A bowl half full.

I spent a couple of hours outside today, pulling up the dry beans and "threshing" them.

A couple of hours, for less than 2 cups of dry beans.  

A couple of hours, for a couple of pots of chili con carne.

And, since shelling beans is pretty mindless work, I had a lot of time to think:  why do I do this? 

Let me be quite clear up front - I garden, first and foremost, because I enjoy it.  But why beans and not begonias?

If I grow it myself, I know what went on it.  I try to grow organically, but I'm not adverse to using chemicals when warranted. 

If I grow it myself, it means I'm that much less dependent on industrial agriculture.  I still buy a lot of food at the grocery store, but every meal I grow myself means one less meal that needs to be grown, processed, shipped and stored.  

If I grow it myself, I have a start on a decent food storage.  It's not enough to feed me for more that a few weeks at most, but I'm not going to starve if the power goes out for a week.

If I grow it myself, I know that two rows of dried beans this year means a few meals, and a whole bed of them next year means somewhere around 1/10th of my meals for the entire year.  

A lot of blogs are written by "preppers".  

I'm not just a prepper.

A lot of blogs are written by locovores.

I'm not just a locovore.

A lot of blogs are written by "greenies".

I'm not just a greenie.

A lot of blogs are written by "frugals".

I'm not just a frugal.

So, when some read my blog, they see the inconsistencies of growing my own beans, but buying a large, brand-new fridge with built-in ice maker (even though my current fridge still works - for now, anyhow).  They see the inconsistencies of buying a dishwasher, but spending labour day weekend canning.  They see the inconsistencies of buying new living room furniture but growing a yard full of vegetables instead of buying them.

Yes, I know I can buy 2 pounds of onions for 99 cents, and dry beans are cheap cheap cheap.  I know spending a few thousand on new appliances, new furniture, house renovations (okay, more than few thousand here...) can't be recouped by a vegetable garden.

But this all part of me.  So, when you question my choices, please keep two things in mind:

1. I'm not just one thing - I'm a normal Canadian, doing what I think is best at this point in time.

2. They are MY choices, and I am not forcing them on you.  

I write this blog to keep friends and family up-to-date on the house and my life, and I hope some others find it useful, or at least amusing.  I'm not just one thing, and this blog will not be just one thing either.

Now, I have a pot of vegetable soup to make for lunch this week.  YUM!

Sometimes, you just have to wrap yourself in a blanket and jump*

I did it.  I put my money where my mouth is - literally!

I signed up for my first CSA yesterday.

Yes, I do have a rather large vegetable garden.  But I signed up for a CSA anyway.

Why?

1. My garden isn't quite large enough (yet) to be my main source of vegetables for any extended period
2. I have NO fruit plants (yet) (well, other than those that are botanically fruits but eaten as savory dishes, such as squash, tomatoes, peppers... what?  Too geeky?  Sorry, moving on....)
3. While I am growing a large variety of  plants, there are many I don't grow that are available through the CSA
4. I'm interested in seeing if I can actually handle a large amount of produce coming in all at once, and either use it or preserve it before it turns into compost.  And at $25.00 every two weeks for a half share, it's money I'm willing to risk to discover my shortcomings before I put the larger amount of money into expanding my own garden
5. And last, but not least, I'm supporting a very local farmer instead of the non-local grocery chains

It starts the week after next, and a half share is actually a full basket every two weeks (a full share is a basket every week).  I'll be picking it up at the farm (who's web site is currently down) on Friday afternoons, and hopefully will be posting regularly about the CSA and my own garden, and how my attempts as eating local are working out!  Good times :)

I have a LOT of meat in the freezer, and am planning on using that up over the summer, then also starting to source my meat locally.  Due to the price, I'll be eating a lot more vegetarian meals, and need some help there.

Anyone care to share their favourite vegetarian recipes, that can be made from mostly local items??  Please?!?!


______________________________________________
*My former boss used to come out with some interesting sayings.  We were never sure if he was doing a literal translation from his first language, or if these were just odd sayings of his, but either way, they were memorable!

Frugal+Green+Sustainable+Local = Impossible?

I can buy imported honey for less than Canadian honey.  I can buy Canadian honey for less than local honey.



I live in the middle of one of the most productive agricultural region of Canada, with acres of orchards, but I can't find apple juice in my local grocery store that doesn't come from China.



I can grow a lot of my own food, but preserving and storing that food takes energy.



I can afford to feed my dogs a species-appropriate diet, but I cannot afford to feed them sustainable, local meat.




I can source almost 100% of my diet locally, but the closest central "shop" is over 30 minutes away by car - each way.




I've blogged before about this issue, but it's on my mind more and more. 

Is there a balance between the four?

Is there any one "correct" way that works for everyone?


Then add a fifth element - time.
 
I work full time.  I have two dogs, that, while they are the best dogs on the planet (!), do require some of my time.  I'm single, so if the windows need washing, the lawn needs mowing, the garden needs tending, the house needs cleaning - I'm the one up to bat.  Groceries and laundry.  Friends and family.  Community.  Time spent researching new topics, sourcing new suppliers for the things I need to live.  And yes, time spent relaxing, on the computer, playing with the dogs, reading for pleasure, and even spent watching TV!

I know that, when (if?) the reno is done, I'll have more time, but I will never, short of winning the lottery so I don't have to work, have the time, money and ability to do everything.  Nor do I have the interest in doing everything that others do.  Maybe it's because I live in a wine region, with plenty of wines readily available, but I have no interest in wine making.  And I grew up in a family that made wine, back when that process started with buying real, live grapes - not juice!  Same as beer making - meh. And while I'll pick up a hammer, a saw, a drill, I have no interest in doing my own car maintenance.   

It seems that many things on this journey are fractals.  The more I try, the more complicated it becomes, the more offshoots, more learning, more time,  more money invested, more more more...

Learn how to bake bread?  Okay, fine, I can do that.  Oh, but now I should mill my own flour.  Spend time researching mills, finding a distributor, finding local, green, sustainable, frugal sources for wheat... what, I should grow my own wheat? 

Learning how to knit turns into learning how to spin turns into learning how to process fleece turns into learning how to raise your own flock.

You can't just make beer, you have to grow your own hops.  Making wine?  Then why aren't your growing grapes?  Gardening?  What do you mean, you don't save seed?!?!

Soap making, vinegar brewing, cheese making, baking, sewing, gardening, transportation, the list is literally endless!

Where is the balance?  What compromises need to be made?  Where do we draw the line?

What are your priorities?  How do you manage to do it all, if you do?  Is it even possible to do it all??

I have a serious hate on...

Yeah, yeah, yeah.  I know.  They save electricity.  They are green.  Any person who cares anything about the environment has them, right?

Whatever.

I hate that they take forever to warm up and get to full brightness.

I hate that the colour choices are jaundice-yellow or operating-room-glare-white.  (Yeah, I've also heard that the colour has gotten better.  Unfortunately, hearing isn't the same as seeing).

I hate that they have mercury.  That it's apparently okay because it's such a small amount - but "small amount" x millions = "not so small amount".  And that "small amount" in my household doesn't take account the amounts required in the manufacturing process.  I'm sure the people who make them are exposed to much larger amounts.  Because....

I hate that they are made in China.  You know, that country that takes environmental and worker safety seriously.  The country that was so appalled at the whole melamine in wheat flour thing, which led to way too many pet deaths in North America, that it didn't go right out and put the same damn stuff in their own baby food.  Oh wait, it did just that.

I really do hate that most "green" choices, like all too many other choices, aren't simple.  I just, after over a year of living here, went out and bought 6 CFL bulbs, to replace some incandescent bulbs in hard-to-reach fixtures that had burnt out.  I know that LEDs are the next "in thing", but the cost alone at this point is prohibitive, and I'm sure there is some reason why they too aren't an "easy" green choice.

I swear, I'm going back to whale oil lamps :)