Saturday on the Homestead: February 15, 2014

Well, we thought we were going to be warming up today, but once again, we were mistaken.  More accurately, the forecast from a couple of days ago was mistaken.  High of 32* today...  However, we are holding out hope for the 50* promised for tomorrow, and the 60's forecast for next week.  Considering this is what our kitchen table looks like, we are ready for some garden action:

And this is our kitchen buffet.

Today, Jeff is looking at one of our trucks to see if a hose to our steering pump is leaking or if the pump itself just needs to be replaced.  I am so thankful that he knows how to do a lot of these repairs.  He has saved us tons of money replacing brakes, pumps, lines, etc.  Jessie is going to watch and hopefully learn something about steering pumps.  I have called auto stores about parts and prices so much over the past 20+ years, that I feel like I know WAY more about car repair than I ever wanted to, but I guess it's a good thing.

Yesterday was Valentine's Day.  We never go out on dates on holidays because we both despise crowds, so we are going to attempt a date tonight.  It has been awhile since we have been able to take one, so we are quite excited for some couple time.  The last time we went, somebody picked up our tab, which was a HUGE blessing to us!!

Before we go, we will get some chores done, as there is always something to do on a homestead.  I am going to start some more lettuce plants, because it won't be too long and they can be sustained in the garden.  We love salads, and have them just about every day of the week, so growing our own healthy greens and using edible weeds is the way to go!

There is still plenty of wood to split, so the boy (Josh) will be working on splitting and stacking.  Amber has already made chocolate chip cookies, and I will find something else productive for her to do before she gets released for the day. 

I finished our taxes today, and they are ready to send, but we won't file until next payday.  I corrected several errors that I had made, which made our outcome a lot more pleasant than it looked at first.  Whew!  Tax time can be scary or it can be a blessing.  I prefer the blessing, personally!

We've noticed that our local farm stores have gotten chicks, so it won't be long before we order Amber's geese, and incubate our own eggs for more chickens.   Our success rate on incubation runs between 85-100%, so it is definitely worth doing to save money.  We love raising chickens.  It's comforting and peaceful to see them foraging around our yard, and the wonderful taste of fresh eggs is unparalleled.

So, that's basically our day in a nutshell.  We are going to have family game night tomorrow evening, probably in the form of spades, which we all love.  Obviously, we won't be playing on our kitchen table!  Guess we'll have to clean off the card table....

Click HERE to learn about square foot gardening with Mel Bartholomew's famous book.

Have a blessed weekend!

Debbie, Home at Serenity Springs