Author Archives: Virtual Farmgirl

Just like my aunt, but for different reasons, we’re celebrating our empty nest today! Our young Mourning Dove has flown the coop. And our monogamous parents are gone too. I imagine they’ll be back. They usually don’t stray too far from their nest. At least that was our experience with Reggie and Marita when weContinue reading “Our Empty Nest”

So it turns out that when I bought some wine at my church’s Winter Farmers Market, I actually picked up a couple of bottles from the folks at Wild Blossom Meadery and Winery that I blogged about recently. We tasted the Chicago Midwest Red tonight. Excellent. Truly the best Midwestern red I’ve ever had. VeryContinue reading “A Sophisticated Red Wine from the Hog Butcher for the World”

Hmmm. Week 5 of the Farmgirl blog-a-thon? Getting Crafty. Garden Goose has tasked us e-Farmgirls to share something crafty we’ve done lately. I haven’t been too crafty of late, but I certainly love to make stuff. My annual holiday craft was handmade snow globes (thanks Martha Stewart) using antique Mason jars. Here’s a pic: ThenContinue reading “Looking for a Good Summer Craft Project”

At Urban Dweller’s request, here’s a bird’s eye view of our raised bed in progress. We’re just experimenting with where to put the stones at this point. We will probably straighten it out a bit in front. But we’re kinda likin’ the curves. I’m also probably going to shift this a couple more feet towardContinue reading “To Curve or Not to Curve”

Apparently everyone has seen my Napanee cabinet except me. But I’m grateful because I got this report from the Master Gardener, who owns a Hoosier-style cabinet too. She found the Napanee Dutch Kitchenette in a book, which includes a photo and an ad about a kitchen efficiency “study” that promoted my cabinet. The study involvedContinue reading “Making Life Easier for 'Overworked Women'”

I’m beat. All I did was some weeding, clean out the garage (evicting a mouse in the process) and position paver stones for our new vegetable garden. Plus we spent a small fortune at Costco, stocking up on basmati rice and getting some good meat for the grill. I really like our design. Now weContinue reading “In the Garden, Day 1”

Garden Goose has picked another rockin’ theme for week 4 of the Farmgirl Blog-A-Thon: In the Garden. The timing is just right because I plan to work on my raised beds this weekend. I’m shopping for paver stones to create the walls. I’m going to attempt to steer clear of a rectangular bed and tryContinue reading “This Weekend…In the Garden”

Thanks to Urban Dweller for passing on this great story in the Neighborhood Star about a Chicago vintner who distributes honey bee boxes along the lake front in Hyde Park to support his mead production. Gary Fisher, who owns Wild Blossom Meadery and Winery, is apparently only one of two mead vintners in the Midwest.Continue reading “Learning About Chicago's Only Winery”

I’ve been keeping farmgirl hours…up at 4:30 a.m. to begin work at 5, before my morning paper hits the door. I like the commute, just a stumble down the stairs. But I don’t know if I’d be able to keep this up long term. It’s too tough for me to take an afternoon nap andContinue reading “Up Before the Rooster Crows”

I’m working from home this week and learning a few things about myself. Here’s a few personal insights after one day… – Being alone in the house with chocolate cake is very bad news…for my figure, or what’s left of it since I’ve had children. – A floor puzzle box makes an excellent computer monitorContinue reading “Working From Home This Week”