Farmer Jake is livin' his dream!  He's building his greenhouse addition, plowing his fields, starting an orchard and planning for a REAL garden.  Finally!  No more tiny back yard plots scattered across the neighbhood.  No more sighing wistfully each time we pass a real farm.  Oh wait, scratch that.  That will probably happen till the end of time.  Or until we own 100 acres with a pond and 3 tractors... whichever comes first.

As Lavar Burton would say, "Here's what's happening in MY neck of the woods".

Last night, I realized that I needed to COME CLEAN about something... I've used bleach 3 times this week.

I don't know the ins and outs of it, but I know that bleach is toxic stuff... not to be used by tree huggers nor homemade cleanser users.

However, after 2 years of homemade laundry detergents and 2 months of homemade dishwasher detergents, it was time to accept defeat.

• cloth diapers that knock-out 1/2 of the county with their ammonia smell
  
• the increasing dingyness of our whites
• spots of mold developing on the dishwasher door

To be fair, all users of cloth diapers eventually succomb to stripping their diapers in some form.  The dingyness of our whites is a result of using well water that is over & around old coal mines.  We spend over $60 A MONTH treating our water, yet there is still a trace of redness to our water.  As for the dishwasher, there's no excuse for that one!  I LOVE the homemade cleaner, it's SO cheap and easy, but I can't help but point out that we never had the mold issue until I switched to homemade.

Here's my Google Docs of all my recipes.  It's constantly changing as I make notes, find new recipes, etc.  Feel free to check it out, use it &/or give me new recipes that will solve world hunger... or at least my current problems!

Anyone else struggle with these problems?  More importantly, anyone SOLVE these problems?

My husband LOVES to raise chickens.  I do not, but it's not all about me... sometimes :)  This past year, he got a little chicken over zealous. I'm not sure of the exact count, but we had about 40-50 chickens.  Granted, we had a decent-sized outbuilding/ chicken coop and they all had a place to roost, but that is just TOO many for our "farm" (one of these days I'll have to stop putting quotations around that term).

We do let our chickens free range during the day.  That makes for healthy, happy chickens and delicious, nutrious eggs.  It also makes for chicken poo EVERYWHERE!  Every railing, path, picnic table...  Oi vey!  Now that summer is approaching, Farmer Jake has heeded my pleas and culled the flock.

We now have 15 chickens resting peacefully in our freezer.  Since they are egg layers, they don't make for especially plump, juicy eating.  We will be making a lot of chicken noodle soup!  Anyone have other good recipes for me?

Like most Americans, I too have the inclination to prefer 6 degrees of separation from my meat.  I do not kill, pluck, gut or otherwise prepare any animal brought home by Farmer Jake/ Great White Hunter Jake.  However, I recognize the folly of my thinking and I strive to overcome my initial reaction.  

Last week a sweet 5-year-old boy was visiting and he commented that there are less chickens in my yard.  He was NOT happy about this.  I told him that we prepared some of the chickens and that they are now in my freezer.

"YOU EAT CHICKEN?" was his alarmed reply.  
"Yes, and so do you." (I'm all about teaching kids from an early age about the food chain so that they don't have the food issues that I've had to overcome).  
"NO I DON'T!" he adamantly argued. 
 "What about chicken nuggets?  I know you love chicken nuggets!"
"Those are NOT made from REAL chickens!"
hmmm... I think he had a point there....

Anyway, it is funny how far (in the wrong direction) we've come in the past 100 years.  How many of us do not know how to process an animal in preparation for a meal?  How many of us refuse any uncooked meat not wrapped in plastic? Have you ever killed, prepared &/or cooked anything wild?  Do tell!

Hi friends!  Not only did I disappear from LGM for an extended vacation, but now I'm back and have the nerve to ask for a favor :)  You see, I joined SocialSpark on my other blog.  It partners advertisers with bloggers.  I'm loving it!  I accept offers from companies when their product matches something I want to write about anyway... and I get PAID!  Mind blowing new experience ;)

For the past month or so they've been running a promo and the member who refers the most people to SocialSpark wins about $3,500 worth of Mac products.  I didn't try 'cause well, it seems unlikely a little blogger like me would win.  However, recently I discovered that one of the top runners has referred FIVE people!  Winning a new computer (two actually) would truthfully change my life and help me as I work to become a work-at-home-writer.
If you have a blog (even if it's old & dusty), please take a few minutes to register:  http://izea.in/r1IO9  You never have to accept any sponsorships, or if you do, it's a wonderful way to earn a little money through your blog!  Please do this by Friday evening.THANKS!

Recently, my book club read Year of Plenty.  It's the story of a Christian family who gets fed up with the commercialism of their life.  So, they rather spontaneously put a halt to it.  For a whole year, they only buy local, used, homemade, homegrown... or from Thailand (read the book, it's not as random as it appears).  This post isn't intended to be a review of the book, but I do recommend this book and their blog to everyone.  Wherever we are on our "green" mission, this book shares ideas, triumphs, frustrations & some gentle nudges.

One of the gentle nudges I received was well articulated by my friend and fellow bookworm, Deb.  With a faint trace of guilt, she shared that when she and her husband decided to be full-time working parents, they had to prioritize and pair down.  One sacrifice they made:  shopping at the socially irresponsible BIG BOX STORE.  One stop shopping was what they required in order to best utilitze their family time.

I made a similar decision this year.  My corner of the world doesn't have any great, locally owned grocery store options, but instead of driving out of my way to go to the best organically stocked grocery store, I embraced many rational arguments for why I need to do my grocery shopping at Wal-Mart.  Gasp!  I know!  Oh the shame...

I hate that they kill local competition and don't give their workers full-time hours or benefits.  I HATE their flourescent lights and their constantly changing lay-out.  However, our finances are beyond tight and due to LIVING LIFE prior commitments, I don't have the time or energy to drive a little farther and/or make multiple stops.  

SO, re-inspired by this book and my friend, Deb, I realized that though I'm shopping at EVIL BIG BOX STORE, I can use my purchasing power in a more socially responsible way.

I shop every two weeks...and ONLY every two weeks.  We're really cracking down on that one.  It's just so easy to ask hubby to pick up one item on his way home from work.  However, multiple trips is a WASTE of time, gas & money.  This has forced me to come a loooooooooong way in terms of meal planning.  I'll share more on that another day!

The other thing I'm doing, buying organic EVERY TIME!  Typically, I do buy organic when given a choice.  However, some days, the extra $.40 for the organic broccoli becomes an easy out when the regular brocolli is sitting right next to it.  The selection of organic foods has come a loooooooooooooong (I'm having fun with those O's!) way in the recent past, however, not far enough!  Every time I pass over the organic option, I'm telling Wal-Mart that I don't care about where my food comes from, how it was grown, who grew it, etc.  

One more inspired step, yesterday I sent emails to the three brands of sugar sold at my Wal-Mart.  I'm going to gradually research my options and choose the most socially responsible offerings.  It's a small step, but a step in the right direction!