A note from the trenches.

Work Work and more work, for those of you who might be wondering where I have disappeared to, that word is my life in a nutshell. Sad but true. Have been working two jobs focusing on doing what I need to do to keep it all afloat right now while I have all my kids under on roof. It won't be like this forever. My Urban Homesteading adventures are few and far between, the kids and I planted some Romain lettuce on the back porch, those little green sprouts coming up are such a nice reminder that the cycle goes on. I am still making bread regularly and spouting seeds in the window sill, but that's about it. I am reading a book on home cheese making but the thought of making it from store bought milk saddens me. I can't wait for the day I have milking goats again.

This month my colt Rocky will be six months old and I will wean him from his mama, which promised to be a traumatic experience for all. I will post pictures of him soon. He kept the blue eyes which makes him pretty unusual looking.

Hope all of you are keeping warm and well this winter. I pop in and catch up on your blogs when I can.

A Healthy Kitchen Window Project-Sprouts

Home today trying to nurse a very nasty cold, my second one in only a short time uggg. I wanted to share these lentil sprouts I grew in a Jar in the kitchen window. I was itching to grow something that I could eat and since I am not ready for outdoor planting yet this was a quick and easy project. There are a bunches of videos on YouTube of people and their sprout projects and there are all kinds of jars and sprouting kits out there that people want you to buy but a mason jar with an open lid and a piece of clean window screen ( sold by the foot at the hardware store for pennies), worked just fine. I think the sprouts took longer then they should (about 5 days) because the house is not super warm. Although at around 70 degrees it is not cold either. All of the videos I watched said you should have sprouts in 3-4 days so I am not sure why mine were slow, but they did sprout and they taste fresh. These will be added to my salads and sandwiches this week and I have another jar in the window in progress. I am pretty sure just plain lentils from the supermarket will work just fine, I ordered these last year from a preparedness website, they came vacuum sealed in a Mylar type package but I don't believe they are any different, if anyone know the answer to that question please let me know.

Feeling good about the direction I am heading, one small project at a time.

Hope everyone is staying warm and safe through the rough winter weather, even here in Florida we are getting down in the very low 20s at night. Happy Monday!

Starting From Scratch

I have always believed that the idea of homesteading is simply a mindset, meaning that a person can homestead anywhere under any circumstances, in the city or the country by making simple changes on a daily basis, deciding what their priorities are and how best to utilize the resources they have available to accomplish what they want.

Given the big changes in my life over the last six months and my new living arrangements, I have decided that my new years resolution will be to put my money where my mouth is and over the course of the coming year completely start over and see how many actual changes I can make in my lifestyle towards my goal of simplifying and getting back to basics and living the homesteading mindset.

I am am going to make a new list of goals for the year, and work towards them, blog about what I learn including my successes, failures, heartbreaks and whatever else comes along the way.

An update on my bread making post, I will no longer buy bread from the grocery store, I have actually incorporated bread making into my life in a very practical way and am very pleased to say that my family has made the transition nicely using the bread on a daily basis. Often for me that is half the battle, I have to make changes that are actually practical or I am fighting a losing battle. So one change down, one hundred more to go.

Now to figure out where to start.......I'll keep you posted.

Making Bread the Easy Way

If you have never attempted bread making by hand because it seemed like too much work or even a bit intimidating as I did, you have got try this recipe. I have tried other methods but for me this proves to be the easiest method by far.Using the recipe from this Mother Earth News Article;http://www.motherearthnews.com/Real-Food/Artisan-Bread-In-Five-Minutes-A-Day.aspx
I have been making fresh hot bread every day, even on days that I work 12 hour shifts. It really is as easy as they claim.
I mixed up the large batch recipe ( which makes enough for 8 loaves) in a Rubbermaid type container I keep in the fridge and every day I pull out enough dough to make one loaf, shape it into a round ball and leave it in a either on the counter or in a bowl dusted with corn meal, wheat germ or just plain flour, cover it with a dish towel and let it rise for 40 minutes while I go about my day. To bake I don't use the pizza stone as they suggest, I preheat my oval ( you can use a round one too) dutch oven to 475 for about 15 minutes, shape my dough into a loaf shape, put about three slashes in the top of the loaf, sprinkle some wheat germ on top and cover. Then bake for 20 minutes, remove the lid and bake for 10 more. That's all there is to warm crusty goodness! I am so impressed I will be buying this book or the authors other book "Healthy bread in five minutes a day".
Before I baked the first batch I found a bunch of U-tube videos demonstrating the method and they all agreed that it was a success.

I don't have a picture to share today, my loaves disappear as fast as I can make them, but they are almost foolproof, they are so easy. Knowing this is something I am going to make a part of my lifestyle,I plan on buying my next batch of supplies from Sams club they have the best prices on yeast and flour in bulk, I think I figure about 30-40 cents a loaf. With some hot homemade soup on a cold day it does not get any better.

Have been in a writing slump, but have been following all of my favorite bloggers when I can.
Sending out my wishes for Happy Holidays to all of my online friends. Take time to breathe, and enjoy the precious moments when they come.

October 2010- Life these days.

I continue to be MIA when it comes to blogging. I guess because I always intended this blog to be about homesteading and even though I have not lost my passion for the subject, I regretfully have done nothing in my life lately that could even be slightly considered homesteading. About a week ago, I wet a bunch of little peat pots to fluff up and plant seeds in but they still have not one seed started. I found a lead on person who might teach me how to make the old fashioned wool hook rugs or felted rugs that I have always wanted to learn how to make but I have not called her. So I drag my feet about updating the blog, feeling like I have nothing of interest to contribute.

Fortunately for me you all are so inspiring, when I get online and read what all of my favorite bloggers are up to, it occurs to me that I really just want to see what is going on in their lives, the good the bad, the ups and downs I like hearing what is going on with my far away friends and I feel genuine concern, joy and frustration along with them in all that they encounter and are willing to share with me. I love hearing about the weather in other parts of the country or the other side of the world, I like seeing what people are cooking up in their kitchens, or what their kids are doing in school. I enjoy seeing their families their dogs, cats and other assorted menageries of animals. I love the similarities as well as the differences in all of our crazy lives.

Also, I am reminded that part of the reason I blog is purely for my own need to chronicle the journey that I am on. So very much in my life has turned upside down but in the midst of it all life still goes on and I am determined to remember to enjoy the journey not just focus on the destination. I know a year or two from now I will look back on what was happening now and appreciate those obstacles that seemed so insurmountable that turned out to really be stepping stones on the path to wherever life is taking me.

I have been spending most of my free time in academic mode. Because I went back to work in the ICU, I had several educational certifications to renew including ACLS (Advanced Cardiac Life Support) and have decided to pursue getting my CCRN certification (Critical Care). The test is very difficult and to prepare for it I am taking an online course through the Critical Care Nurses Association that requires a commitment of a lot of hours online and reading. So most of my time is spent trying to memorize things like which lead on the ECG machine reflects the electrical activity of each area of the heart. Oh so exciting! The whole process has gotten me more motivated to go back to school and finish my Masters in Nursing, I dropped out of the program I was in when my husband and I separated. Lately I have really begun to realize that at 47 I am no spring chicken anymore and I can't see myself doing the physical labor involved in bedside nursing for another 20 years. Having that degree would allow me to go into teaching which I have always wanted to do.

In my fantasy world of the future, I live in the mountains of New Mexico, I have a working homestead that is at least partially self sufficient, the chickens are back and clucking happily around the barn, I teach online classes from the comfort of my home office while the dogs sleep at my feet, and when I want to escape it all I ride off into the sunset on my trusty equine friends. Hey a girl can dream can't she??

Since the weather has cooled a bit here in Florida I have had the chance to do the thing I love most in the world, ride my horse. The new foal has not been weaned yet and probably has a few more months on his mama so she is not able to be ridden, but good old faithful Red my 25 year old Quarter Horse has proven once again that he has been worth his weight in gold. I have been getting out on him and exploring the great riding trails right near my new home and he takes on every new trail we find like an old pro. I have been warned over and over NOT to ride alone and I know I really shouldn't but if I waited around for someone to ride with I would never get to ride. So off we go and so far it has been nothing but the best way for me to escape it all.

One of these days I will proudly post a picture of the new veggie garden I have started or some other homestead related blog worthy topic, but until then I'm just taking it one day at a time and trying to appreciate the journey.

When Life Hands You Lemons...

I don't know why I have had such a hard time finding anything that I feel is worth writing about. There have been so many big changes in my life over the past two months and originally my intention in blogging was to chronicle my journey, I should be blogging about all of it. I think, that I have had a mental block about how to continue this blog when it has gone so far away from it's original intention.

My life has changed so dramatically, moving from the country with no nearby neighbors to living in a development with next door neighbors only yards away, from owning to renting and all that goes along with worrying about another persons property, to the loss of my precious livestock. Don't get me wrong I am not whining, I am grateful for all that I have and that my family and I are healthy and happy. However, I am grieving the loss of the dream for now.

I also have changed jobs again and have been settling into a new routine, at least this was definitely a change for the better. I found out I am not meant to be a home health nurse, I learned so much from the job and met so many great people but I am a hospital nurse this much I have learned. So I have taken a job at a hospital 9 miles from my new home in the ICU and am finding it a much better fit for me.

The challenge for me now is to figure out where to continue with my dream of some self sufficiency, maintaining the homesteading mentality in the middle of upheaval in my life.

There are tons of wonderful websites and blogs about urban homesteading and I have got to glean from them a path that is right for me. I need to just jump in somewhere and begin, whether it be planting a few seeds for a kitchen garden, making a batch of soap, candles, or learning a new skill of some kind. Wish me luck!!

In the spirit of re-focusing, think I will change the title of my blog to "Laura's Urban Homestead Adventures", what do you think?

New Beginnings

Beginning to get settled in the new house, still lots of loose ends at the old house but slowly it is all getting sorted out. My big excitement this week started when the two horses I have moved to the new house disappeared. My youngest son went out to feed them and they were gone, busted down a fence and took off. I drove around the neighborhood all morning, called animal control and the sheriff's office but no word of them. I really was worried since the mare Karma was about to have her foal. Thankfully I live in a horse community. The horses had decided to take a trek about 2 miles down the road where another neighbor found them and put them safely in her pasture and through the grapevine someone got in touch with me to let me know where to find them. What a relief. When I got my Karma girl back she looked like her adventure had taken it's toll on her and she was going to foal any time. So in the early hours of Aug. 27th around 2 a.m. my youngest son who had been out to check on the horses woke me to say we have a new colt. The young Quarter horse that was hia father was a light buckskin color so he may stay this light color. Hia eyes are a pale blue but I am assuming they will change color as he gets older. I have been out handling him every day so that he gets used to people, he likes the attention. I am hoping his name will come to me in time, in case you read this post earlier you might notice that I had to make some changes in the text. Turns out she was a he, it just took a little while for things to settle and reveal themselves.

He is adorable, aren't all baby animals....I'm in love.

Thanks!!

All of you blog followers and friends out there who have sent me words of encouragement, Thank You!!

You have no idea how much it helps to hear you thoughts.

On to new adventures soon

Did I mention that my Karma horse,the paint mare, is preggo?? Waiting on a foal any day now (although I have no idea when she got pregnant, she came to me that way)

It was a huge surprise in the midst of all the chaos in my life lately to look at her one day and realize that she has milk veins and is bagging up.

Pictures soon as soon as I figure out which box I packed the camera in.

The Long and Winding Road

I heard that song a couple of days ago and it has been stuck in my head, as I sat down to write this post it seemed a fitting title.

This post is long overdue but it was very hard to sit down and write, I have been dreading writing it because by doing so I have to expose myself and my embarrassment. However, I knew eventually I would have to pull my head out of the sand, face the facts, live my life out loud and all that good stuff.

I sadly will be leaving my homestead. I have been working two jobs for over two years now trying to keep my head above water, after going from a 2 income home for the last 27 years to just me trying to keep it all going, I finally had to admit to myself that I can no longer keep up the pace nor do I want to. So I am allowing my home to go into foreclosure. I tried several attempts to get the bank to modify my loan but they won't do it. I am way upside down in the mortgage now that housing prices have bottomed out in my area and my home is falling apart literally lol!! I probably am looking at around 30,000.00 just to fix the things that need to be fixed to keep it and it is simply not worth it. The land is the heart breaker, I love that land with a passion, I pray that I someday will be able to have another homestead and begin again, in the mean time, I am determined to find ways to do an urban version of homesteading on a much smaller scale for now.





I have found a really great place to rent in a horse community so I can keep the horses and two of my dogs and still have room for my kids and grandkids who are all still living with me. With great sadness, I have been finding homes for all of my other critters, so far the ones I have given away have gone to great homes especially the dogs which is such a relief to me.





Going through 16 years worth of stuff is challenging to say the least but little by little I am making some headway. I rented a big storage shed and I am sure it will be filled to the rafters before all is said and done.





So, this blog has taken a turn in a new direction. I will still be following all of my favorite bloggers, living vicariously through the posts of people I have come to admire. I hope that a year from now I will have landed on my feet and be moving forward again with new enthusiasim and vision, but for now I am just trying to take it all one day at a time and do what has to be done to keep from losing my mind.

You say Potatoe, I say.......

My daughter in law Casi was so thrilled to see that there actually were potatoes growing under those plants, i'm so glad to have somebody else around who appreciates my efforts!! Here is the first batch we pulled up, a little too soon, so there were many small ones but the ones most recently are coming up bigger. I am trying to leave them in the ground and not pull them until we use up the ones we have out but at some point I am going to have to get out there and get the rest in before the bugs eat them. I have to figure out the best way to preserve some of them. Any suggestions?