has since been completed... in reverse colours so as not to match her sister of course!

A week of wind and rain has had biking on hold but today looks like the perfect day for a spin! And if anyone would like to treat me to a pint of ice cream; I'd be happy to hook you a basket.  :)

Jeanette

We be JAMMIN'!! Field to table #1

Hello Monday!!  (And happy Memorial Day to my friends in the USA)

I just love instagram.. I've connected with so many interesting people and have gotten so much inspiration.  This weekend the inspiration came from Northern Ontario - a very neat lady that was making dandelion jelly!!

Before Derek got too carried away with the weed-whacker/whipper-snipper/edger.. whatever you want to call that lawn care tool that tears down weeds, the girls and I got out to collect some dandelion heads.

I read over Pinterest and found a few different recipes for Dandelion jelly.  I gave one a whirl.

Now remember what I said about me in the kitchen??  Recipes are only a guideline, I do not measure.

Boil...  Steep... Mix... Jar...

But when my first batch didn't set I realized maybe with jams and jellies accuracy is required and I broke down and took Derek's advice.  I measured and I timed EVERYTHING!!

And (tongue in cheek, not admitting he was in any way right) I had success.

I won't share the recipe here - like I say, there are many different ones out there but its a very simple process (when you follow the directions... *sigh*)  Here are some tips though:

Make sure your dandelion crop is free from pesticides and other chemicals.  Get help with removing the dandelion petals... it is the slowest part of the process.  And get ready for black thumbs.

Test when you have boiled your jelly long enough.  Derek found this trick - a cup of ice and a chilled teaspoon.  Using the cool spoon, spoon out a bit of jelly after the final boil and set over top of the ice. If your jelly is ready, that spoonful will be set by the end of one minute.

Use a timer!!!

Final tip, remember to save some of these delicious blooms for our bees.

So just what can you do with this jelly?  We've eaten it on scones and bagels.  I'm told it would work nicely as a glaze for chicken or pork!

Canning is an art form.  I love when I hear the seals popping letting me know they are all set.  Whew.

 I have really enjoyed this little taste of canning and preserving and I am looking forward to doing more!

Oh!  And I have a few tupperware containers of our dandelion jelly in the refrigerator which will keep for a while if any friends close by would like to try some!

Jeanette

Friday Farm Update.. Barn Roof Complete? Check!!

Happy Friday All!

I am thrilled to be able to share another completed project here at home.  The barn roof has been moved from the TO DO list to the DONE and CHECKED OFF list!  Yay!

Derek began work priming and painting the roof the weekend of April 23rd.  Great progress was made and the end was in sight...

...until just one more quart of paint was needed to be ordered in.  May 4th - Check!  Ready to go...

And then a whole week of on and off again rain... and snow and hail in the middle of May.  Seriously!

Finally the sun was out and the ladder was back up!  One evening and the roof was complete.

I think it looks pretty fantastic, wouldn't you agree??  :)

Jeanette

**even with a homemade jig to stand on, no Schnicks were harmed in this project.  :)

What BIG TEETH you have! {{WORDless Wednesday - May 25, 2016}}

It has not ceased to surprise and amaze me the wildlife we spot around here.  Last Tuesday I thought I was seeing our mainecoon cat cross the lawn by the road... it turned out it wasn't;

Just a friendly little beaver passing through...

Okay, so not so very little and not so very friendly either.  Yikes!

Jeanette

My Mother's Day gift...

Happy Monday and a belated Happy Mothers Day!

**(Hello to Tuesday - this was supposed to go out yesterday, but Blogger wouldn't upload my pictures yesterday... and they're very cute lamb pictures!!!)**

I think my family sometimes struggles with me and happy occasions.  I don't think I am an easy person to buy a gift for... I don't wear a lot of jewellery; I'm happiest finding books at a discounted used book store and I don't have a lot of home decorations on the walls.

I do love receiving handmade gifts from my girls (especially the funny non-rhyming poems the littles create) and I do love receiving gifts that make me laugh...

A few weeks back, Derek had been very delayed in getting home after work - he had stopped at a yard sale that looked to have bee hives for sale.  The bee hives were not for sale, but the retired couple selling their items made the stop a memorable one for Derek.  :)  On Mother's Day, as I unwrapped the gifts he had helped put together with the girls I burst out laughing... the kitchy 'yard sale' feel to the items tickled me.

While chatting with this yard sale couple he had spotted some chicken items - rooster salt and pepper shakers and a hen napkin holder.

He knew that they would make me smile and they did.  I proudly display them on a kitchen shelf and roll my eyes every time I think of Derek's stories of the random people he meets.

Now the week before Mothers Day, I had spotted an ad for lambs born to ewes that were going for slaughter - these little boys needed a home and a bottle.  This got Derek and I talking about animal plans around the homestead.  Goats were on the list but the fencing required to keep them in and their habit of chewing everything had us a little cautious.  The idea of a few sheep for wool and milk was appealing to us.

Later that day Derek found another ad for a little female lamb that needed bottle feeding and love.  In a few short emails we were loaded into the van (the entire family!) with an empty chicken brooder making our way to meet Todd and his orphaned lamb.

Todd was very knowledgeable and helpful when it came to our sheep questions.  He has a flock of forty dorset-charolais sheep at his farm but unfortunately had a pair of twins who's mother was an older ewe and did not make it through the lambing.  He had been bottle feeding the twins but was finding it a bit much.  The other little lamb had been adopted and we knew we couldn't leave without this little one in the van with us.

So... my Mother's Day gift came a week early and with a bottle.  The girls named her Jessie (though had she been a boy they were set on the name "Jean-George").  Jessie is very sweet and very attached to us already, following me down to meet the schoolbus and even trying to get into the chicken coop when I go in to feed or clean.

She has quickly become a special part of our family.  :)

Jeanette