I was so busy doing the 33/34 days prep that I didn’t have time to write. Let’s see. I had morning tea with some dear friends and we discussed just about everything that has to do with resilient communities. We talked a lot about preserving pork. Now, of course, I want to build a smokehouse.
Next we got the hay bales picked up for banking the church and the greenhouses. I spent hours going through my clothes. Sometimes you just have to admit that the days of being a size 8 are over and those too-tight shirts are heading to the thrift shop in the morning.
The big thing was moving the bee hives. They didn’t go far, just far enough to free up my one mature crab apple tree. This matters because I want to graft the tree with some scion wood and get a good crop without the wait that comes with planting tiny trees. We plan to harvest crab apples for making pectin and get a good crop of cider apples too. My morel mushroom patch is under the tree too. Getting those harvested meant crawling around under the hives which is probably not a good plan, no matter how docile the bees are. This was heck of a job and one I’m grateful to have out of the way.
This our first year with the wood stove going in the basement and we are finding it a bit too hot. We’ll see what it’s like when we get real winter weather. 45 degrees just doesn’t count as winter in my book. I actually harvested oyster mushrooms yesterday. The girl’s bedrooms are still pretty chilly. I made some hot sacks from scrap fabric and old rice. Phoebe lies to take one to bed with her.
Did you all see the news story about the genetically modified flu virus that is not only deadly but easily passed by casual contact? I don’t usually get cranky but sometimes we are just too stupid to be believed.
December 16, 2011 at 11:35 pm
Well bless you for thinking of us and coming back here to share more inspiring ideas.
We made a winter provisioning trip into the city, and got a scratch & dent STAINLESS STEEL dehydrator!
No more heating up plastic to put that organic garden produce by. And most of the dehydrator is made in America! I got it for somewhat more than a comparably sized Excalibur, but couldn’t be happier about the un-plastic nature, and plan that we can do the maintenance on it (if needed) for as long as the electric grid lasts.
Oh – and I was appalled at how high the thrift store prices are climbing.
December 17, 2011 at 7:35 am
Smart to move the bees at this time! I discovered the “joy” (NOT) of my hand cranked grain mill. Ed, after trying various manly methods of cranking got out his electric screw driver and after doing a mere 4 quarts decided it would never last if we made bread daily. My Holiday gift this year will be an electric mill and a solar panel dedicated to running it….guess that means we only have home made bread!
Thrift store prices are indeed, going up. I’m sure someone will really appreciate the clothes you bring them!
December 17, 2011 at 7:49 am
Thrift store prices are climbing higher here too but a thought occurred to me as I read this. In my area, the thrift store also has a food bank. More people are using the food bank and there are fewer donations with the economy the way it is. My guess would be they’e had to increase prices at the thrift store to try to make up the loss at the food bank. Definitely makes shopping more difficult for peope who needed the thrift store before the economy tanked.
December 17, 2011 at 10:24 am
I have noticed the prices at thrift shops are higher and the stock is way down. This summer I went to a annual church mega tag sale and noticed the quality and the quantity of stuff for sale was much less than in previous sales. I think as long as people have no work or are worried about losing a job we can expect this to continue. All the more reason to donate what ever you can to the organizations that help people out of work. Time to hit my closet!
December 17, 2011 at 4:56 pm
“Did you all see the news story about the genetically modified flu virus that is not only deadly but easily passed by casual contact?”
No, I sure didn’t. Got a link to this story?
December 17, 2011 at 5:01 pm
You can find a link if you go to NBC Nightly News for 12/15/11. You will find the story there. Crazy. Crazy and infuriating. Cool on the SS dehydrator Vicky. I love my Wisper Mill.
December 18, 2011 at 10:45 pm
Wow-I had not heard about this. Kate-here is the link although I am sure you found it by now-http://earthsky.org/health/deadly-man-made-strain-of-bird-flu-virus-should-they-publish.
This is very scary stuff indeed. Wash hands, do not touch eyes without clean hands, repeat-wash hands!!!!! I keep a box of huggies wipes in my car and it is the first thing I do when I get into the car after shopping. Now I am wondering if I need to switch to an antibacterial. I have read that it is not good to use antibacterial products-how does everyone here feel about that?