You just can't make this stuff up

Here is a play-by-play of a typical day in our life. It really should be titled, "The Good , The Bad , and The Ugly, (with yours truly playing the part of ugly) but that has already been taken. Read on. You'll laugh, you'll cry, it will become a part of you. Grinning- Ellen.





AM- * emptied the rabbit cages, lined the bottoms with newspaper, and filled both food and water containers. Shoot! We forgot to get more straw for bedding. It will have to be gotten today.

* Fed the dog and the cats. Rex generally fulfills most of his caloric requirements eating the neighbor's cat food. Aphrodite eats the dog's food. What's up with that?

* Friends come over to knit, crochet and talk. We exchange patterns, ideas and life stories.

PM* Dante', Max, Rex and friends pile into the van. We go to the community garden to tend
our plot. Surprise! Over the weekend potatoes have come up. We are jubilant. The
peas, radishes and green onions are tall. What ever happened to the beans, we
wonder? Organic slug repellent is sprinkled, stray calendula from last year's garden is
ruthlessly yanked.

* Rex ate a chocolate Easter bunny we didn't watch carefully in the car. We panic and
take him to the vet. She smiles and says he will be fine as he didn't eat enough to
make him sick.

* Next we head for the stable where we board our horse. The dog
comes along and usually causes trouble by trying to chase a horse. Max searches out
puddles and gets soaked-again.

* The goats need more grain and the girls want to see the cute guy at Milk-E-Way feed
and seed. So we drive 12 miles and buy the grain. The cute guy isn't there today,
which leaves the girls feeling rather deflated.

* We grab sandwiches and sodas at the McKay's. Full bellies make for good spirits.

* At Melissa's house we drop off the goat grain. Our pregnant girls are really fattening
up. Dante' takes some of the goats straw home for the rabbits.

* Home again, home again, jiggety-jig. We drop off Dante's friends and go back to our
house. The dog goes into his kennel, Max goes into the bathtub, and I go into the
kitchen to clean up and start dinner.

* Our cat, Aphrodite has brought a mouse inside. It promptly gets away from her and
is lost somewhere in the living room. Is that it? Did I see it? Paxson moves
furniture, Dante' shrieks, and Aphrodite grows bored. She leaves without retrieving
her prize. This would never have happened in her younger days. I realize she is
beginning to grow old.

* Phil comes home, dinner is over, we all scatter to the far ends of the house. William
helps with dishes. I fold laundry. Phil is working on taxes.

* Bedtime ritual for Max: Brush teeth, wash face, hands and feet. Read a bedtime
story before prayers. I steal a few moments of computer time before doing it all
over again.
Believe it or not, today was relatively quiet.(minus the dog drama) That is our life. It sounds crazy sometimes but it's real. You just can't make this stuff up.

Goodnight and God Bless,
Ellen

ps- I still don't know where the mouse is.

Eating well in the middle of winter

As winter has progressed, our shelves of canned goods have dwindled. All the work was worth it, though. Just last night I lacked a little something to spruce up a rather plain chicken dinner. Then I found the last jar of cranberries on a back shelf. It was just what we needed.

All winter we have enjoyed our own blackberry jams, applesauce, pickled beets , squash, and dilly beans. I've used the canned tomatoes and pears. There isn't really much left except some jam and regular pressure canned green beans.

Dante' finds it exciting when I authorize her to go to the basement and bring up some home canned goods. She regards it as 'shopping' at our house.

And I have to say, our homemade jams and pickles have really helped when I've needed a gift for someone but found myself short on cash. I pack a box with canned goodies and Dante' crochets a cute dish cloth to go with it. That little trick has saved my butt more than once.

So here we are in February with supplies running low. Which is fine. We weren't dependent on it. It was just our first experiment in the realm of growing/canning. I have vowed to grow 2-3 times the amount of food this summer than we did last year. It's fun, it keeps us busy and we don't have to eat supermarket veggies from Argentina all winter.

Hurry up, Spring! I want to get down-n-dirty in the garden.

itching to plant,
-EJ

Home Ec for tough times(heftt)

Not to come off all doomsday-ish, but the financial financial difficulties many are facing will not end anytime soon. (Yeah, I've said all this before.)
Rather than panic, I chose to get creative. Its been an incredible learning experience. I have totally redefined what I think of as 'want' and 'need'.

Wastefulness is rampant in our lives but we have been blissfully unaware of it. Re-thinking the art of 'home-making' is a good part of the solution. For years, magazines have been telling us to keep up with trends. Food trends keep us buying expensive ingredients and pricey meals. Decorating trends have us constantly dissatisfied with our homes. More money goes out for new curtains, rugs, paint, or furniture. Clothing trends mean a yearly dumping and re- buying of wardrobes for some people. We go through acres of toilet paper, tissues, napkins, paper towels and paper plates. Even though my family's finances minimize some of these issues, there is plenty of room for improvement.

First, I started buying in bulk. Lots of rice, beans, flour, and sugar. Also lentils, salt, brown sugar and honey. Next came the gardening. Lots of good, healthy food provided for my family. Then canning, dehydrating, and freezing. Also the making of our own cleaning products. Cheaper and healthier than store bought cleaners. And the foraging of local foodstuffs.

But it wasn't enough. For some reason, I just wasn't satisfied. It didn't feel like enough. Thoughts of self-sufficiency kept circling 'round my brain. Then came the goats. We purchased two Nubian does to provide milk for drinking and for making cheese. And possibly goat's milk soap as well. They are currently 'shacked up' with a male in hopes of breeding. Whether or not this will be a successful or worthy endeavor remains to be seen. More on that as it develops.

Fall came, the gardening ended, and things were quiet for awhile. Then something really cool happened. Friends taught me to crochet. My daughter learned as well and we are hooked.
(No pun intended) I didn't realize just how handy this was going to be until the holidays came and I found myself with no money for presents. No money? No problem!

William got a handmade scarf, as did Paxson. I also made and gave away hats and (my favorite) a crocheted coffee cup sleeve. It fits on those drive-thru coffees, protects your hands and is environmentally friendly.

Sewing was a blessing as well. I don't sew very well, but I do some basic things. So out came the bamboo pattern fabric and I made a lovely set of napkins and a tablerunner. Add $3.00 worth of pretty green chopsticks from the local Asian store to complete the set. A supercool easy-peasy gift.

Lest you start rolling your eyes, lets get something clear right off the bat. I am not, I repeat NOT, creative, artsy or handy. Although many of my friends are. (You know who you are: Kimmy, Dawn, Annie, Danielle, Shannalee, Jeri, etc.) All of this could not have been thought of or made to happen without the inspiration and help of God. So please don't be intimidated if you are thinking of trying something new. Especially if it benefits your home and family. God will bless a worthy endeavor.

Now then, I 've all of that just to say that this will be a recurring theme on the Eating Oregon blog. Many of the aformentioned tips will be discussed in greater detail with recipes or instructions if necessary. This category will crossover a lot with the whole Urban Homesteading theme as well as the Eating Oregon theme. And forgive me if I've mentioned most of this before. I'll turn 40 in May, blame it on age.

So, anyone out there want to write an article for the blog or send a recipe or tip? email it to :
ellenjeffery@verizon.net

-E

Anyone out there have great moneysaving

The latest

Whats new at our house? Crocheting. It seems everyone is jumping on the bandwagon. My oldest son, Richard , has now started and has surpassed us all. Just today he was giving instructions to an experienced crafter and he has only been doing this for a week! Sigh, it took Dante' and I awhile to get comfortable with the whole thing and then someone else comes along and makes it look easy.

Given the rough economy we are all about having a homemade Christmas. So everyone has been busy knitting scarves , hats, and fingerless gloves. Somewhere there is a repository for displaced glove "fingers". I'm sure it is located next to the bureau of unmatched socks.

On any given day you can find Dante, Richard, or myself hunched over a crochet needle, muttering. We go to stores and ogle all the expensive, soft yarns.

The pics here are not very good. My camera is 3/4 broken. In short, clinging to life by a thread. But you get the basic idea. The little book pictured is a simple project sewed for Max for Christmas.

Last night we went to a choir concert at shoreacres to hear William sing. He did very well and it was a beautiful night.

This afternoon we (Ok, "I") caved and cut into the fruitcake. It was tasty enough for me to eat way too much and feel chagrined.

Tonight we did the tree, but that will be a separate post. All is well at home and we are Grateful to God for His provision.
Peace,
-EJ