Last night as of 10:00 I wasn't even packed. Oh sure I had done laundry, but my suitcase was empty.
For the last 20 days I have been counting down to my trip to Oregon and Washington. I have worked furiously in my garden trying to prepare to leave it for a week. Sure my husband will water, but he probably won't pick my peas. I'm just glad he's willing to take care of the rabbits and pick up the eggs from the chickens.
Then I unexpectedly had the opportunity to pick cherries. It takes a lot of time to process 5 gallons of cherries. I ended up canning 16 pints of cherries, plus Cherry-Strawberry Conserves, Cherry Jam and Black Forest Preserves. I still have about 2 1/2 quarts left. I also have strawberries left that I bought to add to the conserves. I ended up just popping them in the freezer. I'll take care of them when I get home.
So why am I so excited to be going to Oregon and Washington. I'm visiting my friend JoAnn in St. Helen's for the first time since she moved there 5 years ago. I've really missed our times together. We've both been so busy that we haven't really stayed in touch. I've heard so much about her home and gardens, I can't wait to see them.
Then I'm on to Bremerton, WA to visit my daughter. I am so looking forward to some mother-daughter time.
At 10:00 last night I suddenly got that little boost of energy I needed. I packed my computer, my carry on bag and my suitcase. Then I fell into bed exhausted. As I was about to fall asleep I realized I forgot my shoes and nightclothes. Oh well, it would have to wait until morning.
I had set my clock for 6:00 am thinking that would give me an hour and a half to get ready. Actually it gave me 2 1/2 hours. With plenty of time I re-packed my bag, printed my ticket (which I couldn't do yesterday for some reason), checked the weather and even had time for a quick post. But now my hubby is chomping at the bit and it's time to go.
Thursday, May 26, 2011
Wednesday, May 18, 2011
Pictures From My Garden
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| Digging for gold (egg shells) in the compost pile. |
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| One my eggs, bunching onion flowers/ seed heads and some seed packets. |
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| Last years Jalapeno plant made it through winter by covering with plastic. Notice all the new leaves. |
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| Beet seeds, lots of beet seeds. Beets create seed the second year. I'll save some for garden and feed the rest to my chickens - they love them. |
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| Peas. |
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| Jalapeno has also starting to bloom. |
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| Herb bed at north of garden. |
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| Another shot of herb bed. |
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| Pineapple sage - not yet blooming. |
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| Oregano - harvested about two/thirds and ended up with a quart of dry leaves. |
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| Lavendar in foreground and silver thyme behind. |
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| Carrots nestled in with peas. |
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| Chamomile with water droplets. |
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| Chamomile blossoms - what is used for tea. |
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| Close up of water drops on Chamomile. |
Monday, May 9, 2011
Dogged Determination
Have you ever heard the term "dogged determination"? I think I figured out where it came from. I have two dogs and when they decide on a course of action, there is no stopping them.
My smallest dog, Pete was determined he would get into my garden. It didn't matter that he'd been scolded repeatedly or even swatted a time or two. He just waited until it was dark and we were in bed for the night. Now I don't know what he was after that was so important, but he was truly determined. He would dig under the fence and I would fill his hole with dirt. I even put his own poop in the hole or piled rocks on the dirt. He would just dig somewhere else. One night he dug under the gate. I was fed up! He got in my garden and was digging for gophers. He trenched their tunnels and in one night he dug up all my carrots, green onions and lettuce. He caused more damage than a whole family of gophers. Now Pete doesn't like water. In fact he hates it so much he won't even step in wet grass. So to try and cure him of wanting to get into my garden, I tied him into his hole and sprayed him with a water hose. It may sound mean, but it worked. At least for a little while. Then he decided to bypass the digging and just squeeze between the wire fence and the wood fence. This time I blocked the hole with a peice of wood, piled rocks in front of it and poured bleach over the rocks hoping the chlorine would hurt his nose just enough to keep him out. The last time he got into the garden at night, he used our shepherd, Ashton to push through the gate which was latched with a piece of wire. I didn't want the dogs in the garden because I worried they would go after my chickens. I don't know what those dogs were after, maybe a cat but I heard Pete barking outside my window and knew he was in the garden. I got dressed at 2:00 am and went to chase them out. Ashton ran right out the gate, but Pete ran into the chicken coop to hide. He got into a corner and I didn't think I would ever get him out. If I tried to reach for him he would growl at me and snap his teeth. I tried to scoot him out with a shovel, but he wouldn't budge. Finally I gave up my struggle and went to wake up my husband. Maybe Pete would come out to him. Well my husband didn't want to wake up so I went back outside and Pete had finally come out. He had dogged determination that only caused me major frustration.
Another example is my dog Ashton. (Yes, he belonged to my daughter before she left for college, but I've had him longer and possession is 9/10ths of the law.) Ashton is showing a good example of dogged determination. You see he has very bad hips. We've been giving him medication for several years, but he is progressively getting worse. He no longer can lift his hind leg to pee. He can't really run, but he does trot - kinda'. If he tries to make a sharp turn his back legs just give out. But he's a happy dog and he won't give up. He just keeps going day after day. I came home a few weeks ago and my husband said he didn't think Ashton would last out the summer. I couldn't believe he was that bad, but he is. Some days are better than others, but my point is he doesn't give up. He doesn't lay down and have a pity party. He just keeps trying. I don't think there's such a thing as doggy suicide.
My husband also has dogged determination. He has suffered a severe back injury and has been deemed disabled. He doesn't give in though. If there is anything that needs to be done, he'll do it. He may pay for it later in pain, but that doesn't stop him. He'll mow the lawn, so I made it smaller. He helps around the house. I just let him do what he can and don't freak out if the house isn't super clean. He helps in the garden too, but I try to keep him from overtaxing himself. He sleeps a lot more, but I think it's how his body deals with the pain.
I recently lost my job, but I hope I show some dogged determination of my own and just press forward. I'll learn some lessons from my dogs and husband and just keep placing one foot in front of the other until I'm working again. That's dogged determination!
My smallest dog, Pete was determined he would get into my garden. It didn't matter that he'd been scolded repeatedly or even swatted a time or two. He just waited until it was dark and we were in bed for the night. Now I don't know what he was after that was so important, but he was truly determined. He would dig under the fence and I would fill his hole with dirt. I even put his own poop in the hole or piled rocks on the dirt. He would just dig somewhere else. One night he dug under the gate. I was fed up! He got in my garden and was digging for gophers. He trenched their tunnels and in one night he dug up all my carrots, green onions and lettuce. He caused more damage than a whole family of gophers. Now Pete doesn't like water. In fact he hates it so much he won't even step in wet grass. So to try and cure him of wanting to get into my garden, I tied him into his hole and sprayed him with a water hose. It may sound mean, but it worked. At least for a little while. Then he decided to bypass the digging and just squeeze between the wire fence and the wood fence. This time I blocked the hole with a peice of wood, piled rocks in front of it and poured bleach over the rocks hoping the chlorine would hurt his nose just enough to keep him out. The last time he got into the garden at night, he used our shepherd, Ashton to push through the gate which was latched with a piece of wire. I didn't want the dogs in the garden because I worried they would go after my chickens. I don't know what those dogs were after, maybe a cat but I heard Pete barking outside my window and knew he was in the garden. I got dressed at 2:00 am and went to chase them out. Ashton ran right out the gate, but Pete ran into the chicken coop to hide. He got into a corner and I didn't think I would ever get him out. If I tried to reach for him he would growl at me and snap his teeth. I tried to scoot him out with a shovel, but he wouldn't budge. Finally I gave up my struggle and went to wake up my husband. Maybe Pete would come out to him. Well my husband didn't want to wake up so I went back outside and Pete had finally come out. He had dogged determination that only caused me major frustration.
My husband also has dogged determination. He has suffered a severe back injury and has been deemed disabled. He doesn't give in though. If there is anything that needs to be done, he'll do it. He may pay for it later in pain, but that doesn't stop him. He'll mow the lawn, so I made it smaller. He helps around the house. I just let him do what he can and don't freak out if the house isn't super clean. He helps in the garden too, but I try to keep him from overtaxing himself. He sleeps a lot more, but I think it's how his body deals with the pain.
I recently lost my job, but I hope I show some dogged determination of my own and just press forward. I'll learn some lessons from my dogs and husband and just keep placing one foot in front of the other until I'm working again. That's dogged determination!
Saturday, May 7, 2011
My Friend JoAnn
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| JoAnn |
I called JoAnn this morning because I'm planning a trip to visit my daughter in Washington and JoAnn lives in northern Oregon so I figured I could see her too. We had the best talk on the phone. Maybe the fact that she lost her job in March (which I didn't know until I called) and I lost my job yesterday had something to do with it. Maybe since we both have more time on our hands we gave ourselves permission to take time to talk. I don't think most of us realize that the curse of e-mails, text messaging and social networking is that we don't really talk anymore. We tend to forward someone else's cutesy joke or just post a quick comment on someones "wall", but we don't really communicate.
JoAnn and I met when my son was 2 years old. I was a single mom going back to college and she was taking the same entomology class I was in. We hit it off from the start and have been friends ever since. We both enjoy gardening, herbs, chickens, rabbits, doves, preserving food, sewing, etc. We've been through a lot. We've raised our children. She has grandchildren and I have great-nieces and nephews. We've had marriage difficulties and health problems. We've lost parents to cancer. Through thick and thin we've been friends. My son turns 31 tomorrow.
Now JoAnn has lots of friends. She's just that type of person. But me, I'm more secluded. I have very few friends. So if I value this friendship so much, why have I neglected it. True, JoAnn lives a lot further away than she used to, but that's no excuse. Today as we spoke on the phone, we clicked again. There was no awkwardness (except when she answered the phone and didn't know who I was). We just started talking like we spoke to each other every day. Right before we hung up she said thanks for the call, it was like an early Mother's Day gift. Wow, that made my day. Friendship is precious and we shouldn't waste it.
Thursday, May 5, 2011
Hunting Elderberry Flowers
On Easter Sunday my husband and I took a Jeep ride up to the mountains. We meandered along country roads to get there just enjoying the ride and in no particular hurry to arrive at any set destination.
I always equate elderberry picking with deer season in the fall, but along the way I noticed that the elderberry bushes along the St. John's River were blooming. So the following Sunday, I asked my husband to repeat the trip until we got to the elderberry bushes so I could pick some flowers. He was happy to oblige. We stopped for breakfast first after I took care of a few chores in the garden. The bees were out in force, but they didn't seem to mind me. I quickly learned to pick the blossoms they were after as those flowers were the newest and still full of pollen and nectar. We had a really enjoyable time and I came home with a plastic grocery bag full of blossoms. Luckily I double bagged and put them in a flexible ice chest, because when I got home the bags were crawling with little bugs. So I washed them very thoroughly and put them is a colander to drain.
Last fall when I decided to try my hand at making Elderberry Wine, I had purchased a book on wine making from everything but grapes. Things like herbs, fruit, vegetables and flowers. I noticed there were 2 recipes for making Elderberry Flower Wine. So I broke out the book. It called for 1 pint tightly packed elderberry flowers. So I spent the evening picking the flowers and packing them in a pint jar. That jar sure held a lot of flowers. I heated up a gallon of water and brought it to a boil. Then I added the flowers, the zest of 1 lemon and 1 Camden Tablet. I let this mixture sit for 3 days. On Wednesday night I added 3 pounds of sugar and brought the mixture to a boil. I let it cool over night. This morning I mixed 1 and 1/2 cups of room temperature orange juice with about a teaspoon of wine yeast and 1 teaspoon of yeast nutrient. After sitting for about an hour, the orange juice mixture started bubbling which meant the yeast was working. I added this to the pot with the flowers, sugar and water and let it sit for the day. The next step is to strain everything into a clean 1 gallon plastic jug (I use tea jugs) and place a large balloon over the top. I poke a few pin holes in the balloon. This allows the yeast farts to escape without allowing any wild yeast or bacteria to enter. Yes, yeast farts gas when it eats sugar and converts it to alcohol. After sitting a few months, I'll place the wine in bottles and allow it to age for at least 6 months to a year.
So I accomplished what I set out to do and made Elderberry Flower Wine, but I got a bonus. I had enough blossoms left over to fill 2 cookie sheets. I placed a couple of layers of paper towels in the bottom then lay out the blossoms. I turned the oven on to it's lowest setting - 170 degrees. Once the oven was hot, I turned it off, slid the cookie sheets in and propped the oven door open about an inch by wedging a towel in the opening. (Do not turn the oven back on.) After about 3 days the flowers were dry enough to pull off the stems. Suddenly I was in heaven! Have you ever smelled lilac blossoms? They are so sweet and just wonderful to smell. Well the dry elderflowers smelled just like lilacs. Even after all the washing they still coated my fingers with fine yellow pollen. What a bonus to enjoy that lovely fragrance. Now I can use the dry blossoms to try the second wine recipe or I can use them in tea.
Elderberries are very good for your immune system. I made a simple Elderberry Syrup last fall. There were 3 times this winter when I felt myself coming down with a cold. As soon as I felt the symptoms coming on, I would start taking a tablespoon of Elderberry Syrup every hour. By the next day I felt much better, symptoms were cleared up with just a little tired feeling. By the second day I felt completely well.
According to Essential Home Remedies website,
Dried Elderberry flowers can be steeped in hot water to make a tea that is rich in potassium, vitamin A, vitamin C, and bioflavonoids. The Elderberry is known to be an antioxidant, a diuretic, a laxative, a diaphoretic, and an anti-inflammatory. It can also help build your immune system so you can fight off everyday colds, flu. and infections. It can be used as a sedative, astringent, and an expectorant.
An Israeli study in 1980 on the effects elderberry has on viruses showed that 20 per cent of participants who were suffering from the flu showed significant improvement of symptoms which included coughing, sore throat, aching muscles, and fever after only one day of taking elderberry extract. Ninety per cent were completely cured at the end of three days. A tea can be made using the berries. Strain it and add some lemon juice and honey. Drink a cup during the day and another before going to bed when you have a cold or the flu.
The benefits of Elderberry include lowering your cholesterol. So add elderberries to your diet if you are ready to lower your numbers while building a strong immune system.
Last fall when I decided to try my hand at making Elderberry Wine, I had purchased a book on wine making from everything but grapes. Things like herbs, fruit, vegetables and flowers. I noticed there were 2 recipes for making Elderberry Flower Wine. So I broke out the book. It called for 1 pint tightly packed elderberry flowers. So I spent the evening picking the flowers and packing them in a pint jar. That jar sure held a lot of flowers. I heated up a gallon of water and brought it to a boil. Then I added the flowers, the zest of 1 lemon and 1 Camden Tablet. I let this mixture sit for 3 days. On Wednesday night I added 3 pounds of sugar and brought the mixture to a boil. I let it cool over night. This morning I mixed 1 and 1/2 cups of room temperature orange juice with about a teaspoon of wine yeast and 1 teaspoon of yeast nutrient. After sitting for about an hour, the orange juice mixture started bubbling which meant the yeast was working. I added this to the pot with the flowers, sugar and water and let it sit for the day. The next step is to strain everything into a clean 1 gallon plastic jug (I use tea jugs) and place a large balloon over the top. I poke a few pin holes in the balloon. This allows the yeast farts to escape without allowing any wild yeast or bacteria to enter. Yes, yeast farts gas when it eats sugar and converts it to alcohol. After sitting a few months, I'll place the wine in bottles and allow it to age for at least 6 months to a year.
Elderberries are very good for your immune system. I made a simple Elderberry Syrup last fall. There were 3 times this winter when I felt myself coming down with a cold. As soon as I felt the symptoms coming on, I would start taking a tablespoon of Elderberry Syrup every hour. By the next day I felt much better, symptoms were cleared up with just a little tired feeling. By the second day I felt completely well.
According to Essential Home Remedies website,
Dried Elderberry flowers can be steeped in hot water to make a tea that is rich in potassium, vitamin A, vitamin C, and bioflavonoids. The Elderberry is known to be an antioxidant, a diuretic, a laxative, a diaphoretic, and an anti-inflammatory. It can also help build your immune system so you can fight off everyday colds, flu. and infections. It can be used as a sedative, astringent, and an expectorant.
An Israeli study in 1980 on the effects elderberry has on viruses showed that 20 per cent of participants who were suffering from the flu showed significant improvement of symptoms which included coughing, sore throat, aching muscles, and fever after only one day of taking elderberry extract. Ninety per cent were completely cured at the end of three days. A tea can be made using the berries. Strain it and add some lemon juice and honey. Drink a cup during the day and another before going to bed when you have a cold or the flu.
The benefits of Elderberry include lowering your cholesterol. So add elderberries to your diet if you are ready to lower your numbers while building a strong immune system.
Tuesday, May 3, 2011
I Don’t Like Taking Drugs
A little over a year ago I went to the doctor. I had been dealing with a bad cold. My chest hurt and I felt breathless. I thought I might have pneumonia. The doctor surprised me when she said I might be developing asthma. She said this was common for allergy sufferers.
I guess I shouldn’t have been taken aback too much as I live in the Central San Joaquin Valley which is known for increasing air pollution. To help improve my symptoms, I was prescribed Symbicort. After several months I discontinued using the inhaler as my allergies improved.
About a month ago, as the new allergy season kicked into high gear, I started experiencing the same symptoms as before and I had to start using Symbicort again. So I decided to do a little research. You see I don’t want to rely on drugs to fix every little health problem that comes along. So today I performed a Google search for “how to improve lung function without drugs”.
Well guess what I found out. Breathing exercises were recommended which is understandable and even beneficial if you already have healthy lungs. There was also an article by a chiropractor that linked the benefits of spinal adjustments to improving the health of asthma sufferers. But the one that amazed me the most was apples.
Yes, apparently eating an apple a day really will keep the doctor away. Apples contain antioxidants and vitamins that protect lung health and improve lung function especially in those with asthma or lung cancer. It seems that apples have the potential to cut the risk of lung cancer in half. In fact they found that the normal decline in lung function we experience with aging was offset by the consumption of apples. Even just 2 apples a week can help prevent asthma. And to top it all off, the medicinal properties in apples have the ability to preventing chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) in long-term heavy smokers.
Wow! What great news. I like apples. So my next question, “Are some apples better for you than others?” The answer is, “Yes!”
A study was done in Canada of 8 varieties of apples grown on the same Ontario farm. Red Delicious won the prize with an apple call Northern Spy coming in second. Red Delicious had more than twice the antioxidant activity as Empires, which had the least activity of the eight. The other apples studied were McIntosh, Cortland, Ida Red, Golden Delicious and Mutsu. Another researcher found that eating 100 grams of apple per day provides the same amount of antioxidants as eating 1,500 milligrams of Vitamin C per day. So next time your feeling under the weather, don’t pop the Vitamin C alone, and eat an apple. Oh yeah, don’t peel the skin because the good stuff is five times greater in the skin than in the flesh. Just try to buy organic or wash them really well first.
So I guess I’ll be buying more apples and I’ve already told my husband he needs to start eating apples as well.
The good stuff found in apples include:
* Quercetin and other flavonoids
* Pectins
* Tannins
* Vitamins, especially ascorbic acid (Vitamin C) (3-30 mg/100 g)
* Fruit acids, chiefly malic acid
What are they good for? Apples and apple pectin are indicated for use in the following health challenges:
* Impaired lung function
* Lung cancer
* Colon cancer
* Diarrhea and constipation
* Toxic accumulation and toxicity syndromes
And there are no side effects or adverse interactions with other drugs!
I guess I shouldn’t have been taken aback too much as I live in the Central San Joaquin Valley which is known for increasing air pollution. To help improve my symptoms, I was prescribed Symbicort. After several months I discontinued using the inhaler as my allergies improved.
About a month ago, as the new allergy season kicked into high gear, I started experiencing the same symptoms as before and I had to start using Symbicort again. So I decided to do a little research. You see I don’t want to rely on drugs to fix every little health problem that comes along. So today I performed a Google search for “how to improve lung function without drugs”.
Well guess what I found out. Breathing exercises were recommended which is understandable and even beneficial if you already have healthy lungs. There was also an article by a chiropractor that linked the benefits of spinal adjustments to improving the health of asthma sufferers. But the one that amazed me the most was apples.
Yes, apparently eating an apple a day really will keep the doctor away. Apples contain antioxidants and vitamins that protect lung health and improve lung function especially in those with asthma or lung cancer. It seems that apples have the potential to cut the risk of lung cancer in half. In fact they found that the normal decline in lung function we experience with aging was offset by the consumption of apples. Even just 2 apples a week can help prevent asthma. And to top it all off, the medicinal properties in apples have the ability to preventing chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) in long-term heavy smokers.
Wow! What great news. I like apples. So my next question, “Are some apples better for you than others?” The answer is, “Yes!”
A study was done in Canada of 8 varieties of apples grown on the same Ontario farm. Red Delicious won the prize with an apple call Northern Spy coming in second. Red Delicious had more than twice the antioxidant activity as Empires, which had the least activity of the eight. The other apples studied were McIntosh, Cortland, Ida Red, Golden Delicious and Mutsu. Another researcher found that eating 100 grams of apple per day provides the same amount of antioxidants as eating 1,500 milligrams of Vitamin C per day. So next time your feeling under the weather, don’t pop the Vitamin C alone, and eat an apple. Oh yeah, don’t peel the skin because the good stuff is five times greater in the skin than in the flesh. Just try to buy organic or wash them really well first.
So I guess I’ll be buying more apples and I’ve already told my husband he needs to start eating apples as well.
The good stuff found in apples include:
* Quercetin and other flavonoids
* Pectins
* Tannins
* Vitamins, especially ascorbic acid (Vitamin C) (3-30 mg/100 g)
* Fruit acids, chiefly malic acid
What are they good for? Apples and apple pectin are indicated for use in the following health challenges:
* Impaired lung function
* Lung cancer
* Colon cancer
* Diarrhea and constipation
* Toxic accumulation and toxicity syndromes
And there are no side effects or adverse interactions with other drugs!
Monday, May 2, 2011
I Call It Home Crafting
In days gone by there were certain skills that were expected of women. These were required to to keep a home going and take care of the family. Due to modern conveniences and technology, these skills are no longer needed to maintain a home. In fact some of them may be a dying art.
I think these skills started fading out clear back during World War I when women entered the work force outside the home. Technology rose to the occasion and started coming up with modern appliances to help women with their everyday house work.
My mom was what we now call a stay-at-home-mom. I can remember her using a wringer washer. With the old wringer washers you had to fill the tub with soap and water; the washer would agitate the laundry and then you had to run it through the wringer (two rollers that squeezed out the excess water) into rinse water. After that you still had to run it through the wringers again. And of course you had to hang everything out to dry.
Food companies also kicked in creating items to make a tired working woman's life easier. They came up with things like cake mixes, bread (white and sliced), even canned fruits and vegetables. In order to run a household on a low income, my mom canned food grown in our garden such as pickles. I still remember her dill pickles and sweet pickles. These were staples in the winter when fresh vegetables weren't available.
Now I'm not saying I'm willing to give up my washer and dryer, but I think it's a great idea to keep these skills alive and know how it's done in the event we are ever forced to return to a place where self-sufficiency is a requirement for everyday living.
Some the things I like to do is gardening - there was a day when EVERY family had a garden. You didn't waste water keeping a green lawn, you had a front yard garden. There was no such thing as going to the grocery store for vegetables; you grew your own. This led to canning. My mother never taught me to can. I learned from books, but my husband's grandmother passed on some of her recipes to me. You had to have a way to store your excess and freezers were not available. It's good to know how to freeze vegetables and fruit too, but what if your power goes out. Also, there is nothing better than home made jam. Yummm!
Quilting is another skill from the past that now is considered an art form. There was a time when you recycled all your old clothing in quilts. If your kids outgrew their clothes and there was no body to pass them on to, you turned them into a quilt. Maybe your dress was stained or worn in certain areas, you cut out the good parts and used them in a quilt. Now we buy brand new material from the fabric store to create quilts and since blankets may be purchased so easily at Walmart or Target, why bother with the art of quilting. Let's not forget that those quilts were made by hand and now we use sewing machines. There are still a few women out there in small communities like Reedley, California that get together to quilt. These are called "quilting bees". The quilting bee was an opportunity for women to get together and gossip while still being productive. These gatherings were what produced tight knit communities.
Crocheting and knitting are also some of the crafts that I have learned. My paternal grandmother taught me the basics of crocheting and my mother is teaching me to knit.
I'm also learning how to make wine from fruit, herbs and flowers. This is another way to enjoy your excess. Even if you don't drink wine, there are wines you can make for cooking purposes.
Animal husbandry was a requirement for pioneer women. Their husbands may have been responsible for the larger livestock like cows, horses and pigs. But the women often tended the chickens collecting the eggs for baking and the big breakfasts they made for their families. There is nothing better than eggs from your own chickens. There's also the peace of mind from knowing what your hens are being fed and watching their funny antics.
I'm always wanting to try new things. To me they're interesting. I'm trying my hand at growing mushrooms. My first batch isn't doing so well as it decided to grow mold too. I would like to make soap sometime. I've made tinctures and syrups for the home medicine chest. I want to also make some healing salve from comfrey. I think I will never run out of things to try. If I don't like it, I don't have to do it again. Not only do these skills give me a sense of self-sufficiency, they give me a link to my heritage. Since there are so many different things that fall under this umbrella, I just call it all home crafting.
Oh yeah, I hate everyday housework. Boring.
I think these skills started fading out clear back during World War I when women entered the work force outside the home. Technology rose to the occasion and started coming up with modern appliances to help women with their everyday house work.
My mom was what we now call a stay-at-home-mom. I can remember her using a wringer washer. With the old wringer washers you had to fill the tub with soap and water; the washer would agitate the laundry and then you had to run it through the wringer (two rollers that squeezed out the excess water) into rinse water. After that you still had to run it through the wringers again. And of course you had to hang everything out to dry.
Food companies also kicked in creating items to make a tired working woman's life easier. They came up with things like cake mixes, bread (white and sliced), even canned fruits and vegetables. In order to run a household on a low income, my mom canned food grown in our garden such as pickles. I still remember her dill pickles and sweet pickles. These were staples in the winter when fresh vegetables weren't available.
Now I'm not saying I'm willing to give up my washer and dryer, but I think it's a great idea to keep these skills alive and know how it's done in the event we are ever forced to return to a place where self-sufficiency is a requirement for everyday living.
Some the things I like to do is gardening - there was a day when EVERY family had a garden. You didn't waste water keeping a green lawn, you had a front yard garden. There was no such thing as going to the grocery store for vegetables; you grew your own. This led to canning. My mother never taught me to can. I learned from books, but my husband's grandmother passed on some of her recipes to me. You had to have a way to store your excess and freezers were not available. It's good to know how to freeze vegetables and fruit too, but what if your power goes out. Also, there is nothing better than home made jam. Yummm!
Quilting is another skill from the past that now is considered an art form. There was a time when you recycled all your old clothing in quilts. If your kids outgrew their clothes and there was no body to pass them on to, you turned them into a quilt. Maybe your dress was stained or worn in certain areas, you cut out the good parts and used them in a quilt. Now we buy brand new material from the fabric store to create quilts and since blankets may be purchased so easily at Walmart or Target, why bother with the art of quilting. Let's not forget that those quilts were made by hand and now we use sewing machines. There are still a few women out there in small communities like Reedley, California that get together to quilt. These are called "quilting bees". The quilting bee was an opportunity for women to get together and gossip while still being productive. These gatherings were what produced tight knit communities.
Crocheting and knitting are also some of the crafts that I have learned. My paternal grandmother taught me the basics of crocheting and my mother is teaching me to knit.
I'm also learning how to make wine from fruit, herbs and flowers. This is another way to enjoy your excess. Even if you don't drink wine, there are wines you can make for cooking purposes.
Animal husbandry was a requirement for pioneer women. Their husbands may have been responsible for the larger livestock like cows, horses and pigs. But the women often tended the chickens collecting the eggs for baking and the big breakfasts they made for their families. There is nothing better than eggs from your own chickens. There's also the peace of mind from knowing what your hens are being fed and watching their funny antics.
I'm always wanting to try new things. To me they're interesting. I'm trying my hand at growing mushrooms. My first batch isn't doing so well as it decided to grow mold too. I would like to make soap sometime. I've made tinctures and syrups for the home medicine chest. I want to also make some healing salve from comfrey. I think I will never run out of things to try. If I don't like it, I don't have to do it again. Not only do these skills give me a sense of self-sufficiency, they give me a link to my heritage. Since there are so many different things that fall under this umbrella, I just call it all home crafting.
Oh yeah, I hate everyday housework. Boring.
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