100 Posts +, The Amish, Independence Days, Spring?, Cell Apps For Homesteading

100 Posts- I didn't realize I hit over 100 posts! Not bad for part time blogging, and starting late last summer. I know some people have done 1000's, but I'm not that committed to quantity with my job, etc. and getting things done on the home front. Someday I'll hit 1000! Oh boy!

The Amish in America- I watched this documentary on PBS last week, The Amish- An American Experience,  and it was really fascinating. It's here to watch, free, online- Pbs.org  I found the background of their practices, and their persecution, riveting. I also found this related story particularly gripping: (I'm paraphrasing) When an Amish man was asked what the main difference between he and non-Amish was , he responded by asking the group of tourists, "do you watch too much TV?" Almost all the hands went up. "Do your kids watch too much TV?" Ditto. He asked- "how many of you are willing to get rid of your TVs?" No hands went up. He said said "that's the difference. We would get rid of anything we think is harmful to our family." Interesting.

Independence Days- 

This last weeks total:

1. Plant Something- Bought herb and flower seeds, will plant soon :)

2. Harvest Something- Eggs! Everything else is still frozen, more or less.
3. Preserve Something- Saved and dried some lime peels for baking, etc. My hands smell great!
4. Store Something- I stocked up on canned fruits, and vegetables today, paper products, as they were very low in the pantry.
5. Manage Reserves- Get A Good Deal/Barter/Stock Up/Prep- See above. We're getting a freezer soon, and that will go a big way towards having more reserves on hand. Dave and I agreed with fuel prices, wanting to be more self-sufficient, it will be a good investment. I want an upright, maybe.
6. Eat the Food- Try New Foods/Recipes- Making a frittata tomorrow with all those eggs! Used some of my home-frozen green bell peppers for dinner tonite.
7. Build Community Food Systems- will be getting new chicks soon, to sell more eggs eventually to co-workers.
8. Recycle/Re-Use- Scraps to the chickens, recycling paper, glass, etc. (each week), starting to use the composting bin in the kitchen again. We stop in the winter as it's frozen anyway, and give the hens the scraps instead. They loved the turkey breast bones tonite! I'm also saving my leftover almond milk cartons to use to plant seeds in.

9. Skill Up- Doing my spring food preservation/storage class. Great stuff! Reading more blogs for ideas.

10. Regenerate What is Lost/Salvage Something- Almost always doing this on some level. I found some of my daughter's old sheet music the other day (shhh, don't tell!), and am going to use that and re-purpose for a craft project. An acquaintance offered to give me free fruit this summer that they grow and don't need. I may need more canning jars!

Spring?- 

The weather has been wacky again. Snow a few days ago (just a bit), 60-ish yesterday, today, and tomorrow, rain/snow later in the week. I want to plant/prune, but it's just too early. I'm praying my 2 fruit trees don't blossom too early, then freeze. Yikes, no fruit! Samantha enjoyed the warmer weather. Nothing like having your dog rolling in the wind and dirt 2 days after her bath :)

Nap time-

Atleast her fur is growing back in, after her surgery. Her tummy looked so naked!

Cell Apps For Homesteading- 

I got a new HTC Inspire smart phone, with "android" as the operating system. It took a day or so to get used to it, but it's much better than my old one. One of those "free" deals at Costco, love those! There were several free little apps (mini programs on the phone itself) I got that fit right in with homesteading- a better, brighter "flashlight" than the one that came with it. A compass- works great! A "severe weather warning", that you can customize. FatSecret.com has one too, since I'm still losing weight, a good helper when eating out. They have one I need to get, that networks local people selling and buying local foods! Spring/summer will be great for that! I just need to go back and install it. I'm sure there might be some useful apps that are low cost, but there's so MANY I haven't had the time to go thru yet...