What happens when the Internet goes out for 4 days?

We got hay delivered, went to the Farmer's Market, canned some peaches, saw an old friend, went to the county fair and watched some of the Olympics coverage... and since I do most of my Day Job and a lot of our farm-related work online, I also watched my To Do list pile up.

Slow Living: July 2012

I guess it's true that life moves faster as you get older.  Or at least it moves faster as you get busier.

I was struck by one of the Slow Livers last month... that doesn't sound quite right.  Gonna have to think of a better name.  ;-)  But several of the folks mentioned how they're busier than ever trying to live a slower life.

I would have to agree.  It's not because of this project, but more because we're moving from one sort of lifestyle into another.  Learning new things and changing things over... and for us, certainly working a full-time job while building our own agri-business means there is a lot that needs to be done.

So on to July's installment for the Slow Living Project.

NOURISH: Make and bake as much as possible from scratch. Ditch overpackaged, over-processed convenience foods and opt for 'real' food instead. Share favourite links/recipes/tips from the month here.

I realize that I've been talking mostly about yoga in this category.  I think it's important for my well being... my soul, joints, strength, flexibility and peace of mind.  But I realize the intent of this category is more about food... preparing whole foods in a slower, healthier way.

I think we generally we do a good job in this category since this was our first step into living a greener life... before we were married nearly 15 years ago.  We buy in bulk, local, organic, natural or free-range as much as we feel we can.  But we also go through phases where we buy take away more often than we would like.  Usually it's from the Vietnamese place in town that makes an awesome bowl of Pho, but every now and then it's fast-food Chinese or grocery-store sushi.  Asian foods are our weakness.  ;-)

Roasted Home-Grown and Farmer's Market Beets

So aside from the take-aways that we enjoy, we have moved into full-summer.  Which means our garden is starting to produce and the Farmer's Market in full-swing, we've been able to make several meals each week that are either primarily or completely locally sourced and extremely fresh.  That makes me very happy.

PREPARE: Stockpile and preserve. Freeze extra meals or excess garden/market produce. Bottle/can, dehydrate or pickle foods to enjoy when they are not in season. Aim to reduce dependency on store bought items especially those known to contain BPA and other suspect additives. Stocking up on dry goods when prices are low counts too.

Our garden hasn't produced enough to start canning and freezing yet, but I think that will change next month. At least the canning will change since Hubba purchased two crates of Palisade Peaches from our neighbor.  :-)  We'll be receiving them later this week, so I have been reviewing recipes for jams and butter as well as instructions for freezing and canning.  I'm really looking forward to this weekend.  :-)

We are also planning our annual hay buy.  We need to get this worked out in the next couple of weeks.

REDUCE/Reuse/Re-purpose/Repair: Cut down on household waste by re-using, re-purposing and repairing. A ladder into a strawberry planter? A sheet into a dress? Share ideas and project links here, allowing others to be inspired.

I started making Limeade and Lemonade from actual limes and lemons.  With Hubba's profession as a road racer, we go through a lot of Gatorade type drinks and with this hot summer we've been going through even more than normal.  Which means our plastic recycling has gone open-loop recently.  ugh.

It's not really less expensive than buying the pre-made drinks... especially when they're on sale for $1 each.  But it does taste better and since the rinds go into the compost, there's no waste.

GREEN: up our lives. Start (or continue!) using homemade cleaners, body products and basic herbal remedies. The options are endless, the savings huge and the health benefits enormous.

I hung old CD's in each of our young fruit trees.  The trees are small and I only had 3 CD's available, but it seems to have worked.

I picked this plum a little early, but it was completely free of bird bites.  :-)

GROW: plant/harvest. What's growing this month? What's being eaten from the garden? Herbs in a pot, sprouts on a windowsill or and entire fruit/vegetable garden -opt for what fits space and time constraints. Don't have a backyard? Ask a friendly neighbour or relative for a small patch of theirs in return for some home grown produce, they may surprise you!

We have started harvesting a few things.  :-)  Zucchini, radishes, cucumbers, beets and tomatoes have all made it to our table.... yumm.

Watermelon, honeydew, cantaloupe, spaghetti squash, pie pumpkin, acorn squash, butternut squash, rutabaga, okra, plums and apples are all in the works.  :-)

We have also started breeding two of our alpaca maidens.  We decided last year that it would be better for us if we moved our breeding/birthing time to June-July.  There are fewer races then so Hubba is less likely to be travelling and since it's summer we're not likely to have a cria born during a snow storm.  ;-)

We will finish the protocol, then ask the vet to come out for ultrasounds over the next month or so.

We have 3 cria due in October and will most likely hold those mommas over to next summer so everyone will be birthing and breeding around the same time.  This not only makes it easier for us, it's easier on the cria who will have someone to play with as they are figuring out their world as well as have some friends to wean with when the time comes.

CREATE: to fill a need or feed the soul. Create for ourselves or for others. Create something as simple as a handmade gift tag or something as extravagant as a fine knit shawl. Share project details and any new skills learnt here.

July has been all about the Tour de Fleece.

DISCOVER: Feed the mind by reading texts relevant to current interests. Trawl libraries, second hand shops or local book shops to find titles that fill the need. Share titles/authors of what is being read this month.

We have been about figuring out what's next for Hubba.  Since we're not going to London, I recommended that he take a month off with no focused training and that he spend some time fishing and figure out exactly what he wants to do next.  He hasn't bought a fishing pole yet, but we've spent a lot of time exploring our heart's desires, life preferences and goals.

ENHANCE: community: Possibilities include supporting local growers and producers, help out at a local school/kindergarten, barter or foodswap, joining a playgroup or forming a walking or craft group. Car pooling where possible and biking/walking instead of driving. Even start up a blog if you haven't already - online communities count too! Or maybe just help out someone trying to cross the street! The rewards for your time are often returned tenfold.

My friend's daughter has started to help me halter train a couple of our young alpacas.  We have been wanting to show our alpacas, but just haven't gotten to that yet.  They have a youth division at our local alpaca show in November.  So I had made the suggestion to her mom a while back.  Her mom said she just about shook her head right off her shoulders about the idea of helping out with the alpacas over the summer.  :-)

Miss A and Big Thompson

She's learning a little about alpaca care but mostly she's been establishing trust between her and the youngsters.  Big Thompson is still being a little bit stubborn, but Clementine will follow Miss A just about anywhere now.

She's been trying her hand at spinning and crochet too.  It's been really fun for the both of us.

ENJOY: Life! Embrace moments with friends and family. Marking the seasons, celebrations and new arrivals are all cause for enjoyment. Share a moment to be remembered from the month here.

The 4th Season of Breaking Bad is now available on Netflix, so Hubba and I have been enjoying it quite a lot this month.  :-)  Not only because it is well written, produced and acted but because it is takes place in and is filmed in Albuquerque, NM.

Having been long-term residents of Albuquerque, it's quite a trip for us.  With the exception of a few, all of the places are real places on real streets in real neighborhoods...

• Jesse's aunt's house is close to our old house.  We used to walk our dogs down that street and every time I passed it I dreamed of living in it one day.
• I remember when they dressed up the duplex that Jesse lived in and thought it was weird that someone spent time and money dressing it up but then no one seemed to live in it.
• Garcia's on Central
• The Car Wash
• The parking lot that Walt Jr learned to drive in
• The Convenience Store

... these are all places that were part of our regular life when we lived in Albuquerque.



We also celebrated US Independence Day, an impromptu visit with my parents and of course the (delayed) coverage of the London Olympics.

The Pain is Gone?

I was kind of surprised when I realized the other day that there is no longer any pain.  (!)  My right hip will cramp up during yoga class or a long car ride, but otherwise there is no pain.  :-)

It has been about 6 months since I restarted my yoga practice with consistent pain in most of the joints on the right side of my body.  I blame it on more than 3 years of being crammed in an airplane and driving a computer.

I knew it would take a while before I started feeling good and balanced.  I'm not fully balanced yet, but boy I feel I'm getting close.  :-)

Fiber Arts Friday: Tour de Fleece 2012, part 4

The Tour de Fleece ended on Sunday, so this is my final wrap up for 2012. :-)

Friday, July 20
I literally had only a few minutes for spinning today.  This is a continuation of the alpaca+bamboo I started last week.

Saturday, July 21

Sunday, July 22

104 yards of Double K Diamond Alpaca+Bamboo - Katydid
Wellington, CO
2 1/2 ounces


Epilogue


I might be on to something with this Less is More idea.  ;-)  My only goal was to spin at least 1/2 inch on each day the tour races.  Which I did.  :-)  But this turned out to be the most productive Tour de Fleece I've had... in number of skeins (8), yards of finished yarn (641.5) and ounces spun (17 3/4).

L-R: Corriedale, Corriedale, Lincoln Longwool, Paco-Vicuna,
Alpaca+Silk, Alpaca+Bamboo, Grade 1 Alpaca, Camel+Merino

Some Things I've Learned

• Lincoln and Lincoln Longwool are the same thing.  The sheep are often sheared twice each year in order to keep the staple at a shorter length or else the mill will often cut the fibers to make it easier to process.
• A blend of Navajo Churro and Alpaca makes a roving that people are very interested in.  I am intrigued and still need to get my hands on some of that.
• Plying from both ends of the same cake is possible, but I think two cakes is less stressful.

Happy Spinning and Happy Fiber Arts Friday.  :-)

Garden: First Tomatoes!

This morning I noticed something red in my garden...

There will be more tomatoes to pick tomorrow.  :-)

I've also finally thinned out the radishes enough to start getting some of a decent size.

Garden: The Squash is OK

I felt really bad posting that sad photo of my spaghetti squash yesterday.  It was noon-ish and about 100F... not the best time to take a photo of anyone, really.  ;-)

It was looking much better last evening.  I gave it more water and it's much happier now.  :-)

By the way, this is the largest single plant I have ever grown on purpose.  Ever!


That's a regulation sized basket-ball and the Alpaca Dog's head for reference.  ;-)

Garden: Things are Growing

I thought that I would have more time for weeding since I'm not travelling for my day job much these days... I haven't.

But I don't feel manic about getting it finished on the weekends.  It's actually been a couple of weeks since I've weeded.  ;-)


The rains came a couple of weeks ago, but we haven't had much since.  So I think my spaghetti squash got too dry this week.

spaghetti squash

It's looking pretty rough right now, but it is loaded with fruit.

spaghetti squash

A whole lot of other plants have fruit on them now too...

Watermelon

Honeydew Melon

Cucumber

Zucchini

My okra and rutabagas have sprouted (finally) and my tomato plants are fully loaded.

The CD's I put up in the fruit trees seem to be working.  Crossing my fingers for plums, soon.  :-)

I picked a few things this morning.  I think these will go nicely with the other things we found at the farmer's market this morning. :-)

cucumber, zucchini, radishes