spending the weekend at my grandparent's home, he at 95 and her at 92, we recorded stories with our video camera of his time in the war... how he started a car with a blow torch...
hilarious, inspiring, humbling...
they laugh A LOT and i love them for that and all they taught me and still do...
here our society thinks we are so progressive with 'eco-friendly' this and that
no way
after listening to my grandma talk to me about her life on the farm, the only thing they threw away were chicken bones
even at that, throwing away meant burying them
they would dig trenches in their garden (my mom does this still) and throw away the chicken bones or fish bones... buried in the garden to decompose and add nutrients to the soil
humbling...
they would go to the store for only flour, sugar, coffee and salt
it really made me think if i could do that — it would literally be a life changing endeavour
Jason can't live without peanut butter or coffee, so I could just keep using my organic co-op in DeKalb for my peanut butter ( you use the same container — fill up, go home)
- i'd utilize my farmer's markets a whole lot more
- cook only fresh
- no more store bought anything in a package except the flour/sugar/coffee/salt
humbling yes, inspiring: most definitely
i keep asking myself "if she can do it, why can't i?"
Jason and I talked of this all the way home, and here's what we have decided...
that I need to start small and gradually work my way to only throwing away chicken bones in the trench in the garden
getting a few hogs = yes
getting a hoop house = yes
getting a milking goat or cow = yes
we have big plans, which means we most likely will either do all three or nothing... Jason is an 'all or nothing' type of guy (and i love him for that)
(they even plant where they usually plant annuals... they are no dummies!)
please note: if anyone in my area has pasture raised hogs for sale now, a hoop house (or know of where to get a very nice one), or a milking Nubian goat or jersey cow, please relax.
xo+self sustainable blessings,
