Welcome to Lizzy Lane Farm

I have noticed….

Seems like forever since I have had a chance to spend any time at this blog or reading any of my favorites now that I think about it.

What a spot to stop for lunch while hiking

This past week also brought the need to clean out the big freezer and take a good inventory of what was in there and move some of the older goodies to the freezer in the kitchen to be use soon.

Doing this twice a year is something I always try to do for a couple of reasons. The first is to use some of the older stuff up and second it gives me a chance to use some good warm water and baking soda to give it a good scrubbing. It’s funny to me how everything that goes in there is wrapped well and it still manages to collect dirt…

While I had everything out I also took the time to update the inventory list I keep and to my surprize it was pretty accurate this time around. That is a feat I have been working on accomplishing for several years, maybe I am getting the hang of it. I also was able to make a shopping list of things that were low and I will watch for them to go on sale in the next few weeks to stock up for the winter.

This past week brought a client to the house on respite and he left today for the next chapter in his life. I noticed that I feel better sine he has left, some people just have a negative feel to them and it sucks the energy from me.

Also this presented the need to clean the entire house very well and decided I needed to purchase and use some commercial disinfectants just to be on the safe side. To no surprize to me while these disinfectants were getting rid of all the nasties it also was indiscriminate and killed the friendly bacteria. I mention this because in just the short week I had to use them I noticed that my yogurt and sour cream didn’t do as well. Actually I couldn’t get the sour cream to thicken at all.

This makes me wonder how families that are on the band-wagon for antibacterial everything manage these tasks. I have just about finished with the disinfectants and need to give the house one more good cleaning and I will retire them to the cellar should I need them again. Let’s hope not.

The other thing that struck me this past week is that I needed to use good old Lysol in the spray cans. I do use this occasionally when I give the garbage can in the barn a good cleaning but not usually in the house. A single can will last a good year or more.

I went to buy a new can and I discovered that the cost of a single can has gone sky high….over $6.00 and I bought the last 2 on the store shelf. In my many trips to the pharmacy last week I checked there too and their shelves were empty as well but the price tags weren’t any cheaper.

I guess this H1N1 and flu scare has forced the demand and prices up for such disinfectants. It’s kind of scary for me to think about all the germ killing both good and bad going on in my community just now.

Any one else noticing this in your area?

And finally this past week brought the close of the chicken saga here at the farm. We delivered the lonely little Guinea Hen to its new home yesterday. Come spring I will order more eggs to hatch and I am hoping to order chicks too. Both the Delaware and Black Java. I also would like to add a few heritage breed turkeys. I’ll spend some time over the winter deciding on a breed.

And lastly I noticed our little Daisy is growing again and it’s time to sort through her clothes and pass some of them on…

Hope you all have a good day. What

Daisy and her Puppa

have you noticed this past week?

Karyn

It’s that time again

to start thinking about and making our holiday gifts.

The economy around here is BAD. Everyone I talk to is mentioning it and in the crafting circles of friends lately the talk isn’t about trying some new yarn, fabric or sewing do-dad. The talk is about cleaning out the stash of goodies already laying around and finding ways to use those up.

They aren’t talking about large elaborate gifts, they are talking about making very practical gifts. Mittens, hats, scarves, placemats, gloves, socks, basic blankets.

My plans follow much this same thinking. For our close friends and committee/community friends is to knit pretty gift bags to hold the jars of jelly. I would also like to embroider a nice linen bread bag with a fresh loaf of bread tucked inside. I have enough yarn here and over the summer found a jumper made of off-white linen that will make lovely bread bags.

There are some very nice embroidery patterns here. I print them on plain white paper and then trace the pattern onto my fabric with one of those washable fabric markers. Some I have to darken the lines first to see clearly through the fabric.

My family apart from Daisy is always asking for very practical things such as gift cards for groceries and gas. My oldest son told me to just go ahead and buy the groceries because he hated that part. So for him I think I will find a nice wicker laundry basket and fill it with essentials for his pantry. Add a few leaves of fresh bread wrapped in embroidered dish towels and he will be happy. His favorite is banana.

Son #2 still lives here with us so I am thinking a few pair of his favorite work pants with gas cards in the pocket will be appreciated by him. Dick is going to be a bit trickier this year, he like me just doesn’t need or want anything new, so this I will have to think on… But I am thinking a couple of new screw guns (cordless drills). After all the work the past few years his batteries are just about worn out and he has been fussing about them all summer. The other thing he has had his eye on is a battery operated grease gun.

So what are you thinking about for the coming holiday season?

The fall garden-Seed Sharing

The fall garden is an interesting place lately. I am finding beauty all around even though the flowers have pretty much faded away….

Today are the long gone Daisies that grow along side the house. These came from Bluestone a few years back. While they are rated for zone 5 and above they do well here in my zone 4 garden. I just never told the Daisies the difference.

They are a happy perennial with many weeks of blooms. Here they grow to be about 5 feet tall and need a bit of staking if you don’t like them leaning a bit. A heavy rain or wind will bend the stems and put them to the ground.

The only care they receive from me is compost in the spring and fall and any leaves that fall around them for the winter. We always have a good snow cover so I think that helps.

This is the time to cut back the seed heads and remove any dead leaves. I like to pull apart the seed heads and let them fall to the ground. I have a few extra I saved. I put them into little packages and would love to share them with anyone who would like a few.

I have 5 packages, so the first 5 to leave me a message I will send you my address and you in return can send me a self addressed stamped envelope and I will get them out to you. They should arrive in time to sprinkle on the ground this fall or you could sew them in the spring.

In the next few days I will put together some of the white Echinacea also growing in that flower bed. They are from the Big Sky series, Sunrise. I’ll post about them when I get them ready.

and So the Week Went….

Not a great week around here, I already told you about the chickens. That turned out not all that great.

There is an old Blue Book law here in town and the maximum I am entitled to is up to $100. to replace the chickens and Guinea hens. Seems way back in 1800 something a $100. was a lot of money and would have covered the cost of our birds easily and then some. It’s an old silly law, but that’s the way it is.

The owners of the dog ended up being fined 3 times for the dog being here (it kept coming back) and did pay the restitution. I have no idea why, but I ended up with $96. for all the birds. Like the title of this post there were other things going on and I just didn’t have the energy to fight about it or think about civil court to recover the remaining costs.

Those birds were so mangled it was hard to tell exactly how many were in the pen. Later that day a Guinea came home and I put it in the pen. Went out later to find the dog back in the pen and the hen in pieces. That was time #3 the dog was here.  The next day a second Guinea came back and I locked it in the coop and screwed a board across the door to the run. The poor thing is so scared and seems lonely. I decided to bring it to another farm so it wouldn’t be alone. I’ll try to catch it over the weekend and get it in a cage for the ride.

This week brought our new client, a very friendly and likable fella. Unfortunatly because of medical issues with him we have decided we can’t care for him. It was a tough decision to loose my job and income again. There was no decision to be made, my family must come first.

It has been a beautiful fall week here perfect for working on buttoning up things and getting ready for winter, not me however, I have been in the house with lines of state and agency people coming and going, don’t want to forget the phone ringing off the hook. And the race against old man winter marches on without me.

On the bright side son #1 knows how I love pictures and brought back the ones shown in this post from a recent hike up to the White Mountains. He even said hello to the Old Man for me, who sadly isn’t there any longer.

He said he had a great time and the weather while a bit cool in the mountains the views made up for it. He said there is still snow on the ground in places.

I have noticed while beautiful the foliage colors aren’t all that bright this year. But still very pretty.

I just love that when I am feeling at my worst my family always manages to show me in some way that they love and care for me. I’m feeling better and can appreciate the amazing gifts given to me once again.

Even Miss Daisy could feel my frustration this week and last night came to me, sat in my lap, tapped me on the side of the cheek and said, “l lub you mummy”, and sang me her favorite song that always calms her down. Twinkle, Twinkle little star. We rocked and sang for over an hour. A special treat because Daisy doesn’t sit still all that long.

Hope you have a great day and get a chance to enjoy the season.

 

Karyn