A kitchen update

The finished kitchen!

Covering up the ugly wallpaper.  I just tiled over it.

 The "before" picture- check out the valance and wallpaper...

Hubby and I have been improving the rv.  It is amazing how much some paint can change a space.  The wallpaper in the rv was hideous!  I completely painted the kitchen- cabinets and walls.  I found this awesome thin peely tile at Home Depot and used it for the backsplash.  The kitchen is teeny tiny so a small change makes a huge impact!  What do you all think?

Update on Life

Wow guys!  Its been a while.  I am sure you all thought I quit blogging, with good reason too.  I didn't!  I only just now got my computer set back up and have access to the internet.  In the past month, hubby and I have moved to Texas.  Why? you ask?  Well Hubby is getting out of the military in Feb. He had enough leave saved up that he could be done working mid Dec and on vacation until the end of Feb.  We debated for a long time if we wanted to stay in Maryland, or move elsewhere.  We realized that without the military pay, we wouldn't be able to keep our mortgage even with both of us working.  And if we couldn't stay on the farm, we knew we didn't want to rent an apartment in town.  While we love Maryland, what was keeping us there other than the military, was the freedom to have the farm. Take that away and we didn't want to stay.  It was incredibly hard saying goodbye to all our friends and "adopted" family there.  Moving to Texas allows us to be a short drive to Hubby's family.  I have extended family in Texas and close relatives in Arkansas.  Its also a shorter plane ride to California! 
  Once we decided to move and told the Army, we figured we would have a month before they came to pack.  Since Hubby is getting out, they will move us to our final destination (as long as its not farther than Houston where he enlisted).  Apparently December is not a popular moving month, so the packers were completely open.  They came less than a week after we got our official orders.  For two weeks after the movers came we were still staying in the house with only an air mattress and our clothes.  I don't recommend that as a long term solution.  Since Hubby and I have two cars, we had to drive separately.  I left early so I could spend some time with my family in Arkansas.  Once in Texas, we found the cutest rental (Ill post pictures once all our boxes are unpacked).  The house was built in 1929 and has been lovingly restored.  Swoon!
  So now I am in the midst of unpacking, decorating, cooking (so thankful to have our pots and pans back!) and taking lots of knitting breaks.  I am not sure of the direction this blog will take.  Since we are renting, we can't tear up the yard to plant a big garden.  We will still be living much the same as before (just with no farm animals for now).  The kitchen is so tiny in this new house that there is no room for a microwave.  So we will be learning to live without one.  One of the biggest money eaters in our budget is going out to eat.  I have barely any willpower and am the first to suggest grabbing a pizza.  This year one of my goals is to cook from scratch at least 5 nights a week.  Ill write a post on my reasoning's for that later.  All that is to say that the blog will be featuring more cooking, frugal living, knitting, living simply and whatever else might come up.  For the time being you wont be seeing chickens or goats although chickens are allowed in our town (just need to work on our landlord...).  I appreciate any one who is still reading.  Thank you for understanding that life happens and not always (or most times) how we plan it!

Keeping Busy in The Kitchen

I have a confession.  My kitchen refuses to stay clean.  We have been maxing out its potential this week.  Hubby has been working a lot of hours which leaves me at home alone.  After the evening chores are done, I love working in the kitchen.  I made another batch of homemade granola, hummus, pesto (with basil from the garden), rhubarb strawberry crisp and a huge batch of sweet cherry jam.  The poor dishwasher is constantly in use.  I try and take to work whatever projects I think are doable for a three year old.  J (the three year old) loves helping to cook and clean up!  I brought all the ingredients to make pesto.  He had such fun washing the basil leaves and dropping them into the food processor.  It is fun to watch his excitement.  Sure, it would be easier and quicker to do it at home by myself, but nothing about my life can be described as quick or easy.  I didn't take the granola to work because it mostly needed supervision in the oven.  But pesto was a perfect project.  The only bummer about pesto is that we eat it so fast...

Making Big Purchases on a Budget

We had to buy a fridge last week and I was not happy about it!  We had noticed that our fridge was not keeping things as cold as normal.  Milk was souring and the pork chops I had planned for dinner went rancid.  Our fridge came with the house when we bought it and I have no idea how old it is.  We tried everything we could think of to fix it.  We researched the problem (the freezer was also dripping water into the fridge) and tried all of the suggestions.  We scoured craigslist to find a fridge used.  I found that most people had really old fridges for about $75.  That would work well for a spare fridge maybe, but I didnt want to spend near to a hundred dollars and then have it go out within the year.  Craigslist also had nice used big stainless steel fridges for a few hundred dollars.  We ended up buying a new fridge from Lowes for under $500.  Its just a basic fridge, no icemaker or bells and whistles.  But it keeps food cold, and ice frozen and I couldn't ask for more from a fridge.  Lowes offers free delivery which is what sold us.  Hubby spent his evening after work switching the way the doors swing.  Now I am so pleased to open the door and have cold food.  I even bought a gallon of milk since I am no longer afraid of it spoiling the next day!  Yay for cold milk!

Using Home Canned Goods in Everyday Life

One of my homestead goals, is to use the items I have canned on a daily basis.  I don't spend hours and hours canning, just to have a museum of canned goods in my house.  I don't want them to just look pretty on the shelf.  No, I want to use them.  I want to fade out buying goods and introduce more and more home made items.  This week I made meatloaf and used the ketchup I made last year from my grandpa's tomatoes.  For dessert I made a strawberry shortcake.  I macerated the berries in orange juice from my Uncle Al's oranges.  Last week I made an apple pie-crisp from the canned apple pie filling where I used apples from my parents, grandparents and neighbors trees.  Living on the opposite coast from my family doesn't provide many opportunities to have people over for dinner. By using items canned from family's produce its second best to having them here.  When I take a bite of apple pie I can remember whose tree the apples came from.  Its like a tribute to those who gave me produce with every bite.  I honestly believe that food made with home canned goods tastes far better than with store bought goods. 
  I have found that you can sneak in home made substitutes easily but intentionally.  I made mashed potatoes using store bought potatoes, but home canned chicken broth.  Yum!  It puts a smile on my face knowing that more and more of what we are eating is home made.  Not only home made, but with home made ingredients. 

For the Love of Mason Jars

I am sure most all other homesteaders will agree with me when I say that mason jars can be used for virtually anything!  There are the obvious uses in canning and food storage.  Pinterest has a million decorating ideas for mason jars.  With a few accessories you can add a multitude of new uses too.  Today I want to show you just one of the many ways I use mason jars.  I bought this cuppow lid at the local feed store (or you can check out cuppow.com).  It sits on top of the jar in place of the usual flat canning lid.  Then screws on the ring, like normal and in an instant you have a travel mug!  This is a great way to take water, tea or green smoothies along in the car without worrying about them sloshing over.  If you have kids, then you could do juice (or you can do juice if you don't have kids but just really like drinking juice).  I wouldn't advise putting hot coffee in it, for obvious reasons.  One disclaimer I would add is that it is NOT spill proof.  Just a heads up (speaking from personal experience).  I love that a mason jar is useful whether its dressed up or just basic.  I like that I dont have to store different cups.  We use mason jars for our daily glasses.  I can just grab the lid if I want to go somewhere, thus eliminating the need to have normal cups as well as to go cups.  Whats not to love?

A Tribute to My Dutch Roots

Yesterday I showed you my toaster cover.  Today I bring you my mixer cover.  There is something very nostalgic about kitchen appliance covers.  I can't get enough of them!  My dad's side of the family is Dutch.  I found this cute mixer cover in Iowa at an antique store during one of our reunions.  I love the colors, the windmill and the tulips.  It is a perfect tribute to my heritage and I love seeing it on my counter!

(Please ignore the stains, apparently after sitting in storage I really need to clean it!)

A Green, clean kitchen, Pink Hydrangeas and Blue Eggs

We continue noticing colors around Victory Garden Farm. This week I have vowed to keep the kitchen clean, and the counters as clear as possible. The mixer stays on the counter, covered by an antique needlepoint from Pella, Iowa. The coffee corner stays and the rest of the counters are just that. It is so refreshing to have a clean kitchen!

Hubby surprised me tonight by bringing home flowers...of the potted variety. He knows I love hydrangeas and he brought home four new plants! Two of them are blue and are already planted in the ground. The remaining two are pink, and I think they will be exchanged tomorrow for blue plants. The pink is a bit much.

We have been getting 1 blue egg a day. Today we had a total of 13 chicken eggs! The blue is really obvious when you see the eggs in person. The pictures dont show the true color difference.

We were hit with a big storm this weekend, and although muddy, we cant complain too much. There was a tornado semi-nearby so things could have been a lot worse. The radio was telling our area to take cover until the danger was passed. So I baked a cake instead...while the mixer had power.

Today was gorgeous and we got to work outside. I had a new friend over to the house along with her two girls. Watching the girls amazement at all the animals made me smile. We are expecting more thunderstorms tonight and tomorrow. I will enjoy the time to hunker down and knit or spin.

Uh, honey...can you come up here?

Hubby and I were settled in, watching The Good Life with the hounds. He went upstairs to get a glass of milk. "Honey, can you come up here? I think the fridge is broke" Upon inspection, the fridge itself is working, but its personal outlet has given up. Hubby assures me that tomorrow (after work and poker and a trip to Home Depot) he can fix it. Until then, the fridge is plugged into an extension cord (yes, yes, I know its not ideal but what can we do?) that is plugged in to the working outlet. Hopefully tomorrow night this will all be resolved. I am so thankful that just the outlet is out and we dont have to replace the whole fridge. Definitely not in the budget! On a much better note, its about 9:30 at night and still gorgeous out. Granted it is dark, but its warm and has a nice breeze. All the windows in the house are open. I think the low tonight is supposed to be around 50. I am loving this weather! Goodnight all...

late night kitchen updates

I couldnt sleep, once again tonight. After taking a bubble bath, in hopes of relaxing and falling asleep, I am now quite awake. Hubby finished morter-ing the kitchen. Check out the almost finished pictures. The big debate is what color to paint the inside of the cabinets. Remember, there will be glass shelves, and no doors. Our options are as follows- paint them (just the insides) green, to match the living room. Or blue, because I like blue. I am leaning towards green, since it will flow nicely into the living room. We need to paint them, because the holes and screws are very visable now. I am thinking we will cut some beaded board panels, paint them green and stick them in the back of the cabinets. Thoughts?

The pictures are of the kitchen as it stands right now. The dirty dishes in the sink are due to the fact that the hot water line is frozen and I cant run the dishwasher or do them by hand. I already tried boiling water to wash a round this morning...ulgh!

Oh the farm side of things, our cat Mittens, who ran away and then returned is in the cat's version of a dog house. Before he ran away he would pee on the bed randomly. Gross I know! So we were kind of relieved when he ran away because we didnt have to worry about cat pee anymore. Buttons, our female cat never has accidents. Mittens returned a week or so ago, and until today has been fine. This afternoon I discovered that he peed on one of my favorite quilts (not the new one), through the quilt, bedspread and flat sheet. So Mittens and Buttons are confined to the bathroom. With plenty of water, food, a clean liter box and soft places to sleep. The chicks are locked up in the downstairs bathroom. Which leaves one bathroom, thankfully the one with the tub, available for showers/bubble baths. Tonight's temperature is supposed to be in the single digits. I felt awful for the dogs outside. Even if Jack has the thickest coat imaginable. I made them a dinner of rice, pureed carrots and chicken (such a difference from their normal kibble) and they have spent the evening inside where its warm. As I write they are curled up on the bed with Hubby. Two 60 pound dogs and a husband take up most of the bed.... Whiskey is looking way too skinny! I am not sure if its due to the temperature outside or something else. We have agreed to feed her wet food and house them inside as often as possible. Hopefully that will help. If not, then its off to the vet.

Off now to push my way into bed... hope everyone has a good night!

new old treasures

Today was an inside day. One of the coldest weekends on record. When I left for work the truck's temperature gauge measured 11. I thought it would adjust as the truck warmed up. It adjusted down. To 10 degrees. Yikes! After work, hubby and I worked lots on the kitchen! Hubby cut brick down to the random sizes we needed. I glued them in place and he started morter-ing the inbetweens. We took a break to watch a few episodes of The Office, our current netflix phase. Back to the kitchen, to install lighting in the cabinets, just waiting on the glass shelves now. All thats left in the kitchen is to finish morter-ing (which will take a while) and put everything back. The end is in sight.

Today was also a great day for antiques. One of the antique stores I love in Frederick, had a gorgeous lime green quilt for sale. It is super old, good condition, but out of our price range. Every time I think of quilts, I now picture this one. I was sad that we couldnt afford it, when I remembered that I had Christmas money put away in the safe. Out came the money (thanks Tom and Joyce) and home came the quilt. Hooray! It is now draped across the chair in my knitting room until it finds a permanent home. Speaking of antiques, I inherited a few pieces of transferware. Love! Some of the plates date back to 1848. I love anything old with a story. As I sit under my lime green quilt, I like to picture the people who have shared the quilt before me. As I look at my new blue plates, I like to think of who has enjoyed them. 1848 is a long time ago. More than a few generations. Both the china and the quilt must have been loved or they would not be here today. I too will continue in the tradition of loving and caring for them. Its not just "stuff", this is history! Now I have to figure out how to display the china on the wall (higher than little hands can reach). What do you think about my "mock display"?

they call it progress

I got off work early today. Rushed home to take care of the animals. I thought maybe the

goats would like to be out on a tie out with fresh food. So I took the first two goats (the big ones) down to the woodline, where there is still leaves on the brush. I had them each on a tie out and they were happily enjoying their brush. Then the poor little billy goat bleated. Note- these goats have wanted nothing to do with billy, even shooing him away when he gets too near. Well, I guess today they decided that it is the worst thing in the world to be seperated from their billy. 2nd note- I was on my way up to bring the billy and Jackie down to join the others. Jumpy and Meanie (the temporary names for the big ones) started running towards billy. When they reached the end of their tie out Meanie jerked back. Jumpy just kept running. Her collar busted and is still tied down to the tree. She raced back up to the pen and stood at the gate to be let in. Now Meanie was wanting to run too, so I unhooked her from the tree and ran with her back up to the house. Both goats were let back into the pen, where they promptly ignored billy once again. So much for freedom and green leaves.

On the homefront, since I was off early I got to work on the kitchen. Hubby is still at work, so I started laying the brick backsplash on my own. I am at a stopping point (waiting for hubby to pick up more caulk from Home Depot) and I thought you might enjoy some pictures. Keep in mind it is no where near done, but its progress!

PS check out the corners we put in the cupboards! They are porch corners that we painted white and glued in place. I ordered glass shelves just for the open ones. Hopefully it will all look nice!

Pardon the mess, we are remodeling....

At least right now we have a good excuse for a messy house- we are remodeling the kitchen. It all started with a sink I got from my parents for christmas. the sink was slightly bigger (ok loads bigger) than the previous sink. No biggie, we will just redo the countertops. and move the dishwasher. and change the cabinets. and we need new lighting to go with. and a new backsplash. and what color to paint? But I do love my sink. Double farmhouse style. The old sink was a single basin. I hated that I couldnt fill up one side to soak and rinse in the other. I complained to my mom, and for chirstmas she had hubby get the sink and put it under the tree. Way to go Mom and Dad! Way to go hubby!

The kitchen is looking better, but not nearly done. We put the last of the countertop in yesterday, and the sealant is drying right now. Our plans changed for the cabinets when we found out the cabinet doors were discontinued. So we moved them around to make what we had work. Ill post the before (with the green backsplash), and the current (with the new counters, but no backsplash). Hopefully soon I will post a "finished" picture.

Once the counters are done, we can move the kitchen items back in. They are currently taking up residence in the dining and living rooms. I can't wait to have my house back!