The Gman is Coming!

I am so excited! Gman is on his way now to come here for the weekend. It feels like it's been a long long time since I've seen him. Of course, we talk on the phone multiple times every day, but that's not at all the same thing.

I wonder if he'll take me out to dinner? Maybe I can MAKE him take me out for dinner? Maybe I will just "forget" to take some meat out of the freezer here....ha! That'll work!

Tomorrow, we are planning to go to Julia's house and watch her work on her looms. We met Julia, one of our blog readers, in December. Since I've been relocated to Kelowna, her and I have gone out for lunch, and she's made me a delicious dinner at her new place!

I'm going to bring the camera along tomorrow and get some pics of her looms. She's quite the weaver!!

What are your plans for the weekend??? Have fun, whatever you do!! Sphere: Related Content

Veggie Garden Poll Results

Earlier last week, I put up a poll...inquiring minds wanted to know what level of gardening experience our readers had. So here are the results:

I have been a veggie gardener for:

more than 5 years - 34 or 58%
more than 3 years - 6 or 10%
less than 3 years - 12 or 20%
will be planting our first garden this year - 5 or 8%
I'm buying all my food at the Store - 1 or 1%

A total of 58 responses.....

For those with little gardening experience, Puhleassseee....Stick Around! By following our blog for one gardening season, you'll find LOTS of info and the natural progression of seeding, weeding, thinning, harvesting and processing. All followed by finishing up the season with green manures, and finally....resting on our butts during the coming Winter season!

We'll be canning, freezing, brining and smoking (uh...meats for those last two, not veggies, ha!)

I'll be starting my seeds indoors around the beginning of April. Normally, I start the third week of March, but I hear the natives are getting restless and rumblings of California, beaches and sunshine can be heard. I'm liking that rumour! And I'll be crossing fingers and toes hoping that rumour is true!

For now, we're starting to save every container that can be used for seeding....cream containers, cans from grocery store foods....and stocking up on styrofoam cups. You should too!

And a picture of our Veggie Garden from 2007...I simply can't wait for Summer to be here!

One of our daily harvests!

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Buckwheat is Beautiful!

We're Big on green manure up here in the Valley.....seems like our land is naturally one big clod of Clay. Not conducive at all for veggie growing. We're always working to improve our soil (or turn our clay into soil, that's probably a better way to say it)

We use a lot of fall Rye, but also use Buckwheat....Buckwheat is Beautiful! Look at those blooms...when you look out over a sea of white buckwheat blooms, it's gorgeous!

Top on my list as to why I love Buckwheat is its incredible fast growth! (Which we kinda need up here in the 'Boo)  From seeding to harvesting (or plowing under) is 5 weeks...yes 5 weeks!

It smothers out pretty much Any weed trying to grow, which makes it a prime candidate for improving the soil in a new empty garden bed.

So...we use Fall Rye in the Fall to over winter....but in season, if we harvest something and want to build the soil in that particular spot, we use Buckwheat.

I don't know of any other green manure that you could seed and plow under 3 times in One garden season! Amazing.... follow the last plowing with Fall Rye and let that sit over Winter. Come Spring, plow or dig that under and you have the makings for  wonderful soil for your new Garden.

You'll be amazed with the gorgeous friable soil you have built!

If you are going to plow under, do it just as the flowers are starting. I couldn't do that myself, as the flowers were so pretty, and I just loved the sea of green with all those white nodding heads.

Enter....Plan B. Here I waited until the majority of flowers were blooming, enjoyed the flowers for maybe one week, and then literally forced myself out there with the clippers.

The result of Plan B....Happy Happy Happy Girls! Dang, the Chickens love Buckwheat!

You can also harvest Buckwheat for yourself...turning it into flour. That's for another post. Just realize the wonders and versatility of Buckwheat....it's a Good Thing!

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Flower Seed Order for 2010

One of my goals last year was to plant a few more flowers and I did get a new shade bed done.  I'm hoping to see good results with that bed this year, as it will be its second year. I've pretty much always had large flower gardens at our other houses, but since we moved here we've been concentrating on the veggies.

This year, I have that same goal. Put in a couple of flower beds, and maybe even start working on the pathway border. We'll see how far I get....

Flower seed order for this year:

Columbine
Heartsease Viola
Echincea
Red Yarrow


And I have these seeds on hand from last year, or maybe some are even from the year before. Hopefully they will germinate!

Coreopsis
Marigold
Scarlet Flax
Nasturtium
Rudbeckia
Sweet Peas
Candytuft
Annual Baby's Breath
Dianthus
Zinnia
Shasta Daisy (kinda funny since we have masses of Ox-Eye Daisy around here - they're on the noxious weed list.

Plus I have the perennial plants already in the yard......which I am open to moving around. Here's a few pics:

What are your flower goals this year? Do you even have any? I am feeling the need to see more "pretty" this year. Let's not forget to take time to smell the roses!

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Veggie Seed Order for 2010

I think I have my seed orders figured out...finally. And it was no small task, especially for the Gman. As most of you know I am away from home right now.

 I packed all kinds of things to help occupy my time and keep myself busy. One thing I forgot to pack? My seed boxes. Did I make a list Before I left home? Uh....no!

My Valley friend and I try to order together, in an attempt to reduce the amount of shipping and handling charges. Damn S&H, they are always way too high. Anyway, the Gman told me the other day Marion was getting ready to submit her seed order.

Well, since I didn't actually know what I had on hand (seed boxes left behind) and I certainly couldn't remember....he had to sift thru the boxes, put everything in order (yet another little job I didn't get to in the Fall) and then Recite to me how many packages of all the veggie seeds we had on hand.

Not for the first time has he realized it ain't easy being married to the Annie. I heard a few sighs, then he got down to the task at hand. After a lot of reciting, I was able to kinda sorta figure out what I need and how much I need.

So...here's my list. It's smaller than previous years and that's a good thing! It's smaller because we have been a lot more serious about saving our own seeds.

Peas - Bounty

Snap Peas - Mega and also Oregon Giant

Green Beans - Blue Lake

Turnip - Purple Top White Globe & also a new one, Scarlet Ohno

Mangels - just in case

Corn - Simonet

Charb - Rhubarb Chard with brightly coloured red stems

Beets - Dark Red Detroit

Sugar Beets - cuz I just can't have too many (to be fed off to animals)

Lettuce - Red Salad Bowl

Veggies I don't need to order cuz I have enough on hand:

(NOTE: Some of the following seed comes from veggies we let go to seed, others are seed I have extra packages from the store.)

Red & Yellow Beans - for drying

Rutabaga

Alaska Peas - for drying

Broccoli

Cauliflower

Carrots

Kale

Spinach

Arugula

Radish

Tomatoes

Peppers

(the pic is from a previous year - I am having trouble with camera issues right now, damn!)

Next up - Flower seed order!

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Tiny Houses

I Love this idea! Totally cool, and a great way to add living space to your existing property. If you live in the city, you'd have to check with your local City Hall to find out if they are allowed. More and more cities are allowing these tiny houses, in order to increase economical living for renters.

Way cool.....I would love to build one of these on our property. That way, we could maybe get a Woofer or offer a Bed & Breakfast, while giving the company a place of their own.

A couple of links:

Eartheasy website - did a feature on these tiny houses back in May. Another bonus with this one is it is on WHEELS! How cool is that? Imagine going travelling and sleeping in your own bed at nite!

twelve3.ca - I saw an article in the Vancouver Sun about this company. Very interesting!

What do you think? Would you live in one of these....say you have your country property but don't have a home or RV on the land yet. You'd have to work around the septic issue, but there may be creative ways....

If we built one on our property, we could tie the lines into the existing house lines. Then, if I misbehaved, the Gman could send me out to the Little House! Sphere: Related Content

Breast Cancer Update

I am now Halfway thru my Radiation Treatments - yeahhhhhhh! Physically, I feel pretty good. I am starting to get tired and I have a really deep tan on that area where my boob used to be...sigh. I have to put lots of moisturizer on that area to try to keep the skin from cracking. Over the next week or so, the tan will start turning to a burn.

Last night, I fell asleep on the couch right after Law and Order started at 8pm and didn't wake up till 10pm. Dragged myself off to bed where I slept right thru till 6am. So, yeah....I'd say I'm getting tired.

I'm still hot flashing like mad, which is kinda embarassing when I'm in public and my head starts to sweat. Of course, I also go beet red in the face, so that doesn't help either.

 I've lost a few of those pounds I piled on during chemo (which is more common than losing weight - huh!) by going out for a good walk every day. So, yippee, I have a total of 3 pairs of jeans that fit me again!

I called the plastic surgeon's office to find out when they thought I might get in for my first consultation (for eventual reconstruction)....the receptionist told me if I was lucky, I would get in this year. Unreal....so I figured I better go and get me one of those prothesis boobs, as I have only been using the softys...or fluffies...or whatever they are called.

In talking with my chemo oncologist, she let me know I will start Tamoxifen 2 weeks after finishing radiation. Oh and guess what one of the side effects of the medication is? Hot flashes! Aren't I lucky??

We also talked about estrogen supression and I may go for surgery to have my ovaries removed. That's OK, I haven't really been using them anyway. I figure as long as my voice doesn't deepen and I don't start getting a beard, I'll be OK. But damn...that means another surgery. How I am supposed to fit gardening into this equation, I have no idea!

My hair is growing back in. It's still coming in quite a bit darker than it was. And...there is just the odd gray hair in there too. It's strange, looking in the mirror and seeing all that dark hair. I was always blonde....well, darker at the roots and blonde on the ends. But now, it's dark, I am not sure if I like it. But hey, I am grateful I have hair!

And you know what's funny? Soooo many people have told me I have a nice shaped head, lol. Not just friends, but even people I don't EVEN Know! The other day, a Cancer Centre volunteer was driving me home, and just dropped it into the conversation. "You sure have a nice looking head". Hahahahahah, well thank you! I may be kinda chubby and only have one boob, but hey, I have a good looking bean! As the Eman would say...."Mama, that ain't just a hat rack on top of your shoulders!"

My hair is short short short....but I do have to smile in the morning when I see that ole familiar bedhead in the mirror. It's short bedhead, but it's bedhead...and it's MY bedhead, so I have a laugh about that. And the mess is to the point where I have to tuck the hairs behind my ears, or it just looks stupid , which makes me laugh too. My hair is probably not even an inch long, but I have to tuck it behind my ears. Go figure!

My radiation oncologist has ordered 3 extra treatments for me. I'm not sure why, but she must have seen something on my chart that caused her to do so. I'll find out next Tuesday when I see her next. That brings my end date to Feb 10. And I am telling ya, the evening of Feb 10, I will be sleeping in my own bed up there in the Valley....with my husband and my Wolf by my side! I will be so glad and grateful to be back home. I'll be so grateful I may even kiss my chickens....but probably not :) Sphere: Related Content

Wordless Wednesday - Sunsets in our Cariboo Valley

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A New Poll About Growing a Veggie Garden

Over on the right sidebar, you'll see a new poll I put up this morning. Let's find out how many of our readers (drive-bys also welcome!) are putting in a veggie garden this year! And, indirectly, I'd like to find out your level of gardening experience! Have you been planting a veggie garden for years? Or are you new to veggie gardening?

Let us know! Sphere: Related Content

Nman, Kgal and Annie - Railroad Barons of North America

What a wonderful weekend I had! The Nman (aka Help Desk) and the Kgal came up to Kelowna to spend a couple days with me. What a treat to have them here! I must admit, yesterday afternoon after they left, it was really really QUIET here. Lonely, actually.....man, I hate being away from home.

Satruday night, they pulled out this game that I had never heard of....Empire Builder. Do you know about it? The players are Railroad builders.

They tried to explain how to play it....dang if I could figure it out from the explanations. But....once we started playing, I slowly got the hang of it.

The idea is to build a railroad between various cities in the US and Canada. Once you do that, you get to go to one city and pick up goods. Then you make your way to another city, to drop off your goods and get paid millions in cold hard cash. Well....Gameboard cash. Not quite as good as Real Cold Hard Cash, but close.

There's two steps in each turn. First you get to move your train, then you get to build more track (to get you closer to the cities you will need to get to). It costs you money to build your track, and by the end of the game, you MUST have built into 6 of the large cities (think New York, Los Angeles etc)

There's a lot of strategy involved, which is probably why the kids won hands down. They're both really very smart. At one point, the Nman had 3 different commodities on his train, so he was dropping off and picking up loads pretty fast.

What a fun game! After a little while, I was zooming down to Mexico to pick up coffee, then trying to get over to New York to sell it for 32 million dollars. If you're savvy enuf, you can make a pit stop in Philly to pick up some steel and drop it off along the way to New York.

We played for probably 3 hours....the game ended when the Nman won with 250 million. Kgal came in a Very close second with 249 million, and good ole' Annie came in dead last with 201 million.

Oh great...I see the link says it is for ages 12+. Now I'm depressed thinking a 12 year old could figure out this game! I was having a LOT of trouble, lol!

I highly recommend this game. Have you heard of, or played this game before? Sphere: Related Content

Follow up about Monsanto & Johnny Seeds

The other day, when I posted about Monsanto's earnings, I got a comment from Patty. It's worthy of posting so you really should go on over here and read what the owner of Johnny's has to say. And no, they are not owned by Monsanto.

Patty wrote:

Hi, Annie, thanks for keeping the axe blade to Monsanto's collective corporate throat. I'm sure you've run across this statement by Johnny's Seed but I thought a link might be appropriate here:



http://www.johnnyseeds.com/t-ownership.aspx


I've been searching for a non-Monsanto affiliated seed source, and this is a pretty good mission statement from a reliable source. Enjoy, and hope you're feeling good!! Sphere: Related Content

A Donation for Haiti

Ree's newest post talks about giving $500 donations on behalf of 2 commenters. So, please head over to her blog and leave a comment.

She's also donating 10 cents for EACH comment she receives. And as we all know, Haiti needs all the help it can get. Sphere: Related Content

Does da Wolf Like the Snow???

Does da Wolf like the snow?

Or is it just a seasonal nuisance for him?

Awwww, buddy, you so cute!

I think he likes it!

He Really likes it!

I miss ya Buddy, take good care of Dad and the girls! See you soon.....

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Goals for 2010

A New Year....I guess it's Goal Time again. Earlier today, I was looking at my 2009 goals and had to sigh.

A lot of them didn't get accomplished, actually very few got accomplished....by my tally, 4 out of 8 goals were basically accomplished. Only 1 of them had to do with gardening! Then again, 2009 was an unusual year for us.

We did grow 2 times as much animal food as we had in 2008....trouble was, we doubled the number of pigs.

At the beginning of the season, I was doing a great job with the weeding. Early July changed all that....once I had my surgery, well, I just sat and watched the weeds grow....and grow....and grow.

Now, I'm pretty anal when it comes to weeds....over and over in my mind goes that saying "Every weed that goes to seed equals 7 years of weeding". I learned over time to let it go. Hoping that 2010 will be better in that regard (the weeds, I mean)

So...here's a few goals for 2010:


Keep smiling
Stay positive
Get a new boob
Let my hair grow out...then let it grow long....then cut it and donate to Cancer Society for wigs
Enjoy time with my boys and their gals
Enjoy fishing with the Gman
Enjoy camping with the Gman and da Wolf

OK, Homestead goals:

Weed
Weed
Weed
Start an Alfalfa patch for the hens
Finish putting in the Rhubarb Garden
Plant another patch of Buckwheat
Reduce the number of tomato plants and plant more Corn in their place;buy bulk maters instead
Start working on the area between the Greenhouse and the Berry Garden/Path to Barn
Help the Gman get his shop built to lock-up
Clean up, trim back and plant both sides of the Driveway


That's it. Actually, there's a million other things I could add to this list, but hey, life is short. Our hands will be full enuf as is.

What are your goals for this year? Are you blogging about them? Let us know!! Sphere: Related Content

How to Get Started on The Path to Providing For Your Family

Here's a link to a post I wrote almost a year ago (Wow! Has it been that long???)

There is lots of good info in there about getting started with laying hens, and then, as time and finances permit, moving up to raising meat birds. Most of you folks who are regular readers already know that we also raise weaner pigs during the Spring, Summer and Fall.

Success on the homestead is often a result of Starting Small, and Gradually Growing....check it out!

Comments? Questions? Please leave some! We like getting feedback about what we put on this blog - hopefully it helps a lot of folks out!

Know what you eat! And....Know what you grow! Sphere: Related Content

Monsanto Earnings

Monsanto Co. (MON) said its fiscal first-quarter loss was $19 million, or 3 cents a share, compared to a profit of $556 million, or $1 a share, in the year-ago period. Total net sales fell to $1.7 billion from $2.6 billion.

Analysts were looking for nil earnings in the most recent quarter on sales of about $2 billion. For the full year, the company predicted ongoing earnings of $3.10 to $3.30 a share. Wall Street projected fiscal 2010 earnings of $3.35 a share, on average.


(I am posting this because I dislike Monsanto so very much! What do you think of Monsanto????) Sphere: Related Content

Phase 2 - Radiation

A quick update - I am now in Kelowna. We arrived Sunday and I had my first radiation treatment yesterday.

I'd rather be on a beach in Mexico...or at home in my Valley. But...c'est la vie...this is life.

I'll be here for 5 weeks. I'll be back to blogging about gardens in a day or two...I just need a bit of time to settle in.

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So....You Wanna Get a Few Laying Hens, Do Ya??

Thinking of getting some chickens this year? Here's a hilarious writeup (No, not mine!) of what NOT to do....

Warning, if you're drinking coffee at your computer, you may just want to set it down till u finish reading....I am NOT liable for any coffee spurting that may occur!

Check it out!

Still interested even after reading that? OK, learn more about really having chickens by reading some of these! Sphere: Related Content

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year to everyone reading....let us hope 2010 is filled with good health and good veggies!!

A Wonderful New Year's Eve dinner.....deep fried prawns (courtesy of Ei) and the Gman's homemade french fries! And a nice cold beer to go along!

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