Our Urban Homestead...

Happy Birthday Marianna and Happy Easter!

2006-04-19T01:13:00.000-05:00

Easter is one of my favorite holidays... I love everything associated with it. I especially enjoy it because the expectations are not the same as with Christmas. So for me Easter is more relaxed.
All of my children were born around holidays. Ben was born close to Thanksgiving, Annemarie was born right after TWO major holidays Christmas and New Years, and Marianna was born close to Easter... I used to joke about how in my next life I was going to shoot myself in the foot... It would feel about the same. Meaning... For many years including now, but not so bad. Money was very tight... Having birthdays paired off with holidays .. is a trip to say the least. But we alllllllllways made it through and managed to have a pretty good time and made some happy memories along the way.

This year...Marianna's birthday was very close to Easter... Because of everyone's super busy work/school schedules we celebrated her birthday Easter Day.

I always try to make everything from scratch... My Mother taught me to cook and bake when I was young. I loved it so much I took 7 years of cooking classes after that! I am the kind of person who can taste something and then make it. (I am pretty sure I would be a lot thinner if I could play a piano by ear instead! haha)

All of us enjoy cooking. Our children learned it from me.. and Michael loves to be with us when we cook and bake, so he too helps out too!
In my opinion the German and Polish people have the corner on Easter. Especially the Polish people. In the past I have made Polish braided bread with colored eggs, Psanky eggs http://www.accentonunderstanding.org/Ukraine/Ukraine%20topics/pysanka.htm This is a really nice site that explains Psanky eggs really nicely. I have to admit this year I did not do the same Easter traditions that I have in the past. I hurt my back a few weeks ago, it is just about driving me bonkers. :( I am off to the spine specialist this week.. Hopefully this is something I can get rid of soon!

Anyhow.. I did make a Honey Baked Ham.. My version of course. It's fun! I used a spiral ham, heated it through.. Mixed basically pumpkin pie spices with added ground cloves to white sugar, coated the ham with it. Then I used my blow torch to "glaze" the ham.. AWESOME stuff! Looks pretty too.
We also made my Mom's homemade rolls, scallopped potatoes, greenbean cassarole. The girls really helped me a lot this year. It's good for them to learn how to do this, and the importance of tradition. Ben and his girlfriend Kerry bought flowers for me.. I LOVE THIS. This year I found all kinds of uses for my bouquet! I used the lillies for my centerpiece...Even our little Serama's contributed to our centerpiece! They were so pretty, I didn't even bother to color them! (The two large eggs are store bought, I wanted them for contrast [forever an art student!])

We even had our own Easter chicks this year! Marianna was happy with her birthday this year!

I hope that everyone had a Happy and wonderful Easter!

Our Urban homestead Animal Companions...

2006-03-31T14:42:00.000-06:00

Well... We have Urban Homesteading animals.. Not the traditional barnyard animals (don't I wish).

I dream of owning a milk cow (Jersey of course), sheep, chickens and ducks, most of which will be heritage breeds. But until then... We are happy with the animal friends we have now and will certainly bring everyone along with us when we move! They are a huge part of our lives. We certainly have enough of them!
Our home is a converted 1937 duplex. It has a total of 10 good size rooms with a full basement. Having "everyone" spread out, really helps. If we had a smaller home, it just would not work well.

I come from a long time of animal lovers...

This is my Dad, he was 18 in this photo! I think he was showing off with the pipe! He lived in the city... sold eggs to the neighbors.
Even when Dad was stationed in Papua New Guinea during WWII, he kept forest fowl!

I've blamed it on genetics for a long time now. Those animal loving genes have been passed on to all of my children.. And I was lucky enough to marry an animal lover. Which makes life so much easier!

Dad bought two bunnies for me for Easter one year, kids from school always came over to see the rabbits. Later on Dad went on to raise Californians and other meat rabbits. I thought I was eating chicken! :(

I cannot imagine life without our animal friends. For us.. It is nearly impossible to separate our family life and the animals.. as they are an intergral part of our lives.. Woven in the very fabric of all of us.

Someday I hope to publish children's books using our animal companions as main characters.

This is Elizabeth.. She is a Maltese. Maltese are supposed to be long haired "foo-foo dogs".. HA... Tell that to her that! She HATES long hair! So we give her haircuts. She is my constant companion. She LOVES me..and tolerates everyone else.

Mia is our little Tea-cup Chihuahua. She was so tiny when we first got her that she had to be fed every 2 hours.. including during the night! She is fearsome, loyal, funny and thinks that she is a Rottweiler in a Chihuahua suit! She is the one who chased a would be burglar out between the houses! That was funny! Grown man with crow-bar running away from a 2.5 pound dog!

This is Molly our Molluccan Cockatoo. Belongs to Marianna. Marianna received Molly as a gift from the Make a Wish Foundation of Wisconsin. It was a nice way to end a long hard illness. Molly comes from Alabama, Make a Wish flew Marianna here, bought her cage and toys. It was a wonderful gift! Molluccans live to be about 60+ years old. Molly is loving and funny! Leo our other Molluccan belongs to me, she actually came from one of Ben's friends. Leo has what our avian vet describes as a pathological attachment to me. Leo is a feather picker, she learned this behavior many years ago. It is nearly impossible to break once it has started. Molluccans are described as the "Golden Retreivers of the bird world". What ever you have heard about how horrible Molluccans are. Was told to you either by someone who has never owned one, or by a person who does not know how to handle them. Cockatoo's are very flock oriented birds, they see us as funny looking birds. We keep our Molluccans in our room. As long as we "roost" with them every night they are happy. They are out during part of the day. We have had both of them now for 4+ years, Leo is nearly 10 years old. We don't have any problems with loud birds at all. Leo is super smart, her vocabulary has about 60 words in it. Leo studies you. Everything that we do, never goes unnoticed by her! http://s63.photobucket.com/albums/h135/JennyWrensPhotos/?action=view&current=HPIM3254MPG.flv

Cats are pretty popular at our house. Ben loves them the most. Our two cats Binky and Emily.. Are two characters, they are constant companions. You never see one without the other.

The cat on the computer is Ben's cat.. Matisse. He is a huge character, most of the time he is lucky he is cute! Because I am pretty sure that is what saves him!

The white cat featured was Marianna's beloved Lucky. He was her shadow for many years, I am grateful to him and Binky the black cat. They kept Marianna company when she was extremely ill. They were a source of comfort to her that she could not have gotten anywhere else, but from them. Lucky died shortly after Marianna recovered. To this day we still miss him.

Then of course there is Evelyn... Marianna's ferret. She is a character just like everything else in this house. LOVES treats and to be putzed with.

This is William. Our "comfort bunny".. he has taken being laid back and made it an art form! He just chills wherever he is. Annemarie just loves him... He is the only bunny I know that loves to be held like a baby, then he falls asleep!
Bunnies have been poplular at our house for a very long time!

This is Harvy Annemarie's first bunny, he was a house bunny. Litter boxed trained. He was right at home, his favorite spot to lay down was by our fireplace! He looks like he should be part of the decorations!

We LOVE birds... Marianna and I raise finches, parakeets, doves and Serama's. Then sell them to a local pet store.

Zhen is our ring neck dove.. He loves to go outside during the summer. Coo to all of the outdoor birds. Our diamond doves, are miniature doves, they are just beautiful! Our latest parakeet baby, who wasn't quite sure he wanted to come out of the nest box yet!

Michael seemed to have made a friend one summer day! This little chippy just did not want to run away. He lives in our backyard, I think maybe in our garage. We see him every once in a while.

This is the stuff that makes getting up in the morning worth while. We enjoy interacting and caring for our animal companions. They bring joy to our lives...

Meet the Family...

2006-03-29T15:45:00.000-06:00

I thought as I am starting out in this new blogging endeavor that I would introduce my family. As they are what my world is centered around. Everything I do... I do with them in mind. We are lucky that we all share similar interests.. It keeps things very interesting!

We are not large in number... As we are pretty much it. My parents have both died, I am an only child. Except for a handful of relatives. We are it.

My husband Michael (D. Dear H. Hubby from now on in these blogs :) Comes from Germany, and so our entire other half of our family lives in Europe. Michael and I were married in 2002. He is kind, loving, hilariously funny and my soul mate. He works very hard, working full time and going to school full time.

I am blessed with wonderful in-laws! I could not have asked for kinder more caring Mother and Father in law. I also have a wonderful Brother inlaw. We use our webcams regularly. It helps keep us in touch.

My Son ... Ben has grown to be a wonderful young man. Kind, generous and smart! And spoils his mother totally rotten! He always brings me flowers or treats! I of course love that! :) He will make someone a wonderful husband someday, because he loves his mother. (I always tell my girls pay attention to the men who love/respect their mothers, they will make good husbands)
We grew up together... As I was barely an adult when he was born. We were more adventurous.. Being able to pick up and go pretty much when we wanted. Spend the entire day at the beach... Go back and do it again the next day.. Reading books under a big umbrella in the rain. Trips to California... It was fun, he and I were inseparable. I had to include a photo of him as a little boy.. Because well... I think he has to have been the cutest little boy on earth!

Ben is a fantastic photographer I am sure that I will feature some of his photographs in my blogs...

My daughter Annemarie... Is an aspiring nurse. She is a high school senior who has already gotten her certification as a nursing assistant. My Mom was a registered nurse it looks as though Annemarie is headed in that direction also. Annemarie works in a very nice retirement home. She is lucky to have the training to get this job. Thanks to a program offered through her high school, she was able to attend Alverno College after school during the fall. So she could take her state boards by January. She is the caregiver of the family. She helped me so much when Marianna my youngest daughter was diagnosed with cancer in 2000, Annemarie was only 13 then. I was going through a horrific divorce, and I honestly don't know what I would have done without her. Michael was there to help me also, but in order for us to keep things legal with the INS Michael had to return to Germany every 89 days. Then he would have to spend time there before he could come back. It was in those "in-between" times that I desperately needed Annemarie to hold down the fort. She did an excellent job, as did Ben. Many times Annemarie stayed over night with Marianna and I, when we had to be inpatient for Marianna's chemo. Then I would take her to school in the morning and pick her up again the afternoon.. During those times, I think she cared for me as much as she did for Marianna, I was emotionally, physically and spiritually exhausted, she was always there to give hugs, lend a caring ear and pitch in to help out. CRAZY times... But we all worked together, and became stronger for it.
Annemarie still a great hugger, is always there for all of us.

Last by not least.. Is my youngest daughter Marianna... She is a true blue farm girl! She loves ALL animals, and her philosophy is that we should have two of everything (I think she would like to start her own ark!) Marianna the lover of everything! She and I spend all of our time together. As we homeschool. And love it! It started during Marianna's chemo protocol. Marianna had 54 weeks of chemotherapy and 6 weeks of radiation therapy. She was sick for a total of 2.5 years where she was unable to attend school. Animals played a big part in keeping us all sane during those difficult times. They always brought a smile to Marianna's face when she saw them. Today Marianna and I raise birds together, and sell them at a local petstore. We are always on the look out for a new adventure. Thankfully Marianna has been cancer free and off protocol since June 2001. She enjoys volunteer work. This summer we will be working on a farm 4 hours a week! Good training for us farm girls! Next month Marianna will be traveling to the Washington D.C. with One Step at a Time Camp http://www.onestepcamp.org/index.html as an advocate for childhood cancer. She will be meeting with Congresswoman Susan Myrick N. Carolina who is also a cancer survivor... And.. There is a possibility of meeting Laura Bush!
Marianna and I are constant companions, we have gotten to the point where we finish eachothers sentences! We of course laugh about that.

It just occurred to me I nearly forgot myself! This photo was taken just a couple months before Marianna was diagnosed with cancer. Stress has a way of taking it's toll on a person. I am a work in progress... Is what I always say! My first love of course is my family! Then after that it has to be animals and gardening. This summer Marianna and I are working at a CSA farm about 30 miles from here. We are very excited about this! As we have plans for doing a lot of canning this year! I love anything and everything that has to do with being a farm girl! Cooking, baking, sewing, gardening, reading, I am a former art student.. So I try to do things with a creative twist. This fall it is back to school.. This time for Agriculture classes! (it is hard to be employed as an art/philosophy major! haha)

We are lucky to all have each other. We have worked extremely hard to survive, not only Marianna but us as a family. Since 911 the INS laws are very strict. We are very proud to be able to say that we have done everything by the book. Michael is a permanent resident, and is looking forward to becoming an American citizen! We laugh, cry together and pray for eachother, what more could we ask for?

Spring?

2006-03-23T21:57:00.000-06:00

Today was a bright beautiful.. And snowy..Spring day. Well at least the snow didn't last. I still have images of gardening dancing in my head. I started looking at last years photos, by the time I finished I felt much better.

So I think sharing the photos may be a nice idea....

I have to admit I am not real big on spring flowers only because I tend to bump into the bulbs when I am putting in my summer garden. I have ruined too many bulbs that way. The ones I do have I just love. My son bought potted spring flowers crocus', hyacinths, narcissus for all of us girls for Valentines Day... I LOVED IT. Just that little bit of spring perked everyone's spirits up.

I try to plant all of my seeds, kind of taking a chance in the end of April. If I am lucky there will be no more snow and the seeds will come up fine. I have had years where I was sorely disappointed, and had to start all over again. I have had the best luck with Martha Stewarts shakable seed cans. Those flowers alllllllways come up.. Every other type I have used has just bombed.

One of our favorite spring and summer things to do is to... Naturalize butterflies. We have various butterflies bushes and other flowers which attract the butterflies, we also have lots of dill. Most of the butterflies that are from around the area require dill to lay their eggs on. Then my daughter and I look for the eggs once they are laid, put them in screened containers, wait until the tiny caterpillars hatch, then we add fresh dill that is misted so the caterpillars will grow. We also lean twigs so the caterpillars have something to attach their chrysalis' to. Before long beautiful butterflies emerge! We let the butterflies go, they seem to have naturalized around here as we seem to have more and more butterflies every year.

We have had instances where the butterflies have emerged before we planned. Because we didn't have the containers covered... Have awakened to a living room full of butterflies!

I mentioned my Dad...

2006-03-22T08:30:00.000-06:00

Ok...One more blog for the day..And I gotta get going and get something done! :)

After I mentioned my father in my previous blog... I couldn't help but think of him. He had such beautiful gardens and was so talented in so many ways. I felt I had to share this with you.

Dad had a talent for making his garden look like an impressionist painting. The gardens were always truly beautiful.

Dad was the original Urban Homesteader in this family! He grew beautiful flowers.. And unbelievable vegetables! Including corn! All this in the city! He started as a kid...He had a Victory garden with my Oma (Grandma) he also raised chickens! When he got drafted into World War II, Oma had to pick up where he left off. She shared vegetables and eggs, chicken meat with our other relatives. I love how everyone pulled together!

He loved to share his vegetables with everyone who came to visit. He and Mom canned tomatoes .. Put up pickles, froze green beans, peppers... Anything and everything!

This is Dad's Mayor's award for the most beautiful garden in the city! He was very proud of this award. It was his crowning accomplishment to be acknowledged for all of his years of hard work. Gardening was to my Dad what religion is to other people. It gave him his peace and solitude.

Dad died 6 weeks after my daughter's chemo protocol ended. I think of him everyday.. And wish I could ask his advice on so many things.. But I think he would be pleased at all that I do remember him telling me. His spirit lives on in me and I see it in my children as well. They all love gardening!

It all began with...

2006-03-22T06:35:00.000-06:00

I have always been a gardener. I come from a long line of avid gardeners on both sides of my family. It's a German thing, gardening is part of the German culture.

My Dad was my teacher, he had beautiful gardens and won an award for the most beautiful garden.

I've lived in my home for the past 27 years, I have always had a garden of various sizes and degrees. It depended on how young my children were and how busy I was.

My husband who is from Munich has also gotten in on the fun! Also, as my children have grown, I have found myself with more time and much more help!

The above photo was our garden of sanity... We planted this the summer our daughter was undergoing chemotherapy. It was a good way to take short mental breaks in between hospital stays.

As time went on.. And our daughter finished her year's protocol of chemo and radiation. We rejoiced the following year with yet a bigger garden.

We produced a good deal of veggies that year!

Again as time went by, I learned more and more about the concept of Urban Homesteading. This appealed to me on so many levels. I love the idea of being at least close to self-sufficient. I am a work in progress I always say.

Last year we decided to put up a fence. In doing so we started to create our own little environment. This years goal is to grow enough tomatoes to can and preserve (I am going to make my own sun-dried tomatoes) to last a year. Along with a number of other vegetables that can either be canned, frozen or dehydrated.

Along with vegetables we planted butterfly gardens and and lots of dill to attract the butterflies and encourage them to lay eggs! Which they did! My daughter and I collected the eggs and before we knew it we had tiny baby caterpillars who eventually spun cocoons... We brought our collection of cocoons in the house because it looked like rain...The next morning we were eating breakfast in the dining room like always.. Out of the corner of my eye.. I saw something "floating by".... Here our living room had butterflies flying around! It was great!

We also added a "resident" .. William my oldest daughter's pride and joy. He is a Miniature Holland Lop. He has a lovable personality. He lives indoors during the winter, but soon will start spending sunny days outdoors, to start getting used to the outdoors once again.

We live in zone 5. So pretty soon it is time to think about starting seeds for the upcoming growing season!

Welcome To Our Urban Homestead...

2006-03-21T23:44:00.000-06:00

Hello and Welcome...

Being a displaced Farmer isn't easy when you live in the city! So... While working towards our dreams of country life.. We have to "bloom where we are planted"...

I welcome you to join us on our journey! We are city people for now... I have been so my entire life.. and it is time for a change!

It is my sincerest wish to encourage everyone who has a dream to follow it. My dream of country life is a little off in the distance.. as both my husband and I are attending college.. So we can attain our goals. Going back to college at this stage in my life.. has been so empowering.. I would recommend it to everyone!

Let me introduce myself.. I have a very long German name, so call me Jenny Wren it is much easier to pronounce! I have a wonderful husband and three beautiful children... Two of my three children are all grown up :( .. But.. I still have one more left! I am a home-schooling Mom. My daughter and I truly enjoy the time we have together.. We both learn so much!

I will be sharing my experiences as a home-schooler along with my Urban Homesteading projects with you in this blog..

Sit down and have a cup of tea...

More tomorrow...

Jenny Wren...