The Rich Life

One of the many reasons I love my cat, Ozark, is that he is steadfast in his determination not to form a cat empire of ankle biters. He's so skilled at it he could easily gather feline followers to a boot camp just for teaching this sinister maneuver. Yet he prefers to keep his evil genius to himself and instead fill my (not so) fresh laundry with his fur. I just have to make sure that he and Donald Trump are never in the same room together. There's no telling what The Donald could convince my cat to do.

Don't be deceived by his air of calm sweetness. A more curmudgeonly cat you may never meet. This dude fights wild animals. (I'm not saying he wins, just that he fights 'em.) He may have kept his kittenish good looks but he's actually just about to turn 13 years old.

By some weird miracle I was the lucky 1600th commenter on Karmyn's blog Dreaming What Ifs.... I love her blog because she is curious about the same kinds of things as I am such as derelict buildings with suspiciously swanky cars parked in front of them, and also refuses to wear second hand underwear. No matter how much I want to support the re-use of things in order to extend the life of things, wearing second hand underwear is something I hope I am never forced by circumstance to do! This is the sweet (and sweet smelling!) prize she sent to me. I will be using this today. Yum. Thank you Karmyn!

Look what else came in the mail the other day! It's a clothes pin holder for making it easier and handier to hang your clothes on a line. Any guesses what seriously thoughtful person made this just for me and sent it as a surprise? Who in blog world is the most willing to support your endeavors, work for you for free in her spare time, leave comments even when no one else does, and posts the prettiest pictures of her garden so that no matter how rainy it is you can smell the Abraham D'Arby from a whole state away.

If you said Dooce, you would be totally WRONG and I would have to wonder if you got a little too botoxed on your last trip to the plastic surgeon! The only blogger I know who fits that description is Pam from Pam Kitty Morning.. I am inspired by and love how much she enjoys making things for people and helping them.

I recently ordered and received a gorgeous collection of Future Girl purses to sell in my store. I also bought one for myself. I've had it at the shop so I can look at it all day. I was afraid to bring it home because I am rather famous for wearing down everything I own into ragged piles of grimy rags. This bag is so beautifully made I am afraid of what will happen to it in my care.

This is not at all what Alice intended them for. These bags may look delicate in details, but they are quite sturdy and made for being used. I am definitely going to use mine, but not for every day. Future Girl bags have inspired me to make and buy a few more bags because although I love my grimy tough messenger bags, it feels good to have some lady like purses to use too. My mom and my aunt Lin will be especially pleased. They have been trying to pry my filthy unfeminine bags from my shoulder for a few years. (They did successfully convince me to retire my old army bag. But that's as far as they got.)

The home canned goods we made last summer are nearly gone. There are no more pickles left. There are very few jars of pears left. The tomatoes are nearly gone too. I do have quite a lot of blackberry jam left. I am actively plotting my canning activities for this summer and this fall. I've been thinking about all these efficiency issues and wondering how I can make it alright to have an extra fridge with freezer? Having one would allow me to freeze a lot more of the season's bounty, giving us many more quality meals through out the year. But it's yet another appliance. I really want to work on my frozen quiche project, but I need freezer space to do it, which I haven't got. What could I do to make up for the extra use of power? Where could I make up the balance?

This is the inspiration for the frozen quiche project. We get anywhere from three to five eggs a day. These little hens of mine (not really particularly small) are work horses! I am trying to share with friends but often forget to hand them a dozen as they leave. I have given a few to neighbors and can certainly share more. But, I don't want to give away all the extras if I can make something I can freeze with good quality results for meals we can whip out when we're really tired. Part of the whole homesteading spirit is to make good use of your bounty and make it last as long as possible.

It's been raining a lot here. I know I'm supposed to get all glum about it and complain. I just can't find any reason to object to it. I have really enjoyed it. Especially yesterday when I was making my version of tamale pie and some white bean soup. (We're eating a lot more beans now that I've got 125 lbs of them in my pantry.) Every time I opened the door for Chick to go out I would get this great burst of fresh damp air that smelled so good mixed with food cooking on the stove. Obviously I would like some dry weather so that I can get out there and plant in the garden and break my back over the huge heap of amendment which we then have to kill ourselves to mix with our native clay soil.

I have been having a ton of trouble getting back to sewing the peace aprons. Sometimes I get excited about sewing and sometimes I'd much rather sit around tying my leg hairs into knots than sit down and sew. I am determined that today I will do it. I will just do it. Without the aid of donuts. Or cheese. I've probably already gained back some pounds. Oh well. I will start fresh today. Maybe take the dog for a walk and get on the elliptical for a short spell and see if my legs fall off.

If my legs don't fall off I'll be really pleased.