The Holiday Spirit in the U.S.A.

I just saw Jeremy off to work for Black Friday, and it I can't help but feel bitter that someone else's consumerist greed is pulling my husband out of bed before dawn so they can make extra money on cheap goods brought in from China. I'm angry that he had to go to work on Thanksgiving only to go to bed right after dinner so he could be up in time for the next morning. He had no less than five customers ask him why he was at work on Thanksgiving. His response? "So I can answer your question, my good sir."
  It doesn't have to be this way. We can shop at a local store, buy online, or make gifts ourselves. I will not buy holiday gifts from stores that make their employees jump through these early morning hoops with out a bonus. These corporations are making money off the tired backs of their workers, who in turn see no benefit.
  I am disgusted by the people who pile their fat pampered asses into their giant SUV's with heated seats so they can stand in line after line to acquire more and more STUFF only hours after they proclaimed to be thankful for what they already had. Thankfulness is just a formality in this country, and that makes my stomach churn.

Fall is Coming

Usually this time of year I'm really sad about the weather changing because that means my garden is dead until next spring. While I was looking around in the yard for hidden eggs, I was really surprised to find my tomatoes and peppers thriving. I picked five peppers and there are hundreds of tomatoes still turning red and the vines were flowering. I think it's time to figure out how to move the little greenhouse over the giant tomato bed to see if we can get fresh tomatoes during the winter. Great experiment, huh?
  Little things like this make me really excited for the possibilities that might be out there. Could I grow lemons here? Or bananas? When we can get a heated greenhouse, how far can we take our homesteading here in the middle of this little city? Perhaps this winter will be more productive than I thought.

Use It Up, Wear It Out, Make Due, Or Do Without

One of the things I've been trying really hard to focus on is trying to get the most out of my belongings. Either by wearing something until it goes in the rag pile or serving leftovers from last nights dinner. This week's project is trying to figure out ways to use up every part of food that goes into my kitchen. Right now it's pumpkin. Last night we had some friends over for pumpkin carving, and today I got nearly three pounds of seeds to toast for snacks later. Pumpkins innards are some of the nastiest, slimiest filth I have ever messed with in my house. The smell of them makes me gag. The seeds, however, are a wonderful snack with a lot of protein that we generally don't get much of around here. By saving the seeds, it allows my family to have an easy, seasonal treat that we couldn't afford otherwise. The pulp is being composted/ thrown about the yard by the chickens.
 With the weather getting colder, I have few ways of getting fresh produce that hasn't been trucked in from across the country, and trying to live the 'Eat Local' mantra is pretty tough when there is a foot of snow on the ground and you really want fresh grapes. This year I've decided to try sprouting seeds and beans for salads. I'm really hopeful that it will work out, because I can very easily save the seeds from my garden when it decides to bolt in the middle of summer.
 I love experimenting with food.

Dried Tomatoes, Pumpkin Seeds, and Sprouting Seeds

Fall

The weather is getting colder, and we're getting ready for it. Kind of. I really hate the cold, especially the snow. One of the things I hate the most about the weather change is that I can't keep the garden going. I like being able to go outside and pick a tomato or a radish to add to dinner.
 Our tomatoes did really well this year. I was able to can six quarts and I still have several pounds to dehydrate. Tomorrow I'm going to dig up the potato bed and see if there are any tubers waiting to be put up. I'm considering dehydrating those as well, but I haven't decided yet. I depends on how many we dig up. Because we didn't get planters built for the greenhouse, I don't get to have collards and lettuce all winter, which makes me very sad. I do plan on making several pounds of cheese this winter, and that makes me very happy.
 I've been avoiding posting because nothing interesting has been happening. Sorry.

Mystery Solved

 For about a week I wasn't finding any eggs in the coop in the morning. It was getting to the point that I thought I'd need to buy some from the store (gasp!) We use a lot of eggs here, and with only three hens we need every last egg. A broken shell is a minor tragedy. I was starting to assume the hens were eating their eggs for whatever reason chickens do, when I saw an egg in the middle of the yard--just sitting there. After I picked it up I figured I'd go on an egg hunt. Peeking behind an old pallet we propped up for shade, I found a HUGE nest with nearly a dozen eggs in it. All the eggs passed the float test, and now I know where they're being hidden.

Naughty chickens think they can hide from me!

Future Salsa

After months of waiting for something to grow in the garden, FINALLY, the first ripe tomatoes. Last year I didn't get any tomatoes out of the garden because the first frost hit early and hard. This year I planted double and I'm going to can most of it. It will also be my first year canning. I need to find a decent salsa recipe. And ketchup. I'd better get started.

These are going to be so good!

Of Tomatoes and Peppers

  Poking around in the garden today I noticed the tomatoes are finally starting to ripen. Most other gardeners in the area are already canning their tomatoes, and I haven't been able to pick even one yet. This is exactly what happened last year-I waited months for tomatoes, and the first frost came and destroyed every last fruit before it even turned pink. This year, however, I've planned ahead. We got a movable greenhouse. It's just a cheap plastic cover with a PVC frame, but we can install it above the tomato beds and extend the season by a month or so. I'm hoping to get a stronger greenhouse next year so I can have produce year round, but that's pretty far down the list of things to buy that we can't afford yet.
  The bell peppers seem to be doing really well, but they're really crowded by the volunteer tomato that came up nest to it. I didn't have the heart to pull it out, it is a perfect plant, it just may be too late to get any fruit from it. I'm going to have to mull it over. Another tomato plant would mean ten more quarts of sauce if I can keep it from dying in the frost, but on the other hand, bell peppers are very expensive and the girls eat a lot of them. Should I risk losing some peppers in order to try for more sauce? Such a hard life I lead to be asking these questions.

No car

So Jeremy and I have been thinking seriously about saving energy. We'd tossed around the idea that we should just get rid of our car and walk everywhere. Seeing how we live less than three miles from work and shopping, it seemed like something that we could totally do, we just never got around to it. Having a car is easy-it takes five minutes to get to the store, and almost no physical effort to haul the groceries home. Who wouldn't love having one?

 When the car died, we saw our chance to begin the great experiment. Because Jeremy works at a grocery store, and I volunteer at the Co-op, obtaining groceries hasn't been too difficult. As long as we break the shopping down to a few items every day instead of one big trip a week, we only need to catch a ride or take the bus for big (i.e. heavy) purchases like dog food once a month or so. 

 We finally got my bikes back from my father (for a clue as to why it took so long, see the post about my wonderful father) but they're in terrible shape. I really think it would be cheaper to get new ones than to fix these up. It makes me really sad that I won't be able to ride my little cruiser again. For Christmas I think we'll gift the family a bike trailer as well as a new bike. I'd love one of those giant trikes with the basket in the back, but we'll see. 

 Jeremy is walking an average of sixteen miles a week, and I'm averaging nine. More if we decide to go out to dinner or rent a movie. 

 So far it hasn't been terribly difficult, it just takes a lot of planning ahead. 

Summer Love

So I've been busy. Here is some of what we've been working on:

We planted blueberries! Three bushes to be exact. 

What else? 

Peppers

Eggs

Tomatoes

And The Hits Keep Coming

  So I got a really crappy call from the doctor a few days ago. Turns out that I am diabetic at the ripe old age of twenty-five. Not that I didn't really see this coming, my whole family has it and I have been fighting being overweight my whole life.
  Needless to say, I am really heartbroken over the diagnoses. For the past ten years I have fought and cried over my weight and I eat really healthy. No it feels like all this work has been for nothing. The game plan now is to go on an extremely low calorie diet (with a doctor monitoring).
  That means I get five to six hundred calories a day. It is really hard, but if I can stick with it I may be able to reverse it altogether. It also means I'm going to be a crabby mess for the next few months. Several women from my Granola Group have offered to take London in the afternoon so I can nap while Zoë does. It has been a lifesaver because I'd have no energy in the afternoon if I didn't.
  All of this has been such a shock and I'm feeling very bitter and angry. I know other people have it worse than I do, but I really can't help but ask, 'WHY ME'?

Good Morning

It is 5:45 in the fucking morning. Why am I up? It isn't as if I don't want to be asleep (I REALLY do), but my wonderful girls decided it was time to wake up. Three hours ago. If they don't take long naps today, someone is going to die. Probably me, but I'm not sure yet.

I was able to get a head start on the mound of smelly dishes, though. That's probably a good thing, because I'm having a class here tonight and this place is a disaster. I kept it clean for the past few weeks, spend one day away from home, and the damn place goes to hell. Thanks guys. I forgot to spend all day working on my lesson, but it'll iron out. Just picture everyone in their underwear, I guess.

In other news, I learned to crochet yesterday. I'm really excited about learning something new that isn't my crappy knitting. Maybe I'll even get to finish a project or two before the beasts find it and unravel it. Maybe. I don't have any real goals for my new skill other than it being something to do when the girls are asleep other than Facebook and cleaning.

If I'm lucky, I'll get to take the girls to the library today so I can print my lesson out, and give them some out of the house play time. We all need out of here. I hate this weather. I miss California. I am so grouchy.

Sorry about the fucking language.

Honest Diapers

Though we cloth diaper Zoë, one of the mom's in The Granola Clan posted a link to The Honest Company, Jessica Alba's diaper company. These diapers are free of all the nasty chemicals I hate. Awesome. They have a free trial pack, and all you have to pay is shipping. After that it is a monthly auto-ship program you need to cancel by phone. I just called them, and I'm really impressed! The customer service operator was kind and NOT pushy when I asked to cancel the autoship, and when I had a question she didn't know the answer to she put me on with one of the company founders. He (the founder/product developer) even gave me his email address if I have anymore questions. They did say they are listening to feedback about having order on demand, and smaller bundles. All in all, I'd say they get an A-. Good stuff.

Food Swap

Just finished hosting the food swap over here, and let me tell you, WOW! I had so much fun! I made crackers, cheese (a big hit), and applesauce to swap. I got two bottles of wine, two jars of tomato sauce, two jars of pickles, two baguettes, some caramel apple butter, and half a coconut chocolate pie. I love food swaps. Now excuse me while I have some pickles and wine.

Had to do it.

Generally I try to stay away from posting about my kids. I mention them, but I don't really want this blog to be entirely about them. It's about me and the weird things I'm thinking about. Right now I've been thinking about the Civil Rights movement and Dr. King's march on Washington. What does this have to do with my kids, you ask? Everything. If it weren't for people working and protesting, fighting and dying for equal rights and desegregation, this wouldn't have happended:

Zoë

London

The most beautiful kids on the planet.

Eggs!

We got our first four eggs this weekend, and they were so tiny! I was expecting the hens to start laying any day, but I was surprised when we actually got some. I couldn't tell who had laid them until I walked in on my RIR finishing up. We had them scrambled with a side of bacon and salsa. Not much else going on lately.

So very tiny.

Zoë got her first haircut the same day. She looks like Lil' Orphan Annie. My baby is growing up.

Still fluffy, though.

The Busy Life

I have so much going on right now. On the 21st I'm hosting the local food swap at my house. I don't know if I will have anything to offer as I am so busy with keeping the house clean. The next weekend I'm teaching a food budget class. I don't know if it will be at home or the Hub, a lot of people said they're coming.

The Budget Class has me most excited right now. It has been a very long time since I've taught it, and I'm feeling rusty. Having just begun prepping for it, I don't know how smoothly it will go. The method I teach is not a strict meal plan or coupon clipping. It involves taking one day to prepare all your staple ingredients and using a type of cooking matrix to build meals around it. It works really well for the people that try it, and I hope the people coming can get as much as they can out of it.

In other news. I've been volunteering at The Hub more, and it is so much fun. Mostly I sort and price the meat when it is delivered. Not too exciting, but at least I'm out of the house. I'm hoping this turns into a full time job, but that can be years down the road because it is such a new business.