Lots of Life in One Place: Sustainable Living in December - Stillness

Lots of Life in One Place: Sustainable Living in December - Stillness

I wanted to write this morning about the cold and the soil and what my yard is doing.  And then I saw this post and I thought how beautiful...and simple it is.  So I wanted to share. 

Love to you and yours on this chilly Sunday morn'.

Ckickens making Happy!

What a beautiful day!  It was cool and clear out today.  The sun was gorgeous!  And my chickens got to run around the yard, not once, but twice today.  They were in heaven.  I was talking to someone and I told them, I was so thankful because my chickens got to get out today and "make Happy!"  That is just what I think of them when they are out there scratching and pecking about.  They are making their own happy! 

November 2013 - Working on the leaves

Where has the time gone?  There have been so many times that I thought about posting here.  But honestly, life got in the way.  Yesterday, I spent the day in the garden with the chickens.  We have two huge, old cherry trees that decided to dump all their leaves at once this year.  It was kind of them.  It seems easier to deal with one load of leaves, instead of several dumps of leaves.  I started out just working to pick up as many leaves as I could to cover one raised bed.  I think of the leaves protecting the soil, allowing for more worms to make homes, keeping the bed warm, like a blanket.

But then I started weeding...I have to admit, I have never liked weeding.  So I asked the chickens to take a turn.  Needless to say, they didn't do very well.  They were more interested in the bugs available.  I figured out the hierarchy for chickens...bugs, yummy and big things that look like caterpillars but are really crane fly larvae (at least per my Mother-in-Law), then worms, THEN anything green.  They did do a lot scratching though.  That was at least fun to watch. 

Anyway, while they were busy in the garden, I decided to take out the leaf-blower.  Now I have to admit that the leaf blower is not my friend.  It is LOUD.  It doesn't go with my idea of what gardening should be.  But when there is a yard full of leaves and not enough time, energy, or arm energy left, then one has to resort to extreme measures.  And I have to say, when I was done, I was satisfied.  I blew all the leaves over to the bare patch in our yard where the chickens were all summer and onto the dog running track right next to the fence.  I also uncovered the other dog running paths.  I think I will use straw to cover these.  It is a little slippery for a while, but it is pretty. 

My husband came out and fixed the gutter downspout that the dogs had knocked off. And then he proceeded to take care of a big hole that the dogs had dug.  He didn't seem to be having much fun.  So I asked him if he likes working in the yard.  He said no.  I guess I shouldn't be surprised, as we have been married for a long time.  But maybe this was the first time that I actually ASKED him.  And as they say, 'This changes everything.'

Why?  Well, I am from a big family.  I believe in team work.  As a matter of fact, I don't like doing a lot alone.  And I realized yesterday that part of the reason the garden wasn't that great this year, was because I kept waiting for my husband to take some initiative on it.  I was busy with the summer play, as he was as well.  But...I guess I thought....  Well, as you can see, whatever I thought, it was wrong.  And in a way, it was freeing.  It reminded me just when I needed reminding that...there are just some things that are things that I like to do.  And that is ok.  When I need help, I can ask.  Just like I did yesterday.  But I can't expect him to enjoy it while he is doing it.  It is just not his thing. 

And today, I know that the gutter is going to work properly, the hole next to the house that the dogs dug a while ago is filled, the grass can breath, the chickens have full bellies, and I not only got a lot of good exercise, but I enjoyed myself doing something I like to do.  I may not be perfect at it, but I like to do it. 

Lovely morning in the Northwest

Titles are hard for me.  Often I don't know what I am going to write until I sit down to write.  I can just feel something bubbling at the surface waiting to be said.  Maybe I could start writing the title at the end of the entry.  Think I will try that today. 

Well, it is another gorgeous day here in the Northwest.  Wow.  The birds are up singing now at 4:30 or maybe earlier.  That is when I often hear them.  And it is almost full daylight at that time too.  Today, in spite of the cat jumping on me at a much earlier hour, I luxuriously slept in until almost 7:00.  Ahhhhhhh...that was nice.  What woke me up was pretty nice too.  I woke up the impatient chickens yelling about the fact that all other birds were up and singing for a long time and they had not been let out yet.  It was a lovely sound actually. 

Thinking about the chickens, who are happily out pecking about our yard by the way, makes me laugh.  We now have three girls, having lost one recently to stress...more on that later.  One of them has decided that she is the rooster.  She has been crowing like a rooster every once in a while.  She flaps her wings and gets really big when she does it too.  It makes me giggle.  (I have to admit that the picture above is not of our chickens or our backyard.  But it was a good stand in.)

I have to admit that at this time last year we had our garden all planted, the grass all mowed and we were on top of things.  This year...not so much.  And on top of that, we did not participate in our CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) this year either.  I make is sound like we are deadbeats.  But it really isn't true.  We have been working diligently to help people get a handle on their finances and to help them get a plan to get out of debt.  It has been exciting!  But, it makes me sad to see our garden.  And I miss our CSA people. 

Ok, the CSA was a serious decision though.  Throughout the winter I have studied more and more about the differences in organic and otherwise produced food.  I have also been looking more and more into GMOs (genetically modified organism) and the effects that these have on people.  And really, we have decided that this is not for us.  I realized that even if the farmer doesn't realize it, they can be buying seeds that are genetically modified.  Our sweet CSA family's farm is not organic, the fruit that they get from Eastern WA is not organic and the seeds that they get are from big retailers.  I love their family.  We have bought from them for several years.  I love that they are a small, family-run farm.  I love that they produce within an hour of where we live.  But, I just couldn't get past the other stuff this year.  I plan to write them a letter to let them know.  But I need to do it once we have decided who our next CSA provider is going to be. 

And by the way, our yard is trashed.  I like to think of it as natural.  But one good-sized dog and one giant dog is just too much for our poor backyard.  There is a patch of absolutely no grass right now.  And there is a patch of seriously happy dandelions too.  Can we really eat these?  Because if we can, I know what we will be eating all summer long!  They are HAPPY!  That chicken poop makes them VERY happy!  Tim just says the yard is trashed. 

We are finally finding some down time in the midst of the crazy schedules of financial coaching/teaching, baseball, and work...oh yeah work.  That needs a little more time and attention than it has been getting.  It is going well in spite of it all though. 

In any case, Tim mowed our front lawn and then weed-eated.  We still have some weeding and such that needs to be done, but it looks a lot better than it did yesterday morning!

And I did get out in the wee hours just before night and worked on getting the garden beds in shape.  I know that not disturbing the beds is the best option for gardening.  But I have to admit that there are two dogs who really like to dig in the beds.  And I had to work them to get the soil back where it was supposed to be.  My goal was to have the chickens help...they are great scratchers and movers of dirt!...but they wouldn't cooperate.  They kept running into a different bed and only digging in one corner. Guess all the lovely worms lived in that corner only.  :-) 

Well, I rambled here and there today.  But while I did, I kept sneaking peeks at our lovely, overgrown back yard.  And I listened to the birds out there loving it.  And I pet the dogs once in a while when they came up to see what I was doing.  Over all, I would have to say that this has so far been not just a successful morning, but a very pleasant one.  Hope yours was too. 

Community and my dog

Good morning!  It is Saturday!  I bet you didn't know that birds start singing at 4:30 in the morning these days!  Even with earplugs in, they sneak their little songs into my brain.  They say, "Wake up!  Wake up!  The morning has come and you are missing it!"  I fought it for a while, but...really who can fight that beautiful invitation? 

I have so much to say this morning that I have a feeling it will all come out jumbled.  I was walking to the laundry room and I stopped and looked out the window at my dog.  He was sitting there so regally watching the morning break.  It made me think of all the mornings he sat and watched come and how many of them were with an empty stomach and a lonely heart.  If you haven't read prior posts, he was a rescue.  He was in an outdoor, uncovered kennel for 10 months.  His people moved off the property and asked the farmer down the road to feed him.  I brought him to the vet the other day for some tests.  It really hit home how little he was fed when they had a hard time finding a muscle to put the needle in.  He is such a love bug.  It is hard enough to think of him alone for months on end, but then to realize that he wasn't fed on a regular basis...that is just too much to think about.  I took a picture of him sitting out there.  It isn't the best picture, but it...it shows to me that he is really home.  He doesn't just have food here.  He doesn't just have a couch to sleep on at night (ok, if Belle lets him).  He has a family who loves him.  He has a yard to patrol.  He has toys to play with.  He has a sister to romp with in the wee hours of the morning.  He has a HOME. 

I wanted to let you know that I gave my Mom entry to both my Mom and to my friend who "must be 90".  They were both very touched and so gracious about my writing.  I am so blessed to have older, wiser and loving women in my life. 

Community - Community!  As I have written many times and I think I included in my intro on myself, I started this blog looking for community.  I was lonely.  I felt like I didn't have time for community.  I felt like I didn't have anything to give in exchange for building community.  I HAVE COMMUNITY!!  My husband and I stepped up and started teaching Financial Peace University at our church.  I have been amazed at the number of people who God has brought into our lives through that!  We are enjoying the camaraderie and we are enjoying the chance to teach together as a couple.  We are enjoying seeing people's lives change because of what we are doing.  It is neat too to be so connected with people on a larger scale.  And I am finding that the more we commit to that and to making the changes in our own life that we need to make finances a priority, other parts of our lives are affected.  My work life is empowered.  My ability to reach out to people in need is empowered.  My self-confidence has seen a huge shift too!  Gotta love that! 

We made 5-gallon buckets into worm bins with the cubscouts!  That was fun!  It was my idea too.  I have so many worms right now that it is crazy!  I have three worm bins and I already gave one away.  It is a lot to take care of and make sure that they are fed on a regular basis with us being as busy as we are.  So I thought about how to share that with our scouts.  It was so fun to talk about recycling food and how important it is.  We also talked about using the "poop" as fertilizer.  The boys got a good giggle out of that.  The parents were a bit squeamish at first, but then they actually started asking questions.  I figure that even if those worms die, it was worth it to be able to share the message.

I have been thinking a lot about bringing a bucket into my work place.  We waste so much food there it is crazy.  Maybe that is where my bucket will go.  I could hide it under my desk.  Tea bags, banana peels, orange peels to some extent, apple cores, etc.  It is a lot smaller than the bigger bins that I have too, so it is easier to harvest the fertilizer.  Hmmm...I wonder if I have talked about worms in this blog?  I will have to check it out and do a more in-depth entry about them.  They are such a cool part of our efforts to recycle as much as possible. 

I just went out to let the chickens out for a romp in the yard.  I feel very contented and happy.  I hope you have a beautiful day. 

I see you

Hello.  I see you.  I am not going to write your name here because I don't think you would want your name written.  But you know who you are.  

Today is your birthday.  We are birthday buddies.  My birthday was just a few days ago.  It is fun to share my birthday with you.  I hope it is fun for you too!  

I just want you to know that I see you.  You are a very talented person.  You love God dearly, as you do those closest to you.  It has been fun working with you over these many years.  Watching you learn to trust me.  I remember when I first met you, you told me that you didn't have any friends.  This was your choice.  You said that people were not trustworthy.  But I saw a crack starting.  You let me in enough to tell me that.  

I know that we have had our share of disagreements.  It has been a challenge for both of us sometimes.  But I feel like those times built our trust a little more each time they happened.  I am different than most people who you have dealt with in the past.  I don't like to let things fester.  I have learned from my experiences in the past that this doesn't work for me.  Thank you for having the patience to work through those things.  

It has been so good to watch you on your financial journey.  I am often envious of your ability to catch onto a thought and then move quickly in that direction, when it takes me a little longer to do that.  But you are an inspiration.  I know I will get there some day!!  

And you take such good care of your body.  It is fun to walk with you on that journey.  Again, your commitment is awesome.  You find something and move forward.  And thank God for Dr. Oz!  :-)  

Happy birthday you.  I see you.  I admire you.  I have watched and I will continue watching your adventure.  Thank you for sharing yourself with me.  And for trusting me...even when you thought you wouldn't.

 

Hi, I'm here.

Hi.  I am here.  I am doing it.  I am living life.  I started this blog a long time ago.  I read through the entries and my life was so different then. I was afraid.  I was searching.  I was desiring.  Don't get me wrong, I am still doing those things.  I am just doing them differently.  I have so much less fear.  Worry, yeah still got that.  What ifs, yeah still got that.  But less fear.  Or maybe even the same amount of fear, but less of the feeling that fear is there, so it is going to stop me.  I am not letting it stop me anymore.  I am not letting the way that other people think about me stop any more.  I am not saying that it is easy.  It is not easy. But it is GOOOOOOOOD.  Yeah good.  Deep thoughts for the morning. 

My Mom, my beautiful Mom is turning 87 today.  Ok, well she really turned 87 the other day, but we are celebrating today.  Maybe this is part of the reason that I have been working on learning to "punch fear in the face" (part of Jon Acuff's new book's title).  I find that other people's birthdays tend to affect me more than my own.  Ok, well I have to admit that my birthday affected me a bit more than usual this year, but more on that later...or maybe another day. 

In any case, 87 is a good age.  I have another friend who is...she must be 90, because she told me the other day that I am half her age.  I explained to her that I actually turned 46 this year, so really I am a little over half her age.  But it was a moment...a moment that both of us wondered at.  She, at being 90 and me at being half her age.  What wonders will come in the second half of my life?  And she looking back at her life at the same time.  We talk once in a while, when I can find time in my extremely busy life.  She says things like, "Peggy, why am I still here?  What am I supposed to be doing?"  And then I look at her and think, 'I hope I have as much relevance now as she does.'  I watch her.  I learn from her.  I think how lucky I am to have someone so amazing, smart, and with the wealth of experiences she has had in my life. 

And I looked and realized I veered away from my Mom.  My family matriarch.  My MOM.  I find it hard to talk about my Mom.  She is such a part of me.  She is my friend.  We talk daily on the phone and have for years.  She is the one who I called to tell that I was on my way to my sister's house for my last visit as I knew she was slipping away.  My Mom was the one who told me between tears that my sister had passed that morning.   She was the one who I told that I would go find my Dad at church and let him know.

My Mom has always been my safe place.  She was the one I came home to when I was sick as a child.  She was there for me.  She would tuck me into bed and give me a 7-Up to settle my stomach.  She was the one who greeted me in the morning.  I always felt like she had been up for hours just waiting for me to come down.  It is interesting to note that I don't remember much about morning breakfasts at our house other than coming down, smelling the coffee, and seeing my Mom at the table.  She would always get up then and help me get my breakfast.  Weird that I don't even remember what kinds of things we ate. 

I am truly celebrating my Mom's life today.  I am doing it quietly, in my own way.  She may never know how much she means to me.  But she means so very much.  I love you Mom.  I thank you for the life you have given me.  I thank you for the example you have been for me.  I thank you for the hugs, for being my safe place.  For being my platform to jump from.  I thank you for the love you have given and continue to give.  I hope you know deep down somewhere how very much you are admired and loved. 

It is funny, but I didn't sit down to talk about my Mom.  But I did sit down to write.  I have missed writing.  When I opened this dashboard, the second thing I saw was a blog post from another writing saying how important it is to write every day.  Do you ever just get messages from the universe?  From God?  Well I do and that felt like one of them.  I may not be here every day, but I want to write every day.  It feels good.  It feels write (oops!  I mean right.). 

The big guy

Wow.  We picked up a dog the other day from the rescue society who we work with.  He is part Great Pyrenees, mixed with something else.  We named him Sampson.  I didn't really realize how big he is until we got him home.  The lady who had him has four Great Pyrenees, so he looked normal-sized at her house.  I should have known when he took up most of the room on the back seat of the Saturn on the ride home.  But still I didn't realize how big he is until he got home and I compared him to my dog.  I thought she was a smallish-normal-sized dog.  But she is tiny in comparison!

He is about 85 pounds right now and he is under-nourished.  I can feel all of his bones.  You wouldn't be able to notice just by looking at him thought since he has so much fur.  It is amazing how much fur he has! 

We picked him up on Saturday, so today will be five days.  Today is the first day that he has been left alone.

I have to admit we have had some problems with him.  He has been in an outdoor, uncovered kennel for about a year with no one on the property.  I guess the owner had the farmer down the road feeding him every few days.  I would think that he would be very wild, but really he is very kind.  He needs to learn manners about dog interaction about people interaction, but he learns fast.  He is not house trained, but he has only gone once in the house.  He has learned sit and come.  He walks well on a leash...not great, but well.  He isn't aggressive about food.  We have been putting a doggy diaper on him every time he comes in.  He hasn't been bad about that either.  He gets to listen to the radio all day long.  :-) 

We are not sure if we will be able to keep him or not.  But for now we are keeping our hearts open to the possibilities and giving him all the love that he should have had over the past year and a half of his life.

This picture isn't him, but it is about the size he is.  He has more golden color on his back and a mask of golden, white and black on his face and head.