Gaerte Gang

March, April and May Ohhhhh MY!

noreply@blogger.com (The Gaertegang Homestead) — Thu, 16 May 2013 17:12:00 +0000

We have been up to a record number of projects since February when I last blogged! Instead of updating my "scrapbook" on all the things we have been doing since then I thought I would just update on garden/homesteading stuff today.

First, we incubated our own chicks! Five out of nine hatched and have at this point are out in the coop with all the other laying hens.

In April Justin enjoyed a lot of time playing in the dirt.

Lance is always willing to get in on the action!

We have enjoyed two wonderful bonfires this spring so far.

Hot dogs and smores...the supper of champions

This Spring I also expanded from two hives to three.

The new hive is doing OK, not great but OK.

Here you can see my Queen bee left her cell to join the hive.

It always makes me happy to see the girls out and about.

Last fall we took down all of the existing fence in preparation for new fencing this spring.

We are on schedule to install the new fence over Memorial Day Weekend.

I'm not sure what I like better, the pretty green grass or the fence all lined up and ready to be installed.

Shortly after we moved in, we were gifted these fantastic laundry line poles. Two years later they are installed and now being used! I'm overjoyed and smile each time I get to use it.

Last week I harvested my first little bundle of rhubarb. Rhubarb pie is my sweetheart's favorite, so when I get a chance to catch my breath I shall finally make him one.

My little strawberry patch is all abloom with gorgeous flowers!

Lots of flowers equals lots of berries....we can hardly wait!!!

A girl riding with her dad is always a good thing!

After a cold and wet early Spring, I think we are in full garden mode. Our peas (far back), onions, garlic (not shown) and potatoes (closest). are all up and growing well. We have planted corn, carrots, lettuce, spinach, and I just started putting in tomato plants this week. I also planted a little herb garden that I can't wait to collect fresh herbs from all summer!

I have added some perennial flowers (lavender, verbena, and bee balm) and some annuals to the landscaping. Now I'm just waiting for them to fill in (so I don't have to weed) and burst with color!

I'm always looking for cute things to put in the landscape (cheap stuff). I used old chore boots as planters, I picked up this birdhouse for $5 at a garage sale, the milk cans I got years ago at an auction for $1, galvanized buckets (same story).

Thanks to the previous owners we have an amazing hedge of lilac bushes along part of our drive. Today as I type, there is a lovely breeze blowing their lilac scent into the house! Dreamy...

We have so many pretty birds, we love watching them so we dusted of the birdhouses, and bought some feed last week.

I love making my porch warm and cozy feeling. To me, this is cozy.

The Lord gave the gift of this beautiful rainbow to enjoy recently.......gasp!

It's mid May so it's time to shear the sheep for their first time. I think it's safe to say Caleb was as wet as the sheep, but I'm happy to report we did not shear him.

Our most recent adventure is plowing, disking, and preparing the soil of part of our pasture. It's now becoming a one acre (give or take) plot of organic field corn. We plan to use it to feed our animals this winter and beyond.

I'm pretty sure these two guys are having way to much fun playing in the dirt. I'm glad they are having fun, and it gives me an excuse to take more pictures without getting "the look".

These three men have been there cheering them on the whole time.

We also plowed up this little patch. It's the future location for the pumpkins, gourds, and maybe some sunflowers, zinnias, and cosmos.

So there you have it folks! We are having a good time checking things off our list, finishing up our school year, planting the rest of the garden, pulling weeds, and working on the 4-H projects!

February Festivities

noreply@blogger.com (The Gaertegang Homestead) — Fri, 08 Mar 2013 12:00:00 +0000

Last month was full of fun, and here are a few other happenings.

Lance is now the third child to need vision correction...Before

AFTER: He wasn't very happy about having to get

them, but has since warmed up to the idea of being able to see much better.

I think he looks rather handsome, although I am completely biased. I think he looks very teenager-ish, don't you?

We visited the library and grabbed a few things to read. These three books were my selections.

So naturally we snuggled up and passed our time reading them before we had to give them back.

February also included a party with our Sunday School class. We always have such a great time together...Love...Love...Love this group of people!

This is probably my favorite picture I captured this past month on my IPhone. I looked up and saw this in my rear view mirror, and immediately stopped and snapped this picture. Jasper thought he needed to ride along to pick up the boys from a science day field trip.

Julia and Justin enjoyed a Daddy/Daughter Date night together. She totally loves having her dad to herself. He treated her to Mexican food.

I have also spent LOTS of time baking and making an ample supply of elderberry syrup. We ran out for a few days.....then we got sick! Lesson learned, ALWAYS have syrup on hand.

We have a couple of big projects brewing around here, I can't wait to show you what we've been up to! I hope to post more on that next week!

Celebrating Valentine's Day!

noreply@blogger.com (The Gaertegang Homestead) — Thu, 07 Mar 2013 12:00:00 +0000

Justin and I decided we wanted to do something different this year. Instead of going out to eat and spending some cash, we asked the kids if they would like to "put on a date night" for us. They immediately said yes and were very excited. We told them they were in charge of all the details: Menu, cooking, table service, and clean-up. I have to say my heart melted with such appreciation for all the thought they put into the night.

Julia was our waitress, and she wore her princess dress to look all fancy for us.

Caleb and Zach were the waiters, they brought us our food. Caleb even gave each of us a Bible verse about love while we were waiting for our food. I love how they were so excited to put on their ties for us. Caleb even delivered our food on his roller blades. I failed to get a picture of it though. Seriously so stinkin' adorable!

Lance was master chef and was in charge of when they sent the food out. He executed a fine meal.

Justin joked about where our bill was....a few minutes later this appeared.

I think this clearly states the menu they came up with...I love our payment! Justin was very proud of them and tipped each one of them with real money. They were thrilled and surprised.

We all had such a great time I think we might makes this a yearly event. It could be real fun to see what they come up with over the next few years. They are all for it, and it's been really fun starting a new family tradition.

Sleepover Mania

noreply@blogger.com (The Gaertegang Homestead) — Wed, 06 Mar 2013 12:00:00 +0000

Winter is a slow down time for us and this year the boys have really been living it up with sleepovers nearly every weekend. We either have a house full of extra kids or they are away having a blast at someone else's home. Several weekends ago I caught a few pictures of what it's like to sleepover at the Gaertegang Homestead.

First, there is a lot of eating, which requires lots of cooking on my part. I'm bracing myself for what this will mean in the years to come. After supper, Justin told everyone a story. He is such a great story teller......the kids LOVED it!

There is usually some Wii playing with lots of laughing, and animated instruction giving to whomever has the remotes.

No sleepover would be complete without a movie or two and some popcorn.

If all your brothers have friends over and your the only girl, you and your mom have a tea party, play hair dresser, or quilt together.

On a recent occasion Julia was able to have her first girlfriend sleepover party herself. They had a grand time together.

We are enjoying our time with friends before the many busy months ahead begin and sleepovers become harder to arrange until after the 4-H fair.

Caleb's DOUBLE DIGIT Birthday!

noreply@blogger.com (The Gaertegang Homestead) — Tue, 05 Mar 2013 12:00:00 +0000

On February 21, our spunky and energetic son entered double digits. Ten years ago during a crazy snow and ice storm he entered the world. His birthday also marked the beginning of my journey as a full-time stay at home mom. It's impossible to count the blessings that this whole journey has granted me. I am thankful for each trial and triumph all the same.

Caleb enjoyed a fun sleepover in honor of his birthday, complete with Lemon Cake and Cookies and Cream Ice Cream.

As a ten year old Caleb loves building Legos, listening to music, he is learning a few chords on the guitar. He loves our puppy dog Jasper, and reads to him nearly every day during school.

He also thought Jasper should enjoy one of his favorite gifts. A hand me down IPOD shuffle loaded with hundreds of songs! Caleb your growing into a great young man, we love you very much.

Snow Much Fun

noreply@blogger.com (The Gaertegang Homestead) — Mon, 04 Mar 2013 12:00:00 +0000

This winter hasn't given us as much snow as my family would prefer, but it has provided enough on occasion for some entertainment.

Lance is heading up the sledding party

I barely caught this separate incident on camera...

Project snowman demolition quickly followed! They are so proud.

Ta-Dah.....Look what we did, Caleb exclaimed.

I simply LOVE this moment...It looks like a warrior call, don't you think?

I hope your enjoying the hopefully fleeting days of the winter months. Now that March has rolled around we are getting very excited about Spring!

100th Day of School!

noreply@blogger.com (The Gaertegang Homestead) — Wed, 13 Feb 2013 12:00:00 +0000

It's always such a happy day when we reach our 100th day of school. It's has become a tradition to do something special that day, and we continued that tradition this year. First, the kids did a writing exercise. The kids got to choose from two story starters.

#1: If you had $100 dollars, what would you buy and why.

#2: If you were 100 years old, write a story about your life at that age.

Each of the kids wrote their story then shared it with the class. Julia was so cute with her illustration and the story she "wrote". I even got video of some of them sharing.....so sweet.

Next we got out the mini-marshmallows and toothpicks to prepare for the next activity.

First everyone made piles of ten till they reached 100.

Then I gave them the freedom to start creating whatever they wanted.

Zach is playing it cool while he is building his masterpiece.

Caleb was making some kind of structure with interesting angles.

Lance is an engineer at heart, he loves constructing things.

There you have it, a peek into our morning of fun with 100. It always feels like a we are on the home stretch with the school year when we reach the 100th day. It always strikes me as crazy that we have completed over half of our school year at this point. This is my 7th year as a teacher to my children, and the 7th year we have celebrated 100 days of school. I can't tell you how unbelievably fast those years have flown by! This will be Lance's last year to celebrate the 100th day of school, since he's on to middle school!! I'm thinking he might be to cool to participate with us next year. Although homeschooling my children has been a major sacrifice on every level, and their have been several occasions where tears have flowed, I wouldn't change our decision even for a second. When I ask my kids they say the same thing. I totally understand that homeschooling is not for every family, but it sure has been a gift to our family.

January in Review

noreply@blogger.com (The Gaertegang Homestead) — Mon, 11 Feb 2013 12:00:00 +0000

The month of January was fun for all of us. We got to celebrate my sweet Hubby's Birthday! I'm not sure how many men ask for a pad for their tractor seat, but he was tickled to get it. That made us all very happy to get it for him.

We always celebrate at my in-laws house with cake and ice cream!

He got this vintage t-shirt of Waylon Jennings. It's incredibly soft and feels wonderful. Again he was thrilled, again I wondered why.

We got to go to the Shrine Circus! This was the kids first time to go to the circus and they enjoyed every minute. We have a really great time! I forgot my good camera, so we just got a few pictures together before the circus started.

Since Justin is still healing up, we've been doing more relaxing than usual. Julia and Daddy spent some time just hanging out and watching a little show.

We have been spoiling Jasper and he has enjoyed cuddling up with the kids while they read. He is currently taking some dancing lessons from Caleb, shown here. I'm still trying to decide whether he is thrilled or really wanting someone to send him outside.

We also celebrated out 100th Day of school.......lots of pictures to come.

Quilting FUN

noreply@blogger.com (The Gaertegang Homestead) — Thu, 07 Feb 2013 20:14:00 +0000

This winter I have been able to make a little progress in my quilting studio. This is a baby boy quilt I gave it to a girlfriend who just had a bundle of joy.

All I used is a little charm pack. I love the blue and brown together.

I went to a quilting retreat in January and I ended up working on this project. Great big 25" star blocks, both of which I LOVE. The colors are yellow, brown, oranges, with a white background. I still have some work to do on the blocks, along with adding some sashing as well. When it's all finished it will be a queen size, and have a new home on my bed in the fall seasons.

Miss Julia has always been interested in my quilting, but lately she has really been struck with the bug of wanting to make things herself. She also has a complete LOVE for fabric. After brainstorming with her we have decided that we will make some baby doll quilts to sell. With that money she wants to buy her own sewing machine (with protective guards) for her to sew along side me.

She has been sitting on my lap doing the actual sewing herself while I control the speed and foot pedal. She giggles a lot, she asks me how she's doing, and then admires her work.

We are having a lot of FUN and enjoying our time together.

After several hours of sewing (yes she actually will sew with me for hours), this is what we came up with for our second quilt. We used some 5" squares to make this bright baby doll quilt. Now we need to sew the rows together!

Julia and I also attended a quilt club meeting this week and scored some really great (free) fabric! This is just what I collected.....she had her own stash she collected. She came home flying high and ready to go back again next month.

When we finish a few more baby doll quilts we will be sure to post them here in case any of you are interested in supporting her sewing machine fund, and fabric accumulation habit.

60 degrees in the Middle of January!

noreply@blogger.com (The Gaertegang Homestead) — Thu, 17 Jan 2013 12:00:00 +0000

Say what? Topping out around 60 degrees in the middle of January in Indiana just doesn't happen.

It did this past Saturday though, and I took advantage of it and headed out with my neglected Canon Rebel. (Since inheriting my Iphone I've been lazy at getting my "big camera" out and using it.) So here we go on our stroll of the homestead on the beautiful, but unusual January day. I followed my hubby out to woods without him knowing it. I loved this shot of him got hanging out looking over things.

Flowers blooming in January...seriously? Yep in my little chick trough feeder...LOVE IT!

I know this picture is a little weird to some, but it's really exciting to me.....COMPOST BABY!!

When it gets as warm as 60 degrees my girls decided to come out and enjoy the sunshine. I can't even begin to tell you what an blessing this was to me. I haven't been able to check on them at all since I harvested honey in September. Once the temps stay below sixty your not suppose to open the hive box anymore (to cold for the bees). I still didn't open the hives up this weekend, but to see so many of them out flying around was just about the best thing ever! The fact that I know they are still alive and thriving makes me so very grateful!

I love looking across our 24 acre field beside us and seeing GREEN! I has all kind of beans and greens that were planted last fall to help replenish the soil with nitrogen naturally.

There is something that gives me warm and fuzzy feeling about seeing all the wood piles we have around the homestead. I'm thinking it has something to do with my LOVE of a good campfire. My father in law says it might have something to do with me not cutting the wood, but burning it at a rapid pace. Ya maybe, but who's keeping track right?

Jasper thought the whole day outside with all his favorite people was quit grand....

I think this picture should be calle, "Where there is a will, there is a way." I'm sure others might have an entirely different name for it. I think it's awesome: Crutches, feed sack over his foot, and riding one of his favorite toys. I'm thinking this is what memories are made of!

Our egg laying ladies are so happy to see the snow melt and scratch at the ground again! Our rooster, "Feather Foot" is keeping his ladies close, he's not sure about the weird lady with that black thing in front of here faces following them around.

Our Ducks seemed to jumping out of their skin with excitement. Quacking the whole days while milling about from here to there. They found a little water wallow where our 4-H pigs were last year.

I didn't take them but a second to decide it was a perfect day for swim. Unfortunately, warm weather in January was never expected to last and now we have highs in the 30's all week. It was great while it lasted, and I think it's safe to say EVERYONE at the Homestead took advantage of the day!

For the rest of January we plan to maybe visit the farm show, order some flower seeds for our nectar loving bees, amd order our veggie seeds as well. If I get really ambitious I might even start to map our layout of the veggie garden.

Christmas 2012

noreply@blogger.com (The Gaertegang Homestead) — Mon, 14 Jan 2013 21:27:00 +0000

I know everyone has moved on and is over Christmas, but I couldn't let the whole month of January pass and not post anything. We love to start off our each Christmas celebration reading Luke 2.

Caleb was excited about the Lego set he scored.

Julia loving her Hello Kitty slipper

Zach sneaking a peak into what he might have under the wrapping

Lance was glad to add a hatchet to his tool collection

My in-laws got a beautiful quilt from Grandma Gaerte! The picture doesn't due it justice at all.

January 2013: The Game Plan

noreply@blogger.com (The Gaertegang Homestead) — Fri, 11 Jan 2013 16:38:00 +0000

It's been awhile since I've logged onto my blog. Not because of lack of want to, but mainly because of time retraints. If I'm being real honest since starting school in September and schooling all four of the kids extra time has been hard to come by. I knew schooling all four of them would require some sacrifices in some other area, I just didn't know it would be my blog that suffered the most. I love blogging, aka: scrapbooking, but I refuse to feel like I have to do it all and run myself so thin I have nothing left to give my family. Thus my reason for being A-Wall for the last month, give or take.

At the end of 2012, three days before Christmas, my sweet hubby fell off the attic stairs backwards and broke the heal of his foot, and my oldest two sons had a severe allergic reaction to poison ivy after a day of woodcutting. At the same time, my oldest son was suffering from severe somach pains which led us to the pediatrician on Day 6 and the to the ER on Day 7 and then two more days until he found relief. The verdict: a weird virus which brought no other systems other than stomach pain. After a couple days of thinking we were on the road to recovery for everyone, I had a puking daughter, and a son with an ear ache. I know it just keeps gettting better right? So there you go all my excuses wrapped up in one big sob story. Although it sounds like a horrible senerio, it has been a priceless time of our family really working together to help serve one another.

On a happy and encouraging note, we had a lovely Christmas with family amongst the "mess". I have been able to work on a few quilting projects....yahooo for me! I finished a baby quilt for a dear friend who just added a fourth child to their family. I just finished binding my first ever mini-quilt last night. I also currently have a lap quilt top in the making. This has been the most quilting I have done all year long! It feels great to ecaspe life for little bits of time to be creative and make something beautiful. I am looking forward to next weekend when I am whisking away to a quilting retreat with a great friend and my mother-in-law! This will be my second year at the retreat. If only I could figure out what I wanted to create. Then if the fabric would just go ahead and cut "itself" out, that would be just lovely (thus the reason I adore pre-cut fabrics). I can't wait for what God has in store for us.

HOMESTEAD GAME PLAN:

I'm very excited with what 2013 has in store for us. Justin and I had a little farm meeting and set some goals for our homestead. We have made our list of projects we would like to check off our list. We have even made our list of "garden must haves". We plan to start on these lists once we get our first hint of Spring weather. (It might be a while we know.)

BLOG GAME PLAN:

I will blog when I can, which might be slim in this season of my life. Then again maybe we will continue to improve our daily school schedule which would allow for more time for me to blog. We shall see. Serving my family must come first, scrapbooking has to be later on the list. Thank you to those who follow us on our adventures and encourage me with your comments.

Much Love, The Gaertegang Homestead

Our Trip to Missouri

noreply@blogger.com (The Gaertegang Homestead) — Sat, 24 Nov 2012 12:00:00 +0000

We were very excited to get to take a family vacation and see Aunt Jessica.

OFF WE GO!

Our first stop was St. Louis, MO...The Arch

Crossing the Mississippi River....

Our walk to the Arch....gorgeous view!

Welcome to big city...

The view from the top of the arch.....

We are way up there....

bye-bye arch....

again gorgeous....

Once we arrived to see Aunt Jess took us hiking and to see the springs.

The gorgeous springs...

Caleb checking out the super clear water.....

Aunt Jess & Julia......

Such cute guys!

Our favorite part of vacation is always taking off on the back roads and checking out the countryside.

We saw lots of grazing cattle...

While out sightseeing on the Army Base we found this fun Arcade Game...

Fun was had by all......

While Aunt Jess and Justin took off to a bluegrass jam, the kids and I went to watch a FREE movie on the base.

Justin got to try on some Army gear....

We had such a great time!

Barn Project

noreply@blogger.com (The Gaertegang Homestead) — Fri, 23 Nov 2012 12:00:00 +0000

In October we marked another barn project of our list. We have been in the process of replacing rotten posts with new pressure treated cemented posts. The project has come along nicely thanks to all my hubby's hard work. The other project we wanted to get done before the snow started flying was cement another one of the stalls. Here are some pictures of our progress.

Grandpa Gaerte is always such a helper

Here we go.....

Justin smoothly it all out

The boys are making sure this spot is already ready to make a concrete pad.

Our Thankful Jar

noreply@blogger.com (The Gaertegang Homestead) — Mon, 05 Nov 2012 03:22:00 +0000

The couple of year for the month of November we have done a couple of fun activities to help our family focus on being thankful. This is a character trait we always strive to focus on in our home. This year I decided we would do a "Thankful Jar".

A simple jar with pieces of paper to write on.

The top of our jar reminds us who we give our thanks to!

Family Pictures 2012

noreply@blogger.com (The Gaertegang Homestead) — Tue, 23 Oct 2012 19:52:00 +0000

Recently, we had the joy of having our family pictures taken by Amber Archer Photography

This first picture is my favorite family picture....

Family picture #2.....

Family Pic #3..not my favorite since the wind was 30mph and my hair is all blown about.

The kids each got to pick an animal to get their picture taken. Lance and his duck.

Julia and her precious bunny, Peter.

Zach and his bunny, Mr. Rumples.

Caleb started his picture with Jasper, but he didn't really cooperate, so he hopped on the tractor.

This picture is actually my favorite...to my children's disgust...I got a great BIG print made!

Julia and I struck a pose for the camera....

I love that little lady!

All my men.....

A HUGE THANK YOU to Amber Archer Photography and her hubby Mark for coming to our home and giving us these great pictures to treasure for many years to come.

Preparing our Garden for Winter

noreply@blogger.com (The Gaertegang Homestead) — Fri, 12 Oct 2012 11:00:00 +0000

I was able to pick up some Everbearing Strawberries the last week of September to extend our strawberry patch for next year. I added 15 new plants.

After such a hard summer, I can't believe how gorgeous and full both my patches are looking.

We ripped out the rest of our vegetation a couple weeks ago and began to fall plow.

Here is a picture of one our hard working tractors doing her job.

Hubby got the plow all painted up nice and perdy....so he could get it all dirty

The garden look so nice all plowed and ready for winter. Although Justin and I both commented on how much bigger is looks all plowed up with nothing planted in it.

I'm not sure about your household, but we are already beginning to talk about what to do for next year. We are planning to hold a "homestead" meeting here soon and hash out some goals and projects for the coming year. All I have left to do is get my garlic in the ground! I should have did it two weeks ago...I kinda forgot! I'm hoping at the end of this week to get em' in the ground.

Making Apple Cider

noreply@blogger.com (The Gaertegang Homestead) — Thu, 11 Oct 2012 11:00:00 +0000

We were blessed with the opportunity to make some apple cider a couple weeks ago. We had never pressed cider before and were excited to get to be a part of it this year. In case you haven't pressed cider before, here is how the process works.

First the apples were gathered/picked, then we rinsed them off.

Apples are then put into this little hopper and ground up. The pieces of apple drop into a 5 gallon wooden bucket below.

Then the magic happens, apple pieces are pressed and cider appears!

We got a little over a gallon of cider per five gallon bucket. We brought home five containers of this ohhhh so YUMMY goodness. It was such a hit that we had them ALL GONE in five days! I'm happy none of it was wasted, but sad that is all gone already! I hope we get the chance to do it again.

Picket Fence Project completed!

noreply@blogger.com (The Gaertegang Homestead) — Wed, 10 Oct 2012 11:00:00 +0000

This past spring around Mother's Day, we started a big project.

I wanted a picket fence around the fruit garden.

Here is the fence is progress.....

One side done three to go.....

I just love this picture of my hard working man! (Sorry honey I couldn't resist!)

All the sides are done, and the gate is up.....Now it's time to paint!

The weather was SO HOT this summer it made it difficult to want to get outside and paint. We made good time and finished mid-Sept with the painting. It feels good to have this project completed!

All Things Fall

noreply@blogger.com (The Gaertegang Homestead) — Tue, 09 Oct 2012 11:00:00 +0000

Fall is such a lovely time of year. Bring out the hoodies, start up the bonfires, and enjoying life at a little slower pace. I'm not exactly sure if "slower" pace is accurate but it is compared to our summer pace anyway. This last weekend I spent some time finishing my fall decorating. Here are a few shots of what it looks like around the homestead. Let's start at my back door....

Someone gave me these adorable pickets last year. I have one on each side of my garage door.

I love this rustic flower sign. I picked it up at a local sale just a week ago.

On the warmer sunny mornings I am still enjoying some quiet time outside in the mornings.

This is the entrance to the covered porch.....

As we move through October the kids and are going to start our

"Thankful Lists".

Each day we will write one or things we are grateful for this season.

We will then read them aloud to each other right before Thanksgiving, cultivating thankful hearts at harvest time is a set-up leading into the Christmas season.

Preserving the Goodness of the Seasons

noreply@blogger.com (The Gaertegang Homestead) — Mon, 08 Oct 2012 12:29:00 +0000

There is something about the site of pretty jars that makes my heart go pitter patter....

I have spent much time and effort collecting these little ladies. Garage sale, gifted to me, handed down to me, and auctions are my favorite places to find them. I had collected so MANY of them I thought there was no way I would actually ever really use all of them. By the end of summer, I had enough to fill up all four shelves of my three shelving units. This Spring this is what my pantry looked like.....BEFORE..........

I was out of many things and low on everything else. I had high hopes and day dreams of filling those empty shelves with beautiful produce, fruits, and sauces. Despite a terrible drought the good Lord blessed our efforts to the brim. I am thankful he provided us with such a bounty, and the encouragement to keep working hard all summer long in the terrible heat.
HARVEST BOUNTY TOTALS

Before I give you a run down of what was accomplished I wanted to let you know that I didn't do it all by myself! I had FIVE helpers! Plowing, planting, pulling weeds, watering plants, moving sprinklers, watching timers, and then doing it all over again and again all season long. It was very hard work for the size of garden we took on this year, but boy ohhhh boy did we have a lot of fun!

Green Beans: 80qts

Potatoes: 14 qts canned, 2 BIG crates of fresh in basement

Onions: I had enough to make all my salsa and sauces. I don't have a total number though.

Salsa: 20pts, 28qts

Green Peppers: I have enough for all the salsa and sp. sauce. I also have a gallon freezer bag for later.

Corn: 53 pts, 14qts, 7 dozen ears enjoyed fresh from the garden

Currant Jelly: 2pts, 9 small jars

Sugar Snap Peas: I just planted enough to eat fresh from the garden. YUMMY!
Carrots: 3qts
Spinach: harvested several times, enjoyed by all

Blueberries: 37.5 pts FROZEN I bought 30 lbs this year, hopefully in a few years they will all be from my bushes.....but that might take a few more years.

Tomatoes:
Spaghetti Sauce: 43qts
Juice: 30qts
Pizza Sauce: 9qts, 3pts

Ketchup: 8pts, 2 jelly jars I already know that I should have made MUCH more!

Rhubarb: 8qts FROZEN, I bought 10lbs. this year, next year should be a great year for my plants.

Strawberries: 18qts. FREEZER JAM

Apple Pie Filling: 36qts
Apple Butter: 8 pts, 3 jelly jars
Apple Syrup: 2pts

Pumpkin Puree: not done yet

Concord Grape Juice: 34qts

I'm tickled pink that we have an ample honey supply as well! (120 lbs.)
In case you weren't counting that is around 464 jars of food that was processed. (This official count
does not include the honey, not the pumpkin stuff we have to process) that was processed!

Our freezers are full of meat and shelves are stocked with baking staples, and our pantry if overflowing with yummy goodness. I'm not sure what winter has in store for us, but I think we will eat well while we gawk at seed magazines and dream of Spring to come again soon.
Here is the AFTER..........

HAPPY HARVEST!!!

I'm linking up to Homestead Revival Blog Hop.

Pumpkin/Gourd Harvest!

noreply@blogger.com (The Gaertegang Homestead) — Sat, 06 Oct 2012 11:00:00 +0000

We were really blessed with many lovely pumpkins and gourds this fall! I

t was fun to be able to decorate with as many fall goodies as I wanted.

Here are a few pictures of what we hauled out of the garden........

This is the first wagon full....then I decorated around the house till my heart was content....then Lance and I loaded up yet another wagon of just white pumpkins.

Aren't these little guys just the cutest?

Swan Necked Gourds

Mixed Gourds

I only got 8 orange pumpkins. I planted the same number of mounds for the silver moon pumpkins and got over 75 of them!

Silver Moon pumpkins

We decided to have our FIRST EVER Farmer's Market Stand! Justin is washing up the pumpkins.

Lance proudly helping his mama.

Our little stand! Nothing fancy, but we LOVE it.

Swan Gourds $3 Silver Moon Pumpkins $2 Little ole' Pump. $1

We are thrilled to have been getting business everyday!

The kids are so excited each time we check our little coffee can.

DIY: Mirror to Bulletin Board

noreply@blogger.com (The Gaertegang Homestead) — Fri, 05 Oct 2012 14:46:00 +0000

This summer I picked up this lovely, but really heavy old mirror. I think I paid $2 for it!

I had a few ideas for it right away.

Idea #1 Chalk board for my kitchen.....

Idea #2 Bulletin board for the school room

Idea #3 Paint the wood and leave the mirror as is.

Here are a couple BEFORE pictures:

I know the wood is in rough shape, lots of scratches, but nothing major.

I was drawn to the beautiful yet simple lines. Since I knew I would be painting it, the scratches didn't scare me off one little bit. I did this DIY before my kitchen table. I wanted to try out the Anne Sloan Chalk paint before starting a BIG project with it. I did lightly sand it it, because I used a flat black paint for the coat. Then I brushed on two coats of Anne Sloan Chalk Paint. Finally I have it light sanding, and then used some gorilla glue to attach these bulletin pieces (I already had!).

Ta-Dah folks, that's it...Here is the AFTER!

Now I just have to figure out where to hang it in the school room!

Flower Friday

noreply@blogger.com (The Gaertegang Homestead) — Fri, 28 Sep 2012 11:00:00 +0000

It's been many many weeks since I grabbed my camera to take some flowers pictures! I thought I would share with you what it blooms as fall begins to settle in my part of the country.

These petunias are still looking gorgeous. They have spread like wild fire..love it.

I was happy to see this little hydrangea bloom. Having the drought all summer I thought maybe I had lost the plant completely.

I cut back these phlox after they bloomed this summer, and now they are blooming again!

I don't what this plant is...I keep thinking I'll look it up, then I forget. Whatever it is its in full bloom and the hummingbirds really like it.

This lovely lady was a recent purchase. The picture doesn't do the rich beautiful color justice.

I got this little bee lady at a sale earlier this summer...isn't she cute?

I love the soft yellow with the bright yellow center.

This gal was also a recent buy, it's a type of coneflower! As the bloom ages it turn a lovely orange/rust color. Perfect for fall!

These tickseed I got on clearance for a quarter. I cut them back when I got them and they are now starting to bloom with newly established roots.

Also a quarter clearance buy, are you picking up on my "I have no self-control" in the landscape section of my local hardware store? I just can't pass up perennials when they are so dirt cheap.

I love these precious Gerber Daisies I planted in the Spring. They are still thriving.

I bought this new plant called a WAVE pansy. Same wonderful pansy you know, but it spreads like crazy like the WAVE petunias do.......I love these, they will thrive till almost Thanksgiving!

DIY Dinning Room Table Makeover

noreply@blogger.com (The Gaertegang Homestead) — Thu, 27 Sep 2012 11:00:00 +0000

You all know how I love a "makeover"! Taking a piece of furniture that has been well loved and breathing new life into it.........YEP sign me up! Here is the pre-makeover story. When I delivered my baby girl over we knew we would need to purchase a new table. In less than a year we would no longer all fit around our small round garage sale table anymore. We bought a new but very inexpensive table. It has served us very well over these past five years, but after enduring many booster seats it needed some help. Here is what my table looked like BEFORE.

You can't really tell from the picture but the top had many scratches and the second seat on the right has most of it's finish rubbed off from Julia's booster seat when she was little. I was very excited to try Anne Sloan Chalk Paint on this project! I had heard nothing but good things about it. I am was thrilled with the result I got as well! No sanding, no priming, just brushing on two coats of chalk paint, then three coats of wax to the top of my tabletop and I had my project completed! I have since decided that I will also add a double coat of polyurethane for a moisture barrier as well. I'm giddy happy with the results! This is the AFTER........

I am so thrilled that my mother-in-law recommended this lovely red when I was going back and forth about what color to paint the chairs! I'm smitten over them. I spray painted the chairs with a Rustoleaum Universal primer and paint in ONE spray paint. I did sand them a bit to rough the finish and then sprayed till my heart was content. Each chair required one can of spray paint.

The chalk paint rubbed away so wonderfully easy to give my new table the lovely distressed look I LOVE! I feel like I have an entirely new dinning room table and chairs.....but only spent about $50 to breath new life into my existing one. Money well spent, in my book, to extend the life of my much used furniture. My sweet hubby said that this project is his favorite DIY project makeover I had done. Ahhhh shucks honey....you made me blush!