Play Dough

I made play dough for the kids today. I read the recipe and thought I really wanted it to be colored like the dough we buy at the store. I looked at the selection of food coloring at the store and didn't like the idea. I remember dying eggs a couple years ago with veggies and thought it would be a good idea with our play dough. Homemade play dough generally doesn't last as long as store bought, so I figured it's really not a big deal to add fresh fruit and veggies to it. Step by step here is the process.

1. Make your veggie dyes. In the pan to the front left I used shredded beets and water. I only added about a cup of water to 4 shredded beets and the color came out intense. In the pan to the front right are blueberries, blackberries and a cup of water. The berries add to the liquid. Again a nice bold color. In the pan to the back right we added orange zest, shredded carrots, yellow onion peel and a tiny touch of curry powder. I let these simmer for about half an hour.

2. Using a strainer with a towel I strained each dye free of pulp and seeds. Below is the red beet dye.

3. In a pan we placed half a cup of the dye liquid. 1 cup baking soda as seen here

4. Then added a half cup of corn starch. This is the first time corn starch has been allowed in my house. I then turned on the heat and began stirring the mixture with a fork. Bring it to a boil and stir constantly and it will thicken up. If it gets too thick and dry you can simply place in a bowl and add a little bit more dye mixture. Knead it in until you reach the desired consistency.

Our yellow dough

Red

Blue

This was a fun project and probably would have been more suited for my homeschool blog except I did this project alone. I have another recipe for a salt dough I want to try, so we will compare the two and see how they rate.

My Eyes Are Open

You know how people say once certain things have been seen they can't be unseen? Usually its something horribly traumatic like an accident or maybe a murder. Sometimes even seeing it on television burns it into the brain. Time goes by and it works it's way out of your brain, but now and again it pops us and you remember how terrible it was.

What if you were presented with the evidence of people being beaten, threatened with a gun, chained to a chair and afraid for their lives? They're not prisoners. Just people living their daily lives. Yes, I said their daily lives. These people make your clothing. They assemble your shoes, computers, toys etc. Yes, the ones you buy for your kids too! They are paid a wage below poverty level and treated like prisoners. All so we don't have to pay a high price for a poor quality product. All so companies can make more and more money. Make money on the backs of innocent human beings just trying to make their way in the world. Many of them never having a choice. Some of them come from indigenous tribes that have been forced into modern society by other humans thinking they are offering them a better life.

What if you were presented with the evidence of your dog being skinned alive. That would be terrible! If you're a dog person and read this you squirmed a little, I know you did. This happens to all sorts of animals all over the world. Animals that become your food, your boots, your purses, hats wallets, jackets etc. They suffer. Why is your dog a more worthy animal than a cow or a pig or a chicken etc.? Why? We deal with animals the same why humans deal with each other. We put them in categories. Black, white, skinny, fat, rich, poor, worthy, not worthy. I guess it shouldn't be a surprise we are the same way with animals.

Now don't get me wrong. I'm not saying don't eat meat. I love meat. But, if you're going to eat it be sure they are cared for well as they grow and when they die that they are not forced to suffer unnecessarily. Think about it this way. Could you kill your food? A lot of people are probably pretty squeamish about that. I could do it to feed my family. I could. If you landed in the "I could do it" category, could you slaughter the animal the way the factory farms do it? Can you see yourself treating the animal like the lowest life form on the planet up until it dies? That low life is for your nourishment. You should have respect for that animal for giving it's life to feed you.

We are so far removed from the realities of where our products come from. We even hear about it and quickly put it out of our minds. It's just a harsh reality we don't want to face. Because hey, we like the jeans we get at Target! I worked hard for my money, so I want a pair of nice jeans at a decent price. You think you work hard? Think about who made those jeans. That's hard work. We walk through the meat section of the grocery store and everything is so far removed from the idea that it was once an animal. Every cut of steak. Every slice of turkey is from an actual living and breathing animal. An animal that can feel pain. An animal raised incorrectly and treated like....well meat. Now, I don't take anyone who reads my blog as stupid. I know when it's pointed out everyone is very aware the meat in the store comes from an animal. But, do you think of that as you pass by each selection? Do you stop to think about if it lived a decent life? I do. A decent life means a really good piece of meat. Not something that has a larger chance to be tainted. I mean if you won't think about it for the animal at least think about it for yourself. You really trust that meat going in your mouth? The food industry is very sad.

But I have seen too much to look away and forget. I strive everyday to be more conscious of these autocracies. I haven't eaten even a little meat in almost a month. I've learned to cook vegetarian. I haven't bought clothing or shoes or anything for longer than that. I've always been good about shopping thrift stores. At least I'm not buying into the companies hurting people to make a profit.

Am I perfect? Absolutely not! Am I judging people for their choices? No. Because they have been raised in the same system than I have. The system that basically says if we don't see it then it's not happening. But once people are made aware and read about the treatment of people and animals and even the earth they should want to make a positive change. Especially if they claim to care about people and care about animals. It should be a no brainer.

My eyes are open and I will see terrible things that bring tears to my eyes, but the more aware I am the better I understand how I can make a change.

A Torn Soul

I know how crazy I can sound. I get it. Its extreme the things I want to do to make the world a better place. The things I want to do to show people that they can exist on less and can be happy that way as well. It's hard for most people to fathom, the idea of giving up the things, the gadgets, the luxuries and having to truly work hard to survive.

For me being a part of a world filled with those luxuries makes my skin crawl. At the same time I enjoy some of those luxuries. It tears me in two. I feel like a hypocrite. I can I post articles about saving energy, fuel efficiency, eating locally and organically when I can't always follow what I'm asking of others?

I drive a Suburban. People who casually know me see that car but read what I post and they think that is a reason not to take me seriously. They'll make remarks (funny ones) about the hippie with the Suburban. But what people don't see is how little I drive it. How I plan my trips in it around other things I need to do, so I'm not running here coming home, running there coming home etc. The gas hike really hasn't affected me driving my gas guzzler. It has affected us because my husband commutes a pretty good distance for his job each day and that's where it hurts.

There's nothing like being gone in the evening and coming home to find every light on. It chaps my hide! So I walk through the house and turn off lights all the while explaining why it's important to shut them off when we aren't in the room. The speech I heard years ago about my parents not owning the electric company is no longer viable. The speech now has to do with our energy consumption and why it's important to conserve. This speech also goes right in one ear and out the other with my older kids. Different speech....same reaction.

Another energy sapping entity in our house....clothes. We have so many clothes in this house that I get backed up when I hang the clothes and don't use the dryer. Who am I kidding I get backed up with the dryer. I use it especially in the winter. But I don't need to. But it's a matter of people downsizing their wardrobes. I did it to mine and I'm working on the younger two. But getting the hubby and the older kids to whittle down their wardrobe is no easy task. But I'm working on it.

I eat as locally as possible whenever possible. Funny thing is we live in a place that has magnificent soil and growing climate. Winters can be wonky but spring and summer are divine and the root crops and winter greens grow abundantly here. But when winter time comes unless you have your own garden, finding locally grown potatoes and veggies is nearly impossible. Even the local CSAs stop delivering for winter. So I spend a lot of time scouring through the local markets looking for local produce. What gets me is I stay away from the typical summer crops knowing they cannot be local in the winter here. So I'm picking up cabbages and spinach and chard. I'm reading the labels on the winter squashes and I'm finding it's all imported from other states and even other countries? Why? Even our farmer's market closes for the winter. I get that they don't particularly like being out in the rain and cold. I wouldn't either. I just wish we could find a nice indoor space for them to be during the winter.

Here's the other problem. I shop farmer's market every week and I love the abundance of produce, but when I talk to the farmers I find that many of them do not grow organically. Even if they aren't certified organic, if they follow organic practices of no herbicide and no pesticide I'll buy from them. At least they are honest, but I'm certainly not going to haul off a huge bunch of beats from someone who doesn't practice organic farming. I had to stop buying my strawberries at the market. Both producers who show up week after week use "conventional" farming practices. That means those lovely red berries are filled with pollutants. I'm all for supporting agriculture, not that type of agriculture.

My biggest downfall is my coffee (and internet). Even if it's roasted and distributed locally it has to travel to get to the roaster. We don't grow coffee here in the US and certainly not in our state. Eventually I will have to cut back and bring it to a halt. I know this. I also love Parmesan cheese and the exotic spices. All of them imported. You never even notice how many things you buy that are not locally grown until you really start reading your labels.

The other thing I really do my best to stay away from is GMOs. I'm better at this one than others. I think my utter disgust of biotechnology and the way these giant companies treat humans spurs me on to constantly read labels. I go to web sites to see what things I need to stay away from. You'd be really surprised the amount of GMOs people eat everyday without even knowing it.

Meat! I grew up a meat and potatoes gal. Butter? Nah....give us that manufactured yellow shit that looks like butter. Fresh veggies? Nah....canned. The fake butter and canned veggies were easy to give up. I still eat some canned beans. But giving up meat has been hard. I slip still, but very rarely. Our friend brought pizza over for dinner last week to thank us for babysitting for them. Both had meat. I ate it. Its not that I haven't found some amazing vegetarian recipes and not just veggies over rice or something. I'm a good cook and I can say that without feeling like I'm bragging. It's just something that comes naturally to me. I don't draw, I am not a seamstress, I don't play an instrument. I cook. Coming up with vegetarian dishes without always feeling like I have to add the fake meat products has been quite easy. But it's the fact that I loved meat so much. Everyday I find myself more and more disgusted by it when I don't know where it came from. I ate a few chicken wings the other day and when I finished I felt ill. I hadn't eaten a single bit of meat in over a week. It just didn't settle right in my brain or my belly.

I'm trying to do what I can, but I know it's not enough. Everyone knows I really don't care what people think of me. I haven't for a very long time. I am weird. My hope and dream is to take this way of life we live and turn it completely wonky and start living the way I know we should. Reliant on ourselves, or instincts and our knowledge. Relying on our ability to break free of this petroleum dominated world and live off of resources we can produce over and over leaving the land and the world better than the day before. I know many people do not want to take a step back or many steps back and say, "Wow, I can actually live without this or that and I'm actually happier without it." But, I find it selfish to sit here and consume, pollute, rape the earth of resources so we can have bigger, better, faster, more now when the world we are leaving for our families that come after us will be worse off for it. How can we sit here and look into the eyes of our children and think of the possibility of our Grandchildren and not want to make this planet a better place for them? Ipads, computers, televisions, appliances etc etc. Savagely mined dank holes in the ground, forests completely gone and unable to be replanted, rivers that no longer run thick with fish, entire ecosystems gone, animal extinction at a rate faster than any other time in history. That's is what our families are looking at in the future because its what we are seeing now. What kind of world is that to live in when you can try to make a difference?

Let me also touch on the social side of all of this. If you think you are a truly caring human being. Love is the key etc. etc. But you also walk around and talk about how good capitalism is and how good consumerism is you need to look deeper into your soul. Capitalism, in my opinion, is people and corporations standing on the backs of others to get to the top. If you buy products that are from China, Indonesia, Bangladesh etc etc chances are the people who produced those products are underpaid, poverty stricken and abused. But that's a nice shirt you have there! You're a caring person, but do you even think about the people who produce your "stuff"? Even food grown in the US has a social price. Everything does.

I wish I could say I was perfect in all of my choices. I certainly am not. But everyday I am doing what I can to change. I am doing what I can to bring my family on a journey to be more passionate about our earth and to remember that people shouldn't have to die for us to wear clothing or eat food. Going to extremes isn't always the key, but I think in some situations addicts need to be cut off from the drug and go through the withdrawals to come out on the other side free of it. I'm scared to death of leaving all of the technology behind....well, most of it. I'm afraid of what is on the other side. But, I'm also so excited to discover my family again and to be unhindered by my need to use technology for just about everything. It truly is a torn soul I am hoping to make whole again.

Chicken Coop

It's not complete but it's livable until the final touches are put on. My husband is a chicken coop genius!

He took our existing coop that looked like this.

He cut the existing covered portion and used what was the yard to make a new house enclosure. Then fenced it all in.

The house there was the original yard of the old house. It now has a door to get in with two roosting places inside. The outside flaps are hinged.

The hinged flaps open up to the new nesting boxes made smaller to encourage the chickens to lay in them.

There's the door into the house.

As a side note our starts are already sprouting!

Rainy Day Schedule

Remember in elementary school having rainy day schedule meaning we couldn't go outside for recess? We would stay in an play silly games like "thumbs up 7up"

It's raining here today so it's pretty much got us stuck indoors unless I make a trip to the market for some things we need in the pantry and fridge. There's not a lot we need to get done outside today and I know I really don't want to work in the miserable weather. So Jerod is helping me get the house cleaned up. It's a nice chance to take a breather, get some things done and find a little balance before the week starts.

I hear so many people complain about the rain and I just don't understand that. I know it can be gloomy and some people feel blue when the weather turns bad. But rain is what cleans our air and brings forth life and vitality. Without it nobody would eat. We should be thankful for the rain knowing how it was to go through drought for several years here in the central valley. I'm thrilled for the rain because instead of running my municipal water, my garden space is getting the good deep soak it needs for digging, tilling and creating beds for all of our lovely spring crops for free!

The chicken house is nearly complete. The chickens are fully contained now in a much larger yard than they had before with several more laying boxes. I will venture out into the rain after my late breakfast/lunch an grab some pictures. It just needs a few final touches and it will be complete.

What are you doing to improve your life and the earth this rainy day?

It's Saturday

Saturday is the day new things happen in the garden. Unfortunately I am working today so I will be gone for the best part of the day to work. But Jerod will be here and he will finish the chicken coop today! I can't wait for them to be safe and cozy in their new home.

I have been digging out our front flower bed. Our entire garden has become a mess over the winter, so we have a lot of work ahead of us. But we are ready and excited to make it happen! I was digging and pulling out weeds. Usually they would go in our yard waste bin and become compost at our dump. Instead I took them to the back and dumped them for the chickens. They were in chicken heaven! There were all sorts of worms and other critters in the packed dirt around the roots. They made good work of the green weeds also.

Our next steps are to find some somewhat clear days and start turning the dirt. It's a rigorous and back breaking task when done by hand, which is my preferred method. This year to exposure the process and save my back some pain and money on my chiropractor bill we will use our small tiller for part of it. Starts are done and we are just waiting for them to sprout. We have several crops this year that require broadcasting the seed so we are just waiting for any really cold weather to pass. The weather has been crazy here. I also will be using space in my friend's garden as she is out of town. They will be back just in time for all of the goodies to ripen. It will be a nice welcome home for them to have fresh veggies already going.

So that's the update for today. Pictures of the finished coop will be posted soon! Can't wait for spring and summer!

Back to Blogging

Its been such a long time since I've posted!

We have been so busy with life and I have been either sick or down with a bad back for months. But I've decided not to let those things stop me from doing what I'm passionate about and that's growing my own food in a sustainable way and to work hard to have the lowest impact on this earth I possibly can. Frankly I haven't been doing a very good job of it lately.

Even with my bad back I've gotten some of my gardening started for the spring. Our chicken coop is being revamped by my ever so handy husband and we are very much looking forward to all of the good food we will have come summer time!

I have also taken to eating more vegetarian than before. I'm a down home meat and potatoes gal, but after looking at the industrialized meat production we have in the US I just cannot continue to eat meat from that system. Yes, we do have some sustainable meat producers in our food shed, but it's expensive to start up buying it, just as it is to join a CSA. I will do them both, but I have to save some money up first to get started.

Not buying meat as often as I used to has helped our budget. In my last grocery trip I loaded up with a cart full of healthy choices paying attention to where things were grown or produced. I did my best to stay away from GMO products and processed foods in general. I also bought from the bulk section to keep the packaging waste down. Plus it's less expensive. I have only had to go back to the store for milk and things I needed for specific recipes I didn't buy originally. It's saved us a ton of money!

Here are some pictures of the happenings here:

Our chicken coop was way too small for our 7 chickens and they had to spend most of the winter cooped up in it. So we decided to make them a much larger area while still keeping them in a space that is away from the garden.

Wire mesh will enclose the space
This is the outside. Corrugated plastic will keep water out. We are recycling what had originally been on the house.
Two of our chickens enjoying their new space
We watched the documentary Tapped and decided that even though we do not buy a lot of bottled water we would order some water bottles that filter the water to make sure we have water everywhere we go.
One small greenhouse full of starts and that's not even all of them!