Building A Cold Frame Garden Bed From Recycled Materials

It's not unusual around this time of year for me to begin to really miss my garden. We've had some really nice sunny days this week and today I was able to take advantage of the warm day. With my husbands help we (mostly he) built an awesome cold frame garden bed.

Towards the end of the summer I found this great window frame at a yard sale. I was going to purchase it but lucky for me the owner decided I could have it. It's been sitting by the house waiting for me to make it into a cold frame. I was planning to just set it on top of my already built garden box, but there were gaps where the window didn't completely fit or sit down flush with the bed. My wonderful husband kicked into gear and helped make it perfect.

The first thing I did was take the original frame off the window panels. That was easy.

Chris has access to loads of scrap lumber so he went and dug up some pieces out of the scrap pile and cut them to make a new frame.

And put them together.

I think halfway through he decided to tweak his design just a bit...

We wanted the window frames to sit on top of the new frame so with a little help from his sidekick Chris took some new measurements, re-cut and then screwed it all together.

After all their hard work I figured I owed them a soda and some Cheeto's :)

The windows are attached with hinges so they're easy to open up and I've already planted some lettuce seeds.

Bzzzz on the COOKIE!

I love the website Bzzagent.com. Today I got 2 boxes of cookies in the mail to sample. I probably wouldn't have purchased the Kroger brand cookies if I hadn't gotten to try these first. The process that a Bzz Agent gets to go through to sample and review products is lots of fun too. I love getting the surprise box of goodies in the mail. The kids really enjoyed these cookies. They were yummy with big chocolate chips :) I'm looking forward to the next campaign.

Farmers Are The Next Rich People...

Coupon Blues

God Saves Even The Meth Addict...

When I was 15 years old my mother moved from Las Vegas Nevada to a little dinky town about 50 miles away... Pahrump... Oh how I despise Pahrump... It makes me think in grouch mode... Harumph... During my short 6 months or so living there my life was spiraling out of control.

I was separated from my boyfriend Eddie when we moved to Pahrump. I felt tricked into leaving him behind and was very unhappy about it. At one point my mother would drive me into Vegas where she worked and I would hang out at Eddie's house during the day and go home with her at night. It became more and more difficult to talk my mother into letting me do this so on the last trip I hid from her and had Eddie's mother tell my mother that I had not showed up at all that day. Three days later my mother found me and drug me back to Pahrump.

I spent the next few weeks stealing pot from my mothers boyfriend and going horseback riding... Yes an odd combination but that's what I did. I was alone with my mother gone to work all day, no friends, both of my brothers were staying with their father's and I had no friends. After a few weeks of being alone I left the house one night intent on riding a bicycle to Vegas... 50 miles away...

I rode less than one mile before I became exhausted so instead, ditched the bike, grabbed my back pack and began to walk... I didn't make it to the edge of town before a man stopped to offer me a ride. I accepted... By the grace of almighty God I am here to tell my tale.

I made it to my boyfriends house where I spent a few weeks or months I can't remember. I lied about my age to get a job at a Pizza shop where I rode the bus and worked for almost a month before they began to harass me to get a health card. I wasn't old enough to be working in the state of Nevada at the time so there was no way I was going to be able to get a health card. I waited until pay day and just never went back. It didn't take long for Eddie and I to break up and then I decided it'd be a good idea to call my mom and go back home.

When I went home my boyfriends sister came to live with me for a few weeks. We met some boys at the park one day and went to a party with them. I never went back home, which led to her having to move back home. I stayed with my new "friends" for while... I can't even remember how long.

During my stay I lived on beer for a while. I ate when they offered me food but never felt comfortable enough to ask for food. They didn't eat that much... I discovered why when they decided to use me for their personal amusement when they began feeding me methamphetamine's. They found me quite entertaining as I hallucinated, picked my scalp, cleaned their house etc. etc... I'll keep this part short and sweet. I asked my "friend" Alan to please take me home one night when I couldn't bear to be in a room with a light on because I was so sure my scalp was oozing liquid. I think I washed my hair 20 times in one day. I literally thought my head was opening up and releasing oils or something. It was terrifying.

Alan dropped me off at my mothers front door. It was locked. I thought for sure she was in there and was just not letting me in. I banged on the door until my hands were sore and then I slumped down on the porch to feel sorry for myself. Looking across the yard at my mothers boyfriends mothers house (yea I know it's confusing) I saw (or thought I saw) my mother, her boyfriend and his mother and brothers sitting on the back porch laughing at me. I was so angry I got up and took off running down the road. The brothers came after me and I wrestled free when they caught me and the next thing I remember I was in the parking lot of the local grocery store. I found someone who gave me a ride back to my mothers house.

When I arrived I once again knocked on the door. This time my mother answered in her pajama's... I cried and told her how mean they all were for laughing at me. She swore it never happened. I suppose I imagined the whole thing or maybe it did happen. In my mind... it happened.

My mother made me a sandwich that I almost couldn't eat. My mouth hurt so badly and I hadn't eaten in so long that it just wouldn't go down. Her boyfriend made fun of me the entire time... He said I was faking, lying etc. I'm not sure what he meant I was faking or lying about.

I spent the next few days either running off to find my "friends" or locked in the bathroom wishing I could die. My older brother was visiting from Missouri and he tried to be a friend to me but I was too far gone. I wouldn't listen to anyone. My mother couldn't deal with me anymore, so she bought me a plain ticket and sent me to Missouri to become my fathers problem.

I won't go into all the details right now of how much of a problem I was for my father. I'm only telling this story to show that God saved me. People laugh if I tell them I was a meth addict that got shipped off to Missouri to get away from the meth. Apparently Missouri was the Meth capital of the United States at the time I came here. It might still be, I don't know. The miracle of all this is that in spite of Meth being so popular here I was not able to continue my addiction when I moved. I did find a supply a time or two but it was never a consistent supply. I know that God kept me from it. I don't understand why He chose to save me but He did. I was worthless but He saved me.

I watched a National Geographic Documentary this morning. "World's Most Dangerous Drug." I have been struggling so much recently with a bunch of miscellaneous things in my life. It's all piddly stuff. Things that don't matter at all! This morning God reminded me where He brought me from. I saw myself and what I could have become in the poor souls portrayed in this film. God saved me. He plucked me out of the wretchedness that I was in and set me aside for a purpose. That purpose is to glorify Him. I'm praying I can put aside all these things that don't bring glory to God. I'm praying for all the lost souls in this world that they would hear Jesus. Matthew 11:28 Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.

Daddy's Note...

Daddy left a note for his children before heading out the door to go to the grocery store. He announced his departure by telling one of the children that he'd left them a note with instructions for them to complete some chores while he was gone and if they did all that was required he would bring them home a treat.

After Daddy left the child decided to get right to work so as to be sure to finish her work before Daddy came home. She didn't think to tell her siblings about the note because she was so busy thinking of her own reward to come when Daddy got home.

Along came big brother and happened to notice the note on the table. Big brother gathered the rest of his siblings to tell them the news that if they completed all their chores Daddy would have a treat for them. Big brother began to give out jobs and his siblings gladly began their work.

Before long little brother and little sister began to argue over what exactly Daddy meant when he said... "wash the dishes." Big brother thought it meant they HAD to wash those dishes with their own two hands... Little sister thought it might be faster to put them in the dish washer... So time went on by as they discussed what Daddy meant in his note and... the dishes didn't get washed...

Big brother was busy coaching a few more siblings on the task Daddy left to "do the laundry." Big brother was a good leader and a hard worker. He didn't see a reason to argue if the towels should go into the dryer or on the line to dry. He let one of his brothers take the towels to the line to hang dry while sister put another load into the dryer to dry. They were getting double the work done!

Big brother went to check on some of the much younger children to make sure they didn't need his help with their chore. When he entered the bedroom he found two of the youngest children arguing over how in the world they were supposed to "pick up their room." The children knew they weren't strong enough to pick up the bedroom that was attached to their humongous house. They were very upset with Daddy that he would give them such an impossible task. Big brother took them onto his knee to explain what Daddy had meant in his note. The children were so happy to learn their Daddy hadn't been so mean as to tempt them with a treat and then give them a chore they couldn't accomplish.

When Big brother left the bedroom to check on the rest of the children he found the first child whom Daddy had originally told about his note, sitting in a chair reading a book. Big brother was concerned that this sister had not seen or heard of the note so he began to tell her and she stopped him. "Oh no brother Daddy himself told me about the note and I've done my part." Big brother tried to encourage sister to come along and help the rest of the children to ensure they would all receive a treat when Daddy came home but sister was unwilling... she'd done her part.

Big brother found some more children playing in the toy room. He tried to tell them about Daddy's note but they wouldn't listen... They were too busy playing...

When Daddy came home he was true to his word. Some received their treat and some did not... Those that argued and never completed their work blamed Daddy for not being specific enough in his request to "wash the dishes." They thought Daddy should have described how he wanted the dishes washed. Sister got her treat but was sad to see her younger siblings suffer without one... She wished she had done more to encourage them not to fight and do their work.

Joplin Missouri May 2011 Tornado

This is a video and photograph's of the damage to the Wal-Mart store in Joplin. There was another survivor pulled from the rubble of the store the day this video was taken. Praise God for another survivor. Pray they find more.

Joplin Missouri May 22nd 2011 Tornado

Joplin Missouri lay's in ruins after being struck by a fast moving, mile wide tornado. Pray for the people affected by this disaster. More storms are heading in their direction as I write this. My heart hurts.

"Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light." Matthew 11:28-30

Toy Story 3 Has Spiritual Application???

Thanks to Netflix my kids were watching Toy Story 3 a few nights ago. I sat down to watch towards the end of the movie and yes... I admit... I was crying like a baby... There is one part in particular that I had found quite touching. As we sit re-watching the movie this afternoon I had to pause it to have a heart to heart with my kids. They all think I'm a big sap for crying over a cartoon movie but after explaining to them my point of view they're more understanding ;) and even agree! (At least Emily does... the rest of them still think I'm a bit cookoo.)

Ok so the section of the movie I'm all worked up about is when all the toys are at the dump. Lotso the bear is a big meanie but Woody rescue's him because that's the right thing to do. A few minutes later all the toys realize they're about to be dumped into the furnace. As they're running Lotso notices a ladder up to a "STOP" button but he can't climb it on his own. So Woody and Buzz boost him up. As all the toys are running for their little toy lives, they're trusting in Lotso to hit the STOP button and save them. Lotso is mean and selfish and decides NOT to save them. So all the toys are cast into the furnace. As they slide closer and closer to the fire Buzz and Jessie exchange a look of hopelessness and grasp hands. All around the circle all the toys reach out to cling to one another... Woody is the great leader of the bunch and NOT willing to give up. He's climbing, climbing but as he see's his friends he realizes there is no hope. As their leader he is the one to hold them all together grabbing hands and trying to give comfort knowing they're all about to be cast into the fire. With sadness they cling to each other waiting to be engulfed in the blazing fire. All of a sudden there is a bright light from above and a giant claw reaches down and scoops up the group of toys just in time. Whoo hoo they're saved by the little green men who worship "The Claw."

When I watched that I know the wheels were turning and my wheels turn in odd ways... I compared Lotso to Satan... He's selfish... He wants to bring souls to destruction. He will trick you to trust him and in the end you will burn. Now all the rest of the toys I compare to lost people in this world. There are some wonderful, loving, good people who try to do good and be good but in the end without a Savior there is a lake of fire waiting for them. No matter how good, kind, righteous humans try to be it will not be enough. Only through the blood of Jesus Christ the Son of God can a human be saved. The clothes you wear, the habits you make, the righteousness you create will not be sufficient on judgment day. Believe on the name of the Lord Jesus Christ today. You are not promised tomorrow.

I am thankful for saving Grace. I'm not worthy but I'm born again by the blood of Jesus. He was bruised for our transgressions. Believe today and be saved.

Jesus Prayed For Me...

I know Jesus loves me and I don't deserve his grace. It was a blessing to my soul as I read John 17:1-26 and saw that not only does He love me but He prayed for me.

These words spake Jesus, and lifted up his eyes to heaven, and said, Father, the hour is come; glorify thy Son, that thy Son also may glorify thee:

As thou hast given him power over all flesh, that he should give eternal life to as many as thou hast given him.

And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent.

I have glorified thee on the earth" I have finished the work which thou gavest me to do.

And now, O Father, glorify thou me with thine own self with the glory which I had with thee before the world was.

I have manifested thy name unto the men which thou gavest me out of the world: thine they were, and thou gavest them me; and they have kept thy word.

Now they have known that all things whatsoever thou hast given me are of thee.

For I have given unto them the words which thou gavest me; and they have received them, and have known surely that I came out from thee, and they have believed that thou didst send me.

I pray for them. I pray not for the world, but for them which thou hast given me; for they are mine.

And all mine are thine, and thine are mine; and I am glorified in them.

And now I am no more in the world, but these are in the world, and I come to thee. Holy Father, keep through thine own name those whom thou hast given me, that they may be one, as we are.

While I was with them in the world, I kept them in thy name: those that thou gavest me I have kept, and none of them is lost, but the son of perdition; that the Scripture might be fulfilled.

And now come I to thee; and these things I speak in the world, that they might have my joy fulfilled in themselves.

I have given them thy word; and the world hath hated them, because they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world.

I pray not that thou shouldest take them out of the world, but that thou shouldest keep them from the evil.

They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world.

Sanctify them through thy truth; thy word is truth.

As thou hast sent me into the world, even so I have I also sent them into the world.

And for their sakes I sanctify myself, that they also might be sanctified through the truth.

As thou hast sent me into the world even so have I also sent them into the world.

And for their sakes I sanctify myself, that they also might be sanctified through the truth.

Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word;
That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me.

And the glory which thou gavest me I have given them; that they may be one, even as we are one:

I in them, and thou in me, that they may be made perfect in one; and that the world may know that thou hast sent me, and hast loved them, as thou hast loved me.

Father, I will that they also, whom thou hast given me, be with me where I am; that they may behold my glory, which thou hast given me: for thou lovedst me before the foundation of the world.

O righteous Father, the world hat not known thee: but I have known thee, and these have known that thou hast sent me.

And I have declared unto them thy name, and will declare it; that the love wherewith thou hast loved me may be in them, and I in them.

Seedling Transplanting To The Cold Frame...

It's a sun shiny day today so we decided to transplant a few seedlings to an outdoor cold frame. The cold frame is just a small concrete planter we have laying out back. I'm testing some broccoli plants to see how they do outdoors. If they thrive I will put out the rest of my cold weather stuff into my raised beds and cover them with plastic.

These are my broccoli, pak choi, snow peas and cilantro seedlings in their current home... My bedroom window...

This is the planter I'm using to test the weather. I'm only planting one tray of my broccoli to begin with. If they thrive I will put the rest out into my raised beds.

One tray of broccoli seedlings...

I break apart the container so the roots don't get all bound up... These planters don't break down quickly enough for me...

I'm bad... I didn't check to see how far apart to space broccoli plants but this is my test run so I'm not too worried about it. I'll be more technical with the raised beds.

This is my finished project for the day. Seedlings planted and covered with an old storm window. The coffee containers have water in them and although they're not in with the plants I'm hoping they'll help with some heat during the night. We'll see... if nothing else they're helping hold up my window....

Planting Update....

The last week has been crazy and I'm a little behind on updating so please forgive me. I took pictures as we transplanted our seedlings but I am just now a week later getting the blog posted... So this happened a week ago ;)

This is what my seed tray looked like with all the little seedlings popping up. The cilantro was slow and didn't come up with the rest of the seeds so I have pictured here the snow peas on the left and the pak choi on the right.

To transplant I loosen the soil under the seedlings with the popscicle sticks and gently remove the seedling to be transplanted into it's own separate container. This was the broccoli...

This is the snow pea...

Each plant now has room to grow and I didn't waste any seeds by using the "thinning out" method...

Their new happy homes in the sunshine of my bedroom window... The snow peas grow faster so I put them in the bigger round containers. I will probably transplant some of these to my outdoor cold frames this week. Stay tuned for updates :)

More Creations With Leftovers :)

So another experiment with the left overs in my fridge has turned out to be a success! About four days ago we had soft taco's with rice and beans. After sitting in the fridge for four days the thought of reheating them to serve for dinner was not very appetizing, especially after I noticed how dried out it all looked... So here's what I did.

I put the beans, rice and taco meat into my food processor with some sour cream, velveeta cheese and a can of spicy rotel. I pulverized it to mush and scooped it into the left over home made flour tortilla's and stuck them in the freezer. We ate the rest of the filling as dip and saved the burrito's for tonight. These microwaved perfectly and my kids have enjoyed their dinner. More left overs used instead of wasted! Yay!

The 2011 Garden Season Has Officially Begun!

What better way to spend a snow day than planting seeds? I love it! I took pictures to document the event and to share tips with fellow gardeners. Enjoy!

Step #1: Gather Supplies
To start off with these are my supplies. Yes unfortunately I use Miracle Grow potting mix... When I perfect the composting process I hope to be able to make my own potting mix but that's something I'm working on. I use warm water in my spray bottle and I have a plastic shelf tuned upside down to plant in. And don't forget the seeds.

Step #2 Prepare For Potting Soil
I line my shelf with newspaper to help soak up excess water since I don't have drainage holes in this planter. I transfer my sprouts to other containers so they won't be in this long.

Step #3 Dirt Work
I put a layer of potting soil down and spray it until it's good and soaked!

I am planting a few varieties of seed in this planter so I have it sectioned off with popsicle sticks.

Step #4 Sowing Seeds
I am planting Broccoli...

Cilantro...

Snow Peas...

And Chinese Pak Choy...

Step #5 Soak & Cover...
Next I soak the seeds with more warm water...

Cover with thin layer of potting mix and soak some more. I end up using the whole bottle of water. Good soaking is a step you cannot skip or the seeds won't sprout.

Step #6 Find a warm spot.
One of the warmest rooms in our house is the laundry room. With the dryer venting into the room it's moist and warm. With six people living under one roof I run the dryer quite a bit. On top of the refrigerator is also a good warm place to sprout seeds. Just remember that seeds don't need sunshine to sprout. These will be moved to a sunny location after they sprout.

Another good reason I put these here is I will be reminded to water every time I do laundry!

Come back and visit in a few days to see results :)

Logan is reading!!!

Green Beans in January???

Who can's green beans in January??? WE DO WE DO!!! We were fortunate to find a great deal on green beans $5 for a bushel so we had another canning day. We brought in two extra ladies to give them some hands on experience with the pressure cookers. The children liked bean snapping. We call them "The Whippersnappers." Green beans are a really easy plant to grow so look for us to have a gardening class soon too!!

We ended up with 13 quarts and 20 pints of green beans out of one bushel.
The best part... this jar contains green beans, salt and water... What's in your green beans?

Vickie is washing the beans....

Here we have "The Whippersnappers" snapping beans...

Happy Whippersnappers ;)

Adding the canning salt...

Babysitting the cookers....

I love the difference in colors...

Before and after a dip in the cooker...

Clean The Fridge Soup...

What do you do with your leftovers? Well here's an idea... Make soup! Tonight I had some various left overs that I threw together and waaalaaa SOUP.

Last Sunday we had roast for lunch. I took the left over roast and put it in the food processor and turned it to mush. I froze some of it and one container I put into the fridge for a soup base this week. I took the left over taco meat, beans for taco's and rice for taco's that we had for dinner Wednesday evening, combined it with the roast soup base and threw in some frozen chicken stock cubes. (I freeze my chicken stock in ice trays so I have handy sized cubes to use in different dishes.) I chopped 3 fresh carrots and one good sized potato to add to the soup and now we have a yummy meal that's enough for the family and a clean fridge! :)