Gardening Rules?

I was talking to a friend a few months ago and we were talking about bolting cilantro. Mine always bolts of course. I didn't realize you could plant it every few weeks and use it all summer. I just always lamented not having it when I was to make salsa. Here I was talking about how cilantro doesn't grow well in the heat supposedly because well... it bolts. And she said something that stuck out to me. She said "I don't know anything about gardening rules. And I'm certainly not going to follow them."

I'm such a reader about things. Read read read. I may or may not actually DO them but I've read loads about everything. Loads of information packed up there but not nearly as much doing as I'd like. And a lot of times it's because this thing I read said it was too late, or that I don't have what I need, etc.

So Fall and Winter gardening is coming. And here I keep looking and reading things that say I should have started x, y, and z weeks ago, some many week ago. And I'm bummed. I keep asking myself whether it's even worth it to start things that the internet and books say I missed the window to plant. The real question is... is it worth it to TRY? Sometimes frosts are late right? If I cover with plastic it gives me a zone and a half bump *maybe* right?

Ack I'm such a rigid dork. I hate it too. Part of the whole gardening process is getting dirty, digging in, trying new things, failing at many of them, enjoying the successes. Tell me I can start cabbage now and it'll grow through the cold. That if I start broccoli it won't all die. That carrots aren't a lost cause. Radishes? Lettuce? Should I start it inside? Outside now though it's hot? Both? How much importance should I give to gardening "rules"? Obviously throwing out ALL wisdom from those who have had their hands in the dirt for years and years isn't wise. But to let it paralyze me isn't either right?

I surely can't be the only one that just totally geeks out when they look at empty gardens. I know over the years I'll get over it but looking even at the row and a half I've prepped and composted I'm geeking out and I have a couple more rows to prep and plant.

Kim the geek. Off to sleep so tomorrow I can can tomatoes, make Phelan's cucumber ketchup, pull out all this year's seeds and get ready for planting this weekend!

Mini Paper Towels post Q&A

I was asked a question about not using paper towels. I thought I had written about it but I must have forgotten. The question from Dana

Agreeing 100% with one confession... I use paper towels to drain greasy stuff... like turkey bacon (which we don't actually eat very often and isn't really that greasy at all), ground beef, french fries...

Do you not ever have greasy foods that need to drain? Or what?

I use cardboard or newspaper. I always seem to have cardboard around and Clay reads the local paper now and then and I save those. Now to be honest the only greasy thing I ever have is bacon. I don't really fry things ever. But for bacon I use cardboard or newspaper. The truth is if I had paper towels around for certain things my tendency to be lazy would take over and I would use them instead of rags for things. I would. Give me convenience and I choose convenience every time. I wish I didn't but if I HAD presliced store bread I'd put off making bread, if I have disposable diapers laying around I use them, if I had paper towels I'd use em :)

Is there some reason

that none of you told me that a low hoop tunnel is called a cloche? Hours of searching.... Hours. Trying to get a good enough article to show hubby exactly how to build a low hoop tunnel. My "hammer down some rebar, slip pvc over, then plastic, just wasn't inspiring him. After days of searching, countless cursings of Google, I read something that calls it a cloche and suddenly I can find a bazillion gazillion articles about it? I blame you, I really do. Now the question is.... why didn't I look in Eliot Coleman's book? I have it and all. I chalk it up to being blond AND pregnant. That's my story and I'm sticking to it.

Stinging Caterpillars Batman!

So after Clay took Adric on a rockin 4wheel drive trek through the woods they went out to check the corn field/pumpkin patch. Suddenly they come in saying Adric got stung by a caterpillar. A caterpillar? Seriously? After I put a paste of meat tenderizer on it because I found it before the bentonite clay, they proceed to tell me tales of the weirdest looking caterpillar they've ever seen. Spots and horns and poison hairs. Treks through corn jungles to find the allusive horned poison hair spot caterpillar. Yeah yeah guys. Men and their fish tales and all that jazz.

Then Clay shows me this picture:

And suddenly I realize how glad I am to have missed the grand adventure because I don't have any desire to get stung by that thing. It's a Saddleback Caterpillar by the way.

*note* Adric normally is very sensitive to things like bites. But we dabbed tape on the sting to check for poison hairs and put the meat tenderizer and he doesn't have even have so much as a bump. When he came in he had a big spot where the main sting was and a red ring around it, but getting the hairs is key and sucking out the poison with clay, activated charcoal, plantain, or meat tenderizer.

Why oh why

Am I on the computer right now when Clay should be home soon, I have a load of dishes to wash, laundry not put away, sewing area I wanted set up today, and 100 other things? *help*

Make and Share Monday - Aug 10th, I mean Wednesday

**Note I never got around to finish this, so I'm leaving it half done and posting it anyways so I can finally move on with my life. I've been paralyzed you know with the feeling that something was missing**

On to another Make and Share Monday Er... Wednesday. So of course there's more scrapbook pages and hey, some dishcloth pictures. I DO do things off this computer you know!

So first things first, layouts from this week or two :)

See Flower Picking full credits HERE

See Your Light Shines full credits HERE

One of the things that inevitably happens to every single person who starts digital scrapbooking is downloading and using all sorts of "freebie" kits and later hating every page they did because they had NO idea what was good quality and poor quality digital scrapbook supplies. Happens to just about everyone. My last M&SM I talked about what digital scrapbooking is, what programs to look at and use, etc. So today I'm going to lead you to where to find good quality, FREE, supplies to get started. Cause honestly there's nothing like looking at an old page with embellishments that look like cartoons when you wanted realism, etc.

First and foremost. The first place most experienced digiscrappers think of with free kits is Shabby Princess. http://www.shabbyprincess.com/downloads.asp There's 22 FREE full kits there to download. And every one is high quality and won't let you down. Gorgeous stuff there.

The Makings of a Great Day

Fabulous breakfast of Whole Wheat Dutch Pancakes with Amish Apple Butter and Raw Whipped Cream Sauce.

Church at home with Dad that including fun singing, laughing, a good Bible story and children inspired enough to make homemade paper puppets of the story of Zacchaeus and give Mom and Dad a puppet show (pictures later).

Lovely time hanging out on the front porch while Clay grilled. Hot but a nice breeze blowing, me crocheting a dishcloth, children sitting nicely with us, being great. Loving front porches lately.

Great lunch. A cookout with BBQ chicken drumsticks with Grillin Beans, chips, corn on the cob from the garden and stevia lemonade. With coupons I had, all that cost me $6. And let me say, I LOVE BBQ chicken legs.

Me, going to see Julie and Julia by myself. Clay even feeding the little people dinner while I was gone.

Finishing a scrapbook layout that night.

Great day.

Living Without Paper Towels

For many this will be old hand, but as I was folding today it felt like a good thing to post about. I don't know how long it's been now, quite a long time I'm sure, but we no longer use paper towels. It's honestly been one of the easiest things to transition to. I rarely even notice that we don't use them anymore. The only times I think I do is when the stomach flu is going around here or the dog has a bad accident. But with the day to day things, it's cake.

We use primarily three things.

Dishcloths. Not only are those for dishes, avoiding having to buy sponget, but wiping up spills, thing that need a wet wipe, these are great.


Little rags. These are free free free. Anything that has holes, gets too stained, quitter socks, etc. get cut up and turned into these smaller rags. We use these for noses, for picking up that piece of squished banana off the floor, things like that and also for anything that you REALLY want to just throw the rag away when you clean up. Those are very rare, but they happen and being that they're just old socks and shirts, no tears are shed if it has to go in the trash. Ours live in this hanging basket to be easily grabbed.


Dishtowels and surgical rags. Dishtowels are self explanatory. Hand drying, etc. all need dishtowel. But we are also blessed with surgical rags. My great aunt and uncle send them in boxes when they pack gifts, etc. They are super absorbant and great for anything really! Here soon I will be cutting and edging all old ripped towels as well. Smaller pieces of thick towels with a zigzag edge make fabulous fabulous rags.

And of course there's the old standby, cloth napkins. And we'll just pretend they're nice and folded in the drawer. Cloth napkins don't need an explanation do they? The only problem I have with them is there never seems to be enough here. I need more.

See? Not hard. There's something for every use of a paper towel. Cake.

Do You Swagbucks?

I debated for forever whether to post this but I'm going to lol!


Okay so are you on swagbucks? Total self-promotion thing going on here but bear with me. Swagbucks is so simple and so cool though. Join and start searching. What's the premise? Search through swagbucks' search engine when you search and earn swagbucks. A certain number of SB and you earn REAL bucks towards online stores - Amazon, etc. That's it. Search and win! Simple. Then refer others and you get bucks whenever they earn bucks. Honestly it rocks. No gimmicks. If you Google, start swagbucking and earn while you search.

Go through this link to join or click the image banner and I can earn swagbucks as you do:
http://swagbucks.com/refer/kimchristensen

Click that link and join. Free stuff!

I guess I'm not ready

To live without electricity. I want to. BUT last night... the storm knocked out the power. And this big pregnant woman, with a headache, lay in bed drenched in sweat with no A/C, tossing and turning most of the night cursing the fact that the electricity was out, cursing the heat, cursing this dream I have of living with electricity. The dream was shattered.

Until tomorrow when I forget how hot I was.

Belly Shot

Told my wonderful Gramma that I would post a 33 week belly picture. (wanting to run and hide) But here goes.
It's hard to believe tomorrow it will August! With the baby due in September, looking at the calendar at can be intimidating. I don't know why, but we just don't feel ready yet for the baby. Usually by now we're feeling ready and it's just a countdown to labor (eek). I think it may becaue Garrison still wakes in the night. He's finally moved out of the 3-sided crib by the bed and into a playpen at the foot of the bed, but 4 out of 7 nights he wakes and cries and wants to climb in bed. Every night I lay there thinking about having a newborn and that boy crying LOL! !! But 4 out of 7 night is better than 7 nights a week. So hopefully by the time the baby comes he will have stopped and can move out with the big kids!

This pregnancy has been pretty uneventful aside from some tiredness which I think is pretty normal. No swollen feet, morning sickness, back pain, etc. Just run of the mill, "I'm pregnant, okay what do I need to do today again?".

Anyways, so there's the picture. Doesn't everyone hate pictures of themselves?