Day 3 with no soda, cold turkey.
I feel very frantic and very dehydrated. But water does not satisfy me. I am like a cursed pirate. I have been awake for almost 24 hours, and have not yet started to feel tired. I had my new invention at about 5 pm. I call it a chia chai. I think I must have toxins, and lingering chemicals in my system still so I am sticking with the chia. Also, probably tmi, but quitting also correlates to an unexpected start date of my menstrual cycle. I am not saying it started it, but I have been told that the diet soda aggrevates my PCOS by manipulating my body into metabolic syndrome. In layman's terms, diet soda makes my body not know how to process sugar. This, I believe, is linked to my PCOS which can alter my cycle, often causing irregular or unexpected periods.
I feel really optimistic at this point. I don't feel like I am unable to be successful with this. I just kinda feel like I have somewhere to be that I can't remember. There is definitely a vacuum that has been created in the holes where soda used to be. I just hope that I have to common sense to fill it with something good.
Saturday, January 4, 2014
Thursday, January 2, 2014
Quitting soda for reals.
So, this is the first whole day that I have gone completely with no soda. I have slept for 13 hours and am still incredibly fatigued, achy, irritable, and have a general feeling of being frantic. I feel like I may at any moment run out the door to replenish myself. I am not sure whether it is a chemical detox that I need, or the emotional fortitude to break the habit. At least Richard is doing it too. So, I am drinking water with chia seed, and trying to minimize eating to flush the remaining toxins from the soda from my system. I am also going to try to journal this process, so that when I am on the other side of it, maybe something in my struggle may help someone else. Maybe they'll only be on their 15th or 16th time trying to quit.
I feel like my philosophy in this has to be to facilitate the conditions that my body needs to heal itself.
I feel like my philosophy in this has to be to facilitate the conditions that my body needs to heal itself.
Sunday, February 24, 2013
The Dead of Winter
So, I feel pretty proud that I am posting again in a reasonable amount of time. It has not been the usual annual update. Hopefully this is the start of a trend. So, the wind is howling and snow is swirling in no consistent direction, and the planter pots are so buried that you can't even tell that they are there. There is two feet of snow in some places.
I have been thinking a lot about moderation, and growing organically since South Carolina. I think the best way to build a working urban homestead is to build foundations first. Richard said we could do 2 raised beds this year, in addition to some fruit trees. I already had done a garden plan for those beds, and have already started some seedlings inside. But, I am thinking that I may abandon the whole plan. The more I think about it, the more sense it makes to change course now.
This is the first year of the homestead. I need to grow this in a rate and system that is sustainable and makes sense. We ordered 5 dwarf apple trees, several raspberry, blackberry, blueberry, and strawberry plants. I am also thinking that I will order an almond tree. But the new plan, I think is that we need to build a foundation for long-term homestead. Instead of shoving the annual veggies that I can into those two beds (the fruits don't count toward the bed limit), I think I should try to establish my perennial plan things first, and then grow to annuals. If we use the first year or two to get bulbs, fruits, trees, and perennial vegetables started in a way that allows them to flourish.
So, I will spend my energy on creating a perfect space for our brambles and berries. I will devote one raised bed to asparagus, and the other for a small salsa garden. It will be extremely hard to let go of the idea of cucumbers, green beans, and everything. But it will be harder to live with a plan that is too overwhelming that it fails. If I build a good foundation it is more likely that I will end up in the place I want.
Anyway, the more I think about it, I have plenty to do with just the permanent plantings, the children's garden, and helping get the grass back. I am just excited for winter to be over. But not too soon, because I still have so much to do before spring comes. I need to finish ripping out the forsythia bush in the front yard, the forsythia vines along the back and side fence. I need to dig in the bramble beds with compost. I need to dig in the blueberry bed, and fill with compost and soil acidifier in enough time for it to marinate before the plants arrive April 1st.
So, I had better go to sleep. I am hoping for a snow day tomorrow, so I don't have to go to work. I haven't been feeling well this weekend and another rest day would be a blessing.but I don't want to push it by staying up. Thanks for sticking with me.
I have been thinking a lot about moderation, and growing organically since South Carolina. I think the best way to build a working urban homestead is to build foundations first. Richard said we could do 2 raised beds this year, in addition to some fruit trees. I already had done a garden plan for those beds, and have already started some seedlings inside. But, I am thinking that I may abandon the whole plan. The more I think about it, the more sense it makes to change course now.
This is the first year of the homestead. I need to grow this in a rate and system that is sustainable and makes sense. We ordered 5 dwarf apple trees, several raspberry, blackberry, blueberry, and strawberry plants. I am also thinking that I will order an almond tree. But the new plan, I think is that we need to build a foundation for long-term homestead. Instead of shoving the annual veggies that I can into those two beds (the fruits don't count toward the bed limit), I think I should try to establish my perennial plan things first, and then grow to annuals. If we use the first year or two to get bulbs, fruits, trees, and perennial vegetables started in a way that allows them to flourish.
So, I will spend my energy on creating a perfect space for our brambles and berries. I will devote one raised bed to asparagus, and the other for a small salsa garden. It will be extremely hard to let go of the idea of cucumbers, green beans, and everything. But it will be harder to live with a plan that is too overwhelming that it fails. If I build a good foundation it is more likely that I will end up in the place I want.
Anyway, the more I think about it, I have plenty to do with just the permanent plantings, the children's garden, and helping get the grass back. I am just excited for winter to be over. But not too soon, because I still have so much to do before spring comes. I need to finish ripping out the forsythia bush in the front yard, the forsythia vines along the back and side fence. I need to dig in the bramble beds with compost. I need to dig in the blueberry bed, and fill with compost and soil acidifier in enough time for it to marinate before the plants arrive April 1st.
So, I had better go to sleep. I am hoping for a snow day tomorrow, so I don't have to go to work. I haven't been feeling well this weekend and another rest day would be a blessing.but I don't want to push it by staying up. Thanks for sticking with me.
Friday, February 22, 2013
Colorado Homestead Photos
Here are the long-ago promised "before" pictures of the new Carlsen Homestead. So let's hope I figure out how to get all of them up with my iPad, lol! Our lot is a large rectangle. The front yard keeps that shape. But in the back yard, a large detached garaged takes a square out, causing our yard to be a rough T shape. I think it makes it very handy though to divide the yard into zones. These photos were taken this winter, so all is dead. But come Spring, it will be full of new life.
So, homestead news is that we placed our order for 5 apple trees, several blackberry, raspberry, blueberry, and strawberries. They will be delivered in the beginning of April. Now we just need to prepare their new homes!
So, homestead news is that we placed our order for 5 apple trees, several blackberry, raspberry, blueberry, and strawberries. They will be delivered in the beginning of April. Now we just need to prepare their new homes!
Sunday, July 8, 2012
The SC Suburban Homestead has become the CO Suburban Homestead
I know this has been the first post in over a year. We moved to Colorado, and have been getting settled here. I considered abandoning the blog because it really is not a South Carolina Suburban Homestead anymore. I am still planning on getting our new home planted, built and fully transformed (again) to try to make this happen. I have not given up on the homestead goals, or dreaming of the lifestyle. I have gained a lot of wisdom through this whole experience, and have decided, in that to take a different path to get to a still very similar goal. This time, the plan is going to be to grow this homestead slowly, more organically.
I am currently in the last week of pregnancy (Thank Goodness) and so there may be another lull in posts until spring. Who knows? Richard says I need to write more, and that it would be good for me to keep track of these escapades so some other lunatic can benefit by all the mistakes we are making. Ha.
So anyway, here is the update. We now live is a smaller 5-bedroom house in the metro Denver area. We inherited a lot more outdoor space than our house in South Carolina, that is currently overgrown with weeds and invasive trees and large shrubs. Consequently a lot of our energy here soon will be devoted to eradicating and ripping up, rather than building and putting in. Which I think will be a good way for me to be forced into limiting the scope of projects right away, for many reasons most predominantly of which is that it is going to take much more work to get to the place to be able to build on. When I have to dig out a large forsythia bush before I have space to plant something new, the chances that I will go crazy overplanting is far less probable. Either way, I do feel the extensive scope of our homestead in SC was, in retrospect far too much to take on at once. And in the spirit of learning from my mistakes, I am committed to a slow, organic growth rate for this homestead.
I will post pictures tomorrow of what we are working with, as well as our latest project which I am about to describe.
So, we recently fell into rabbits, and under the compostable allure of their droppings I committed my dear husband into keeping them. We now have one male and one female. Zen often changes their names, so we are never sure what exactly to call them at any given time. The male is white with brown spots, and most often is referred to as Roger Rabbit. The smaller rabbit is a black female with brown spots, who is either called Black Panther or Black Widow, depending on the day. I am convinced that she is incredibly traumatized by the constant sexual advances by her roommate. And before you ask, they are both supposed to be "fixed" but having little knowledge prior to our receipt of them, are still not sure that is the case. We shall see. If not, you will not be hearing about rabbits any more, as they will have a new home.
So, onto our latest project. We had a new need to build rabbit housing (see above) as the cages we received them in were too small for two rabbits and I felt abusive every time I saw them. The cage was cleaned regularly, but still seemed to always be dirty, and far too confined. I have a real problem with animals being forced to do or to live in ways that run counter to their nature. They couldn't hop, or scratch in the dirt, or run, or anything. So, we spent this weekend building them a new enclosure. The footprint of their new space is a 4 foot square, that sits 3 feet high. I can describe how we built it if anyone is interested, but the cost was somewhere around $50. We painted it with an exterior latex paint, and I let Zen pick the color. He chose what I believe to be the absolute, most perfect shade of deep red. I was quite proud because I had refrained from trying to influence his decision in any way, and am incredibly happy with how it looks. Like I said earlier, I will post pictures asap. Anyway, for the structure of the cage, it is built using a 2x4 frame, and has a plywood top and the bottom is open to the ground, so they can scratch and eat weeds (which he have in large supply) and their droppings can nourish the ground and keep us from having to expend the energy and time to clean the cage daily. Plus, it will directly fertilize the ground without having the extra step of being moved to the compost pile first.
So, anyway, we completed construction and moved the bunnies into their new home yesterday evening. This morning we watched and Black Panther completed their Great Escape by tunneling out from under the open-bottomed enclosure. We moved the whole setup (temporarily) to a concrete pad we have, that will someday become the greenhouse. It has successfully prevented subsequent escapes, while we brainstorm a more permanent solution. One possibility is to put the entire enclosure on wheels so that we can move it (like a chicken tractor) to our most lush patches of weeds, and relocate it before any tunneling operations can reach completion. The pros to this are that they would be able to work their bunny magic on whatever part of the yard they were most needed, as well as that it would make it easier to relocate them in the garage during winter. Keeping in mind that in the one night on their new location they really did destroy any evidence of weeds, left wonderful nutrients, and tilled and shallow area of soil. The cons are that once the other elements of the yard start to take shape, especially the more architectural features, it will be difficult to maneuver such a large enclosure and we may be relegated to keeping them in a semi-permanent position anyway. So, there aren't really optimistic long-term visions for this plan. The other is to fortify our perfect bunny location to prevent escapes, and to protect them during the winter. The pros are that it would require much less regular maintenance, and be far more convenient in terms of long-term energy and time investment. Also, it would make sure that they are not confined in an inside space all winter, where their enclosure would have to be cleaned regularly. The downsides are the initial investment and troubleshooting. We will have to acquire supplies to make the modifications, and then (since I am making up the designs as I go, with no knowledge or experience with rabbits) make sure they work. Plus, any modifications are going to be far more permanent, and in the event that we no longer have bunnies one day, it will be something that we will have to either undo or work around. I will keep you posted as to what we decide, but I know at this point that the boys are leaning towards making the structure more permanent. I will do some more research, though, as I know who will ultimately be making the decision.
So, pictures to come, sorry for the windy update. But to be fair, it has been more than a year.
xoxo
I am currently in the last week of pregnancy (Thank Goodness) and so there may be another lull in posts until spring. Who knows? Richard says I need to write more, and that it would be good for me to keep track of these escapades so some other lunatic can benefit by all the mistakes we are making. Ha.
So anyway, here is the update. We now live is a smaller 5-bedroom house in the metro Denver area. We inherited a lot more outdoor space than our house in South Carolina, that is currently overgrown with weeds and invasive trees and large shrubs. Consequently a lot of our energy here soon will be devoted to eradicating and ripping up, rather than building and putting in. Which I think will be a good way for me to be forced into limiting the scope of projects right away, for many reasons most predominantly of which is that it is going to take much more work to get to the place to be able to build on. When I have to dig out a large forsythia bush before I have space to plant something new, the chances that I will go crazy overplanting is far less probable. Either way, I do feel the extensive scope of our homestead in SC was, in retrospect far too much to take on at once. And in the spirit of learning from my mistakes, I am committed to a slow, organic growth rate for this homestead.
I will post pictures tomorrow of what we are working with, as well as our latest project which I am about to describe.
So, we recently fell into rabbits, and under the compostable allure of their droppings I committed my dear husband into keeping them. We now have one male and one female. Zen often changes their names, so we are never sure what exactly to call them at any given time. The male is white with brown spots, and most often is referred to as Roger Rabbit. The smaller rabbit is a black female with brown spots, who is either called Black Panther or Black Widow, depending on the day. I am convinced that she is incredibly traumatized by the constant sexual advances by her roommate. And before you ask, they are both supposed to be "fixed" but having little knowledge prior to our receipt of them, are still not sure that is the case. We shall see. If not, you will not be hearing about rabbits any more, as they will have a new home.
So, onto our latest project. We had a new need to build rabbit housing (see above) as the cages we received them in were too small for two rabbits and I felt abusive every time I saw them. The cage was cleaned regularly, but still seemed to always be dirty, and far too confined. I have a real problem with animals being forced to do or to live in ways that run counter to their nature. They couldn't hop, or scratch in the dirt, or run, or anything. So, we spent this weekend building them a new enclosure. The footprint of their new space is a 4 foot square, that sits 3 feet high. I can describe how we built it if anyone is interested, but the cost was somewhere around $50. We painted it with an exterior latex paint, and I let Zen pick the color. He chose what I believe to be the absolute, most perfect shade of deep red. I was quite proud because I had refrained from trying to influence his decision in any way, and am incredibly happy with how it looks. Like I said earlier, I will post pictures asap. Anyway, for the structure of the cage, it is built using a 2x4 frame, and has a plywood top and the bottom is open to the ground, so they can scratch and eat weeds (which he have in large supply) and their droppings can nourish the ground and keep us from having to expend the energy and time to clean the cage daily. Plus, it will directly fertilize the ground without having the extra step of being moved to the compost pile first.
So, anyway, we completed construction and moved the bunnies into their new home yesterday evening. This morning we watched and Black Panther completed their Great Escape by tunneling out from under the open-bottomed enclosure. We moved the whole setup (temporarily) to a concrete pad we have, that will someday become the greenhouse. It has successfully prevented subsequent escapes, while we brainstorm a more permanent solution. One possibility is to put the entire enclosure on wheels so that we can move it (like a chicken tractor) to our most lush patches of weeds, and relocate it before any tunneling operations can reach completion. The pros to this are that they would be able to work their bunny magic on whatever part of the yard they were most needed, as well as that it would make it easier to relocate them in the garage during winter. Keeping in mind that in the one night on their new location they really did destroy any evidence of weeds, left wonderful nutrients, and tilled and shallow area of soil. The cons are that once the other elements of the yard start to take shape, especially the more architectural features, it will be difficult to maneuver such a large enclosure and we may be relegated to keeping them in a semi-permanent position anyway. So, there aren't really optimistic long-term visions for this plan. The other is to fortify our perfect bunny location to prevent escapes, and to protect them during the winter. The pros are that it would require much less regular maintenance, and be far more convenient in terms of long-term energy and time investment. Also, it would make sure that they are not confined in an inside space all winter, where their enclosure would have to be cleaned regularly. The downsides are the initial investment and troubleshooting. We will have to acquire supplies to make the modifications, and then (since I am making up the designs as I go, with no knowledge or experience with rabbits) make sure they work. Plus, any modifications are going to be far more permanent, and in the event that we no longer have bunnies one day, it will be something that we will have to either undo or work around. I will keep you posted as to what we decide, but I know at this point that the boys are leaning towards making the structure more permanent. I will do some more research, though, as I know who will ultimately be making the decision.
So, pictures to come, sorry for the windy update. But to be fair, it has been more than a year.
xoxo
Friday, April 15, 2011
The Cabbages will EAT US!!
Updates:
Cabbage bed is filling up, and running out of room, lower leaves that rest on the ground are showing 2-3 aphids, so I have been removing them and putting them on the fire pit. Chamomile is developing lush foliage but no flowers yet. Everything looks healthy and strong.
Sweet potatoes still have not recovered the massive amounts of disease from the feed store. I may have to replace them if possible. I also am trying to root a pineapple plant in that bed. Compared to all the others, it looks pretty barren.
The lettuce bed is filling in nicely and we are pulling heads out pretty regularly. The radishes have almost all been eaten out and the carrots are filling in completely. Even the lemongrass has sprouted and is growing and looks hardy.
We have 20-25 immature strawberries growing in right now, and the thyme and garlic seem right at home. We are still fighting black spot, though. The organic powder did nothing for them. I need to fertilize them soon.
The tomatoes are growing in well and seem healthy. Some are flowering, giving me hopes of an early crop! :) They are all caged and supported and no pests are to be seen.
The peppers are still getting bigger. One bell pepper has a small pepper on it, but quite a few have numerous flower buds that haven't blossomed yet. I still fell like they are pretty little, though, and am not sure that they are big enough to handle that weight. But we will see! I also threw in a tabasco pepper to finish things off. (there is still a tray of pepper seedlings in there, seeing who will survive)
The okra had to be replaced as it looked diseased, and I ended up buying more than I needed because of the size of the packs. Any way, they have developed a couple more true leaves, which is optimistic. The tomatillos are both in flower, and I divided the eggplant leaving us with 3 Ichiban eggplant plants, and 4 Black Beauty (Italian) eggplant. They seem small, but the garden has a way of surprising me with shocking growth overnight.
The potato bed is starting to look overgrown. There is lots of dense foliage, and small alyssum flowers poking through covering the ground. I am waiting for one to start flowering, so we can have new potatoes. I would love to have them for Easter!! There are no signs of blight, and the cilantro is getting huge. I dug the blighted plant up and removed the small blue tubers and re-buried them in their old spot. My grow, may do nothing. We will see. I don't water this bed at all anymore and it looks like it is better for it.
The broccoli/onion bed is in a state of transition. The radishes are almost gone, and the carrots are coming in. We cut the central heads off the 4 broccoli plants. They were small, but the heads were growing less dense, and I was afraid the flower buds would start opening. (They were delicious). Either way, they are developing many little side-shoots. And I will be able to move the broccoli plants from the cabbage bed over once those shoots are harvested. Then I hope to get a second (and hopefully third) harvest of broccoli. I had to use one onion for a recipe, so we are now one short. And about 4 of them didn't sprout. I think it should be enough, though. If not, this bed may require revision for next year.
The corn is getting big, and I would venture to say has reached 18-20" tall. I love it. Everything is planted and sprouting. I will try to take pictures soon. The peas and (a few) beans are flowering, hopefully signaling the beginning of a harvest season. I also placed a butternut squash, a peanut plant, and stevia in some open areas in the area. A pantyhose cap will be placed on the sunflower to prevent the seeds from scattering once they get fertilized and start to form. We have lots of little sprouts. And I bought some pickling cucumbers hoping that will make a difference in how our pickles turn out his year. No more signs of aphids here, but we do see a lot of ladybugs around the garden, so I am sure that they don't want to be here.
Will try to update on the perennial perimeter soon!!
P.S. I discovered a sprinkler head buried under the sod! Now I can get water delivered automatically from 2 sides of the garden. :)
Cabbage bed is filling up, and running out of room, lower leaves that rest on the ground are showing 2-3 aphids, so I have been removing them and putting them on the fire pit. Chamomile is developing lush foliage but no flowers yet. Everything looks healthy and strong.
Sweet potatoes still have not recovered the massive amounts of disease from the feed store. I may have to replace them if possible. I also am trying to root a pineapple plant in that bed. Compared to all the others, it looks pretty barren.
The lettuce bed is filling in nicely and we are pulling heads out pretty regularly. The radishes have almost all been eaten out and the carrots are filling in completely. Even the lemongrass has sprouted and is growing and looks hardy.
We have 20-25 immature strawberries growing in right now, and the thyme and garlic seem right at home. We are still fighting black spot, though. The organic powder did nothing for them. I need to fertilize them soon.
The tomatoes are growing in well and seem healthy. Some are flowering, giving me hopes of an early crop! :) They are all caged and supported and no pests are to be seen.
The peppers are still getting bigger. One bell pepper has a small pepper on it, but quite a few have numerous flower buds that haven't blossomed yet. I still fell like they are pretty little, though, and am not sure that they are big enough to handle that weight. But we will see! I also threw in a tabasco pepper to finish things off. (there is still a tray of pepper seedlings in there, seeing who will survive)
The okra had to be replaced as it looked diseased, and I ended up buying more than I needed because of the size of the packs. Any way, they have developed a couple more true leaves, which is optimistic. The tomatillos are both in flower, and I divided the eggplant leaving us with 3 Ichiban eggplant plants, and 4 Black Beauty (Italian) eggplant. They seem small, but the garden has a way of surprising me with shocking growth overnight.
The potato bed is starting to look overgrown. There is lots of dense foliage, and small alyssum flowers poking through covering the ground. I am waiting for one to start flowering, so we can have new potatoes. I would love to have them for Easter!! There are no signs of blight, and the cilantro is getting huge. I dug the blighted plant up and removed the small blue tubers and re-buried them in their old spot. My grow, may do nothing. We will see. I don't water this bed at all anymore and it looks like it is better for it.
The broccoli/onion bed is in a state of transition. The radishes are almost gone, and the carrots are coming in. We cut the central heads off the 4 broccoli plants. They were small, but the heads were growing less dense, and I was afraid the flower buds would start opening. (They were delicious). Either way, they are developing many little side-shoots. And I will be able to move the broccoli plants from the cabbage bed over once those shoots are harvested. Then I hope to get a second (and hopefully third) harvest of broccoli. I had to use one onion for a recipe, so we are now one short. And about 4 of them didn't sprout. I think it should be enough, though. If not, this bed may require revision for next year.
The corn is getting big, and I would venture to say has reached 18-20" tall. I love it. Everything is planted and sprouting. I will try to take pictures soon. The peas and (a few) beans are flowering, hopefully signaling the beginning of a harvest season. I also placed a butternut squash, a peanut plant, and stevia in some open areas in the area. A pantyhose cap will be placed on the sunflower to prevent the seeds from scattering once they get fertilized and start to form. We have lots of little sprouts. And I bought some pickling cucumbers hoping that will make a difference in how our pickles turn out his year. No more signs of aphids here, but we do see a lot of ladybugs around the garden, so I am sure that they don't want to be here.
Will try to update on the perennial perimeter soon!!
P.S. I discovered a sprinkler head buried under the sod! Now I can get water delivered automatically from 2 sides of the garden. :)
Thursday, March 31, 2011
Done With the Dirt, For Now...
So the rest of the dirt is in the corn bed, and the bed is planted. It was pretty windy, however, and a tray of our seedlings got knocked over, and mixed up. So for now, they are all planted in the ground and will be transplanted once I know what they are.
I replanted the okra, I know it's late, but I am hoping that we can still make it. (It is a hot-weather crop, you know.)
I started a business page for the Homestead on Facebook, and wrote City Roots about an internship. I am hoping to generate some interest (and hopefully some money) so I can continue to build the Homestead. I am hoping to find someone to design us a website.
I think we have a lot to offer to the community, and right now I am charged to do that. I had to scale back my hours at the Grill because I can't afford the childcare costs. So, hopefully this is some divine direction to stay home and build this.
I am sure that Richard (and my Mom even moreso) are going to be worried about the scale to which I am pushing this. But my thoughts are that for me to really plug myself into thismovement, I have to be out there. And beyond that, if I fail, I fail. I will live and so will they. But if I don't fail, this could be such a blessing for both us and the community. And you and I both know that I need to be out in the community slightly more than I am.
I figure, that yes, you may be more likely to fail, the bigger your dream. But is it worth it to settle? I am just going to push this as far as it will go, and then be happy with whatever the outcomemay be. I am not doing it for money, or fame, or success. I believe in the Homestead movement, and in sustainability. I will continue to do it whether it is successful or not.
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