March and April Goal Updates

May 1, 2023 / sdllewellyn / Leave a comment

How has 2 months gone by?! Craziness! I started a temporary position, quit that position and earned a sweet and exciting full time gig already in momentum! I’m pretty sure this windy road is leading me to something pretty great!

And, here’s what all we have managed to achieve over the last 2 months:

1. Anniversary Plan! Plan something to commemorate being married for 20 years! I was a whopping 20 when I got married. We were young and broke. I’d love to be able to celebrate this anniversary in a special way! No updates yet! But, we would love recommendations! Anyone been to Mackinac Island? (Yes, it could be that I intrigued by the butterfly houses and biking there!)

2. Can 100 jars- Last year we only canned tomato sauce, green beans and a couple pickles. This year, I’d like to do more! Nothing to can, yet! But, we enjoyed opening a jar of raspberry jam last night for our rolls!

3. Grow 1,000 pounds of food! I love a lofty goal and I hope to have extras in order to offset the chicken feed bill! We still have lots of eggs and now lettuce is coming in fast!

4. Make 20 quilted things this year! Last year I really got into quilting. (I inherited my Mom’s supplies!) I’m hoping to have many extras to sell! I finished up a pretty red, white and blue Maryland quilt! I love it! This one will be for sale!

5. Get the bonus house ready to be rented! So, we got tired of looking at the neighbor’s house that has been abandoned for 10 years. We picked it up for a great price and now we need to fix it up! The yard is all cleared! I might have got the worst case of poison ivy rash in my entire life, but it’s looking so much better! And, we are planning on using the area to try to grow a huge pumpkin!

6. Go on a hike! This fall I taught outdoor school and hiked through the swamp daily. It reminded me how much I love hiking. Something about being outside and taking in nature. I think I’m going to change this from hiking to growing that huge pumpkin. We just haven’t been hiking! We do work out together it’s evenings though!

7. Finish our own bathroom remodel. We have been working on our remodel for too long! All that is left is new flooring and a new sink. I don’t mind that they’re out of style, but they’ve been in rough shape for a while. I’m putting a ✅ next to this! It’s so much easy to clean and the floor is nice and shiny!

8. 2023 in 2023! We did this minimalising challenge before, but we are hoping to do it again. It’s purging the house of 2,023 things over the course of the year. That’s almost 170 things per month! We have been continuing to clean out so much! 811 things are out of here! I’m hoping to hit halfway by June!

10. Grow something new! Last year I grew a couple new flower varieties and found out how delicious honey nut squash taste! This year, I’m hoping to grow something new to us! I just started canary melons and a few varieties of pumpkins. My Atlantic giant pumpkin is below!

9. Grow mushrooms! I’m hoping to find newly fallen hardwood logs to inoculate. But, if not, I’ll find another way to grow some! Everything was innoculated! So now to wait to see if they grow!

11. Start a YouTube! I’m kind of nervous about this one. I’m not sure if my tech skills are up to par, but I’m going to give it a try! Between baking sourdough, making rugs, raising chickens and greenhouse growing. I’m still at it! I’ve shared gourd lamp making and the Mason bees checking out the tubes! I’m up to 84 subscribers!

Making newspaper pots!

12. Date a month! This is a fun goal. Like I stated above, we’ve been married quite a while. I’m looking forward to planning to do more fun things together. We are guilty of not doing that enough. We have weirdly enjoyed lots of dates lately! Shopping out of town, grabbing a few lunches/dinners and tackling projects together. I love our time together.

13. Make 50 flower arrangements! I love growing and arranging flowers. And, I love sharing their beauty with others! Come on Spring! I have a few beauties popping up in the greenhouse!

I love accomplishing goals! Checking things off of a list helps me! Comment with any goals that you are accomplishing! I love hearing about it! I’m rooting for you!

February Goals update!

March 3, 2023 / sdllewellyn / 2 Comments

What a whirlwind this month has been, but in a good way! We are counting down the second to last nine weeks before our guy graduates. And we are finally hopping into many goals that we haven’t touched yet! Exciting!

2. Can 100 jars- Last year we only canned tomato sauce, green beans and a couple pickles. This year, I’d like to do more! Nothing to can, yet! But, I’ll definitely be growing more jalapeños this year for tons of cowboy candy! (Candied/pickled jalapeños!) We have also been using up most of our tomato sauce!

3. Grow 1,000 pounds of food! I love a lofty goal and I hope to have extras in order to offset the chicken feed bill! We have tons of eggs at the moment, but also have harvested 2 whole ounces of broccoli from the greenhouse!

4. Make 20 quilted things this year! Last year I really got into quilting. (I inherited my Mom’s supplies!) I’m hoping to have many extras to sell! I made 2 small one piece baby quilts and I finally finished this beauty!

5. Get the bonus house ready to be rented! So, we got tired of looking at the neighbor’s house that has been abandoned for 10 years. So, we picked it up for a great price and now we need to fix it up! The electric is all fixed up and the outside is continuing to be tidied! Next up is a good bit of indoor work!

7. Finish our own bathroom remodel. We have been working on our remodel for too long! All that is left is new flooring and a new sink. I don’t mind that they’re out of style, but they’ve been in rough shape for a while. The new floor is beautiful and now all that we need is a new sink!

8. 2023 in 2023! We did this minimalising challenge before, but we are hoping to do it again. It’s purging the house of 2,023 things over the course of the year. That’s almost 170 things per month! I cleaned out a kitchen cabinet when something fell out for the 100th time! We are closing in on that halfway mark already!

9. Grow mushrooms! I’m hoping to find newly fallen hardwood logs to inoculate. But, if not, I’ll find another way to grow some! I got logs and mushroom spawn! And we already inoculated the logs! Shittake and yellow oyster! See the short :

10. Grow something new! Last year I grew a couple new flower varieties and found out how delicious honey nut squash taste! This year, I’m hoping to grow something new to us! That sage and sweet marjoram are popping right up! The onions are growing tall too! I can’t wait to try other new to me plant varieties!

All new to me varieties. Don’t mind that nose hole.

11. Start a YouTube! I’m kind of nervous about this one. I’m not sure if my tech skills are up to par, but I’m going to give it a try! Between baking sourdough, making rugs, raising chickens and greenhouse growing, I’ll be looking forward to sharing our progress! This is one that I’m super proud of! I have a whopping 40 subscribers! And I have made several shorts and 2 whole videos! Like this one, where I’m putting sugar patties on the bee hives!

Putting sugar stores on the hives

12. Date a month! This is a fun goal. Like I stated above, we’ve been married quite a while. I’m looking forward to planning to do more fun things together. We are guilty of not doing that enough. For February we are counting our time sitting together, inoculating mushroom logs and chatting about future plans our date! We also enjoy working out at the gym as time together too!

13. Make 50 flower arrangements! I love growing and arranging flowers. And, I love sharing their beauty with others! Come on Spring!

I enjoy watching the process that we make with goals! Anyone else have a few and crushing them? I hope that you all include growing something in your plans!

Keep blooming 😊

January 2023 goals update!

February 2, 2023 / sdllewellyn / Leave a comment

One month down and I am trying my hands at some new things, and marking off accomplishments!

3. Grow 1,000 pounds of food! I love a lofty goal and I hope to have extras in order to offset the chicken feed bill! We have been bringing in eggs lately, but nothing else!

4. Make 20 quilted things this year! Last year I really got into quilting. (I inherited my Mom’s supplies!) I’m hoping to have many extras to sell! I made 2 quilted pillow covers!

Upcycled from random antique blocks found at the goodwill!

5. Get the bonus house ready to be rented! So, we got tired of looking at the neighbor’s house that has been abandoned for 10 years. So, we picked it up for a great price and now we need to fix it up! The electric is being worked on next week! So, moving in the right direction!

6. Go on a hike! This fall I taught outdoor school and hiked through the swamp daily. It reminded me how much I love hiking. Something about being outside and taking in nature. We will have to count the New Year’s day hike as the one last month because the Mr. decided to break his toe when he dropped a 45 pound weight on it. But, he’s on the mend! Trust me, you don’t want to see the picture!

7. Finish our own bathroom remodel. We have been working on our remodel for too long! All that is left is new flooring and a new sink. I don’t mind that they’re out of style, but they’ve been in rough shape for a while. The floor is ready to be installed! We are just waiting on the back ordered toilet!

8. 2023 in 2023! We did this minimalising challenge before, but we are hoping to do it again. It’s purging the house of 2,023 things over the course of the year. That’s almost 170 things per month! This one is going really well! The boy cleaned out his t shirt drawer!I cleaned out cabinets, the hutch, bathroom closet and clothes. And the Mr. started cleaning out the garage. So much stuff!

9. Grow mushrooms! I’m hoping to find newly fallen hardwood logs to inoculate. But, if not, I’ll find another way to grow some! I may have asked for logs for Valentine’s Day. 😆❤️

10. Grow something new! Last year I grew a couple new flower varieties and found out how delicious honey nut squash taste! This year, I’m hoping to grow something new to us! I got a new variety of melons from MIGardener and I’m trying my hands at new herbs too!

11. Start a YouTube! I’m kind of nervous about this one. I’m not sure if my tech skills are up to par, but I’m going to give it a try! Between baking sourdough, making rugs, raising chickens and greenhouse growing, I’ll be looking forward to sharing our progress! This is I’m super proud of! I’ve made 3 shorts so far! Check out my channel! Our YouTube channel

12. Date a month! This is a fun goal. Like I stated above, we’ve been married quite a while. I’m looking forward to planning to do more fun things together. We are guilty of not doing that enough. This month was a chill one! Just a movie on Amazon, a few beverages and enjoying a few talks about future plans!

13. Make 50 flower arrangements! I love growing and arranging flowers. And, I love sharing their beauty with others! Come on Spring!

I feel like I am enjoying these goals this year, instead of stressing about them! And honestly! I can’t wait to get some plants growing!!

Keep blooming!

2023 Yearly Goals!

January 13, 2023January 13, 2023 / sdllewellyn / 2 Comments

Oh my goodness, it has been so long since I blogged! Covid happened. My Mom’s cancer returned and we lost her after so many radiation’s, chemos and surgeries. I left teaching after a 17 year career. I did get a new greenhouse. And, that should have you caught up!

As for my goals for 2023, I’m feeling weirdly positive this year. So, here’s what I’m hoping to achieve

2. Can 100 jars- Last year we only canned tomato sauce, green beans and a couple pickles. This year, I’d like to do more!

3. Grow 1,000 pounds of food! I love a lofty goal and I hope to have extras in order to offset the chicken feed bill!

4. Make 20 quilted things this year! Last year I really got into quilting. (I inherited my Mom’s supplies!) I’m hoping to have many extras to sell!

6. Go on a hike! This fall I taught outdoor school and hiked through the swamp daily. It reminded me how much I love hiking. Something about being outside and taking in nature.

9. Grow mushrooms! I’m hoping to find newly fallen hardwood logs to inoculate. But, if not, I’ll find another way to grow some!

10. Grow something new! Last year I grew a couple new flower varieties and found out how delicious honey nut squash taste! This year, I’m hoping to grow something new to us!

13. Make 50 flower arrangements! I love growing and arranging flowers. And, I love sharing their beauty with others!

I hope that you’ve all been well, and I’m looking forward to finding my way back to blogging more!

Keep blooming!

2021 Goal Setting!

January 1, 2021January 1, 2021 / sdllewellyn / 2 Comments

Happy New Year! 2020 was an interesting year. I quit sewing for fun, and instead spent time sewing many masks and surgical caps. I started teaching from home and had to brush up on high school math and science skills. And, I found a new love of baking and being content with just being home!

I know that 2021 might not be so much different than 2020, but goal setting helps me long term plan and focus on positivity. These are the goals that we are planning here:

1. Continue baking!- I started cooking and baking a lot more over quarantine. I especially found a love for sourdough baking. I love the process and can appreciate the effort put in for such a delicious outcome!

2. Growing cut flowers- It all started when a friend asked for a couple blooms for a photo shoot. I found a love for gathering and arranging the blooms. I also learned how much more some flowers bloom when you clip some off! I always left plenty for my pollinator friends though! I’m hoping to grow many beautiful varieties and create unique arrangements!

3. Upgrade the yard garden- Last year we added a nice sitting area/patio and we have more plans for making the area prettier. More blooms and more veggies!

4. Create a seed library– Last year I shared many seeds by sending them out and I put a seed library in our little free library. Next year, I’m planning on making a community one. I used donations from mask making to get the card catalog, but next up we will make it pretty and find a perfect location. The second part is hard with closure of businesses, public spaces and even our libraries.

Hopefully you won’t even recognize this beauty when it’s finished!

5. Create a workout area- This is more of the Mr.’s idea, but I think it’s going to be great! I’ve got my eyes on a sweet jump rope to work on some double unders! He’s more into lifting. But, maybe I’ll have some beefy arms by the end of this year!

6. Expand Blacksmithing area and production- The Mr. has been spending a lot more time pounding on metal. Everything that he makes is amazing to me. He takes a chunk of metal and magically makes it turn into a piece of art!

7. Travel somewhere!- We had plans of traveling last summer, but you know… 2020. We are hoping to break out the camper again and enjoy our time together!

8. Focus in the garden– I have a tendency to grow beautiful things that I don’t enjoy eating. This year, I’m focusing on growing what we love. I’m not saying that I won’t have weird gourds, or a new variety. But, more of what we can and what people take off of the cart!

9. Up our creations!- Last year the Mr. made a lot more than he has before. I kind of got lost in the mindless mask sewing. I’m sure that I’ll still be making whatever the community needs, but I also want to make what makes my creative heart happy!

Our combo effort! Bag made by me and hooks made by the Mr.

10. Teaching some courses!: This would combine my love of teaching and creating. I would love to help others learn to crochet, take on starting plants from seeds, harvesting from their garden, preserving their yumminess, even learning how to use a pressure canner, make sourdough bread or whatever else we do. We will see if this is virtually or online!

Teaching about bread making to my students!

So, what are your goals?! Let me know! Even if it’s even just one goal! Happy New Year! And, keep blooming friends!

Turned trashed into a pumpkin roll

November 19, 2020 / sdllewellyn / 1 Comment

I have been collecting any pumpkins that are unwanted. We have collected right around 150 so far! We have also rounded up a few mums, bales of hay and ears of dried corn.

I posted on Instagram this picture of pumpkin number 100!

Well a sweet soul informed me that I was holding a fantastic variety called Galeux D’Eysines.

A close up view! (And on my school books, since I was showing it to my students!)

This is a nice heirloom variety from France that has been grown there since the 1800’s. It wasn’t brought here until around 1996! Galeux is French for mangy or scabby, so not a delicious sounding name! 😆 But, it’s a delicious variety. So, I pulled this beauty out of the chicken food bin and roasted/puréed it!

Then I followed this easy recipe: https://www.gimmesomeoven.com/pumpkin-roll-recipe/ and the pumpkin was transformed into a delicious and enjoyed pumpkin roll!

And you know that I saved the seeds! I have already shared some with a few friends!

So, sorry chickens! This one wasn’t for you! I’m planning on making a couple more pumpkin rolls and a few pies! Happy baking, and I enjoyed telling the Mr. that he was eating a trash pumpkin roll! 😆

I laminated something!

November 16, 2020 / sdllewellyn / Leave a comment

As a teacher, you’d think that I’m talking about sandwiching something between two layers of plastic. But, I don’t use that kind of lamination. I’m talking about laminating sourdough!

So, what is laminated dough? It is the layering of butter and dough to create the flaky layers. Perfect for croissants! Here’s how mine turned out. (By the way, this is a couple day process. So, patience grasshopper!)

After making a butter pat, I folded the dough around it. And then fold it into thirds. (then put in the fridge and rerolled 3 times in all)

After rolling and folding into thirds three times with resting in between, cut into triangles. You can see the layers!

After proofing for 4 hours, into the oven they go!

After baking for 20 minutes at 425 degrees!

Here’s my chicken scratched recipe that I pulled from a couple recipes!

This weekend was spent baking so much sourdough everything! I hope that you have a great week! Keep blooming!

You’re right, we aren’t living on Little House on the Prairie

November 8, 2020November 10, 2020 / sdllewellyn / 3 Comments

Last month I had an unkind message sent to me saying that I needed to stop pretending that I live this little house on the prairie life. That hurt. It didn’t really hurt because I thought that I am living a lifestyle like that. It hurt because someone took time out of their schedule to to try to hurt me. But, good news, it gave me time to reflect instead.

So, even though we don’t live that yesteryear kind of life, we do have some similarities. (Weirdly enough)

1.I’ve always been transparent that we don’t have much land, but use what we have! We have less than an acre, but managed to grow and harvest over 1,000 pounds of food this summer!

2. We also don’t have a large amount of farm animals, so that’s true. We raise hens for their eggs and have a couple ducks for the same reason. We use our eggs, share some and even use them for making deliciousness like egg noodles!

3. We don’t live solely off of our food, but we did can over 100 jars of food. Plus, we spun lots of honey, made so many loaves of sourdough bread, homemade noodles and lots of other yumminess!

4. Everything we own isn’t homemade. But, the Mr can fix almost anything and he has been forging a lot! I have been working on teaching myself skills and I have been quilting, crocheting, making salves and lip balms and sewing in general.

5. We don’t have beautiful fields of wildflowers, but we do have a pretty certified wildlife habitat/monarch waystation/pollinator garden.

6. I don’t have to cook over an open flame or wear an apron. But, I do wear an apron in the garden. I also hang my laundry anytime that I can. And, I’m big on reusing what we have avoiding anything disposable.

So, I figured I would end this up with my homestead kind of life photo:

So, let it be known that I do not live on a prairie, I live in a small town in Appalachia. I don’t have a huge garden or farm when compared to others, but it provides well for us. I own less than an acre, but use what we have well.

No matter what you have going on, who you compare yourself to or what others think about you, keep blooming where you are planted! 🌸❤️

Revitalizing Sourdough Starter

October 27, 2020October 27, 2020 / sdllewellyn / Leave a comment

Over on our Facebook page we are doing a giveaway of our dehydrated starter. It’s so much easier to ship and already contains all the right things to get your starter going faster! I will be adding some of our dehydrated starter to our Etsy shop soon too!

So, here’s how to have starter to use in about a week, step by step:

Day 1: Add dehydrated starter, 1.5 Tbsp. water and 1 Tbsp flour and cover loosely for 24 hours

Day 2- add another Tbsp. Flour and 2 tea. warm filtered water. Mix well and cover for another 24 hours

Day 3- look for little bubbles! Then, add 1 Tbsp. Flour and 2 tea. water

Day 4- it should be smelling more like bread! Add 1/3 cup of flour and 1/4 cup of water. It should rise and fall!

By day 4, I recommend having it in a quart size mason jar or larger container

Day 5- you should officially have a starter! Always leave behind at least 1/2 cup starter for the next time baking! (By the way, now is a great time to give your starter a name!)

I keep my starter refrigerated between uses and get it out to warm up the night before. Then, I feed it the next day!

To feed the mature starter, mix 1/2 cup starter to 1 cup flour and 1/2 cup warm water. It should be doubling in size before baking with it!

Fair warning, sourdough baking is addictive and delicious! I plan on sharing tested and enjoyed recipes!

2020 Goals update

October 24, 2020 / sdllewellyn / Leave a comment

I’m proud to say that even though our life has been much different, we have still been able to do so much! Here’s where we are at since the last update:

1. Get rid of more, use less and be more minimalistic– Since the last update, we have put work into cleaning up the garage. I have also been letting go of a lot of clothes that I have no idea why I was holding on to them. Over covid break the Mr. lost about 20 pounds and I lost 10. So, goodbye lots of poorly fitting clothes!

2. Do good, be a good person and spread kindness– Masks, masks and more masks. I made and gave away a ton of them. The money that I did receive will be going towards creating a free seed library for our town! I’m so looking forward to seeing people enjoying growing their own food and flowers!

I made hundreds of masks and many scrub hats too!

The future seed library! I’m so excited about this idea!

3. Grow food, flowers and enjoy new plants– This year I definitely had a bounty! My best growers were the cushaw squash, but I did get a monster Dickinson pumpkin! Plus, the pollinator garden turned out beautiful. I actually starting clipping blooms and sharing their beauty! Overall, I grew around 1,000 pounds of food!

4. Be creative! Craft, forge, sew and do whatever makes our creative souls happy!– I spent so much time sewing masks, that I took a long break from sewing! I started baking everything sourdough, and I love it! I also started making my own calendula salve from my blooms! That’s fun too!

And the Mr. has been making so much in the forge too!

5. Travel, spend as much quality time that we can with our ever growing teen. Time is precious. There were no big trips, unfortunately! We spent most of our time here, enjoying sitting on our newly created patio. We did get to go to Northbay and do zip lining and a ropes course. That was a great time!

Secret goal! We accomplished this a month or 2 early! We are debt free! We are super excited about this! Read about it: https://littlellewellynhomestead.com/2020/02/16/were-debt-free/

Even though everything has been strange and different, the garden brought me to my happy place daily!

The world is weird right now, but I know that we have found a lot to smile about!

Keep blooming!