Artisan lifestyle, sustainable living, compromise, cold weather in Seattle

I'm not going to lie to you... working full time and maintaining a sustainable artisan lifestyle is complicated, hard work... but it is getting done.  Last week we pulled out the winter leeks and got them dehydrated  and stored.  Jimmy and I had to make a compromise though. (He is still figuring out that I'm putting in 40 hours a week at work and at least 10 commuting.)  My designated "chores" have to get done and there is only so much time to do them in (cuz I also designate  down time  so I can get up when the alarm goes off)  When I said I didn't have time to process the leeks he  got frustrated  because he is still intimidated by the kitchen.  So he agreed to take on my coop cleaning schedule if I would pick up the canning and preserving . Yep , compromise... the secret to a happy home life. 
Cold Seattle weather is worrying a lot of gardeners this year.  For my readers in other parts of the country ... We are having an unusually cool  growing season. We have yet to break 75 degrees.    We made an almost greenhouse size cold frame for our big bed that contains tomatoes, peppers, basil and other warm soil vegetables.  We took the cover off last week  and we are now thinking of putting it back on. The tomatoes that were growing   phenomenally fast have slowed down and the peppers are showing signs of cold damage.  If not for the cold frame  (6mil clear plastic over a dome frame made of flexible pvc piping)  our tomatoes would look like the neighbor's. Theirs are only about two feet high and no blooms. Ours are 3 1/2 feet and are blooming.  If we get some sun in July and August we should have  a nice tomato crop.    In the meantime.... Our brassicas are loving this weather. The brussell sprouts, broccolli,cabbage, and collards are  are magnificent and the potatoes should keep us going all winter.  The carrots are doing fabulous and we have more lettuce than we can eat.  The wisdom of planting  a variety of vegetables   to insure that something thrives  is keeping our garden from being a disaster.  Right now we are unsure of the fate of our cucumbers, and squash.  They could go either way.   The beets are fine which is a good thing because Jimmy is  hovering over the last two jars of pickled beets left from last year.  Pickling more beets will be a priority this fall even if I have to supplement with farmers market produce.
The chickens are loving this weather too.  They are accepting their summer confinement with a little more grace this year because once again we compromised ... We gave them a much bigger grazing space this year and put them on a grazing schedule.  They are producing some truly beautiful works of art called eggs. Much to the delight of friends and  neighbors ,the four of them are giving us two dozen eggs a week. One of my neighbors grows beautiful flowers and has been keeping  our dining table in stunning  fresh flowers in trade for eggs.  I wish I knew someone with a cow so I could trade  eggs for milk.
I also wish I could be here more to enjoy it all. But I traded  happy time for insurance benefits.  A very needed thing since we haven't  had medical benefits for 5 years...... Its one of the reasons we put in the medicinal garden bed.  
I wasn't sure it would happen when I went back to work but now I am reasonable certain that a sustainable  lifestyle can happen with a full time job.   Its not easy but it can be done.

Artisan Lifestyle, web bots, astrology, job, secrets, baby, art , garden, chickens

OKAY, Where to start...... The new job, web bots, art, unexpected baby, chickens,garden,and a secret happening which I will tell you about in the next blog.
The new job is great and I'm loving being a trouble shooter superstar. I had intended to stay here for at least a year.... only I have an unsolicited offer on the table that is beyond great, so I would be an idiot not to take it. Sort of torn on this one. I've made some friends and some converts but it hasn't been enough time to make sure what I have set in place will stand the test of time. On the other hand this other place feels really right. Like.... karmic right. I was pleased beyond belief to walk in and see a building full of fags, dykes, hipsters, hippies and pierced/tattooed funkies. After four months of being surrounded by rednecks,religious fundamentalists, and devry university dropouts it was a relief and felt like a tribe. There is some guilt in leaving... But I will find a place for it.
Somebody gave me a pair of chinchillas for pet therapy at work. I put them in my studio to await the right moment and came home to 'baby makes three' a few days ago. The thing is downright ugly but I hear it will grow up to be cute. I felt bad because I didn't know a baby was on the way, so mom didn't get any special treatment. She did it with no nesting or special vitamins or TLC or anything. I feel like a bastard over it. But its done and the happy family seems fairly healthy and content... if a little skittish.
And petal starting laying last week. The tiniest eggs you have ever seen. I hear they will get bigger as she gets better at it. Elphie, the dominant one has discovered the cat door. I'm afraid I'm gonna come home one day and she will be sitting on the couch watching tv and and drinking Jimmy's really expensive beer.
Our spring garden is popping up through the soil right now (I'm not allowed to call it 'dirt' anymore because Jimmy spent 2 months turning it over,adding fertilizer, improving the quality and balancing the ph.) I'm looking forward to my first spring greens salad. The winter spinach is yummy but kind of tough cuz it survived many frosts..... So it has to be cooked. The winter collards are enormous and look like something out of avatar. We are contemplating pulling them out and canning them all and planting fresh ones because they are starting to flower. Don't know yet... we might just see how big they will get. Some of my grandparents generation told me they survived the great depression on collard greens and corn bread. Now I can see how. They are the hardiest plants I have encountered.
Art....I was in the middle of a piece that is really big... six feet by eight feet when the baby showed up. So I have avoided painting for a week so as not to disturb the little one too much. Don't want to pizen it with fumes from linseed oil or paint thinner or make it psychotic by putting non nobis domine on repeat for hours at a time.
Web bots....I dropped the ten dollars on the web bot report a few weeks ago. I was disturbed to discover that one of their critical dates lines up with a critical astrological time on July 8. I intend to do an analysis and put some info on here when i get it done. I didn't think too much about it until the two lined up. So until i can get the time to do a close up look... my advice to everyone is to prepare to take care of yourself and family for while with no assistance from the system. At least put in the foundations for independence from the system. Jimmy and I can feel relatively secure in our ability to survive a time without safeway or electricity. Even if the bots and the stars are wrong .....our quality of life has improved so much that its a moot point.