Homestead happiness

Some people may have a romantic image of what it means to have a homestead. I know I do at times. The reality is not quite so rosy red. There's a lot of work involved. And maintenance.

At the moment I have a bricklayer working on the rear end of my stable. He is prepping for the carpenter to put in some new doors and windows. One of the doors had all but disintegrated and the other wasn't too hot either. The windows were perhaps not too bad - but plexi instead of real glass.

The brickwork isn't finished with this. Around the beginning of September the bricklayer will be back to remove crumbling mortar and refinish the walls on the outside (bar the parts which got repaired some years ago). I know this is necessary work, but it does mean unforeseen expenses for this year, not to mention a lot of mess and noise and blokes running around all day.





So perhaps I should focus on some of the good parts. Friday I had my parents around to help harvest my cherries. There was rain on the horizon, and ripe or almost ripe cherries do not handle large rainfalls well. They start to rip open and then all the insects get ready for a party. We managed to get over 11 kgs of cherries picked. Which was pretty good. There were still a good number of kilos left, perhaps another ten or so more, but the rain has been playing merry havoc, and there's no more cherry harvesting this year.


























And then there's the whole matter of what you do with 11 kgs of cherries. By the time we had finished picking I had already stuffed myself full of them, so I wasn't in the mood for eating any as such.





Instead I used three kilos for making cherry mush, as I call it. Basically applesauce, just made with cherries and mashed through a sieve. Which makes for good exercise. And a lot of hard work. Mum took a few kilos home, and I gave another to a friend. And the rest got tossed in the steam juicer, or Mehu Maija as we call it, and turned into cherry juice. I didn't bother using any sugar at all - last year mum put in some and made it almost too sweet. At the moment I still have some left in the juicer, and some mush in the fridge, but the rest is now in the freezer.




This of course leads me on to another of the joys, or is it woes, of homesteading. Freezer space. Which I am running short on now. And this is before apple season has started. And mum has now informed me that she has ordered a whole lamb from a mutual friend. I think I'm going to have to get that second freezer I've been talking about this coming month. Which will provide me a few more headaches and decisions; where should I put it, which freezer do I actually want, another bill to pay.

And in spite of these challenges and issues which need taking care of, I wouldn't want to pack up and move into a more urban house. I may not always find it amusing to have to deal with these things, but the pride and joy and sense of fulfillment which comes of eating things which I have grown myself keeps me on. I may never get to being totally self-sufficient, but  that's okay too. At least I am trying. And not just dreaming about it.

I wish I had a picture of the cake mum made Sunday. She baked the cake part using my eggs, and then the fruit in it was partly from my garden, and partly from theirs. Cherries, raspberries, red currants, white red currants, black currants. There were a few store-bought strawberries too. And the flour, sugar, and creme fraiche/sour cream were bought too. But half of the ingredients for that cake were home-grown. I'm afraid I just gobbled up my part of it before taking pics. Too tasty to bother with that.

(And in case you are curious - I have now succeeded in getting pics from my phone onto my blog - but it isn't as smoothly as I suspect it could be. I will be experimenting more. But this is a step forward from last.)

How the mighty have fallen!

You may recall me being skeptical about mobile phones. You may also remember me saying I had decided to get one at long last.

Well, that happened Thursday. I went off to the "mainland" with mum in tow to get answers to questions, and have a look at phones. Actually deciding and getting one was not part of the deal, for I expected I would need time to then digest all the information first.

Well, I had apparently done my homework well, for in less than an hour I felt I was okay to actually make a decision. So about 90 minutes after walking into the phone shop, I walked out with a mobile phone in my bag. And on some sort of high. Partly because I was all excited about this, partly I suspect because being able to make that decision in that short span of time is a new thing. I think I spent half a year contemplating a stove about six or seven years ago. And after finally having decided upon one, promptly discovered it had been discontinued.

The washing machine I bought four or so years ago took about an hour, but that was mostly because there was a limited range to choose from, and I really wanted one. And mum was along to help back then as well.

So, now I have had my phone for a few days now, and I am spending a ridiculous amount of time focusing on it. I now have an instagram account, I have downloaded several games with which I am wasting so much time, and I have been playing with settings and things, and generally being obsessive. I have learned how to text, and also now have whatsapp with a few friends on my contacts list. The only reason I haven't stuffed more on is because yesterday morning was time to harvest my cherries (or at least start) because rain was promised (and delivered in no uncertain way) for today. And rain and ripe cherries are not a good combo. Ruined harvest is what happens.

Now, while I am getting the hang of lots of new things, there are twice as many which I still haven't mastered yet. One of which is getting pictures from my phone to my computer. Or figuring out how to get images from instagram on to my blog post. I have a lovely picture of the bulk of the 11+ kgs of cherries we picked yesterday, but I can't get it to turn up here.

Meanwhile I have also been slipping up in my newly formed habits. I haven't been carrying my planner around with me at all times these past days, and things have been erratic. I am taking the philosophical approach to this. I know my brain and nerves have been all on red alert with the phone thing, and now that is mostly dealt with. I also know this is only for a short while as I adjust to this. And I have become aware that some things have been slipping because of my focus being so firmly attached to the phone. And in fact, I have already started taking steps to make sure that there is no further slipping.

Yet another sign I am getting better.


And now, allow me to present you with ... oh, right. I still haven't named my phone. I don't even know if it's a he or a she, or possibly it doesn't have a gender.

 He/she/it is a Samsung Galaxy S6 in the white, and lives in a dark grey/black Krusell magnetic cover.

I can keep it in just the case, or in the cover. Currently I'm using the cover on the go, but remove it and just use the case at my desk.















My two laptops are Athena and Bunter, which makes me wonder if my phone is a C. Do any of you guys have a clue about its gender or name? Or are you one of those people who never names items and gadgets?

And if you want to see what about 10 kgs of yellow cherries look like, go check me out on instagram @otteatthebackofbeyond.

Summertime Blues?

I haven't been posting this past week after coming back home from holiday. I have been tired, and also in a funk of sorts. It hasn't been easy getting through all the days, and I've had my work cut out just keeping me fed. Meal planning has been a lifesaver.

I am reminding myself that I am only human, and one with a few extra challenges installed. It hasn't completely kept me for beating myself up about not posting. But even though I have a few things I know I want to write about, I just haven't been able to put pen to paper, so to speak, and get the posts written.

I hope you can forgive this lapse in posting. I am hoping to get on to it next week. I have loads of stuff to share. The week that is leaving saw me have a yummy meal at one of the local summer restaurants, and the summer concerts started. At the end of the month there's a medieval fair type of thing going on. I scored lots of crafty stuff on holiday. My planner is developing.

I think I am going to go outside and sit down on one of my lawns, and either blow soap bubbles (yeah, I haven't grown out of that) or continue excavating my dinosaur egg (no, not a real one, those made of gypsum and with plastic bones in). Nothing too strenuous, brings a quiet joy, and gets me out in a bit of light and fresh air.

Summer in the garden

While I am off gallivanting to the summer home in Finland, these things are going on in my garden.

My peony is looking like this:

Up close and personal it looks like this

The white rose which is just younger than the house (1907) is looking a bit spindly, but ready to burst at the seams

Also in the front garden, this white flowering shrub, whose name is currently evading me

Now, it's not just flowers I've got in my garden. This is one of the many tiny apples growing on my trees (17 apple trees if my memory serves me right)

And while they do first have to form flowers, these funny-looking chaps will turn into grapes in some months' time

And finally, flower and food (or in this case drink) in the form of one of my elder trees

And they will definitely be long gone when I come back. Fortunately mum might harvest some to make cordial. But the fried, battered flowers won't be happening this year.

Makes you wonder why on earth I am heading off north with all this going on. But when I return, I'll have pics and perhaps even some videos which should explain why I am off north. And might make you wonder why on earth I am coming back home again.