C'est Fini

After months of deliberation I have decided to end my blog here. It's been fun having this corner of the web to myself for these past few years. I love sharing pictures of my garden, details of my latest projects and recipes I find but all good things must come to an end. This blog had grown from a handful or followers to nearing 60 and it pleases me to think you all wanted to read what I have to say.

I am no longer the same person I was when I started this blog in the fall of 2008. My life has taken a different path and my interests have changed dramatically. I am kick starting a new career and a new path for myself. Homesteading and homemaking no longer hold the same appeal. While I still believe in simplicity, I no longer feel the kinship I once felt with the homesteading, homemaking community at large. I am but one person amongst many doing what I feel is right. Sharing these thoughts and ideas with the world is no longer one of my passions. Perhaps I wish for more autonomy, perhaps I am jaded, perhaps I am just tired.

In any case, this blog is done. Perhaps I will see some of you at my writer's blog, Corsets & Cadavers. It's been a pleasure getting to know some of you and I wish everyone all the best. Adieu.

Aw Puppy!

Meet Watson everyone! My new urban homestead guard dog! Watch out or he'll lick you to death!

Two Dog Beds for 5 Bucks!

Yesterday I made two sizeable dog beds for only $5. Why do I have a need for a two dog beds when I only have one dog, you ask? Well because tomorrow the family and I go to pick up our new PUPPY! It is all very exciting. We haven't had a puppy in the house since my son was 1 year old (he's turning 9 in a few months). It will be a playmate for our dog Katie and a late Christmas present for me who is the "dog person" of this family. My husband is more of a cat man.

In preparation for the puppy the kids and I hit the shops, in that standard "let's go to the pet store and get supplies" kind of way. Right now our dog Katie eats her morning meal off an old, chipped plate and the cats all have matching glass plates. She has a plastic bowl for kibble and our plastic ice cream tub turned water dish was in need of replacing. But the prices are astronimical! I couldn't get over it. If I had bought a new dish for the puppy, one for Katie, and a water bowl it would have cost nearly $30. I am sad to say, I was seriously thinking about it. I even had the dishes in my hand but I just couldn't do it. I put them back, bought just the puppy food and decided to go to Goodwill around the corner.

Goodwill didn't have any "dog" dishes but they did have a nice, small ceramic dish that would be perfect for the puppy, and it was 99 cents. I found an old casserole dish, with a flat bottom for $3 and got it for a water dish. I also found a nice, fleecy blanket for $4 and instantly thought, Dog Bed.



As soon as I got home I went to work. I cut the fringe off and decided to use it. I cut the blanket into four pieces, pinned the fringe to the inside, right sides together and sewed all around the rectangle, leaving a space to put it right side out and to stuff.

Using left over stuffing from another project and quilt batting ends, I stuffed the beds and sewed the hole. Done. One hour of work and $5 of materials. And it matches my decor, looks like I spent $24 a piece and no one will ever know.




Yes!

Basement Woes

We are under construction...actually we are over construction. Our unfinished basement will soon be finished and I am excited to watch the transformation. The renovations come with their own set of headaches though, the noise, the dust, and the bills, oy!



The bathroom is on the left, and a small storage closet on the right. We discovered that not only is our basement ready for a toilet and vanity sink, but we also have plumbing for a shower. This was a surprise to us but of course we want to maximize our value, so we are increasing our budget a bit to pay for added shower.

The project is not going to be cheap and we knew this going into it. We worked out a payment schedule with our bank that has us paying off the entire 2000 sq foot project in three years. At the time I thought I was okay with this but then I saw the checks going out and the construction materials coming in and I realized I need it paid off NOW! My own personal psychology makes me hate any form of debt, even debt that increases our property value. To me an increase of property value is not realized until the property is sold, and I have no immediate desire to sell this place. So to me, the debt is the same as any other. I am beholden to someone and I hate it!

So I convinced my husband that we need to be aggressive with our budget. Utilizing my previous tightwaddery skills, I have reworked our budget and plan to put every last extra dime and penny toward this nagging debt. It will take work. It will take adjustment. It will be just like things were a few years ago when my husband went back to school and our income was reduced by 35 per cent. It will also be so very worth it.

Plant Project

I experienced some success last year with my indoor vegetable plants. We had yummy lettuces for ages from those plants. This fall I bought two potted herbs, Basil and Rosemary. I potted them and put them in my sunniest window. It faces south west so it gets about 5 hours of direct sun light during this time of year.



The middle plant is a Money Tree given to me as a birthday present by a friend.

Last night I found a parsley plant at my grocery store and bought it to expand my window garden. I also found some lettuce seeds in my stash and am going to start a potted lettuce bed.

I did plant radishes last year but they never did bulk up in the root but the greens looked good.

One day I would like to expand into some hydroponic growing and try tomatoes, or cucumber, maybe peppers. But ultimately I would like to use a system that runs on solar, storing the energy for use at night. Here in Canada, the northern hemisphere we are only getting 8 hours of sunlight, IF it's not overcast, which our winters usually are. Because of the location of my window I am lucky to get as much sunlight as I do for my herbs.

I use the herbs on chicken, in soups and the parsley is a must have for a gluten free Shepard's Pie recipe I use to make all the time. Maybe I will try drying some herbs for longer storage.

Big Publishing Announcement!

I just made a big announcement at my other blog, Corsets and Cadavers, regarding my novel. If you like mysteries or historicals I am sure you will find this interesting.

http://gothicmysterywriter.blogspot.com/2012/01/big-announcement.html

Gluten Free Graham Crackers

Can't make gluten free cheesecake or nanimo bars or smores without graham crackers. It's far more economical to make them than buy them at $6 a box, yikes!

1/4 cup unsalted butter, softened
4 tbsp brown sugar
2 tbsp sugar
3 tbsp honey
1/2 tsp vanilla
1/3 cup of milk (low fat okay, non fat not okay)
1 1/2 cup all purpose Gluten free flour (I use Bob's Red Mill)
3/4 tsp xanthan gum
1/3 tsp salt
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder

Cream butter and sugars until light and fluffy. Add honey, vanilla and milk, mixing after each addition. Add flour, Xanthan gum, salt, baking soda, baking powder until well combined.

Refrigerate for 4 hours or overnight. Roll out between two pieces of plastic wrap (may need to separate into two batches). Rechill in fridge for another 20 to 30 minutes. Cut into squares, and poke tops with a fork. Place on baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Bake for 10 minutes, until the crackers are crisp. They puff up a bit but don't spread out too much. All them to cool completely before handling.

Cheesecake!

(Anything this good deserves an exclamation point)





I made a batch of gluten free mini cheesecakes for Christmas. It all started with the graham crackers. I had to make gluten free graham crackers, which didn't turn out too bad but sadly I did not get a picture of them. I borrowed a food processor from a friend (yay for communal sharing) and made the crackers into crumbs. I will post the graham cracker recipe after this post.

Cheesecake


3 cups of graham cracker crumbs
2 tbsp of soft butter

Mix in a large bowl. Line mini cupcake pans with paper liners, not using the liners will result in the cakes sticking to the sides. Spoon a bit of graham crumbs into the bottoms and press down to make it flat.



In a mixing bowl, soften;

two 250gr packages of plain cream cheese

Add:

1/2 cup of sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla

Mix and then add:

2 eggs

Mix until smooth. This is when I divided the mixture into three separate bowls and added food colouring. Spoon into lined cupcake pan. These do not expand much so no need to worry about them overflowing while baking.

Bake in a 350F oven for 20 minutes, for mini cakes, 40 minutes for a whole pie-sized cheesecake.



Refrigerated for minimum 3 hours before serving. You can add a berry sauce on top before serving or keep them plain like I do for easy entertaining.

Staying Active

This winter I have resolved to stay active. I plan to walk or hike whenever I can and have signed up for Yoga classes at a local studio. Today I intended to take my kids to city hall for a skate around the circular rink they have out front. In summer it's a beautiful water fountain, the perfect back drop for the farmer's market. We drove by yesterday on the way to the library and saw people skating. The kids begged me to go so since we already had skates, all we needed was for them to be sharpened. Well I decided to buy a pair for myself.



My kids were very excited. I was very nervous. I had visions of epic falls with bones cracking and people crying (me). But no, I did fine. Like getting on a bicycle. I wasn't fast or very pretty but I did it. And my legs are feeling funny, good, but funny.

We plan to go every week now until the ice melts. It should be a great way to keep moving even when the snow threatens to keep us inside.

Natural Attitude

Since I began this long journey to live more naturally, I have noticed a phenomenon amongst like minded people and I must say I am not pleased about it. When I started I expected that when I met an individual with similar goals and aspirations that they would be supportive and helpful. I thought we were all there to help each other understand things and start making progress toward a more sustainable life. I actually thought I could find a community of people that I could bounce ideas off and garner support.

What I found was vastly different.

The economic downturn has brought urban homesteading to the forefront or mainstream and now it seems everyone is doing it. On one level this could be very good. Canning supplies are flying off the shelves. There are tonnes of new books being published on the subject. These are all great things for the most part but I also think it's created a new sense of competition. Instead of vying for the best gadgets or biggest house, now we are comparing pantries and garden plots.

Every time I meet like minded individuals the conversation quickly devolves into who has a bigger garden, how much jars have been put by and how natural a person's life is.

"Oh my kids NEVER eat sugar!"

"I would die if I had to live in the suburbs!"

"We NEVER exchange gifts during the holidays."

"That's not the best way. I do it this way..."

No support, just judgement. I don't even think people realize they are doing it. It's not only the things people say directly, but there seems to be an air of arrogance in a lot of people when it comes to living naturally. They know the way. They are better read on the subject, more experienced and better equipped than most. They are in essence more self sufficient.

I must say I have been flabbergasted at the number of conversations I have had recently that have left me feeling grossly inadequate and more or less the equivalent of a faker. It doesn't matter what I accomplish, someone has done better. Someone has a bigger garden, a more stocked pantry and a more simply life. Or at least they pretend to. Sigh.

This would all be very discouraging if it weren't for the simple fact that I am not doing this to impress people. I am not living simply and naturally so I can show everyone else up and act as if I am better. I am doing it for my family's health and the health of the planet. I have been on this simplicity journey for over three years and love it. Each year I learn more and get closer to my goals, as fluid as they are.

If homesteading is in the mainstream to stay then I would hope things will settle down and people will stop being so competitive about it. We need to just live and be a source of encouragement for others who are trying to do the same.