Matilda arrived on our doorsteps today. She needed a place to stay, and we have a little more room, so we’ve decided to invite her to join our family.
She’s a lovely lady and seems to be getting along well with our other ladies. She’s settling in very nicely. Kaia has taken to her immediately and follows her everywhere. We hope she will become a part of our cordwood wall and stay with us forever! Thought you’d like some pictures!
It’s been unseasonably warm here. So we’ve been hoping to lay some cordwood. Because we are using a lime-putty mortar mix, we need ~2 weeks without a hard freeze for it to dry. So, we are pushing it right now. The temps drop down into the low 40’s here last night, but they are supposed to be up in the 50’s (for the lows) by next week! Since it’s been so warm in the days, we may be ok. Anyway, to really start on the cordwood, we had to get the electrical done (which happened last week) and pass inspection (which we didn’t). Our electrician is from one county over and in that county they don’t require you to strip and tie off all the wires for the ‘rough inspection’. In our county, they do. So, he has to come back and do that. However, the inspector was really nice and said he has no problem with us laying the cordwood before the inspection is passed. YAY!!
So, here is a picture review of our last week. Continue reading
This is my sweet Suki. I got her from a dog rescue in 2001, and I realized the other day that she has been on the same brand of dog food since I got her 6 years ago! It’s supposed to be one of the healthiest dog foods, but still, to be on the same thing everyday for 6 years just seems unhealthy. (So, I’ve decided to start feeding her a raw diet. It just seems to make sense. This is what dogs would be eating in the wild. I use to have two cats that I fed a raw diet and they loved it! I don’t remember what made me switch back… convenience maybe.) Anyway, I spend ~$60 a month on dry dog food. I’ve calculated it out, and if I do some smart shopping, feeding her a meat and bones diet won’t cost any more… it may actually be cheaper. Once we are in our new house (and we have a little more kitchen room), I may contact some of our local organic/free range meat producers to see if I can get their scraps. So, for right now, I have started her on chicken necks (our local grocery stores will pack these up, along with organs, and mixed grounds, specifically for pet owners). After slowly adding other meats, I will try to (mostly) follow this menu, and spice it up as I get more use to it. So far she loves it!! Any raw feeders out there?
“Mommy, when you were a little kid, did you bite your toenails, and were they hard, too?”
Yuuuckkk!
Tomorrow is the first day of Fall. So, Kaia and I started celebrating by heading to the Annual Plow festival at Warren Wilson College. Every year, tons of people come out with their old timey plows and draft horses and plow the fields for the college. There was also fresh pressed apple juice, a black smithing demonstration, pie tasting, bbq, face painting, and wagon rides.
The house is moving along… we finished putting on all the layers of roof insulation, the plumbing passed inspection, and Toby built 3 pocket doors (one for Kaia’s room, for the master bedroom, and in the linen closet) to save space and ’cause they are cool! Because of all the funky angles in a 16-sided house, we also have a secret room and a built in bookshelf in Kaia’s room, a secret cubby in the guest room, built-in shelves in the hall, a large pantry, and an office cubby under the stairs. This house is going to ROCK!!
Animals
The chickens are doing well. Still laying a bunch. Since they got use to laying in their boxes, they still go back their to lay even though they are completely free range now. No problems with predators, but we’ll see how that goes once the cold weather comes along and food gets more scarce.
Our two new hives are doing well. They seem strong. We’ve started feeding them their winter sugar syrup. They had a huge field of ragweed and goldenrod to gather pollen from, so they should have enough protein to last them through the winter.
House
Things are moving along well at the house. We are working on getting the stairs in (with the funky angles in our house, this is a bit of a chore). They are made of Oak and Ash and I can’t wait to try them out. I know Suki (the dog) will be happy that she can finally explore the upstairs too. The plumbers are coming out tomorrow, and we hope to do the electrical at the end of the month!
I’ve been having fun scrolling through Ebay finding lights, sinks, faucets, etc. Here is the sink I got for the master bath. It’s a glass vessel sink, so it sits above the counter. Cooooool, Eh???
This is the sink for downstairs… it’s a hand painted mexican Talavera drop in sink!
I’m also making some hand made paper sconces for a few of the rooms. I bought a pretty cheap glass sconce, traced it to make a pattern and added a few inches to each side to have room to fold the edges over. Then I used a spray adhesive and attached the paper, leaving the top rough and unfolded. Then, I used some dried curly willow branches and glued them (with a craft glue) onto the paper.
Here’s the final product… Cool eh? I thought these would look nice in our bedroom, and maybe in the from hall as you walk into the house.
My friend, Rob, got a new fire hoop and I got to help break it in! So here it is… my first hooping video and my first burn! My heart was beating 300 times a minute. Kaia was there to watch and she said, “Momma, I don’t think I’m going to do that when I grow up… it looks dangerous!” hehe, smart kid 🙂
Watch me!!
I can’t wait to do it again!!
I spent some time this afternoon at the warehouse of Tree Huggin’ Treats – Crispy Cat Candy Bars, being a taste tester for their newest shipment. They are a local company that sells their delicious organic, preservative free, vegan candy bars nationwide! So, I got to sit down with 10 of the same candy bar and decide if I liked them or not, and why. I was amazed at the difference in flavors. I really could tell which ones had bad oils or nuts and which ones were really fresh and full-bodied. They take the results of their taste test and decide which ones are good enough to sell. Then, I got to go home with a big handful of Crispy Cats of all flavors! Really, I felt like Homer when he was the taste tester for Duff Beer! (It’s so nice to see a nice family making a go of a business and not going corporate, too!)
I have to say, my favorite is definitely the Mint Coconut Crispy Cat! You should definitely get your local store to carry them!!
This weekend I threw a Blessingway (kind of like a spiritual baby shower) for my good friend and business partner! She is 34 weeks pregnant with her first child. Her close friends came over and we had a circle to give her our blessings and love for her journey into motherhood. It was really beautiful. Then a friend of mine who is a henna tattoo artist came over to tattoo mama’s belly. Isn’t this beautiful??!!
Then the ladies there had their hands done too. The henna paste comes off after ~a day and there is a stain from the henna that is left. The tattoos can last anywhere from 2-4 weeks, so now when we look at our hands we will stop for a second to send mama good birthing energy. Cool, eh?
Thank you so much for this, Katie! (Sorry it has taken me so long to say that!!)
When I asked Toby what they did yesterday while I was at work he said “It was a pretty slow day”. Yeah, right!! Continue reading
Check out what my man made me today!! Once in a blue moon he gets in a serious organization mood… so I encouraged this by asking him to make me something to better organize my tinctures (this is my home stash… the stuff at the office takes up a large closet :-))Â All alphabetized neatly from A to Z… oooh I love order!
Here’s the progress at the house… walls are going up. Interior walls down stairs, interior and exterior upstairs. Here we are framing out some of the upstairs walls.
Above and below is Toby and Eden framing out a window above the stairwell.
And here I am, so beautifully gracing another window above the stairwell… I think I should have taken off the tool belt and put on the stiletto heels to really get the full effect!
Here’s Toby in the window that will be above the bureau. (Stilettos would have made all the difference here, too :-))
A good friend of mine called me this morning. She said she and her two boys were out mushroom hunting and found some Ganoderma tsugae (or Hemlock Varnish Shelf). It’s closely related to the Reishi mushrooms and is used in a similar way medicinally. So, she asked if I would like it. I said of course, thinking I would make a little medicine for the winter. WELL, a little medicine would be the understatement of the year! They brought in 8 mushrooms ranging in size from 3 inches across to 2 feet!! Absolutely beautiful, stunning examples of Ganoderma tsugae!! So, right now, they are on the stove. I chopped them up (while they are fresh and I could still chop them, ’cause they get hard as a rock if you let them dry) and put them in a pot of water. They will simmer until the water is reduced to a thick, dark brown concentrated liquid. Then, I will measure out the liquid and add enough alcohol to make the final product 35% alcohol. Then I will put the mushrooms back in the liquid and let it sit for 4 weeks to macerate. After that, I’ll strain the mushrooms out and voila! This process helps to extract all the medicine available in the mushrooms.
Above are the smaller ones!!
The two largest mushrooms (below) I saved to dry and hang on the wall… one at my house, one at the clinic. If I need them later, I can process them, but I really like the idea of hanging them on my wall (a little energetic/home immune support :-)) Yes, that is my foot in the pictures for size comparison! (I don’t have small feet, by the way!)
Toby and I headed out today to pick up the shower and some wood for exterior (upstairs) siding. On the way, we stopped by the Habitat store to see if there was anything new and got a great haul! We picked up another antique door (this one for our bedroom) for $25, a cast iron kitchen sink in great condition for $75 (retails new for $400), and a jenn-air gas convection oven for $125!!! The oven is between 6 and 9 years old, but is in great condition. We found similar models on the internet for ~$2000!!! Wahooo!!
Right now, I’m enjoying a little popcorn snack that I’ll share with you, since you asked…
Pop up some popcorn in a little olive oil (we use the stove instead of a microwave). Then add a splash of tamari (enough to get some flavor but not so much as to really wet the popcorn). Sprinkle on some nutritional yeast (I like lots… add it to your taste), and a dash of spirulina. A really yummy treat with lots of minerals and B-vitamins! (Well, Toby thinks it’s gross, but I love it!!)
Oh, I forgot… Here are all the bottles that we will be incorporating into the cordwood walls. We’ve put all of them into a big bathtub with soapy water to try to get the labels and dirt off. We mostly have clear, green, yellowish, and blue. I have two red ones that I got at an antique store. If you have any cool colored or funky shaped bottles in your house that you would like to include in the walls of our house, I would be honored to have them! I’ll put a little note inside with your name, so you will be preserved in my house forever 🙂
Toby laid down our first cordwood pieces today! Very Exciting!! Here he is, putting in the first piece!!
This is our friend Eden who has started helping us build. She is working with the mortar here. It is a mix hydrated lime, water, and sand, and should be a nice white once it is dry. That will help to brighten things up inside (as opposed to a dark gray mortar). this wall will be a part of the mechanical/mud/laundry room.
Here is the same wall from the outside.
I also ground down all the plants that I harvested a couple of weeks ago. I don’t know if it is worth the effort. The Lamb’s Quarters only made 6.5 ounces of flour, the Aster 5.5, and the Yellow Dock ~4.5 ounces. The Thistle I had to trash because I couldn’t grind it up fine enough and I was worried about getting little sharp thistle pieces in our food. So, for all the effort in gathering, drying, and grinding them, I think it may be a better idea to gather a little each year and use the wild green flours to supplement and increase the nutrients in the ones we buy.
Have I mentioned that Suki (the dog) and Sweetie (the Houdini chicken) have come to an agreement? I don’t know how or why it happened, but Sweetie, who continues to escape her coop, roams all around the yard and Suki doesn’t bother her. She hops back into the coop to lay her eggs and then gets out again! So, we decided to try to just open up the coop, during the day while we are here, and let all the chickens roam around. Suki seems to be fine with it. She will occasionally give chase to one of the chickens, but there have been no casualties and the chickens love it! In fact, when we don’t open the coop up early enough, all the chickens are trying (and often succeeding) to get out! They have even been going back to their boxes in their coop house to lay their eggs! Crazy chickens!
Toby and I had to drive both trucks out to the Habitat store today for their half off all doors and windows sale! We were able to pick up a front door (with a nice big window), back door, 4 interior room doors (antique looking!), all of the closet doors, and 4 big windows for $144!!!!! The antique doors are solid 1920’s looking doors that had an old price tag on them of $150 each (we paid $5 each!). Under one coat of peeling paint is a beautiful dark reddish wood! So, we’ll sand them down and see what we get. We also got two triangle shaped windows that will fit together to make a square, and one large trapezoid. We’re going to try to do something artistic with them 🙂
I have occasionally written herbal articles for a regional paper called New Life Journal. Each month they do an article on green building going on in the area. Usually the houses, that they feature, though beautiful, are fairly large and expensive. So, I mentioned our home project to the managing editor and she said she would be interested in doing a feature on our house when it is done! We haven’t done the calculations yet, but I think we will have it all done (including solar stuff) for under 100K (maybe well under that, but we’ll see).
So, today is day 11 of the fast. Physically, I’m still doing fine, but I really want some flavor in my life! Everything makes me drool… Watching Kaia eat her animal crackers… Smelling a BBQ… anything. Only 3 days left. We’ll, then all I get is orange juice for a day and a half while I get my digestion going again… THEN, I will make a delicious, scrumptious, nutritious, vege, seaweed, miso soup! MMmmmm, I’m drooling again!
Day 8 of the fast… a little over half way through! Physically, I’m having no issues. It’s not hard to do. But man, I am craving food! Especially carbs! I have to stop myself from grabbing a snack from Kaia’s bowl every time she is snacking on something! (Those bland animal crackers just look so good!!)
Toby has been experimenting with some new recipes… healthy things, and I’m really excited to try them! It’s actually nice to have cooking going on while I’m fasting. It makes the home feel warm and cozy. I want to try the food, but I have to remind myself to be patient and that I will get to try it sooner or later.
6 more days…
As part of this fast, I want to start not just eating healthier, but more sustainably. Both Toby and I have talked about wanting to harvest as much as possible from our land. So, I got this fantastic book “From Crabgrass Muffins to Pine Needle Tea” by Linda Runyon. She lived in the Adirondack Mountains for 13 years without electricity or running water. She learned how to feed her family by harvesting, cooking, and preserving the wild foods that grew on her land. The book talks about lots of great plants, how to find them, along with recipes and nutritional values of the plants. (She’s coming out with a revision in a few weeks, so hold your horses if you want one.)
So, I’ve been inspired to harvest some of the foods on our land right now. Below are Lambs Quarters and Aster hanging up to dry.
The top bag is Yellow Dock seed, and the bottom is Bull Thistle leaves. All of this stuff is going to be dried and ground into flour.
Here are some steamed Bull Thistle Flowers. These I tossed in the freezer until I’m eating again.
It’s interesting how I’m fasting to try to make food less of an issue in my life, yet all I think about when I’m fasting is food! Today (day 4) has been good. Yesterday I was sneezing my head off and very snotty. Today, my lymph is a little swollen and my head feels heavy. There’s lots of processing going on. 10 days to go…
Well, ok, she’s not actually hooping, but I love her dance style!
This is Caroleeena. I met her this past weekend at the Hoop Path Workshop. She is an amazing hooper, and as you can see, pretty skilled at poi, too.
I spent this past weekend in Carrboro for a hooping workshop and I have wanted to post about it, but I don’t know how to put it into words. When most people think of hooping, they might imagine just spinning this circle around your waist. But hooping has become so much more, especially after this weekend. Baxter, the hooper who taught the class, got into hooping after he had a shoulder injury. It was his method of physical therapy. But, through that, he had developed his own hoop mythology. So for three days, we learned about the story of the Maidan (pron My-dan), who hooped to get closer to the spirit wind. He is an amazing story teller, and I really felt myself becoming a part of the story. We learned about the belief, strength, and grace it takes to hoop (and do anything in our lives for that matter).
There were 3 three hour workshops, a fire ceremony and hooping on Sat. night, and a Hooper’s Ball on Sunday.
As you can see, on Sunday, we really got to cut loose and strut our stuff! (that’s me on the right with the big white feather on my head):-) I’ll get some video footage up soon…
I am on the second day of a fast right now. I decided that I wanted to create better food habits for myself so I’m going to fast (doing the master cleanse) for 14 days and then start my food habits over. I have a huge sweet tooth, and whenever there is food, I always eat more than I need to be full. I get this thing in my head that if I don’t eat it and enjoy it right now, I might seriously miss out on something. So, I stuff myself a lot. I also want to start having more greens, veggies, and whole foods in our diets. Toby decided to do it with me, which is nice.
I did this once when Kaia was 2, just to have a nice cleanse after having been pregnant and breastfeeding. But, Kaia didn’t like it. She couldn’t understand why I wouldn’t eat with her. Now, she is just curious and wants to talk about foods and what makes a food a healthy food.
So far, things are good. My energy has been fine, I’m not too hungry. Although, I am craving the taste of food and the feeling of chewing.
Sometimes the best way to talk about what we have been up to is through pictures… There are lots to follow: Continue reading
Kaia’s party was a hit! The kids played hard, ate well, and should all be sound asleep by now! The cake got rave reviews, so I thought I’d post the recipe:
Kaia turned 4 last Sunday, but we are having her party tomorrow (we were out of town last weekend). Kaia asked Toby and I to make her birthday cake with her instead of buying one! She picked out all the stuff… the cake pan, the decorations, etc…
So, today, we set about on a cake baking expedition! Seeing as we had a 16″ diameter round cake pan that is 2″ thick, we had to quadruple the recipe!!! (Man, I hope lots of people show up at the party tomorrow, ’cause this thing isn’t gonna fit in our fridge!) Here’s Kaia mixing the ingredients in the biggest pot we have.
As you can see, the batter turned out rather tasty! We made a Hummingbird cake (which is kind of like a carrot cake, but with pineapple, coconut, pecans, and bananas).
Here we have our little cake cooling. I can’t believe it came out of the pan in one piece! (to give you some perspective as to how big this friggin’ thing is, that is a dime on the front corner of it!)
Kaia really disliked the decorating process, as you can see. And, of course, she had not sampled any of the icing by this point!
And here we have the final product! Ariel sitting on an island, while purple waves lap the shore. The sun shines brightly down on the fruit people who are dancing in the sky, on the island, and in the sea. Everything in and on the cake is edible and we used turmeric, annatto, cranberry, and blueberry for the colorings. Next time, I’ll get some chlorophil for some vibrant green. Now… how to get this too the party??? Hmmmm…
Well, Smallville and BSG are on Summer break, so Toby and I have found another show to get hooked on. The show is just getting started so join me, won’t you? 🙂
Happy (almost) first day of Summer everyone!! I always love the longest day of the year, but it also comes to me with some sadness. ‘Cause that means every day after it is getting shorter 🙁
Things are going well here at the homestead. The chickens are happy, Suki is enjoying time in the shade with her favorite bone. Unfortunately, our great friend and house-helper, Mattie, is moving back to Canada at the end of the month! He’s been an amazing help and support with the house so far and we will really miss him. Another friend may begin working for us in a few weeks. Plus, a few years ago, Toby helped install a veggie oil conversion kit in a school bus in Chapel Hill. Well, the woman who owns the school bus now lives near us and she wants to give a few days of work on our house to repay the favor!
Toby and I have started talking about whether or not we want to have another child. Part of me really wants to. I look at Kaia and I think “how could I not want another one. It’s so absolutely amazing to be a parent… to watch her grow and learn… the complete love I feel” and part of me is like “why would I ever want to put myself through that again?! The nausea of pregnancy, the immense weight gain, the pain and depression after the birth, the endless nights without sleep… ugh!!” So, you see, I am torn. Now that I finally have my energy and my sanity back (though unfortunately, I don’t think I’ll ever get my body back), it seems like having another child would be easy… ’cause I’m in a good place. But all that changes after not having slept in 2 years. Toby and I would both really like to adopt, but no one will approve us right now… you know – tiny cabin, out house, now shower, no money and all that. So, maybe in the future. Kaia is up for another child, without a doubt. She gives birth to some kind of pretend baby every day in preparation for the real thing 🙂
Baby or not, I’ve started trying to get a little more exercise. I’ve been getting up early to go out and hoop a little before Kaia wakes up. It’s been really nice hooping in the cool morning air. It puts me in a great mood for the rest of the day. I’ve also signed up for a workshop in July that I am really excited about. I hope it will get me into some sort of hooping routine! I continue to (slowly) get better, but I want more!! Here is a hooper doing some of the moves that we will be learning at the workshop.
Viriditas is going great! We are finally picking up! This week was booked. We have people from South Carolina, Eastern NC, and even a tourist from CT. coming in for the Maya Abdominal Massage. And Herb consultations have picked up too. Hopefully this is the start of something. Then maybe we can start paying off some business loans. Our Summer Newsletter is out if you want to see it.
Happy Solstice!
We had some great progress on the house these past few days. A bunch of friends came out to lend a hand on Sat. and then Toby’s dad stayed over to help again on Sunday! We have such awesome friends and family!!
Here we are beginning the decking of the first story roof. Each piece of wood was planed on one side to give it a smooth, clean look. Then the edges were routered to give them a finished look. Then hammered into place. The floor was constantly covered with sawdust. We will have enough sawdust for the composting toilets to last for at least a year!!
More decking…
Toby and his dad trying to lift the center post up to the second floor.
Just about finished! There’s the center post for the second story laying over to the left… See it?
Here is the view of the ceiling from the inside. I was laying down in what will be Kaia’s room. Pretty, eh?
Kaia enjoyed all the saw dust we made!
In the past 4 weeks, we’ve only had 1 really good rain. The plants are very parched!! Well, today, we got pounded. Problem is, there are no leaves left on the plants!!
Yes, this is hail! The ground was covered!
This is the road in front of our new house. Looks like a lake! All that stuff in the middle is floating balls of hail!
Here are some nice sized chunks!
How ’bout this one???
luckily, there was no damage to the house or cars… just the poor plants.