Calendula - Son may have Tourette's

[Marianne]

Now, aren't those just so pretty!

Don't forget the glug of ACV when you're doing the stock aka bone broth. Holy cow, good stuff! The gals here taught me this.

 

[calendula]

Now, aren't those just so pretty!

Don't forget the glug of ACV when you're doing the stock aka bone broth. Holy cow, good stuff! The gals here taught me this.

How interesting, I have never heard of doing that. Does the ACV bring more flavor out of the bones?

 

[Marianne]

Oh ya, they weren't kidding about that. The last time I did it, I just put bones in my crock pot, covered with water and a glug of ACV, and forgot about it until the next day.

It about drove the dogs crazy, smelled so good, so they hung out in the kitchen doorway for hours. I ended up with rich, golden brown broth that tasted so much better than the stuff I had made before.

Cool thing was that then the bones were so soft that I could just squeeze them into a mush and add them to the dog food.

You end up with more vitamins and goodness, and so does Fido or Fluffy, if they get the bone mash.

I have learned so much from people on this forum!

 

[Wifezilla]

The acv leeches a lot of the minerals out of the bones. That gives the broth a boost in flavor and a big boost in the nutrition. Mmmmmmm.

 

[calendula]

Thank you for the advice, I will definately try that next time!

 

[Wifezilla]

Isn't spring in Wisconsin lovely?

We used to have to dig trenches around the house every spring to keep the basement from flooding. Reason 412 I no longer liver in Wisconsin

 

[calendula]

Hubby's been working hard all week long on the greenhouse. He has been putting in the floor and working on our heating system.

We decided to have a "Greenhouse Party" this weekend. We've had a lot of family suddenly become interested in gardening and getting back to the land. I suppose times are getting tougher so people are doing what they can. We invited everyone to come over with some dirt and containers to plant some seeds. We'll let them grow their seedlings in our greenhouse in return for some help keeping it up. Everyone's bringing a dish to pass, so we'll make a day out of it; I'm looking forward to it!

Here's my husband showing off his floor:

 

[calendula]

Isn't spring in Wisconsin lovely?

We used to have to dig trenches around the house every spring to keep the basement from flooding. Reason 412 I no longer liver in Wisconsin

Yeah, I know, I complain about the weather a lot too! But, Wisconsin really is a beautiful state. I like having 4 distinct seasons (even if winter is much longer than the other 3 ) I grew up in Phoenix, Arizona, so this snow stuff was a big change for me. Sometimes I miss cactus and lizards, but I love hiking through the woods, going for a swim in a cool lake, and all the wildlife up here. So, I think I'm going to stay put.

 

[calendula]

The Greenhouse Party on Saturday was lots of fun. Despite the fact that it was snowing and cold out, we stayed warm in the greenhouse. For now, we are using a kerosine heater, but my husband plans to have a solar-powered contraption of some kind set up before long.

We drank wine and planted seeds all afternoon. We found out that starting seeds is much more fun when you drink wine with good friends and family . But keep the wine away from your seed stash (we had one glass get dropped in my seed bucket, which meant I had to spread all of the seeds out that got wet so they could dry).

We've got tons of roma tomatoes and beefsteak tomatoes started, as well as different varieties of squash and pumpkins. I am going to try a new crop this year: peanuts. Hopefully they'll do okay here

The kids started their seeds earlier in the day. They are very excited about having their own gardens this year. They are also going to make a "sunflower room" once it warms up. We're going to plant a large square outline with sunflower seeds, leaving an opening for a "door." Once the sunflowers grow up, they will form the walls of their room. It should make a great play spot for them this summer.

I also made some homemade toilet bowl cleaner this weekend. We have been gradually weaning ourselves off store-bought cleaners, and the toilet cleaner ran out, so I made my own. I saved the store-bought container to put it in. This is the recipe that I used:

1 2/3 cups baking soda
1/2 cup liquid soap
1/2 cup water
2 tablespoons vinegar

Mix all ingredients and pour into squeeze bottle. Shake before each use. I make my own liquid soap by grating some of my bar soap and heating it with water (1 part soap to 2 parts water) until the soap dissolves.

I found this recipe in the Reader's Digest book called "Homemade." It's got lots of good recipes for making your own cleaners in it.

 

[Denim Deb]

Wonder if the wine will make the seeds grow better.