I Think I'm Growing Salmonella In My Kitchen.....

If I counted correctly, here are my 33 cracked eggs

Why do I have a tray of cracked eggs in my kitchen you ask? Well, you can thank Granny Miller for that one. Granny said that years ago (the pioneer type of years ago), that people didn't have those fancy "jiffy" pots and such that you see at the garden center. People just "made due" with what they had.

I have come to the understanding that I like to do things the hard way. I'm not sure if my husband has rubbed off on me or if I have always been this way. I think that it gives me the appreciation of knowing that I made it through whatever it was. I also like doing things the old fashioned way too- just because I do.

Back to eggs. Cracked egg shells are perfect little containers to hold potting soil. Potting soil is a perfect medium for holding a germinating seed and later a plant. See where I'm going here? Hey, I can save some money by not buying those little growing pots at the garden center. My only expense will be a single bag of potting soil (which I need to go buy very soon). Anyway, my plan is to plant some of my "homestead" tomato seeds to give them a head start for the garden. My ultimate goal is to save some major money in the pizza sauce, spaghetti sauce, and maybe even the ketchup department come the end of the summer. I may be counting my chickens before they hatch but if things turn out well enough, I'll have some tomatoes to play around with in the grocery department at my house.

Don't you just love this lone green egg?
(Green eggs taste better, by the way- on that note, they are probably good with ham too)

I have obtained my egg collection almost free of charge too. I have this wonderful friend that I used to work with in my other life (before children) that supplies me with her excess eggs. "K" , my friend, loves to fool with chickens. Every week or so, through a family networked delivery system (she gives them to my sister, my sister gives them to my mother, my mother calls and says, "come get your eggs"), I am blessed with one, two, three, or even sometimes, four dozen eggs. Considering "vegan" eggs in the grocery store are $3.00-$4.00 a dozen (Chickens should not eat other chickens in their diet- that is why I eat vegan eggs), "K" is saving me lots of money and I am grateful! (Mental note: make "K" another quilt this year).

I am determined to learn to "plant by the signs" as so many of my ancestors did so, as soon as I figure out all of this zodiac, moon stuff, I'll be ready to plant my tomato seeds. (Any advice would be appreciated in this area) When I do, rest assured, you will be the first to know about it. It will be fun to see if I still have a green thumb or if my thumb has turned black.

I can't help to think though..... my empty egg shells (although they have been washed out) may be incubating salmonella. To be safe, I'm washing my hands a lot when I deal with them and have kept the kids away. Maybe this paranoia is justified, maybe I'm over reacting. Do you think the pioneers worried about salmonella? What do you think?