A New Year!

2013. I hope it is better than 2012 was. I did not really make any resolutions this year, but I did set some goals. I want a bigger garden this year and I'd like to add some perennials so that I don't have to plant everything every year. I'm thinking strawberries, jerusalem artichokes, and maybe a few nut trees. 2012's garden was a bust, I just never got around to planting much because my spring  was occupied by the passing of my dad. At the moment, I have some lettuce and radishes going on the porch under 2 liter bottle tops as mini greenhouses, and that is all I have growing. I weeded the old potato bed in preparation for a spring planting-my last frost date here is around mid-February, so I am waiting patiently. I will probably start some bean seedlings inside to transplant. I know I've been saying this for years now, but I am really getting chickens this year, possibly as soon as next week! I am going to get 25 Rhode Island Red chicks, raise them for a few months until I can tell the sex, and butcher the roosters for the freezer as soon as they are big enough. Goats will have to wait until next year. 

I'm working full time now, so I've started making meals ahead on the weekends. Lasagna, chili, pancakes/waffles and mashed potatoes freeze well, and I chop onions and bell peppers and keep them in the freezer for quick prep. I try to stay away from prepared foods, but we do occasionally have things like macaroni and cheese or hamburger helper, especially when my husband offers to cook. I got a new crock pot for Christmas, so I will be using that a lot. I also got a pressure canner for my birthday, and I hope to grow enough this year to can some home-grown veggies. The strawberries are coming into season here now, and I need to get a bunch to make strawberry jam. Last year's ran out in November, so I definitely need to make more this year. I thought I overdid it, but it's just so darned good, everyone wanted a jar! I'm going to use half-pints this time instead of pints.