Weekend Reading

I don't know why I didn't think of this before.  I read this book twice last winter, and it seems to me, I need a little reminder.  It's easy to read and one of those books that provides lots of examples of non-violent talk. You would truly be amazed at how your words are received when you use these tools.  I found it also helps if someone else close to you reads it as well, so you can practice together.  As it does take practice.  Our culture seems naturally defensive, and so it is a bit of an effort to change what is so ingrained within us.  But even if you don't have someone to practice with, you can still benefit from it, in any conversation, from your partners to your children and your parents, to the corner store clerk down the road.

The Non-Violent Communication website or NVC site has numerous other books for further study if this particular one resonates with you.

Enjoy this last long weekend of summer!

In Gratitude

This was going to be a post about D-day:

As in Dead Duck for Dinner.

But it's not.

Instead, this is a post about gratitude.

I am thankful for so many things right now:

:: the duck that gave his life for our meal;
:: the woman who writes a blog (listed below) who outlined exactly what to do;
:: the old friend who I spoke with this morning who had some simple words of wisdom and experience;
:: my study habits, retention, and courage to go through with it as quickly and humanely as possible;
:: my mom, for showing me, as a teenager, how to properly cut up a chicken;
:: my family, for their unwavering, quiet support and acceptance;
:: a new friend, who is also on the precipice of killing one's own food, with whom I know I can be understood and not looked upon as a monster as some of my vegetarian friends may do  (I'm not.);
:: the new-found knowledge that, yes, I can provide for my family, good, healthy, antibiotic-free, hormone-free, cruelty-free meat;
:: my dog, for forgiving me so quickly for taking another's life so deliberately.

...and so many things that my brain is overflowing with thanks.

Go in peace, friends.

If you are interested in the how-to, please refer to this website: The Girl's Guide to Guns and Butter.  The information and photos are just graphic enough to make you feel like you actually know what you're doing.

Memories of Oma

I pulled this giant of a beet out of the garden yesterday.

It all but whispered to me... "Make Borscht."  So, I listened.  Maybe it was Oma talking to me from the other side.  I gathered a bunch of necessary food stuffs from the garden -- potatoes, celery, onions, garlic, dill, cabbage -- and with stock from the freezer, voila.  Borscht.  Not quite the way Oma would have made it, as she used beef and beef stock, as well as fried ketchup (no, I'm not kidding, but what's the difference between fried ketchup and pureed tomatoes with some honey?),  but still, it smelled the way I remembered.  I could still see her, standing over her counter, cutting and chopping, and wiping the sweat from her brow.  I ate it thinking of her, too, with a big piece of rye bread with butter.  Lots of butter.  She would have been proud.  She really liked butter.

Weekend Reading Plus...

I have a few books at my bedside at the moment.  Most of which are homesteading manuals of various types.  And I've been reading exerpts from one of my favourite of these, Carla Emery's "The Encyclopedia of Country Living" which we bought at a teeny tiny bookshop in Salmon Arm when we first started keeping animals.  It has been an indispensable addition to our collection:

Mostly the chapters on ducks and how to...um... process them.  Yes.  This is a new foray for me.  We have 1 too many male ducks and we're having a little soiree next weekend, with roast duck on the menu.  Ducks need to be butchered at under 5 months of age or the meat is tough.  Our ducklings are about 3 months old.  This is not something I'm taking lightly, and as I am still going over this in my brain, I will give you the facts:  I want to be self-sufficent.  I don't like the way animals are (generally) treated commercially.  My family wants to eat meat.  I want a close relationship with the food that goes into our bodies.

So.  Here we go.  I'll let you know how THAT goes. 

Venturing Out

Our youngest turkey poults are now about 7 weeks old, old enough to get outside.  They have been living in the old dog run house for the past several weeks, turning a heat lamp on at night for them.  They are getting a little cramped in there now, so this morning, we opened the door just slightly so they can check things out - Outside.  The big and scary Outside.  So they take a few steps, and run back in.  A few steps further, run back in... Repeat.  Typical kids :)

Garlic!

I can't begin to tell you the satisfaction of growing something so basic for the kitchen.  And not difficult!  I love that we planted it in the fall and it did its thing and we dig it up in the summer.  And that we can store it, and enjoy it into the fall.  No way we have enough to get us through to next summer, but we will definitely be planting more this year - I think we only planted about 20 cloves this time.  Onions are about the same on the satisfaction list; especially the ones we planted from seed when I thought it might be "too late" in the season.  Yay!  (Photo by Daughter).

Weekend Reading

Hmmm. This is the 2nd week in a row with no Weekend Reading Post.  I haven't finished a book in a couple of weeks and am on the hunt for a really good read, preferably a novel to counter-balance all the homesteading books I've put forth lately.  I have re-read Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Askaban in the past month as I wanted to preview it for the daughter who was itching to sink her teeth into it.  (Loved it- again.)  What took me a couple of weeks to get thru, took her 24 hours.  No lie.  I'm currently waiting on another "children's" book, the 3rd installment of the "Incorrigible Children of Ashton Place".  If it's anything like the first two, it will not disappoint.

Anyone read anything really good lately??