My New Years Resolution

To read less, and do more.

I spend a lot of time reading, gathering info, and planning, but less time doing. I realize that in order to become the person I want to be, I need to be more active, rather than passively planning. So, this year, when I see some neat activity, instead of bookmarking it for later, I’m printing it out to do as soon as possible. Today, if I am able, and if not, to gather the supplies to do it within the week or month. I have so many bookmarked activities, that I’ve forgotten them. I’m going to go through, print the ones I really think I’m going to do, and delete the ones I honestly (honest with myself) don’t think I”ll ever do, cool though they may be.

Now if you’ll excuse me, I’ve got to go finish some lotion, make some sauerkraut, and some 5 minute bread.

Another Wildflowerism

Yeah, way to go trying to start something new the day before Xmas eve. I will get back to those postings once the new year comes. Our schedule is crazy between now and then.

But just a minute ago, I was talking to Shark about something, and I said, “Yeah, someday someone will sweep Wildflower off her feet, and we won’t be the most important people in her life anymore, either.” And she said, “No!” And I said, Oh, you don’t want to be swept off your feet?” And she said, No! That’s dangerous!”

Good, keep it that way for a while, kid.

Unschooling Day 2

Watched Rudolph.

Played in her book nook.- imagination

Went over the Nativity story again.-Bible

Introduced her to Montessori style sound cylinders.- sensory

Played puzzles and blocks.- spatial

Watched some more TV (I need to just get rid of the thing).

Daddy came home at which point she went nuts, and we took the recycling to the drop off, and went out for dinner. The water was off for most of the day too, due to a water main break- I’m kicking myself for not having water stored yet!

Tonight we’re reading “The Night Before Christmas”, and making homemade egg nog, and hopefully getting the child off to bed so we can wrap presents!!

Unschooling Day 1

Which is a joke really, because haven’t we been unschooling since the day she was born? But this is the first day I’m recording the stuff we did and trying to correlate it with subject matter, so I can see what it is we’re actually doing.

In the morning, she watched some TV/DVD I don’t know what since I was still in bed.

She roughhoused with daddy for a good portion of the morning.-physical activity

She played “car” in her book nook. -imaginary play (which isn’t an actual “subject, but it’s super important in development)

She did a tangram pattern puzzle, and learned she could poke holes in paper with her pen. -math,  pattern sequencing

I told her the Nativity story while we played with the Nativity set I made. -Bible

We cooked dinner. – life skills

We read books.- language

We made chocolate mousse. – more life skills- yum

We drew on the chalkboard to help Wildflower talk about/deal with her fear of monsters. I realized what sparked this fear, which has made me feel terrible about how much TV I’ve let her watch.

Something new I’m trying

I’ve been having a hard time with not accomplishing my homeschooling plans.  I hear this is fairly common in homeschooling families, especially ones as relaxed as we are. So, instead, I’m going to post the things we did today here, with pictures if applicable, and draw educational correlations. For example, if we read books, I’ll put “read books- language development” or somesuch.

And until this evening when I have more time to post, I’ll leave you with a few Wildflower-isms.

The other day, she asked why learning was important, and I told her it was so you could do the things you want to do when you grow up. I asked her what she wanted to do when she grows up, and she said, “I want to go to high school.” And I asked her if there was anything else, and she said, “I want to be a dancer.” Anyone who knows Wildflower knows how apt that is for her.

Today, she was dancing around and singing, and I caught a snippet of what she was singing, and I heard “…sle-ep in heaaaaaavenly piece..es…”  And later, as we are dealing with sugar addiction over here, I told her I would put a chocolate covered pretzel AND apples and peanut butter down at her place, and she could choose which one she wanted to eat first, and she lit up and said, “Now THAT’S what I’m talking about!”

Ok, so I like the lolcats

Emergency Preparedness

I’m feeling the need to be prepared.

Things I want to research:L

Earthship building

Cob building

Solar ovens

Solar power

livestock

heirloom seeds

intensive gardening (think path to freedom/food not lawns)

food storage

preserving without freezing or canning

root cellaring

I know my blog has been crappy lately- it’s just that there are so many things rushing around in my head, it’s been hard to put it all down. I DO intend to get to it though.

The Natural Cat

I’m looking for a kitty, and that means tons of research on how to have the healthiest happiest most environmentally friendly kitty around. So I’ve been researching nontoxic litters, and the healthiest cat food, and I’m going to use this lil space to compile some of the links to things I’ve read, so I can see it all out in one place. I intend to update this later with links, since I’ve spent the last two hours here researching, and I”m tired. But I wanted to put something up as a place holder.

Kitty Supplies:

Litter box ( recyclable plastic)

Food dish

Water dish  (maybe one of those recirc. fountains, since cats like running water)

Cat grass/nip

Cat bed/perch

Collar/tags

brush/comb

Toys (I’ve been saving some books and links for the time when I would get a cat again… )

Luckily, cat’s don’t need much.

Cats I have known and Loved (originally written 1-30-07)

I was laying in bed this morning, and my thoughts drifted to my kitty Pumpkin. Definitely my most treasured cat. I got her, because I befriended her mama, Pumpkin the first. She was a tortoiseshell stray that lived in our apt complex. I could go onto our back porch and call “Here kittykittykitty!” And she’d come running from whereever she was, cause she knew I’d feed her. Around the same time, I also befriended an orange tabby kitten I called Kiki, because it sounded like “Here kiki!” When I’d talk to that one. Anyway, one day, we discovered that Pumpkin had had kittens! Four of them! I went to visit them every day. (Another person in the complex was taking care of the new mama and babies), and I selected one that looked like the mama- the only tortoiseshell in the litter. I named her Pumpkin Too. We shared everything for 5 short years. We learned she had a heart defect, and one day I came home from school to find her on the laundry room floor. We buried her in the back yard. She was such a good kitty- she was a good mouser, and she would come to me if I was crying, and snuggle. I cried the night we buried her, and I SWORE, it felt like she jumped up on my bed. My mom said she kept feeling like she was outside her bedroom door in the morning like she was when she was alive for about a week- and that she thought Pumpkin didn’t know she had died, and told her it was ok to move on. I’m sure animals have souls after that experience, and no one can tell me otherwise. I never felt her presence again.

After Pumpkin died, we got another kitten, a black and white one, my brother named Sandy- actually he named it Cindy, but we found out he was a boy- so Sandy it was. He’s the main cat in our household- he’ll be 11 years old this coming spring. He’s an old curmudgeon with a personality very much like Garfield’s. A few years after we had Sandy, my brother found a tiny kitten, with it’s umbilical stump still attached- VERY young- abandoned by it’s mother (now that I’m older, I wonder if it was just the last of a litter that the mother was moving, but I guess I’ll never know) I named it Precious, and vowed to take care of that little kitten no matter what. I held it under my shirt for body warmth, and woke every hour on the hour at night for two nights to feed it. I helped it pee, like the mother cat would have (cept I used a warm washcloth instead of my tongue! ) We took the cat to a woman who specialized in caring for young kittens, and a few days later, found out it had died. I think I could have cared for that kitten better than she- knowing what I know now about human babies, I’m sure that kitten didn’t get enough cuddle time. I wasn’t too attached though, since I had only cared for it for two days- but again, I still remember little Precious years later.

The day before I left for my freshman year of college, a tomcat chased a tiny kitten into our garage, where it spent the night. It was a lovely gray, almost blue Russian color. That cat spent a few weeks in our bathroom, before my parents gave in and allowed her to stay. Since she’s so silent and sneaky, and gray, we named her Shadow. She’s approaching middle age now, and is the perfect feminine foil for our other grumpy kitty.

When I was in college, I worked at a summerstock theatre. One of the other girls there was a cat lover, and found a stray. I took it in, but it wasn’t box trained, and I had to give it up. I think it had worms, as it’s belly was very distended, and it ate like a maniac. I named it Hazel, and it was a tabby that was rather hazel colored. I was so sad to give that kitty up, I still haven’t had a cat of my own since Pumpkin. Now getting a cat while living in an apt is a matter of money. I married a cat lover, but he’s oh so practical, and honestly, I cant justify the cost of a cat either. Not to mention we have no place for a litterbox. One day though, and soon, we will get a cat- I’m just missing something without a ball of fluff and purrs.

Late-Night Brain Dump

Hi all. Wildflower went to sleep at a decent time tonight, and after spending so many nights being  up til 1 or 2 am, I can’t sleep. I’m going to not stress about depleting my adrenals tonight, because I see the light at the end of the tunnel, and I plan to get back on track soon enough. I’m supposed to go to bed by 10 or 10:30, so I can be asleep by 11, and wake up at 9. There’s a whole schedule in there about when I’m supposed to eat too, to keep my blood sugar/hormonal levels even, but I won’t go there. Speaking of Wildflower, OMG, she is SO THREE. She doesn’t actually turn three until January, but this past week, she hit three developmentally. She is SCREAMING when she doesn’t get her way, so oppositional. If I say down, she says up. If I say stop, she says go. Two was easy for me- it was really obvious when she was testing boundaries- if I set a boundary, she would dance right up to the line, and then cross it *ever* so slightly, just to see how firm it really was. All I had to do was be firm. Now, it’s a completely different story, and it came three months early, so it took me by surprise (it really shouldn’t, according to this site she’s already hit most of her three milestones). It’s requiring a new level of patience and creativity. Playful parenting is coming into play a lot more, for one thing.

I have a few things I’ve been meaning to write about here. One is my personal experience with the mind/body connection. I’ve intellectually understood this for a long time. But only recently have I had the chance to really apply it in a practical way. As you may or may not know, I’ve had some health issues for a while that I’ve been trying to sort out. Blood sugar/insulin resistance, thyroid (hypo), and it seemed like there were some missing pieces, and I coudln’t figure out how to put the puzzle together. I felt like I was going about it the wrong way. I finally decided I couldn’t put my health on hold and went to a naturopath (after not being able to find an herbalist in the area). She showed me it was adrenal fatigue- all the pieces suddenly fit. It was amazing. One of the things I recently realized was that my thyroid was swelling, causing a lump in the throat kind of feeling. I was also doing some reading about chakras/energy, and trying to figure out how that fit into my healing journey. (Trying to apply all six steps of healing).  In my reading, I realized my throat chakra was WAY closed. I realized that my thyroid/lump in throat feeling (since the thyroid is the organ of the throat chakra) started back in college, at the same time I was dealing with a lot of yucky stuff emotionally, and bit back a lot of my words. Things that needed to be said for me to speak my own truth.  I figured – “hey, mind/body connection, what the hey?” And started wearing a blue silk over my throat chakra at night, and the effect was *immediate and dramatic*- I was suddenly able to verbalize things I didn’t even know were bothering me. I went and got a lil crystal bundle to keep the energy flowing in the daytime as well. I have also been supporting my thyroid on the physical plane as well, but I really feel like what I’ve been doing has been helping me emotionally and physically. Being able to verbalize my feelings and needs, and healing this hypothyroid issue. The next one I want to work on is my root chakra. I’ve had a feeling about that one for a while, and I use this handy dandy lil tool to help me see where I’m out of balance.  It’s not comprehensive, but it does provide a quick overview. Anyway, last time I took it, I could see some positive changes, but it showed my root was underactive. So, I plan to focus on that more, and it comes at a time where I’ve been wanting to strengthen my kegels anyway, with this. It’s so funny how that works out. The main emotional issues I’ll be dealing with are my anxiety- my feelings of safety in this world. I usually come from a place of distrust with strangers, though I’ve slowly been opening up more thanks to a beautiful mirror in my life. But usually, you have to earn my trust- and it’s not usually hard, but I would like to come from a place of guarded trust, instead of distrust.

I’ve also been thinking about my diet. I consider myself an exceptionally healthy eater, but I am always trying to be better. And lately,  though I feel that fat is supremely healthy and nutritious, I think I’ve finally gotten my fill, and I’m feeling the need for more moderation. It reminds me of a story a Lady I know online told about being an apprentice to Susun Weed. She said she had this HUGE slab of good dark chocolate on the table at all times, and told them they could have as much of it as they wanted. At first, they gorged themselves. But over time, they began to just eat lil slivers and shavings of it. And I feel like that’s kind of what happened to me, with fats, when I realized that butter WAS good for you. I ate my fill. Now, I feel like I can back off a bit (but just a bit, since I still feel that you need it for proper vitamin A and D metabolization). One of the areas I really want to cut back in is cheese consumption. I eat a lot of cheese, I LOVE it. I get huge bricks of mild cheddar and colby jack, and go through two in a week. I could eat grilled cheese every day, and I usually put mounds on pretty much anything I eat. Now, while I feel that cheese is a healthy food, I’m feeling like I sort of need it. And a reliance on any one thing, be it cheese, or coffee, or Diet Coke just isn’t healthy. I’m thinking (and just thinking, I haven’t really acted yet) about just buying certain kinds of cheese- feta, swiss, chevre- the more strongly flavored ones- Parmesan- and using that as a condiment- a flavoring instead of making a meal out of it. A local dairy farm makes a great raw cheese, and I’d love to consume only raw cheese, but at the rate I eat cheese now, there is NO way I could afford that.  So, either I eat regular cheese, or cut back til I can afford to eat the raw stuff. And even though I feel that cheese in general is a healthy food, I doubt my bricks of cheddar are really the top rung of nutrition. Anyway, I’m out of cheese as of this morning. On our next shopping trip, I’m going to experiment by buying several different cheeses, but no bricks this time. Just wonder what will happen, how I’ll feel.

The other area I’m working on in my diet, is more of a conviction. I have decided to really pursue keeping kosher. Biblical style, which means avoiding pork and shellfish, mainly. No seperating milk and meat, that’s not in the Bible. I’d really need to reread some passages that I’ve been reading before I can articulate more about this, but it’s been on my mind lately, and I need to study up a bit more on it.

I mentioned I went to see a naturopath because I couldn’t find an herbalist, but I did end up finding one after I’d established a relationship with my naturopath. I was super excited to find out he did clinical work, and I hired him right away. I met with him a week or more ago now, and I’ve been mulling over the experience. Much different than a naturopath, but I know that using herbal support along with the whole food supplements my ND recommends, and the energy work I’m doing myself, my healing is well on the way. I’ve been feeling really draggy lately, and that means housework, homeschooling, good cooking have all gone downhill, which makes me feel guilty, but last night, I prayed, and today, it was all so effortless. I didn’t get everything on my list done, but I had what it took to be up and at ‘em and in a good mood. And even now, at 2 am, I feel strong and healthy instead of sick and fat like I had been feeling. (Oh, I know I won’t feel like that at 9am tomorrow when I wake up….)

Today finally felt like fall. I don’t know what Mother Nature was thinking, but for most of October, it’s felt more like September here. I have been pining for sweater weather, and today, I finally got it! I was able to wear my hand knit poncho that took me four years to knit. I don’t love it, because it’s sort of asymmetrical, and I’m a girl who loves symmetry, but goshdarnit, I’m going to WEAR that thing- it took me long enough to make! Next on my list is a calorimetry, and then I’m going to delve into the world of knitting socks. I REALLY want a pair of handknit wool socks, and about the only way to get them is if I know someone who knits who loves me a WHOLE lot, or if I make them myself. I’ll get them a lot faster if I make them myself. I’m going to make a LOT of effort to make sure it doesn’t take me 4 years to knit these socks. Hopefully, I’ll be able to wear them this winter. We shall see.

We renewed our lease today, and signed an 18 month one. Mainly because our lease is up in November, and that’s a miserable time to move. So now, we’ll be moving in May. So much more pleasant. I was reading through the lease, and it said that instead of the $35 I thought it was to have a pet, it’s only $15! With a $300 downpayment, half of that refundable. Which means, $150… which we can do. The only thing is the cat has to be spayed (ok) and declawed (uh-uh). I will not be declawing a cat, so my hope is to find a cat that is already declawed, and preferably without a chip (I’m morally against chipping humans and animals). I’m hoping for a female tortiseshell, siamese, calico or anything else who is about a year old. If you know of one, and are local to me, please match us up. I have been DYING for a cat. I’m a cat person through and through (though that doesn’t mean I’m NOT a dog person or any other animal for that matter, just that if I were a witch, cats would be my familiars- I actually have a lot of feline traits to my own personality, and I really identify with them, and like having them around), and I really don’t feel like myself if I don’t have a cat living with me. I haven’t had a cat that was MINE since Pumpkin died. She was my first cat, and she died when I was in high school. I only had her for 5 years- she had a heart defect. We had other cats after her, all of whom I loved very much, but none that have had that special relationship with me. Considering the fabulous discount we’re getting on our rent, I know we can afford to have a cat now. There, Universe- match me with a kitty, please.

I’m leading a chat in a couple weeks on natural immune support on a forum I admin. I’m really nervous, since I’m not a “leader” type, and I’ve never done anything like this before! But I’m trying to accept that I’m growing in knowledge and experience when it comes to herbs, and to be open to things like this coming along. Since it’s what I want, really I do. I’m planning to take a course here soon to become a “Family Herbalist”, and then hopefully a “Master Herbalist”- these things don’t really mean much all on their own, since herbalism isn’t regulated in this country, but I think the courses are sound, and I’m really looking forward to learning through them. I intend to write a blog article in preparation for this chat, so expect that in the next couple weeks.

Well, I’ve been sitting here for a few minutes now, and I think the word flow has slowed. I guess I’ll go to bed and see if I can sleep now. Good night, all.

Mmm, nourishing food for that time of the month

My lunch today is a grilled cheese sandwich, apple (wild, I found a grove of apple trees on a walk!)  with peanut butter (and cinnamon for my blood sugar and honey- just a touch), three squares of the highest quality chocolate I can get my hands on, and a quart of RRL/Nettle infusion. Full of minerals, especially magnesium, and good fats- I always crave fat around my period-, this is real comfort food.  So much better than the pizza and chocolate chip cookies I used to eat in college.

And by the way, sex is a great way to nudge a poky period along.