NoobieChickenLady's Journal - SS Score and Mah Kitteh is HOME!! Yay!

[noobiechickenlady]

I thought this would be a great idea, as I've seen what others have done with their journals. A way to keep myself on track and keep my goals updated. I am so very thankful that I found this place and BYC. I've learned so much, just by lurking and reading past posts.

I am a working mom of 2, 1 DS age 10, 1 DD age 7(almost!). My DH is a stay at home dad who is tackling our first garden plot now, while I figure out the details, he does a lot of the manual labor. I work 8-5 a half an hour away, so it gets tough on both of us. We currently live on the back 2.5 acres of my mother & father's 5 acre lot. We have a small creek behind our place and plenty of pasture. The entire lot used to be a managed hay field.

We are, unfortunately, right in the middle of our small town, with apartments and schools all around us. Still, with the fringe forest & the wildlife, it feels like the country

So far, we've bought chickens (5 RIR, 1 Maybe RIR ??) tilled an area for the garden, got a compost heap cooking away (plenty of chicken poop for it We already eat a lot of wild game and have go-bags ready "just in case". Our friends all think we are paranoid for thinking that the fit is going to hit the shan, but we just reply "Why shouldn't we save money and eat better if we can? What's the harm in living a little more... authentically?"

Our goals this year:
Have a decent producing garden - Well... we learned a lot
Have fresh eggs from our chick ladies - Check!
Waste less food - Check!
Preserve foodstuffs from our garden & wildlife harvests - Check!
Build a rainwater catchment system with filter & manual pump - Rethinking this, probably just going to buy a cistern. Add to it after TSHTF and we have more time on our hands.
Build Bicyle water pump (human power) (manual pump for above)
Add at least one solar panel - On Order at Harbor Freight!
Plant several fruit & nut trees - Lined up for the spring!
Learn to make butter, cheese & yogurt - Check!
Build a root cellar

ETA a few more goals that were my own personal goals for self sufficiency, but need to be here so I won't forget them! Plus DH will be helping (especially with the taste tests )

 

[Aidenbaby]

I get a lot of "looks" too from my neighbors. I don't so much as think about whatever crisis may or may not be coming as I'm trying to focus on doing what is better for the earth. NOT having my lettuce shipped 1000's of miles from Mexico and growing my own is surely better. Ignore the looks and keep doing what you know is right. They say that people who garden tend to be more grounded.

ETA: I forgot to say welcome to Sufficient Self.

 

[PamsPride]

 

[inchworm]

The more I do for SS, the more my view changes. I went to a friend's house in the suburbs and helped her cook dinner. Cleaning up, I looked in the trash can -- full of food. All that free chicken food and all that free compost going to be sealed up in a plastic bag to be preserved in the landfill!! I'm thinking about taking a "chicken bag" when I go over to people's houses now. Think I'll get weird looks?

Inchworm

 

[modern_pioneer]

Wait till the rewards start coming in, you will find yourself wanting to move forward even more every year.

 

[big brown horse]

Inchworm, I have had the same experience recently. I just made some new friends and went to a cookout at their home. I finished a "refreshing beverage" and asked where their recycling area was. (Gone are the days of asking "Do you recycle?"!) They said that they don't recycle.... silence. It was a little uncomfortable.

I am used to being the odd ball. I grew up in small town TX during the 70s-80s and my family were vegetarians!! 'Nough said.

 

[noobiechickenlady]

I guess you could consider me to be your classic high-tech redneck. I enjoy hunting, fishing, been cleaning deer since I was 7, fish since age 5, on a self-sufficient kick for couple years now, just really started getting intense about it. Before, it was mostly forage (blackberries and the like, plus wild game) Now I'm getting serious. I want out!! Give me a adobe outdoor latrine, a wood paneled shower heated by the sun & pumped by hand, surrounded by blooming honeysuckle & jasmine, fresh veggies from my own garden or root cellar!

I work in a fairly hi-tech corporate environment. I love it when I bring deer burgers or squirrel stew. People say "Oh that smells lovely, whatever is it?" Hehe, the looks I get. I often want to add "An ah shot it mahsef"

I faced it all and I stood tall... I did it my way.

 

[noobiechickenlady]

Thanks for the welcome all!
Know what? $crw the looks! I've got my mom ("Ewww, whats that smell, a compost heap?!?! How discusting!") saving her green trimmings & coffee grounds for me. After seeing what my tomatoes looked like last year, she's a convert.

I made a vinegar soft cheese this weekend (first time, and it tastes great, very mild cheesy flavor, yay me!), dried some potatoes that were going to go bad. A few had already sprouted, so I chopped em into seed potatoes and set them out to dry a bit. Made fruit leather out of blackberries, mulberries & applesauce, with a bit of banana thrown in for interest. Note to self, strain to remove seeds before drying. They are a bit tough to dig out of teeth. But it must be good, I made three big trays and its almost gone.

I had a revelation of sorts. I've been wanting to get a concise plant identification guide for the Southeastern US, its in the works, just got to find the "right" one and save the money up. Anyways, I was browsing online and found a description of yellow dock, I thought, hey! Why don't you check over on that foofle search engine's image search and see if you can find some pictures! So I did, and I have yellow dock growing EVERYWHERE! I've been trying to get rid of it, now I learn I can eat it. Pretty unmistakable plant. Also found purslane and chickweed. Now I just have to figure out how to get the kids to eat it

 

[freemotion]

And you saved the expense of the book! I love google images for plant id, as you can find so many different views of the plants. My plant guides only give me a couple or three views. The images give me views in close-up, seeds, flowers, sprouts, in natural habitats, in various parts of the country. I rarely check my books now.

Revel in the "looks!" 95% of the population is happy not thinking for themselves, letting others decide what they should eat, drink, do, wear, medical treatment, etc. Not me, or the people here on ss.

But isn't it fun when we win someone over to the dark side!

My wealthiest client grew up very, very poor, and she loves saving her veggie scraps for me in the freezer for when I see her every two weeks. She always asks for her restaurant leftovers, even at the pricey places where no one does. Sometimes it is just to feed to her wild crows that she enjoys. I love her, she is so cool. She doesn't do much ss stuff, is older and has a staff, but enjoys my projects vicarously and gives me LOTS of great ideas.

You go, girl!

 

[noobiechickenlady]

I have this feeling that you and I are going to get along just fine Free.

Somewhere in there I swear I heard the baahing of sheep, protesting that they do indeed think for themselves.

I'm so thankful for people like those on this forum, my granny for teaching me how to can, my dad for insisting that I can clean that cute little dead deer and eat it too. Yes, I cried at Bambi, but that roast was amazing.

I've finally found an online home!