Wednesday, May 8, 2013

Gosh.

The weather has been killing me here.

Depressing, really.

We would have three or four warm days in a row, and then snow, and cold. Mother Nature has, apparently, not been a happy Goddess. I'm not sure which one of you pissed her off, but, really, it's time to apologize.

We do, finally, have a nice run of warm weather, although I'm stuck inside today due to thunder and lightning. I spent the last several days putting some goodness from Mother Nature back into our soil.

Egg shells, for calcium, from the eggs She gave us for  nourishment.
Chicken manure and hay, to make the soil more fertile, from the chickens She gave us, both for food and entertainment.
Wood ash, for potassium, from the trees we took from Her to warm our home.

There is a connection built, I believe, when you are giving back to the Earth. A realization that the whole relationship is very much give and take. And that when we give, the Earth gives back-far more than we take. We will take so much of our food straight from the Earth this year, so it's important to give back what we can, to help heal Her, to make her whole.

Pretty philosophical today, I guess. I have some pictures to share with you, since I finally got a camera phone. I hope you love them!

To me, the first tulip popping always signifies the arrival of Spring. It's pretty late for tulips.

The chickens were curious when I was out working in the garden area. They're right next to the garden. Eventually their run will include a way into the garden so they can go in after harvest and eat the leavings and help with turning the soil and fertilizing for the following season. Can you see the barn cats keeping watch? They like to share the household scraps I take out to the chickens. They are especially fond of bread.

Rocky got tired after a long day of playing with Bellatrix, chasing chickens, sniffing chicken poo, and barking at, well, whatever it is he barks at. Which is usually nothing.

Thursday, March 21, 2013

The days of this week have kind of blended into each other.

I have lettuces and onions in the dirt, in planters and greenhouse boxes, being moved in between the house and outside.

We have parent teacher conferences today, and then begins Spring Break. So not looking forward to the one, completely relishing the idea of the other. I love Spring Break. It's only a week, but we get extra cuddle time and plenty of outside time with the kids. Makes my heart happy.

Monday, March 18, 2013

Today marks the beginning of planting season.

Seeds in the dirt, in the house, hopefully adequately protected from the cats.

Ground to till.

So much to get done.

For awhile, entries will be short.

Be patient.

I have onions in the dirt.

Friday, March 15, 2013

Yesterday was full of awesomeness. Money spending awesomeness, but still awesomeness.

Photo Credit: Andie712b

I got a sewing machine, which I have been wanting for a few years. I got promised one over a year ago but the person who promised it has never come up with it, so I went looking at a thrift store. Found a great one, that had all the manuals. So, then, of course, I had to buy fabric. I will be making some aprons next week.

I also got a scale, which I need for selling stuff on Etsy, so I was super excited to find that. I was not the only one excited. As i was carrying the scale out to the car, some lady stopped me and offered to buy it from me. It has a huge base so i wasn't willing to do that, but I did point her into the Thrift Store, where they had others.

While i was browsing at the thrift store, I found a Spiderman comforter. My youngest daughter's bedspread recently got mangled when Bellatrix the puppy got ahold of the edge while she was in her cage when we weren't home, so she definitely needed a new one. And, she loves Spiderman. She was so excited when she saw it. Best $3.00 I've spent in awhile.

At Walmart I picked up a set of those pans that turns tortillas into taco salad shells in the oven, marked down on clearance to $7.00. I've been wanting one of those for quite awhile as well. I'm wondering about baking bread in it.

When I got home I went looking for fabric online. I found some cute dark red and brown striped material that will make a great accent for the new curtains I desperately need for the living room. I ordered swatches, so I can get solid material to match at a cheaper price locally, then I'll order a few yards of the striped material, which is about $8/yard, to accent the curtains. I love the idea of having a little bit of color in the curtains. If I have enough left over, I may use the same fabric for my bedroom, with a different main color. I got a swatch with light blues and yellows for the bathroom and laundry room. I am thinking about doing a fabric shower curtain (with a regular liner) so I may use that there as well. Those rooms are both south facing and get a lot of sunlight year round, and in the winter, they are the brightest rooms, so I'm hoping using the bright colors in those rooms will keep them looking cheerful all year long.

Last night's dinner was taco salad. It's too bad that I didn't have time to make tortillas so we could use our pans. But with being gone for so long,

Wednesday March 13, 2013

I have excellent news to report today.

Photo Credit: Mike Licht

For the last two years, Mr. S. has been working on a contract basis. He's asked me not to share with the world what it is he does, but suffice it to say that he mostly enjoys his job. But, if you've never done it, working on a contract basis sucks. His job? To know how to do everything that everyone on his crew does so he can fill in for them on their days off, for vacations, etc. Some weeks, he'd get eight hours, although for the last year he's mostly been working six days a week. Near the end of his contract year, we'd wait anxiously to see if his contract would be renewed.

This year, his position is scheduled to be eliminated. Apparently, it's a duplicate position within the company, or at least one that can be covered under another description. That added an additional level of stress for us, as we have been told for most of the last two years that this company, like so many others, simply wasn't hiring on a permanent basis. It's cheaper to pay temporary workers, and keep indefinitely renewing their contracts, than to hire permanent employees and pay benefits, etc. And in a location and economy where people are desperate for jobs (Mr. S. was on unemployment for a long time before this job), companies can do that, because people are grateful to have money coming in.

Where we live, the primary industry is methane gas mining. I'm not sure what methane gas does, but I know that the companies who mine and produce this gas employed the majority of workers in our county, until about three or four years ago. At that time, Colorado passed a law that said to protect the migration habits of some kind of animal, all methane gas production has to shut down for three months out of the year. This was, of course, challenged in court, but during that time, there was a hiring freeze. Once the challenges had run their course, and the law was upheld, the job cuts started. In a single month, 12% of our county lost their jobs. Over the next three years, something like 30% of the remaining jobs were lost, although many of those job holders were moved out of state to work with the same company.

Mr. S., even though he didn't work directly for a methane gas mining company, was one of the initial 12%, as he was working in an industry that was dependent upon the methane gas mining companies. he worked for a few months, and picked up some work here and there, but, by and large, we lived on what I made writing, our savings, and his unemployment for longer than I care to mention.

But then he found a job. We were thankful, grateful, elated, even though we knew it was contract work. It meant rebuilding our savings. It meant many things that only those who have been unemployed for awhile can, I think, truly fathom. There were no benefits, other than the certainty, most months, of dinner on the table. There was the constant uncertainty of not knowing if the contract would be renewed and if he would continue to have his hours, but those kinds of things are easy to put aside until you have to deal with them right now.

Yesterday, Mr. S. was hired. As a permanent employee. No more contract expirations. No more wondering if he will get hours this week. Benefits, including health insurance we can probably afford. It means a pay cut, at least temporarily, but I will figure out how to live with that. I'll be opening an Etsy shop that will hopefully replace some of the income that we will be losing. I'll also be selling some stuff on Ebay, and working on some soaps and bath items that I can sell at the Farmer's Market this summer. We'll make it work. It's surely better than unemployment!

Tuesday, March 12, 2013

Finally.

Photo Credit: Will Clayton

No more children's birthdays until October. I can stop having mini nervous breakdowns about how old my children are getting, until then.

Yesterday I worked a lot in the house, and on my household notebook. With planting season coming soon and parent teacher conferences and baby chicks coming soon and kids working and volunteering for the summer and, well, you get the picture...I needed to be more organized, so I spent some hard core time working on the notebook.

I got five more pounds of apples into the dehydrator. I'll be making some granola with these and maybe rehydrating some for apple sauce. Once they are done, I have some spinach and green onions to do.

My order from herbalcom came in yesterday. I got part of it packaged up and into the herb shed, and I'll finish that today. The cats are going batshit crazy over the box-catnip was in there.

Monday, March 11, 2013

Happy Monday, folks!

I know, I'm awfully chipper for a Monday. It's frightening, actually.

I woke up this morning feeling focused. I haven't felt focused in weeks-overwhelmed, I guess, with spring cleaning, sick kids, sick me, and a desire to be outside getting dirty.

I have a long list of things to get done, but it will all get done in time. I'm rather looking forward to the busy day, both inside and out. There's a ton of laundry to be done, and hopefully hung outside. I'm waiting for the snow to melt a bit more before I go that route, though. We have 2 feet drifts in some places on the property, so I'm trying to minimize the number of drifts I have to fight my way through. It's supposed to get into the 50s today, so hopefully the snow won't be here long.

Of course, the snow melting leads to mud, which is one of the reasons I have so many things on my to do list. My living room, and the path from the living room to the kitchen, is covered in mud, tracked in by dogs, kids, and the husband. Well, I brought some of it in, too. But I'll pretend to be blameless for this one.

I hope your Monday is focused and productive!