Cut Off From the World

Okay, I don't consider myself to be very high tech. I haven't used my ipod in 6 months and I refuse to text message. However, today I felt so cut off from the world it was scary, and I was having major withdrawals. Our internet is only working off and on so if I'm missing for awhile that will be why. We can no longer pick up a good signal and there is nothing the company can do to fix it so we're looking for a new service provider. Every time I turned around today I couldn't continue with my plans because I couldn't get online. Here's what I mean:

I wanted to preserve my garlic scapes but I didn't remember how they said to do it on that website I looked at the other day.

Since my Mom, Brian, and I picked a bunch of strawberries on Saturday I was dying to try Abbie's Strawberry Shortcake recipe but couldn't get the page to load.

I was planning to browse recipes for this weeks' menu plan and knew I wanted to make Quick Cheese Bread with dinner tonight. Luckily this thing started working. The bread is in the oven so I'll keep you posted!

More importantly, the builder was here repairing the shed that burned and I needed to write him another check. I had to tell him not to cash it for a few days since I couldn't get online to transfer the money from our savings to our checking, or to update our check register and compare the online banking with our Quickbooks.

Maybe I really am addicted to the internet like my husband used to claim. Of course he doesn't say that now, he's too busy fighting me for the computer so he can check the weather, browse craigslist, drool over tractors on ebay, and watch the grain prices on our local elevator's website. Oh, what is this world coming to!?!

Where do you spend your time online? Do you rely on the web like we do?

A Good Day

I've really been enjoying life this week. Here are some of the highlights:

I fed the chickens in the rain and felt so proud and content standing in the rain watching them huddle together in the nice dry shelter that Brian and I built. They are getting big!

I came in the house and appreciated how each dog stopped on the landing and let me wipe their feet one by one before they went upstairs.

I've worked up a sweat more than once and feel sooo much better because of it.

Since I've been working so hard I've started out with cold showers and then turned them to hot. This is new to me and very refreshing.

The meal plan is so liberating, I want to do it every week. While dinner is cooking I arrange all the supplies for the next night's meal. Plus, I haven't been late for work because I'm scrambling to pack my lunch. Now I really enjoy getting good meals on the table every night.

I got a letter saying there was a problem with our taxes, got a big refund, got scared that it was a mistake, and almost cried with happiness to find that it was really our money. This, our second year farming, will be our first year paying all of the inputs and borrowing ZERO dollars to farm. This is a dream I'd hoped for years down the line, not something I expected for our second year.

Brian and I fell asleep in the living room at 7:30 the other night. The dogs woke us up so we moved to the bedroom. It was still light out for another 2 hours. We couldn't fall asleep so we just lounged around, watched TV, talked, played with the cat, and put pillows on each other's heads to hide the light. There was no funny business if that's what you're thinking (!) but it was great just to be together in our normally hectic life.

I harvested my first two pea pods yesterday, and boy were they delicious!! Plus I was able to pick fresh garlic scapes to go with our dinner tonight.

I could go on and on. Hopefully these happy times will last awhile, I'm really enjoying them.

What little things are you enjoying lately? Please share!

What Do You Want To Know?

I have quite a few future posts forming in my head, half of which I'll probably forget before they are ever typed out. However, I feel like I'm posting about a lot of the same topics lately, especially now that spring is here and I have so many updates about the garden and the animals.

Is there a post I promised to write that I've forgotten? Is there a question you'd like to ask? Something I do or write about that you want to know more about? Are you sick of hearing about any certain topic? Please don't hesitate. I'd really love to hear your thoughts. I know there are at least a few lurkers out there as well. Now's your time!

I'm going to call it a night because I just misspelled hear here and there their. Have a good one!

Suggestions?

Lately I'm all about keeping things simply and easy to manage. If you read here regularly then you already know that. Despite my normally crafty ways, I am at a loss when it comes to how to store spices. The pic above shows my growing collection. I never had much trouble keeping salt, pepper, and garlic salt. Now that I'm cooking more "real" food I've added all kind of things... paprika, celery salt, nutmeg, etc.

Right now a lot of them are the inexpensive brand from the grocery. I like it that they come in glass jars (still with plastic tops). Ideally I will move away from store boughts and start to make a lot of my own seasonings. The rest I can buy in baggies at the farmer's market.

So, here's the question: where do I put them? People joke about spice racks but should I get one? What do you do with yours? In the cupboard I can't see what they are. On the shelf they still get hidden plus 3 fall off for every 1 I grab. As you can see in the pic I've got over a dozen different ones to store. I don't want to use counter space but I could mount something on the wall. Thoughts? Help, please, they're driving me crazy!!

Joining Farm Bureau

This is another post I've been putting off just because I wanted to make it worthwhile. I still don't have a lot of information to offer you but want to share our experience thus far. We went ahead and joined the bureau 2 weeks ago. We do not carry FB insurance and so joined as "Regular Farmer Members". Actually we only signed Brian up. The dues were $45 for year and as his wife I can attend all the events anyway.

We signed up at the kickoff event. A handful of couples that we're friends with had already joined and encouraged us to check it out. We actually had a lot of fun at the kickoff. It started off with a couple of short presentations from some of the extension staff. They talked for about 20 minutes on the new A.C.R.E. program which Brian is interested in. It is basically a different type of subsidy program from what I understood. It was good to learn about anyway.

The organizers had hired a local company, "A Touch Of Vegas" to come in an do some casino games. Each person was given a ticket to get chips equivalent to, I think, $200. I personally have never gambled and never been to casino so I didn't think that would be much fun. Turns out I had a blast at the Roulette table and tied for overall winnings at $800! That got us a $50 gift card to Red Lobster. We both love there food and so we more than got back our dues already. They also passed out tickets for beer or mixed drinks. I wasn't too keen on drinking and gambling on a Sunday but did have fun!

If you're interested in joining FB I'm sure you'd like some more useful information. The website might help you. We also get the Michigan Farm News now so I will try to keep you updated on relevant issues. I like the paper because it lists all the current legislative proposals and where FB stands on the issues. I will say that from scanning the paper (we've gotten it for a few months) I disagree wholeheartedly with FB on a lot of topics. I need to do some more research before I point fingers. If you've read this blog much you know that although I live on a cash crop farm my thinking is much less mainstream. FB seems to favor conventional agriculture on a lot of points. Some of our friends that are quite active in the bureau are organic farmers so the organization must not be too discriminatory at the local level. Maybe I am wrong here, that is just my first impression.

Concerns aside, I think this is going to be a great thing for us to be apart of, even if the only benefit is a social life! It will be a good excuse to get together with friends, learn about ag. issues, and share with other young farmers what we are doing. This weekend was the Young Farmers' Conference downstate. We missed the registration this year but hope to attend next year.

I'll keep you posted on our experiences with the bureau. Any fellow members out there? Any experiences with the organization to share? I'd love to hear what you have to say.

BTW, I want to add that I'm not sure yet how the organization's infrastructure is set up. I don't like the idea of "the blind leading the blind" but I don't think farmer members get to vote on these issues. Not sure how that works. I'll keep you posted.

How Do You Start Your Seedlings?

I am happy to be back to blogging after the holiday. I meant to leave a more upbeat post up over Christmas but have been having a lot of trouble with my internet connection and therefore gave up. I have some nice Christmas pics to post and I'd like to share what gifts we gave this year, as well as some nice things we received.

Today, though, I would like to discuss something that has been on my mind a lot, and apparently on others too. Let's talk about garden plans! The latest edition of Hobby Farms is full of tips and tricks for garden planning. Sharon Astyk posted awhile back about signs of a possible seed shortage so I sorted through what was left of last year's seeds and made my list for this year.

I order my seeds almost exclusively through Baker Creek Seed Co. at rareseeds.com. They are a great company to deal with and produce a wonderful catalog chuck full of good information. The real reason I prefer them is because they care so much about seed integrity and I trust them. Frankly, I don't have to time or the knowledge to sort through other catalogs and pick out the seeds that are non-GMO, "safe", etc. I have some basic knowledge of those concepts but feel good ordering there until I take time to expand my knowledge.

I did have a lot of seeds left from last year. Not because I wanted to but because the first batch of seedlings I started didn't do very well so I gave up on a lot of the plants that require early starting. Last year I used black plastic trays and a mix of peat, vermiculite, and perlite. I planted the seeds as directed and kept the soil moist. The trays sat on a big table near our cornstove so they were very warm. Then when the plants emerged I moved them upstairs to our bay window. The temperature was quite a bit cooler but they needed the light. I tried to rotate the trays regularly to prevent the seedlings from growing crooked but they got very spindly and almost none lived once I moved them outside.

I checked with the hometown greenhouse but the owner doesn't have any room to start veggies for me, she uses all her space for flowers. Last year I bought a flat of tomato seedlings and they produced well but they were definitely no heirloom variety. This makes me think there may be a market for any extra seedlings I produced.

I've looked at growing setups in catalogs and they all seem to be quite expensive. I've heard of people using those long tube lights (forgive me I forget the correct name for them!). Should I invest in some of those or look into a small greenhouse? I would love to hear what works for you! I'm not necessarily opposed to buy seedlings I just haven't found a local source of the types I want.

Keep in mind I'm in Michigan so I don't plant much outside until May or June. Tomatoes are my main concern, and last year I remember trying some broccoli and onions so we could have an early supply of them.

If The Economy Is So Bad....?

If the economy is so bad, why is it so incredibly hard to find good service? My husband and I continue to be amazed at the crappy service we receive from businesses. I guess since things are "so bad" I would expect businesses to step it up a notch and do everything they can to keep their customers. Here are three examples of disappointing experiences we've had lately. The first one is rather long but the other two are quick:

-We received some cash towards new appliances for a wedding gift. After watching sales for awhile I called the Lowe's about a half hour from here. I asked if they had any black or stainless steel gas stoves in stock with a storage drawer at the bottom. The woman assured me they had two in stock. After driving all the way there we were pointed to only one stove that fit our description and told that the floor model was the only one they had left and we could have it at 10% off if we liked. Of course it was dented and scratched!! When I mentioned my phone call ahead I was told that the girl who answered my call was from a different department and didn't really know what she was talking about. Anyway, after leaving to look at other stores we came back and said we'd take the dented one. The same woman rudely informed us that we'd have to take it the way it was because they crush all their boxes and their wasn't one piece of cardboard in the whole store that they could cover it with (and of course it is raining outside!). We told her that if she wanted to sell the stove she would find us something to package it in. After suggesting we go buy a tarp and us glaring at her she finally found some cardboard and saran wrap and wrapped it up quite nicely. Needless to say, we didn't buy any other appliances their and will never go back.

-We need two estimates on rebuilding our shed for the insurance company. The first company that came out was very professional and looks to be great to deal with. Another guy never called us back. A third contractor assured me he could come out and give us an estimate, then set up a time with my husband. So Brian came straight home from work to meet him instead of running some other errands that needed to be done. At the time he was supposed to arrive the man called and said that he had come out earlier in the day and looked at the building and it wasn't something he was interested in working on!!! We weren't so mad that he didn't want the job as much as that he didn't call earlier to let us know.

-Now we need an electrical bid. We called the company our neighbor works for. His boss was supposed the call us and come out this past Monday or Tuesday. No word from him yet.

I don't mean for this post to be all negative. You don't even need to read my examples above. The point is that I feel very frustrated when the country is constantly talking about the "economic downturn" and yet we can't get good service! On the other hand, yesterday I received a Christmas card from our wedding photographer saying "Thanks for your support". The small stores' shopkeepers that I patronize show genuine appreciation when I check out. The people at our bank are very helpful and called this week just to double check that we got the right cash back. The vet clinic that I work at has several appreciative clients that bring us cookies, breads, and chocolates this time of year. The local pharmacy even sent over a gift to say thanks for sending our prescriptions their way.

Those things are what I try to remember when crappy service starts to seem the norm. It really makes me think that there is still a lot of room for new businesses if they treat people right. I'd really like to hear about your experiences, good or bad, and please tell me if I'm crazy or does this stuff leave you scratching your head too. After all, doesn't anyone want our money?

Note: after re-reading this I feel the need to point out that I think we approach people in a friendly way and are generally well liked in our neighborhood. Lol. I didn't need anyone thinking we're crazy people who chase everyone away! :)

Breaking Bread

Unfortunately I'm not referring to socializing or dining when I say "breaking bread". I've finally turned out two good batches of homemade bread and plan to stop buying the store bought stuff all together. There are a few problems though.
First, my hubby noted that the bread, although soft, is very crumbly and therefore is hard to eat while driving or even while sitting and reading a book as I like to do on my lunch break. We both end up with crumbs all over the place.
Second, we tried to use this bread in place of a hot dog bun, which we usually do with store bought bread. I've found buns usually go stale before we use them. This bread just broke right in half instead of folding nicely around the hot dog. Now I'm sure I could come up with a recipe for homemade hot dog buns but unless they freeze well, we would never use them in time.
The final problem, again related to the bread's form, was found this morning when I pulled a couple pieces out of the bread bag I had reused. They broke in half just from that. What a mess!
As I said, this bread is nice and soft and has a great crust. Does anyone have a recipe they like that produces bread with more of a dinner roll consistency, or is most homemade bread like this? Any help would be greatly appreciated!