Friday, January 27, 2012

Simplicity


January has just about come to an end, and I am taking a look at the upcoming year. I will be undergoing gastric bypass surgery on February 8th, and beginning a new,healthier life.
I have a lot of plans for my little homestead, vertical gardening, a small greenhouse, fencing in a couple areas for my goats, and of course building a root cellar.
I spent much of December cleaning closets and purging my home of unwanted clutter, and junk, I'm not finished yet, but made a HUGE dent in what needed to be gone.
This is going to be MY YEAR! A year of change and building on the good things that were accomplished last year, and the Blessings God has given me.

But I just wanted to remind myself (and you) just what simplifying is...and what steps we can all take to make our lives better and richer. You don't have to be a wanna be homesteader, to de-clutter and simplify your life!


10 Steps To a Simpler Life


1. Work is work and home is home. Being able to punch out at the end of the day and leave the work baggage behind is one way to make your life feel less stressful. Granted some jobs and career choices can influence this ability to disconnect your work life from “living,” the sooner you can remove this overlap, change can start.
2. Less is more. I feel that one of the biggest burdens to happiness comes from too much stuff, whether these are material things or activities. Having more is not always better. Consumerism is contagious and a hard habit to break. People often equate “things” with happiness. Working 60 hours a week to pay for a too-big house filled with stuff you don’t need or use is a trap.
3. Time never sleeps. People often say their lives are too busy because they “don’t have enough time.” Each day only has 24 hours. It’s not the day that is too short, but the list of things stuffed into the day is too big. Here priorities will allow you to thin the list to what will fit or needs to fit.
4. Bye-bye TV. Some numbers to think about: The New York Times reported, “Americans watched more television than ever in 2010, according to the Nielsen Co. Total viewing of broadcast networks and basic cable channels rose about 1 percent for the year, to an average of 34 hours per person per week.” If you’re having trouble with the “time” issue above there is a pretty easy fix. Push the “off” button on the remote.
I terminated my satellite TV service back in January, and I have not missed it a bit. The three shows I have grown to love are viewed via my Internet. Saving the $60 to $100 a month is a bonus, too.
5. Don’t swap one time waster for another. As I mentioned above, my TV service is gone; the trick was to not fill that space with other equally distracting events.
6. Limit online social time. This can be emails, Facebook, Twitter or simply texting. Fitting in a set time for this, and limiting that time, will do wonders. Twenty years ago people got by just fine with out any of these “conveniences.”
7. Declutter. Distractions can make your brain work harder than it needs to. An active working brain can keep the Alzheimer’s away, but the difference between “thought” and “noise” is key. Physical clutter can add visual stress and frustration to your day. Most people will agree that walking into a tidy room puts their minds into a more peaceful state. When the space is clean maintaining it, in its clean state, is much simpler. A few years ago I realized that letting go of stuff is very enlightening. I have seen more stuff leave the house lately than come in.
8. Have some hobbies and personal time. A good example of someone who uses this practice to keep life sane and simple is my fiancee. She has a hectic work schedule and occasionally has to work at home. When she does finally get to punch out, she heads to her crafting/studio space and works on her “fairies and miniatures” or kicks back to listen to an audio book. This is a cleansing and Zen-like practice for her.
9. Foods for thought. Just as a hobby can provide a retreat, many also find solace in the kitchen. The body’s basic need for nutrition and sustenance could be met with basic beans and rice and some tossed greens, or it can be meet with a seven-course meal of escargot-stuffed mushrooms, carbonnades flamandes, cognac shrimp with Beurre Blanc.... Well, you get the picture. Spending a few minutes Sunday night with dinner ideas for the rest of the week may have you streamlining your evenings. One of my tricks is to make a large batch of something on the weekend that can be munched on during the week, like a large pot of stew or gallon of homemade pasta sauce. A little reheat and dinner is served.
10. Downsize everything.  I’ve worked with clients who have begun the process of downsizing their lives. Many are doing it for green reasons; others are transitioning as empty nesters. A smaller home = a simpler home. When we take trips to our cabin (it is a small 200-square-foot, off-grid retreat) our basic needs are met in a simple way. We have a small PV system that provides some lights, we cook on a camp stove or over the wood stove, water comes with us in 5-gallon jugs, a cooler keeps the food fresh and a sawdust composting toilet handles the other end of business. A week will pass with reading, music, hiking and playing with the dogs. Life at the cabin can exist without TV, cellphones, a giant mortgage, utility bills and a closet full of shoes.
Think about it: People pay money to do what most can do with some basic lifestyle changes. Why is it that people feel so relaxed after one of these vacations? I’ll tell you a secret: It’s the simple and uncomplicated lifestyle that recharges our spirits.

Wednesday, January 25, 2012

Wee Wee Wee All The Way Home

Yesterday this little piggie came home! He is a rescue from the Shelbyville Indiana Animal Shelter. His name is Wilbur! I am beginning to really feel like I have a farm now.
I have aquired the following in the past year:

2 goats
2 chickens
4 turkeys
1 pot bellied pig

I had a few more chickens but something got them, but now I have Roscoe, the coon dog, and he keeps the varmints away form the livestock!

Setting up my little mini farm/homestead is quite a joy, and it can be filled with excitement. Much to my dismay, many of my friends and family members don't see what all the fuss is about, when I call them and loudly exclaim "I'm getting a pig today!"

I guess the feeling is mutual though. I just don't quite "GET IT" when they are all excited about sitting at a slot machine in one of the local casino's and feeding it money, that they will never see again! Or their excitement about a football game on tv, that they don't know any of the players personally.

So, I guess to each his own, but me and my new piggie went Wee Wee Wee all the way home yesterday!

Monday, January 23, 2012

Homemade Citrus Enzyme Cleaner

I am loving this getting back to basics lifestyle! I made homemade laundry soap and love it! Now I have found a recipe for a homemade citrus cleaner. I am posting it below, and will let you know after I make it and use it how it works. From the reports I have received it is really good.


Some wonderful uses recommended for this non-toxic, environmental friendly enzyme (dilute enzyme with some water, use more if you prefer a stronger concentration) -
1)  do dishes and laundry (use 1/4 cup of enzyme)
2) for washing bathrooms and toilets. grime comes off easily (1 part enzyme to 10 parts water) 
3) for removing stubborn stains and odours (coloured fabrics and floors) (use undiluted)
4) to clean vegetables and fruits (1 part enzyme to 10 parts water)
5) clear blockages in kitchen sinks and drains (use concentrated or blended pulp/sludge of enzyme)
6) as a natural insect repellent (use undiluted) for ants, cockroaches.. (pouring some enzyme into sink/bath/shower stall drainage holes will deter cockroaches). My home is now cockroach and ant free! 
7) as a floorwash to mop floors shiny clean (1 part enzyme to 20 parts water)
8 ) as fertiliser for vegetables, flowering and non-flowering plants (use 1 part enzyme to 20 parts water, or use the leftover mop water)
9) as a skincare product, e.g. facial cleanser or toner (1 part enzyme to 2 parts water)
10) wash cars – cars will look as if they have just been polished! (1 part enzyme to 20 parts water)






 Happyhomemaker88′s Enzyme Cleaner Recipe (be sure to read all the way through her recipe – she made some adjustments, based on the experience of others). It only requires 3 ingredients: orange peels, brown sugar, and water… oh, and THREE MONTHS! Apparently I am also getting a lesson in patience ;0}
To begin, you need a plastic container with an airtight cover. Here, I have used an old 2-litre fruit juice bottle. The enzyme takes 3 months to “ferment” and be ready for use.
Ingredients :
100 gms of brown sugar
300 gms of lemon and orange scraps (these were leftover after I had juiced them)
1 litre tap water
Use a funnel to pour sugar into the bottle. Drop in the fruit slices. Pour in the water.
Cover the bottle and date it, so that you will know when the enzyme is ready to use , i.e. 3  months later on
*
Give the ingredients in the bottle a good shake to mix them thoroughly.Everyday, for the first month, open the cover to let out the oxygen build-up from the fermentation process. On some days, you will see the bottle swelling up in size.

Added on 27 August, 2010
Since I last posted this, I had modified the method of avoiding (based on comments by visitors here)  extreme gas build-ups leading to explosions by leaving the bottle cap loosely fastened (about halfway tightened ? ) – this will allow some gas to come out at all times and there won’t be any buildup of gas

Added on 27 August, 2010 -
If you see any whitish stuff growing on top of the liquid, just tighten the bottle cover, and give the contents a good, gentle shake and the whitish stuff will be mixed into the liquid. Then loosen the bottle cap again to allow gas to escape.

Tuesday, January 17, 2012

Safe Rooms



I found this you tube video on how to build or make a SAFE ROOM in your house, I thought is was worthy of sharing.

Wednesday, January 11, 2012

Let's Talk Turkey!


Let's face it, I am a nut! Not your average, white jacket, padded room kind of nut, I'm a nature nut! Which is probably worse.


I love animals, trees, flowers, you get my drift! This year I took on the awesome responsibility of raising four baby turkeys. Now for those of you that aren't familiar with raising poultry, let me tell you a little about turkeys.


Turkeys are DUMB! They can stand in their pan of food and starve to death, or even drown themselves. They aren't the sharpest knives in the drawer. They are the "Dumb Blondes" of the poultry world.


My first experience raising turkeys was several years ago. My oldest daughter Tiffany was about three years old, and I was pregnant with my youngest daughter Lacey. One Saturday morning, I decided to take Tiff to the sale barn. The sale barn is a local flea market, LOADED with all kinds of goodies! You can find anything from fresh veggies to antique garden tools. It is heaven for those of us who appreciate junk of all sorts!


This particular morning, as we made our way down the aisles , we came upon an elderly lady with an assortment of feathered creatures for sale.


I bent down to take a gander ( no pun intended LOL) at the small cheeping balls of feathers, and told Tiffany to look at the little baby chicks. The lady giggled and promptly corrected me in her slow Kentucky twang. "Honey, them ain't chickens, thems turkeys" and then her giggles broke out into full fledged belly laughter!


I glanced up from the cage and knew I had hit the jackpot, I''ll take two", I quipped back at her, and my days as a turkey farmer began!


We brought our newly acquired livestock home, and settled them in to the downstairs bathroom. I box with a light bulb hanging down in it, would be a substitute for their mother.


It wasn't the best set up, but anyone needing to relive themselves could be entertained as they sat there on the throne and gaze down at my precious purchase. Live entertainment in the bathroom! Maybe I could sell tickets!


At the time, Howard The Duck, the movie was very popular, sooo Tiffany named our new additions Howard & Toots!




One morning I got up, and when I went in to check on my fine feathered friends, and was horrified to find that Toots couldn't take the pressure of being named after a movie star, and had ended it all by drowning herself in the Miracle Whip jar that was their watering dish! The horror, and devastation were intense, but, we knew we would have to go on, and we had to be strong for Howard.


Toots was buried in a shoebox in the backyard, after a wonderful memorial service. Fresh flowers adorned her little grave, Tiffany and I gave the eulogy and ended in a prayer. We then gathered in our kitchen for dinner, and reminisced with all our fond memories of Toots, and her short life! Howard was kept busy, as to try and keep his mind off the days events. but we knew he would never be the same without his beloved Toots!


A month or so passed and Howard grew and grew. My husband at the time (Steve) used to tell everyone that he had fifty pound of feed in a one pound turkey! As Howard grew so did my belly, and as I reached closer and closer to my due date, my nights became more and more uncomfortable. Sleep would elude me till the wee hours of the morning, so I didn't rise as earlier as I had.


One morning after a restless night, I arose and went out to let Howard into the pen with the chickens. He was roosting in the tree over the chicken house at this point, and would fly down into the yard to pick grass and bugs in the early morning dew.


I walked around the yard and didn't see him anywhere, so I called for him, NO ANSWER! And then, I saw him! A small bump in the grass, limp and lifeless, DEAD! My dog had killed him! Left him there for me to find.


I was beside myself! All that care, dedication and devotion, and now he was GONE!
I ran into the house and threw myself on the couch, great heaving gut wrenching sobs leaped out of my body!


It was all my fault, if I had gotten up earlier, he would still be alive! I was a turkey murderer~!!


About this time, my mom stopped in to check on me and found me on the couch still crying. "What's the matter", she said, and I looked up at her with my tear stained face and said " Howard's DEAD!!! and I broke into deafening sobs again.


With a dumbfounded look on her face, she said" Who the HELL is Howard?"
My TURKEY I screamed, and began heaving sobs again!




She quietly walked outside and went and got a shovel, and buried poor ole Howard, no funeral, no memorial, no flowers. Just shovels of dirt on top of his lifeless one pound body.


Soooo, as you see, turkey farming is quite an emotional way of life. And now I have four that are now almost full grown.....AND it's getting closer and closer to Thanksgiving!


I wonder if they have a retirement home for turkeys? I think I need to GOOGLE that!

Fanning The Fire



Yesterday after I got off work, and had picked up Hailey (my granddaughter), from school, we headed to the house. It was abnormally warm for us here in Southern Indiana, 56 degrees on a January day. A great day to bring firewood up and stack it on the front porch.


My mom gave me a new garden cart for Christmas so it was so nice to not have to pack firewood in my arms. Hailey stayed on the porch as I brought load after load to her and she stacked it up neatly.


After we had a pretty good sized stack, we took the cart to the backyard and started filling it with sticks that we would use as kindling to start our fires with. Filled to the brim we rolled the garden cart into the garage so our bounty would stay dry.


The weather man was right and it started raining last night, and its gradually getting colder. He is predicting a light accumulation of snow for us. But I'm ready!


I love the feel and the smell of a wood fire, and the fact that it keeps my electric bill down, and makes me more self sufficient is even better.


I'm looking forward to going home tonight, and making a warm fire, and relaxing, but all too soon though as the wood turns to embers I will be up and at it, and fanning the fire to get it going again!