Happy Independence Days Peter Piper

I believe I have officially pickled, jellied, and dried more pecks of peppers than Peter Piper ever shook a stick at. Seriously. It is the middle of November and my pepper plants are still producing like crazy. It is completely. Out. Of. Control. I'm not complaining, though. My mother-in-law gave me her old food dehydrator that was gathering dust in her attic. I have used it to dry our cayennes and our friend Tim's jalapenos and poblanos and apples and pears from the co-op. Tim has given us a lot of poblanos, which I love love love because I like to make my own chili powder and anchos (dried poblanos) are just great for that. I am getting such a kick out of all of these peppers that I am definitely going to grow more varieties next year - including our own poblanos. So, I don't have all my Independence Days stuff separated into categories, but I have been doing things nonetheless. Harvesting peppers, peppers, and more peppers. And some basil and chard. I have preserved peppers by drying and making jelly, basil by making pesto, and apples and pears by drying.

As far as eating the food, we have been eating a batch of chili a week for several weeks now. I'll post the recipe below. Peppers will not go to waste around here. I have not been as diligent about composting because all of my receptacles are full! Once hubby builds me another raised bed, I will have space to resume composting. We have been doing our usual recycling. I have been shopping regularly at a great little resale shop for most of our clothing. I made most of the kids' Halloween costumes. Actually, one of them - a cheerleader's costume/uniform - came from the resale shop and then I altered it to fit my 10-year old. My other girls were Tinkerbell and a mermaid with homemade costumes. My 8-year old boy was Optimus Prime and I must confess that his costume came from Target. Oh - and I made my sister-in-law a scarf for her birthday. It's a fun pattern and I'll post it below. It's an adaptation of this scarf.

I have been making a ridiculous amount of soap because I plan to give soapy love to teachers - and we have a lot of teachers this year :) - and for hostess gifts during the holidays. I plan to give a trio of soaps: Cranberry-Kaolin for shaving, Pumpkin Spice for general use, and Peppermint-Pumice foot scrubby soap. The first two are curing and I will be making the Peppermint-Pumice soap in the next day or two. Unlike cookies, soap can (and should) be made weeks in advance, so I am excited that our gifts will be ready early. I think it will take the pressure off during those last two crazy weeks before Christmas.

And speaking of Christmas, I have decided to reclaim my love of Christmas and the holiday season this year. I've been a little humbuggy the last few (like, 7 or 8) years because the frenetic pace of the hustle and bustle is a bit much for me. And, although it sounds cliche, the commercialization of Christmas really gets to me, too. I would love to get and give only handmade Christmas presents, but many of the givers in my life feel compelled to buy buy buy. They mean well, I mean, they mean the very very best...it's just too much, you know? Last year I asked my brother and his girlfriend to give us a small homemade gift and they said that they just don't have the skills. I remembered some of the gorgeous pics they had emailed me from their outings in Oregon and Colorado and asked for them to have a couple of them blown up to 8x10 and give those. My brother felt that that wasn't enough because it only cost, like, nine bucks to do. But to me, I ended up with four gorgeous pieces of original art for my home. Not only is it special to me because my brother and his lady took them, but it would have cost me a lot to purchase four 8x10 landscape photos at a gallery. And you know what? Once they saw the pics blown up, they decided that they liked them so much that they were going to use them in their own home! So, the moral of the story is that everyone has a skill that can be used for homemade gifts.

In an effort to reclaim Christmas and to share my love of handmade gifts, I am going to throw a kids' Christmas party and I am so so so excited. Kids just naturally understand the special nature of giving something they made with their own hands. So, here's what I am going to do:
1. I am going to take a picture of each kid when they arrive. Then, they will each decorate a ready-to-paint wooden frame (which I bought at Michael's yesterday for $1 each).
2. We're going to decorate cookies. Just because it's fun - no agenda here.
3. The kids are going to watch The Polar Express. I love that movie. Plus, it will give me time to print out the kids' photos and put them in the frames. After the movie, we will wrap up the framed photos and each kid will have a handmade gift for their parents to open on Christmas morning. Fun!
4. To help everyone remember that Christmas is a time of giving, I am asking everyone to bring a canned food item. They will use their food item as a ballot to cast a vote. I'm thinking we'll vote on our favorite Christmas treat, cookies vs. candy. But I also kind of like the idea of favorite holiday movie villain, Ebenezer Scrooge vs. The Grinch. I don't know.

Okay, this post has gotten way out-of-control-long, so I'm going to put my chili recipe and the scarf pattern in a separate post later today. Okay, so it may be tomorrow. I'll do my best!
Love,
B

Woo Hoo! Canning rocks!

Okay peeps. Since my last post I have canned 3 half-pints of jalapenos and 8 pints of dill pickles! I am officially over my home-canning-phobia and I am threatening to can anything that will stand still long enough for me to squish it into a jar. So, maybe the stuff I've put up in the last couple of weeks won't get my family through winter - but I have overcome a hurdle and that has to count for something. Plus, it has opened up a whole new world of homemade gift possibilities for Christmas and beyond. Did you know that you can make and can homemade mustard? And did you also know that you can now buy canning jars that feature more contemporary styling so you can give gifts that exude a modern gourmet flair? Well, you can. So now you know.

I want to take a moment to address the roots of my home-canning-phobia because I just can't help but think that I may not be the only person in this great big world who has suffered needlessly from this affliction. First of all, my phobia is not rooted in germ-o-phobia. Let me state for the record that even though I may suffer from myriad neuroses, germ-o-phobia is not among them. I know of a lady who spent a weekend canning jar after jar after jar of glorious produce only to be wakened in the night by fears of poisoning her family. She tossed out every bit of most-likely-completely-safe food. Yikes. In case you are affected by the germ-based version of this phobia, let me just say this: There has been a lot of research done about safe procedures for home canning. If you follow the procedures dilligently - including checking to be sure that the jars have sealed, and including checking the food for signs of spoilage before consumption - well then I just can't see any danger.

No, my phobia was actually rooted in an overwhelming feeling of being intimidated by the procedure of canning. It just seemed like so. many. steps. Then there's the image in my mind of being chained to the stove amidst bushel upon bushel of fruits and veggies. Add to that the fact that my garden did not produce the amount of food that I thought it would, which left me feeling that I didn't have enough to preserve. The recipe for pickled hot peppers in my canning book called for almost 3 pounds of peppers to make five pints of pickled peppers. Well, I only have two jalapeno plants and even though they have been very prolific, I did not have 3 pounds of peppers and it seemed a little silly to buy that many peppers at the grocery store only to wind up with more peppers than we would consume in five years. So this had me feeling a little stuck for a while as well.

I'm not sure what finally got me off of high-center, let's call it Divine Intervention, but I was suddenly struck by the realization that just because the recipe yielded 5 pints, it didn't mean that I had to make that much. Yeah, I know. I'm not that great at thinking outside the box sometimes, okay? There are a lot of good things about me, too. But I digress. Moving on. I made a half recipe of the pickling liquid and used half-pint jars. Then I just chopped up my peppers and decided to make as many jars as I could, which turned out to be three. I was able to use my regular old stock pot and I actually used my pasta/strainer insert as the rack to keep my jars off the bottom of the pot. This turned out to be a great way to start out for a newbie home canner because the procedures are the same whether you process one jar or twelve, but three or four jars just feels much more do-able. Also, my only investment was about seven bucks for a 12-pack of jars and I saved the leftover pickling liquid to use the next time my plants are flush with peppers (For pickling peppers, the liquid was only white vinegar and water, which it seems to me should keep indefinitely. Leftover pickling liquid that includes sugar and spices can usually be stored in the fridge for a week.).

Yesterday, I pickled five pints of cucumbers. I stopped at five because that is all my pot would hold at once, but I still had a bunch of cucumbers left. By the time the pickles were processed and dinner was done, I was too tired to finish off the cukes. So, I threw everything in the fridge and started again this afternoon. And you know what is so fun about that? When you have 3 pints of cucumbers in front of you and the liquid is already seasoned and waiting, your creative juices get going and you start thinking about "what if I add..." So today's three pints of sliced dills included a cayenne pepper tucked into each jar for a spicy variation on a traditional hamburger dill. It's so fun! At the risk of exposing the overall lame-ness of my personal life, I'm going to say that it's, like, the funnest thing ever. Seriously! You should totally give it a try. Even if it's just one jar. Even if it seems silly. It's a skill that could prove valuable in the future, so practice now. You will be glad you did!

Long time, no see

Hello again, world! Wow, two months since my last post. Well, I have a whole mess of excuses if you care to hear them. First, picture Jack from The Shining - driven mad by being cooped up in the Overlook hotel for a long winter. Okay, so he was a little "off" before settling in for the season, but, really, who am I to judge? So, we spent the summer mostly at home. Yes, I know that is the most eco-friendly way to spend the summer. In fact, that is why we spent a lot of the spring sprucing up our backyard and turning it into live-able space. But the reality of spending two months at home with five kids and without a vehicle that will accomodate everyone - thus eliminating even the possibility of excursions - well, it's a little overwhelming. That may be sugar-coating things just a bit, but you get the picture.

In light of those circumstances, I am prepared to cut myself a little slack when I look at my Independence Days accomplishments, and the, er, lack of accomplishments as well. I would appreciate it if you would cut me a little slack, too. And go ahead and cut yourself some while you're at it, because I'm certain that you have a lot going on as well.

Plant something - I have planted NOTHING since my last post!
Harvest something - A few tomatoes, but my tomatoes did not do as well as I had hoped, watermelons, bell peppers, jalapeno peppers, cayenne peppers, cucumbers
Preserve something - Nada - but I am getting ready to pickle some jalapenos just as soon as I get over being intimidated by the process
Cook something new - This one's pretty much a joke. I have hardly been cooking at all.
Reduce waste/dependence - I made re-usable cloth sacks for my kids to take their snacks in for school so we won't use plastic bags, and I have started working on projects for Christmas presents, and our thermostat has been set on 77 all summer
Work on community food security - Zip. Zero. Zilch.
Manage reserves - Ditto.
Store something/prep something - Hubby built me a little hobby greenhouse so I can keep my tender perennials over winter and hopefully grow something yummy, too. Bought canning jars and accesories to pickle peppers and cukes once I get over aforementioned intimidation.

So, you can see that I didn't do a whole lot of Independence Days activities over the summer, but I did more this year than I ever have before. Oh, and all of my kids made it through the summer alive and with all limbs attached, so I'd say it was a successful season overall. They started school last Thursday and I can feel myself recuperating a little more everyday. Hope you had a great summer, too!
Brooke

Independence Days week ending - well, just lately - as of 6/18/09

I just have not been doing a good job of writing things down in my weekly journal. The last couple of days I have started to feel like I haven't really been getting much done so I decided to write down what I've been up to. Still not all of the things I would like to see on the page, but certainly better than nothing. And certainly better than what it would be if I didn't have the Independence Days challenge gnawing away at me. So, here's (kind of) what I've been up to:

Plant something - more stevia, more basil, lots of pretty
flowers ;-), 2 blackberry bushes

Harvest something - misc. herbs, Swiss chard

Preserve something - Not yet, but harvesting and freezing chard is on my to-do list for *today*

Cook something new - Chard frittata (recipe below), whole wheat crepes - which are just crazy good. Even though I'm not completely convinced that they belong in my Independence Days list (I'm not completely convinced that they don't, either), I'm including them because they are just so stinkin' good.

Reduce waste/dependence on commercial systems - handmade gifts for my nieces' birthdays, working on handmade gifts for Father's Day that may or may not be finished on time, and finally, one that I'm afraid to post about because it means admitting to the world just how much fake juice I have been letting my kids drink this summer - I have started experimenting with sewing juice pouch crafts. I just couldn't bear to see the little pouches pile up in the trash - and with 5 kids of my own plus the typical 1-3 neighbor kids that are here at any given time - they were REALLY piling up.

Work on community food security - We're working on a harvest-bartering system with our friend Tim. He always has a HUGE garden and he always gives us tons of zucchini and yellow squash. So, we decided not to grow squash ourselves so we could focus garden space on other veggies - mostly ones that Tim doesn't grow. Like chard. Today I harvested our first chard and sent some to work with hubby to give to Tim. I put together a little flyer with information and recipes so he will know how to use it (I had no idea how to use it until it came in our co-op share with recipes). It was really fun to do because we have enjoyed the bounty of Tim's garden for several years now, but this is the first time we have had something to offer in return. I'm already making a mental list of other people who might enjoy some chard, too.

Trading garden veggies with Tim makes me realize other possibilities for food sharing. It is unlikely that we will ever grow everything we eat - especially on our small suburban plot. But, if several of our neighbors started gardens about the same size as our relatively small garden, and we all planned our crops together with sharing in mind, well, we could grow quite a bit. Incidentally, I am amazed at how much you can grow in a small garden when you use square foot gardening to maximize your space. We went to a block party last weekend that was organized by some fabulous neighbors and gave us all a chance to meet, get to know each other a little, and just generally build a sense of community. I was secretly making mental notes about who could be potential partners in my little food-security-schemes.

Okay, here's the recipe I came up with for a Swiss chard frittata. It's basically an adaptation from a spinach quiche recipe I've had forever.

Swiss Chard Frittata Serves 4-6
· 2 strips bacon, chopped (turkey bacon works, too, or skip and use a little olive oil)
· 2-3 stems chard, leaves and stems chopped
· 2 cloves garlic, minced
· 1 cup fresh mushrooms, sliced
· 6 eggs, beaten + enough milk to make 2 cups
· ½ cup shredded cheddar cheese (feta would also be good here)
· Salt & pepper to taste
1. Preheat oven to 350⁰. In a 10” oven-proof skillet, fry bacon until it’s crispy.
2. Add garlic, chard, and mushrooms. Cook until wilted. Season with salt and pepper.
3. Add egg/milk mixture to skillet. Continue to cook, stirring frequently, until soft curds begin to form.
4. Sprinkle with cheese. And transfer skillet to oven.
5. Bake 20-25 minutes until eggs are set and cheese begins to brown.

Okay, I guess that's about all I have for now. Enjoy your day!
~B

Independence Days - sort of

So, no posts on Independence Days for the last couple of weeks. Mostly because, well, I haven't been doing much in that arena. I've made some bread and some soap. I've tended to the garden daily - weeding, de-aphiding, adding mulch, then weeding, de-aphiding, and adding more mulch. I bought some blackberry bushes this weekend (tired, root-bound-looking plants from Lowe's for 75% off = $5.75/plant!) but I haven't got them in the ground yet. I've been researching creative ways to use chard, because we're about to have a bunch of it. I want to share some of it, but when I say "would you like some chard?" I am met with a glassy-eyed stare. So, I think I will borrow a trick from the lovely ladies who run the co-op and give recipes with veggies I share. One of their recipes is, after all, what kicked off my own love affair with Swiss chard and is the reason that I am about to be blessed with copious quantities of it. I will share recipes here later. I have been sewing and mending and knitting. But, I have NOT been writing things down. Shame. On. Me.


What I have been doing a LOT of is Kids-kids-kids. School's out. We were finally able to finalize the adoption of our youngest on 5/29. And we have been out of the state the last two weekends for BMX races. Yowza.


Oh, and last, but certainly not least - I have been withdrawing from Effexor XR. Double yowza. Google "Effexor withdrawal" or "brain shivers" and you will see what I mean. I am fortunate to be experiencing *relatively* mild symptoms. Which is to say that as I am sitting here typing at my kitchen table, it feels more like I am sitting on a boat in rough seas, but I am not completely incapacitated or bed-bound.

I am not a doctor. I do not play a doctor on TV. I cannot give you medical advice. I cannot tell you what medicine you should or shouldn't take. But I can give you some practical advice. Before you decide to take a medication, do your own research. Figure out if you can live with the risks and side effects associated with said medication. That must be balanced, of course, with the risks and symptoms of whatever condition you are treating. Also remember that "natural" treatments can have risks and side effects as well and you should make yourself aware of those as well.


For me, I have struggled with depression since at least my adolesence. I was first prescribed medication - Zoloft - to treat it when I was nineteen. I have lived with the *knowledge* that I will likely be on and off of anti-depressant medication for the rest of my life. So, about three years ago when it was time for another "on" period, I did not question my prescription of Effexor XR. When my doc told me not to go off of it suddenly, that I would have to taper down over a couple of weeks, I did not question that, either. But I can tell you now that I wish I had. I cannot say for sure that I will never take an anti-depressant again, but I can say for sure that it won't be Effexor. I am going to research alternative treatments, preferably nutritional treatments, now so that I will be better prepared to respond if/when the depression returns and hopefully be able to avoid pharmaceuticals. Pharmaceutical companies make money when people take medicine, not when they are treated and able to avoid medicine. That may just be the way of capitalism, but it certainly puts them and me working at cross-purposes.

Anyway, off the soapbox. A few of our neighbors got together and organized a block party for this weekend, so I am excited about that. Shamefully, we don't know many of our neighbors and this will be a great opportunity to change that. Community is a very important thing - and becoming more and more important every day. I am a doomer, after all. So, building community ties is a great, and hopefully fun, way to enhance our preparedness.

I'll try to get back on the Independence Days wagon full swing in the next few days.
Brooke

Independence Days week ending 5/23/09

We had a good week this week. I finally got some things done and it is really feeling like summer. The kids go back for 4 more days of school next week and then summer vacation begins. Love it!

Here's my list of Independence Days activities for last week:

Plant Something: bell pepper, hot peppers, roses, strawberries, blueberries

Store something: stocked up on multi-vitamins, vitamin C, rice, beans, canned pumpkin, canned turnip greens, kids Tylenol, cough drops, spaghetti sauce, and last (but certainly not least) a bag of candy

Reduce waste/reduce dependence: sorted recyclables and delivered to local recycling center, used leaves cleaned out of the back of my mom's yard in layering new lasagna beds.

Feeling great! Hoping to get strawberries this summer. I guess we'll have to wait at least a year for blueberries, but I'm sure it will be worth the wait. I'm not going to win the debate over replacing the ornamental pears out front with actual fruit-bearing trees, so I'm working on plotting out potential planting sites for peach trees in the back yard. It may mean pulling out the privet in my butterfly garden to make room, but the privet's become rather unruly anyway.

I love this Independence Days challenge. It helps me on a couple of different fronts. First, since I've never done serious gardening before, the challenge kind of keeps me going. My previous experience lies in a few common culinary herbs and a couple of tomato plants. Without the challenge to spur me on, I may have just planted in my raised "vegetable" bed and been done with it. Instead, I keep thinking, "What can I plant now and where can I put it?" I'm re-thinking current beds to include edibles and making new beds to hold even more. Second, the challenge keeps me encouraged because I keep track of what I do and how I spend my time. I find this very helpful for those days (weeks?) when I run around like crazy but feel that I have accomplished nothing. When I look at my notes, I see that I have, in fact, accomplished many important things.

These are things I have metioned before, but I think it bears repeating. Especially in light of Memorial Day. What better way to honor those who have died in service to our country than to live the most independent and abundant lives we can? Historically, isn't that what America stood for? Independence from oppression and tyranny. Abundance through hard work. These are beautiful and wonderful values and we can return to that vision. They were common values as recently as my grandparents' generation. We have departed from that vision in a way that is similar to how a rebellious teenager veers off from his parents. But it is important to remember that rebellious teenagers, through experience and success and failure, often return to the ways of their parents. We can do that, too. We can say, "You know what, we tried it our way and it just didn't work, so we're going to go back to what DID work." We can decide not to keep up with the Joneses, but instead to keep up with the needs of our families. We can choose to provide for our families in ways that will help to provide for the next generation of our families. We can do it. We will do it. It's hard, though, isn't it?
Brooke

Independence Days week ending 5/16/09

Well, this update is going to cover two weeks' worth of activities. We had 21 straight days of rain and I was pretty much couch-bound with sick kiddos for 2 weeks - so the list of my accomplishments is shorter than I would have hoped. But I did get some things done, so I am pleased with that.

Plant something - calendula seeds (in herb garden), re-potted root-bound peppermint, seeds for Mesclun salad mix, planted new tomato plants to replace 5 of my seedling transplants that didn't make it, bee balm (herb garden), thinned seedlings and pulled weeds in veggie garden.

Manage reserves - Okay, I'm not sure if this counts, but we ate a lot of food from the back of our freezer and from the food I stored a couple of weeks ago because I was unable to get to the store for 2 weeks.

Cook something new - Cooked beets for the first time and LOVED them! Yum -roots and greens! I'm so excited now about the beets in my garden. Also, I'm not the one who actually cooked this recipe - but I enjoyed it A LOT - and I wrote the recipe down to use myself. Anyhoo - the reason I'm putting it here is that it is a super easy recipe for a yummy treat that is sure to put a smile on the family's faces even in troubled times, and it is simple and uses only items that we would almost certainly have in our emergency stores. I got it from my mom:
Peanut Butter Cookies:
1 cup smooth or crunchy peanut butter
1 cup sugar
1 egg
1 tsp baking powder

Seriously. That's it. Mix it up. Scoop it up. Flatten them with a fork and bake at 350 for 6-10 minutes. I think it deserves it's place here. The cookies are totally delish. And, in the absence of eggs, you can usually sub 1 Tblsp of milled flaxseed + 3 Tblsp of water for an egg. I haven't tried it in this recipe, but I have had success with it in other recipes.

Regenerate what is lost - planted calendula seeds in butterfly garden

Reduce waste/Reduce dependence on commercial systems - made bread, sorted recycling, used brown paper grocery sacks to make paper pulp to make handmade paper embedded with wildflower seeds (Okay, I admit it, I'm pretty bad at remembering to take my cloth grocery bags with me to the store. But don't worry; I flagellate myself regularly with a gluten-free spelt noodle ;-) ). I used this paper to wrap up my homemade soap to go with my handknit washcloths. I'm kind of proud of my handmade Mothers Day gifts, can ya tell? It's mostly because I actually finished them in time to give them on Mothers Day. Which brings me to my final activities in the reduction category: working on and completing some Christmas gifts. Sounds impressive, right? Well, it's not - these gifts are to fulfill IOU's from LAST Christmas. Yikes. I have really patient family members. I finished Dana's handbag, Lance's hat and scarf, and almost finished an apron for my mom. I'll probably get finished just in time to start on this year's Christmas gifts!

Well, this week should be more productive. I've got roses, blueberry bushes, strawberries, and peppers to get in the ground!
TTFN,
Brooke

Independence Days week ending 5/2/09

Well, I've been trying to post my Independence Days updates on Mondays, but we've been passing a non-swine-flu-virus around our family, so I'm a little behind. Last week's Independence Days activities were a little out of the ordinary for me. It's been raining for almost two weeks now, so working in the garden hasn't been much of an option. Then came swine flu. I mean, not to our house, but to the world. After marinating in all of the H1N1 hysteria for days now, I've realized that I'm actually much less afraid of H1N1 than I am of public/government responses. The H1N1 bug itself, at least in its current form seems to be fairly mild. The one confirmed case in our state did not require hospitalization.

I realized, though, that if I woke up to unexpected school closings one morning and the cupboards were bare - well, then I may have to be hospitalized. So the combination of swine flu and inclement weather brought the food storage issue to the forefront for me. And you know what? I'm really glad it did. I have been intimidated by the idea of starting a food storage system - I mean, where do you begin? Doomers (and I use that term affectionately) recommend having enough food on hand to feed your family and animals for 6-12 months. That just seems crazy overwhelming to me.

A couple of years ago, as The Ice Storm of The Century was rolling into town, I was trying to do my regular grocery shopping. I found myself in a crowded, poorly-stocked grocery store. And the worst part was that I was stuck in line for two hours surrounded by anxious and panicky shoppers. I would prefer not to repeat that experience again. So, instead of trying to prepare for the apocalypse in one fell swoop, I decided to start small. I asked myself: If getting to the store is likely to be inconvenient for a couple of weeks, what would I need to have on hand to make that time as "normal" (I use that term loosely for my crew) and comfortable as possible? That simplified things greatly for me and gave me a good jumping off point. And I can tell you that it has paid off for me big time this week. Getting to the grocery store this week would have been really inconvenient and probably would have resulted in a lot of fast-food dinners. But a little prep has truly gone a long way and this has been a valuable lesson for me.

Store something/Prep something: brown rice, dried pinto beans, TVP, canned fruit & veggies, canned beans, sweet treats (hard candy, hot chocolate, popsicles), cereal, canned soup, ramen noodles (keeps morale high around here), pasta, spaghetti sauce, cheese, mac-n-cheese, flour, Tylenol - adults and kids, ibuprofen - adults and kids, benadryl, imodium, vitamins, dog and cat food, vinegar, bleach

Reduce waste/reduce dependence: made bread, made a batch of laundry detergent, worked on knitted washcloths for Mothers Day gifts, sorted recycling

Learn a new skill: Read a book about herb gardening

So, don't get overwhelmed by tasks that seem larger-than-life. That is really the point behind the Independence Days challenge, after all: do what you can, no matter how small it seems and do a little bit everyday. Small changes applied over time really do add up.

Take care and keep on truckin'!
Brooke

Independence Days - Week ending 4/25

Yea!!!! Another productive week!

1. Plant something: Expanded my herb bed; planted lavender, citronella (technically a citronella-scented geranium), dill, cilantro, stevia, basil, parsley, grape tomatoes, and either lemon balm or bee balm (not sure which one yet) in newly-expanded herb bed; planted several varieties of tomatoes, 2 types of peppers, bush (soup) beans, kale (I know it's really way too late here to start kale, but what the heck - I need practice anyway), watermelons (3 kinds!), carrots, and chard.

2. Reduce waste/reduce dependence on commercial systems: Worked on hand-knit washcloths for Mothers Day gifts (from this adorable pattern - fast, easy, and tooooo cute!), finished setting up our home recycling center (no curb-side pick up here), sorted our first batch of recyclables, baked bread

3. Regenerate what is lost: I'm not sure if my entries in this category truly qualify, but in our highly developed suburban area, the impact to the environment and to native species is *WOW* off the charts. One of my projects since we moved here has been a butterfly garden in my back yard. I didn't spend much time on it last year, but most of my previous plantings there are perennials, so I still have something to work with. This week I planted what is either lemon balm or bee balm. The flowers are supposed to be highly attractive to butterflies and to bees. I also planted dill and parsley, which are larval (sp?) host plants. I have this strange idea that if I give the butterflies their own dill and parsley in their designated area of the yard, then they will refrain from laying eggs on the dill and parsley in my herb garden. Makes sense, right? Yeah, that's what I was afraid of. Oh well. The Eastern Swallowtails are an amazing sight in the garden, so I'm willing to share my parsley.

I'm so glad to have my square foot garden underway. I know that this will be a big learning year for me, as I've never gardened on this scale before. I know there will be failures, but that's okay. There will be successes too, I'm certain. I'm also thrilled to have my herb bed expanded. I've expanded it a little bit each year - the digging is hard, so I have to do a little at a time. Any further expansion will require additional beds, which I am not opposed to in the least, BTW. There are so many wonderful herbs, and so many wonderful uses for them. I dream of a cook's garden, a dyer's garden, and a soaper's garden. But then there are medicinal uses as well. Of course, many plants are great for several different uses. Calendula, for example, can be used in cooking (commonly called "pot marigold" because of this use), would be great for use in dying fibers, is useful in soaps, salves, and tinctures for its calming and anti-inflammatory effects, and can be taken internally as a tea for many different ailments. Oh - did I mention that I have Calendula seeds on the way?!

Spring has sprung!
Brooke

Indedpendence Days

Okay, an Independence Days update. You can join this challenge at Sharon's website. The idea is to break down the sometimes-overwhelming tasks involved with becoming more self-sufficient into smaller pieces that can be done a little bit at a time. It's the whole "How do you eat an elephant?" "One bite at a time." strategy applied to sustainability. It's great! Here are Sharon's categories:
1. Plant something
2. Harvest something
3. Preserve something
4. Store something
5. Manage reserves
6. Cook something new
7. Prep something
8. Reduce waste
9. Learn a new skill
10. Work on community food security
11. Regenerate what is lost

You can read more detailed descriptions of these categories at Sharon's website. Just look at the Independence Days section of her archives. I've added a twelfth category for myself, just to reflect one of my own personal goals - Reduce dependence on commerical/industrial systems. I mostly mean Wal-Mart. A lot of things that will go in this category could probably fit under reduce waste, but sometimes it's a stretch. So, I just added my own. Sometimes, like this week, I will just combine them. I tracked my activities last week and here are my results:
Plant something - lemongrass, rosemary, lemon verbena, basil, pole beans...also planned out the planting for my raised bed, but it was too rainy to plant that day ;), purchased stevia and lavender plants but the planting was thwarted by the rain
Reduce waste/reduce dependence- Finished 5 more of my cloth napkin/"paper towels" (since we added 3 more to our fam back in March, the number I had previously finished was just not doing the job), made a batch of soap for Mothers Day gifts, worked on (and finally finished!) Lance's knitted hat to fulfill the IOU I gave him for Christmas, made a couple of loaves of bread
Learn a new skill - Started reading a book on home canning in hopes that, by the time the season gets into full swing and it's actually time to start canning, this won't intimidate me so much. Plus I need time to get the supplies together.

Wow! I've really enjoyed keeping notes on my activities as it helps me realize that I do actually accomplish things! You know how a lot of the time you feel like you run around like a chicken with your head cut off, but you can't think of anything that you've actually gotten done? Well, I bet if you started keeping track you would be pleasantly surprised. I certainly have been.

I am also thinking about adding another category: Convincing My Husband to Go Along with My Latest Crazy Idea. I seem to be spending a lot of time lately in this area. Currently I am working on convincing him that it is a fabulous idea to pull out the ornamental pear trees in our front yard that, for the first time, actually look really pretty, and replace them with crabapple or cherry trees. Oh yeah, and I want to start keeping bees. I am admittedly quirky, but I don't think the bees thing seems weird at all. Jeff is standing firmer on this subject than he does on most because he thinks it is completely outrageous to keep bees in the burbs. Personally, I think the removal of two perfectly good trees seems weirder (although still a good idea, in the long run). I think he will eventually come around on the trees, but I may lose on the bees. I won't go down without a fight, though!

Until next time,
Brooke