The Southern Belle

A GREEN update on the "Greenest" Day of the Year

I thought it only appropriate to finally post an update on all the happenings around here on this the "greenest" day of the year!

So, here it goes...

We have lots of little transplant growing happily and healthfully in the 1st, now full 4x8' raised bed.

Broccoli
Cauliflower
Cabbage
Baby Bak Choi
Shallots
Onions
Radishes
Romaine
Bibb lettuce
Green peas
Sugar Snap Peas

The 2nd 4x8 bed has tomatoes that were just transplanted. This bed is also housing a 2x4' cold frame for the plethera of seedlings we have. In there now are sweet peppers, hot peppers, lettuces, more broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, tomatoes, and flowers (for purely aesthetic reasons).
I am so excited about all the GREEN; it is really starting to look and feel like spring! I also can not wait to enjoy all the fruits of our labor, literally!!!

Next on the update list is the instillation of our rain water barrel. This is nothing more than a 55 gallon white plastic vinegar drum sitting under the "down spout" of our covered patio. We have had several good rains which have kept it brimming with FREE water to quench the thirst of all of our precious seedlings and transplants :)
I was shocked after one afternoon shower to find it completely full! If I had know that it could be filled so quickly, even with a light rain, I would have gotten another one...I've added it to "the list!"

The biggest of all changes around here, in my humble opinion, are the baby chicks. We just got them on Tuesday, which is a bit later than expected. They are the cutest, furriest little puffballs you have ever seen! They arrived all safe, snug and ALIVE in their box from the hatchery but they were freezing (of course they had to come on the coldest day of the week). We already had the brooder box set up with the shredded newspaper and feed and water containers, so in they went. They were so noisy at first. They were huddling together into one big puffball mass, loudly chirping their discontent. Five minutes under the brooder light, however, and they were all happily and quitely exploring their new digs. A few minutes later, they were all getting there fill of starter feed, grit, and water...they were like vultures! Now, at 4 days old, they are all quite happy, healthy and well on their way to making us some yummy eating.

The chicken coop is in the final stages of construction (we have a couple more weeks until it is needed). All it is lacking is the "siding" on two walls and the roof. All of the materials, except the nails, were FREE and reclaimed from wood shipping pallets and a construction company's "extras". (pictures will follow, I promise)

The next project on the list is an outdoor clothes line so that I can begin drying our laundry using the free energy provided by our wonderful sun, instead of, the money-sucking electric dryer, and therefore, rich, fat, and happy electric company!

Projects and/or experiments that are still doing well are the paper and spending bans, the light saver, and the repurpose plan. The girls and I are still using cloth wipes. The boy is wearing his cloth diaper duds proudly, and with style ;-). We are still very mindful of saving every watt we possibly can by using natural light instead of electricity. All of our sustainable living projects were made possible by the ingenius Gent and the power of repurposing. Some examples include...

Flourescent fixture (from lighting update) turned Grow-light
Used foil baking pans with lids turned seed-starting tray
Previously read newspaper, tins cans and TP rolls for seedling pots
Compressor shipping box for brooder
All material for construction projects (ie. coop, raised beds, clothes line)
Salvaged window for cold frame lid

These are just a few of items we have found new uses for. We are always on the lookout for more ideas to reclaim items from the landfills and repurpose them to suit our needs. Do you have any suggestions? We would love to hear them!

We'll see you...a few steps more on our path to freedom :)

Path to Freedom...On Our Way

Our journey is well underway, to becoming more self-sufficient and living more sustainably.
Indoor has experienced some pretty big leaps down our path of change including us girls now using washable bathroom wipes and cooking up some homemade laundry detergent, and cleaning products to keep our clothes and home spic-n-span and chemical-free! Speaking of cooking, I have finally perfected my homemade, organic 100% Stone-ground whole wheat sandwich bread. I'll be sharing a photo tutorial of that recipe soon, so stay tuned!

Outdoors, we have "installed" the first of four 4'x 8' raised vegetable garden beds using reclaimed and completely FREE glass shipping pallets. The subsequent beds will be constructed as we procure more pallets. Since we won't need (use) all of the growing space until May, we have plenty of time to acquire the needed materials.

The compost bin is FULL of fall leaves and kitchen scraps, happily and quickly decaying away into dark, nutrient-rich, organic growing medium for the beds.

Growing has begun with some early spring varieties...Broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, and green onion seeds have been started in my FREE homemade seed starting "kit" (pictures to follow). We are looking very much forward to enjoying completely organic, homegrown veggies in the next few months!

Chicken coop building plans are underway, and will be using free materials reclaimed from smaller shipping pallets. I think we have narrowed down our breed selections for laying hens and meat birds. If all goes as planned, the chicks will available for purchase on February 7th. Oh, I can't wait!

Whew, writing all that has made me exhausted! But doing it all has been so energizing! It is so exciting to see our "to-do's" getting crossed off the list and much more quickly than I had anticipated!!! Unfortunately, (for the Gent) all the spare time has given me the opportunity to research more sustainable living ideas and add them to the list!!! ;)

I'll be writing more about those additions in the upcoming weeks. I look forward to hearing from you about your 2011 resolution. What steps have you taken to realizing your goals?

Our Path to Freedom

Our journey to resourceful, sustainable living.
We have been plotting and planning the course of this journey for the past couple of years. We've decided not to wait another day. Thus, as the first days of the new year are here we will put one foot in front of the other and take the first steps on our path to freedom.

Freedom...Freedom from what? Freedom to do what? Aren't we already free? The BEST things in life are free! Nothing in life is free! Sorry, rabbit trail.

I know you all are dying to know what kind of freedom I am talking about! Oh, come on, you know you are! Ok, here it goes...

Freedom FROM consumption and consumerism; freedom from the need for excess; freedom from the tyranny of wastefulness, ungratefulness and laziness that has plagued our family for too long; freedom from reliance on a FAILING bureaucratic system.

Freedom TO make our own choices about what we feel is best for OUR family, be better stewards of what the Lord gave us, and set the course for our selves and our children; freedom to provide our children with the life skills necessary to either follow our path or make their own.

Now that that's out of the way, here are a few of Our First Steps...
REDUCE:
waste
water usage
consumption of goods/services provided by others at a cost

REUSE:
repurpose items
utilize 'washable' household products

RETHINK:
determine priorities - physical, spiritual, & mental
analyze and adjust perspective
innovate methods to provide a more suitable expense to income ratio

For all of you who are application oriented like me, we've made a list of "steps" toward our goal.
Practically speaking...
Keep lights off during the day, and when we're not in the room
Use CF bulbs in all of our fixtures
Keep appliances unplugged until needed
Turn off the water when brushing our teeth
Flush only solid waste
Make homemade, cost-efficient, environmentally friendly household cleaning products
Reduce use of paper and plastics
Cook from scratch
"Shop" at bargain or consignment stores
Compost kitchen scraps
Become a "Locavore"
Grow as much of our own produce as possible
Raise poultry for eggs and meat consumption
Harvest game for low-cost, lean protein
Just to name a few...

We are so excited to be embarking on this new expedition. We welcome you to come along and walk side by side with us as we document our journey. You can expect to see our every step toward freedom including each success and failure (where I will be cry inconsolably), lots of pictures (I'm a visual person), and videos, in the form of weekly post updates.

So what are your goals for this year? We would love to hear what you are striving for in 2011!!!

Naming the Year

As the new year commences, I look back and contemplate the last year and all that materialized of our well made plans. If you are like most of the 310,571,915 people in the US, you have at one point or another made a New Year's resolution. I am one of those, too. Look, we have something in common! If you are anyting like me you tried really, really hard to stick with your "new attitud." (whatever that may be. However, despite your very best intentions somewhere around, oh, I don't know, January 8th you forgot all about that resolution and slid right back into the 'Valley of Perpetual Pattern' (just my fancy way of saying your "old" habit).

Well, last year I decided I was tired of spinning on the same merry-go-round! I wanted off! No more cheesy, half-hearted attempts to "better myself as a person." So, in an effort to persuade my brain that change was OK, the Gent and I decided to name the year. Not like Susan or Joey or Ringo, not that there's anything wrong with those names, but naming the year in conformity with the change we wanted to take place.
Naming the year was our approach to helping us remember what it was that we wanted to accomplish or change. We also chose a verse from God's Word to memorize that represented our conformity to His will in the matter. Because this method seems to have worked well for us, we will use it again. So, without further ado I introduce you to...

2011: A year of Nourishment

and corresponding verse...

"Restore the joy of your salvation to me, and provide me with a spirit of willing obedience." Psalm 51:12 GWT

So, what is it that we want to accomplish this year? Our intentions for this year include transforming our selves, our family, and our home to better reflect our desire to serve, sustain, and nourish all facets of our lives. Of course, we know that a journey of 1,000 miles begins with one step, and that is exactly where we are on this, the 3rd day of January 2011.

Defining Purpose

Never really sure what I wanted this blog to be. Thought about it being lots of different things. What would work for me? I had read, searched, pondered, listed all the things I liked about others' story-telling spaces, their little pieces of recorded history: making the most of the family budget; victories in overcoming the mundane; organizing the chaos; funny quips about the everyday; pronouncing their stance on various soapboxes.

I am none of those...

I am a perfectionist, an analyzer; I want everything to make sense, to be integrated. To be PERFECT. This is who I am: Open, honest, yet only about the superficial. I struggle, I hurt, I hold on to hurt and use it as a shield, a wall, a fortress I have surrounded myself with, not realizing that I only barricaded myself in. It is lonely in here.

Then one day I heard the faintest sound, my name, I heard the voice in the deepest recesses of my heart. A muted, almost unheard whisper, if I hadn't been still, still in my grief, my pain and agony of a life unfulfilled, I may not have heard it. But just maybe, He knew that's when I would respond with the most passion, the most sincerity.

And, I did! I did respond, I reached out through the bars of my barricade, just to experience a brush of his robe. He grabbed my hand, an unexpected, tender grasp, and yet a hold I knew in my heart - a hold HE would never release.

I lunged forward, yet still thru the bars, to hold tight to Him. My desire in the inmost of my being is to know Him, to see His face, to touch it. And, when I am really reaching, I find Him, His peace, His truth, His beauty. That's it! That's what I want this to be about...

My search, my search for PEACE, and TRUTH, and BEAUTY!!!
The kind that only comes from Him, the kind that only HE can give, the One with the nail-pierced hands.

This is my heart's cry:

to conquer that part of me that stays behind the bars (Romans 8:37)
to live my life as worthy as the One who created it. (1 Peter 1:15)
to live the Divine (live in the Divine). (Psalm 116:9)
to practice the presence of the Holy. (Ps 118:19-21)
to be FULL of peace and truth and the beauty that is so precious to Him - a gentle and quiet spirit. (1 Peter 3:4)

That is what will be here...

This is the NEW Southern Belle...Welcome!

Menu Plan 10/19 - 10/23

What's on our menu this week:

Monday: Chicken Spaghetti w/ salad & bread

Tuesday: Pork Roast w/ roasted brown sugar acorn squash

Wednesday: Roasted Chicken w/ mashed potatoes & peas

Thursday: BBQ Chicken w/ homemade seasoned potato wedges

Friday: Homemade Pizza