So, today was a big day for us here on the HomeFarm. I can’t quite explain what was so special about today…maybe loading the FarmCar up with HomeFarm’s first bales of straw…maybe the finishing of a never-ending table-building project…I just don’t know.
Doesn’t matter, really – all that’s important is that it *felt* like a big day for us!
Here she is, the famous FarmCar, loaded with five bales of straw fresh from the Standard Feed & Seed Store in Atlanta. As you can probably imagine, after unloading her FarmCar is completely head to toe in straw remnants. I haven’t had time to vacuum her out yet – that’s a job for another day.
Two bales are now in the bed seen on the right of this photo. They will stay baled, but I will be piling the tops with composted manure and watering them for two weeks. After two weeks, the straw will have heated up and cooled down (hopefully) and something, probably greens, will be planted on top.
The beautiful thing about this method is that the bales will continue to degrade and compost, and next year I will have some beautiful stuff to spread in this box.
As for the rest of the bales, they will be going toward making some new beds. More on that tomorrow!
So, I am definitely back on the project-doing bandwagon, only I keep forgetting to take pictures! I apologize for not keeping updated, and will certainly try harder from now on.
Dexter, our miniature pincher, was about out of his favorite Trader Joe's peanut butter dog treats. Seeing as we are on a very tight budget right now and I absolutely refuse to go shopping, I did a little bit of research. Peanut butter dog treats, it turns out, are incredibly easy to make. Plus, we happened to have all of the ingredients!
Here’s the recipe I used. It is a combination of several recipes on the web, just adjusted a bit for what I had on hand:
| 1 1/2 cups | organic whole wheat flour |
| 1/4 cup | organic old fashioned oats |
| 1 teaspoon | baking powder |
| 3/4 cup | 1% organic milk |
| 3/4 cup | organic all natural peanut butter |
| 1 tablespoon | molasses |
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Combine everything in a mixer and stir until smooth. Dough will be stiff and not sticky, but should still be pliable.
Roll dough to approximately 1/4” thickness and cut with an appropriately sized cookie cutter, or into whatever shape you desire.
Bake for 22-25 minutes.
Store in an airtight container or freeze for longer storage.
Dexter absolutely loves these – hopefully your pooch will too!
I’m such a dork.
So today I just couldn’t stop; I made one more pincushion and a few more scrap zipper bags. The bags are perfect for makeup, pencils, and general purse organization – I love carrying them and they always make me smile.
The offer has been expanded – if you want a pincushion or a bag, just let me know and it’s yours!
By the way, if anyone wants a tutorial on the zipper bags, just say the word. They are completely reversible and so incredibly easy. Just a really great almost-instant-gratification project!
Love to you all,
Petunia
I can’t explain it except to say that I’m desperate to use up all our little scraps of beautiful fabric that we’ve been hanging on to for years. And I do mean years – maybe 20 or more in some cases. I’ve also been struggling with focusing - I can’t seem to focus too long on any one project.
So I found the perfect little super easy project: pincushions! The actual tutorial for the ones I made is <here>. They’re so fast and easy – when I’m done for the day and it’s time to relax, I turn on some junky show in the television and whip up a little cushion. So far three have been made, and guess what – they’re free to whoever wants one!
Just send me your name and address and I’ll throw one in the mail for you!
All my love,
Petunia
I had the luxury today of a cancelled class and instead of studying as I should have, I sewed.
And it felt so good!
In fact, I’m thrilled – I finally had time to finish the sewn shopping bag that I’d started a few weeks ago.
Here’s a picture; the blue plaid is the one that I bought from Target on clearance. The obnoxious one is my copy:
Regarding the fabric choices...
…Mom and I dared each other to use up our stash of scraps. We’ve got an outrageous sum of oddball fabrics, so we’re just putting things together in somewhat random order – it’s really quite fun – goodness knows I like things gaudy!
Love to you all,
Petunia
Not much crafting going on these days whatwith everything else happening, but I did manage to make a sweet little purchase today:
It’s a book, published in 1909, with the most wonderful little illustrations throughout. There’s nothing about this book that I don’t love, and I’m hoping to incorporate it into my life somehow.
Of course, first I have to read it. But then it might constitute a costume inspiration as well as some music studies. We’ll see. And, of course, I have to find a use for the illustrations.
Love to you all,
Petunia
…I’ve just been overwhelmed!
It’s been an amazing past few weeks, mostly good, a little sad, and way too much to keep track of.
No crafting has been going on, so I haven’t left anything off of this blog…but it will pick up again soon, I promise!
And keep your fingers crossed with me – we’re in contract on a wonderful little 1939 bungalow. Of course, what does that mean?
Lots more projects!!!
Anyway, just wanted to poke my head out and say hello and I’ll be back soon!
Love to you all,
Petunia
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