It must be something about August. Or maybe I just really hate the heat. Either way, by this time of the year I'm done with summer and longing for fall. So, once again, we've begun some "school" exercises with Shannon. This is proving tricky with Tristan underfoot and other demands calling, but we're taking it a day at a time. One thing I am really trying to learn to balance is doing something "schooly" while realizing we're much more into unschool. Integrating the two is tricky, and getting into the routine of doing something is much harder.
On the topic of fat, I lucked out with a major haul of it on Monday. I had contacted the farm where we get our meat from and inquired about beef fat as well as leaf fat from pigs. The meat processor has to pay to get rid of fat, so having someone take it off there hands is something they get pretty happy about. I drove up there with two big coolers, got them both filled up and had an extra box of fat sitting beside them for the ride home. I'd say I probably got a good 75 lbs of pasture-raised fat. Yes, pasture-raised, meaning high in Omega-3 not Omega-6, nice old-fashioned fat the way it should be. I've rendered down a full skillet's worth of the leaf fat into lard and I didn't even make it through the entire package it was in! WOW!!! I will use the lard and tallow (rendered beef fat) for cooking, and also use the tallow in making soap and shampoo. To say I am excited is a complete understatement!! Nina Planck's book 'Real Food; What to Eat and Why' has changed our lives, and we couldn't be happier or more grateful. Take a moment and check her out at: http://www.ninaplanck.com/
Finally, and I know this really belongs on our Soul One blog, we're planning on entering an Organic Homebrew Competition this fall. It will be our first Homebrew Competition and we're really excited about it. We've ordered our organic ingredients, and are ready for them to get here so we can begin brewing. We're also beginning our plans for our winter beer this year. We're calling it 'Decadence' and it will be a strong stout (maybe an imperial? we'll see!) brewed with coffee, chocolate, and vanilla. My mouth is watering already.
Wednesday, August 6, 2008
Thursday, July 10, 2008
Save Energy & $$
From Co-op America:
Here's how to save energy and money. Go for a big, but doable goal – 10% energy saved per year over the next five years – 50% in five years!
For the average household, 10% per year energy savings is only about 1,000 kilowatt-hours (kwh) of energy/year. Here's how doable that is:
Many families could achieve the first 1,000 kwh/year of savings by washing clothes in cold water (770 kwh/yr); placing several major electronics, such as video and stereo systems, on a surge protector that can be switched off (47kwh/year); and brushing of their refrigerator's condenser coils twice a year (392 kwh/year).
Many families could get another 1,000 kwh/year reduction by replacing half of their incandescent lighting with compact fluorescents (440kwh/year), letting the dishes in the dishwasher air dry (404kwh/year), and enabling the "sleep" function on their computer and printer to go on after five minutes of non-use (259kwh/year).
Here is a link to their site on Steps to Energy Efficiency: http://www.coopamerica.org/pubs/caq/articles/summer2008/LevelOne.cfm
Here's how to save energy and money. Go for a big, but doable goal – 10% energy saved per year over the next five years – 50% in five years!
For the average household, 10% per year energy savings is only about 1,000 kilowatt-hours (kwh) of energy/year. Here's how doable that is:
Many families could achieve the first 1,000 kwh/year of savings by washing clothes in cold water (770 kwh/yr); placing several major electronics, such as video and stereo systems, on a surge protector that can be switched off (47kwh/year); and brushing of their refrigerator's condenser coils twice a year (392 kwh/year).
Many families could get another 1,000 kwh/year reduction by replacing half of their incandescent lighting with compact fluorescents (440kwh/year), letting the dishes in the dishwasher air dry (404kwh/year), and enabling the "sleep" function on their computer and printer to go on after five minutes of non-use (259kwh/year).
Here is a link to their site on Steps to Energy Efficiency: http://www.coopamerica.org/pubs/caq/articles/summer2008/LevelOne.cfm
Tuesday, July 8, 2008
I wish I were Beatrix Potter...
With food shortages and food recalls, with the housing market a bust yet somehow seeing so many people putting additions on already ridiculously large houses, with seeing sustainable & artisanal farmer's struggle to stay afloat then raise prices to where most people can't begin to dream of affording their delicious, Earth-Friendly goods ($40 for 2 lbs of cheese?!?!!), with this chicken fiasco looming over us, all I can think is: I wish I were Beatrix Potter.
I am quite sure that sounds silly to most anyone reading this, but it is what keeps rolling about in my head. Not that I want to write tales about bunnies (though that wouldn't be bad either), but it is what she did with her money that impresses me so. With the money she made from her books she bought farms. She saved farms from becoming real-estate. She made sure that they forever remained working farms. What would have become of the land over time if it weren't for her?
Everyone dreams of winning the lottery. Oh, the things they would do if only they had money of lottery-proportions! That is what I would do. I would buy farms and land and make sure they remain worked. I would give my friend Joann a farm to raise sheep on, and make sure that there was enough space and people to spin the wool into the wonderful quality yarn she knows would come from those sheep.
I would make sure the building received their power via solar-powered generators. We would use animals, along with the powers of our own bodies, to work the land rather than machines. We would raise not only heirloom fruits and veggies, but also heirloom breeds of animals.
I would make sure these farms could be multi-generational and perhaps even support mutiple families. There are so many jobs to do on a farm, why should anything be outsourced? Large farms that become mini-villages, self-sustaining throughought time.
This is my dream, my desire. I think I just saw Peter Cottontail heading straight for the garden.
I am quite sure that sounds silly to most anyone reading this, but it is what keeps rolling about in my head. Not that I want to write tales about bunnies (though that wouldn't be bad either), but it is what she did with her money that impresses me so. With the money she made from her books she bought farms. She saved farms from becoming real-estate. She made sure that they forever remained working farms. What would have become of the land over time if it weren't for her?
Everyone dreams of winning the lottery. Oh, the things they would do if only they had money of lottery-proportions! That is what I would do. I would buy farms and land and make sure they remain worked. I would give my friend Joann a farm to raise sheep on, and make sure that there was enough space and people to spin the wool into the wonderful quality yarn she knows would come from those sheep.
I would make sure the building received their power via solar-powered generators. We would use animals, along with the powers of our own bodies, to work the land rather than machines. We would raise not only heirloom fruits and veggies, but also heirloom breeds of animals.
I would make sure these farms could be multi-generational and perhaps even support mutiple families. There are so many jobs to do on a farm, why should anything be outsourced? Large farms that become mini-villages, self-sustaining throughought time.
This is my dream, my desire. I think I just saw Peter Cottontail heading straight for the garden.
Monday, July 7, 2008
Sore, sick, and more news crews
Yuck, that's an awful title, but I just couldn't think of a better one. Sorry! Last Thursday I was quite suprised to see a news crew pull up in front of the house. Thought it was news 10 coming back, but nope - it was WSET/ABC 13. They were hoping for a nice, impromptu interview. I agreed, but damnit - I had on the t-shirt I had worn the day before (thankfully with no food spills on it!) and I was NOT wearing my good bra (you know the one - it keeps your girls up & looking perky, rather than looking like work-horse/milked-cow udders). Oh well. I thought I actually did a really good job with this interview. I made my points, remembered to include some important issues and so on. They took various shots of the hops, pumpkins, corn and herbs growing and then headed on their way. I wasn't shocked to hear that their next stop was City Hall & meeting with the Zoning Dept., but boy was I ever shocked to see them return and start trying to visit the neighbors!! I think that they only talked to a couple people who live across the street, but honestly, I don't know who all they talked to or what they were told by them. I really don't want to know (ok, part of me does) - I'd rather be a little ignorant here and be able to maintain a harmonious relationship with everyone rather than have sore feelings.
Mom arrived to get Shannon as they were leaving. I was getting ready to walk back into the house and get something for Mom when I tripped myself up and took a nasty little fall onto the front porch. Hit my knees pretty hard, as well as the top of my foot on the edge of the porch. Knees are as bruised as if I was earning my living in a not-so-respectable way. Along with my back where an old injury has re-inflamed, I'm a pretty sore mama these days! Who knew though that fall wouldn't be the biggest hurt suffered that day??
When I was able to see the tv report I honestly was humiliated and cried. They made it out to sound as if this was all about money, and that the reason I made our soap, shampoo, and bread was because we couldn't afford to buy it. Humiliation and sadness turned to anger and I posted a comment on their site. You can read it all here: http://www.wset.com/news/stories/0708/533254.html
Thankfully, this isn't the main station people around here watch - but still. I did notice however that they quoted Chuck Aldridge (from zoning) as saying how people admit that the chickens aren't causing a problem via smell or noise, just that they don't personally like them. Well, I don't personally like how my house stinks like burnt food when the coffee shop two blocks away burns their beans, but it really is none of my business. Geez people!!
As if all this silliness and strife weren't enough the boys are in full mode. Tristan has cut his second two-year molar and the poor baby has been miserable. Snotty nose, fussy, diaper rash - he's got all of them. Shannon, of course, thinks he is sick as well and has been coughing for several days. This morning he was coughing pretty bad so I broke down and gave him some cough medicine. If anything hopefully it will make him take a nap!! I think the humidity has really gotten to them as well. We don't have AC here, just a window unit in the rooms where they sleep and nap. It usually is comfortable in the summer though, except when the humidity gets bad. And that is has been lately. So, by late afternoon we are all at each other's throats.
So, here's to the wishes of cooler weather and the lesson learned to always keep your good bra and a clean shirt handy for when the news wants to pop by!
Mom arrived to get Shannon as they were leaving. I was getting ready to walk back into the house and get something for Mom when I tripped myself up and took a nasty little fall onto the front porch. Hit my knees pretty hard, as well as the top of my foot on the edge of the porch. Knees are as bruised as if I was earning my living in a not-so-respectable way. Along with my back where an old injury has re-inflamed, I'm a pretty sore mama these days! Who knew though that fall wouldn't be the biggest hurt suffered that day??
When I was able to see the tv report I honestly was humiliated and cried. They made it out to sound as if this was all about money, and that the reason I made our soap, shampoo, and bread was because we couldn't afford to buy it. Humiliation and sadness turned to anger and I posted a comment on their site. You can read it all here: http://www.wset.com/news/stories/0708/533254.html
Thankfully, this isn't the main station people around here watch - but still. I did notice however that they quoted Chuck Aldridge (from zoning) as saying how people admit that the chickens aren't causing a problem via smell or noise, just that they don't personally like them. Well, I don't personally like how my house stinks like burnt food when the coffee shop two blocks away burns their beans, but it really is none of my business. Geez people!!
As if all this silliness and strife weren't enough the boys are in full mode. Tristan has cut his second two-year molar and the poor baby has been miserable. Snotty nose, fussy, diaper rash - he's got all of them. Shannon, of course, thinks he is sick as well and has been coughing for several days. This morning he was coughing pretty bad so I broke down and gave him some cough medicine. If anything hopefully it will make him take a nap!! I think the humidity has really gotten to them as well. We don't have AC here, just a window unit in the rooms where they sleep and nap. It usually is comfortable in the summer though, except when the humidity gets bad. And that is has been lately. So, by late afternoon we are all at each other's throats.
So, here's to the wishes of cooler weather and the lesson learned to always keep your good bra and a clean shirt handy for when the news wants to pop by!
Tuesday, July 1, 2008
All the new news ...
Ok, well today has been quite a busy day around here! First, I went to City Hall to see Lisa Garst become the 3rd woman to serve on Salem City Council (YAY LISA!!!), and to see our newest mayor become elected. Congratualtions to our new Mayor, Randy Foley.
Then, at 11, channel 10 (WSLS) came out to interview me about our chickens, and how the current laws are in conflict with each other. I have to say, I felt that the piece ran a little on the negative side, but in all it was fairly good. The best thing though would be that within an hour of the piece airing on tv we had 8 more people sign our petition!!! YAY!!!! Here's to hoping THAT will continue! Here is a link for anyone who would like to check it out: http://www.wsls.com/sls/news/local/article/chickens_wont_fly_in_salem/13370/
After this I invited Vickie Daulton over to see the chickens. Mrs. Daulton works on the Planning Commission in Salem and will be part of the board that 'yay' or 'nay's the decision to go before Council to allow chickens. We talked for about an hour. I tried to impress upon her, as I have other City Officials, that the current laws in the code dictate how chickens are to be kept. Currently they're worried that, while we may be responsible chicken owners, others will not and how to enforce that/what to do. I've told them they already have that in place. Perhaps I see it more simply than they do.
After this I talked with Melinda Payne who works with Planning Development in Salem. She said the current situation is that they don't know what to do, so for now, our chickens have been given a reprieve to cluck away happily. This is only mildly comforting.
Finally, we've had a slight set-back in our kwh usage & solar power commitment. Jomo, our newest puppy, is full of mischief and has COMPLETELY destroyed our solar-powered pump for our pond. Luckily, the pond came with an electric pump so we've been able to hook that up. The odd thing is that the solar pump didn't really have much of a filter on it and the water was full of algae; we knew we needed to do something, we just weren't sure what we could do cost-wise. I guess Jomo made the decision for us. When the pump was turned on the odor that began coming out of the pond was fairly foul, so we're hoping there aren't lots of dead fish in there. I suppose we'll see soon. Till then, I guess we will have to add "saving $$ for a new, improved & proper solar-pond pump & filter" to our list of things we need to be doing.
Then, at 11, channel 10 (WSLS) came out to interview me about our chickens, and how the current laws are in conflict with each other. I have to say, I felt that the piece ran a little on the negative side, but in all it was fairly good. The best thing though would be that within an hour of the piece airing on tv we had 8 more people sign our petition!!! YAY!!!! Here's to hoping THAT will continue! Here is a link for anyone who would like to check it out: http://www.wsls.com/sls/news/local/article/chickens_wont_fly_in_salem/13370/
After this I invited Vickie Daulton over to see the chickens. Mrs. Daulton works on the Planning Commission in Salem and will be part of the board that 'yay' or 'nay's the decision to go before Council to allow chickens. We talked for about an hour. I tried to impress upon her, as I have other City Officials, that the current laws in the code dictate how chickens are to be kept. Currently they're worried that, while we may be responsible chicken owners, others will not and how to enforce that/what to do. I've told them they already have that in place. Perhaps I see it more simply than they do.
After this I talked with Melinda Payne who works with Planning Development in Salem. She said the current situation is that they don't know what to do, so for now, our chickens have been given a reprieve to cluck away happily. This is only mildly comforting.
Finally, we've had a slight set-back in our kwh usage & solar power commitment. Jomo, our newest puppy, is full of mischief and has COMPLETELY destroyed our solar-powered pump for our pond. Luckily, the pond came with an electric pump so we've been able to hook that up. The odd thing is that the solar pump didn't really have much of a filter on it and the water was full of algae; we knew we needed to do something, we just weren't sure what we could do cost-wise. I guess Jomo made the decision for us. When the pump was turned on the odor that began coming out of the pond was fairly foul, so we're hoping there aren't lots of dead fish in there. I suppose we'll see soon. Till then, I guess we will have to add "saving $$ for a new, improved & proper solar-pond pump & filter" to our list of things we need to be doing.
Thursday, June 26, 2008
So Salem Article
Word has gotten out about the chickens. There is an article in today's Salem Times Register and one on the way in So Salem (a local insert for the Roanoke Times). Thought I would share the So Salem article, written by Miranda Atkins. --- Ok, originally I posted the entire article on here, but I've been asked by the Roanoke Times to please remove it and just give a link for people to view it if you wish. I will leave the headline and photo - just so you will know you've gotten the correct article if you click the link. They welcome comments on their site! Here is the link:http://blogs.roanoke.com/sosalem/2008/06/salemite_goes_green_the_oldfas_1.html And here is the headline with the photo, so you'll know what to look for:
Salemite goes green the old-fashioned way with a garden and a clutch of her own
Here is the link for the petition if you'd like to sign the petition (you don't have to live in Salem to sign it!):cu
http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/salemchickens/index.html
I have to be honest that having these articles come out has made me really, really nervous. I don't believe in hiding, and I believe in being open and honest - but being in the paper and being out on the front like that is another thing. Thankfully I've been reading "Everything I Want to Do is Illegal" by Joel Salatin. Hearing his "war stories from the local food front" has given me the needed strength, courage and resolve to try and get through this. I highly recommend this book to one and all!
Tuesday, June 17, 2008
Welcoming Gabe
This is the first photo we've seen of Gabe. He's our nephew - the first son for my brother Ryan and his wife, Gemma. Gabriel Ryan was born at 11:05am today, weighing in at 7lbs even ... I don't know the length yet. Blonde hair & blue eyes.
This will be the third grandson in our family, fourth grandchild. We're really happy for Ryan and Gemma and wish them well. Lots of long nights where you LITERALLY get NO sleep ahead, as well as all those wonderful firsts. Congratulations!
This will be the third grandson in our family, fourth grandchild. We're really happy for Ryan and Gemma and wish them well. Lots of long nights where you LITERALLY get NO sleep ahead, as well as all those wonderful firsts. Congratulations!
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