the garden...

well hello my dear blog...
i think the beauty of this blog is that it's dedicated to my authentic voice and in all my authentic glory i don't have that much time to write. a book called 'writing down the bones' recently found it's way back to me. i love when people return my books! the book was a reminder to make time...time for thought to become words...time for words to become my voice...time for authentic mama.
and i do have a post idea i've been meaning to touch on this blog...my garden.
for five years i have been learning to grow food.  for five years i have watch seeds fail, seeds succeed, weeds take over, harvests neglected, fruits frosted, empty mason jars hoping for the chance to preserve. and this year i said no more! i will get this.
my advice to anyone starting a garden is simple. two things.  keep it small, keep it close by.  gardens are more work than children. it's true! 
when i first moved to fernie, bc i volunteered at the community garden where i made friends with a handful of women who would become my mentors.  but the community garden was 7 blocks from my home. too far. so i dug a garden in my yard.  another season wasted because of the weeds. then i moved and didn't have a yard and so i bought books about container gardens. fail.
i dreamed about a flourishing, deck space with flowers, and vegetables...heading into my 3rd summer at this residence i was beginning to feel deflated.
so what changed this year?...dan decided he wanted to grow tomatoes..and lots of them! seriously, all of a sudden my husband took over.  he read magazines about tomatoes, he ordered organic heirloom varieties, he educated me about indeterminate and determinate plants, in general he showed off and gave me two green thumbs up! on april first he spent the whole day sterilizing all the seed trays, bought organic potting soil, grow lights and began to research a cold frame solution for our 16x16 roof top patio.

 i didn't get my hopes up until...the seeds actually started sprouting! dan doted on those seedlings, watering, giving them light..explaining to me that i'd have to start bring them outside while he was at work. so i thought okay...i'll help.  little by little my confidence grew...and then the weekend came and what? dan was building a cold frame! thank you pinterest for all your pallet ideas!

so now i was thinking more along the lines of...if he can do it i can do it...which was also my strategy for natural childbirth after my sister gave birth.  if she can do it i can do it. my competitiveness often brings me inspiration and motivation...see, a plus!
i set out to grow flowers...my flourishing patio was going to become a reality. after dan transplanted the seedlings into their second homes-mid size pots, i planted those seed trays with white asylum, purple verbena, cosmos, zinnia, nasturtium, and sweet peas! doted on them even more than dan did his tomatoes, fed them gaia green organic fertilizer sang to them...(yes, sang to them) and watched them sprout! i was shocked.  it's not that hard...it's just that you have to take care of them everyday!( and sing a little) now I had reason to buy POTS! thrifted and painted, garage sale finds, and reduced to clear purchases...this was my kind of gardening.

 the thing you should know about growing flowers from seed is that you need a ton of patience. i'm not patient at all...so i went to the garden centre with $40 and bought some flowers to tide me over until mine bloom. i even bought some impatiens...for my impatience - perfect.

i really can't believe my patio is a garden! thanks to my amazing husband and his inability to take short cuts - ever! i finally learned the secret to starting seeds! i love that man.  
ps ~ happy summer solstice!

granola and crackers

a couple of weeks ago, i decided it was fine time to organize my pantry.  i have an amazing pantry, but it was always so hard to find what i needed. i realized that i was experiencing food clutter! i didn't take before pictures, but if you remember what my electronic storage before picture looked like...imagine that in the form of baking supplies, dry goods, canned goods, and a host of miscellaneous items~big problem. i devoured blogs on the subject and wanted to buy pretty clear glass storage containers, label makers, shelf liners, and new mason jars, but my budget won't allow for it.  so i spent an hour scrubbing off labels from store bought glass jars that i had on hand, masking tape will do the trick for labels, and in the spring i'll paint the shelves.  i still have to find containers for my flours, sugars, and pastas and work out where to store the camping coolers, wine making supplies, and reusable grocery bags but here's what it looks like now.   

PANTRY AFTER (can you believe this is the improvement:) 

after organizing the pantry i was inspired to use up some of my bulk dry goods. also, i hit my grocery store budget befoer i got to put multi-grain cheerios in the cart.
my cousin-in-law (she's my husband's first cousin's wife) lindsay over at mountain mama made some of soulemama's granola (from 'cooking with whole foods' by cynthia layer) the last time we visited, and i'd been meaning to try the recipe ever since.

like i always say...get out everything you need first.  this picture is of the dry ingredients. the porridge mix already has flax seed added. the recipe calls for almonds and sesame seeds, but i used pistachios and flax because i had them on hand.

now for the wet ingredients. the recipe also calls for almond extract, but dan has a nut allergy so i left it out. (did you know pistachios are the single-seeded stone fruit of the pistachio tree?)  i'm not really following the recipe am i? i used oil, maple syrup and apple juice too...all from the original recipe.

 add the wet to the dry...

 mix

 spread out on baking sheet

 and voila! homemade granola

 mmmm...yum!

 the other thing i didn't have room in my grocery budget for was crackers. my boys love ritz crackers. lately i've been worried about the amount of packaging that leaves my home. i'm pretty conscious about it, but still, i bring two grocery bags a week to the recycling bin. part of making my own granola and crackers, is reducing my household waste. who really knows what gets recycled or what goes to the landfill anyways? so back to the ritz crackers. i found stef over at cupcake project
who did all the trial and error for me, and so i tried her recipe i only made one change. her recipe called for 2/3 c. water, but i only used 1/3.  the beauty of this recipe is that the whole thing is made in your food processor! my little helper winston loves kitchen appliances!

 i didn't have fancy scalloped cracker size cookie cutters, so i used my shot glass...courtesy of my cousins colin and candice's wedding. best wedding favour ever!

not the prettiest crackers, but they sure taste good!

i heart electronic cable storage

i've missed you blog! i think about you everyday...but lately i'm in love with bloggers, and so with determination i write!
today i organized my electrical cable storage. i know, i know...who cares! right? well, i've been working really hard around my home to 'get organized & stay that way' seriously, it's tons of work!  but it is worth every "i wish i could just si'down and chill out!" moment. honest.
i brought so many boxes of belongings to the sally ann in the past two weeks. it feels so good to let it all go. and you wouldn't believe how easy it is to keep the clutter hidden when there isn't any. my initial inspiration came from the book i blogged about in january, i have crossed out a many 'to do' list items since reading it.  but there was always more to add to the list of to-do's, and some items just got left behind. but then...amy from my h.s. 4x800 track & field relay team introduced me to jen over at i heart organizing on pinterest (if you do not know about pinterest...you better get on it!) and she has given me so much inspiration.  i heart jen!  i was secretly jealous of her too...until yesterday when she revealed her electronic storage! AH HA!!! she's just like you and me! she's got a to do list, she's learning, growing, and sharing tips along the way.  that made me feel better, and i don't envy her any more. since electronic cable storage was one of those 'got left behind' items on my own to do list...well see for yourself.

then my girl dawn came over and she helped me move my crafting desk into my bedroom which free'd up space in the spare room ~turned office today~ for the computer desk, which left my living room looking so spacious and clutter free...my camera is on the fritz, so the pics are kinda shabby, and i wish i'd taken more time for all the before and after shinanigans...but i'll post what i've got, then catch ya up...when i solve my camera dilemma...

spare room BEFORE

AFTER

...still got some work to do

living room BEFORE

AFTER

bedroom corner BEFORE

 AFTER

just you wait and see what this craft corner turns into...then starts to produce! my craft dreams are about to become a reality! i hope this post inspires you to organize your electronic cable storage and more...ha! i gotta get to bed.