A challenge, in and of itself

What u talkin bout?

posted by Melissa Baumgart
How's the running going, everyone?

I ran today, and I kicked up the speed a notch.  Yep, that's right, I ran my fastest mile yet.  I made it under eight and a half minutes at 8:27, a speed of 7.1 mph.  That is a 2.89% increase (I challenge you to check my math to see if it is correct.) over my previous best of 6.9 mph.

I have to admit, though, that I did not run yesterday.  I let all those excuses I mentioned in my previous post get the best of me.  I flopped my body on the couch for the entire second half of the day and watched television.  I really missed that during Homesteading month.

I have said it before, and I'll say it again: Living up to my own expectations is one of the hardest parts of this blog.  One one hand, I completely agree that being OK with having a down day is acceptable and can even be inspiring for another person to read about.  It might make it more real and less like I am some perfect Super-Mom (totally am not!) that does everything I set out to do.  Within that framework, other people may find solace and comfort in knowing we all fall short sometimes.  And that we can pick ourselves up and start all over again, maybe even faster and better.

On the other hand, I hate not following through with a challenge.  I want to be someone that does what I said I would do, no matter how tired I am, no matter how many things stack up against me.  No one gets anywhere in life sitting on the couch for 8 hours a day watching TV!

That's life.  It's a dichotomy, a puzzle, a challenge in and of itself.  It seems it can be so hard to find our own inner voice without falling prey to the negative self talk.  That voice can be so seductive.  So pervasive.  Maybe that should be a month for the blog; journaling the internal negative voice, and burning every last scrap of those papers.

But I do believe that there is a future for us all, in which we are humble enough to acknowledge that everyone has these vulnerabilities and yet, self-possesed enough to know where to draw the line between our true selves and the false assumption that there is a part of us that is never good enough.  Maybe it comes with age, maybe it comes with self exploration.  Or maybe it just is there, always waiting for us to witness it.

peace,
Melissa

Rules of Engagement

posted be Melissa


Everyday Homesteading in Apartment #1

Whipping up sugar, butter and eggs.

1. No Processed Food.   Everything that I eat or make for my family will be "from scratch."  There are lines to be drawn, of course.  I will buy flour, which is pre-ground, but I will only buy it from bulk at the Co-op.  I will use things I already have in my cupboards.  I did buy soy sauce today for the marinade recipe for the Korean short ribs (Kalbi) I am grilling tonight.  So, there is going to be some give and take on this one.
2. Compost.  Every food scrap and waste will, I repeat, will go into the compost bin out back.  I have become lazy about this, and given the fruit fly situation of 2010, I had completely given up.  So far this month, I keep a big pot on the counter and toss everything into it.  It goes out every night.  Anything usable goes into a bag in the freezer for making soup stock.
3. Re-use and create less trash.  I have also become lazy on this aspect of my home.  Admittedly, sometimes if a container has something super nasty in it, I throw the whole thing away.  Plastic, glass, whatever...right in the trash.  I feel horrible about it.  So, that it going to change.  Absolutely nothing recyclable in the trash, and if at all possible, I will re-use it.  
4. Limit screen time.  This is going to be really challenging.  As Levi said today, "Why don't we all spend the day like we always do?  Tallulah can play with her babies, Lily can go up to Mary's, me and Papa can go to work, and Mama can sit in front of the computer all day."  Yes, this is a challenge.  The commitment here is to limit non-essential computer use.
5. Turn off the lights.  I have a habit of leaving lights on.  I sometimes turn a lamp on in the daytime, just because I like to see the glow.  For this month, no amber glow in the corner, just the sun or lack there of during the day.  Except in the kitchen and bathroom, we need those.  



Compost.

6. No TV.  Another challenge.  I love Project Runway.  I love to watch movies at night after the kids go to bed.  Last night everyone went to bed, and I was all alone, with no TV.  I sat for an hour and finished unravelling that jumbled ball of yarn.  Luckily, I had some tequila nearby.

Bigger Picture Homesteading

Getting everything together for the Blackberry cake.

1. Learn how to Can foods.  I was going to start this one right after we went berry picking, but as of today, have decided to wait.  Amy and I are going to a class at the Co-op (Madison Market) up the street on this Thursday that teaches the basics of canning.  I'll wait until then to can on my own.  And to use the blackberries, I am making a Blackberry Buttermilk Cake.  
2. Make Cheese at Home.  I did this yesterday!  I made mozzarella cheese for the first time.  It turned out a little harder than the fresh mozzarella you buy at the store, but nonetheless, I felt pretty proud. I plan on doing more of this, and branching out into different kinds of cheese.
3. Learn how to Ferment Foods.  I am doing this today!  I saved the whey form cheese making, well, just because it was something that I said I would do in my everyday homesteading rules.  I got on the computer (essential blog research) and looked up, "what to do with whey?"  Turns out you can ferment foods with it!  Lucky me.  Tonight my Mom and I are going to start a batch of kimchi via lacto-fermentaion.
4. Make Bread Regularly.  I am thinking at least three times a week, I will bake bread.  Yesterday I made focaccia with rosemary and olives.  My young neighbor Mary had some this morning and she said it was her favorite bread ever!  Wow.
5. Get Bulk Shopping Ready.  You know how I said that I am going to re-use things?  Well, that is going to create another job for me, to organize my kitchen so I have a designated space for bulk shopping supplies.  Jars and containers to use at the market, so I am not using all those plastic bags.  Which bring me to....
6. Organize and Simplify.  Last August I spent the month simplifying my home.  I need to revisit that and get things back in order.  I can use what I have more efficiently if there is order.  So Virgo.  Maybe that is why this month fell in September, it is all so earthy and Virgo-esque.
7. Get a Shelf in the Basement for Canned Food.  I am hoping to find a used shelf to keep in the basement of our apartment building to keep all the canned goods we make.  A space for shared food as well for my lovely neighbors in the building.  
8. Find Ways to Make the Boathouse More Sustainable.   I want to look into getting rain barrels, Amy mentioned a worm bin,  and perhaps expanding the gardening here at our building to include herbs for medicine making.  There are lots of ideas I have here, and I am pretty sure that our neighbors will be on board.

Whey, cheese making by-product, to make kimchi.

That's it for now.  I know there are more things, and I look forward to any ideas that you all have.  Also, if you want to join us in some way along our homesteading path, let us know on our Facebook page.  I know we already have one person that has made the pledge to make at least one change in their month to be more self-reliant.  Thanks, Jen!

Onto lacto-fermentation....

Melissa

A Bird from the Hand

original Sharpie drawing by Melissa

A list of things I am learning today:

• That evidently different people's computers give them different Google results.  When I stated the other day that if you search "good luck with that" on Google we come up third on the list, I thought that would be the case across the board, on everyone's computer, or chosen browser.  Not the case.  I have been told we don't even come up on the first page on other people search, in the same search engine.  What is up with that?
• When you sit around the house most of the day with a sick kid, there isn't as much exciting stuff to write about...which leads to more of a list, rather than paragraphs and whole thoughts that actually work together.
• For the last five hours I have been looking forward to a reality TV show.  Does that make me pathetic?  Or oddly patriotic?
• I saw a commercial for Miracle Whip.  Are you kidding me?  Miracle Whip is like mayonnaise's ugly stepchild.  (what kind of awful euphemism is that??? but I still used it.)  I hate Miracle Whip, and if it was my stepchild, I wouldn't even feign liking it.
• Uranus (insert juvenile laughter) is in Libra in the 8th house in my chart, and Saturn in Libra is transiting at the same degree.  An enthusiastic and talented astrologer I know texted me to say "you better get ready cause you are going to  have some changes, decisions will be made and things will be uprooted."  Super exciting, and I know I am growing because I  used to get all wrapped up in the fire and brimstone of it all...and now I am excited to see what grows where something I don't need anymore is uprooted.  I am more interested in the phoenix rising from the ashes than the fire that creates the ash.
• I love this blog.  I got out a book from the library today about blogs and I loved reading that too, and I don't like many books.  I went from being embarrassed to tell anyone that I had a blog, like I was jumping on some lame bandwagon that was already overflowing with the dredges of humanity.  To handing our cards to everyone, still blushing a little, but ready to own it more and more.
• I forgot how much I like to draw, and I was thinking back to painting month...the very first blog month for me as I was standing in front of my Peacock Feather painting in my hallway...I decided to do a little drawing.  Ravens or crows have been on my mind lately, they seem to be everywhere.  Watching, eyeing me up, sensing my internal nervous thought that one will dive down and peck me on my head...which makes me think that it will happen even more cause they can sense that shit.  I often think of their wings, the shape and the way their feathers must feel...stiff and yet, soft.  Mind you, I would never touch one of their wings, cause either they would never be that close to me alive and if they were dead then that would be gross and some voice inside tells me, ashamedly, that I would get some disease.  I also am fond of the Moon, always.  The picture above is what I was up to for the last hour.              
• I am leaning more toward the nursing today.

• Getting into the numbers part of a business plan is still the hardest, and I don't know if that will ever change.
• Always, Always, Always save your stuff as you go...or you'll lose it.  

Sincerely,

Melissa