How To Use Time In Isolation & Independence Days Challenge

From Brenna Quinlan

How To Use Time In Isolation-

UPDATE- Just had an earthquake, we're ok. More later..

We are having a very wet Spring day today! The weatherman was right with lots of intermittent showers today and windy. I cleaned my windows few days ago and now they're all covered with rain, but what can you do-

The rain has been a blessing since since it can dry here and every Spring is different. Our cool weather crops that we planted in the cold frame are barely up and we've only had to water them once in the last several weeks. I put the chickens inside this afternoon because it is just pouring rain. They loved the greens I gave them for a snack! I love having fresh eggs right, especially considering the girls will be 6 years old this next month! Chicks are selling out locally and I'm hoping to get some next month, as I'm sure our local hatchery is trying to keep up. Time will tell, but I think more people are waking up to the REAL idea of FOOD SECURITY. Grow/produce whatever you can. NOW. I might buy some pullets that are 3 months old into the summer, as a last resort. RESILIENCY is showing up, a local cafe turned themselves into a grocery store, since they have a different set of suppliers than regular grocery stores- Sunrise Cafe Shifts Business Model They'll be able to stay in business hopefully and help the community. Smart. A small local Organic nursery/store has opened up appointments for one person at a time to come in and shop alone. YES. Think outside the box. 

My work life right now is VERY dynamic. Last week we got new higher speed internet set up since our old internet was slow. My boss was planning on sending hardware home with me to start working remotely. We cleared off Dave's desk, that he only uses once in a while. I deep cleaned the room as well. Our main computer is in the kitchen and he has a laptop. Space all ready-

Yesterday I was sent home, after working two hours, because our work load is drying up. While there is re-training going on among different staff I am basically in a high-risk group, which my employer is aware of. While I have a healthy immune system I do have respiratory issues and other things that put me into that category. Luckily I'm home (away from viruses) and I am being paid out of my own PTO and extended sick leave. When that runs out, if it gets to that place, the corporation I work for has stated they will be paying staff. Since I work for a huge medical organization at some point this will be over with and life will return to normal. In the meantime I am doing projects at home and taking things one day at a time. I saw this fun Permaculture art and I thought it some great ideas, as well as the one at the top and bottom of this post. Both are by Brenna Quinlan-

Upcoming projects will be- tuning up our bikes, getting them usable to ride again. They've been gathering dust. Start doing Tai Chi again, daily when home, since class is over. My sweet instructor posted classes on Youtube to be able to follow his directions, with the warm ups. Deep cleaning areas of the house, starting to grow Micro Greens, backing up all my blog photos and more. A lot of the general Permaculture ideas tie right in with the Independence Days Challenges that I have posted for years. So I thought I would add this today!

Independence Days Challenge-

1. Plant Something- Cool weather crops, all Non GMO-  Salad Mix, Mammoth Spinach, Baby Romaine, Evergreen Bunching Green Onions. As soon as it dries a bit I've got seed for French Radishes, French Breakfast Radishes, Cherry Belle Radishes, Little Finger Carrots in the ground. We'll either start some summer things by seed, depending on the market, or use starts. Local nurseries are amping up production I think. It's been pretty chilly (25 at night this week) so things are starting pretty slow-

If you think you can't grow food read this transformation 8 Weeks To Victory Veggie Patch From Scratch In A Rental photo below-

2. Harvest Something- Eggs, chives.

3. Preserve/Store Something- Freezing some additional items like butter, breads, flours, odds and ends. Luckily my food pantry closet is well stocked, and freezer with last year's fruits and tomatoes-

4. Manage Reserves- Get a Good Deal/Barter/Stock Up/Prep- I've been doing more creative shopping as some supplies have been running out off and on. When I heard some of the Corona virus news, I bought extra WW pastry flour and veggie seeds as I knew they would fly out of the store. Some staples like sugar are low some of the time. Flour has been in short supply. I've been alternating between some different places and sharing the info with our three adult girls. Luckily we got TP at Costco right before it started running out! One of them is getting set to start growing more food as well. I'm so proud of her! We miss our family, as we are not getting together in person, not worth the risk. We send videos back and forth, a little digital hug.

5. Eat the Food- Try New Foods/Recipe-  Looking more at eating what we have and what's available. New cookie recipe, oh yes! Chocolate Biscuits I was looking for something not too sweet and good for tea and coffee. Simple ingredients. I'll make a quick soup for tonight with something I had on hand-

Will add veggies and make some Farmgirl Fare Cheddar Beer Bread to go with it. Good for a cold rainy day! I use WW pastry flour and add more herbs.

I bought a new cookbook for $3.00, free shipping, on eBay-

 6. Build Community Food Systems- Sharing ideas with our kids. If I can get more chicks I may start  selling eggs again, time will tell. No farmers markets open, not sure if that will change. Atleast I have my farmer's market print-

7. Recycle/Re-Use-  Yes, especially now.  I've had to buy some new things, but got some new sheets on Overstock.com, good prices.  I was down to my last set. No more driving around town for deals. I bought Dave and I new sneakers on Amazon, free shipping. We don't belong to Prime, since I already have plenty of streaming and don't like to pay for a membership. Shipping is usually free anyway if the order is over a certain amount.  Why join? I took our bedroom metal cart and moved it into the living room for storage and set up a charging station. Now I've added gloves, sanitizer and hand wipe clothes to it, for easy access-

8. Skill Up- Learned all about different versions of high speed internet! Learning about simple French cooking.

9. Regenerate What is Lost/Salvage Something- Tore out non-productive garden area of old raspberries. Will plant some cool weather veggies, buy new berries plants (if we can find some). 

Brennaquinlan.com