More wantsies, but can't havesies. :( Miniature cows!!! Link is to a breeder in Utah too. Ok, I seriously need to figure out how to afford to buy some property in the area of Utah we want to move to! If I have 3 female heads on my land I can get a tax write off on my property taxes as well...ummmm....NO BRAINER!!! And seriously the cost of a cow is the same as a pure bred dog...but what does a dog bring into the house every day? Drool, farts, and FLEAS!!! What will a cow bring in? BEAUTIFUL HEALTHY WARM LOVELY MILK!!!! CHEESE!!! YOGURT!!!! SOUR CREAM!!! COTTAGE CHEESE!!!! BUTTERMILK!!!! CREAM!!!! BUTTER!!!! (Yes I realize cows drool and fart too...but outside).
I'm insane!!!!
Tuesday, May 29, 2012
Adorable Chicken Coop
Who knows when I'll ever be able to get chickens of my own - but OH BOY WHEN I DO....this is the coop I'll be building!!! Isn't it just adorable?
I found it on CleanCoops last night and just absolutely fell in love with it. As soon as I can, I want to buy the plans just so I have them so 'in the event' I ever get my chickens I can budget out and build them this beautiful home. :p It's probably a bit bigger than I'd ever need, but I didn't like the smaller one as much as I did this one. :p The back opens up for easy cleaning and has removable roost (well I'd call it a basket but it isn't) for even easier clean up. It also has 2 chicken doors, one for the front if I wanted them to ever free-range and then one in the back that I'd use after inclosing the bottom and build a pen in the back. Depending on where we live and how many chickens I can actually keep on whatever dream property I have, I may turn the second nesting box into a storage area where I can keep feed and other chicken goodies. :p
Oh my dreaming...it can be dangerous at times!!! :)
I found it on CleanCoops last night and just absolutely fell in love with it. As soon as I can, I want to buy the plans just so I have them so 'in the event' I ever get my chickens I can budget out and build them this beautiful home. :p It's probably a bit bigger than I'd ever need, but I didn't like the smaller one as much as I did this one. :p The back opens up for easy cleaning and has removable roost (well I'd call it a basket but it isn't) for even easier clean up. It also has 2 chicken doors, one for the front if I wanted them to ever free-range and then one in the back that I'd use after inclosing the bottom and build a pen in the back. Depending on where we live and how many chickens I can actually keep on whatever dream property I have, I may turn the second nesting box into a storage area where I can keep feed and other chicken goodies. :p
Oh my dreaming...it can be dangerous at times!!! :)
Saturday, May 19, 2012
The Wantsies
I've got a serious case of "The Wantsies" today! Here's my current list of my wants:
- a yard of my very own that I own and can do with as I please
- a gated garden filled with all my favorite herbs, fruits, berries, and vegetables.
- a garden shed to keep all my supplies in nice and organized with a green house attached to the side with a big long workstation & sink for potting
- all the tools I need to keep my beautiful gardens & lawns up
- a rose lined white gazebo with beautiful comfortable seating inside to lay about and read or enjoy a nice quiet afternoon tea in
- a chicken coop with chickens who provide me with fresh yummy eggs (and when they are done laying with fresh poultry)
- a compost area to cut back on my impact in the local landfills and provide fresh organic dirt for my garden beds.
- a root celler to store all my roots vegetables so they don't spoil over the winter season
- a dairy goat (and if I am brave enough a cow)
- a large deep freezer
- a large food storage area stocked with my own canned goods, none of these store/name brand sauces, vegetables, soups, stocks, and meats anymore.
- to order a 1/2 cow and 1/2 pig from a local farmer whom I know doesn't inject his/her animals with a ton of hormones but grows his stock off the land the natural way
- possibly some wild game (venison, elk, birds, etc... but of course I don't personally want to kill them) & wild fish.
I want to get back to the roots more and more every day...maybe one day...another lifetime...
My Garden Adventures
This morning I finally made it out to my garden bed, oh what a mess!
Lesson #1 - even though it is winter, unless there is snow on the ground (I live in San Diego there is NEVER snow on the ground), you must ALWAYS stay on top of the weeds. Yes this is pretty much a common sense lesson, but I grew lazy and didn't keep up and spent forever out there weeding deep rooted grasses and dandelions.
Lesson #2 - prune your herbs in the winter, not the spring. Again a common sense lesson but one I needed to learn. I've decided to just pull most of my herbs and start afresh this year. I've also pulled some that I've never even used like mint and replacing it with something I will use like cilantro.
I still have a ton of work to do, but first I need to purchase a better set of pruning sheers and a hand edger. I probably should just rent an edger at Home Depot to do a quick job of it, but for maintence I need my own. I think I'll go price both out tomorrow...
Lesson #3 - don't take tools over to dad's he's nicks them and I can't find them ever again. ;)
Lesson #1 - even though it is winter, unless there is snow on the ground (I live in San Diego there is NEVER snow on the ground), you must ALWAYS stay on top of the weeds. Yes this is pretty much a common sense lesson, but I grew lazy and didn't keep up and spent forever out there weeding deep rooted grasses and dandelions.
Lesson #2 - prune your herbs in the winter, not the spring. Again a common sense lesson but one I needed to learn. I've decided to just pull most of my herbs and start afresh this year. I've also pulled some that I've never even used like mint and replacing it with something I will use like cilantro.
I still have a ton of work to do, but first I need to purchase a better set of pruning sheers and a hand edger. I probably should just rent an edger at Home Depot to do a quick job of it, but for maintence I need my own. I think I'll go price both out tomorrow...
Lesson #3 - don't take tools over to dad's he's nicks them and I can't find them ever again. ;)
Friday, May 18, 2012
Chicken & Dumplings
Nothing warms the soul better than a hearty dish of Chicken & Dumplings! :) Thought I'd share my recipe with you all.
Chicken Stew:
2 1/2 lbs chicken tenderloins, cut in 1" pieces
swivel of olive oil
1 md onion, diced
3 stalks celery, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
3 md carrots, diced
2 md potatoes, diced
4 cps water
1 Tbsp chicken bouillon
1 tsp tarragon
1 tsp celery seed
salt & pepper to taste
1 - 14 1/2oz can cream of celery soup
In a deep skillet, warm olive oil. Saute onion, celery, and garlic until onions are translucent. Add in carrots, potatoes, water, and bouillon - bring to a simmer. Cover and simmer 5 minutes. Add chicken, spices, and soup. Mix well, return to a simmer, cover and cook 5 minutes or until chicken is cooked through. Meanwhile make dumpling mix.
Dumplings:
2 cps all-purpose flour
1 Tbsp baking powder
2 Tbsp sugar
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cream of tarter
1/2 cp melted butter
1 cp milk
In a bowl whisk all dry ingredients well. Add milk and butter and mix until blended.
When chicken is cooked through, drop dough in sauce by large spoonfuls (or use a medium sided cookie/ice cream scoop). Cover and cook for 10 minutes or until dumplings are cooked through. Serve hot. Enjoy!!!
Chicken Stew:
2 1/2 lbs chicken tenderloins, cut in 1" pieces
swivel of olive oil
1 md onion, diced
3 stalks celery, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
3 md carrots, diced
2 md potatoes, diced
4 cps water
1 Tbsp chicken bouillon
1 tsp tarragon
1 tsp celery seed
salt & pepper to taste
1 - 14 1/2oz can cream of celery soup
In a deep skillet, warm olive oil. Saute onion, celery, and garlic until onions are translucent. Add in carrots, potatoes, water, and bouillon - bring to a simmer. Cover and simmer 5 minutes. Add chicken, spices, and soup. Mix well, return to a simmer, cover and cook 5 minutes or until chicken is cooked through. Meanwhile make dumpling mix.
Dumplings:
2 cps all-purpose flour
1 Tbsp baking powder
2 Tbsp sugar
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cream of tarter
1/2 cp melted butter
1 cp milk
In a bowl whisk all dry ingredients well. Add milk and butter and mix until blended.
When chicken is cooked through, drop dough in sauce by large spoonfuls (or use a medium sided cookie/ice cream scoop). Cover and cook for 10 minutes or until dumplings are cooked through. Serve hot. Enjoy!!!
Wednesday, May 2, 2012
Garden tools
Oh where, oh where have my garden tools gone
Oh where, oh where could they be
I left my bag at my daddy's house
And I think he hid them from me!
Oh where, oh where could they be
I left my bag at my daddy's house
And I think he hid them from me!
Sunday, April 29, 2012
Late start
Getting a late start to my gardening, but being here in Southern California it shouldn't make too much of a difference because we can pretty much grow tomatoes and peppers year around. That is really all I am going to be doing this year, unfortunately. However I am going to try and get enough of a yield to actually can this year!!! :))
So Saturday I spent the afternoon cleaning out my box, tilling up the soil, and getting it ready to plant seeds. I'm going to plant seeds directly in the ground this year. I liked using the pods last year but going to try this way this year. :)) Still doing the square foot gardens though - I am putting 4 pepper plants in the front row then going to grow tomatoes throughout the rest of the box. Yes, I am hoping to have an abundant crop of tomatoes! :))
I'll take pics as soon as I get my garden tools back from my dad (Mr. Gardening Tool Klepto, hehe)
So Saturday I spent the afternoon cleaning out my box, tilling up the soil, and getting it ready to plant seeds. I'm going to plant seeds directly in the ground this year. I liked using the pods last year but going to try this way this year. :)) Still doing the square foot gardens though - I am putting 4 pepper plants in the front row then going to grow tomatoes throughout the rest of the box. Yes, I am hoping to have an abundant crop of tomatoes! :))
I'll take pics as soon as I get my garden tools back from my dad (Mr. Gardening Tool Klepto, hehe)
New name
I changed the name of my blog to "Homesteading Dreamer" because, well that is what I am. I am dreaming of one day owning property & leaning more towards living a self-sufficiant lifestyle.
Some people lean more towards a homesteading life for religious or political reasons, me...I have dreamed of living a homesteading life since - geeze watching my first episode of Little House on the Prairie or the made-for-tv movie The Wilderness Family. To lead a more simple, quite life. I know though, being a city girl, a life like this is easier said than done. Long hard hours are needed to live this life, along with a lot of sacrifices so I plan on easing myself, and hopefully family, away from our kick back city lives to this simpler more quiet dream of mine.
I've spent the past 2 years reading and watching a ton of vlogs about different ways of incorporating "homesteading" into our lives and have tried to start implementing a few already. I make soap, garden, trying to cook from scratch more, make my own cleaning supplies and washing detergents...and on my to-do list once we are able to move from the city life of busy San Diego to a quieter community in Heber City, Utah next year I'd like to get a few chickens and see where we can go from there.
This blog will continue to document the many adventures our family goes through, but also one of those adventures will obviously be homesteading.
Some people lean more towards a homesteading life for religious or political reasons, me...I have dreamed of living a homesteading life since - geeze watching my first episode of Little House on the Prairie or the made-for-tv movie The Wilderness Family. To lead a more simple, quite life. I know though, being a city girl, a life like this is easier said than done. Long hard hours are needed to live this life, along with a lot of sacrifices so I plan on easing myself, and hopefully family, away from our kick back city lives to this simpler more quiet dream of mine.
I've spent the past 2 years reading and watching a ton of vlogs about different ways of incorporating "homesteading" into our lives and have tried to start implementing a few already. I make soap, garden, trying to cook from scratch more, make my own cleaning supplies and washing detergents...and on my to-do list once we are able to move from the city life of busy San Diego to a quieter community in Heber City, Utah next year I'd like to get a few chickens and see where we can go from there.
This blog will continue to document the many adventures our family goes through, but also one of those adventures will obviously be homesteading.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)