A walk in the extended yard.

We are very fortunate to live on a quarter acre.  While it is enough for a small garden and some chickens as well as our house and some play area, it is not enough for a hike.  We are fortunate that our neighbors across the street live on the rim of a ravine that has been turned into a park.   So in the fading warmth of Indian summer, we went hiking.  The husband and kids challenged themselves by crossing the creek (in these parts pronounced like the first syllable of cricket) I instead took the bridge.  It's funny to look at some parts of the trail to see what looks like the remainders of an old stone foundation.  Or, my kids favorite, a rock balanced precariously upon another that they call pride rock.  

(Insert lesson on glaciation.)

Yes, we are fortunate...how many can say that they have a waterfall in their (extended) backyard.

Does anyone know what today is?...and a GIVEAWAY

To some of you, this may ring a bell...

The first picture on Citysister-Countrysister.

That's right this today, it has been one year in which my sister and I have been sharing snippits out of our lives with the general public.

We are truly thankful to the ones who have been sharing the journey with us.

And with that, I'd like to give a thank you to our followers.

Why a glass chicken?

Well, that was my gateway drug...having chickens made us have lots of compost...

for bigger gardens...which grew more food...which led to more canning...which led to cost savings...

which led us to more gardens and more chickens and more compost...

and so it goes...

Barnheart...that dreaded disease.

To be put into the drawing, you must be a follower
(you can become one now if you want.
If you need help just give a holler and I'll do my best to guide you through...
and if you think that you are a follower, just make sure you are...blogger got rid of a few of you along the way...not us.)

Also, let us know what your favorite post is...or what you'd like to see more of...

after all, that's what keeps you coming back right?

Drawing will be Thurs 8/18...

that's when my sister got in on the act.

Got it...good.

Good luck

(you may need it.)

He's done it again....

City husband's secretary was driving to work when she almost ran over a rock.

Only it wasn't a rock.

It was Myrtle...

The Turtle.

Myrtle wandered around the office until s/he did it's business on the middle of the floor.

Then s/he went in a box...the box came to our house.

That husband is always bringing critters home.

Myrtle was studied, examined, and then released.

Now Myrtle is living by a lovely creek far away from roads.

Back in the saddle again...

While we've been "homeschooling" through the summer as planned, it hasn't been our traditional type lessons.  We have spent time in the garden, taking care of chickens and charting production of both.  

We have been exploring the world around us and thinking about geography in relation to where we are and where we are going.  

We have been thinking in a way about multiplication and division, without using those terms.  

And as usual we have been baking, cooking, and talking about our friends the "yeastie beasties" that make bread soft and fluffy.  

I am tempted to create a child's bread baking book in a story format..."Once upon a time in bread land princess wheat was kidnapped by the yeastie beasties..."  it is a story told too often in our home.  

After scouring the internet, I finally found the cure for the crankiest sewing machine on earth...and cured it from it's issues (which two sewing machine fixers couldn't fix.)  

C. is very interested in creating a princess costume for Halloween (she's been talking about Halloween since November when the candy ran out.)  

"Home Ec" may be her idea of a good time.

But now it is the time when we start the formal lessons...

It takes a while to get back in that saddle again.

W. is really looking forward to a history book that I got out of the library.

It is so far over over his head, but that's okay...I know how to paraphrase.

We are continuing on in Saxon Math and Phonics Level 1.

For science we are exploring the world around us.

And reading...lots of it.

I read a chapter of On the Shores of Plum Creek...

W. reads about 10 pages of Hop on Pop...

or a Biscuit book...

or a reader from his Phonics program...

and for math, reading and science all in one...

there's always reading the cookbook.

Hiatus over

Well the last few weeks were full of packing, learning, and travel...

I am the world's foremost expert on being disorganized when it comes to travel and so it took me a whole week to pack up the van to go on vacation...were we met up with the Country (slacker) Sister and her family.

At a place where a vacant lot has a very different meaning...

Where we couldn't quite make jam this year (our hips were too green...)

Where we learned it is difficult to take a picture on rough seas of a lighthouse in the dark.

Where cousins like to hang out...

While the daddies play golf.

(see the point of rock to the right...the menfolk invented a form of golf played on it...)

Where siblings watch boats at high tide...

We had a nice time visiting with family on our vacation...

Yikes I need to tend to the garden...the volunteer squash took over the yard...

Into the woods...

We went "hiking."

Keep your eyes peeled...you never know when you'll see something.

What is there one moment...

May be gone a second later..

Berries in the sunshine taste best...

And occasionally you may see something you've never seen before.
Anyone know what it is?

Here we go round the Mulberry bush...

It's that time of year...

The berries come.  

We used to think they were just garbage trees...

the birds loved them and showed it upon our cars and mailbox.

But after some research we found that they are in fact...

MULBERRIES

Crunchy and sweet.

Juicy and rare.

You can't just go to the store and buy them.

You have to fight off birds and pull on branches.

Foraging in empty lots and in the brush barriers between suburban homes.

But the rewards are great.

We have three (a fourth is about a year from fruiting) such trees on our property.  

None were planted, and that's the way the Mulberry likes it.

The birds do the dirty work (on the cars and mailboxes of the neighborhood.)

and the mulberries spread.

On the fringes, in the neglected areas, they pop up quickly and with strength and determination.

Tenacious as any of the traditional berry bushes are, but with the glory of a tree.

What have you foraged for lately?

Happy birthday...

...to me!

Remember being little...

Birthdays couldn't come fast enough.

I was mad because March had 31 days...one more day for me to wait.

My mom always made my favorite...carrot cake.

Now things are different.

I turn 30 today.

My hair is slowly turning gray (I blame C...most of it came as soon as she became mobile.)

I have responsibilities.

To me, it's hard to believe I've left my 20's behind...

A lot happened in my 20's.

I finished two degrees.

I got married.

Bought a house.

Had two kiddos.

Oh well, maybe my 30's will be equally splendid.

But for different reasons.

What dreams are made of...

It's amazing to me.

One day you are knee deep in snow, trudging through it to take care of the chickens and tap the trees, then overnight the warm wind blows and melts it all.  Sure the neighbors complain that their basements flood (plant something other than gravel!) but you instead see the beauty of it.  The mud, the faintly green of the grass and weeds.  It's the urge that you get to buy seeds, and the way that you wait for them to come.  Last year's food scraps have magically turned into beautiful crumbly soil, fertile and ready to be added to the beds to nourish a new year's growth.

You go to the feed store to stock up on other seeds that you want to put in right away, or maybe it's for the seed starting supplies.  The fresh spring air has a certain scent that is intoxicating.  The smell of barn and dirt, moisture, growth.  It may be hot in the sunlight, but cold and blustery in the shade, just a reminder from winter that he is still lurking in the shadows.  

The early seeds that you plant start poking their little heads up out of the ground, spinach, lettuce, and carrots sending up their first two leaves towards the cold early year sun under their makeshift cold frame.

 The berries start putting out little grey leaves, and those tenacious weeds complain and try to hold fast when you pull them up. Strawberries stretch out last year's hands between mothers and daughters.  The Rhubarb starts poking out bright crumpled green leaves on the deep red stalks from their white winter cover.

The mint and oregano start their yearly quest for garden domination, while the chive hangs out between them and attempts to avoid the rabbit's gnaw.

The garlic, so carefully planted from the previous year's best and biggest bulbs and then mulched the fall before, starts poking up to remind you that they are there.  Little chirps from birds working hard fill the ears, as does the slashing sound of the hoe.  You send the kids out.  Their quest is to pick up all the limbs, sticks and twigs that the harsh winter broke from the trees.  They will make a wonderful start to a birthday bonfire.

  It's a magical time of year.  

One full of possibilities, dreams and over planning.  

Thoughts of canning in the blazing summer heat have barely entered your mind.

Yet, you have planned everything that will become dinners, canning adventures, and freezer stuffing.

It is Spring.

Note: The page for Citysister's harvest has been updated...I am finally writing it all down!

Any one up for sinzibukwud?

Sinzibukwud...the Algonquin word (and also Cree) for maple sugar.

Just in case you didn't know.

(I didn't until I read the handouts I got from our field trip.)

To tap a tree you don't need fancy equipment...

You don't have to spend money on buckets or spiles.  

Everything needed to tap a tree, I found in my house.

A drill fitted with a bit.

A gallon milk container.

A nail and hammer.

A drinking straw (about 1/3 per tree.)

(A big bucket may come in handy too.)

In order to keep the trees healthy, there are a few ground rules.

Only drill to 1 3/4 inches depth.

I put a rubber band on my bit in order to make sure.

Only tap trees that are over 36 inches around at 52 inches above ground level.

For every 15 or so inches further around, you can add a tap.

So then we went to our neighbor's yard (yes, we asked permission first.)

We drilled a hole in 3 trees.

It's amazing how hard maple wood is.

Smoke started coming from the bit and when the cold sap touched it, we heard sizzles.

After the holes were made, we put one of the plastic drinking straws into the hole.

As you can see from the picture, sap was already dripping down the bark.

Next, we put a nail in the tree about an inch above the "spile."

Then two holes were placed in the milk jug.

The top one holds the jug to the tree via the nail.

The second allows the spile to pour cold crisp sweet tree sap into the jug.

This morning I went to the tree to see how much sap we had collected over night.

About 1 cup.

Since sap only runs when the night is below freezing and the day is above freezing this was pretty good.

Last night wasn't even freezing.

This week, the days are supposed to be warm and the nights below freezing.

I can't wait until we get some more sap.

I also got a great tip from the field trip.

Place the sap in the freezer or outside on a freezing night.

In the morning you should have a layer of ice on top.

Throw it out.

It is just water ice, and it will save about an hour of boiling off time.

A pile of fermentation

We got back from a mini-vacation yesterday afternoon.  

Typically I make yogurt on a weekly basis, but I didn't have time to before I left, 

so our old yogurt was a bit icky.

So today I had to revamp the yogurt from here.

I also received a package in the mail from Alaska thanks to 

This is my life at 720 square feet, she is such a sweet fierce momma!

In it was a pack of sourdough from Alaska!

(Have I ever mentioned my obsession with Alaska...

I have a ULU my parents brought back for me and now a living sourdough... and some beautiful books! 

Oh it is just too much!)

I love sourdough.

I love it with passion.

I have wanted to make a good one for a while, but just didn't have the courage to make one from scratch 

(what if it made awful sourdough) 

and I couldn't find a starter that was an old strain locally.

C. and I mixed it up (with a bit of a struggle over the whole spoon issue.  

C. didn't want to use a wooden spoon.  

Her metal spoon would spell certain death for the dough.)

So now I have that fermenting over the top of my yogurt on a heating pad.

I have a large pile of fermentation slowly cooking away.

I love all the little creatures making food yummy.

So I will post this without pictures in hope that I find my camera after the long car ride and will later post a picture of my heap.

Welcome to the family baby boy...

My husband's school is in the middle of nowhere. 

 From the parking lot, you can see horses, woods, and fields. 

 Last November, the cat who wanders around the facilities, had a littler of kittens.  

Over the last two and a half months, he has watched them playing and learning to be big cats one day.  

On Friday, the little orange kitten was motherless.  

The little orange cat followed the students to and from lunch...he wandered amongst the preschoolers...he was hungry, cold, and alone.  

He was not meant to be a "barn cat."  

My husband scooped him up and fed him some lunch leftovers.  

For the rest of the day, the kitten stayed in his office until it was time to go to his new home.  

On the ride home, the little kitten sat on his neck.  

This is where I got a phone call.  

It also was a big day at our house because we went to our first day of home school group.  

That dear hubby asked me if they were good all day and don't you know it, they had an excellent day.  

He told me that he was bringing someone home with him and I may not be too happy about it

 (I started thinking he was bringing his boss over for dinner...) 

He told me about his day.  

Then I put him on speaker phone.  

He told the children

 "Since you were so good, I'm brining home a present for you..."  

They wanted clues.  

"It's a big surprise that comes in a small package...and it's orange."  

There were several guesses... Popsicles, oranges, pumpkins... 

(do you see a theme here...maybe it was getting close to dinner time.)  

So when he came in the door with a meowing coat on, they were very excited.  

We ended up naming him Pumpkin...for the little orange surprise that he is.  

Welcome to the family little baby boy.

An outdoor kind of day.

 We had a lovely day exploring outside.
We searched for animal homes.

We studied plants.

\

We watched Seamus (SHAYmus) playing.

What you get for the money...

Pittsburgh has long been considered a great place to live...

the cultural events and museums

the low cost of living

family friendly environment

and many other reasons...

I had been reading a series from here over the past week about cutting your budget and frugal grocery shopping while maintaining high quality nutritional food.  I found it pretty interesting reading the comments from people about things they do to reduce the cost of wholesome food...

About once a month my husband and I sit down and take stock of the cupboards and freezer and make a big order (or two...when we forget or run out before the order is picked up) from here.  Usually it totals about $300.  For the most part, this is the bulk of our groceries for the month. We supplement with previous bulk bought items, frozen and canned food from the summer, and during the summer items that we get from our garden.  For meat, we bought a quarter of a cow from here, and supplement from here.

2 # butter (Amish roll butter! yummy)*

6 gallons milk (low heat pasteurized, non homogenized- good for making yogurt)*

10 blue corn tortillas*

2 boxes frozen spinach*

5# potatoes*

5# dried beans*
1 bottle disinfectant cleaner

1 loaf bread (we usually make our own, but it's nice to have a frozen loaf on hand)*

1 box vegetable bullion cubes*

1 case tomato soup*

1 bottle Mexican seasoning*

1# cinnamon*

1 jar salsa*

25# rice*

1 gallon honey

25# unbleached flour*

5# raisins*

1# cocoa*

1# oregano*

1# Italian seasoning*

4 oz. vanilla

8 oz. artichoke fettuccine*

3# apples*

1 bunch celery*

1 case pretzels*

# pound(s)

*organic

I like to go on Saturdays when you can shop the warehouse (other days it is closed and you just come by and they load you up.) Occasionally they'll have produce that is not so pretty or dairy that's on it's way out for a steal...such as

SCORE!

ORGANIC BANANAS!
8.5 pounds after the kids ate all the bananas that they could over 2 days
and the 1-2 pounds that went straight to the compost heap
(wet and moldy...not good for human consumption/storage!)

The guys in the warehouse said that they weren't pretty enough to sell so they let the kids have them.  They also joked that we could only have them if we made them some banana bread...who knows they are such great people I may just do so!

They also had 3# blocks of cream cheese for $4 and some change...past date, but still good...

I was thinking cheesecake, but decided not to.

It's just not that good for me.

(but my tongue and tummy are regretting that decision.)

(No, I currently receive no compensation from them, it's just a really great company)

At last...

I finally had time to put together some pictures from our adventure to Maine to visit with Country Sister and Co. as well as going over the (many) rivers and through the (again many) woods to the grandparents' home.  So sit back and have a vicarious vacation with the sisters.

Friends and Cousins both

Rose Hip Jelly, Cranberry Sauce, Crackers,
and Goat Cheese

Daddy's Little Girl

No Snow Yet

Tractor Rides

On the road...again...

The kids are home.
I am not.
I am in Gettysburg...again.
I have some time on my hands over the next few days and figured that I'd write a little as my dear sister does not have the time...

I finally finished C.'s pink hat at 5 am...there was a fire last night down the road.  I couldn't get back to sleep, so I finished it.  How this came from THIS I do not know...it's one of those things that happens between 4 am and 5 am.

I like it.

It reminds me of 2 things.

1) A cupcake

2) The knitted toilet paper cover my 

granny always had covering her spare roll of t.p.

I started it last trip to Gettysburg.

Tore it out the night before Thanksgiving.

I finished it today...

Not to shabby.

I hope my little girl likes it.  I have already started a mini version of the "boyfriend hat" for W.  

He chose some blue variegated yarn as well as some red alpaca wool for a stripe during a shopping trip.

Can't wait to see what that ends up looking like.

In other news, I have spent the last few hours taking a long window shopping walk.  I ended up buying a whole lot of books at a library used book store here...

I can never go past those without buying.

I found something I really like...

maybe I'll have to take hubby to see it.

Most likely I'll have TWO posts tomorrow.  One for our Saturday ritual, and one for just the day...after all, I do have a few days on my hands.

First Snow...

Impractical

Seamus (the Irish German Shepard) wanted to put his paw print in too.

From the Maine State Prison Store.

Very interesting place to shop.

Look carefully, the birdhouse is for "jail birds."

Tomatoes that never ripened. 

It was our first snow yesterday.  A day of awe and wonder.  We decided to get rested from our long journey and stay at home, doing dishes and laundry, exploring our winter wonderland and "'nuggling." (C. for Snuggling")

Scrumptious Saturday

Well, here I am at my sister's house after a sleepover party.  What is a sleepover party at this point in our lives.  It's not like when we were little kids, sharing a room having conversations in our sleep.  Our kids now giggle and run and play together.  They are the ones cuddling and telling secrets when they are supposed to be sleeping.  We are the adults talking and sharing time together.  It is a feeding of the soul, and this is what made a scrumptious meal for the soul this week.

I have made some progress on the hat during our feeding of the soul...I ripped out the part of the hat I had started and restarted again.  I started again on different needles and kept on going; not perfect, but that's okay.  So a different type of recipe I give to you.  Spending time doing something relaxing with people who you find interesting. 

The calm before the storm...

It is early.  Very early.  My little girl had trouble sleeping last night and needed lots of comfort.  I was unable to get back to sleep so I begin writing.  It's a busy day around here.  The day before we take off to visit with the family for Thanksgiving.  Reminders are being given left and right.

Remember to take the hay out of my car.

Remember to take my car to work.

I'll clean your car while you're at work.

Don't forget to buy chicken feed on your way home.

You're not packed yet...what do you want?

Yesterday was my work day so I was planning on it being very busy so I spent the good part of the weekend in preparations for the big trip.  I did 8 loads of laundry, folded and put them away.  I also packed the kids and myself.  Groceries were purchased for the ride.  I keep putting up mental post-its up by taking things out and putting them by the door.  Rose hips and jelly!  Caffeine!  Mint!  Pear Butter! Books to read!  Feed the Fish!  

I had some cancelled meetings yesterday when I was at work and was able to come home and get things ready for the ride as well.  The little baby chicks were moved to the new shed.  This was a long process for I had to cut tons of wire that was holding the big chicken's cage roosts.  Then I moved the cages to the revamped shed and put the little girls in.  This process took about an hour.  Upon getting home past 7:00PM, the Hubby and I went out and got the big girls and put them in the shed.  The new set up allows for them to see each other, but avoids the nasty hen pecking of the little girls.

I am also so fortunate to be having a friend and her little ones over today.  That will wear the kiddos out so that they are nice and tired tonight.  I want them to go to sleep early tonight so that the grand adventure tomorrow will be a restful one. We're going to cook something yummy!  We always appreciate little treats along the road.  

So I will get to see my family tomorrow!  Country Sis and I are going to have a little knitting lesson, cooking fun, a mad search for the turkey roaster and most likely will laugh until we cry about getting the turkey from the pan to the platter.  

Long weekend...

War...it's the theme of at least one (often more) weekend a year.  What one? Why the (American) Civil War.  We journey across the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania (not the State as many would say) to the small village of Gettysburg.

  Hubby is happier than a four year old on Christmas Eve.

For Christmas one year my in-laws gave the kids a book called "The Story of Gettysburg"  It was a board book and in the end, General Lee says, "Let's go home." 

It has become a tradition over the years that I say "Let's go home." as soon as we get there.

I usually spend the time hanging out with the kids taking various naps, walking through the town, and doing other activities while others tour the battlefields (again.)

New in town this year:

Zoltar...from the movie Big

I also enjoy looking at the various farms.  Once on a tour we found out that for very little, you can live at some of the farms on the battlefield.  

I find this intriguing.

This one is one of my favorites.  The Cordori Farm.  I took this picture from the observation platform of the Pennsylvania Monument (see after all these years I have picked something up!)

Again it makes me long for the day when we may have a larger piece of property.

Hopefully not where tourists can look in your window.