Thank you Dad! That big bag of beets will all be in jars by Wednesday night!
Dad and Mom also brought a cooler full of cherries from the east side of the mountains. Sweet cherry wine will be made. It will grow up next to the blackberry wine that was started three weeks ago. This has been a good year for fruit which means it going to be a good year for wine.
I don't have to worry about Jimmy trying to play mad scientist with my wine this year. We have plenty of apples and he is planning on making cider and applejack ( that should keep him away from my cherry and blackberry nectar).
This next two weeks will be all about canning and pickling. We had one cold night that stopped our beautiful tomatoes in their tracks. That same cold night sent my winter squash into hyper fruiting. We will be dining on homegrown acorn and delicata squash well into the fall.
Update on the family visit: I had an interesting conversation with the niece on the last day they were here. I was futzing in the kitchen and she strode in purposefully and parked herself confrontationally in front of me. Niece: "Every thing here is home made." (this a statement..not a question) Me: "Well, almost everything". Niece : (rather smugly) "not the bread". Me: " there is a loaf home made bread in the cabinet if you would like some ...and the biscuits we made ARE bread. ". In response, she looks down at her feet and shuffles them a bit . Then she looks up at me and says "The chickens aren't home made." Me: "No, but four of them were born in the backyard". This was met with a long pause and then she brightly says "the dog isn't home made!". I said "you're right. He isn't". She has finally scored a point and she isn't going to let it go. She says "the plates aren't home made!". I said "you're right but, the rugs are home made." (her eyes acknowledge that we both get a point for that one!). Her stance softens and she giggles and says "The stove isn't homemade!". The giggle told me that she had found a file folder in her head for the juxtaposition of lifestyles that she was experiencing. Knowing that she had found what she was looking for and knowing I was still in my pajamas at 11:00 am, I gave the best response for the situation...I rolled my eyes at her and said " Why don't you go feed the chickens for me while I get dressed?". She then bounced out the door ...on a mission.
It cant be easy for a new gen, plugged in ,streaming all day, everything instant, eleven year old to find a place in her apriory for slow sustainable living. But, then again, maybe the file folder she put it in was the same one she has marked 'field trip to the zoo'. Ya never know with kids.
Speaking of Zoo. Jimmy is starting to talk about goats again. He's been muttering about it since I told him baby sis is considering dairy goats. He wants to go to the Puyallup fair this week to see what they have. I was all for getting goats when we first moved in but now....not so much. If Jimmy wants goats he has to take 100 percent responsibility for them. So, we will see how that turns out. 'sides..... if baby sis goes into goat raising, I'll be her first and most loyal customer. The best part of living the artisan lifestyle is having trade agreements with other people who are living the artisan lifestyle. DD and I are already talking about the delicious smoked gouda we are going to make once we find a reliable source for reasonably priced goat milk. We are really hoping that source will be baby sis.
DD is proof that the artisan lifestyle can be lived even if you have a full time job. She keeps her family fed with nutritious homemade meals while practicing animal husbandry and vegetable gardening.
To DD and Baby Sis..... Welcome to the artisan lifestyle! We are glad you are here. The FIRST rule of artisan lifestyle is Always talk about your artisan lifestyle. Brag about what you are doing, what you have made and what you are going to do next. The world should know that you are saving it one homegrown green bean at a time!
Dad and Mom also brought a cooler full of cherries from the east side of the mountains. Sweet cherry wine will be made. It will grow up next to the blackberry wine that was started three weeks ago. This has been a good year for fruit which means it going to be a good year for wine.
I don't have to worry about Jimmy trying to play mad scientist with my wine this year. We have plenty of apples and he is planning on making cider and applejack ( that should keep him away from my cherry and blackberry nectar).
This next two weeks will be all about canning and pickling. We had one cold night that stopped our beautiful tomatoes in their tracks. That same cold night sent my winter squash into hyper fruiting. We will be dining on homegrown acorn and delicata squash well into the fall.
Update on the family visit: I had an interesting conversation with the niece on the last day they were here. I was futzing in the kitchen and she strode in purposefully and parked herself confrontationally in front of me. Niece: "Every thing here is home made." (this a statement..not a question) Me: "Well, almost everything". Niece : (rather smugly) "not the bread". Me: " there is a loaf home made bread in the cabinet if you would like some ...and the biscuits we made ARE bread. ". In response, she looks down at her feet and shuffles them a bit . Then she looks up at me and says "The chickens aren't home made." Me: "No, but four of them were born in the backyard". This was met with a long pause and then she brightly says "the dog isn't home made!". I said "you're right. He isn't". She has finally scored a point and she isn't going to let it go. She says "the plates aren't home made!". I said "you're right but, the rugs are home made." (her eyes acknowledge that we both get a point for that one!). Her stance softens and she giggles and says "The stove isn't homemade!". The giggle told me that she had found a file folder in her head for the juxtaposition of lifestyles that she was experiencing. Knowing that she had found what she was looking for and knowing I was still in my pajamas at 11:00 am, I gave the best response for the situation...I rolled my eyes at her and said " Why don't you go feed the chickens for me while I get dressed?". She then bounced out the door ...on a mission.
It cant be easy for a new gen, plugged in ,streaming all day, everything instant, eleven year old to find a place in her apriory for slow sustainable living. But, then again, maybe the file folder she put it in was the same one she has marked 'field trip to the zoo'. Ya never know with kids.
Speaking of Zoo. Jimmy is starting to talk about goats again. He's been muttering about it since I told him baby sis is considering dairy goats. He wants to go to the Puyallup fair this week to see what they have. I was all for getting goats when we first moved in but now....not so much. If Jimmy wants goats he has to take 100 percent responsibility for them. So, we will see how that turns out. 'sides..... if baby sis goes into goat raising, I'll be her first and most loyal customer. The best part of living the artisan lifestyle is having trade agreements with other people who are living the artisan lifestyle. DD and I are already talking about the delicious smoked gouda we are going to make once we find a reliable source for reasonably priced goat milk. We are really hoping that source will be baby sis.
DD is proof that the artisan lifestyle can be lived even if you have a full time job. She keeps her family fed with nutritious homemade meals while practicing animal husbandry and vegetable gardening.
To DD and Baby Sis..... Welcome to the artisan lifestyle! We are glad you are here. The FIRST rule of artisan lifestyle is Always talk about your artisan lifestyle. Brag about what you are doing, what you have made and what you are going to do next. The world should know that you are saving it one homegrown green bean at a time!
