The Impatient Farmgirl- Growing Strawberries in March!

So a few weeks ago I went to Costco and Sams and saw the first "spring bulb" displays out in the aisles.  Beautiful neat rows of white handled bags with pictures of sunripened sweet fruit beckoned to me.  "OH- Strawberries!!  Oh Raspberries!!!" I thought to myself excitedly, picturing my raised beds brimming with buckets of fruit that i could make jam with.

Photo from a great post on  houseofjoyfulnoise.com

They immediately triggered my "I better get these before they are all gone" response, and before I knew it-well, my cart was full.
It was such a strong pull from deep down that made me know that NOTHING was going to get me to miss out on this find!!
In hindsite- I am noticing that for the past several years I really believe that the stores have been conditioning us to "get it now or forget it" buying by offering seasonal and holiday items ridiculously early every year.   We  have become conditioned to get into crazy early pre-purchasing frenzy for pretty much everything. 

Back to the strawberries.  So there I was, in early MARCH in NEW YORK, looking at stuff I wasn't supposed to plant till May!!
Needless to say, not only did I get strawberry plants (for fear that if i waited till planting season they would already be gone)
but I also got blackberry and raspberry bushes, lillies and hollyhocks.

I justified it all to myself: the weather had been unseasonably mild for New York early spring, so I figured to ignore the steadfast rule to not put stuff in the ground till Mother's Day.

Heck- rules are made to be broken anyway- right??

So in the ground they went!!  I actually planted them all quite nicely in my raised beds!

I figured with the weather we were having- we most certainly wouldn't have to worry about snow...

DIY Easy Peasy Copper Bucket Vessel Sink !!!

Hello my Sparkly Friends!  Decorating my home in unique ways makes me sparkle.  I have had so many requests for a tutorial on how to create a vessel sink from an old bucket, so here it is....and it's SUPER SIMPLE!
You can use pretty much any old water sound pot or pan for a vessel sink. (If you are really brave you can try it with a large Old Porcelain  washing bowl- but you do risk it cracking.)  I made Copper vessel Sink quite by accident 9 years ago when I was redoing my house after we had a big fire.  You see, I had forgotten to order the sink I wanted for the downstairs powder room, and the contractor was ready to install it!

Yikes- I freaked out for about a second, and then remembered a picture I had seen in a Log Home magazine of a simple zinc bucket sink...   LOL   So I handed it to the contractor and said- "Here it is- just drill a hole in it please".  He looked at me in total shock and said "Uh, we can't do that".  I looked over at the plumber who by now was loving this job because of all of the unconventional things I was making them do
"YES we can" he said and took the sink into the back to drill it!  I had no base cabinet- I totally dislike "normal" base cabinets.  I had a chunk of rough sawn wood left over from my fireplace mantle and had the guys create a base for my bucket sink out of that.

It is affixed very simply to the wall on one side, the other to a free standing "leg made from a stump sawed in half.  There is a hole drilled thru the base and the bucket is drilled to the size opening needed for the drain you have purchased.  It is really simple.  You can use copper buckets, zinc washtubs, zinc coal buckets- use your imagination!

DIY Growing Moss!

 OH How I Love Moss!!

Silent

Lush

Magical

And looky how
 PINK LOVES MOSS! 
on centerpieces

on tablescapes

in arrangements

And Pink Fairies Love moss too!

Here is what they do with it

Make a Moss Bowl 

by gathering several types and arranging in a bowl for a woodland tabletop display

 Have a seat on your very own Moss Chair!

Moss can be transplanted by clumps

or

 Put in a cup

 or

Mixed with buttermilk,Yogurt  or Beer

and water

 in a blender and

 brushed or poured on whatever you would like to grow!

Just cover with plastic for a week, and your item will begin to green!

Moss Recipe 

DO-IT-YOURSELF MOSS
HERE IS A recipe for a moss paste you can use to try to grow moss in your garden or yard. It comes from William Cullina, director of horticulture at Coastal Maine Botanical Garden in Boothbay. For more information on moss, see his Web site, williamcullina.com.
FIRST, BEGIN with moss taken from places with similar conditions present in locations where you want to grow moss. Also, if you want to cover stone, take moss that is covering stone. If you want ground cover, use moss that was growing in soil.
INGREDIENTS:
2 cups of fresh moss
1 1/2 to 2 cups water
1/2 cup of beer (Cullina says he is not sure the beer does anything, but it means you can drink the rest so it doesn't go to waste. In theory, the sugars in buttermilk or beer help the moss adhere at first.)
1 teaspoon of sodium polyacrylate (crystals sold at nurseries and also found in disposable diapers)
INSTRUCTIONS: Soak the crystals in a cup of warm water for 5 to 10 minutes, until they have absorbed all the water. Then put them in a blender with moss and other ingredients, and pulsate or chop until you have a paste, but do not liquify.
You can then use a paintbrush to apply the paste to whatever surface you'd like. Mist it with some water.

Linking to 

Outdoor Wednesday
Pink Saturday
Cozy Home Scenes 
Nifty Thrifty Tuesday 
Lets Dish

DIY Labyrinth Complete!

Remember that pile of bricks i just got for free from Craigslist a few posts down?? Well, now they are becoming my new Labyrinth! This is the year of ZERO PROCRASTINATION TOLERANCE, so this picture is living proof! Well, I am back to work outside while I still have sun! The above picture is where I left off.

Voila!! The Labyrinth is finally filled in, now I just have to finish the center, and surrounding brickscape!

Happy Outdoor Wednesday!! Please visit the other outdoorsy folks posting for OUTDOOR WEDNESDAY!

Meditation Bowl For White and Watery Wednesday

Happy White Wednesday! Happy Watery Wednesday!

This is my meditation bowl. It is a lovely daily devotion. Here's how to do it, it takes but a few minutes and is a great way to start your day:

1. Find a lovely bowl that makes you happy whenever you see it.

2. Each morning, fill the bowl to the brim with cold, clear water taken from a tap that has been running for a few minutes.

3. As the bowl fills, picture the water being everything that has brought you to this point, the good and the not so good and accept it with love as the sum total of YOU, right now, as you are.

4. When the bowl is full, reflect on how you use your energy to nurture others, as you carry it to it's special place.

5. Set it down, add a beautiful flower or a leaf. Take another moment to appreciate the beauty of your life and it's fullness, and thank the Lord for having made it possible and getting you to this very minute.

The next day when you are to do this again, take your bowl of "life" water and use it to water a plant, tree or bush.

I hope you enjoy doing this simple yet powerful devotion as much as I do!!

Please be sure to visit Faded Charm Cottage and visit other White Wednesday posters!

Please visit Watery Wednesday and visit those Watery Bloggers too!!

Chicken Soup For the Pixie Soul

Well, my Sparkly friends, since there has never been a chicken soup book written for Pixies, I guess I will do it. Yes Pixies have souls. Everything on earth does. Pixies are just like angels with ADHD, they are the angels that are always getting caught for their mischief and wind up in "Time-Out". I do not take part in anything that doesn't have God involved, so in my little sparkly universe, pixies are God's Creatures too! Okay- that explains the Pixie Soul thing.

Now, On to the SOUP!

I am still not feeling well yet, probably because the Pixies make me do projects like re-do the Pink Pixie Forest Workshop, or build a labyrinth when I think I am finally feeling better. I get all "in to it", and then have to do nothing the next day to pay for my "gotta do its".

Today is a "Pay for it Day" and I had not planned dinner and I feel yucky so I decided on Chicken Soup again.

I thought you might like to see an easy and healthy way to make this classic, Pixie Style!

For those of you who dislike reading directions, here is the recipe "IKEA ASSEMBLY STYLE" aka Pictures!

1. Take a big shiny pot and fill with water a bit more than halfway. If your pot isn't shiny, shine it first! Then dump in a bag of organic pre-peeled baby carrots.
2. Chop about 8 stalks of Organic Celery into 1 1/2 " pieces and throw in your shiny carrot pot.

Try to use organic if you can, it is better for you. If cost is a factor, then wash VERY well with dish soap (some pesticides are oil based) and RINSE REALLY WELL cause you don't want soapy soup!
3. Take some cotton kitchen string and tie a bunch of washed parsley and celery leaves and core into a "Bouquet Garni"...fancy french name for a bundle.
Add your fancy French Bundle to the soup!
4. Peel and half a sweet onion, and add it along with a handful of GARLIC. These are essential for getting better cause they make you smell and that makes people leave you alone for a little while. ;)
5. Add this much Bay Leaves, and real SEA salt if you are able, if not that's ok.
6. Now I add ground Cardamom (optional) I add it because It also has numerous health benefits such as improving digestion and stimulating the metabolism.
7. Then I add ground GINGER if I don't have fresh, and ground Cayenne Pepper.

The main medicinal properties of cayenne are derived from a chemical called capsaicin. In addition to adding heat to the pepper, capsaicin acts to reduce platelet stickiness and relieve pain.

Cayenne is used worldwide to treat a variety of conditions, including poor circulation, weak digestion, heart disease, chronic pain, sore throats, headaches and toothache. Cayenne soothes the digestive tract and stimulates the flow of stomach secretions and saliva. These secretions contain substances which help digest food.

Cayenne is the greatest herbal aid to circulation and can be used on a regular basis.

Ginger is classified as a stimulant and carminative, and used frequently for upset stomach, nausea and colic.

8. Lastly, I add 4 chicken thighs (more flavor and the fat from the skin helps extract the herbal properties) and a sprinkling of red pepper. Simmmer for a long time till your house smells like mama's and you feel comforted. When I serve it, I add fresh LEMON JUICE which gives it a yummy tangyness, and makes you not miss salt if you can't have any.

Enjoy my sparkly Friends!

I just added this to Foodie Friday at Designs By Gollum- go check it out!!