...and now, so does the Melton Point! Last year, some friends gave us a couple extra tomato plants (they were "volunteers" that grew in the wrong part of their garden to save, so they potted them and shared with us). The two plants combined yielded three tomatoes. That's right. Three. Everyone else talked about how many blooms/tomatoes they had. We didn't.
Then, a few months ago, J found an article online that talked about how irregular watering could lead to pour production. The article talked about a device called the "EarthTainer" that would eliminate this problem. You can read more about the EarthTainer, as well as find instructions to make your own, here. If you'd prefer to read the short version of the story, here you go--
The EarthTainer is made of two large Rubbermaid totes that, when put together in the right way, hold water in a lower resevoir and plants in an upper resevoir. A wicking system between the two pulls water to the roots of the plants as needed. As long as there is water in the lower resevoir, plants are neither over-watered or under-watered. This system is advertised as very easy and inexpensive to build, and has been used on six continents to provide fresh vegetables where they couldn't otherwise thrive.
Given our lack of success with tomatoes last year, J was taken with the idea of the EarthTainer. I wasn't quite so taken with the idea, but since he was enthused, I didn't want to stand in the way. We went off to Lowes to purchase our supplies and he got started. The website says you can purchase the materials for the base container for $20-$23 at Lowes or a similar big box hardware store. You can't. I've no idea what Lowes he shopped at, but you cannot buy the two Rubbermaid totes for that cost, not to mention the hardware (nuts/bolts/washers) and landscape fabric. On top of the costs to build the base, you also need to purchase the ProMix (like soil, but you can't use potting soil) and additives. We had to go to a hydroponics store to find most of those pieces. Then, once you've done that, you still have to buy plants. We might try to start our own plants from seed next year, but this year we're just trying to produce a vegetable, and I'm happy to use plants that are halfway there for us.
The first EarthTainer took several hours to put together, but the second one was put together in about two hours and filled and prepped in about an hour. Most of the materials to build and fill the EarthTainer come in larger quantities, so the cost per EarthTainer definitely dropped from the first one to the second. By having two of them, we have room for plenty of tomato plants, as well as a couple pepper plants and several herbs. J is confident that these will pay for themselves this summer. I wouldn't say I'm confident, but I'm definitely hopeful!
I'll update with pics after we get our plants in the containers.
Tuesday, June 7, 2011
Monday, June 6, 2011
Summer Schedule
Back in the early Spring, I shared our house goals for the MP, gave a hint as to our Summer plans. As always with our house, the goals didn't go exactly as planned and the plans have shifted to wishes.
First, with regard to the Spring Goals: we successfully put our family room back together, we've almost finished our bathroom remodel (only need to find a light fixture and re-grout the tile floor), and we made no progress in the library. Obviously, we'll keep after the bathroom until we finish it, and the library has been booted a bit down the line.
On to Summer goals: We mentioned a new deck. Our savings for the deck (at least, a portion of the deck money) is going instead to new gutters. We're currently waiting for the last quotes on replacing our front gutters, a job that will also include replacing much of the fascia, some of the soffit, and may also include adding attic venting. Even I'm not crazy enough to think we could DIY this job.
When the gutters are done, we'll see how much is left to address our deck. Actually, before we actually tackle the deck (that project I am crazy enough to think we can DIY), we need to move our storage shed. I hope that J and I can find a weekend to empty the shed, move it to its new location in our back yard, and put everything back inside in some sort of order.
If there is money left over, we plan to strip the deck of the current decking and railings and replace them with composite decking. We think we can re-use the existing substructure, but we'll find out for sure when we tear off the current boards. That's why we need to be sure we're financially ready for whatever the PO's have left for us. Sometime down the road (like next summer) we'd like to add a patio off the deck. I just don't see that happening this year.
Then, we'll head back to the library, in hopes of finishing that project before Autumn. Oh, and I'm using the meteorlogical seasons here, so Summer (for me, at least) is June 1 through September 1. I'll keep you posted on our progress!
What summer projects have you planned?
First, with regard to the Spring Goals: we successfully put our family room back together, we've almost finished our bathroom remodel (only need to find a light fixture and re-grout the tile floor), and we made no progress in the library. Obviously, we'll keep after the bathroom until we finish it, and the library has been booted a bit down the line.
On to Summer goals: We mentioned a new deck. Our savings for the deck (at least, a portion of the deck money) is going instead to new gutters. We're currently waiting for the last quotes on replacing our front gutters, a job that will also include replacing much of the fascia, some of the soffit, and may also include adding attic venting. Even I'm not crazy enough to think we could DIY this job.
When the gutters are done, we'll see how much is left to address our deck. Actually, before we actually tackle the deck (that project I am crazy enough to think we can DIY), we need to move our storage shed. I hope that J and I can find a weekend to empty the shed, move it to its new location in our back yard, and put everything back inside in some sort of order.
If there is money left over, we plan to strip the deck of the current decking and railings and replace them with composite decking. We think we can re-use the existing substructure, but we'll find out for sure when we tear off the current boards. That's why we need to be sure we're financially ready for whatever the PO's have left for us. Sometime down the road (like next summer) we'd like to add a patio off the deck. I just don't see that happening this year.
Then, we'll head back to the library, in hopes of finishing that project before Autumn. Oh, and I'm using the meteorlogical seasons here, so Summer (for me, at least) is June 1 through September 1. I'll keep you posted on our progress!
What summer projects have you planned?
Sunday, June 5, 2011
Dude, you got a...
Do you remember those Dell commercials? I think they came after the Gateway "cow-box" commercials, and before the Blue Man Group told us about the latest pentium chips. Anyhow, I was thrilled to get a Dell laptop several years ago (my first laptop!) and crushed when the screen died two years ago, relegating the Dell to 'desktop' status. I replaced the Dell with a Toshiba that we found on sale at Office Depot. It was cheap, readily available, and pretty functional. Until Friday. When it wasn't. I'm still waiting to hear from the computer guy I took it to (who told me he really doesn't like to give bad news, so just wouldn't call me if it was really gone for good...um...), but I need you all to cross your fingers for good news tomorrow. I'm terrible at backing up my files, and stand to lose a lot in the way of memories and materials (picture and document files...) if they cannot be saved.
It's been an interesting weekend. I woke up Saturday feeling incredibly apprehensive and nervous, both worried that the files cannot be saved and blaming myself for not backing up the files as I should have. Finally, mid-morning or so, I realized (with J's help) that worrying about it didn't help anyone. I've given it to the expert. He'll do what he can. I'll work with whatever I get back (or don't).
All of this reminded me of a story that someone shared with me at a meeting a few weeks ago. She was reading a Mitch Albom book about faith. One story in the book talks about a farm-hand whose reference observed that he would sleep in a storm. Now, initially, this doesn't necessarily sound like a good think, but at the end of the story you learn that the farmhand can sleep through a storm because he has taken care of his tasks so well, he doesn't need to be concerned when bad times come. A good reminder for me, I would think, and one that I will remember regardless of the result on Monday.
It's been an interesting weekend. I woke up Saturday feeling incredibly apprehensive and nervous, both worried that the files cannot be saved and blaming myself for not backing up the files as I should have. Finally, mid-morning or so, I realized (with J's help) that worrying about it didn't help anyone. I've given it to the expert. He'll do what he can. I'll work with whatever I get back (or don't).
All of this reminded me of a story that someone shared with me at a meeting a few weeks ago. She was reading a Mitch Albom book about faith. One story in the book talks about a farm-hand whose reference observed that he would sleep in a storm. Now, initially, this doesn't necessarily sound like a good think, but at the end of the story you learn that the farmhand can sleep through a storm because he has taken care of his tasks so well, he doesn't need to be concerned when bad times come. A good reminder for me, I would think, and one that I will remember regardless of the result on Monday.
Friday, June 3, 2011
Saturday Smells Like . . . Beaten chicken dish of some sort
Hello all, J. here. JE has tired herself by driving back from Marshall County. So it falls to me, your humble narrator (yes, that is a reference to A Clockwork Orange) to tell the tale of the beaten chicken dish of some sort. The beaten chicken dish of some sort was born from the desire to meet simultaneously the following goals: (a) use a thawed chicken breast for dinner; (b) do something slightly different with said chicken breast; and (c) use only ingredients on hand. I'm fairly certain that the same goals drove Dr. Frankenstein, substituting only "dead body parts" with "chicken breast," but it's been awhile since I read the book. (I wanted to say that our experiment turned out differently from Dr. Frankenstein's, but then I realized that the book never discussed how the monster tasted and that JE and I ate the finished dish too quickly for me to say definitively that the chicken breast did not return to life. So, the jury's still out there.)
For ingredients, we have: (1) one thawed boneless chicken breast; (2) some cream cheese (enough to put a layer on the flattened chicken breast); (3) four slices of hard salami; (4) shrimp scampi seasoning; (5) three rashers of bacon; and (6) salt and pepper to taste.
The first step is to use a blunt object to flatten the chicken breast to around 1/8th inch thickness. Remember to use a slight sideways swing when flattening with your blunt object of choice, as otherwise, you will not make consistent progress. After you have salted and peppered each side of the chicken, brush it with a bit of oil (I used grapeseed) and quickly (no more than 30 seconds a side) sear both sides in a frying pan over medium heat. Set aside the chicken breast to cool until you can handle it without burning yourself.
In a bowl, mix the scampi seasoning and the cream cheese, taking a taste to see if you need to add more seasoning or more cream cheese. (You can also add a bit of granulated garlic for a bit more kick.) Then spread the interior side of the chicken breast with the cream cheese mixture and place the hard salami slices to cover the interior side of the chicken.
Next, roll the chicken breast tightly, and, once rolled, use toothpicks to bind the end of the roll, like one would use a toothpick to keep a sandwich together, leaving about one-quarter inch of the end of the toothpick protruding. Then, take one rasher of bacon, stick the end of the rasher on the end of the first toothpick, and wrap the rasher around the chicken breast until you come to its other end, poking the subsequent toothpick ends into the rasher as you wind around. Do the same with the other rashers until the exterior of the chicken breast is encased in bacon. Next, pepper the bacon to taste, and bake the chicken breast on a silpat in an oven set at 350 degrees for around thirty-five minutes.
The result is a creamier Chicken-Kiev type entree that blends the sharpness of the scampi seasoning, the smokiness of the salami, and the saltiness of the bacon with the creamy texture of the cheese. All in all, not a bad dish for fifteen minutes of prep work and improvisation.
Framing Friday--June 3
Welcome to the unveiling of the new Friday theme, which manages to encompass all of the suggestions, ideas, and hair-brained thoughts (the last were my own!). ::drumroll::
Finicky Friday!!
Yes, I'm going to pick and choose to write about whatever my picky little heart desires. The thread that connects Finicky Friday posts will be alliteration. If I can't make it sound like Friday, it will go somewhere else (like Free-Style Sundays). First up, a post about learning to frame a wall, hence the post title: Framing Friday. Furnishing Friday will still make an occasional appearance, as will some of my favorite suggestions--Fun Friday, Fiscal Friday, and Physio Friday.
Now, on with the post:
I had a few days off this week, so I decided to make a quick trip home to visit my parents (my mom kindly pointed out that I hadn't been down in several months...). Mom and Dad have many hobbies (feel free to read about them over at their blog), but house-building seems to be chief among them. They started building their house in 1990, but the drawing of plans and making of models started decades earlier. I think this may be where I picked up my own habit of doodling floor plans. Now, many people say their built their own house when what they mean is that they paid someone else to build a house for them. This is perfectly fair, and I think I would probably say the same thing, but it just isn't the case with Mom and Dad. They actually built their house. Someone else poured the foundation for the main part of the house, and they had much of the drywall installed by professionals, but they learned all about framing, electrical, plumbing, and roofing (and everything in between) from books and tackled the job themselves. Every time it seems they are finished, they start making plans for another addition (decks and porches and actual wings). Last summer/fall, they put in the support structure and subfloor for the most recent addition. Then winter/spring hit. This week, they got started again by framing the walls.
This is where I come in! I was too young when they built the main part of the house to actually participate (much less be helpful), and I was in college when they built the second part (so, not available). This week, I had my first experience with framing, raising, and installing exterior walls! The best part of the process (I think)? The compressed air nailer. The last time I was involved in any way with building at their house, my parents still used old fashioned framing hammers. I don't care how many times I've been told how to hammer a nail, I'm just not terribly good at it. With the nailer, you simply put it where you want the nail, depress the safety, and pull the trigger (oh, and squeeze your eyes and turn your head...if you're me).
Now, because a picture is worth a thousand words (and I've rambled on entirely too much already), here is what we did--
Finicky Friday!!
Yes, I'm going to pick and choose to write about whatever my picky little heart desires. The thread that connects Finicky Friday posts will be alliteration. If I can't make it sound like Friday, it will go somewhere else (like Free-Style Sundays). First up, a post about learning to frame a wall, hence the post title: Framing Friday. Furnishing Friday will still make an occasional appearance, as will some of my favorite suggestions--Fun Friday, Fiscal Friday, and Physio Friday.
Now, on with the post:
I had a few days off this week, so I decided to make a quick trip home to visit my parents (my mom kindly pointed out that I hadn't been down in several months...). Mom and Dad have many hobbies (feel free to read about them over at their blog), but house-building seems to be chief among them. They started building their house in 1990, but the drawing of plans and making of models started decades earlier. I think this may be where I picked up my own habit of doodling floor plans. Now, many people say their built their own house when what they mean is that they paid someone else to build a house for them. This is perfectly fair, and I think I would probably say the same thing, but it just isn't the case with Mom and Dad. They actually built their house. Someone else poured the foundation for the main part of the house, and they had much of the drywall installed by professionals, but they learned all about framing, electrical, plumbing, and roofing (and everything in between) from books and tackled the job themselves. Every time it seems they are finished, they start making plans for another addition (decks and porches and actual wings). Last summer/fall, they put in the support structure and subfloor for the most recent addition. Then winter/spring hit. This week, they got started again by framing the walls.
This is where I come in! I was too young when they built the main part of the house to actually participate (much less be helpful), and I was in college when they built the second part (so, not available). This week, I had my first experience with framing, raising, and installing exterior walls! The best part of the process (I think)? The compressed air nailer. The last time I was involved in any way with building at their house, my parents still used old fashioned framing hammers. I don't care how many times I've been told how to hammer a nail, I'm just not terribly good at it. With the nailer, you simply put it where you want the nail, depress the safety, and pull the trigger (oh, and squeeze your eyes and turn your head...if you're me).
Now, because a picture is worth a thousand words (and I've rambled on entirely too much already), here is what we did--
 |
| Me--Demonstrating the wince and squeeze method of nailing |
 |
| Dad--doing it the right way |
 |
| Nailing plywood to the outside of the wall we framed |
 |
| Nailing the wall to the sub-structure |
Thursday, June 2, 2011
Thankful Thursday--June 2
With temps hovering around 90 this week, I'm trying awfully hard to be thankful for the spring we had, even if it was very short and very wet! If autumn is my favorite season (it is), then spring comes in second, simply because it (like autumn) is neither too hot nor too cold. I love that in between weather that encourages one to get outside and enjoy it. So, while short, there were a few lovely spring days, and I am thankful for them.
I'm thankful, too, for a work schedule that allowed me to get out of town for a few days. I've not been home to see my parents since that quick visit on my way to/from Texas back in January, and it is nice to actually stay for more than one night!
Finally this week, I am thankful for birth mothers, specifically the one who made my friend Becky's family complete. Baby E. became "official" yesterday as a member of her family. While J and I loved their family of three, we love Baby E. and their new family of four as much or more.
What are you thankful for this week?
I'm thankful, too, for a work schedule that allowed me to get out of town for a few days. I've not been home to see my parents since that quick visit on my way to/from Texas back in January, and it is nice to actually stay for more than one night!
Finally this week, I am thankful for birth mothers, specifically the one who made my friend Becky's family complete. Baby E. became "official" yesterday as a member of her family. While J and I loved their family of three, we love Baby E. and their new family of four as much or more.
What are you thankful for this week?
Wednesday, June 1, 2011
Finished Vanity
Someone said something the other day, either here or over on facebook about not having seen the finished vanity. I couldn't recall if I'd posted a picture of it or not, but I figured it would be an easy Wordless Wednesday post! Enjoy--
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