I’m Back… For About a Minute

What a busy few days this has been!  Sorry for the radio silence, but we don’t have internet at the country place and to be honest, if we did I probably still wouldn’t have had time to write.  There aren’t enough hours in the day – odd how I thought that would change once I didn’t have a “real” job anymore.  (chuckling a bit to myself)

We’ve had to do some fencing as well as a whole lotta mowing.  It’s dried up here in Colorado and you just never know when some yahoo is gonna toss a lit cigarette butt out their window and set your whole place ablaze.  Much better to get the grass short enough so as not to be so readily available as fire-fuel.  We’ve got the outhouse all decked out and really looking more like a second bathroom than an outhouse.  I’m pretty sure even my younger daughter, Skye, will not be squeamish about an outdoor potty.  (chuckling again)  We recycled some old wooden siding for the outside of the building, so it looks like it’s been there forever.  However, when you walk inside, it is clean and bright, with even a solar powered light for nighttime (an amenity specifically aimed at folks who aren’t so keen on outhouses).

We’ve seen far too many snakes for comfort this week – I’m not sure if maybe the rainy weather increased their food supply enough that they are reproducing like rabbits or what, but I sure can’t say I’m crazy about the ghastly beasts.  Ick.

My dandelion wine is still not ready to be bottled – it’s a bit foggy in the glass still, but it’s awfully tasty for being so young!  Same for the corn cob wine, though it’s much younger and I don’t even expect it to be bottle ready for quite some time.  I’m not at all a heavy drinker, but I do love to share these homemade wines with friends and family. 

One super fun thing lately is the garden – there are just so many things growing and becoming “pickable.”  That’s my favorite part – picking.  Weeding?  Not so much.  But I’m sure I’ll be doing some of that today, in spite of my dislike.  My reward for all that labor will be fried zucchini with supper (or perhaps in lieu of supper, lol).  It’s one of our favorites ’round here – and yes I know that it’s silly to take perfectly good, healthy food and turn it into deep fried junk, but we’ll have our fill of the good for you meals, too.  Tonight is going to be just for fun -sometimes you have to do that.

In response to my catsup query, I received 2 responses – maybe in this day and age of Heinz, ketchup making isn’t so popular anymore?  Anyway, L.A. and Jazz, if you could please email me your mailing addresses, I will gladly ship you a thank you gift for the ketchup/catsup recipes, once I’m done with my “no spending” week!  I started that a few days late so I could make sure to buy fuel for all the mowing “legally.”  My email address is jinman28@hotmail.com and I won’t share your home address info on this blog or anywhere else.  Thank you both so much for your recipes – I can’t wait to give them a whirl!  Once I do, I’ll be sure to post the new family favorite with credit to whoever wrote it. 

My update for the Biggest Kitchen Table challenge:

Disposables – I tend to lean toward less of these nowadays.  Having a husband who is so hard on socks means I have a steady supply of rags when I need them.  And I crochet my own dishcloths because I find they are so much tougher than anything I can buy at a store.  I’m particularly fond of cloth napkins, but I DO use far too much aluminum foil and plastic wrap – thank you Rhonda Jean for your “creative dish stacking” idea for food storage!  This is something I will implement, beginning right now!

Electricity and Water – Holy cow, Rhonda Jean had to go here, didn’t she?  I am going to be honest because that’s the only way I can grow, but it’s downright embarassing.  My family is a bit less concerned about electricity and water use than I.  I spend far too much time following people around, switching off radios or televisions or lights in rooms where no one is using them.  That is going to change – not only because I don’t have the time or patience or bank book for this nonsense anymore, but also because I feel it’s morally wrong to use up so much more than our more than fair share of this world’s resources.  In America, most of us, save the very poorest, leave a much larger footprint than should be legally allowed.  Looks like I’m going to be crackin’ some skulls (figuratively speaking) around here, because the times, they are a changin’.

Green Cleaning – Oh!  I get a gold star on this one!  I am VERY cautious about chemicals in my home.  I clean mostly with vinegar and baking soda and have recently begun using my homemade soap for dishsoap.  I also use a borax, washing soda, homemade soap recipe for laundry detergent.  Sure I could pay a whole lot more for synthetic fragrances and toxic chemicals… but why would I do that?

Home Production – I love to create.  I love to dream up new ways to do things.  I love to sew and crochet and make things from scratch – even if sometimes it would be “cheaper” and easier to buy them already made.  Knowing that I can is just so beyond satisfying.  Soul soothing, if you will.  I can foods and dry foods and bake bread.  I can whip up a batch of breakfast biscuits in 20 minutes and which are usually eaten in less than half that time with my homemade jam.  I raise hens and grow some of my own food.  And I absolutely never, ever, pass up on an opportunity to learn a new skill.

How about y’all?  Anyone else following the challenge and making important changes where necessary?