Amishway Homesteaders

Here I was thinking about gardening and how SOON I could get going and THAT made me feel good. Then I come in here and see what you have to eat ALREADLY and now I am sad again! I want 'fresh' vegetables NOW! The snow that would not go away held me back a bit from working in the vegetable patch but now with warmer weather and no rain the raised beds are looking good! I do have the garlic coming up(was 1/2 inch up a few days ago and now it is 4 - 5 inches up out of the hay ) - had to get more form Ben's (Amish) when we went to clean out barn. Peas are in the ground and radishes going in today and I might try some early carrots just because. Finding a few things that missed harvesting that are coming back so that is always a bit of fun to see. had a late planting of 'radicchio' lettuce that never got big enough before the snow covered it, and now the centers of them are all growing new leaves! All I had to do was cut of the outer ones that were dead and now I have small baby heads forming. Cool!

well I was doing good with walking last few weeks but this weekend I turned just right (or wrong?) and my bad knee went bang! so I am 'trying' to take it a bit easy . . . . but there is so much work to be done in gardens and helping out at Amish Farms! BUT: now that I see that counts I have dragged out the portable victrola and found a few 78"s that might work? Poor Lori has no idea what she is going to find when she gets home from work! So I am just checking . . . we just stand there and go round and round and round and round and THAT counts? LOL

Overnight rain and then freezing snow / sleet for a bit so lots of cars and trucks going off roads in early morning (4 am - 5 am). Then more snow - up to 1 inch but gone by 11:30 seeing the sun came out. JUST when I thought maybe Spring was here!

here is another must read book all about starting to homestead on rented land and start getting a few animals and all she had to go though. BARNHEART by Jenna Woginrich Lori read it first and was done in a few days then said I HAD to read it too. Very good simple story (True by the way) and it will have you laughing at times with what goes on.

we too woke up to snow! But it didn't last long and nothing sticking to the ground. Very windy again today and that makes it hard to get around. Can't open both doors to the van at the same time or everything inside blows out the open door! So first Lori gets out and closes her door then I get out and close my door. Then I chase down my straw hat and THEN we can go visit.

Happy April Fools Day a few day early! ~Bad Michael~

OK so here is what is happening: Every year on Easter we go to the ‘all-you-can-eat’ Breakfast /dinner Buffet at Ponderosa (I know – not good) = And = Every year on Lori’s birthday (March 31) I take her out to Ling-Lings (Chinese Buffet) we pig out! But this year they are on the same day! So we are going to Ponderosa and eat for about 1 ½ hours and then drive across town to Ling-Lings and eat Chinese for about another 1 ½ hours! SO now you know WHY we might be in hospital on Monday!!!!! Just Kidding! We have been telling people this all week and some even believe it ! this has happened only one other time when Lori was around 10 years old that Easter and her Birthday was on the same day- how COOL is that! We are doing one Dinner this Sunday and going out another time for her Birthday but thanks for worrying about us being in the Hospital! LOL silly

= = = =SIDEBAR = = = = Talk about eating cheap! We helped out at the Sal. Army today with the "Free Food Give-a-way" WOW! The Roy Rogers Restaurant Chain donations food that would otherwise go in the trash after it has set out for serving. Every few hours they have to clear out the buffet area and put out new. NOW they put what's good in bags and into the freeze. The Sal. Army (and others I guess?) go there on Mondays and Thursdays to pick it up and take it back to the office. Here is what happens: Pick up food at 9 am Put food out on tables (10 tables today of chicken, hamburgers, fries, pizza's (small), baked potatoes, etc. Also had some pop on hand so that went on 1 table. About 11 am they start coming in to sit in chairs across the room from the food. (about 35-40 people today) but at 5 minutes to go everyone get up and stands around the tables - looking at what is there and THINKING of what to grab first! At 11:30 sharp John ( worker) says "GO" Everyone has bags and they just grab as fast as they can and get WHATEVER they can!!!!!!!!!!!!! All the chicken and burgers were gone in seconds! .....are you ready for this? 10 tables FILLED with food - - 35-40 people........................... It was ALL GONE in 2 1/2 minutes! I clocked it! We did get a few things to bring home so we are set for the weekend for food! Now it is still frozen when they get it but hey it was FREE!

........................ here we go again! THANKS for al the "behind the scenes" work everyone does to keep this thing up and running!

Also we keep a high pitch whistle next to the phone in case we get a call we don’t want, then they get an ear full! That stops them from calling again!

As I posted in shoutbox................................................... I think you should call police just to be sure? Not much they can do as it sounds too short to trace. BUT this way there is a record of when it started and how many times. I take it your phone doesn't have caller ID?

BEST book I have read this month! and I have read a lot................. Farewell, my Subaru : an epic adventure in local living by Doug Fine Like many Americans, Doug Fine enjoys his creature comforts, but he also knows full well they keep him addicted to oil. So he wonders: Is it possible to keep his Netflix and his car, his Wi-Fi and his subwoofers, and still reduce his carbon footprint? In an attempt to find out, Fine moves to a remote ranch in New Mexico, where he brazenly vows to grow his own food, use sunlight to power his world, and drive on restaurant grease. Never mind that he has no farming, mechanical or electrical skills. Whether installing solar panels, defending goats he found on Craigslist against coyotes, or co-opting waste oil from a local restaurant to fill the tank in his Ridiculously Oversized American Truck, Fine's undertaking makes one thing clear: It ain't easy being green. In fact, his journey uncovers a slew of surprising facts about alternative energy, organic and locally grown food, and climate change.--From publisher description.

Lying in bed one night, Thinking instead of sleeping as I do way too much, I got to thinking about the 3 R's from School Days and for some reason I got to thinking as Homesteaders we are Living the Simple Life but . . . . . now we have the 3 L 's for homesteading ! Locally, logically and lovingly! Seeing whenever we can we try and shop locally and support the small hometown businesses. Live, garden and cook and work logically - meaning not wasting things or time and doing what we think is best for who we are. And of cause you can't do the other two and live a happy life without doing things Lovingly, Loving Nature, God, Family and the Simple Life makes it much easier to survive with all that the world is throwing at us. Just me thinking again!

.............................. I'm out! they really don't want us because we are honest cheapskapes ! and we can thing and do things the right way too.

Tater McCoppertop for Michael and Blanrey McCoppertop for Lori Funny how we both ended up with the same last name?????? LOL DUH!

1 cabbage: Core and remove outer leaves and put that in compost, Use outside leaves to make cabbage rollups, Shred ½ of head to make sweet-n-sour cabbage. Other part when into Corned Beef and Cabbage Dinner (Guess what day?) From thicker inside leaves chop up to make Cole Slaw. Use what’s left to add to homemade soup. Save ‘crumbs’ from cutting up to add to a garden salad. I am tired……………………..

1 lemon: take and 'zest' the shin to use in recipe. Then Slice in half and also make 2 thin slices for garnish with Fish Dinner and squeeze some onto fish. Then put into water to make lemonade. Take out when done and cut up and put into compost.

........................... and THAT is why we LOVE our 2 cats! our 'kids' named Tobie and Maggie - 2 very spoiled girls who warm our hearts whenevery we come home and they greet us by the front door! only to find out it is just us and we didn't bring them home any treats or new toys - so off they go back to 'whatever' they were doing before?

You do know that Strawberries ALWAYS taste better when grown in 'free' raised beds! LOL

we too are living that life style. I can't tell you how many people tell us "How much we had to give up to live like that!" Yes we gave up debt , credit cards, TV , buying things we don't need, cell phones, etc. . . . . .. . . . . I Love the Simple Life! instead of watch TV or Video Games or talkinf on cell phones over the weekend we went for nature hikes, visited Amish Friends, read books together and even had supper outside by the firepit (60+ out that day). and the best part was nobody could call us (no cell phones) when we were hiking. And we were just about the only ones on trail so it was so quite we could hear all the birds greating the day. Didn't have to go shopping and hear all the 'noise' of people talking load on cellphones with stuff that I would not even tell my Mother! and hearing all the crap about how prices are going up and up BUT there they were buy it all and on credit! So for most it will cost even more when they pay the interest on what they got? Have a nice day............................................

The sun is shining bright today and seeing you are feeling a bit blue you decide to not clean the house but instead go outside and enjoy the sunshine so there you are out taking a nature hike when you come across a field of clover. You decide to stop, rest and see if you are lucky enough to find a four leaf clover for Luck. Behold, there it is right by your hand, a four leaf clover! Luck will be yours today, and so you very carefully put it into your pocket to take home after your hike. When you arrive at home you reach into your pocket to get your lucky four leaf clover only to find it is folded over and looks like a two leaf clover? Thinking fast you grab the iron that you forgot to put away and set it on low and iron your lucky four leaf clover flat. In seconds it has become a dried out, burnt mass of brown unrecognizable bit stuck to the bottom of the iron! You are heartbroken. Your luck has ended before it even had a chance to begin to make you happy! AND that is why Dear Friend’s we always say: ………………. When things are going good for you- NEVER press your Luck!

...........don't has any wind for your seedlings? every day we go and 'pet' ours! Just run your hand back and forth over their tops ( as you talk to them !) it does the same as a breeze would BUT this way you get a close up look at how things are going! need more water, some are dieing, bugs are eating some leaves, etc.

Thanks so much for posting what each one was about! Saves time for us from loading the page just to see we didn't want it - or already had it downloaded. .............. and yes got a few.