A Holiday Compass

Thinking about trying to keep the holidays simple, I wanted to share my "compass" tool that I use for myself.. The "compass" refers to the grounding effect of the sacred number 4, the 4 directions, and reminds me that this is a compass to finding where I want my holiday to go and grow toward.

Here's how it works. Before the holiday craziness takes over (too late? that's OK, do it anyway!), take out a sheet of paper and number 1-4, 4 times. Fill out the following... (I've shared my answers this year with you...)

What are the most important feelings I want to create this holiday season?
1 Grace
2 Relaxation
3 Joy
4 Coziness

What are the most important events that I want to participate in this holiday season?
1 Visiting family
2 Friendsgiving dinner at our home
3 Attending the Nutcracker
4 Spending lots and lots of time in front of the fireplace with a cat on my lap

What are the most important traditions I want to preserve this holiday season?
1 Charitable Giving
2 Winter Solstice candlelight prayers and meditation
3 Christmas Eve chili supper and movie night
4 New Years Day introspection/ journaling/ intention setting

What are a few things I can let go of to help make room for the things I care about? 
1 The need to be perfect at all of this
2 Buying too much and for too many
3 Black Friday spending
4 Guilt for eating too many treats

I recommend keeping this list somewhere you can refer to it often during this busy season. Perhaps even make a couple of copies and keep one in the car, one on your nightstand, one taped to the bathroom mirror... etc. It can help you stay centered on what you want to focus on, and remind you that so much of the drama surrounding the holidays is just noise. You are in charge of your holiday, you can choose simplicity.

Do you like this compass tool? What are you focusing on this holiday season? Let me know in the comments!

The portrait of our first Maine Coon, Kinnug, was expertly painted by Kelsey Anne Piesch.
The kitty pictured above is our current floof, Arowen. 

Keeping a Pantry

In our lives, we can often point to significant events that have shaped us and our lifestyle. An amazing book, a powerful speaker, an experience in nature - these are all things that can have a strong impact. Would you believe that a force in my recent history has been living in a house with a closet in which to store food?!

If that doesn't sound so amazing to you, perhaps read this article.

I know that part of the peace I experience when gazing at the rows of cans and jars is completely rational, but there's a emotional component as well. Perhaps it's a simple as the fact that I grew up poor and I am calmed by the concept of "more than enough." Perhaps it's the lingering connection of knowing I grew a lot of this food, and it keeps me tied to the Earth and the garden. Or, perhaps it's just that I like to organize things and the tidy rows of jars are soothing. Regardless, my pantry is peace of mind for me and every time I go in it, I feel good.

Do you have space for a pantry? Below are articles on how to find, build, or repurpose space for food storage:

Creating a pantry in a rental
I have a similar style, with like items grouped in baskets that hide clutter.

Creating the perfect pantry
I love the pull-out pantry in this article!

Whether or not you're into the idea of prepping for a disaster (natural or financial), you can learn a lot about food storage from preppers. (And if you don't have at least a week's worth of food and water stored at your house, please get on that!)

52 weeks of prepping
The author of The Prepper's Blueprint has generously left up her 52 week guide for free. Every week you buy a couple of items and do a few simple tasks to help prepare your household for a disaster.

How to plan a 3 month food supply
This is way too much math for me, but extremely useful and I'm sure some of you will enjoy the process of all those calculations.

7 Mistakes of food storage
Good food for thought about how to avoid some common mistakes here

Look for more info about my pantry and how I manage it in upcoming posts! I'll add links here as the series grows.

Sophie wants to be sure you have enough food and water stored for your pets too! 

Seize the Moment

A day in the life...

Today I went to work at 7am and arrived home at 7pm. After I gave the kitties their dinner, I put pasta on to boil. As the water was boiling, I preheated the oven, then washed and prepared a few trays of sliced tomatoes. I sprinkled them with olive oil and the thyme that was drying in the pantry. After I plated my supper, I popped the tomatoes into the oven to roast at low temperature for an hour.  Before I go to bed, I'll quickly transfer them to the dehydrator, where they'll remain overnight. In the morning I'll put them into jars and place them in the freezer, right before I leave for work.

Urban homesteading as a hobby looks like this. Five minutes here, ten minutes there, multitasking and creating moments where we can squeeze in a task. It becomes habit, and lifestyle... So much, in fact, that actual full days are rare where I get to really relax and savor each task. I treasure those days, but I still have to live the rest of my life.

If I didn't do these little things in the small moments, I wouldn't get nearly as much done. Homesteading is just like any hobby: to succeed and accomplish alongside a full time job, means creating a mentality and a lifestyle where it's the default way to spend any free time. When I was dancing, I would do calf raises and foot exercises as I made dinner, practice balancing on releve in long lines at the store, and listen to performance music over and over as I drove to and from work. This is the same.

I try not to  think about this as maximizing, multi-tasking, optimizing, or any other left-brained word. I just constantly ask myself, "Can I be doing something for the garden or pantry right now?" This is a gentler way to adopt a lifestyle, a way that is more inclusive and curious. It also shifts the energy to a slower, more relaxed vibe- even while doing several things at once!

The kitties approve, as long as dinner is served at the appropriate hour. After all, kitties come first.

How do you squeeze in things you want to do for your garden? Please share your ideas in the comments!

Thoughts on the Approach of Winter

I've been busy canning tomatoes and pears today! Does anyone else sneak into their pantry just to look at all the pretty jars? I took a picture for you... the rosemary that you see hanging is drying for my winter meals!

I was out in the garden this morning, planting garlic and harvesting the beans that were drying down. A cold front blew in while I was working, and I could feel the temperature drop about 10 degrees as I was digging and scurrying. And fall embraced me. And winter stirred in her slumber. My heart beat just a little faster, and the scent on the wind was more than just the coming rain. 

This is our ancient and primal response to the seasons changing. Thousands of years of preparing for the uncertain winter has left its mark in our DNA. When we allow ourselves to slow down and feel this natural rhythm, we connect to our ancestors and to every human who has ever walked the Earth. There's an exaltation to being alive when you remember how precarious and precious our existence on this planet actually is.

The miracle of food in this age, in America, is an absolute marvel. I spend a lot of time thinking about what the modern lifestyle (buying food at a grocery store, most of it highly processed) does to us. Not what it does just to our waistlines and our physical health, but to our spirit. I feel that when we disconnect and disengage from our food production, we are turning off something intrinsic and vital to the experience of being human. So then, the urban homesteading trend is an important and necessary revitalization of the individual, the community, and of the human race (or at least those of us in industrialized nations).

Let's spend this winter being grateful for the modern age and all its convenience, but also grateful that we can choose to do a few things the old-fashioned way. For our betterment, enjoyment, and spiritual nourishment, let us be grateful.

Applesauce

Today I put up 10 pints of my favorite pink applesauce, which is a Martha Stewart recipe.

In Washington, our apple varieties are different than the ones Martha enjoys on the east coast, so I make the recipe with a beautiful red apple called Jonathon. I buy my apples from a local farmer. In turn, he works with a farmer in Yakima to bring those beautiful apples to our area. So, they are semi-local apples.

I will tell you a secret: I don't particularly love applesauce. I like the product I make, especially at Thanksgiving. When I remember to add it to a plate, I enjoy it. But I don't think about it, ever, and I definitely don't crave it.

Regardless, I'll be putting up quite a bit of applesauce while Jonathon apples are in season. Mostly because it's cheap to make, easy to process and store, and keeps for a whole year. It brightens up a plate instantly, especially in winter when good fresh fruit is scarce.  I have a billion recipes clipped to use and enjoy it in. And it's silly, but I feel a bit nostalgic about applesauce. It was served on my great Aunt Sarah's table every Sunday as I was growing up, so I remember her fondly when I experience applesauce.

For me, simplicity and frugality go hand in hand, and applesauce is a bridge to better living... I suppose. It is really pretty...

Do you have to work at certain things like this, even if you like them? Let me know in the comments!

A "simple" holiday?

Since we have committed to a simplicity lifestyle, every holiday season has the same goal for my family: unhurried joy. And every year we struggle with the same things that threaten to tear down the peace we've built. Here are my thoughts on staying true to your holiday vision:

Continuously simplify your giving

I always think I have my simplicity game on point until the inevitable happens. Last year, I decided to personally make as many gifts as possible. I thought it would be cheap and streamline my giv ing, as I was only making jams and bath soaks. Which actually meant, in addition to consumable and frugal, I had put the added stress of handmade on my plate. I enjoyed making the gifts. I had carefully carved out the time, and I was extremely pleased with how they came out. Win! And then I realized I still had to ship all of these (heavy) things to our extended family in WV and KY.  Three trips to the post office, and one to UPS, had me wondering if I should have just sent gifts from Amazon and Harry and David (again). The crowds, the grumpiness, and the cost all did their best to tarnish my holiday shine. Luckily, I accepted the lesson with (some) grace and didn't get too worked up. Hindsight is ever perfect, but I wish I had not been quite so tied up in going whole-hog on handmade gifts. Or at least, I wish I had spent more time in coming up with light-weight gift ideas!

Or skip the gifts all together
I know this is hard for others in our lives, who aren't on the simplicity path. But the recent years of economic uncertainty have made people more open to giving less. Ask your family to draw names out of a hat or only give gifts to children under 18. Plan a secret Santa at work instead of buying for everyone.

If you give a gift, go for experiences and necessities (like clothes) over toys and knick-knacks. Give consumables (candles, food, bath products) if you can. Ask your friends and family what they really need, and then act on their honest answers. You know what I wish people would give me this year? Stationery, and long taper candles. These are things I use often, and use up. Last, consider donations to someone's favorite charity. Or, thinking about the natural disasters recently, ask your family and friends to donate to charities in Puerto Rico, Florida, and Texas in lieu of giving you gifts. It's a wonderful feeling to know you are doing some good in the world.

Not every party requires your presence.
If you, like me, get really stressed when every weekend in December is full of commitments, give yourself permission to skip a party or two (or all of them). The show will go on, without you. Let that be a relief and not a sadness. Yes, it's important to participate in functions for the organizations that you contribute to (including your work). But, it's not more important than your family, your sleep, or your health. Bow out of a few functions and stay at home for a PJ-wearing, nap-taking, book-reading blast of your own.

Reconsider holiday "traditions." Create new traditions that reflect your current values.
I have a couple of traditions at the holidays that are incredibly important to me. On Christmas Eve, I make chili. As I stir the big pot, I think of my great-grandfather and the incredible gift he was to our family. His spirit lives in me as I prepare that meal.  This is a ritual that costs me little, connects me to the spirit of the season, fills me with gratitude, and grounds my holiday around routine and tradition. It's deeply spiritual, nostalgic, and special to me.

In the last couple of years, I've been re-evaluating my other holiday "traditions." Many I have let go of, as they cost too much and stress me out more than they nourish my soul. But a handful have become my rock around which the holidays are mapped out.

To find these special moments, imagine you were celebrating the holidays in a foreign country, with only your immediate family. What would you bring with you, and why? What would be the most essential plans that you hold onto that season? Perhaps the annual snowball fight with your kids is essential, or the midnight stroll under the stars with your spouse. Decide what you must keep, and then let the rest go. If you need more, create new rituals that bring to life your values and priorities.

What are you doing to de-stress the upcoming holiday season? Let me know in the comments! 

Fall is here

Fall is here in western Washington. It arrived in all its glory today after summer's last blazing parting shot of the last few days. It was raining this morning (finally!) and the clouds were fabulous- grey, swirling, and very moody!

In a wonderful coincidence, I also had the day off. I spent a few hours outside doing some fall cleanup- not my perennials, but a lot of spent annuals and way too many failing squash and cucumbers with powdery mildew. I also retired one of my Amish Paste tomato plants to the compost bin, since it was looking really sad and had only a few tomatoes left. I kept those, of course, and will let them ripen on my counter. I keep them under the cabinet, pushed back against the wall where it stays darker. I put the hoop house over the tomatoes in bed 4. I checked on my late carrots, parsnips, and arugula, all of which I started under row cover about a month ago. They all seem quite content. And I was so happy, because I harvested more eggplants from my Nadia variety plants. This was the third year I tried to grow eggplant, so I suppose third time is the charm.

Fall garden tasks always make me reflect on how this kind of clearing away is important in any garden... and in life. So much of my fall work is saving what can be saved with season extenders, salvaging what I can from what is dying, and preparing the ground for next spring. I'm in good company, as all the little creatures in my garden are also starting to think about winter. The nuthatches found my gift of sunflowers on the back porch and have almost finished munching all the good seed from the spent heads. I gave them the seeds from the smaller varieties, and kept the seeds from my Maximillion variety plants in two big jars for next spring's planting. They spent about 8 hours in the dehydrator before being put away. If all that seed is viable, I better find some friends with which to share!

This kind of work is valuable as we creatively manage our lives, too. As we grow and change, it's important to let go of what is no longer serving or bringing us delight. Removing what is spent and broken and hurt, and preparing that space for new adventures, discoveries, and hobbies is very healing and much needed. Many of us cruise along on auto-pilot and then wake up to realize our lives no longer reflect who we are and what our priorities are. When this happens, it's time to let go.  Save the wonderful memories, and the lessons we learned.  Those gifts of experience and knowledge will grow in our next chapter. Moving on can be hard, but it's always the right decision when something has become a burden and gets in the way of our true love and delight. We only get one this one life... it's too short for things that hurt us. 

What fall garden tasks are you working on? Be sure to let me know where you're gardening! 

Welcome to Five Cats Farm!

Thank you for being here. What will you find? At Five Cats Farm you’ll discover gardening on a suburban lot, recipes, preserving, flower arranging, artful living, cat antics, sewing, home-making, simplicity, and creative inspiration for your own projects. Grab a cup of tea and join me. I'm so glad you stopped by!

MY STORY

I live on a typical suburban lot in western Washington with my husband and five cats. I work full time as a licensed veterinary technician at a very busy family practice and I run our household. Still, I carve out time for gardening and art. What I’m not able to raise on our (admittedly tiny!) land, we try to buy local and fresh from farmers.  We have a dream of moving to a small farm, one day. In the meantime, I’m not going to let these years go by without working toward my goals of greater self-sufficiency. Every jar of tomatoes I put up, every potato I dig, every handful of spinach or blueberries or flowers I bring in from the garden, is a small part of that larger vision of THIS LIFE I AM CREATING. 

Having a deep understanding and connection to where our food comes from is very important to me. Maintaining a strong connection to the Earth and doing my part to walk gently upon this planet is not something I can wait for. I need it now. I feel most alive when plunging my hands into the rich soil, talking to my plants, and watching life grow and change in my garden.

In 2016, I retired from a deeply rewarding and yet terribly consuming career as a dance performer and teacher.  (Yup, I was still working as a veterinary technician then, too. Most dancers have other jobs to help ends meet.) I knew that giving up my vital presence in my artform was going to create a huge void in my life. I thought ahead and spent a lot of time doing very deep soul-searching to try to prepare for that eventuality. I knew I needed art in my life. I also knew that certain aspects of my lifestyle had been in active conflict with the things I felt were most important to me. Most importantly: time with my family, self-care, and actively nurturing my spiritual life. I wanted to replace dance with something gentler on my body, less stressful, that could be practiced in solitude, relatively cheap, could include my husband, and most importantly… that made me feel close to the Creator. I’m so happy I chose gardening. It’s made me a better person in many ways. And it’s helped bridge the chasm in my life when I left dance.

Gardening is incredibly artsy. Planning gardens, choosing plant combinations, noticing each plant’s individual habits and contributions, arranging flowers and making meals… all of this fills my cup and sparks creativity. It’s also a wonderful hobby because I can also choose to just experience what I’ve made, anytime. I don’t need an audience, music, or a 2-hour warm-up to get loose(!), before I can dive in. I just open my back door and sit down on the back porch. I look around, and I breathe slowly. The healing energy of my garden is available to me whenever I slow down long enough to receive it. 

 How does your garden bring YOU joy? Let me know in the comments!