I got myself about 6 pounds of good stew beef this week and did some cold-weather canning. I really like to can in the winter. The extra heat and humidity is welcome and there are no competing, compelling tasks to call me away. I usually can in quart jars but I have switched to pints. There are just the four of us at home now and I don’t need to prepare as much food. I was just reading about a meeting of agricultural ministers from around the world. They called for developed nations to address the problem of food waste as we throw out enough food to keep the 1 billion staving people fed.
I spent a couple of happy hours at the BagShare/Sewing Center this weekend. My 4-H sewing group met for the first time on Saturday morning. We had 7 boys and girls between the ages of 7 and 9. They learned a couple of basic sewing stitches and took home some practice fabric, needles and thread. Yesterday, some folks volunteered to repair a pile of donated machines. It was really interesting to watch these guys at work. My brain does not work like that but I can certainly appreciate the ones that can play around with a machine for a few minutes, diagnose a problem and fix it with common sense and a tiny screwdriver. Sometimes, a simple squirt of oil was all that was needed. I wonder how many perfectly useful things are tossed every day for want of basic maintenance. As with the food, waste is habit we can no longer afford, either economically or environmentally. I was struck by the quality of the older machines. The heavy metal bodies keep the machines from bouncing around and parts tend not to break. Once a plastic part breaks, that’s the end of it and finding replacement parts is about impossible. Anyway, I returned with a pair of Duluth jeans that someone had discarded. They were too long but a few minutes of time and some hem binding and I had them shortened and ready to wear. I also made a gorgeous bag as I needed a new purse. I used an upholstery sample for fabric and the bad looks designer rather than scavenged.
We have permaculture tonight. It’s time to gear up for spring and I need to get my seeds ordered. I don’t need much except for beans and squash. I went way overboard on tomato sauce this year and I will be cutting bach on what I plant. Not a problem as I want more space for the things I have already run out of. I’m down to two cabbages and maybe 6 more meals of squash. We eat a lot of both.
I mentions that I was going in on turkey poults with my milk farmer. It turns out that others want to join us and I can see a turkey group forming. Sharing labor and resources is so wise on many levels. Bruce is working with several neighbors to go in on buying a used Kubota tractor together. There is one for sale in the neighborhood and five families want it. None of can really afford the full price and none can really justify the expense anyway as it’s the kind of thing you need only occasionally. While discussing it, one if the interested guys suggested buying it together and sharing. We live next door to each other and share the big field that backs up our houses. The families already share much and get along without being intimate. I think we can pull this off without a lot of effort. I think we need to pull this off. It goes along with food waste, discarded sewing machines and turkey poults. We can’t afford not to share and co-operate. We can’t afford not to have a tribe. In a town as small as ours, finding tribe is lot easier but I think it can be done anywhere. I would love to hear from others here about what you’re doing in this respect. Is it church or school or food co-op or book club. Maybe it’s family and maybe friends, old and new. One thing is certain. You need people. The image of prepper/survivalists is often one of gun-toting isolated military types. Most of us have no desire to live like this and it’s certain that most of us couldn’t, even if we wanted to. Most of us will continue to plug along no matter what happens in Iran or Washington. One of the things I am most sure of is that plugging along will require co-operation and the time to figure that out is now.
January 23, 2012 at 9:28 am
I like canning in the winter too…it’s amazing how much heat it generates!
I loved it when my 4-H group did sewing. We went to tag sales and waited until the end and bought up all the denim jeans and the kids cut them into squares and made small quilts. My son even made a set of curtains for his short bedroom window out of the squares. The lightest weight made aprons. All pretty much free, simple and looked great. Recycle and reuse!
January 23, 2012 at 10:33 am
We have an energy resilience group in our city neighborhood. On line newsletter highlights individual efforts in the areas of conservation and energy efficiency. An effort to identify and locate additional community garden plots is underway. One idea is to plant fruit trees on grade school property and have students cultivate and harvest bounty. We are developing a survey of neighborhood resources. All these efforts are in the beginning stages. I admire your community’s achievements in so many areas – sewing groups, perhaps a group tractor purchase etc.
January 23, 2012 at 11:46 am
My husband and I are looking for a few acres close to our son’s small farm. Meanwhile, we invested in part ownership in a Kubota tractor with the son and two more people in that community. That’s four families including us. We have not moved there yet so we haven’t used it, but Son tells us it works out great. Some use it more than others, but just having a tractor available whenever you need it is worth the investment. It has been a year now and so far so good. Hope your group tractor purchase works out. Kathy, love your blog and the pictures.
January 24, 2012 at 12:59 pm
Would love to see a photo of the bag you made, and to hear more about “the families share together without being intimate”. Working out those nuances is a skill that many – myself included – need to learn.
January 25, 2012 at 8:46 am
I canned veggie beef soup this past Christmas vacation. It is layered and just beautiful! I also made chicken veggie soup. I’m going to have to make more, though – it has been quite popular around here! http://junkerjunk.blogspot.com/2011/11/layered-chicken-vegetable-soup-canned.html
he is in one of my canning groups and has a wonderful blog.