It must be the need to hibernate

I've spent three days stocking my pantry. Even more time will be put into re-organizing all of it and taking full inventory. Yes, there is enough to warrant an inventory list. I do love that my garage doubles beautifully as a cold storage room during the winter months, it makes where to keep the potatoes easier to figure out.
It's felt a bit odd stocking up. I've really been trying to balance the pioneer/country winter food with the raw food thing. I suppose it's become more of a seasonal eating thing, fresh/raw stuff most of the year, heavier, more traditional foods during the coldest months augmented by whatever fresh things I can get to grow or get my hands on. Once again, that rather old fashioned way of doing things seems to make the most sense to me.

There was also the almost over-powering need to go looking at yarns today. Wool, silk and alpaca, blended or separate, was calling to me today. Lovely bulky yarns that created visions of warm hats, mitts, and (even more ambitious) sweaters for everyone I know. Not a practical vision on that kind of scale, but there was a distinct desire to make sure everyone was going to stay warm this season.
One of the reasons this is decidedly impractical is the Holiday Stuff. The Holiday Stuff has put the brakes on my winter knitting for myself until probably early to mid-December, depending on how fast I can get things accomplished. The really good news being that about half of the most time consuming Holiday Stuff is complete. If I cut down some of my sleep time, I'll probably have it all done by Thanksgiving. Wish me luck?

Attempt at less consumption through spinning

I pulled out my basic roving and my drop spindle today to attempt to make yarn to knit with. The singles looked, rustic yet elegant. Almost like I had made them thick/thin on purpose. They stayed rolled in their ball and made me feel accomplished. Then I tried to ply singles together. The result was not nearly as pretty. It is very obvious more practice is needed.

I suppose it's my way of trying to combat consumer culture. The idea that store bought is better. The problem being, if enough people do this, what do we replace our consumer culture with? Do we return to the barter system? Lucky for us, humans are a creative and adaptive animal (there are how many of us on the planet?) If we think about it, some idea should come to light as to how to survive without mass produced disposable everything and pre-packaged heavily processed preservatives masquerading as food. Thus the real question becomes, can we get people to act on that idea?

New craft table!

I'm very excited. If I hadn't been overcome with enthusiasm for prepping my backyard for a proper garden before the first snow out here, I probably would be able to enjoy it much more. But then the table wouldn't look all lovely, it would be covered in fabric and pins, the same fabric stacked next to it, just waiting to become all sorts of lovelies. Someday the craft table and sewing machine will be accompanied by a loom,a spinning wheel,and maybe a potter's wheel (did I mention I like to paint and draw too?) but until I have a studio to house them, they will probably have to wait. I rather assume that my family has no desire to live amongst all my projects all the time, and might want some room for their own things as well. At least I still have my drop spindle to play with.

Last weekend was spent cooking. A lot. Hubby made 2 gallons of clam chowder, from scratch and Philly cheese steaks. The leftover meat from the cheese steaks got turned into nachos. I also did up a few pork roasts and 2 gallons of corn chowder. Soup is popular around here during the cold months, it freezes well, and usually requires only some fresh bread and salad to make an entire meal. Gotta love the simplicity. Too bad it means re-organizing my pantry to house all the dried peas, beans, rice, flour, and cornmeal. At least it looks nice with everything in glass mason jars. It also leaves me more knitting time. Woohoo!

Fieldtrip!

Friday, we headed down towards UNM to visit their Museum of Anthropology. The campus is rather lovely, and reminds me more of Santa Cruz than standard New Mexico. Chalk graffiti all over the place telling people to vote, bicycles everywhere, and people of every description, a few with the obligatory guitar slung on their back or in their lap.
We wandered for a good while and finally found the Anthropology building, enjoying ourselves immensely. The museum itself had some very interesting pieces, focusing mainly on local digs and the history of the Southwest. The kids seemed to enjoy themselves, particularly the designs on the pottery and the interactive maps.
There was a downside though. Two men, neither of whom seemed to know the proper protocol for having a conversation in a museum. They were far too loud for the surroundings. Hubby and I were irritated at their lack of manners. Due to their volume level, their conversation was easy to follow, (apparently the entire population of the museum needed to hear what they were discussing), I began to find myself even more annoyed as to the content of their conversation. One was in lecture mode. This would have been fine, at proper volume and if he had had a solid base in what he was spouting. Instead, I found myself clenching my jaw, forcing myself to look at the displays and not turning around to correct his faulty information. The Teacher in me had a very difficult time, especially as the topics they were discussing were things I have studied at rather great depth for the last decade, but it is bad manners to comment on a conversation not yours, let alone turn around and lecture them. I kept my mouth shut, and tried to distract myself with examples of gut skin parkas from Alaska.
Once we were done with the museum, we wandered a bit more. We found the campus duck pond, which tickled the kids but made them lament our lack of bread to feed them. As there was at least one rather large duck with what looked to be a double chin, us not feeding the ducks would be no loss to the ducks. All in all a very worthwhile trip.

As a bonus for me, we stopped into a used/vintage clothing shop across from the University. Loved it! I do have to say, if you're in town and like that sort of thing, Pink Rhino 50/50 is a place to visit. The owner and staff are nice, the selection is good and the prices are reasonable, which is why I felt no guilt feeding my velvet and wool obsession.

Knitting has ceased being a black hole, consuming my time and not producing anything. The Bat Shawl is done and waiting to be blocked. A pair of slippers have been finished, but need a touch of felting to make them perfect. Progress is being made on the first of at least six sweaters I have to complete. My new cat's eye, rhinestone tipped glasses enabling me to read the patterns without giving me a headache. Must. Knit. More. Now.

Ummm Happy Halloween?

I've been blogging in my head for three weeks now, does that count?

The kids went to a costumed birthday party the week before Halloween. Darling Daughter won the costume contest. Boyo went for a bit more elegant look. He wore the velvet cape we got him for about a week straight. We had a decent amount of trick or treaters, though still far too much candy left. The amount diminishes rather rapidly daily.

I held my breath with everyone else on Tuesday, unable to sleep until the last speech was done, toasting the television with my wine glass as tears rolled down my face, rather overwhelmed by the emotional outpouring from the crowd at the acceptance speech. (The crowd's reaction reminded me of the early video of Beatles' fans.) I am very thankful that things turned out the way they did. I admit to being rather disappointed in my home state for passing a ban on gay marriage. I suppose in a way it's a trade-off. One can only hope it's worth it.

Re-focus

I had a migraine yesterday that kicked my behind. It was a direct result from the copious amounts of junk food I ate last weekend. I knew it would get me, the oh so tasty electric colored, food dye flavored sprinkles in box mix cupcakes and more candy than I had eaten in 3 months. Hubby found a place in town that sells Coffee Crisps, by the case. Ouch.

I started trying to fix it yesterday. I slept like a rock last night. This morning as I was cracking my eye to peek at the clock (to find out it was later than it should be), a raven streaked past my window with a raucous cackle. I hopped out of bed to a quote from Jeebs in Men in Black 2 running through my head, "Let's make it happ'n Cap'n!" I finished getting ready to Where is the Love? by the Black Eyed Peas playing in my head. My breakfast of raw almond milk and museli is waiting, with fresh guacamole and flax seed crackers (homemade of course) for lunch.

Things are back in focus. Time to change the world.

A quiet lunch

The local public schools have today off. So, my kids organized a picnic with some of the neighborhood kids today. It's been very cute to peek at them down the street, the little herd sitting on a big fuzzy blanket eating sandwiches and apples with peanut butter and cheese. It also means that the only break in a rather unusually peaceful lunch hour for me is the neighbor a few houses down playing his radio way too loudly. I could get used to this.

The really good news is that Boyo could walk halfway down the block to where they are having this picnic. Which means his ankle is healing up nicely.

I'm still trying to understand who sets up and goes to a picnic when it's below 60*F outside.

I can still run!

My daughter popped her head in the front door this afternoon to worriedly announce that her brother had fallen off of a scooter and twisted his ankle. Off I ran, literally sprinting down the street (as he had managed to fall at the far end from our house). Neighbors came out of their houses as the crazy lady in the orange shirt ran past their driveways. One nice man asked if we needed help, but as we were only two houses away from our front door by the time he asked, I politely thanked him and proceeded to haul my hobbled boy into our front door. The adrenalin has worn off. I can tell because my body is letting me know, in no uncertain terms, that I rarely run flat out anymore. It would have to be the evening Hubby is getting home late this week!

Looking back to move forward?

Does it seem to anyone else like we are consistently shoving our way forward towards the latest, greatest thing that is supposed to save the world? What would happen, if while continuing that quest for new technology, we used some very low-tech, historically inspired things to give us more time for that quest? Things like hanging up some of your laundry instead of using the dryer. ( You do have hangers and door frames right?) Cook at home. Make double what you need. Bag up the rest, throw it in the freezer to help you out when you are short for time or the fridge is empty. Take up a hobby that doesn't require an outlet or batteries. (Underwater basket weaving anyone?) Plant some herbs or lettuce where ever you have room. Packets of seed are cheap, and if you are lucky, you have free dirt. If you are like me and have sand, clay and/or concrete, big bags of organic soil run about $6 each (at least out here).

These are in no way original ideas. Research household management from WW1 and WW2. You come up with Victory Gardens and phrases like "Make Do and Mend". It wasn't about just conserving energy, it was about conserving everything. Why shouldn't we be using these techniques? Yes, they take more time and effort. Aren't the rewards worth it? I detest making up a price book, but have found it very much worth the work. Shouldn't we be learning from our history? Especially as they were so kind as to leave us very detailed notes and instructions on what they did.

Not the best weekend

This is why I should not be allowed to make homemade fries with a mandolin slicer anymore. Even with the handguard, I managed to put two gouges in the heel of my hand. They weren't deep enough for stitches, just. It takes talent to be quite this uncoordinated.

Luckily, it hasn't gotten in the way of my knitting.

Don't Panic

A relevant bit of advice don't you think? I've been repeating it almost mantra-like this morning. I had to deal with spiders. I am not fond of most spiders, especially out here since many of them have rather nasty bites. Not nice daddy long legs, no, a mini tarantula and a black widow were what I had to deal with. Now I knew the little tarantula was out there, he'd been camping on my back door for a couple of days. I also knew that I didn't want him hanging around till he got bigger. So, clad in boots, gloves, long sleeves and long pants, I ventured into my back yard with the intent to get rid of him with the bottom of my boot. Only to find he wasn't on the door anymore. As I was watering my plants, I saw him crawling on the wall. Up towards my bedroom window! Hose in hand, water pressure turned up, I began to spray him, all was taken care of...till the black widow dropped from the corner of the patio I had hosed down. I am happy to report I got her too. Have I mentioned I don't like spiders? I have to admit, they were easier to get rid of than the centipede the size of my index finger that was in the kids' bathroom! I just really would rather avoid all large, potential hazardous creepy crawlies from now on, thanks.