Combining calm

They say lavender is a calming herb, and I will concede it smells nice.  

What I find even more healing is hanging out in the garden doing small, repetitive tasks.  

Let's combine the two.

The lore around these magic wands is that the smell of the lavender hides the smell of wool clothing when we put them in storage for the summer.  I think that's a lovely idea.  Even if it doesn't work, stashing a few of these with my handknits and handwovens until next winter makes me happy.  

And if I'm going to start having more clothes, I will either need to get more room to stash them, or put the off-season clothes into storage.  The latter seems like less bother.  

Doing it in advance - pre-election day and dirty laundry

 Today is one of the days I can pre-vote in our national election; I just hope everyone else doesn't have the same idea.  Usually, these early polling stations are quiet and calm. No crowds.  Just go, vote, and go away.  

I like doing things ahead of time like writing this blog post over a week before it goes live or trying to stay ahead with my youtube videos.  (I can't wait 'till you see the one with the apple - cute chicken awaits you at the end)

The weather is finally starting to cool down, just enough to get outside and do things.  Although we had late rains in the spring, there is less groundwater and with the intense heat earlier in the year, making this summer on the dry side of normal (but not actually a drought where I live because drought is 'less than normal' and when normal is zero... we can't technically get drought in the summer here).  Just about everything in the garden suffered but we got some great fruit harvests.  I've been careful with the water and the well has yet to run dry this year (knock on wood).

The trick to the well is not just using less, but spacing out the water use so that the well has time to recover.  I find using too little water seems to increase the time it takes for the well to refill.  I think it gets clogged up with sand or something.  

A big part of what we do here is re-using water.  Laundry is a great way to do this.  Last year I got my wringer washer out of storage and put it in the garden for my weekly wash.  It is so much fun to use and the plants love the rinse water!

This year, I've been washing things by hand as they get dirty, one or two items per day.  It turns out this method uses less water, but it does require being home each day and more physical effort than having a machine do it for me.  Both are great options.

There is something about washing clothing outside that transforms it from a chore into a meditation.  Mindfulness in laundry.  

A lot of this year has been about mindfulness and slowing down.  Accepting that I can't do what I used to be able to even a year ago.  Learning what new things I can do that I couldn't before. 

Being aware of the growing things.  Observing how the plants grow, or fail to, when the weather is unfriendly.

And planning in advance.  There's a lot of loss with this year's heat and drought, but it is also the time to plan "how can I work with nature to get more trees to grow and make a more sustainable garden?".  

Farming is about observing the now.  Remembering the past - both good and bad.  And doing it in advance to make tomorrow better than today.    

If you like this sort of thing and want to see more of it, here are some things you can do to support me on my creative journey.

- go to youtube and give me a thumbs up!  Or even a subscribe!  That would be awesome
- or pop over to my Etsy shop and support me that way.

"IT WORKS!" Dances about the farm, in an over enthusiastic manner humming a little song about, "IT WORKS"

I've been tinkering away at my latest slightly steampunk mystery project where I convert an old (non-restoreable) vintage sewing machine into an Other-machine.  Well, last night - rather late last night - finally finished modifying a piece of perspex and put it into place.  I now have a fully functioning other-machine.  Photos to come later, once I've finished decorating it.

Now, how to decorate it?  I still have to install the cooling system.  I'm also thinking of installing a clock (clocks are pretty standard for steampunk) - but I'm tempted to install a radio instead.  I have this gaping hole to fill you see, and adding leavers, nobs, or other decorations that don't do anything doesn't really strike my fancy.

Yes, I know I've been remiss with my blog, my zine, my etsy shop, my online presence in general.  But I figured you didn't want to hear me moping about deaths of Cockylocky and Chicken little, the epic battle of the rose that went on in the household - and still isn't over I think - Talk about projection and deflected anger (some of it mine I'm sure, but from my point of view I care for the roses daily, it wasn't the first bloom or the only blossom on the bush, I just wanted on little flower for my room, there was no need to yell at me... never mind).  And then there is today's battle: trying to teach a professional cleaner how to clean efficiently without chemicals.  A box of borax lasts 8 to 14 months, not 2 hours!  This week, since reading instructions is obviously not working, I've tried repackaging the materials to look more like store bought chemicals and hidden the ingredients for making more.  See how that goes.

For those of you waiting for the next Crowing Hen Guide.  Inspire me!  What do you want to hear about?  Over view of natural cleaning materials and a few recipes for your house?  A treatise on composting?  How to rid your roses of aphids and black spot in under a week WITHOUT using those nasty chemicals?  How to clean and oil a vintage sewing machine?  An in-depth discussion (okay, monologue) on how to clean floors using natural products - many of which are already in your pantry?  

I'm overwhelmed with things I want to write about that I'm having trouble just sitting down and getting started.  I really don't know if anyone's interested in these things.  Am I just writing them to stop bending the ear of every poor chap that chooses our driveway to turn their car around in?

Trampled by Geese

Contemplating changing my online name from Trampled by Geese to ....?

Advantages of Trampled by Geese

• I've had the name so long that it's somewhat known among yarn people
• it's a good reminder to me to be more positive online
• it's unusual
• ties in with the natural/farming theme in my life
• it's sort of memorable
• it's universal - not subject specific

Disadvantages of Trampled by Geese

• it's unusual - and therefore difficult to remember
• It's too universal - does not say one specific subject
• it's not readily understandable - you have to read the profile to find out why I have it
• has a slightly negative connotation unless you know why I've chosen it - word 'trampled' is a negative word.
• Kind of boring to stick with one name for so long.

I'm still playing with the idea of changing name. It's probably no more than a passing fancy. I think it would be more hassle than it's worth.

The reason why I started thinking about the idea is that I wanted to buy a stamp with my shop logo on it, but then I began thinking of goose on bicycle... that's a bit unusual and possibly (due entirely to my inability to draw, I'm sure) difficult to understand unless you already know me.

I want to make things simpler for people who don't know me. First impression kind of stuff. I know I look at other peoples banners and profile pics &c. and I have the hardest time understanding what the pictures are suppose to be about - to the point where I get frustrated and wonder off somewhere else. I know this is a particular function of my brain, and most people seem able to understand jumbles of pictures like snell. But I think it would be a good reflection of my personality to make the pictures simple but telling a story.

So, in order to get a stamp, I need a new logo/banner/profile pic. In order to get one of those, I need someone who can design/draw/interpret the feel I'm trying to achieve in exchange for handspun yarn. But before I do that, I need to be confident that Trampled by Geese is the name for me.

But what if it isn't?

What name would I choose to replace it?

Well, I'm writing my zine under Crowing Hen guides... so Crowing Hen would be a choice. I like the sound of it, it's simple, my hen has been crowing like mad the last three days (all the earthquakes). But Crowing Hen has the same advantages and disadvantages of Trampled by Geese.... only TbG is better established.

What are your thoughts?

Still Getting Storied - still working my way through the etsy symposium workbook

To continue on from last week.

I'm working my way through the Get Storied section of the workbook from the recent Etsy Success Symposium: Get Found

This section is designed to get you thinking about your back story. Where do you come from, what defines you, stuff like that. I managed two of the questions last time, there are three left to go.

Just like last time, it's a first draft that I'm writing with intent of mining it for something to update my profile with later on. Similar to last time, I'm doing this with very little sleep, so please be kind.

3. When have you felt like a misfit or outsider? What have you had to reject or give-up in order

to follow your path?

When haven't I felt like an outsider? Now that I ask myself this question, the first time I didn't feel completely disconnected from the flow of people in the world was when I found yarn people. Yarn people are amazingly diverse. I love them for it!

With yarn people it's all about the small details creating a greater purpose. Just as individual stitches go together to make a sweater, so do individual people gather together to create the most amazing things. Be it the vast body of knowledge at Ravelry, the community at my local yarn store, or what Yarn Harlot said about Doctors Without Boarders.

Yarn people are seldom judgemental of each other. Yarn people realize that every kind of thread has a purpose that it is good at, and even that lonely ball of yarn can find comfort in someone's stash.

Attention to detail is necessary in yarn craft. A sweater is made of thousands upon thousands of stitches, but just one out of place, can spoil the look of the entire garment. A woven blanket can have enough threads in it to boggle the mind, yet each one has to be precise. A treadle error, a threading mistake... A weaver notices these things.

Before I found yarn people, I worried that I wasn't made to be in this world. Interacting with people face to face has always been awkward for me. Although I try not to show it, but I am terribly shy. I've let more than one friendship laps out of my fear of using the telephone.

I see my future self, growing old on a farm, with the chickens, sheep, and growing fresh vegetables for some small restaurant. Hopefully selling enough yarn on the internet to get the roof repaired by winter.

All the knowledge I collect over the years like how to repair a typewriter or manual sewing machine, how to grow and preserve foods, how to cook on a wood stove - I often think that all these things I love to learn would only prove useful if the world as we know it were really to come to an end. You know, if the zombies attack, it might prove useful, but otherwise - it's really all that I'm good at in this world, and that makes me feel rather like a useless outsider at times.

4. Are you in service to something larger than yourself? How would you describe this calling?

Who are you here to serve? Get specific.

I don't know how to answer this one.

The chickens think I'm in their service. The earth wants tilling, the plants watering, the food cooking. But is tilling the land a 'calling'?

When asked my religion, I often tell people that I'm a Whole Wheat Pastafarian. It's not actually a joke, even though I say it in a light tone. But people think I'm making fun or making light of religion. But I'm really not. I wasn't raised with religion. I'm not agnostic, atheist, or religious in any way - to be one of those things you have to have some relationship to the divine. Even an atheist exists in contradiction to God. That's a kind of relationship. I've never had religion in my life, and I'm absolutely fascinated by the idea of how much improved the world must look for those who do feel a connection to a divine force.

I'm actually very fond of the basic ideas behind Pastafarianism , but I would love for it to go a bit further. Thus the Whole Wheat part. Pastafarian deity basically looks like pasta. Pasta is food. Growing food in a way that is sustainable is the closest you can get to the divine.

So I till the land. I grow vegetables and good things to eat. I make my food simply out of basic ingredients. The only impact I leave behind on the earth is to improve the fertility of the soil.

I try to do this with every aspect of my life, including crafting - although I'm not 100% there yet with crafts, I'm working towards it steadily.

5. What is the larger mystery or mystery you are trying to solve? The bigger ultimate question

you want to answer? What is about the world you want to put back into order?

Why are you asking me such difficult questions!?

mystery...question...solve...answer...put back into order?

To put back into order... there is something there that resonates.

I've met so many people over the years who feel disconnected from their world. They feel that they work all day and yet they don't contribute, they don't make anything. I don't know how common this feeling is outside the people I know, but judging from my sample size, the greater population might be feeling a bit out of sorts with their place in the world.

To paraphrase from an advert: There was a time when people made things by hand, when they took pride in their work. It might be a romantized fiction, but I think there is something to it.

The people I know that work with tangible objects. It might be their day job or their hobby. But these people who create physical tangible things that you can see, touch, taste, smell, and hold in your hands. These people seem to be less lost.

Speaking about lost, the knowledge needed to create tangible things by hand is fading fast. Even with the internet to teach us everything, I constantly find gaps in what the web knows.

Even in people the information is dissipating. How many people cannot tell an apple from a carrot? IT IS SHOCKING! There was a day when everyone knew that mosquito grow in standing water. That leaving the fridge door open while complaining about the electric bill was a stupid idea. They knew how to choose the best pineapple or that storing apple with other fruit will make them go bad quickly.

To make things by hand, to take pride in what you do, to pay attention to quality, to make things that last.

This is what I would like to put to right. I just can't figure out a good way to describe it. Try again when I'm less tired perhaps.

That's me done.

There was a bit of yarn at the beginning, but then it just faded into farming and a rant about people being ignorant and lazy. oh well. Come back to it again in a few days and see if there is anything here for me to use.

Anyone else working through this part of the workbook? Love to see what you wrote.

How to make Zines Zine - or a swift kick in the pants to get me going

When I saw the title, I couldn't help myself. How to Make your very own Zine! (it's super easy), by Casey Bradley.

I even got a little hand drawn picture on my envelope. It made me smile!

This zine is exactly as promised, a little booklet about how to make more little booklets. It's full of useful information, awesome drawings (I just adore the drawings), and a swift kick in the pants for me to stop procrastinating and get back to work on my own poor efforts.

All these tools just to make one little zine. I don't know. (shakes head in a bemused fashion, at self)

I was procrastinating because, I'm way earlier than I said I would be (last week of each month isn't for ages yet) and because I wasn't confident I could sew fabric swatches onto paper with my old machine. Oh me of little faith. The machine thought nothing of it and the only complaint it made was that I waited so long to play with it.

April's Crowing Hen Guide to Household Management is Finished! It's all about washing fabrics, yarn, &c., by hand. It's a bit more text heavy than I would have liked, but I make up for that by not adding as many terrible line drawings as normal. :)

Washing delicate fabrics - Second instalment of the Crowing Hen Guides to Household Management

I've completed the text for my second issue of the Crowing Hen Guides to Household Management: Cleaning Delicate Fabrics. Next job is to print it up, type up the cover on my trusty typewriter, and to do a bit of sewing for the fabric swatches. You didn't think I would just be including text and line drawings, did you?

What I like to do is to make each one a little bit different. I do this by hand making the cover, doodling something different on each one, adding fabric scraps, &c. I wonder if I can sew fabric directly onto paper?

Topics I'm in the mood to write about for next month include:

• How to clean your floor,
• An opinionated look at different methods for composting,
• How to get on with your rooster.
• Or I could write about something else

Any of these catch your fancy? Taking requests, but I don't necessarily promise to give them back.

Crowing Hen Guide to Household Management Subscription

Here's an idea I've been playing with.

It says, The Crowing Hen Guide to Household Management, 6 Month Subscription.

It would be a once a month, overly opinionated and often informative, zine about various topics to do with household management, including the traditional kitchen garden.

Inspired by Mrs. Beeton, topics would range from methods of composting, to how to hand wash delicate fabrics, to what are the most important tools to keep in your kitchen, or whatever I feel like writing about that month. I even take requests, but don't make any promises that I will actually write about it.

Each zine will be unique, hand bound by me using at least some upcycled materials (aka, whatever I have on hand that I don't want to spend money on) like cut-up paper bag for a cover.

I have no doubt they will include my terrible line drawings, and/or other art, however, the main body of the zine will be text. The size of each zine will vary depending on how much opinion I have on the topic.

The biggest advantages to doing this would be to encourage me to write, not just more, but more carefully. And to spend a decent amount of time editing what I write. Maybe I will stop telling random people I meat at the post office how best to use a cast iron pan.

The disadvantage is that it will make me write more. I'll be tied to a schedule, albeit not a difficult one.

So what do you think? Go for it or step away from the typewriter and get a life already?

ps. this idea was inspired by the many, many, MANY, hours I've spent teaching cleaning ladies how to clean with natural products. I can promise that I would write about this in great length with recipes for making your own affordable, nature friendly, health imbibing household cleansers.

How to grow plants... First of the Crowing Hen Guides to Household Management

It's finished!

I'm so pleased and it turned out far better than I expected.

I rather like writing zines. They are like an overly opinionated version of my blog, but longer and with drawings.

Usually, I try to limit my blog entries to 800 words. It's not easy, but 800 words tends to be sufficient to convey one compete idea. It's not enough for tutorials, and I quite like writing tutorials. A zine can have a great deal more words which gives me the freedom I need to go into more detail.

I also have a rather in-depth obsession with household management topics. Lately one of the provincial maid service providers asked me to write about cleaning with natural products. I didn't think they expected it to be so long.

When writing it, I realized (or possibly remembered) how easy it is to write about something I'm passionate about.

I see more zines in my future. In fact, I'm over half way finished the text for one about hand washing fabric, yarn and stuff. I didn't get much sleep last night.

For my first zine, Growing Plants from Scrap, I deliberately choose a subject that isn't too opinionated. I wanted to get my toes wet without stepping on anyone else's. I can't make that promise in the future.

Looking at all the other lovely zines online, I am reminded of Elizabeth Zimmerman and the knitting newsletter she use to produce. Elizabeth Zimmerman, that patron saint of knitting in the round, please guide my fingers as they fly across my keyboard and help me reach people in need of household management advice.

My First Zine, one of many.

For those who are interested, I'm trying twitter out for a few days. I'm not convinced it's adding anything of value to the vast cannon of junk that is the internet, but I do enjoy the Haiku style of writing that cramming a whole idea into 140 characters inspires.

My First booklet/zine/whatever - I'm not really sure what to call it - is almost complete.

I finally finished bashing my head against my printer and got it to listen to me. Then I cut up an old paper bag to use for a cover, typed on the bag some stuff, and bound the booklet/zine/whatever with some handspun yarn.

What would you call it? Each booklet is 16 pages of how to... and each booklet is unique in that I've bound them with whatever random handspun yarn I have on hand and used the typewriter to produce the cover (errors and all). It's sort-of household management instructional meets art project. But not as artsy as most zines I see for sale on etsy.

As soon as I can stop myself from taking photos of my new toy, I'll take some pictures and put the zine/booklet/whatever for sale on my etsy shop.