Ya know...

Now that the holidays are over we're back to planning for our up coming move to the PNW.  I'm very excited that we've going to be moving back up there and look forward to beginning to live a more simple life.  We've been looking into work from home projects, including work from home tech support so that we have more time for our children and more time for the work on the property.  I'm very excited about this prospect, it will mean a pay cut, but there will be less money going out with this: no parking, no huge gas bill and certainly no monthly business wardrobe updates, among other things.

I never realized it before, but moving is a huge hassle when you have a house full of stuff.  And we definitely a house full of stuff, specifically the kitchen.  We're a family that spends 80% of the time together in the kitchen cooking, baking, canning, eating.  And everyone contributes, my five year old made the stuffing for our Thanksgiving and did a pretty good job at it.  Because I don't like stuffing in anything larger than a quail for obvious health hazard reasons, it was easy for him.  But because we are a family that spends a ton of time in the kitchen, we have accumulated sooo many giggits and gizmos and gadgets that we scarcely have enough room for most of them.  And I am proud to say that not one of them is a uni-tasker.  But all of that stuff has to be packed!  Thankfully, we've slowed down on the freezer foods and one of two of our freezers is already lined with cardboard waiting for the contribution of kitchen supplies we'll be packing into it.  We've got one more freezer to empty before the kids are out of school in May so we're trying to keep it at a minimum so that we're not going to end up with a ruined mess when we pull into Portland for our short stay there and then on to Vancouver.

This move has renewed my want for easier things such as the tankless water heater, an aeroponic's system, and of course my obsession with dwarf varieties of fruit trees.  But while it has renewed that want, it has also kicked into gear the other things that we want to do.  Solar panels and wind energy to help get the green incentives that the government has offered and will continue to offer to help ween us off petroleum products and big energy consumption.

I'm taken back to a time when I was a kid when the most we picked up from the grocery store was a gallon of milk, a couple of loaves of "light bread", some cans of spaghetti and some top ramen (we loved ramen when I was growing up, it meant we didn't have to cook a huge meal).  Instead of tins with printed labels, it was jars with hand written ones in the cupboard.  Two large freezers were out in the shed, one for wild game we hunted, and the other was for slaughtered farm critters.  

We were a community of people trading and sharing and helping each other with the trials of failed crops, diseased farm animals, and older folks that couldn't do what they once did.  I was talking with my father last night and he was going hunting today with a couple of friends specifically to surprise someone with a deer kill because the man couldn't go hunting himself, even though my father has already killed two bucks this year and traded a side of one of them for a hog from a local farmer.  And when my father got out of his last surgery a couple of years ago and couldn't go hunting, this man brought him fresh deer and hog kills that were already wrapped and frozen.  He also said that he'd gotten a visit from a couple of others that came by only to grab a jar of jelly and he said he probably wouldn't see them again until they ran out or they brought by some fresh something-or-nother from their own garden.

There is a huge difference in that life from the one I lead now.  I'm still a hunter and a farmer but I'm very used to my city conveniences.  I like my 24 hour grocery stores and pharmacies.  And I also like the short amount of time to get from place to place.  Living where my father is it is a 40 minute drive to Wal-Mart that closes at 10PM.  Newp, I don't want to go back to that, I'm too spoiled.

But what I do want is a place that is out of the way with an couple of acres that we can develop for our chickens, quails and rabbits with our greenhouse and our raised beds and our mini orchard.  We're looking forward to being off grid and being one more person that causes less stress on the system that we currently have and maybe we can help to convience a few people along the way to join us.  And we're looking forward to going to the farmers market with our fresh foods and giving away the stuff we don't sell to a local emergency service for folks that can't afford to feed their families.  We're not trying to change the world here, but we certainly trying to get the movement started with the helps of thousands of others like us.

Thanksgiving has brought a lot of this out.  Our children want to know what the game plan is and we've got one.  They are just as excited about this move as I am and they want to get out there and get their hands dirty.  They want to experience these things and we want them to have these experiences so that they have a better understanding of dependance and independance.

Right now, I don't have pictures of my garden to post and I know that makes a huge difference for a blog (considering no one reads this regularly).  But once we're working on our little farm and the trials that we face and the failures and successes we have, everyone that we're going to miss on the east coast will be able to watch us grow.

Pumpkins and Carrots

The little container garden we've started is in full swing! We have blooms on every pumpkin plant we have! If this is any indication of how well these guys are going to produce I'm certain our first year with a fresh veggie/fruit stand will do quite nicely.

We do pumpkin decorating contests where I work and my boss offered to purchase my pumpkins instead of going to the store when I went into work babbling about the lush green that is coming out of these guys. Not a single pumpkin on the vine yet and we've already got some business.

The carrots finally have true leaves. I'm thrilled about the success we're having. Its a good feeling to do this. I know exactly what is going into the soil because I'm the one putting it in. My children are excited to be involved in this. Seth, my oldest, is the one who sparked this by asking me what I did when I was his age. I told him I grew up on a farm and that was when the barrage of questioning came. I think its really awesome that my 6 year old wants to have a garden and is the one that makes sure to always remind that we need to water and asks if it is time for the kelp fertilizer. My youngest doesn't get as vocally involved, but he knows automatically that he needs to hunt down the water can so we can get it filled up. I know this will sound strange, but they argue who gets to do the work.. and that is certainly fine by me! I'm going to enjoy it while it lasts.

Unopened blooms, true leaves on the carrots, I've got bell peppers ready to start hardening off. We're just moving right along with seeds in the freezer for a spring planting.

I'm trying to start off small and slowly work our way up. With the help of the kids, we make sure to take notes on our garden, to see what reactions we get in container gardening. Next year, pumpkins, carrots, bell pepper and tomatoes will be a breeze and we'll tackle new additions and start all over again.

I really think this is a plan that more newbies to gardening should take. While I grew up on a farm and we grew most of our food on that farm, I know some things about gardening already but I didn't want to overwhelm us with all these plants either. This is a mistake that a lot of new gardeners take and its why some of them fail. They take on too much at once and can't keep up with multiple issues because they just don't know how and it takes so long to solve some problems by the time the problem is solved, the plants have sustained too much damage or are already dead.

Everything in moderation, right?

Garden Outlook

It is amazing to me how a tiny seed can just sprout a plant. My pumpkins have a wild will of their own. We planted them in this one 15 gallon container knowing that we'd get a good yield. They have just excelled in their growth so much. We're going to have a great time when these guys yield some pumpkins. Pumpkin pie for us is an autumn tradition. I start making it as soon as the pumpkins come on the market and put up enough to get us through the holidays making many many many pumpkin pies, most of which never go used for their original intent due to the fact that I have little dervishes tearing silently through the house when everyone thinks I'm not watching. They devour the pie in two seconds flat and hum a tune as they stroll away reeking of my pumpkin pie spice. Kinda makes me feel good that my pie is so loved.

On the other hand, I'm glad I have plenty of kelp. These guys are just moving right along. I'm hoping the other blooms will give some berries soon. Having two at a time would not do very much around here. We're excited none-the-less!

Tiny as they are, they are still going strong. We have true leaves! At last count we had about 38. We're jabbing our fingers at them and counting. It's a family event, you know.

And everyone got a hefty dose of DE.

The bell peppers sprouted. We're looking forward to getting them planted as soon as they have grown a tad bit more. We're just moving right along. No major pest problems, unless you consider the dog trying to chomp down on anything my hand touches a problem. It is. But he hasn't yanked my plants out so we're good there.

Yep, My Dog Needs Help

Friday was an interesting day. Daddy had to pull a really loose tooth so we're excitedly putting our tooth under our pillow tonight. My oldest is shedding teeth faster than the tooth fairy can beat her wings. My youngest is looking at him waiting patiently for when he'll make his fortune. Now if I can get them to pay more attention to their teeth with a brush as they do when it comes to some change under the pillow, I'd be sitting pretty.

I was pleasantly surprised that our seed purchase came in Friday. I was met by excited children jumping up and down, which means excited puppies jumping up and down. After we got everyone calmed down, we had a look at the already opened box and had to contain the excitement even more when we read the seed packages for the hundredth time that day for the kids, for the first time for me.


And while toiling away in the soil and sand today, my pup, Majere, decides that it is a good idea to yank a branch down on the plum tree. This, of course, snaps the tree limb. His reason for doing this? To pluck a single plum from the branch, bite into it, then promptly spit the unripe fruit out.

*sigh*

I got my carrots planted though. Unfortunately, Majere decided he was going to drink the water that my son was pouring in. I was trying to get him to stop and Seth was paying attention to me instead of to what he was doing, Seth drown one side of the tub. And so it is entirely possible that Majere drank my carrot seeds on one side. He spat out the peat moss that was covering the planted carrot seed all over the place.. including my leg.

Interestingly enough, my ten foot tall and bullet proof bodyguard has decided that I may not walk any inch of the yard without him. Ever watchful and always at heel, he is constantly protecting me from the dangers of our yard. Bugs, birds, the cat, other dogs are all hard pressed to harm me with Majere around! I'm just pleased that it is never hard to get him back if he wanders around checking stuff out. He comes when called, does as he is told. It isn't hard to train him to do what we want or need him to do. I'm blessed to have such an intelligent and loyal dog.


When we first brought him home, he was all attitude. This is December last year. I can scarcely remember him being this small. Thankfully, Jake picked the dog. I would have chosen the dumb as a box of rocks one. I'm not allowed to choose shopping carts either.

Now he is much much bigger. Thank god he doesn't have milk teeth anymore, those daggers are evil. I mean Dark Lord of the Sith evil. Though, his adult teeth are just as vicious if unchecked. Luckily, he understands "No bite".

All In A Days Work

The cool cat (Connor the youngest son):



The warm cat (Velvet, the vicious attack cat):



Taking a moment to be cute (Tanis, the prissy one):



Taking over (Seth, the oldest):



Ahh the innocence (Majere, the puppy love)!




Inocence took the back seat on this one.. it's just flat out theivery. The poor poor kitty has been ejected with loud profuse, she had no intensions of backing down from this particular war. She opened a single eye, looked at him, yawned and then rolled over. All innocence was lost in the next two seconds. The big growl came and the cat rolled over and opened one eye and a single claw hooked into his chin. That started a ruckus. Speed demon fuzballs flying down my hallways (that were clean before they started and when they were done, all that work drained down the tubes (they knocked over a 4 shelf system, everything crashed to the floor). But when they made a second pass spit hissing and snarling then they hit the carpet. Once they picked themselves back up from not being used to the drag, they momentarily called truce so Majere could go pick on Tanis. Who'd also claimed Majere's bed when Velvet vacated. I watched this very closely. Majere went over to his bed and walked right in. It wasn't uncomfortable, but attack cat wasn't having it and she would win her bed!



Well... you can't win them all.

Baby Fever Reducer

Bathe the infant in a tub of lukewarm water with 1/2 cup of baking soda. Use less if you are using a plastic infant tub. This is also an effective remedy for diaper rash.