Updates: A Reality Check

When I started this blog about a year ago, I had a vision. Eventually, my family would have a little self-sufficient piece of land, not too far from a lovely city full of culture and awesome food, where I raised veggies and animals and baked everything from scratch while churning the butter and sewing the clothes. Yeah, I know...It's Laura Ingalls Wilder's fault. From the time I was a little girl, I loved her books and totally identified with that era and way of life. Then began this journey. Now, let's be clear, I have been killing houseplants since I can remember. My family has always teased be me about having a "brown thumb". But, I was sure I could conquer this whole gardening thing. Here's the thing, I don't enjoy it that much. Labor intensive crops are a waste of time for me. Gardening is not relaxing to me, as it is for so many. In addition, we love traveling and my garden suffers while we're gone. What is a girl to do...



Our kind of garden.

 This girl has simply readjusted her vision. Instead of labor intensive crops that are available at any farmer's market, I've switched over to low maintenance herbs, rhubarb and native strawberries. I've planted native blueberry and cherry bushes and I transplanted some wild raspberry bushes to a location better suited for growing and picking. I'm looking forward to trying out a technique I've seen all over the web for growing potatoes in a large container. I'll still be producing some of my own food and I'll be doing it on my own terms.

As for everything else, I bake bread on a regular basis, but I'll leave the butter churning to the folks at the small organic creamery that I've recently discovered. I'm still interested in, someday, having some chickens and maybe a beehive or two, but, for now, I'll content myself to support the local farmers and producers that are becoming easier to find every year. I still think about taking up sewing, but then I remember the "shirt" that I once made for Girl Scouts. It actually wasn't bad, but I'm not sure I want to do it on a regular basis.

As it was always meant to be, Living From Scratch is as much about expanding horizons and developing relationships as it is about anything else. We've grown closer and healthier over the last year and we will continue to do so. Even if I'm not churning the butter.

The Bounty of Spring

Well, it's been a stormy, wet and cold spring here in Michigan, but, even so, the crops are slowly starting to come in. My two favorites of spring are asparagus and rhubarb. They are fresh and springy and beautiful. They signify the return of life to these northern climes.

This asparagus came from a local grower, Long's Orchard. The asparagus will be available for another couple of weeks and then they will have strawberries.  We bought 8 pounds. Some we've cooked fresh and the rest I prepped for freezing. To freeze asparagus, blanch it very quickly in boiling water and then plunge it into ice water to stop the cooking process. I froze some whole and some pre-chopped. If you are in the area, head over to Long's. If you have an asparagus grower near you, check them out. I've found that Long's on-site prices are about half what I have paid to other growers at the farmer's market. Which is understandable, since they're paying for transportation and stall fees, but I'll take the better price every time!

This small batch of rhubarb is from my own little patch. My first successful harvest of 2011! I will be transplanting the rhubarb soon, as it needs more sun than it's getting. Even though the harvests are a wee bit puny at the moment, there is still a great feeling of accomplishment when you're eating food that you grew right outside your door.

Now that it's finally getting warmer, we can look forward to an abundance of fruit and veggies, but these first of the year are always some of my favorites!

What is Living From Scratch?

You're probably wondering what I mean by "living from scratch". Well, it's going to be different for everyone. I've heard it referred to as "simple living", "living deliberately" and "being aware". To me, it's a little bit simplicity, a little bit tradition and a whole bunch of "being present". I want to connect in a more significant way to my family, my friends, my community and my environment. I hope to accomplish this by learning skills that, while new to me, have been serving humans well for centuries.

I know that this explanation is still pretty vague. Sorry about that. I'll try to clarify with examples. Everyone loves examples. I love to cook, so I plan to do it even more than I do already. Long before huge grocery stores, people ate fresh-baked bread,so, I plan to provide my family with yummy, fresh-baked bread from my oven on a fairly regular basis. I want to learn canning and other methods to preserve food. I'm going to start gardening (and anyone that has seen what I do to houseplants knows what an adventure that's going to be!).  There are lots of plans rattling around my head. Some of them will work amazingly well. Others will be amazing failures, I'm sure. I hope you stick around to experience all of them with me. If nothing else, I'm sure you'll get a few laughs!

The next few posts are going to be about some guidelines I'm setting for myself. Now, these are not "rules" and they are completely flexible. This exercise is about changing the lifestyle of myself and my husband and raising our two boys in an environment of love, trust and self-reliance. Living from scratch, living deeply and intentionally, is not about seclusion or going without. It's about paying attention, finding the beauty in every day living and experiencing life with all five senses.

This blog is not intended to convert anyone to a different lifestyle. Everyone does what is best for them and their family. No two families are alike and no lifestyle will work for everyone. I simply would like to share my families adventures. Maybe you'll try some of things I try. Maybe you'll shake your head and think I'm crazy. I just hope you get a few minutes of enjoyment out of reading my ramblings every morning.