Free Organic Fresh From Florida Oranges!

Today we received a better than imagined gift. Rich works at a cold shipping factory. Ever wonder where all those semis that you pass on the highway are going? This is one of their destinations. Anyhow, one of the drivers just came up from Florida with two huge crates of organic oranges and left them for the taking. No one else wanted anything to do with them *cuz they’re not super pretty like the over sprayed, fertilized, irradiated oranges you see in the stores* so he brought home both crates. I had to weigh them. Together, they’re 90 pounds! And as we also have over half the crate left from Nanna’s, we are in orange heaven!! I tried to put a pic here, but it got corrupted in the transfer on the floppy. (Yes, a 3 1/2" floppy. Dino ages I know, but I haven't gotten a usb stick yet.)

Now I have to add in here the power of intention and manifestation, and how once again it works every time. Here’s the story:

So last year, Rich was working in Chicago and commuting home once a week. Throughout the winter months, Nanna receives huge boxes—30 to 40 lbs. each—of organic oranges and grapefruit from her 90+ year old ex-father-in-law. She usually gives most away, as she’s just one person and can’t eat them all. Knowing how much we went through oranges at that time (at least a crate a week) she would lovingly send them home with Rich. What a gift!!

Now that Rich is working closer to home, he doesn’t see Nanna regularly anymore. You get the drift. After we returned home last week, I was deeply wishing, as money is super tight right now, that we could somehow still pick up the oranges Grandpa’s sure to send, but couldn’t see a cost-effective way, either through posting or driving, so I figured, “Bummer,” and left it at that.

~~~smiling~~~ Thank you spirit. . . . Now where to put them all . . . . . .LOL . . in our tummies of course!!

Manifestations to all,
Sharilyn

Manifestations

Today was spent at home, since Rich took the van as his alternator decided to crap out yesterday. So hopefully he’ll get it fixed 2nite when he gets home. He’s had more trouble with his car. Last month, a deer, this month, ice and an other truck, now, the alternator. What next?? Personally, I think he’s really wanting another vehicle and hence, spirit is trying to get him one—one which he won’t get until this one dies or totals out. That’s how I got my new red caravan. I rode in a friends new red Dodge caravan and just LOVED everything about it—the room, the better road vision, the upright seating—and started thinking about how much I really disliked how painful my back was after sitting in the bucket seats of the prism or cavalier (I’m not a car person, it was low and reclining and blue) and how I couldn’t see very well, and how I missed my caravan(s), and started wishing (not really consciously though, just ho-hum, but with feeling) that I had a red caravan that I could get in and out of easier too (I was 4 months prego with Rowan) and wouldn’t you know it, I totaled the car. Had to get a new one. Wasn’t even thinking about red caravans when I went looking, just needed something NOW and Cheap. It occurred to me about a week after getting the van that it was exactly what I had pictured. Didn’t plan it. But that stuff ALWAYS happens to me. I trust in it and know, deeply and truly know, that I will get exactly what I need, and often what I want, when I ask. I’ll get off-handed wishes quite frequently too. Like the parking space right next to the cart return. Or someone gifts me something I need, without them even knowing I needed it, like light bulbs. They just overwhelmingly thought of me and wanted to send it to me. It’s actually quite a great way to live, having no fear. I know if I need anything, anything, it will come. Anything. Huge load off.

So I’m expecting a new car for Rich in the near future. One with heat and snow tires and front wheel drive and maybe not so much power as what he has now. (He’s quite aggressive on the road when alone, and too speedy for his own good. I sooo worry every time he goes anywhere!)And better than affordable—more along the lines of ‘leaving a bit extra without losing quality.’—in other words inexpensive to get and keep, but not because it’s junk but because of some higher power reason, like our standard of living going up or something. Winning the lottery. (Course it helps to play if you want to win.) We’ll see what happens.

Tris had scouts 2nite. I love scouts; they learn so many useful skills: how to use a knife safely, how to build fill-in-the-blank, how to work together to achieve a common goal, how to include everyone, how to be loyal, trustworthy, brave, helpful, cheerful, obedient, and kind, leather works, knots, beadwork, crafts, fire building, fire starting, general safety for numerous situations, what to do in emergencies, CPR and first aid. You name it, there’s probably an area in scouts that covers it. Even health and food, although Tris’s scout handbook totes the FDA food pyramid as healthy. I was so proud when they cut out pictures of what they (the scouts) each ate and placed the pics in their own pyramids. Tristen had lots-o-fruits n veggies. Good on ya, son.


Today Rowan ate:
Oatmeal w/ honey
Almond milk with hemp oil
Cut up orange and banana sprinkled w/ chia seeds
green smoothie-mango, pineapple, herb mix, kelp
brownie bites
munched on “ca-krs”—the crunchy pieces of romaine
more smoothie


It’s so funny to see other peoples’ reactions when they see Rowan munching on plain raw broccoli or cucumbers, like it’s the strangest thing in the world to see a baby eat raw veggies. LOL.

Hugs,
Sharilyn

Introductions

December 4, 2008

Greetings and salutations! This blog is to be a window into our lives for those who wish to peep, ‘us’ being my two kids, Rowan, 18 months, and Tristen, 7 ½, and my husband and I, with a focus on the Rawsome Rowan’s raw diet, and a touch of her big bro’s semi-raw transitional one. I’d like to try to blog daily on my computer, but as I’m not connected to the internet, I’m planning on saving a few days to a week at a time at home and trans-posting each weeks worth all at once using the library’s computer and subsequent internet connections.

About us: We live on a 260 acre farm in a house that was built about 1946 or 47. The original foundation is from 1830's I think. Lots of wood, plaster walls. It’s such a blessing and literally an answer to an extremely urgent prayer (we needed to vacate, and the day I got the notice of the $250 rent increase, I literally said, out loud, “O.K. spirit, we need a new place w/in the school district, preferably a house in the country, that meets our budget, by Saturday,” as I was walking the one block from the P.O. to the library. This was Friday. At the library, I got online and checked the classifieds for the local weekly paper. Saw the ad, called, met that day, had the place the next. The super amazing part? We’d been checking the ads Every Week for a year and a half for a house in our school district that we could afford. Nothing but 1-2 bedroom apartments, and often out of the school district area. Until we really needed it and asked. How cool is that? As a bonus, all the other things I wanted in my house—the organic acreage, the awesome landlord, the space IN the house (5 bedroom, huge living, dining, basement, attic, kitchen, room to add one more perhaps in the near future), the garden area to be, all the wild foraging opportunities—came along with it. Thank you again, spirit.

So anyway, there are about 250 head of cows/bulls running around in the pastures at any one time—not ours; the fields are rented out—and lots of barn cats. Occasionally deer trapes by, and we hear coyotes almost nightly. This winter is proving to be interesting, as it’s our first year here and the driveway is almost ½ mile uphill on a verrry slippery twisty fall off the edge dirt path to get out. But town is only 7 miles so if I have to I can hoof it. There’s a small creek that winds all around the house and all over the property, with occasional waterfalls and a snapper (turtle) or two, and sometimes the occasional cranes and geese and ducks.

So the superest coolest thing about living here is ALL THE WILD FOOD!!
Here’s a general rundown on what I’ve found so far. We have: over 50 apple trees scattered wildly about, 1000s of black currant bushes (for those of you who don’t know, black currants often die from blight or disease, so red currants are the usual fare), 5-6 wild pears, I found a wild plum one day, red raspberries, blackberries, tons of both red and white mulberries, may apples (though we haven’t eaten these yet, as I want to be SURE of which parts are poisonous, how to prepare, etc. Anyone know??), nut trees—hickory, walnut, oak, and maple trees, lots of wild edibles like lambs quarters and chickweed and such, hemp (and thus seeds), lots of wild herbs, and some “already-done-been-growin’-here” veggies—asparagus and rhubarb. I’m told that there’s lots of morels in the spring (though I’m not much of a fungus eater) so I’m looking forward to at least hunting them.

We moved here in June, and had a once-every-twenty-years-or-so flash flood that washed my newly planted garden right on down the creek, though I managed to save a few plants already sprouted and rooted and the transplants. So this year we had lots-o-lettuce, spinach, arugula, red cabbage, parsley, cilantro (didn’t come up), basil, oregano (didn’t come up), thyme, rosemary, sage, lemon balm, and mint, mini tommies, tamales, carrots, radishes, celery, onions (didn’t do so well), garlic (all died but 1), leeks, green beans, nasturtiums, jerusalem artichokes, yellow squash, and I can’t remember what else. My herbs are now in the pool table room, temporarily camped out on the floor until I can get a window shelf built for them. I am already planning the garden for next year, and have prepared four beds to plant in the spring. The greatest gift: that once-every-twenty-years-or-so flash flood that washed about an inch and a half of manure/soil/compost from the barn area onto the drain field where the garden is located. ;} Everything’s got a blessing in there somewhere! So that saved tons of work this fall, though I still turned and dug all the planting areas down a foot and added peat and some shredded maple leaves for all the wormies to work on until spring. Yeah! Hopefully all the prep work will help me, the novice veggie gardener (this was my first year having a garden since I was a kid!), help all my babies grow into yummy super nutrient rich sustenance for my kiddos. And for me and my hubby as well. January’s coming way too soon, and I need to get my starter area ready and start my babies off. I wanted to grow stuff indoors this winter, but haven’t gotten to it yet. Just the herbs I brought in from the garden that Rowan likes to munch on whenever she passes and whatever sprouts I have growing in the kitchen. This summer I plan on having melons, peppers, cukes, peas, squash, kale, chard, you name it. Blueberries, strawberries, and raspberries that are closer to home. I’d like to try wolf berries too (goji berries) and have just sprouted some seeds to start indoors. Also trying an avo tree, though this one will have to stay potted and come back in in the fall. We’ll seeeeeee. Perhaps a lemon tree down the road.

So that’s the low-down on this strikingly beautiful hilly paradise we now call home. I’ve been reading up on homesteading and food preserving and hope to cut our food budget by 80% next year. Now to figure out how to cut heating costs and still keep warm, especially when I’m fasting! Temps dropped to the teens yesterday--yikes! I’ve got some pumpkins stored in the basement, so maybe I’ll try pumpkin noodles in a sauce or a soup or something tomorrow, as it’s supposed to be a warming food.

Today Rowan ate:

green chia porridge-spirulina, soaked chia seeds, mashed banana
pomegranate orange grape juice
chia coconut walnut banana kelp spirulina “cookies” dehydrated 4 hours
walnut-date brownie bites
avocado
more chia cookies
almond milk

Today Tristen ate:

raw oatmeal with spirulina, chia, honey, cloves, and cinnamon
banana carob almond milk
herb salad with maple fig dressing, pumpkin seeds, and chopped dates
banana
orange
almond milk
chia cookies
avocado
brownie bites
another orange

I gotta add that the chia cookies we made looked just like something from a dog’s hind end, what with the spirulina and all, and as Rowan has just learned to say “yeah” and does so whenever asked any question starting with, “Do you want . . . ?” we couldn’t help asking if she wanted to eat more doggie poo, to which she of course replied, “Yea-ah.” ROFLOL. Tristen got a real kick out of that one!

Hugs.
Sharilyn