Wow, where has the time gone? It's spring (officially!) and time to start gardening! YAY!
Got my order in for some of the summer produce. I'm so excited! Learning tricks on dealing with the local pests i.e. raccoons and birds. They will raid everything - they certainly enjoyed my tomatoes last year.
So on to the website I came across: http://www.organic-gardening-and-homesteading.com
I have really enjoyed the topics covered on this site, and you can even join the emailing list (I did!).
Sunday, March 20, 2011
Sunday, February 20, 2011
For the Beauty of the Earth
So our church has a book reading "club" (for lack of a better word) with a reading list. My husband ordered some of the books, and "For the Beauty of the Earth" by Steven Bouman-Prediger was one of the books. I saw it the day if arrived and "adopted" the book. Wow, right up my alley!
A quote from the introduction: "authentic Christian faith includes care for the earth. Earthkeeping is integral to Christian discipleship."
I'm only just done chapter two, but that was a hard chapter to read. It goes into quite a bit of detail on just how dire the situation is. I was aware of most of the topics, but had no idea just how overwhelming the problems were.
Quote from chapter two: "Exploding population growth, increasing hunger, loss of biodiversity, deforestation, water scarcity and impurity, land degradation, accumulating waste, expanding energy consumption, acid rain, global climate change - such is the long litany of ecological woe. The state of our home planet is not good. The earth is groaning."
Looks like the practical application comes in chapter 8. Hmm...hope I don't get too discouraged before I make it to that point!
A quote from the introduction: "authentic Christian faith includes care for the earth. Earthkeeping is integral to Christian discipleship."
I'm only just done chapter two, but that was a hard chapter to read. It goes into quite a bit of detail on just how dire the situation is. I was aware of most of the topics, but had no idea just how overwhelming the problems were.
Quote from chapter two: "Exploding population growth, increasing hunger, loss of biodiversity, deforestation, water scarcity and impurity, land degradation, accumulating waste, expanding energy consumption, acid rain, global climate change - such is the long litany of ecological woe. The state of our home planet is not good. The earth is groaning."
Looks like the practical application comes in chapter 8. Hmm...hope I don't get too discouraged before I make it to that point!
Sunday, January 16, 2011
Just an Interesting Aside
I was thinking about the things that are essential to a wholesome lifestyle. Thinking about the two things I am so strongly drawn to - building my own home and growing my own food.
Here's the interesting thing - my dad's dad built his own home sometime in the late 1940's or early 1950's. My mom's dad was a farmer.
So I guess I'm going back to my roots!
Here's the interesting thing - my dad's dad built his own home sometime in the late 1940's or early 1950's. My mom's dad was a farmer.
So I guess I'm going back to my roots!
Monday, November 29, 2010
New Site
I found a nifty new site: http://naturalhomes.org/ What a goldmine of information!!!
Would love to attend one (or many!) of the courses. Lord willing!
Would love to attend one (or many!) of the courses. Lord willing!
Saturday, November 27, 2010
Give to those in need
Ephesians 4:28
Anyone who has been stealing must steal no longer, but must work, doing something useful with their own hands, that they may have something to share with those in need.
I've been thinking about this verse in terms of growing my own food. We should keep in mind giving of our abundance to those in need. God gives us abundance NOT so we can store it up for ourselves, but so we can share with others.
What a great concept!
Anyone who has been stealing must steal no longer, but must work, doing something useful with their own hands, that they may have something to share with those in need.
I've been thinking about this verse in terms of growing my own food. We should keep in mind giving of our abundance to those in need. God gives us abundance NOT so we can store it up for ourselves, but so we can share with others.
What a great concept!
Saturday, November 6, 2010
Big Houses
The other day I was inputting data at work. One of the spaces was for square footage of the houses. The first ones were around 4,000 sf. I thought, "That's a big house!" As I continued to enter data, the house sizes got bigger and bigger. Eventually there was one between 8 and 9 thousand square feet. Wow, that's a monstrosity! All I could think was how that was obscene. How much energy must it take to maintain a house like that! And probably 90% of the house isn't even used on a regular basis. Ack! What waste!!!
Reading
I've been working my way through the straw bale saga and its exhausting me just reading about all the work. Part of it is that its sometimes hard to visualize what she's talking about. Another part of it is how much work goes in to meeting all the regulations. Sheesh!
I know building one's own house is a lot of work. That's okay. But it seems we make it so much harder than it needs to be.
On another subject, I've been thinking more about how some of the "natural building" ideas can be used in our current society. Protecting our planet means starting where we are now, and it looks like the number one priority for me is insulating the house better so as to cut down on energy consumption. I try to keep the thermostat down a bit but still keep the house functionally warm. But a lot of heat (winter) and cool air (summer) is lost. What a waste!
I know building one's own house is a lot of work. That's okay. But it seems we make it so much harder than it needs to be.
On another subject, I've been thinking more about how some of the "natural building" ideas can be used in our current society. Protecting our planet means starting where we are now, and it looks like the number one priority for me is insulating the house better so as to cut down on energy consumption. I try to keep the thermostat down a bit but still keep the house functionally warm. But a lot of heat (winter) and cool air (summer) is lost. What a waste!
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