Homemade Spice shelves Make Space, and a Renewed passion for the Power Drill

Last weekend, after being prompted by Jason to get my stuff off the floor, I decided to devote a whole day to a slow paced carpentry lesson, which seemed to help me forget my nausea. I pretty much had the boards cut to size, the quarter-round measured, and Jason was there to guide me along the way. Both shelves are serving to clear up some cabinet space. The shelf to the left holds all my spices, and the shelf to the right holds all my teas and mugs. In this process I ended up weeding out my cabinets of miscellaneous jars (now donated to Jason's future shed), and plastic tupperware, which I am scheming to get completely out of my house (they are so awkward to store.)

All in all, I am very happy with this project and feel encouraged to get on that built-in bookshelf that I've been dreaming about. It shouldn't take too long, especially with my new power drill skills, and it will immediately clear up another big section of space--a freestanding bookshelf which will be also donated to Jason's future shed.

Speaking of the shed, Jason got his plans revised and renewed. He also got his beam joints in the mail the other day. So now all he needs to do is pick up his beams that have been cut and are waiting on him at the saw mill. Then we'll see some action! I cannot wait, because not only will he have a kickin' workshop, we'll have loads more space in our utility room, which has been housing misc. tools, garden supplies, and such that currently won't fit into the cluttered 6'x 10' workshop. Yes, I have an agenda with that space, but only to improve the functioning of the household. The small workshop will house primarily gardening stuff; the utility room will be a better laundry room and hold our bicycling gear. This house is in a constant shifting cycle, especially with the seasons, so more organized, the easier, period.

Merry Christmas-time!

I guess I'm in the mood for Christmas, although the weather has been strangely WARM? Well, I've been enjoying my mesclun salads, and spreading around the fallen leaves for compost.
Actually I am almost through my first trimester of pregnancy, and finally feeling a little more like myself. I've had a little nausea, and much fatigue, so I haven't been getting too much done around the house.
Now that I am feeling more energetic, I've got plenty to do. Christmas gifts, baking, mailing cards, etc...
Next house project is my spice shelf. I've got the boards cut, but they've been on the floor for the past month. I can't wait to get them up. It should free up some cubbard space in my utterly tiny kitchen.
Also for the past month Jason's been down with a hurt back. So no composting toillette. We do miss it though, because it surprisingly kept the stench down!
Now that we're expecting, I am hoping to finish setting up the rest of the house before June, my due date. No problem! Ya right! We'll see what actually gets done. After these spice shelves, I plan to build my built in bookshelf (and get rid of a free standing one.

Mesclun, So Pretty, Yet Smells Spicey

The Inside of my Home, in a Sketch

The compost toilette seems to be working out better than expected. There is no offensive scent (but we are sure to keep the lid shut, too.) Jason has been emptying it and he says it is not so gross. He does wash the bucket out with the hose before returning it to the bathroom, as well as replenishing the other bucket with peat moss.

I cleaned under the sofa today, and made some designs to build a second sofa, that will double as storage. Also made some table/bench designs that will be used as storage also. The foremost project is the bookshelf that I will attach the the wall next to the futon sofa. I've got a lot of projects brewing and I can't wait to get going.

My objective is to utilize space and create an environment that is conducive to our lifestyle. Oh, and look good too.

We tend to read, study, research, and create in the living room. It also is our entertainment center, dining (esp. in the summer), fireplace, piano, ingoing/outgoing mail, and entrance.

Our "dining room" gets alot of traffic because it is the main exit to the back porch/backyard. It holds another bookshelf of all my cookbooks, and some gardening supplies, and a few cookwares. This is an awkward space. In the winter we move the dining table to this room to free up the fireplace area.

The main bedroom is used for sleeping, dressing, and reading.

The guest bedroom is currently my craft room, and junk room, which I need to organize and sift out.

The "sun room" is our office, exercise room, pantry, and some more junk. The utility room holds bike gear, garden stuff, some tools, laundry room, and another exit to the backyard walking by the hot tub.

The kitchen is the kitchen... another mess to organize, and in the future renovate.

The bathroom is the bathroom... a future room to renovate in my dreams.

As for outside, Jason will be finally building his shed! I can't wait! We already have the concrete slab poured (2 years old now), and it is begging for a roof and some walls. More to come on this, as this will be a momentous project! I'm hoping for him to finish this for my Christmas gift, but we will see. I know you have to plan for problems to arise when building so, I will not be surprised if he finishes in the Spring.

It's Alive! Cackle! Cackle! Cackle!

Finally some rain! And thank goodness no tornadoes. I couldn't sleep very well last night, because I was waiting for the storm. But as soon as the weatherman said it was breaking apart, I turned off the laptop(which doubles as our tv) and slept until the storm actually hit; woke up, and shut all the windows in the house to keep the rain from blowing in. Then, back to bed.

It was just 2-4 days before that I started putting seeds in the ground, and already signs of life!
So far I've planted:
Swiss Chard
Turnips
Beets
Mustard
Kale (Nero Toscana)
Kale (Red Winter)
Broccoli
Endive
Lettuce (Salad Bowl)
Mesclun

Within the next couple days I plan to plant:
Garlic
Green onion
Leeks
Onion
Parsely
Cilantro
more Mesclun

This is all pretty much experimental for me, as I have not grown this much before, and do not know how well everything will survive, much less produce.
I did only mesclun last year, so I at least know I will have it for the next 6 months.

A busy weekend,

This weekend was chock full of gardening, laundry, um...brback! forgot to hang up the wet load, silkscreening t-shirts for my breast cancer 5k team, computer stuff, and planning for this busy week. Oh, and most importantly, Jason built for us a nice compost bin for ... drum roll... our compost toilette! Well, we just ordered the seat to put on our 5 gal. bucket. And we bought the peat moss last week (you can use partially composted sawdust, too).
Humanure Handbook
amazon link
I have yet to read it, and it is free to the whole world at the above link. Very cool guy!
We will save so much water from not flushing the toilette, I can't wait. I think our standard toilette uses 1.6 gallons? a flush. Already we only flush when we take a crap (sorry to offend...) and, there will be no stench of pee! Hooray! We will compost this stuff for at least 1 year, or is it 2? I will have to read up on it, but the concept seems simple. More to come on this subject soon!
I ordered mesclun seed from HarrisSeeds.com, and they should be here this week. I've already prepared a 4x4 bed just for it.
I picked up some nice plywood on the side of the road. I consider myself a trash collector, and Monday is the prime day to go collecting in my neighborhood. It amazes me what people consider garbage (and what I find as treasure:)

Paper or Plastic?

When I go grocery shopping I try to remember my fabric bags. If I do not bring them, I will choose plastic.
I recycle the plastic bags by using them as garbage bags. In fact, if I am out of garbage bags, I will purposely not use my fabric bags, so I don't have the need to purchase garbage bags. I like free ones that I can recycle.

This all comes down to the individual. We all have choices. What choice is the best? For the individual or for the environment? We must weigh the consequences...
For instance...
Which is better? driving to the store? or riding my bike? Well, what if I am making and using my own BioDeisel?
These choices can be complex, therefore it is essential to know what creates the biggest impact.
And for US citizens, that is Transportation Energy, Food Energy, and Energy associated with Housing.

Thoughts...

Today we went on a Solar Home tour in Blountsville, Alabama. Reminded me of the Ecovillage we WOOFed at in New Zealand. It was a beautiful day, the weather was a little on the warm side... The homes were amazing. And so were the people!

Jason and I talked a bunch, especially about our goals in creating our self-sufficient, low-energy-using home and life. We concluded that the best changes that we can make we are already making.

1. Transportation--Jason bikes to work, and I am beginning to bike more to the grocery store (we even bought a used bike trailer). We drive as little as possible in a Jetta diesel on our home-brewed BioDiesel. J says that in transportation we use 1/20 what the avg. American uses! This was the first big change we made in our lifestyle.

2. Food--Buy Local, less meat, less processed foods, and We have a Garden (getting better every year). I buy bulk grains and beans, and love to bake. This is the second biggest imporvement that we made.

3. Housing--We use 1/4 the avg. American in electricity (and half of that is from our hot tub--we're currently considering alternatives), almost 1/8 in gas, and about 1/4 in water (plus we put up 2 homemade rain barrels this summer, which helps a bit, esp. in a draught). We are continuing to try to reduce or energy usage.

Pumpkins Under Pressure

The past two days have been centered around pressure canning pumpkins. A few of my pumpkins were starting to mold, so I decided to hurry and process them. There was plenty to do.

First Jason cut the pumpkins in half for me, since that first cut is the most difficult for me. Next I pulled out all the seeds, boiled and toasted them. About 4 cups worth... And it took a couple hours.

Then I cubed up the rest of the pumpkins and filled my pressure canner about 3/4 full. Pressure cooked them briefly, as I sterilized my quart jars in the dishwasher. Next, I scooped the freshly cooked pumpkin cubes into the clean quart jars and covered with boiling water. 8 Quarts. Then pressure canned them at 12 lbs for 90min. I intended on 10 lbs, but it was hard to regulate. Voila! Woke up the next morning with 7 quarts of pumkin, and one extra in the fridge.

Yesterday I processed the one large pumpkin that was left over. With it I made 8 pints of orange pumpkin butter. Yum! Found the recipe at www.gardenweb.com

See my other Blog, City Homestead Projects for some pumpkin recipes.

Time to Plant Some Greens and Jot Down Ideas

I planted Arugala a few days ago. Sprouts are coming up.

I was tentative to plant greens earlier because of the hot weather and draught conditions.

This will be my second year of having a Fall Garden. Last year I grew simply a 4x4 of mesclun. This year I plan to expand.

I can't wait to get my mesclun seeds in. I ordered them from HarrisSeeds.com. because I was having a hard time finding them locally.

I will be planting other greens and veggies later than recommended, so I will have to see what will happen. Last year I place a window pane over the mesclun to hold in the warmth. I may need to plan for more covers (glass, straw bales, etc...)

I will be collecting my neighborhood fall leaves soon for compost/mulch around my yard. I am planning to begin a front yard herb and flower garden for the Spring. I can't wait to utilise this space.

Jason and I set up a couple rain barrels this summer. I am wondering how they will hold up in the winter. Out Winter is about 3-4 months long, and not extremely cold. Zone 7b.

I had to kill 5 big Black Widow spiders and 2 egg sacs the other day in my garden. Yikes!

I went ahead and mowed over the pumpkin vines to prepare for the fall planting.

Today I pressure canned 8 quarts of pumpkins and still had some leftover to make pumpkin butter. It's been a long day.

I will need to write a post on my summer garden. It did well, and I want to make an overview so I can more clearly improve upon it. I also should do a post on the Fall Garden plan.

Ideas
small pond
honeysuckle perfum
dried herbs (stevia, sage)
blueberries
milk paint living room
start herbs in house.