Ben and Maggie moved out in December and Now Nate and Amanda and their two kids are moving in. They have decided to build a house on some land we own just a mile or so away and will live here while they get the house up. It’s a good news/bad news thing for my household organization. The bad news is that I have to clean out and organize if I’m going to come up with enough space. The good news is that I have to clean out and organize.
I’m pretty neat anyway but I do tend to accumulate stuff. It is an ongoing process to keep food and tools and books and the flotsam and jetsam of daily life from overwhelming us. The summer kitchen is a big help. I have all of the candle making stuff out there now and it’s way better than having it all over the island in the main house. I spent some time yesterday in the basement organizing canning supplies. Much of the canned food has been used up and I have many hundreds (dare I say a thousand) jars. I make an effort to keep them sorted by size but lots of times it just doesn’t happen. I also have cases of lids, regular and Tatttler and a huge collection of rings. I will say that, without the wood stove going in the basement, it felt downright cold down there. I could have devoted a few more hours down to sorting out but it was just too pretty a day for that. I cleaned out a bit more of my herb garden and started on the strawberry patch. I can see bits of onion and garlic peaking up and the rhubarb is showing some signs of life too. I’m not sure that I can remember a March afternoon when I was outside in a T-shirt cleaning out the strawberry patch.
Breakfast yesterday was pancakes. They were made with sour milk. I had miss a bottle in the back of the fridge and by the time I realized I hadn’t used it, it had turned. The lovely thing about raw milk that has soured is that it’s still food. Pasteurized milk that goes bad is fit for nothing but the compost pile. I used a recipe for buttermilk pancakes and they were really good. Of course, a dollop of amazing maple syrup didn’t hurt them any.
My busy season is here. I’m going to be in Marshfield on Saturday doing three food preservation workshops and then I’ll be at Dean Technical HS for a Master Gardner’s Symposium the following week. Bruce and the kids are coming with me to Marshfield as it’s a long trip and we’re going to have a vendor’s table. I think it will be good for the girls to help run the table. We’ll be selling books, T-shirts, honey and candles. I don’t expect to make a lot of money but I do love the opportunity to meet other people enjoying the challenges of leading a more prepared and self-reliant life.
I did want to share one final thing. I have always visited a number of forums devoted to preparedness. I know you know the ones I mean. I had them in my favorites and I checked in each day. I find I’m just not doing it anymore. Some are devolving into political rants and others are mostly gun porn. I find the anger and paranoia was starting my day off wrong. The sites I prefer have a much more practical bent. I really don’t want to read about red versus blue, democrat versus republican, north versus south and liberal versus conservative. We have so many ways we can divide and define ourselves. If I had to put a label on my T-shirt I want it to say that I am human and so are you. I need this planet to be healthy and so do you. I want my children to have a future and so do you. I need friends and so do you. We aren’t all that different.
I just cleaned out my favorites bar. I’m feeling lighter and happier. jars aren’t the only things that need organizing.
March 19, 2012 at 11:43 am
I find myself much more drawn to homesteading blogs than preparedness blogs. They cover a lot of the same topics but the homesteaders are always more optimistic and actually seem to enjoy life. That being said, I really like your take on prepping and it makes me hopeful that if something does happen, maybe we can make the best of it.
March 19, 2012 at 2:51 pm
Totally get what you’re saying about gun porn and rants. I no longer visit any preparedness site, but look forward to your take on homesteading. Agree with what Jessie says, as well. Thanks for keeping it positive!
March 19, 2012 at 5:35 pm
I so agree with you. I don’t figure we can shoot our way out of anything to keep our family safe. A full pantry, some $$ put back for a rainy day and finding joy in growing and preserving our food, along with showing kindness to others is all I can handle. The rest is left up to prayer. Thanks for your blog, sweet homey and happy!!!
March 19, 2012 at 7:51 pm
That’s funny…I cleaned out my bookmarks last week as well. Eliminated all of the ones that are so full of negativity, hatred, etc. There’s too much of all that which is unavoidable in life without actively seeking it out. And there’s so much good information that can be found without having to sift through the rile and rants. Oddly (take this with a grain of salt – I can be a bit of a grump & a pessimist) I’m finding out that this does do so much to lighten my overall attitude! (That & the sunny March t-shirt days).
As others above have said, thank you so much for keeping things pleasant, informative, and positive.
(And no need to apologize for the occasional off day).
March 19, 2012 at 8:35 pm
I’m loving your blog, too! Definitely a kindred soul. I seen your inner light shining through even on the Nat Geo. Ironically, I think that getting organized is the most important first step on can take in prepping, don’t you? Too Much Junk—in any area—can really slow you down, distraction vs. focus. What did the hippies used to say–Give your stuff away:) It’s always an ongoing process for me, eliminating non-essentials, but gods I feel so light and clean inside when I get rid of a bunch of stuff that I no longer need!
Here in NC Kansas we are getting wonderful rains. Most folks around here have tilled and/or planted. Herbs, garlic abounds, early spring flowers. Last week was what I call Yellow Week–forsythia (sp?) and daffodils burst into bloom, this week we take joy with the red bud trees, peach, pears of all sorts coming into flower. And the new, bright green, sweet new leaves on the trees, like they are surrounded by a lovely light green mist!
March 20, 2012 at 1:48 am
I think there is a growth pattern that develops when exploring a subject. I noticed that some well known bloggers have folded. They had said all that could be said on the topic such as “peak oil”. I also have shifted my reading habit. I wanted the more positive side to life like you. Life gives us enough to struggle without adding more. Through the years our home has offered a lodging place for a variety of people. Like you at the present our son and his five year old son [our only grandchild] has moved in with us. We restructured several rooms in the house. The laughter of the five year old has been wonderful. I just bought 2 4′x4′ raised garden beds with a removable plastic cover to extend the season. I am itching to put them together, fill with dirt and plant. One is for grandson and other for me
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April 14, 2012 at 3:59 pm
Pastuerized milk sours in many different ways. Some lend themselves to pancakes.