Crazy weather patterns!

I looked up the weather for the June averages:

• ONE sunny day
• ONE degree below average overnight
• TWO degrees below average daytime
• precipitation - same

Now may people around here might say "typical" BUT I have lived here all my life and 2 years in a row is NOT typical.  We had drizzles to downpours (this many downpours is NOT typical).  We usually have a better ratio of sunny days to cloudy AND we don't usually have rain every day in June.  Yes, it is considers a damp month BUT NOT EVERYDAY!  The benefits are a beautiful green start to summer but grass is growing at a faster rate and it's always green this time of year anyway.  The really bad part is when you put out tomatoes, they don't like the rain.  The almost good part is the extended spring, lettuces and peas are not winding down yet.  The wierd thing is I have had to start 4 fires in the stove to ward off the damp (the house feels cold when damp).  In the 6 years living here I have NEVER had a fire in June but after 3 - 4 days of damp and rain you can feel it and the house was actually cold.

As I write; the sun is dancing across my living room, bright, soft, the leaves enhancing  it's mood.  I look west and ugh! the clouds are building and black! more rain? Oh wait 5 minutes (or an hour) there is the sun again!

Dump run again (we don't have pick up) this time household and some clean up, also a couple of sacks for the good will.

Milkwood: Joel Salatin on debt free farming.

Some valid points that if we follow may lead to a more balanced life style.
                                                                                                                                                            Right now I am surrounded by 'stuff' yet contentment is out of reach.  Granted, this 'stuff' we have  is mostly hand me down.  We have never had the income to spend freely.  I don't mind used things, but everyone around us thinks that we are a dump site.  That we don't have enough 'stuff' to show outwardly how good life is.  Well, I am going to garage sale a lot of it; then the excess will go the goodwill!  Good grief, I have 6 sewing machines, 3 are antiques of which I think the one treadle might work if a band can be found to run the wheel.  I love antiques though and have had to sell the few we have owned.  I need to get rid of them . . . . . .  dang!  So basically, we are not in debt (especially because of buying 'stuff' - not!) we just don't have the income to support the venture onto land.  Making do once we could get there would be easy for me because I already re-use or go without.  People around me think we are odd because consumerism isn't a constant need!

Circumstances can change, instead of feeling bad I am going to move forward and purge 'stuff' to create a simpler home for better harmony and a smaller home!  Following thru will be my challenge,  this is not my strongest trait.  My life as an adult has been practicing voluntary simplicity except in the accumulation of 'stuff', I am feeling weighed down and jump for joy at every dump run and charitable drop off!

Milkwood: Choosing Farmland? Joel Salatin and Nick Ritar

Powerful quote from a sci-fi novelist

"A human being should be able to change a diaper, plan an invasion, butcher a hog,

conn a ship, design a building, write a sonnet, balance accounts, build a wall, set a bone,

comfort the dying, take orders, give orders, cooperate, act alone, solve equations,

analyze a new problem, pitch manure, program a computer, cook a tasty meal,

fight efficiently and die gallantly.

Specialization is for insects."

-- Robert A. Heinlein

Cupboard, Spring clean

Yes I know, a little late for spring cleaning but it's been so cold around here.  I even started a fire in the basement because all the rain has left the house feeling a bit damp, turning on the furnace gets hot in minutes, so a fire it is.

I found a questionable bag of rice with holes and dust inside so I have pulled all food off of 3 shelves so far to wash down the shelves, also rinsed with a little vinegar. Then wiped all the bottoms of the boxes and containers, aired them and restocked the shelves.  I have 4 more to go.  Also tossing old and questionable packages, it's been a while.  Time seems to go by so fast and I haven't been into the very back of the cupboards or rotated the food out.  Feels good to get another area up to date, clean and refreshed.  This is certainly not a hard job, just one that gets put off till another day.

Thoughts on Life

I came across an article on self-sufficiency and a book review.  Amazing how close to my thoughts and beliefs, like mind reading. In a Countryside magazine article (jan/feb, 2010), regarding Jd Belanger's new book "he admonishes people to think of their frugal lifestyles as a business", "a business must be more efficient and less wasteful than a hobby, self sufficient living cannot tolerate waste". It's an "investment in a minimalist lifestyle  that can be just as profitable as investments in the stock market".  The Complete Idiot's guide to Self-Sufficient Living.  Definitely will get this book.  I am not a complete beginner, but being self taught in most areas of gardening and animals, a library of books for reference  is important.  Jd Belanger has been writing about homesteading for 30 years, that's a lot of knowledge.

'voluntary simplicity' . . . . .  I like the way it sounds!

I have kept track of eggs gathered per day, food bought, the few dozen sold to a neighbor and the year the chicks were bought. Should have also kept track of the dozens given away to family, and the price of the chicks.  It wasn't hard, I kept a paper for counts on the side of the fridge.  We also kept track of expenses for 4H horses, considered as part of the responsibility of the kids projects each year.  For home schooled kids, this is great for math lessons (gardening and animals), even the youngest can help with counting, weighing, writing the numbers, etc. Real life math makes more sense. While in high school and not understanding algebra, switching to bookkeeping saved my grade point average.  A light went off (in my head!), 'this is algebra', it made sense because of real life applications.  I feel that kids are not helped to understand why they must know math, especially in high school.

Mother Earth News Fair

Went to Puyallup, Wa for the Mother Earth News Fair and in order of what blew my mind:

• the draft horses who logs with their owner - demonstration,  WOW, and the portable saw mill
• the fibers information - spinning, TOUCHING, absorbing knowledge
• the plate of sample cheese (I am still nibbling on) mostly soft with rinds Mmmm, Mmmmmm
• lecture - rotation of pastures, wow! so do-able.  (I think lazy comes to mind if this isn't incorporated into animal husbandry), this will be used in the future!

I thoroughly enjoyed browsing and learning new information, thank you SO MUCH !

This has been a GOOD weekend with family and sad because my son in law is going to Iraq for a year. Bittersweet, hard to wrap my mind around it and this will be very hard on his family.  I'm very glad we can be there for them.

We also went to the Nisqually Estuary with the grandkids and had a great walk with them.  They love nature and are very inquisitive.