Tuesday, January 10, 2012

The Country Homemaker Hop- Week 2

“The homemaker has the ultimate career. All other careers exist for one purpose only - and that is to support the ultimate career. ”
C.S. Lewis


Are YOU a Country Homemaker?  
Do you make nutritious meals from scratch, labor in a vegetable garden, or raise livestock?  Do you do these things because of the love you share with your family and a desire to provide the best for your loved ones?  If you answered yes to any of these questions; than like me, you must be a country homemaker and WE WANT YOU!

Please join us each week to share your pictures, recipes, household wisdom, homemaking tips, crafts, ideas and stories with the country homemaking community.  Chime in about what's going on at your homestead.


Country Homemaker posts will open to link ups on Wednesdays at 12:01 am and will remain open to links all week long, through Tuesday night at 11:59 pm.   


Here's what I've been up to this week...


In the kitchen-
This week I prepared and froze three batches of cabbage soup from the last of the FARM SCHOOL cabbages.  (Dinner tonight, yum). 
I got lucky at a yard sale and scored a food dehydrator (with a fan) for $4.
 I have been working on several more of Mary Mulari's "Church Lady" aprons, assembly line style.  I really love the way they look and being reversible adds to their functionality.   The scalloped bottom hemline is so feminine and pretty.  I got the last one cut out last night while my friend Michelle was visiting.  
*Church Lady Aprons- examples, not mine!
 *These are MINE!  Still in pieces...
During my evenings this week, I plan to press and pin as many of the 56 pockets to the apron sides as I can, before I fall asleep...
In the garden-
The Hubby gave me a new nickname this week: "The Butcher", after I pruned our fruit trees.  He'll thank me for it later, when he gets to eat all those BIGpretty apples and peaches.
I took cuttings from the trees and planted the last of them today, in my veggie garden.  
I roto-tilled my small orchard and re-shaped the soil beneath my fruit trees into a shallow basin, to improve watering efficiency.  Then, I built up small earthen burms against the crowns of my fruit trees to prevent crown rot.  (Fruit tree crowns do not like having water against them).
I installed a few branch spacer bars (made by the hubby from a 2x4) on a pear tree that keeps putting out scaffold branches that are too narrowly separated from the trunk. (A common problem with pear trees).
I am preparing my veggie garden plot plan.  I seem to have some time yet as the weather here continues to be unseasonably warm and dry for January and there's no change in forecast for the near future.  I am debating whether or not to direct sow some cool season crop seed in the garden, or to start them indoors.

What's going on at YOUR home this week?

10 comments:

  1. I love those aprons and that soup looks so good! Heidi you have been one busy girl this week. Tilling too my gosh..you go girl.

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  2. Hi Dolly! Thanks for stopping by. My back is FEELING the tilling I did today, tonight. I look forward to hopping over to see your Coconut pie. It looks divine.

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  3. How is your knee? I have fruit trees that could use a butcher.LOL

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  4. Wow! You've been a busy bee. I love my dehydrator. That was a great find.

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  5. Your aprons are beautiful ! Ive been wanting to stop and make one ever since I went to Chickens in the Road Retreat this past fall and so many ladies had them! You will love dehydrating-my husband came home yesterday to the smell of strawberries through the house! They were on sale and I snatched up a few baskets!! It's strawberry time in middle Florida!! Thanks for stopping by my blog too!! Think snow!! hehe
    ~~Rain

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  6. Rugosarosefarm,
    I was so excited to find such a great deal. Have a great week!

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  7. Rain,
    Aprons are fun to make and the best part of all- they really keep your clothes clean. Even when I'm working with lots of flour on an open surface, the apron works like a magnet. When I'm done, I take it off and send it to my washroom, but my clothes are perfect. I am so happy for you and your strawberry conquest. I LOVE strawberries.

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  8. You have been busy! I love the church lady aprons! Last year I read a post about aprons being a homemaker's "super hero" cape. It was such a cute post and so true. When you put on an apron, you seem to get more done than when you don't wear one...and you look lovely while your doing it!

    I have grown grapes from cuttings but didn't ever think about doing it with my fruit trees. Do you do anything special to the ends...root hormone or anything?

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  9. Hi Charlotte,
    Thanks for stopping by. For the fruit tree cuttings I cut them between the nodes and then I chew up the base a bit with a few small cuts from nippers- below the bottom node. Then, I dip them into Rootone plant rooting hormone dust and into a prepared bed with peat moss, perlite, and gromulch. I cover with straw mulch and keep it moist. I have lots of friends that have grown them like that (from the scion (top stock)) because they have good, healthy soil that drains well, but I am forced to take root cuttings from a good peach root stock that can handle my tough clay soil. I am growing the root cuttings out too, and I will graft them together next spring.

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  10. I'm glad the aprons are asenbly-line friendly. They are my Christmas presents this year. Reading your comments makes me hot and tired (of course it it July in eastern PA.

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My email address is whitewolfsummitfarmgirl@gmail.com.