Introduction to Homesteading

I hereby re-dedicate my blog to all things creative - and the creation of our family homestead (wherever that may be). Many, many, MANY things have change since I last wrote - most importantly, the birth of our daughter, Elsa Pearl. And, as a new mother, I have many opportunities for creative outlet, but, at the same time, am restricted by what Miss Pearl will allow me to do. As she gets older, and I get braver and more knowledgeable, my crafting has increased to include regular knitting into the mix of sewing and quilting (actually, quilting has kind of fallen by the wayside; I've come to the conclusion that you only need so many quilts before you're saturated)...projects have included scarves, hats, mittens, and my very first sweater (for Elsa; a baby is great motivation to start knitting). I'm now working on a sweater for myself - with a goal of having it done by Christmas.

To round out my housewife skills, I've been learning more about and experimenting with cooking, especially fresh produce. This is our second summer as CSA (community supported agriculture) members (and our first summer I developed a rather strong, shall we say, AVERSION to the sight and smell vegetables), and I've had an exciting time cooking greens - who would have thought that that task could be so difficult? Our farm, Westridge Produce, has presented us with several varieties of kale, chard, spinach, and the greens from turnips and radishes (among other veggies). After about 8 cooked greens dishes, I made one that was pretty tasty: and Asian inspired chard dish. Our next delivery will be tomorrow, and I'm looking forward to some new veggies (although with the very cold spring we "enjoyed" in Wisconsin this year, all of our favorite summertime produce seems to be very delayed). Anyway, all of this vegetable knowledge (and a wee bit more time on my hands thanks to the ever more independent Miss Pearl) has inspired me to hone my gardening skills a bit - and really, to go from a very brown thumb to any shade of green is quite an accomplishment. This year, with Eric's help (you won't find me making raised garden beds any time soon), we are growing herbs (cilantro, mint, and parsley - the parsley just got cut back because it was one LONG stalk; we shall see just how hardy it is), pumpkins, strawberries, raspberries, and the perennial Midwestern favorite, rhubarb (which I don't think I could kill even if I wanted to). When I got back from my run this morning, I stopped by our garden and harvested the rhubarb, and THAT is a great feeling - to cut, prepare, and eat food that was grown in your own yard (similar to cutting, preparing, and wearing clothes that were made by hand). Ah, the satisfaction of a tiny sliver of "living off the land".

To guide me through these next steps of homesteading, I'm reading Modern Homestead: Grow, Raise, Create by Renee Wilkinson. And although I don't think I'll be raising goats any time soon, the idea of an indoor Meyer lemon tree bearing fresh citrus in our prairie home sounds very tempting.