Photo: Great grandparents at their farm in Blandinsville, IL, with five of their six children .. my grandpa was yet a twinkle in grandma's eye. Stable boy and governess also pictured. Hodges farm, circa 1903-4

Wednesday, March 28, 2012

Moving Beyond The Basics ...

new shelves for storage
A few years ago, writing about gardening, baking bread, sprouting-drying-grinding wheat, saving money, making homemade cleaning supplies, etc. filled my blog with almost daily posts.  I suppose one can grow beyond the 'basics' and need to move on to something new.  On the horizon:  Fine tune canning skills; winter gardening; sourdough made in my sleep (oh I wish:); Dutch oven cookery; weekly hikes; kayaking on a river??; check out 4-H and therapeutic horseback riding for Nathan; birding ... and identifying and finding wild edibles.

I recently purchased a 'Grandpa Jake's Campfire Cooker for Dutch oven/outdoor cooking .. and can't wait for our fire pit to dry out to try my hand at outdoor cooking.

sprouted wheat drying

The 'old' skills are still being practiced and have now become routine; that's what happens when you practice, practice .. and practice.  

Hubby retires next year so we are getting 'ready' to live on his pension.  Paying off all debt has been our major goal as we enter this new phase of life.  With all of the uncertainty in the world, we don't want to have the added stress of a mortgage hanging over our heads after retirement.  Earlier this month we said goodby to Wells Fargo Bank and house payments.  In a few days it will 'hit' me when I don't have to write THAT check any longer.  Oh, don't worry .. we got hit with a tax bill to take its place after losing some tax deductions last year (daughter moving out .. no more school tuition payments .. little mortgage interest) .. it's going to take a bit of 'mental' adjustment to equate more tax with outgoing payments that could be written off.  I think we will still be ahead of the 'game' once I wrap my mind around the idea :)
canning supplies

Our storage room is coming along with the addition of new heavy duty shelving.  Each individual (new) shelf holds about 1500 pounds of weight .. so it is perfect for heavy canned goods.  Our extra kitchen gadgets now have a place that can be easily accessed.  And all of my canning jars are neatly stacked in their original boxes by size.  Most of the year our storage room is in the 50's F .. summer  in the low 60's F, which is perfect for storing garden seeds and canned goods.  It's also windowless .. so nice and dark keeping potatoes from sprouting.

What new/old basic skill have you recently mastered or are working on?

5 comments:

Sandy Livesay said...

Mrs. Mac,

It's been a while since we've chatted. I see you've been extremely busy puttin up shelves. I would love to have a store room like yours. My utensils and appliances are not organized the way I would like. Bulldog Man has promised me more shelves, hopefully sooner than later.
My new skill was learning how to use the dehydrator. I've done a pretty good job with some fruit and veggies. Next will be to tackle making jerky for the boys.

Tanya Murray said...

That is such a good point that you make about practice becoming routine. It is so true that changing and practising the habit leads to easier routines. The foreign becomes familiar and before you know it, it becomes second nature to live simply and within the seasons.
I am so envious of your shelving and storage area. Mine is in the cupboards in the spare room and each year Craig has to build in more. Guess what his first job is next week when he comes home for a visit?
Thanks for your candid talking and inspirations.

Dani said...

Now that is one handsome storage shelf, and plenty of preserving bottles!

Congrats on owing your home - must be a wonderful feeling!

Mr. H. said...

Your new shelves and storage area is most impressive, looks like you are well prepared come what may.

Monday's Child said...

I'm still working on the basics, but I love to "skip to the back of the book" by reading blogs like yours.

Mostly I'm just writing this note to let you know I'm here. I seldom have anything to contribute to I'm reading your blog regularly and wanted to wave so you see me!