We got our first taste of winter this week. Tempatures dropped into the low 20s with highs in the low 40’s. Our first snow came in too. We barely got 1/4” that didn’t really stick. North of us, they got hit with lake effect snow, getting over 7 inches in some places. With the cold weather coming in we spent almost all our time inside working on projects I have put off in favor of outside stuff.
Nothing really new in the garden. The lettuce, spinach, arugula, radishes, and turnips all survived this cold weather. . . so far. Everything I planted in the Raised Bed Greenhouse Cover I built looks really good. And the whole thing hasn’t fallen over yeat so win-win. If I actually get a harvest out of it we can call that a win-win-win.
The plants I have stored in the greenhouse are also looking really good. I may have to bring them in later on in the winter season. I know I will have to bring in the lemon and lime bushes. Everything else should be ok. One thing with a greenhouse is that if it is unheated, overnight temperatures will be the same as the outside.
I also got a bunch of bulbs at our local hardwarestore to get in the ground for next year. I’m really going to try and focus on attracting pollinators for next season.
Our house is a small farmhouse built in 1864. Well, the original part was. There have been additions over the years, a big portion done in the 1920s and then more added on in the late 90s. So our home layout is not ideal. The people we bought it from tried to do a remodel, knocking down walls and such but I honestly think it made it worse. Our main living space rooms are weird-shaped with lots of nonfunctional space. Our dining room is a perfect example of this. It’s a decent-sized room that should be something other than a dining room. So we decided to make it into an indoor playroom for our now 14-month-old.
We started by moving all our workout stuff into a small section of our long rectangular living room. Eventually, it will all get moved into the basement, when I can figure out how to take apart the treadmill to move it. Then I moved all the baby stuff out of our living room into the new playroom.
It is still a work in progress but, she is loving the extra space so far. I think it is going to be a really great space for her this winter when it gets so cold we can’t spend that much time outside.
I have added a new rule in the kitchen for the winter. Whenever I have 7 pints or 5 quarts ( what my electric pressure canner will hold at a time) I will refill them with something. I want to keep the shelves full so that when winter hits, I do not have to leave the house unless absolutely necessary. I also want to try and do the full 2 months of the every bit counts challenge in order to do that I need to have enough food to last. This week I filled jars with dried beans. It will make cooking a bit easier, I won’t have to remember to soak beans overnight.
I’m down to the last crock of peppers fermenting. The Louisiana hot sauce I made was so spicy but the flavor was amazing. The salsa turned out really good too.
Since the cold weather has hit, I have been on a real baking kick lately. This week I did a bulk baking day to prep for the week. The Dinner Roll recipe is now a weekly must for us. We use them as rolls for sides, sliders, and even mini sandwiches. They are so good and easy to make.
