Composting

We had a pretty good composting operation set up at our old house. So, when we moved last year, we knew we wanted to start up again. It took us a while to get started, but we finally installed our new backyard composter a couple months ago. Here’s some notes on how we organize the process.

#1: Garbage Bowl

We started off with a Garbage Bowl in the kitchen to collect all our organic food scraps. You can use anything for this bowl, but there are also specific garbage bowls on the market. The idea here is making it easy to save the scraps from the trash while you’re cooking. After a while, it becomes mindless.


Usually we try to keep our food scraps chopped up pretty small because they decompose faster that way. Sometimes a spoiled apple or something bigger sneaks in, though. I know that some people prefer to keep their bits + pieces in the freezer, especially during the cold months.

#2: Indoor Bin

We also have a small compost collector in our kitchen which is the staging area before everything heads outdoors. We cook a lot with a lot of whole foods, so we need multiple options. You can buy containers with carbon filters to keep your kitchen smelling nice. Since we take ours out daily, I found a cute galvanized ice bucket (+ scoop) with a plastic bin in it. It works great and looks nice.

#3: Outdoor Bin

From there, everything goes into our outdoor composter. We bought a galvanized garbage can, drilled holes into the bottom half, dug a deep hole in the yard, and snugged it in. The holes allow worms to enter and break the food down. It was also one of the least expensive (and more attractive) composter solutions I have come across.

#4: Starter

To get our compost started, we actually bought some compost starter this year at the suggestion of a friend. It fast forwards the microorganism activity and breaks down the food scraps faster. We happened to have a lot of veggie and fruit scraps in a short period of time, so it would have taken a while to break all that down otherwise.

#5: What’s Inside

We compost everything from fruit and veggie scraps to eggshells to Stephen’s endless supply of coffee grounds. Yard waste -- grass clippings, leaves, etc. -- too. If you’re new, here’s a great chart for the DOs and DON’Ts of what goes into the bin. After you add a batch of “fresh” scraps, you always want to cover with some brown matter (newspaper, leaves, straw, sawdust, etc.). The brown stuff gives your compost more air and carbon, which are two essentials to the process.

#6: How/When to Use

We have yet to use any of the compost in our garden. You know your batch is “ready” when it’s nice and dark and breaks up easily. It just looks like incredibly rich, awesome soil. The amount of time it takes to get to this point can vary greatly, so be patient. Here’s some more information about using compost.

I’d love to hear about your composting process!

Leave your thoughts in the comments.

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Into Nature

Ada and I have been absolutely steeped in nature the past week or so. We first visited my hometown for a few days. You can’t look straight ahead without seeing something beautiful. It gets even better as you head deeper into the woods. So much better, that when I tried texting Stephen a few photos, I realized cell service was dead for miles.

The way life should be:

When I was young, I was completely unfazed by these types of scenes. I sort of figured most everywhere looked like this. Tall trees for hundreds of miles, babbling brooks, dirt roads snaking through the mountains, all of it. Then I lived in Ithaca for college and beyond, and I’m seeing I was just plain spoiled in the first quarter of my life. It makes me cherish moments I get to spend in areas that possess such specialness.

So, I’m trying to find little glimmers of it where we live now. Today we visited a local nature center to check out its free preschool hike around the woods. The center itself had some neat displays and hands-on type stuff around. I definitely want to head back there for a longer visit. We saw all sorts of birds, animals, insects, and plants. Ada’s favorite part was wearing our rain boots so we could take the muddy trail next to the creek that was swollen from last night’s flash flooding.



Sigh . . .



There are so many reasons I love spending time outdoors with Ada. It’s quiet. It’s fleeting (6 months of deep freeze teaches us to seize the day!). We’re usually engaged in some wonderful conversations. Talk that leads to learning for all of us, really. It’s totally free entertainment. Most of all, it’s connecting with our roots.

Whether we’re out deep in the Tioga State Forest or simply lounging in our backyard by the creek, I know this is going to be a good season.

PS: Thanks for all your great ant eradication ideas. I did end up spritzing around a bit of peppermint oil. I then wiped it so mostly the smell is all that’s left (to keep the cats safe).  We’ll see what happens -- at least the house smells nice. So far, there seem to be fewer. Fingers crossed!

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Our Garden + Yard

Mother’s Day weekend was spent in the mud this year. I will never pretend to have a green thumb. In fact, if it isn’t black, it’s at least turning darker in color with each passing day. The thing is, I really wish I knew more about plants and how to maintain them. My mother-in-law could spend weeks elbow-deep in the dirt, so she was kind enough to offer some help to get our operation up and running.

For the raised bed, we planted basil, cucumbers, tomatoes of a few different varieties, and some peppers. I wanted to get more, but also decided that keeping it relatively simple might be the best decision.


I also planted all those seedlings I started in the house in another section. Some of them -- pumpkins, mostly -- are doing quite well. There are a few other sprigs popping up, so I’ll be interested to see what survives and thrives here.

See the greens? They’re there if you squint:


Ada’s garden is a mix of different bright flowers and plants that she can care for herself. She loves bringing her little watering can over each night and giving these guys a drink. It’s this new fun part of the bedtime routine where we give all the flowers and plants water and breathe in some outdoor air before retreating into the air conditioning for the night.

She loves it. Can you tell?


Then on the deck we have some potted herbs. I decided to keep these closer to the door so I could run out and snip some when I cook. We have cilantro and more basil. Again, we stuck with the basics -- stuff we always use/eat. My in-laws bought me a beautiful hanging basket for Mother’s Day, so we have that hanging on a hook too. We also found a few other plants in and around the yard that we potted to add some atmosphere.


Of course, the compost bin!


Another big project we have going this year is scrubbing and staining the deck. Not sure when this will all go down, but the other day we got some rain so I went out on my hands and knees and just started scrubbing. It looks great, so once we get more rain today, I’d like to finish so we can stain sometime soon.

Can you tell what’s clean/what isn’t?


Stephen also has this thing about dandelions. The people who used to own our house did all the chemical lawn services. So, our yard has relatively few weeds . . . for now. But he goes out every single night and hunts down anything that might otherwise disrupt the ocean of green.

We’ll see how long it lasts!


Otherwise, the other “outdoor” issue we’re dealing with . . . ants. Tiny black ants. Hundred of them. They’ve built an ant highway in my dining room . . . that we haven’t been eating in lately anyway (so I don’t know why they’re coming in there). I’ve tried cayenne pepper and vinegar. Those two things actually worked with a smaller issue in the living room. Otherwise, these tiny guys just keep coming. And coming!

Some of my friends suggested cinnamon essential oil or terro or powder or other stuff. I am willing to try it all. We did cave and get some of that bait things that the ants are supposed to take back to the nests. If you have any suggestions, please let me know. We have never had an ant issue, and my skin is seriously crawling!

What are your big outdoor projects this year?

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Grilled Veggie Quesadillas

One of our favorite family meals = Grilled Veggie Quesadillas. I can buy all the ingredients I need at Aldi on the cheap. In fact, this dinner usually makes it into our weekly rotation, no matter what. So, for Cinco De Mayo this year, I thought I’d get a few fun ingredients to kick them in overdrive. I also picked up a quesadilla grill basket for the long outdoor eating season ahead.

I guess I should note first that we loved this dinner so much, I actually forgot to snap photos of the finished product. Oops!

GRILLED VEGGIE QUESADILLAS

To make this dinner, I planned ahead. I roasted the following veggies at 375 degrees F for around 45 minutes. Of course, you can grill your veggies first and then assemble -- but weeknights sometimes require a little forward thinking if we want to cook out. I found it helpful to cut veggies into large chunks and then cut them smaller once they were roasted/cooled.

• Cauliflower
• Poblano peppers
• Onion
• Portabella mushrooms
• Use whatever you like, though!

From there, I had some small stone ground corn tortillas that I piled with a layer of veggies. I’ll be honest: I don’t think the tortillas I used were great on the grill. You have to like them almost chip-like crisp in the end. Kind of sharp. They still taste amazing, but when we make these again, I’m going to use softer flour tortillas.

Pile like so . . .


After the veggies comes the CHEESE.

I used a seasoned taco mix I found at Wegmans.


From there, add another tortilla on top. Alternatively, you can use larger tortillas, pile up half with toppings and fold into a crescent. Either way, you’ll load your into the quesadilla grill basket. Secure the top. I was amazed and how well it held everything in place. Brush with a little olive oil.

Then place on your grill --  you’ll want the cover closed -- for several minutes (around 5 -- depending) on each side until lightly browned. The cheese will be melty. The veggies nice and hot. Seriously, we started munching on one before we got everything to the table.

Slice and enjoy!


We served ours with some Roasted Tomatillo + Corn Salsa I made last August and had frozen. Also some Greek yogurt and lots of hot sauce. Next time I’ll be sure to snap a finished photo. If they last!

I can’t wait to cook our first pizza on the grill. Seriously. If I lived in a warmer climate, I think I’d be a much happier person. Being outside in the warmth and sunshine makes me feel like an entirely different person. I will certainly cherish these next several months until we’re in the deep freeze again.

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Spring Bucket List

It was like a whole new world outdoors yesterday. Yeah, there was still some stubborn snow on the ground. (And, yeah -- we’re getting more over the weekend.) But we don’t take walking outdoors without coats (and shoes -- in my case!) for granted. Even in April. Here are a few things on our spring wish list for 2015.

I think it’s going to be a good one.

#1: Finish projects. We have several projects in our home that we started and never finished. Painting is a big one, and we’ve already spent some time this week checking rooms off the list. I have a few things to complete in the kitchen, but I’ll be writing more about this stuff soon.

#2: Hike in nature. We didn’t do much of the whole hiking thing with Ada when she was a baby. But we’d like to start taking her to more local natural attractions. So, some hikes in the Finger Lakes are in order.

#3: Take a weekend getaway. We don’t have the means to travel much, but I’d like to go on a one or two night trip somewhere -- with Ada -- within close driving distance. Maybe the ADK or down in PA. Not quite sure yet. Suggestions?

#4: Go river rafting down Pine Creek. There’s an all day 17-mile trek that Stephen and I would like to check out before the waters dry up in the summer.

#5: Cook out. Time to bust out the grill for the season and start cooking up some meals al fresco. I’m thinking grilled pizza is on the top of my list. I need to perfect that method/recipe.

#6: Do some landscaping. New year, new house. We want to start looking at landscaping. We won’t be able to do it all this year, but I have pinned some ideas of flowers and plants that I like. Can’t wait to get our yard looking lush.

#7: Visit family. Along with other mini trips, we’d like to get down to visit both families at least a couple times before the summer. Ada doesn’t have cousins, so it’s nice to see her spend time with Stephen’s cousins’ children in particular.

#8: Race here and there. I don’t have a ton of races on the calendar, but I’d like to do a few in the time I have before TTC again. After a few weeks of ramping up mileage from zero to, well, anything -- I’m planning to follow this intermediate 10K plan for the Laurel Festival 10K in June.

#9: Frequent festivals. There are lots of big and small festivals that go on in our area -- and we haven’t been to most of them. I want to get out there and experience the culture (food, music, fun) our area has to offer versus always wishing I was living elsewhere.

#10: Advance the homestead. Along with making the yard look pretty with more plantings, I want to get our composting system going and plant our vegetable garden. I think I might be a bit too late to get my seeds started (I had such good plans!), but I may end up getting some plants from a local nursery this year.

What’s on your spring bucket list?

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Gifts for the Active Family

When friends or family ask us what we want or need for Christmas, birthdays, etc., we often don't know what to tell them. As far as "stuff" goes, we're pretty good. But if I think hard, we have our best times when we're outdoors, being active, enjoying the world together. And there are a whole host of items that are helpful for making this experience more enjoyable or comfortable.

Here are some ideas from our family to yours. And, yes, those Sorel boots are well worth the investment! Stephen just bought a pair, too. We use them a lot on their own -- but also with our snowshoes, which we're finally getting use of this year!




One thing's for sure: There aren't many shopping days left (in general OR online -- Amazon.com says just 2 days left for free shipping for Christmas delivery), so be sure to check out these other gift lists.

Fun Gifts for Foodies
Active Gifts for Women
On Stephen's List
On Ashley's List
On Ada's List + 80 toddler gift ideas split into 20 fun categories!

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A (Photo) Tale of Two Gardens

You may be getting sick of seeing our little dirt patch by now. I mean, how many posts can we do about one tiny garden? Probably a gazillion . . . but this will likely be the last one until we start harvesting in later summer.

We started the transformation by extending the garden by 1/3 -- making it a well-balanced square.

There was a lot of digging involved. Stephen did most of it, but I helped by loosening the soil so it'd be suitable for planting. During the process, we filled a huge garbage can with our "waste" -- basically just a carpet of grass and some stone.

We have a special can for this duty. The one the squirrels got to -- I have no idea why knawing on plastic is fun for them.


I found this weird glass thing in our garden. I got all excited about it until I realized it fell out of a lawn ornament my friend gave us. I guess we don't have buried treasure anywhere back there.

But that won't keep me from dreaming . . .


Then came the plants. Several herbs given to us by Stephen's mom: Mexican coriander, basil, oregano, and even curry!


And then some that we had picked up at Home Depot: Cayenne pepper, orange bell pepper, heirloom tomatoes, zucchini, summer squash, and onions.


After a little less than an hour of digging holes, tossing in some organic growing soil, and watering, the whole thing started to shape up nicely. I'll admit, though, those onions were annoying. You have to plant them in rows . . . and I have no idea if they'll actually grow.



Here's a closer look:



We also worked on our patio garden (garden #2). The walkway is almost complete. Crazy to us is that we need more mulch. I feel like we've literally poured in a ton!


And here's the veggie garden in relation to our back patio:


We've come a long way from these days!




For now, we're satisfied . . . so our next project will be the actual covered patio, not the yard itself. It's looking far less like this:


And way more like this mess:


What's your big outdoor project this year? Just leave a comment or email us at neverhomemaker [at] gmail [dot] com.

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Hunter Mountain

We went to the Catskills this weekend. And I'm making progress on my happiness checklist.

Outside for hours? Check.
Picture taking? Also check.

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