Bread in the Dishwasher?

This blog allows the best AND worst of me to come out :) It was very cathartic to have a forum to shout out how I feel and I appreciate the supportive comments. I will be content with what I have, I will develop new skills. While I do not believe in GOD, I do have faith that things happen for a reason and I have the grace to accept.

Speaking of new skills...I made bread in the dishwasher yesterday! The 5 minute-no-knead that has been going around the blogs lately. Our house was to cold, it wasn't rising so put the entire bowl in the dishwasher and allowed it to start a drying cycle-made sure it wasn't getting cooked and it rose beautifully!

The compact is still going well, I did buy two pyrex 9x13 casseroles-after looking for them first at the resale shop. We have been cooking ahead on weekends but I didn't have anything to put a double batch of lasagna in. I am going to need some new work clothes, I will have to scout out a local nice as new store-Goodwill is fine for jeans but they didn't have slacks there. So the pyrex and a gift purchased for E10's birthday are the only NEW things I have purchased since christmas. it really is not a big stretch for me-I'm pretty cheap ;)

The weathermen were calling for 6-10 inches of snow last night-it looks like we received about 4, what a relief. The chicks will be very disappointed-they Had high hopes for a snow day! I have to psych myself up for another 4-6 weeks of winter. I haven't ordered any seeds yet. I will be working on a new garden plan this weekend.
Kris

(picture of back corner of yard-well traveled path to bunnies)

I don't have anything earth shattering to write about, just another week! The first week of cold lunch was fine. L6 loved it, I think she makes new friend where ever she goes, E10 is resigned to it-she is a creature of habit and doesn't like things to change. I have relented some and am allowing them one hot lunch per week-they can pick a favorite meal. We will have another sandwich making session Sunday afternoon. The cloth TP idea is pretty cool, I think-but I need another mesh bag for laundry days! Still on the compact! Nothing new purchased since the week of christmas, picked up 6 pairs of jeans at thrift store for $48.



I am planning a raised bed veggie garden for this spring! I have been thinking about where to put it... the sunniest place in our yard is the SE corner but that is very visible right between the house and an intersection-not so great for selling the place. I think instead I will find a place in the NW corner down by the alley-this is where our bunnies, compost area and metal shed are, it will be trickier to find >6hrs of sun down there and I will need a longer hose. It is also lower than the sunny corner -the grass is always green down there, even in August when the lawn in front of the house is a brown crisp (the mosquitoes love it).



It may seem silly to plant a garden you hope to NOT harvest, but i need this for my mental health. I can't go another year on the giant hamster wheel and the garden is a symbol of independence. I am off to fill up the bread machine before going to work! This weekend is also our family's last Christmas get together with my sisters family-we will be out at Dad's farm to snowshoe and eat chili! Kris

doing not thinking is a wonderful thing!

'Doing not thinking' and 'Be the change you want to see in the world' have become my new mantras. It is a relief to start doing!

• After a Christmas full of dietary backsliding, I am back to eating in a manner which is more respectful of my health. I really noticed my joints hurt -I wonder if sugar has something to do with that? I am back at the gym-but not 6 days a week, I am instead aiming for 4 great workouts-balance in all things.
• I am balancing my checkbook and following the compact-DH and L6 are in need of some clothes so I will anticipate and look for resale instead of 'I need them right now lets go to target/kohl's'.
• DH and I spent Sunday afternoon preparing food and cooking together, this week we have great leftovers to eat and my salad vegggies are all cut up--no excuses! My chicks and I made sandwiches for cold lunches (E10 cried!-she is not used to me following up on my 'ideas') and bagged up dried cranberries and snack stuff.
• I put a basket in the bathroom with pieces of flannel rags and explained the the girls that if they wish to save water they can use these instead of TP (only for #1 though!!) there is a mesh bag to put the used one in which will go right into the washer. L6 thought this was the coolest thing, DH and E10 think I am strange! Not getting the 'what can i do without?'.
• The best part was setting a goal of putting the house on the market by april 1st, and calling the two property owners on either side of my dads place--I had to leave a message in both cases, but I am doing something instead of saying someday or i wish...

Kris

Learning Curve

We received our 1/2 grass fed beef the other day...wow the hamburger and steak we have had are out of this world. It's like a different species!! That along with reading Joe Salatin's Pastured Poulty book have me unwilling to eat industrial meat again. This goes hand-in-hand with my desire to eat a clean diet and not rely on processed foods. I do have a problem though...I really have no idea how to cook this way-how to stretch a pot roast or a chicken without rice-a-roni. Oh yeah and get supper on the table in 30 minutes or less, oh yeah and something the kids will eat. HELP! Well the chicks will have to adjust! They are so used to chicken nuggets and mac 'n cheese-heaven help them if they have to chew something! School lunches do not help this either-ugh I feel a rant coming on....ok better now. So many opportunities for improvement, I am truely fortunate :) Today we are going snowshoeing at my dad's farm about 30 minutes away and then we will stop at the Amish bulk foods store near his place. That is my baby step for today.

Other news--a whole week of buying nothing new - the compacts first week. I ran out of toothpaste and started using plain baking soda--of course the girls had to try it too, I laughed so hard-you should have seen their faces-they thought it was awful! They have no idea of the future torture in store for them (evil laugh). Kris

I had logged off when an evil plan formed in my mind...I would like to get the chicks off school hot lunch, but planning and packing sack lunches along with the complaints I am sure I would receive is just not on my agenda for this month...the evil part...child labor... at 10 and 6 they are perfectly able to make their own! I will start them with store bought bread and fruit snacks and gradually shift them the homemade bread and dried apples. (sorry just a little slap happy this am)

The COMPACT

After reading Sharon's article on the giant ponzi http://sharonastyk.com/2008/12/19/the-ponzi-scheme-as-way-of-life/
scheme which is our economy-robbing the future to pay for the present and then looking at the black hole which is my December budget (free financial software http://www.mint.com is wonderful but has left me squirming uncomfortably about our spending habits) I have realized that some big changes need to be made. I will be the change I wish to see in the world. I have been THINKING about voluntary simplicity but not DOING. So typical for me.

If the future I picture for our family is to have a chance, we need to significantly reduce our spending, period, exclamation point! We need to have one parent who can be working on the homestead for the family and not for profit. Right now I am the parent with the desire to garden and milk goats, that may change in the years to come, but I need to figure out how to do without 1/2 my income. If I can put that income into savings this winter and into spring-we would be in a much better position to sell our home and move.

The compact: to not buy anything new with certain exceptions for toiletries, kids shoes, and underwear! There is much more discussion about what is acceptable and some other details, but ultimately each family has to do what is right for them. This is my doing not thinking challenge, its a biggie but so worth while! If DH or I purchase something new I will post it here, otherwise things which are truly needed will be borrowed, bought used (craigslist or resale shopped), or freecycled. http://sfcompact.blogspot.com/2006/01/new-years-resolution.html

Once I have the rest of the (not) budget for December, DH and I (are you reading today honey?) will look at the numbers TOGETHER and TOGETHER decide what we can do without and give ourselves assignments-can we get cheaper car insurance, phone, etc with a little effort? I will report back on our finding there as well.

On another front my fitness efforts are paying off well! I have to say this loosing weight stuff is much harder when you are looking at 40 instead of 30. But over the past 5 weeks I have lost 7 lbs and 6 1/2 inches ( 2 from the chest!). It is not a stunning amount but my clothes are loose and I feel great! I keep telling myself I need to do this so I can put up fences all day or scythe hay. K