On the Road to Self Sufficiency

My mind is a bit addled at the moment. Lots of things happening to interfer with the ability to focus. Starting at the top with an economy that's threatening my workplace and flowing down through bad weather, unhappy friends, and dealing with loss, blogging is kind of taking a back seat. However, keeping the mind settled by any means (short of breaking laws) always helps so I gathered some of the notes I saved while looking for information on building my own indoor gardening system (see previous post for an example) and decided to see if I can create a post without too much rambling or too many grammatical errors.

I think I spent about ten hours looking for information on the Aerogarden. That contraption doesn't appeal to me because of the initial cost and the extended cost, i.e. the seed packets. I know I throw a lot of fresh herbs away when I buy a bunch at the store and need only a smidgen for a recipe but I still can't spend as much as the Aerogarden product will cost. Not that I'm cheap (well, maybe just a little); I am a believer in getting more than one use out of a product and in being as self sufficient as possible.


Now my brother Paul, who lives in the east, is truly a person who has won my heart with his lifestyle. Each year he plants a huge outdoor garden, beets, tomatoes, potatoes, cucumbers, eggplant (ugh), and a ton of other vegetables. At harvest time he and his wife, Dottie, can and jar stuff but they also distribute quite a bit of their crops to the rest of the family. Paul also rents a small place not far from town where he keeps a few chickens and is able to supply fresh eggs daily to four branches of family and some extended family.

He's one of my heros.

But, I live in the desert and five years of attempts have left my outdoor garden pitifully lacking. In fact, the only thing that has grown for me are four turnips!

I remember looking into hydroponic growing many years ago but never let it enter my life. Maybe that's the route I should take. Don't know, actually, but I will read up on it and see where it takes me. I've heard the book link here is a very good source for getting your hydroponic act together. I'm going after it. We'll see where it leads.

Who knows, it might be time to leave the desert behind and head to places where gardening is a way of life.

Recycling for Children

Crafting and recycling has taken a temporary back seat to other important tasks right now. Because those 24-hour days just aren't enough at the present moment, I've squeezed a few minutes out to remind everyone that the best way to ensure that as many products as possible find a second or third use is to teach the children.
I found a couple of books at a local used bookshop that do just that. I found used copies of this book available online as well so I'm putting the link here.

The first title is Awesome Things to Make with Recycled Stuff, a book that has some, as the title suggests, awesome projects a kid can be proud to show off. It's written by Joe Rhatigan and Heather Smith. I haven't reviewed the entire book yet but I will be doing that in the near future. (It's that "time thing" again.) Meanwhile, if you have read this title, please leave a comment so others can benefit from your input.

Thanks a bunch and remember to turn OldIntoNew.