march issue is hot off the presses!

to read all about it, go to herbal roots zine.

counting down

...until my store purchased milk days are over again for the year! my sweet calendula (who milks like a dream) birthed a beautiful little boy this am. 2 weeks until i'll be in fresh milk heaven! i'm dreaming of yogurt, mozzarella and more!

we have 2 more goats who should also kid soon...one is bagging up and greg said he saw the plug coming out of the other one today. i didn't plan them to kid so close together but what can you do!

no other lambs other than peppermints birth a month ago. surely we will have more lambs?! we have 6 ewes and 1 ram. time will tell...

february plans and theme

wow! january went by way too fast and i haven't even gotten through half that list. too much to do, too little time. here is my short list for february. i hope to add/modify it as necessary this month. it's time for spring to start waking up...tapping the maples will quickly give way to the peeper's song, heralding the return of spring next month!

nature/gardening:
~order seeds
~start sweet potato slips
~tap trees
~start seeds at end of month
~days are getting longer
~cut willows to make playhouse
~gather cottonwood buds
~full snow moon (28)
~skunks come out of hibernation to find a mate...will we see any?


homestead:
~begin reviewing wwoofer applications
~begin preparing garden

holidays/tradition:
~Candlemas/Imbolc/Brigid's Day, Feb 2:  

If Candlemas be fair and bright, 

Winter will have another flight; 

But if Candlemas be clouds and rain, 

Winter is gone and will not come again.

The Maiden comes to bring us light!
The Winter dies, and all is bright!
The frozen ground shall disappear -
And all shall sprout, for Spring is near!


Something to chant while cleaning house during this time period:

Blessed be the earth, and all who dwell upon it.
We give thanks for the season now departing from us,
For the blessings it has bestowed upon us,
And upon those with whom we share this world.
Blessed be the new season.
We pray that it will be a time filled with peace,
With abundance, with prosperity,
With wisdom,
With love.

~valentine's day

food:
~citrus is in season
~make orange marmalade
~make salted lemons and limes
~make sugared lemons and limes
~make limoncello
~oatmeal
~dried fruits (dry more apples this fall!)
~hearty stews and pot pies
~homemade bread
~soups
~hot herb tea
~hot lemonade
~hot cocoa a la jim mcdonald
~ham and beans with corn bread
~peppermint patties

home:
~taxes done
~purge playroom and living room
~valentine's gifts for the kids/greg
~lots of board games and homeschooling

stories/books:
~little house series read aloud to jaden and sage
~women who run with the wolves
~treehouse perspectives
~through the wild heart of mary
~a sand county almanac

field trips and homeschool activities:
~eagle days in alton
~columbia bottom conservation area to harvest cottonwood buds

crafts/activities:
~3-4 washcloths knitted for solstice gifts
~work on baby gift for friend
~watercoloring, coloring, beeswax modeling with kids
~valentine's gifts for kids
~spring equinox gift ideas firmed up and started
~create bird supply houses from milk cartons. i saw this idea on someone's blog but can't remember where. they were painted like houses and were really cute.

Herbal Roots - February 2010

the latest edition of herbal roots is ready!

great giveaway opportunity!

the herbal roots zine giveaway for this week is over but here's one hosted by little owl arts that is sure to thrill you!

spring is headed our way!

what's in there??? (notice that wide load!)

i'm too big to peek over...what did you see????

a little black lamb...

and his mama staring back at me!

this is peppermints second year of lambing. she had a black lamb last year on the spring equinox. so, having lambs on january 12 threw us for a loop. she had twins, the other black as well, with white markings, but he was born outside in single digit weather and froze to death. if i had known she was going to lamb so early this year, i would have been more watchful. so far, none of the other ewes have shown any sign of lambing.

purging is hard

 

i spent over 8 hours today purging the kitchen and it doesn't look like i touched it. what is it with us pack rats? why do we feel so compelled to keep everything, collect items, not let go of stuff? is this an american thing or does it span through the continents of wealth and prosperity? where does the root of this lie? what causes us to feel like we need this stuff, that we can't let go or live without it?

even as i packed stuff in boxes to ship off to the thrift shop, my partner was digging through the box, taking items out and running off with them, squirreling them away in his portion of the house and shed. wtf? these were not even items he purchased or wanted!

i am at a loss on how to let go of so much. in my future i hope to scale down to a converted bus/home and looking around my home, i could easily fill 10 buses! how does one make the jump and let go? how does one not only let go of stuff accumulated in their lifetime but sentimental stuff that was given to them by friends and family?!

this recent force of purging activity was brought about by visiting a friend's house. this friend normally comes to our house each week because she lives in town and we live in a semi-rural area where her boys can play and be boys. she also moved here a 2 years ago from new zealand. (she was originally from the midwest). her home is so sparse and simple. even in her cabinets with dishes and food, it is basic and simple. bare necessities of furniture, no piles of paper, receipts, old magazines, mail, etc. it was so nice, clean, refreshing and i was very envious. when i pointed out the sparsity, she said she was sure if she had not moved internationally several times over the past years that she too would have an accumulation but i doubt it would be as bad as my house. she just doesn't accumulate. she doesn't collect, store, hoard. oh to be so free!!

how does one break free from this cycle? i suppose/hope that what i've done today is a step in the right direction. possibly once i make one go around through the house, i can start a 2nd go around and get down to the nitty gritty...

it's especially hard with homeschooling kids. i try to keep around things that i think we can use. crafty things, fabric, etc. plus, trying to live a 'simple' lifestyle causes one to accumulate tools necessary for this simplicity....grain grinders, cherry pitters, foley mill, pressure canners, pasta makers, just to name a few. it's crazy. i was in tears last night thinking about the exhaustion i have over trying to live a simple life and raise my kids the 'right' way. i questioned the simplicity of taking 3 hours to make pasta for a meal (and even though i make extra for further meals, it still takes time). the flip side is buying items premade at the grocery store that are full of preservatives or spending a premium to buy foods that are not.

it is so exhausting and unrewarding (seemingly, to me at the moment) to live this life. i am drained. beaten down. i think if the house burned down today, there's not much i'd miss. but then, when i go to get rid of stuff, i can't let it go. WHY?!!! how does one break this cycle and let go?

one answer is to not visit stores anymore except when necessary. i love thrift shopping but i don't need it. all too often, i don't leave with what i needed but with great finds i just couldn't leave without. agh! it doesn't help that the kids are with me and do the same and i feel guilty...why should i buy myself all these good finds but refuse to let them have some too? that doesn't seem fair.

the good thing is, i want to purge. i want to get rid of crap, i want to let go. i am working on it. i got rid of a lot today and i'm sure i'll get rid of more before it's all done. it's hard to plan for the future when you don't know what to expect but i hope to try to strip it down to basics that will allow the kids freedom to create and learn while giving my mind the sanity of simplicity. looks like i've got my work cut out for me.