Goals, Not Resolutions

   I don't make New Year's resolutions.  I feel bad when I don't do them (and I won't), so I just don't make them.  I do, however, like lists of things to get done, because I feel like I accomplished something when I can mark stuff off.

GOALS FOR 2015:

• Put at least one whole-foods meals on the table per week.
• Move. (Ugh)
• Get something to move into. (This is not numbered for a reason!)
• Start a small fall garden. 
• Start an herbal garden.
• Chickens!  Just a few young ones at first, to start off slow, and therefore less overwhelming.
• Learn herbal medicine. Not all of it, obviously, that would take me decades, just more than I currently know.
• Play more. Because of this guy.
• Verbalize more how much I love and appreciate my husband.  Because he's awesome and I don't say or show it enough, in my mind.

  I think that's a good start, don't you?
  What are your goals for 2015?

Wow, less than a week later!

  Christmas season is officially over.  The Christmas tree and other decorations got put away yesterday.  I can put my big loom back up!  I just need to get a kid out here to help...
  Christmas season can't be completely over yet, because I haven't told you about my presents! 

   On the left back is eight ounces of naturally-colored cotton to be spun.  I have never spun cotton before so it should be an adventure!  The three cones of yarn are 3/2 mercerized cotton, and the middle one isn't actually that yellow, more of a chamois. I'm not sure yet what I'm going to make with them.  On the right in the back is an ounce of BFL(wool)/silk blend in the colorway called Sweet Pea which I can't wait to spin.
  On the front left is a ratchet and pawl upgrade for my Kromski Harp Rigid Heddle loom.  The ratchets it comes with are plastic and bend easily, as in the first time I used it! The upgrade is made of metal and should last much longer.  I will post pictures when I put this on.
  Then...
  THEN!
  Guys, GUYS!  This little Zoom Loom by Schacht is awesome!  I've made over a dozen little squares, I've even made some at WORK!  And these  are just some of the things you can do with them!
  Okay, calming down now.
  I don't know if you have noticed a theme with these presents, other than they are all weaving/spinning related (what else would I get?).
  These are all things that don't involve my big floor loom.  Much as my husband would love to see it go, NO, I'm not getting rid of it.
  I'm thinking of the future.  Are we getting a cabin(small) or a Mobile home(bigger)?  When, exactly will we be moving? If we get a cabin, where will I put the big loom?  On the screened-in porch?  Could it survive out there in the humidity?
  Too many questions!  When I finish with the towels that are currently on it, I will let the floor loom sit idle while I work on my spinning skills and use my smaller looms.
  At least, that is the current plan.

Catching Up

   Hi, how are you? Yeah, haven't seen you in a while! I haven't been around much, ya know, so...
  

I finished the cotton/linen towels, but I made several mistakes on them, so I tied a new warp onto the old one to make more.  I changed the colors a bit, wove a couple of inches, and then had to put the loom up so we could make room for the Christmas tree.  I will probably use the towels myself. I can't sell something so flawed.  Jo Buyer probably wouldn't be able to tell that it didn't look like it should, but I would know.

   We had our local Christmas parade, and all three of my girls were in it.  That shorty holding the Alabama state flag?  That's Middle Daughter.  Yeah, I couldn't get a shot of her face, and no, she couldn't see.  That's why they are so close together, so they people holding the flags don't go haring off.

   The girl in front with the Santa hat is Eldest Daughter, leading the seniors of her NJROTC flight.  Both oldest daughters are in JROTC at their school, and have been since they were freshman.  The have leadership positions and I love what they are learning from it.

   Baby girl is NOT the one with the cheesy grin, but the one behind her.  They were on the Search and Rescue boat.

   On the homestead front, we got new gates since the other ones were bent.  They were my husband's Christmas present.  We are still working on getting something to live on on our land. We have three choices that we are considering: building a cabin (third choice), a mobile home (which I greatly dislike), or getting a cabin that is manufactured somewhere North of here in our state.  We are looking at this one, especially. Or this one.
   I should probably get going, I have to do some cleaning up. It was nice seeing you! I am going to try coming back here more often. 

Changes

  I know, it looks different, yeah? My life is changing so the blog is, too. 
  Why is my life changing?  Because I am not satisfied with how it is right now.
  Don't get me wrong, my relationship with my family is great, but I am not where I want to be right now in almost everything else. 
  I hate to go to work every day.  I want to stay home and take care of my family, have food ready for them, and do more weaving.  I used to find my job very satisfying. Working at a doctor's office, I felt like I am doing something worthwhile and helping people, but not so much responsibility that if I screw up I would kill someone.  I am trusting doctors less now the more I have them throw pills at me instead of trying to fix the problems I am having.
  I have a 1300 square foot apartment on the second floor that is very nice, in a good neighborhood. I also have a frustratingly small space to grow anything, I have to hand-water what I do grow, I can't have any animals, and I hear ambulances and fire trucks at least once a day.  I am not satisfied with this. 
  So we are changing our lives, my family and I.
  We have bought a slightly more than an acre lot about 15 minutes away in a more country area, that already has a septic tank, water service, and a power pole.  It also has a chain-link fence around most of it, mature trees (cedar, pine, fig, sycamore, crepe myrtle, magnolia), and a little shed.
  Our plans are to buy a Mobile home to move into after the school year ends (Eldest and Middle Daughters are in their senior year of high school and we don't want to screw that up), get a few chickens and start planting.  In a few years, since we will be paying a heckuva lot less for shelter than our current rent, I will quit my current job and either stay home and take care of our little homestead or get a part-time job.  One of my goals is to produce as much of our own food as possible.  We will be gradually getting more animals. I want a couple of goats for milk, sheep for wool and meat, and maybe even a pig.  We'll see how it goes.
  I have pictures!

  This is where we start. This is where we will end, and pass it on to our children.

This Is My Dream

  This is my dream: five or more acres on which are planted vegetables, fruits, hay, and herbs to feed my family; chickens, rabbits, pigs, and a dairy goat; a below-ground house with every wall raised and every pipe laid by myself, my husband, dad, and kids; days spent out in the sunshine, tending to God’s creation instead of inside answering phones and sitting at a computer; afternoons and evenings spent at my looms and spinning wheels, creating more unique pieces to sell and provide for my loved ones.  
  Right now I live in a second floor apartment and a southern-facing balcony that is mostly taken up by a smoker-grill and two kayaks.

This picture is pre-kayaks.

  I don't have anywhere to put any animals, or really grow much of anything. So I do what I can now.  I'm researching like crazy about homesteading and animal care, getting books and bookmarking homesteading blogs on my computer.
  My husband thinks I'm crazy, but in his defense the history he knows and has seen of me and plants is of the houseplants I neglect and kill.  I know he will support me, within reason.
 

Another Article on The History Bog about Textiles

  This time the article is about Peruvian textiles. I love history!
http://www.thehistoryblog.com/archives/30833
   Make sure you click on the pictures, you can see them a lot more clearly.

A Bit of Textile History

  I find the history of weaving fascinating, for obvious reasons.  I also just like history, and The History Blog.com is an excellent source for interesting history articles.  This one is excellent: http://www.thehistoryblog.com/archives/30728.
   Just thought you might be interested.