hqueen's collection of Far From the Usual stuff.

[hqueen13]

So I've mentioned several things here and there in various threads that keep coming back to the same topics. I have collected a lot of crazy resources in the past year or so that we've changed our habits away from the SAD (standard american diet) and pushed more towards natural in all aspects of our lives. So I figured it probably wouldn't hurt to put them all in one place, and then I can more easily reference things when I need them. We'll see how this goes....

 

[hqueen13]

The weekend was good. Last week kind of stunk feeding in the evenings, though it did mean I could get up way more relaxed on Friday morning which was nice! The weather was AWFUL on Thursday and only slightly better on Friday - both days were pretty bitter cold and WINDY. Like windy to the point where I wasn't sure if I was going to blow away or Storm was going to blow away first (his would be from fright... I'd just blow away because the wind was that bad!).
Saturday the BF went down to help his brother work on a rental house he's rehabbing. He had to gut it because it was in such bad condition, so they were working on the wiring finally. So he was out of the house all day, and so I caught up on the cleaning. It was long overdue. It took me 15 minutes to vacuum all the cat hair off the couch. I didn't get much more than some picking up and the vacuuming done because it was that bad. I also spent quite a bit of time working on my business, so that was a good thing.
Sunday I got up to go do chores, and then came back home and the BF and I worked on pruning everything in the front yard in prep for spring. We got the shrubs done, and then started working on the big cherry tree. It's old, and in the process of dying, but it still has quite a bit of life left in it. Part of the problem is that it was never well taken care of in the first place, so there are a lot of branches that are crossing and laying over each other. We got quite a bit cleared out, so it does look better. There is still some little stuff that we need to take care of, and we need to work on the Japanese Magnolia (SOON before it blooms!) and the Crepe Myrtle, still. It was nice to be working outside, even if it was a bit chilly. I'm SO glad we have the tractor, too, because it made cleanup off all the limbs super easy. We piled all the limbs up into a couple of piles that were stacked pretty neatly, and the BF used the forks on the tractor to scoop them up, quick and painless cleanup!
That afternoon I had several errands to run and had a meeting at a potential new barn. That took longer than I expected (I should have known), so I ended up really late with the rest of the errands. The visit was pretty good, though, the woman is just starting out, so I gave her a lot of pointers and tips that I had learned when I started up my barn. I think it might work out to board there, the facility isn't great though. The stalls are TINY (like 5 1/2 cinder blocks wide! ) so I need to talk to her about that a little bit. There is one stall that had a wall dividing it, and if that wall can come down then it would be a reasonably sized stall for Storm (actually really large), but if she (or the landlord) doesn't want to take down the wall, then I will ask her if he can simply use the barn yard area which has a shed in it. There's no way he could use a stall that's less than 6 cinder blocks wide (I can't remember how long they are, but they're not much more than a foot each, so the stall is probably roughly 7' wide or less). The farm is also REALLY hilly, and the only place to ride would be a pasture in the back that is more levelish than the rest of the pastures. I'm going to shoot her a message and see if she'd be willing to meet again tomorrow to chat a little bit more about things just to make sure it's going to be a right fit. It's going to cost $200, which is technically $25 more than I'm paying now, but I need to find out what her plan is for hay in the pasture. If she includes that, and doesn't require the horses to be stalled at night, then I'll be saving money, even though the monthly rate will be higher. I spend so much money on hay right now, especially in winter(Actually, I just checked my budget... I'm averaging $75/month in hay for him since July of last year... so I'd be saving $50 if she's including most of the hay that I would need (Yay for geeky budget numbers!)). So anyway, I need to chat with her further about that to see what will work out best and go from there. The up side is that it's closer to home, and sort of kind of between me and Cowboy and Coyote. So that helps a bit. I think I'll also be able to arrange a flexible schedule with her to help share the load of chores, which will also help. And if she ends up doing all field board, and doesn't have stalls to muck then I'd be saving time even if I had to feed more horses. Frankly, I'd probably be saving time anyway because there's no where to walk with this farm, the barn yard is attached to the pastures, so there's no hiking to turn the horses out. That is nice!
I finally had the raise conversation with my boss, I wasn't as forward as I wanted to be, but I think it went well. There have been quite a few things that have been going on lately that are pretty good, so that helps. Of course I was asking him about several things that we need to wrap up, which all involve spending money, which he reminded me of. I laughed and said, yeah, well, the ultimate goal is to get away from the marketing company that we're using now, which is costing you $6000/month! I'm trying to do these things to SAVE you money! They'll cost money up front, but in the end they'll save quite a lot of money! I don't expect anything to come through on that for a little while because he wants to get the transition to the new system underway before he changes my pay scale, which is fine. I also pitched to him a couple different things, including asking for a match for my 401k. I told him it doesn't have to be the same 3% match that full time employees get, and I reminded him that 1-2% was seriously only like $200 annually. It's not really that much of a stretch for him for sure.
So there's some good stuff happening, but it's not moving very quickly. But that's alright, at least stuff is happening.

 

[hqueen13]

Well I've been under a rock for a hot minute. Missed yall!
Things are rocking along. We expanded the garden this year and added a 3rd bed, so I now have 3 4x12' beds. It's a really comfortable amount of space, and with my friend that has been hanging out with me we can do a little more with my space than she can where she is right now.
I've got lettuce and mixed greens, onions, potatoes (2 different purples), tomatoes, and volunteer pumpkins in the ground now. Still waiting to go in is one or two zukes (we don't eat many of them, but I like a few), green beans, some peppers and okra.
We've been doing lots of work on the house, FINALLY got the power panel upgraded, so now we can add lights and fans in rooms and fix these outlets so that they are 3 prong and actually are located in places that make SENSE. Hopefully we'll begin that soon, of course it's hot now so work in the attic is almost impossible.
Finally finished a curtain for the basement window, and made a valence for that window and one for the basement door. It's nice to have things a bit more polished down there.
Of course, since the BF put in the lights in the basement now that it's bright down there I can see how ugly the paint is. It's a mint green, and apparently they painted one side of the basement, but not the other. We didn't really notice it until we rearranged some things and discovered the line where they quit painting. And the not painted recently side is MUCH dingier and dirtier than the other side, and that is gross. So now we're contemplating repainting the whole dang thing. Not like we NEED another project to do at the moment...
Part of the motivation for all of this is my sister is visiting at the end of July with 2 of her kiddos. I'm very excited to have them up, they've never come to visit us in MD so it will be really fun to have them here. And of course I want to get everything in the house all nice and tidy.
So I've been working on catching up with projects, taking care of loose ends, and in general trying to make some progress again. Nothing like guests to light a fire under you!
Hope everyone is well, I'll try to pop on here more often and stay in the loop!

 

[Britesea]

When a friend of mine moved into her new home, she noticed a big square of blue paint in the middle of the white painted walls of the living room. It took her a bit to realize that the previous owners painted the rooms like the real estate agent suggested, but they didn't bother to remove the television on the wall so they could paint BEHIND it....

 

[hqueen13]

I guess I'll start with a bit of back story. It all started with a short bus. No, really.
I met a wonderful lady while taking some courses with my horse in Florida. We kept in touch, and several months after I returned home, she put out a message on her facebook that some friends of hers were traveling and doing work. They purchased a small white school bus and retrofitted it as a 'house bus' and were traveling doing odd job work. He, his wife, and their 4 year old daughter were working where ever there was a need for work. I asked if they could make it up to MD from FL, and long story short, they finished up the job they were on, and headed straight to MD. Two days later we had company! We had no idea what kind of a wild ride we were in for!
Joe was a superb handyman, and Jeanne's cooking was amazing. Their daughter, Jadyn was darling and sweet (despite the fact that neither of us are big on children). Joe set to work doing odd jobs around the barn and installing a fence with lumber donated a year before because the person that agreed to install the fence backed out on the non-profit (I'll fill in a little more back story on our situation in a bit, its quirky). We arranged for the equipment and he set to work, mostly single handedly installing the entire fence line which was about 600' of three rail board fencing. He finished that and reconstructed our round pen (it wasn't round, seriously.) which doesn't sound like much except it had been sitting un-round in the same spot for many years, and had to be dug out, graded, and then all the panels reset again. He installed a roof on the back of our house to replace the aluminum one that had blown off twice to the point it couldn't be reattached. He just kept on working.
Jeanne, on the other hand, set to things in the kitchen and made a whirlwind of change. She handled our cooking, and taught us to like cabbage (cabbage soup, and cabbage roll pie are awesome!), taught us to make smoothies with veggies and fruit in them, and in general turned our concept of food upside down. She showed us that fat isn't the villain, but in fact the hero, and that the closer to the source you can get, the better off you are. She shifted our entire paradigm about food. We were suddenly seeking out raw milk and grass fed beef, tossing out crackers and chips, and ditching soda and microwave meals. Food is health, and food is medicine. Our modern culture has forgotten where we have come from, and in doing so has lost our connection to the source which grants us health.
We have come to understand that our modern culture, in all of its brilliance, is suffering from simple malnutrition. We are no longer getting nutrients from our foods, and our foods are being grown in malnourished soils and being coated in toxins and poisons. The meats that we are eating are being fed diets that were never intended ("All vegetarian diet for chicken!" what the heck!? Chickens AREN'T vegetarians....) and the quality of the product suffers. But no one notices, because no one remembers where their food comes from anyway. And then, once the food is harvested it is further adulterated by processes that extrude it and squish it and mash it into shapes that nature has never seen (after all, what part of the cob does a "corn flake" come from!?). The precious nutrients are lost and forever gone. Never fear, science says, we can fortify them instead! Man made "vitamins" and "minerals" are reapplied to the "food" in a vain effort to reconstruct what nature so easily creates when left to do what she does best.
Jeanne so patiently taught us so much, and continually showed us what it meant to really invest in nutrition. She so deftly cooked for four adults and one child all the while spending only $100.00 per week total. All organic ingredients, all healthy foods that were not adulterated or manufactured. She taught us not just how to cook, but WHY cooking is important. Sadly, I still don't enjoy cooking, but I understand why it is essential to health. So my other half does most of the cooking, and I help out (Thank goodness I can clean like a fiend, otherwise he might get rid of me!).
They ended up staying much longer than we anticipated, and it was a vital time for us learning and exploring with their help. In the year following their stay with us we have changed so many things. The difference in focus and awareness has expanded into many other areas of our lives. We make our own laundry detergent, are no longer using most commercial soaps. We are now seeking more ways to expand our level of staying close to the source of things and have a sense of purpose and direction.
We currently live in a funny situation. We're in a park (can't shoot the deer...), living as 'night watch' for a non-profit equestrian center so that there is a presence available on evenings and weekends when the barn manager isn't here. We are extremely limited in our ability to do anything with our property, and look forward to the day when we have our own space. It is far from ideal, but has its own wonderful aspects (the lack of overall responsibility is a huge plus! We aren't the only ones that have to feed and care for the horses, and we don't have to make any of the big decisions!). Yet I crave my own space to do with as I please, and defend as I see fit. We aren't in a position to make a change at the moment, and the convenience of the bigger city does have us in a terrific position to have access to a variety of things that may be harder to obtain when we are further away from mainstream civilization. We will be gathering resources and knowledge while we bide our time until a shift enables us to make a change.
Now that I've gotten the back story laid out, I'll move on to more details later.

(edited to fix my tired typos!)

 

[hqueen13]

Really cool, @sumi

This daylight saving crap is annoying. I struggle so much when the time changes. And yesterday there was a really big accident involving a tractor trailer that didn't stop for a red light, and hit the cars already waiting at the light. 2 people were killed, including a 7 year old boy I haven't heard what the reason was that the driver crashed, my BF thinks he was texting. But with daylight saving time just happening I think it's equally likely that the driver fell asleep at the wheel. It happened at about 7am, and it was still dark then due to the time change (where as it WAS light by then before). I think daylight saving time is the stupidest thing ever. It doesn't "save" anything, and frankly wreaks more havoc than anything. There are more accidents, pedestrians hit, suicides, and heart attacks the week following the time change, both spring and fall. There is NO reason to do it because no one changes any of their routine whether the sun is up or not. We're a 24 hour a day culture, and jobs don't change just because the sun is or isn't up. I can't wait until this ridiculous practice stops, it never was progressive, and it never was for the farmers, or for saving power.
Alright, rant over.
Can you tell I'm still tired and cranky from the time change?

 

[Lazy Gardener]

My unsolicited suggestion when choosing plants and trees: For plants, choose small. You pay a lot more for a plant in a 1 gallon pot than you do for the same plant in a 1 qt pot. With proper care, the smaller plant will often outperform the larger plant in a very short time. If you are concerned that those small plants don't provide the "filled" look that you are looking for, you can always "fill in" with annuals for the first year. When choosing trees: Bare root from a reputable company will outperform a potted specimen. Those trees with big trunks in big pots: They've been forced (lots of fertilizer) at the nursery to get them to grow super fast. The potting process cuts more than 1/2 of their roots off. So, you're left with a big tree that has too much top growth for it's tiny root system to support. And spending time in a pot that is not big enough to support the tree results in the existing root system becoming pot bound, and the tree is further stressed b/c it's not possible to provide enough water to support all of that top growth.

Here's a paragraph lifted from one of my favorite nurseries (Saint Lawrence in NY). They ship young, bare root specimens which I've found to do very well.

What Our Trees are Not
Our trees are not like the trees that you often see lined up at your local garden center in springtime: tall, beefy specimens grown in a favorable climate (Zones 5 to 7) and pushed with nitrogen fertilizers. Heavy reliance on chemical fertilizers produces a “top-heavy” tree with a disproportionately small root, which is then machine-dug (often cutting or damaging roots in the process) and shipped, first from grower to wholesaler, then from wholesaler to retailer—a journey which often leaves the tree water-stressed. The root is encased in fertilizer-enhanced media and potted or wrapped in burlap, which the customer is instructed not to remove, making it impossible to deter- mine the condition of the tree's root system. Although trees should be planted when they are dormant, garden centers often sell them in full leaf. Trees sold in this way are almost never covered by a guarantee. We do not “push” our trees with artificial fertilizers, but use natural methods to encourage an optimum growth rate. The result is a smaller, but “tougher” tree with a more balanced proportion of root to top, which will establish itself well and harden off properly before winter.

While you might appreciate the advice from the person from the nursery, be aware that they are going to recommend ONLY the plants that they have in stock, or can order for you. And, they will in all most all instances look to up sell you, as well as sell lots of extra products to "finish" your landscaping. It's very doubtful that they will provide advice regarding soil management, drainage and other "infrastructure" issues. Free advice is almost always NOT free, and often comes with an unseen price tag.

Let me know if you get more advice and assistance from this company than my dismal prediction!

 

[Britesea]

Here's a good idea to keep you from grabbing something when you're in town: I used to make a pot of refritos, but you could use the canned stuff if you don't have the time. Make up a whole bunch of bean and cheese burritos and freeze them in sandwich bags. When you are going to be in town for a while, just grab one or two frozen burritos and put them in a bag (one of those insulated lunch bags is great for this). Add a baggie of cut up veggies if you have them. The burritos will keep the veggies crisp and cool while they slowly thaw. The burritos taste fine at room temp, unlike ones with meat in them.

 

[Britesea]

Congratulations on your financial progress! I know how hard it can be to break the habit of living on credit.
The best thing we ever did to curb our overspending... and it eventually got us debt free... was to take all the credit cards, AND the debit card, out of the wallet. We went on a cash-only basis, which was really really hard at first, because we kept finding things that needed to be repaired or whatever and we didn't have the cash for it. But we stuck to it, although I remember one time DH coming home to find me in tears because we didn't have enough money to buy groceries after paying the bills... we ate beans and peanut butter (from a spoon- no bread) for 2 weeks until his next paycheck. Eventually, it got easier, and now it's pretty much a lifestyle. We have one credit card, with a fairly low limit even though the bank keeps trying to raise it... that is strictly for emergencies, and it is a low enough limit that we can pay the whole thing in 2 months easily so we won't have a lot of interest charges.
It's amazing how much more money we have now that we aren't making huge credit card payments!

 

[wyoDreamer]

We buy almost everything on credit card. We get points for everything we buy and usually take the points as cash back. DH just used $200 in points we had built up on one of our CCs and bought himself a toy.
But, we make sure to pay off every card, every month, ON TIME. If we do take a XX-month/no interest finance deal on a credit card, we make sure it is paid off at least 2 months early.
We are not huge spenders, so what we earn in wages is enough for us to have extra after retirement funds, health savings accounts, car payments, etc. DH makes sure we do not overspend.
Double income, no kids helps, lol.