P.S Holiday thoughts 2012

After I posted my last blog post I went into the kitchen to frost our sugar cookies and I was reminded of another thing I am grateful for today.
 I am was happy to have our old dog Thora standing in the kitchen shamelessly begging once again for a sugar cookie.The one and only thing she will beg for until you give in.Maybe Thora had her last walk in the woods with us this fall but she is still here to enjoy her favorite treat.

How could you say no to this face?

A younger Sol.


Also while looking for the photo of  Thora I came across this one of Sol,a younger fellow then.We were visiting a music shop and he tried out the guitar in the photo with glee.It is the same one he got for Christmas this year.

Holiday thoughts 2012

My it's been busy around here! A good kind of busy but busy.

Last weekend we took our Sol down to the PSU Farmer's Market so he could play his guitar with his teacher and to help Sol's teacher James pack up once the set was over.

James Clem and Sol.

Friends came to show their support for our budding musician.One said she must really love us to come down in the rain and the cold.

Ms Cole,all bundled up,it was a bit cold at the market.

Our good friends The Smith's came to town that day and stopped by before they went to the ballet.

A rare treat to have them here,after the ballet they came to stay with us for a night.

Little Miss Smith came from Sister's!

Somewhere on our computer is a video of the day but I am just not savvy enough to find it.The cherry on the top of the day was Sol got to bring home his Christmas present ,a new guitar of his dreams.I actually caught him hugging it he loves it so much.

We have also been busy getting our house back in order now that my Mom is resettled into her own place.I walked into our front room this morning and saw the Christmas tree and lights and could finally  feel that Ah moment,our house is back to being our house.I really feel like the photo above catches us and our vibe,music,art,vintage things and color all in one shot.Nothing very "homestead-ish" but what does that look like anyway?

On the homestead front we tried a small experiment with the chickens.We skipped a week of giving them some suet just to see, is it the suet,a random act of kindness on the hens part or a flop?So far no eggs during the week of no suet.Today I will restart them and see how it goes.

Chance and I have been busy doing lots of holiday baking.A point that I find ironic,here I am saying Issac and I should not eat grains and here I am baking a mountain of cookies.Well,we are not perfect,it is the holidays and we know our limits pretty well.

I blogged about my Great Grandma's Dark Secret's  three Christmas' ago and think they are totally worth sharing again.As always I made a batch and then had to call my Dad to say hello.The Dark Secrets are his Grandma's recipe and his favorite holiday cookie.Dad was pleased to know the cookies were at that moment in the oven baking.There's something to said about traditions and keeping them going. 

As I read through the Dark Secret post I was grateful we are past all of the woes we were going through then.Grateful  my family is well and safe.After the shootings in the past few weeks I have been thinking about so much awful news the reflection was good for me.That really sounds self centered doesn't it? It's not that I do not have compassion for the families who lost their loved ones,I do but that moment was like a little band-aid on my heart.We can heal and move on.

I work retail and have been a Preschool teacher so both shootings hit me pretty close.When teaching, my students were mine for a few hours out of the day and I would have done anything to protect them,even step in front of gun fire.I am a bear of a Mama and that bear-ishness always carried over on to my students.

The day of the school shooting Chance and I were in the car together and he said to me-

" When I heard the news all I could hear in my head were the heart wrenching sobs we heard in the E.R that one night." We had Issac in the E.R waiting our turn to get help to fix something we both knew could be fixed.But down the way from us parents had just lost their child to a gunshot.It has been a moment in time that will stick with us for all time.

One never knows do they? So be joyfully grateful for those you love and show it.Joy and gratitude don't cost a thing but the more you share them the richer you will be.

The Solstice has come yet again and we are turning towards the brighter end of the year.May your holiday be filled with brightness,joy,love and gratitude.

And remember to walk on the sunny side of the street. 

James Clem,Sol's teacher and his "Two Pea's in a Pod" friend.

One last thing before I close,I spied that I have a couple of new followers.Welcome ! Thanks for following along ,I look forward to hearing your future comments.

Rois

Empty Nest & Full Nest or Life is good.

Just a quick note-

We moved my Mom over the weekend.Did you hear a collective sigh from our house? Mom is happy and we are too.

Yesterday Chance found 3 eggs in the coop,the suet must be helping.Hopefully the eggs are an omen for us,one of good fortune and good things to come.

We are busy setting our house back in order so we can start thinking of the holiday and all of its cheerfulness.

On my holiday baking list is a batch of these peppermint bars,I do love bar cookies so easy to make.

It would be grand if I found the time to make a pom pom garland for the house.Small detail there,time.But I may make one just because and hang it someplace in the house anyway.

Have you ever been on Hunter Angler Gardener Cook? I like the website better than the book.

Holiday Cheer!

Rois

Lay some eggs,Dammit!

 This time of year our hens rarely lay any eggs,a point of frustration for us.We have tried changing to a better quality feed,running a light out to the coop and made sure they are let loose in the yard to forage.Nothing has worked yet.Then I get annoyed,I am feeding you chickens and the deal is I buy feed,you lay eggs.

Chance was talking at the curb with one of our favorite neighbors who is a nifty guy who has spent most of his life on a ranch in North Dakota.He still goes back a few times a year to make sure things are running fine.But anyway,the neighbor asked if we were getting any eggs,nope.The neighbor suggested feeding the hens some suet,that it is a sure fire way to get them laying again.The suet will give them some extra fat which they will convert into eggs.

Mmmm,a tub of suet.

Last night while we were at the local natural foods store Chance spied a tub of suet crumbles in the meat departments freezer section.We picked up the tub in the photo above for $.88,big spenders aren't we?

The tub is the same size as a large yogurt tub.

Today is day one of trying yet another experiment to get the hens to lay during the cold months.Our neighbor has given us other very helpful tips in the past so I am hoping this stays true with this one.I did do a bit of reading online and the general consensus was some suet is fine but to be careful of the chickens putting on too much weight.I am going to start by just giving them a handful at a time and see how it goes.

Rois

******The hens loved the suet! Now we wait.*********

Zoodles for Dinner,yum

 I personally try not to eat much grain of any sorts.I find that I just feel better with longer lasting energy.But I do live in a house full of grain eaters.Over the past couple of months I have been looking at Paleo Diet recipes.Not because I am following that diet to a T but because the Paleo followers avoid grains too.I have tried the whole Gluten Free (G.F) route and still found I did not feel so good after eating many of the G.F things.

I am finding dinner following the Paleo guidelines is pretty easy.Or I can offer the rest of the family a side that is grain based that I don't eat.So far so good. Chance has been eating less grains and noticing an improvement in his energy levels.Sol eats most of what I put in front of him at dinner.Issac,he's another sad to me story,he would live on grains,grains,meat and raw veg.But like I mentioned in my last post,no pressure from me,just making a suggestion.

For tonight's dinner I made a Paleo dish I have been wanting to try, Zoodles with Sauce.Zoodles also known as Zucchini Spaghetti which is made from zucchini.(As if you couldn't figure that one out,Duh Rois.)You just make up a pot of Spaghetti sauce and pour it over the Zoodles.You can get the details by linking over to Nom Nom Paleo. Making the Zoodles was really easy and fast.

Tonight I did cook up some pasta knowing full well Issac would decline the Zoodles and was not sure of my Mom.Chance and I ate all Zoodles,Sol did half and half but then said next time he would just take the Zoodles.And surprise Issac went all pasta.Mom did half and half too and loved it.

We enjoyed dinner so much there was barely enough left for my lunch for at work tomorrow.It's another recipe I can add to our dinner ideas that I know we will like.I also thought it would be easy enough to use the Zoodles in other dishes that call for pasta.I am thinking something along the lines of pan-fried Asian noodles.

I hope you will check out Nom Nom Paleo's recipes,there's some good food over there.If you are G.F maybe you will find something new to try.Or you just like exploring new foods and food ideas.

Anyone else have a food based link they would like to share?

Rois

Part 3: A ripple set in motion by a packet of seeds.

 I started writing this post a while back as part of a series I was thinking about.I finally got around to finishing it.If you want to go back to the start of the series here and here is where to go.It was interesting to me to go back and reread these posts and to finish this one.I started this before becoming a Nutritional Therapy Practitioner was even a thought and yet it feels like the posts were the beginning of a journey I did not know was coming. 



The ripple of change in our household was set in motion by a shovel,some muscle and a few seed packets.
We laid our plans for more garden beds,dug them deep,fed them from the compost and planted our seeds.

It was a big job and our muscles let us know it.Yet if felt good to use our bodies to work for something despite the aches.I suppose you could say those aches were the very first sign of changes on the horizon,our bodies were regaining strength.

As we worked we talked.laughed,dreamed and planned.Chance and I have always been able to work together and do it well.During this time we grew closer together adding to the strength of our relationship.We became a well oiled machine in our togetherness.

While we were waiting for the garden to grow I started to look at the food in our pantry.I watched for a few weeks to see what we were eating,how often, how much and what was a waste.At this point in time we still had a small list of processed foods in our cupboards,mostly the things the boys who were young teens craved and ate.Mac & Cheese, Ramen,crackers,chips and boxed cereal were the bulk of it.Not too bad considering what most Americans eat.

There were other foods the boys would beg for at the store,Poptarts,sugary cereals,soda pops,store bought cookies that I rarely gave into.All foods their friends had at their houses so of course the boys wanted to fit in.I get that as a parent,the need to fit in with your crowd but I was on a mission.So finding ways for the boys to feel "normal" about the food in our house and finding better alternatives was added to my mission's list of things to do.

I started out by weaning the boys off of the store bought crap they wanted by extending how often I bought something or not replacing it until they asked about it.The gaps got longer and after a few months I just stopped buying it.Some of the things they still really wanted around I found alternatives for,like the Mac & Cheese,I switched to an organic brand.(This actually goes against everything I think about organics but I was looking for harmony not perfection.) I started baking more of the snacks and treats we were eating too.

The one item that I have yet to get rid of is Ramen noodles, the boys prefer the ones form the Asian grocery stores doctored up with shredded cabbage and an egg dropped in.I just figure if this is the one junkie food in my pantry we were doing pretty darn good. Harmony is a grand thing.

We as a family sit down together most nights for dinner,it is our favorite time of day.We catch up with each others days,share stories,laugh and discuss a broad range of topics.At dinner I started to have conversations with everyone about the importance of good food how it fuels and nourishes our bodies and protects the Earth from harm.We had short conversations,I did not want the boys to feel as if I was preaching at them.I needed it to sink in like a little seed waiting to grow.

And after time it all stuck in their heads.I noticed they were thinking more about what they were eating.They started choosing not to eat fast food when away from home because they realized it made them feel really crummy.This is the biggest moment here, as in- angels with trumpets need to be blasting their horns and beams of light need to shine down right now.I mean holy heck! Two growing teen boys choosing to eat healthy even when Mama was not looking.Dang,I did my homework and got an A plus..I hit a home run here!

Want to know what I think my secret to making this work is? I think it is because I did not make it a big deal.No pressure,just asking you to think about it,you can make your own choices. I also think because I weaned them off the junk,no cold turkey freak outs needed to happen.

Ok so this all sounds like we are purest in our diet but honestly we are not.There are foods out there that now live on my list of treats.I never actually say "No,that's bad for you.I won't buy it."  Really,who does not want something that is a treat now and again. I try and compromise if possible.Is there a "better" alternative? If not I will give in knowing that it's not the main part of our diet.Over time I have noticed that we as a family have lost our taste for certain types of crappy foods so it comes up less and less.

This is getting long,phew. I have more I am going to write about in the coming weeks that will tie into this post,so look for it.

I also have some very good news,my Mom is moving out on the 8th of December.This is going to be such a grand thing I may have to dance once we have her moved.

My Gofundme fundraiser is growing much to my happiness.Chance and I have worked out that all of the money we make teaching some classes of the homesteading vibe will also go towards my school fees.We are working together to make my dream come true.

Have any of you ever made changes to your life style or diet? How did it go?

Rois

Daring Greatly.

Recently I won a blog give away over at "And Here We Are." a blog written by a neat lady I met ever so randomly while at work one day and then again randomly I found her blog just by pure chance. I won a book titled "Daring Greatly." which is all about opening up your self to vulnerability-in a nut shell letting your armor down and letting the world see you for who you really are.

The title of the book comes from a speech given by Theodore Roosevelt.Below is a quote from his speech that sums things up nicely-

“It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; . . . who at best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly.” —Theodore Roosevelt

The book has given me plenty to think about regarding myself and where it is I want to go in life.So in the spirit of the book and Theodore Roosevelt I have started something that for me is daring greatly.
As some of you may know I have been working on getting back to school to become a Nutritional Therapy Practitioner.I have the passion,the drive,the dedication and determination to make this happen.My only stumbling block has been where to find the funds for the program.( I say stumbling block because a block keeps you stuck, where a stumbling block is just s hiccup in the road ahead.) Sadly,holistic health education just does not seem to have aid available to hopeful students.Silly system if you ask me.But I am focused on my target so I went out on a personal limb and I am asking for help.

I the ever independent-I -can- do -it-myself-prideful person has started an account over at Gofundme.Gofundme is much like Kickstarter but has more headings you can choose from including one for raising funds for education.

So Dear Readers if you or someone you know may want to help me along on my journey to find my passion with the end result being I can share my passion to help others,here is the link to my fund raiser page.My highest hope is I raise enough to cover all of the fees but even if with the help from others I mange part that will be better than not trying at all.No matter what the outcome of the fund raiser is I will go forward and reach my goal.

I would also like to thank Ariana from "And Here We Are." I am always amazed by how the universe works.Sometimes the connections made seem so random and end with such surprising results.Thank you for needing shoes for your Little Miss,stopping in the shop and reappearing on a blog from the other side of the world. Thank you again for the book, I will pass it on so someone else can dare to be great.

On the homestead front Chance and I made Red Current Jam last week.We used this recipe ,fast easy and tasty.If you are a fan of Lingonberry Jam, Red Current is worth finding the currents for.We had 3 pounds of currents and ended up with 10 half pint jars,plenty (I hope) for the coming year.

Chance and I are also leaving flyers around town about our chicken butchering classes with the hopes we can find enough people interested to hold another class or two.If you live local and would like to be placed on our up coming classes email list let me know in the comments.

Well, I must dash off and get ready for work.If I am not back here before Thanksgiving,I hope every one of you has a great day filled with blessings.

Rois