It's A Crazy Life.....

I'm linking up to the New Friend Friday at The Girl Creative today.  Hope to meet some new friends and find some new blogs to hop around and follow!

Bath Fizzies Baisc Recipe

1 C baking soda
1/2 C citric acid (available at drugstore/bulk foods)
1/2 C salts (dead sea or epsom)
1/2 C corn starch

Mix together all dry ingredients.

1 TBS water
1-2 TBS oil (any light vegetable oil will work; I've also used cocnut oil)
1-2 drops food coloring (if desired - makes for fun colors)
1-2 tsp essential oil (if desired - for fun)

Mix wet ingredients and add to dry ingredient mixture.  Now you have to work fast before the mix begins to set.  Take the mix and press into a mold.  Let them sit in a dry place, out of humidity for at least a day.  You can take them out of the mold reletively quickly as they will take shape and then let them dry out of the mold.  You can also use just about anything for a mold - ice cube trays, candy molds, plastic two piece christmas bulbs, etc. You can also take large scoops and use your hands to mold them into balls.

Basic Sugaring Recipe and Directions

2 cups sugar
¼ cup lemon juice
¼ cup water

Combine the ingredients in a heavy saucepan, and heat on low using a candy thermometer. Watch the mixture very carefully so that it doesn’t boil over. Heat the mixture to 250 F on the candy thermometer; this is the hardball candy stage.

Remove from the heat and let cool enough to pour into a jar without breaking or melting the jar. (Note that this jar will be reheated in the future. Make sure it is safe for whatever form of reheating you plan to do—in the microwave, or in a pan of water.


Rip clean cotton fabric in 1-inch strips. Make sure the cotton isn’t too coarsely woven.

This next step is very critical: Let the mixture cool enough so that it won’t burn your skin. The first time I did this I didn’t let the blend cool enough and I burned myself! Test the mixture on the palm of your hand, knowing that is much tougher than the sensitive skin under your arms.

Using a dull knife or Popsicle stick, spread the cooled sugar onto your skin. Cover with the cloth strips, let set for a few minutes, and then rip off quickly as you would a bandage.

In the future you can reheat the mixture to a warm and not hot temperature (see above), and reuse. Note that reheating will thicken the paste.

Taken from: Care 2 Make A Difference

When we first got Mr. and Mrs. Puddlecluck, we were told that we should keep them in an enclosed area for six to eight weeks, as Guinea Fowl like to roam.  They said we needed to "teach" them where home was so that when they eventually free-roamed they would return at night.  This made us a bit nervous as we usually let our chicks out every day.  So we looked up on our favorite chicken site - BackYard Chickens to see what we could find about them.  Everything we can find says that they will roam up to a 1/2 mile away from their roosting spot.  Hmmmm...

So on Saturday we let the chickens and guinea fowl out to free-range for the first time since setting in our unfenced garden about 6 weeks ago.  We wanted it to get established before we let them out to dust and roam.  The chickens were estactic.  I think the guinea were even more so - you should have heard them chatter!

Fast forward about an hour.  Mr. and Mrs. Puddlecluck are wandering down the driveway.  Chattering away.  They are almost to the road.  I sneak out behind them to try to shoo them back into the yard.  They take off running.  It must have quite an amusing site for our neighbors.

So they take off down the road.  I wish I would have taken my camera.  They were so cute - they were chattering and meandering off to the west.  Just like an old married couple.  Then they crossed the street.  About an hour later I saw them mid-way down the field across the road.  An hour after that they were out of site.

The kids were pretty worried they would not come back.  We kept checking.  They kept looking into the fields.  I just hoped they would find us.

Shortly before dinner I heard their distinctive chatter.  They were back in the pen, happy as could be and wet as if they'd played in the rain.  I don't know where they went, but it must have been a good time!  They were chattering at the chickens and our rooster, Mr. Speckles looked just disgusted with what they were telling him - guess he was jealous that he didn't get to go on an adventure!

We've been spending lots and lots of time out in the garden lately.  With warmer weather and lots of rain and more sunshine, we're itching to get that garden growing!

In the last few weeks we've planted raspberry bushes, rhubarb roots, rubarb plants, onions, more radishes, more peas, potatos, carrots, corn and sunflowers, and some herbs.  The herbs are in pots as I've found that otherwise they take over the entire yard ( as my chamoille did last year - it's coming up all over the place!) 

The apple tree has blossomed and bloomed and now has little baby apples started!  The strawberry plants are brimming with little and big berries - not even close to being red, but growing, growing, growing!  One of the blueberry bushes had little flowers on it; the other one is just blossoming leaves.

We harvested a little bit of asparagus.  It was only it's second year, so nothing spectacular.  Only about 10 shoots.  We also plan on adding more plants to that patch.

We've planted a rosebush, some gladiola bulbs, some pansies and columbines.  I got my Mother's Day hanging basket and put that up.  We transplanted a few more lilac bushes.

Last night DH tilled up the big garden.  Next weekend will probably be our big planting weekend when we put up the vines, the peppers, tomatos, more sunflowers, broccoli, cabbages, cauliflower, more lettuces, more peas and who knows what else?  We'll have to see what the nursery has that looks like fun!

But sometimes he finds something that even I can consider a great treasure!  Look at what he brought home last week:

A recipe inspired by one in my recent Fitness magazine.  Pretty tasty and healthy too!

4 oz Salmon fillet
Asian marinade (I used Teryaki Pinapple)
1TBS sesame oil
1/2 C rice wine vinegar (next time I'll use red wine vinegar instead)
2 tsp sugar
1 tsp salt

I just found a great blog that has all kinds of neat-o giveaways!!  Like this one:

Whimsy Couture Pattern Giveaway!!

I love making all kinds of cute little clothes for my munchkins.  I don't have a lot of time to do it and I don't really follow patterns all that well.  =)  But I still enjoy working with fabrics and putting pieces together and coming up with something cute or beautiful for my kids.  And I love when they wear it somewhere and can say with pride that "my Momma made this!"

(my own Momma is probably going to roll over reading this as I always swore I would never be a sewer or make clothes for my children the way she did when we were little.  Her best friend is probably already doubled over with tears in her eyes, since she tried to teach me to sew many many moons ago with less than very little success!)

Anyhoo, Whimsy Couture has some cute, classic, vintage inspired patterns available for download at their Etsy store HERE.  I love the Apron Twirl Peasant Dress or the Apron Double Layered Ruffle Skirt.  I can totally see my girls wearing a matching set of these!

Well, I've never won anything yet, but I sure hope I win this giveaway....my mind is already picking out the perfect fabrics!!

Remember a while back when I admitted to being a chocoholic?  Well, I'm doing it again.  One of the blogs I follow, CrAxY HoUsE, is doing a review of Anna Shae Chocolates today.  Oh my goodness!!!  Not only are these beautifully handpainted chocolates, the flavors they offer sound divine! Strawberry Chardonnay Marzipan?  Dark Chocolate Cherry?  Gianduja & Lavender Ganache?  Rose Cream?  Rhubarb?  Not only different, but delicious!  Sign me up!!

CrAzY HoUsE is hosting a giveaway of these delicious sounding chocolates!  They are giving away a 24 count signature box of Anna Shae Chocolates!  Head HERE to check it out!!

Go HERE to check out more the delicious sounding chocolate flavors!!

My second update since starting this!!  (I missed the Tuesday update since it's been a crazy week - I'm a day late and a dollar short all week!)

Plant Something
This week we planted some rhubarb that we picked up at Menards.  Also planted a new climbing rosebush.  Put in some onion sets (100 of those - more to be planted in two weeks), and some raspberry bushes.  We transplanted some flowers in the front yard and a lilac bush to the side yard to start a windrow.


Harvest Something
We harvested some asparagus!!  It is in it's second year, so there wasn't a ton or it and it was tiny and super tender.  DH ate it raw, right out of the garden and the kids munched on it too!
Preserve Something
Bought some berries and froze them.  Nothing that is in season here yet.
Waste Not
Reused some seed packs from last year to start new seeds.  Saved plastic bags from various places to use as garbage bags. 

Want Not
Bought freshish berries from the store.  New shoes for the kids.

Build Community Food Systems
Blogging and sharing on a community message board's gardening thread.  Also, the raspberries we planted came from friends at church and some of the rhubarb came from a neighbor at the farm.
Eat the Food
As mentioned above, DH and the kids tried the super fresh right out of the garden asparagus (I cooked the rest of it later).  Also have been eating blueberries, corn, saurkrat and broccoli out of the freezer from last year's garden.

Perhaps it began with Laura and her Rocky Ridge Farm.  Or maybe it was Anne and her beloved Green Gables.  Or perhaps, even, Scarlett and beutiful Tara.  Or maybe it stems from an interest in history and the way I was raised.  Whichever it is, I've always had a name for my home and property.


Growing up my parents were involved in a group called the SCA, or the Society for Creative Anacronism.  Basically, they dressed up, make up pretend names and pretended tha  they lived during the Middle Ages.  I think it's kind of like a grown-up tea party.  I personally, was never really into it and just got dragged along until I was old enough to voice an opinion.  Anyhoo, because of this, my parents acted as a Scottish lord and lady and their "manor home" aka our house, was called Wildweed Manor.  =)  Mom says they named it this because they could never get anything to grow besides weeds.  Even though I thought the whole Middle Ages thing was dumb (can we get a bit of teenage attitude in that statement, please?) I thought it was cool that they named our house.  We even had a sign that said "Welcome to Wildweed Manor" in gaelic.  Pretty cool stuff, that.


And as an avid reader, I fell in love with Laura Ingalls Wilder and her Rocky Ridge Farm in Missouri.  I enjoyed reading about Anne's adventures around her green-gabled home.  The beauty of Scarlett O'Hara's Tara plantation, both in words and on the movie screen really stayed in my mind.  And as an adult, reading of Broch Turach in Scotland, the home of Jamie and Claire Fraser of the Outlander series sticks there.


I have always been intrigued by the fact that these old manor homes, especially in the Brittish Isles, had names.  Or that the southern plantations were named.  As a teen, I would think, "why would you ever name a home?"


Now that I'm an adult (or at least masquerade as one most of the time) and a homeowner and land owner, I totally get it.  Giving a house or farm or land a name totaly gives it a personality.  It adds character.  It gives a house life and breath and helps to make it a home.


I must admit that even my first apartment had a name - I called it Garden Court.  I think the complex had a boring name like Bay Manor or somesuch.  But my little one bedroom overlooked the center gardens and they were beautifully kept in the summer.  I'm not sure I ever told anyone about my little pet name for the apartment.  =)


When we bought our house and one acre, I searched high and low for a name that would fit our little homestead.  You can choose a name based on family history or ethnic background.  You could choose it based on location.  Or characteristics of the home.  I thought and thought and thought.


Finally, I found the perfect name!  I've always been very big into my own Scottish/Irish heritage and wanted something to honor that.  I also decided to use the location of the house.  Thus, Auburn Glen was born.  Auburn, as we are located between two towns/villages, the closest of which is Auburn.  Glen, reflecting the great glens of Scotland and my heritage (sorry Mr. CrazyLife....I guess we left out your heritage there!) and while we aren't particularily in a glen, we are surrounded by farm fields, so I figured it was close enough.  The final straw was that is flowed and had a bit of poetry to it.  I cannot imagine a house named without a thought to flow or the poetry of the name.


Does anyone else name their home or land?  I can't be the only crazy person out there who does this?  Am I?