The roots of a simpler life

8yrs ago when my husband and I met I was focused on going to grad school and creating a career for myself in anthropology. As my studies progressed I began encountering so many signs that to me, meant that simplifying our lives was the only way to live a satisfying and responsible life. We started a vegetable garden at the community garden at the University and started on our slow journey towards a simpler life. Honestly it has taken us this long to really realize how much there is that we could still do but we've done what we can step by step. And while some of the obvious passion has abated from those early days, our actual dedication is far, far stronger.

We bought a house in a small town because we could afford the house (which is only 1,000sqft for our family of four) and it came on a larger lot which would enable us to grow some of our own food. We live on my husband's income and while there are times when things are far, far tighter than we would like, our priority is our family and the lifestyle we've chosen and neither of those would benefit from my going back to work. I work long hours some days but I love what I do most of the time. I can't wait for the weather to dry out enough to work the soil, hang out the laundry, and barbecue more nights than not. I like finding new (to us) ways to move ourselves further from the culture of consumerism. I love trading time and labor/skills with others rather than my husband working more so that we can find a way to pay for things we need/need done.

We do sometimes feel exhausted by how tight things can be. We don't have a dog, which we would love, because we know we couldn't afford the vet bills if something happened to it and we don't have a vet locally who would be willing to take payments or trade/barter. While our meat is responsibly produced by family and costs us no money, and we buy nothing edible that we could make ourselves which eliminates prepackaged food from our life (other than the occasional carton of ice cream), there are some months where even buying flour and beans, which we buy in bulk and store, can require some budget creativity.

And then we eat a meal with chicken raised by a friend, potatoes from the CSA we've managed to be members of for the past few years, and salad from our own garden. And we remember how good and important those things are. And we see something we want in a store, but can't afford it, and it is somehow freeing not to have to weigh the choice between buying it or not. And we each make something lovely for the kids and each other for birthdays and Christmas and all that love and care that goes into it makes it better than anything that could be bought.

We are lucky to have friends who are also traveling along this same path. Some are further along than others but we all agree that as long as we keep inching forward, we're getting there. Not everyone understands what we're trying to do; there are plenty of people who wonder why we would want to work this hard for what they see as so little. We're grateful though, to know that this is an option, to know that we don't need all that stuff and money, to know that our children can learn how to live a life that takes work and dedication but that also connects them with the world around them in a way that no money or things could ever do.

Wherin I change my mind after a very short time

I thought that I wanted to write a blog about our journey towards leaving consumerism and the components of our life that go into that. And I do. But I think I want this blog to be more personal to me than just that. When I think about posting, along with those posts that obviously fit into that focus, I think about posting about food, the book I just read, and how some days I'm just exhausted. I could just turn this into a private blog, somewhere to keep a journal, or even simply keep a paper journal. But one of the things that I love about the blog concept, is the idea that you can write both for yourself and for others. Other than papers for school and letters, nobody ever sees what I write. It keeps me from having to risk failure in other people's eyes. I'm realizing though, that not taking the risk is in itself a form of failure. So, you will see posts about canning, bartering, sewing, homeschooling, and gardening. You will also see posts about internal struggles, gratuitous food posts, and musings on why a book has touched me a certain way (or conversely, why I hate it). A blog without a clear focus does not generally garner a large following, and it's good that I have no ambitions to make money from it because that won't work either. But perhaps a few people, probably my nearest and dearest, will come a read and comment and occasionally enjoy the fact that I don't just say that I write things, I actually do write things.

Recipe Thursday- Spring and Summer Lentil Salad

This morning we were scheduled to go to my midwifery study group but Tractor Boy woke up with a low grade fever, a cough, and lots of congestion. Acting on the assumption that no one really wants us to give this version of the plague to them and their children, we're staying home this morning. The study group consists of five students and the midwife heading up the group. Three of us also bring our children for a total of 5 (soon to be 6) kids. We meet in the morning, spend a couple of hours going over the study subject for that week, and then share a potluck lunch. In this particular group we have a corn allergy, a yeast allergy (to brewers and bakers yeast), a severe dairy allergy, and three people with gluten intolerance. I have the corn and yeast allergies  so I'm well accustomed to leaving those out, but dairy and gluten are well represented in our daily diet. It can sometimes be a challenge to meet all those requirements, especially as two of the members, while not strictly vegetarian, prefer not to eat meat most of the time. This lentil salad was to be our offering for today.

I give amounts in this but realistically I don't actually measure most things unless I'm baking. These are meant to be a middle ground and it is fully expected that you will want to adjust according to your taste preferences. This probably serves 6-8 as a side dish. Could be bulked up to be a main dish by adding a grain of your choice. This is a recipe that is far better prepared at least a couple of hours in advance to the let the flavors marry.




Spring and Summer Lentil Salad

2 C French green lentils, picked over and rinsed.

Cover with water to 3-4" above the level of the lentils. Simmer for 20-25 min or until just tender.

While the lentils are cooking prepare:

1 small onion or 1/2-3/4 large onion, diced (as these aren't cooked, mild spring or sweet onions are
best)

2 carrots, diced or coarsely shredded

2 ribs celery, diced (optional)

2-3 cups of assorted in-season veggies, chopped or diced to bite size. For spring, I've found that peas
(snap or shelled), radishes, salad turnips, beets (steamed or roasted), and greens (cooked or uncooked,
but especially spinach and arugula) work well. In the summer, fresh tomatoes, sweet peppers, green
beans, zucchini, and cucumbers are all good.

Drain lentils when cooked, pour into a large serving bowl, and set aside to let cool a bit

While the lentils sit, prepare the dressing:

I use what is a fairly standard vinaigrette for this, so I make a big batch (about double what I have written here), dress this salad to taste and save the rest for green salads.

¼ C lemon juice
½ C vinegar- red wine or a mix of red wine and balsamic work very well
1-2 Tbs course grain mustard
2-3 cloves garlic, pressed or minced
Pinch of sugar or honey
½ - 1 C olive oil- we prefer our dressings on the tart side but others may not
Salt and ground pepper to taste

Pour the dressing over the lentils. Add veggies.

Cover with plastic wrap and let sit for a couple of hours.

Check to see if it needs additional dressing.

At this time add in:

Fresh herbs to taste- In the spring I usually use oregano or thyme and in moderate quantities. In the
Summer I use basil, Italian parsley, and mint and in much larger quantities. Dill would also be good.

Best served at room temperature.

Optional serving suggestion - feta or goat cheese for crumbling over the top

Enjoy!

Edited to clarify some points in the recipe.

Not so wordless Wednesday

My plan is to do wordless Wednesday's once my camera has batteries and I remember to take pictures. As it is though, I thought it might be fun to revisit where we were three years ago.

One of the views from the drive

Three years ago I was the mother of a 2yr old and a 3mo old. J was struggling to find work and my parents asked him to build a shed to house the equipment and panels for their solar power system at the cabin they have in Eastern Oregon. As it was expected to take at least 10-12 days, we all went. The trip took 16 days and it rained almost the entire time. It was also wonderful though. Rosie Girl was just starting to be truly curious about everything and we spent hours with Tractor Boy in the Ergo while we traipsed around the fields looking at wild flowers and taking long walks. We had never had a vacation together before and even though J had to work most of the time, the fact that we were all together each day and could steal some moments here and there was a glorious change.

 

 

The solar shed being roofed

Our Explorer

Three years later, J is still working as a timber framer at the job he got just weeks after finishing the solar shed. The kids are 3 and 5 and  that was still the closest thing we've ever had to a family vacation.

A rare picture of the three of us

 

Completed

Can you spot J's mark?

Why we do what we do

When my husband first suggested that I start a blog, I thought it was ridiculous. I don’t just think about gardening and cooking. And while sewing and knitting certainly do occupy much of my thoughts, so do gentle discipline and homeschooling. And always in the back or our minds there is the goal of finding ways to move us further away from the supposedly ideal lifestyle of voracious consumption and disposability. How was I supposed to choose just one of those topics to blog about? And then one day (a little late I know) I realized that all of those things, the gardening and cooking, the sewing and knitting, the parenting and homeschooling, were all part of that movement away from consumption and disposability and toward a strong and sustainable community. The reason that I hadn’t been able to separate them for the sake of a blog was because they weren’t separate in my mind. I began knitting, and eventually sewing, because I was tired of spending money on things that were poorly made, didn’t fit or work well for their intended purpose, and that exploited the people and land producing them. I have always cooked but I began to garden and joined a CSA because modern food production methods are destructive to the land, the community, and to our health.  I practice the parenting and homeschooling methods that I do because I believe that in order for our children to fully understand and embrace a life that restores that land and rebuilds and maintains community ties, they must live it day in and day out. There is, for our family, no way to effectively accomplish this with them in school full time. And so we try. And we fail much of the time. But we also succeed in ways that make it so worth risking the failures.  This blog will be my way of documenting our life as we try and root our family more deeply in a lifestyle that matches our values.  (I can’t help myself sometimes)

So who are we?

 I’m Heather. I have too many interests and not enough time to master them all. Passionate reader, lover of gardening, sewing, knitting, and creative cook when left alone. I’m a student midwife who fully expects to be an independently practicing midwife within the next 10-20yrs.  My children drive me crazy and yet I can’t imagine anything I would rather do than to be at home with them. My goals for the rest of this year include canning enough tomatoes so as to not have to buy any over the next year, continuing to learn to sew well enough to make some of my own clothes, practicing piano a couple of times a week, and reading more Wendell Berry.

J, hereby known as the Master of All Things Wood, is a timber framer, carpenter, occasional woodworker, and obsessed fly fisherman.  He is my reality check and the practical support for my visions for our family. He provides much of the design and hands on experience in our life.  He and I muddle along together pretty well.

Rosie Girl, age 5, is ceaselessly curious, funny, has a wild imagination, and highly sensitive. She provides me with daily challenges in how to deal with our often “too similar for comfort” personality clashes. She is also my inspiration for being a better, more creative parent.

Tractor Boy, age 3, is everything motorized obsessed. He is mischievous and deeply affectionate. I am constantly trying to find ways to keep him busy so that he doesn’t dismantle the house.

Please join us on our journey. We are always looking for likeminded friends and input is welcome.