These days I mostly try not to write. My life is so full of work and family and weeding. But every now and then, my brain starts to itch and the only way to scratch that itch is writing. This is where you will find my most recent scratchings.
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DIY Chicken Waterers
I promised you a bit more detail on my DIY chicken waterers. These are both easy projects, with cheap or scavenged materials. Let’s start with the more standard version. This gallon sized bucket waterer sits outside in their run and lasts 3-4 days for four birds in wicked heat. This one works on the same gravity/suction principles as the commercially available waterers. It’s really quite simple. You turn the bucket right side up, fill with water, set a dish of some kind on top, then gripping both tightly, in one deft maneuver, flip the whole lot upside down. The water…
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Screen Time for Ludites
You may have noticed I’ve been posting quite a lot lately, especially considering my ages ago decision to write only on Saturdays. Slowly, over the almost year since that cleansing fast, I’ve crawled back off the wagon into the deliciously wicked addiction of The Blogger. Oh, but isn’t it glorious down here in the dirt! I have lately given myself reprieve though. After many months of fighting, not just the writing addiction, but also what I can only describe as an addiction to myself, I have given in. I survived a year of incredibly intense mothering, the lips above water kind.…
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Sharing the Burden, Sharing Ideas
Hey there friends, Sasha at One Rich Mother left a link to one of her posts on the FB page, regarding the Mama Rage issue. I thought everyone should have a chance to take a look, her post is called The Lost Art of Chill. She lists out the ways that she has used to try to overcome some of her anger issues, or just deal with it more appropriately. While I write about just the emotions of it, Sasha thankfully offered some really good concrete tips. And, this woman has seven children, so she ought to know. Of course,…
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Just Wing It
Our chicken decision has been a continual pleasure. I can hardly believe I was going to not get chickens. As I mentioned in the Chicken Herder post, they have been an incredible learning opportunity for my daughter. The regularity of a chore, that belongs to her but benefits the family, is just wonderful. But in addition to that overriding lesson, there are myriad little daily lessons to be had in purely tangible problem solving. She has learned to operate the hook and eye latches to let the chickens out and put them away at night, to gather and count eggs,…
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Dinner Deconstructed: Ground Meat Patties, Brown Rice and Glazed Carrots
Since moving to New Orleans, and starting a blog, it has come to my attention that not everybody knows their way around a kitchen. I have met countless mamas here who are terrified by their role as ‘family cook.’ And it kills me. I just can’t stand the idea that there are mamas, papas, or just anybody at all out there staring at the fridge, intimidated by cooking dinner. I’ve written about this before, but I just keep coming back to it I guess. I got a new cookbook titled The Commonsense Kitchen by Tom Hudgens. I had hoped (I always…
calamity jane 