Moving Forward

We met with the Admissions Coordinator yesterday to talk about my test scores and all the necessary forms to be completed for financial aid. She gave me more information about the program and what to expect after completing it. This seems to be the best option for me. There are a few other courses around the area, farther away and more of a two to three year certificate program. The only advantage of that length of coursework is that I would be eligible to take the ASE certification right away. With this program, I need to complete two years on the job first. Obviously, it behooves us for me to get into a job right away so waiting two years before the ASE is alright with me. Basically, what this means is: 800 course hours in 32 weeks, a three week full-time internship, and job placement assistance. Six basic modules of the ASE tests will be covered. That’s it. I’m very excited about it all and will be meeting with the Financial Aid Adviser next Tuesday.

On the drive home from Cortland, we picked up a hot water bath canner from Agway. Dev made some wonderful applesauce on Sunday from the apple trees in our yard. We picked 8qts. worth of apples and have already gotten about 2 qts of applesauce from half that.

The Eat Local Challenge is going very well. On Sunday, we found a local meat source at the farmer’s market. I just picked up some jerky and ground beef since he had already sold out of bacon. I really wish we could find a small chest freezer on the cheap. I’ve been looking into buying half a pig to keep me through the winter. This challenge has definitely cut down on both my intake of meat and Dev’s intake of soy meat. It’s been nice to focus mostly on greens and squash. Speaking of, over the weekend I was making some squash (baking) and completely forgot about it. The water burned out of the pan and the skins were also burnt. I figured I had messed up completely, but we still tried to eat it. OH MY! I think the squash had caramelized a bit. It tasted like sweet potatoes with brown sugar and butter. SO GOOD!

The cheese was from Finger Lakes Farmstead Cheese Company. We purchased the “Schuyler” at the farmer’s market. Unfortunately, it barely lasted the whole day.

Last night, we had another squash that I picked at work plus carrots and potatoes from the market.

Is anyone else doing the challenge or trying to focus on knowing where your food comes from? Please comment if so, I’d love to hear how things are going for you.

Last night was our first freeze. Ugh. Devorah opened this morning, so she got to see the fun ritual of warming up the car. I need to find gloves and a hat. Oh, and an ice scraper. At least the apartment is cozy warm. Also, I ordered us a down comforter from Macy’s. Hopefully, that will arrive today!

Sunday Funday

Wow. This week has been crazy! Yesterday, I finished reorganizing the kitchen while Devorah was at work. She wanted a cupboard moved and some shelves put up as a storage/ pantry space. It turned out well and since it was a surprise, she was very happy when she got home.
I also found a free dresser on Craigslist. We’ve been trying to reduce our spending on, well, everything so it was a perfect find. Plus, she had just listed it about 5 minutes before I called.

Okay, so this Eat Local Challenge is mighty tough. We had some amazing tacos last night. Mine with local beef and Dev’s with soy dogs made in Rochester (that didn’t look very appetizing), but the issue was finding sour cream. I think dairy may be the hardest part of this challenge because there are a lot of large dairy operations that truck in the smaller farms’ milk. I don’t really support that and would much rather buy products directly from the small farms. I found a very small dairy a bit North from us, Wake Robin Farm. They only have 12 cows! We can find their products at Wegmans and at our local co-op. I encourage you to check out their website, especially if you are in NY as they seem to be carried in a few different Wegmans locations.
We’ll see if we can find anything a bit more local at the Farmer’s Market today.

Today is a chore/ laundry/ baking day. There’s apple bread pudding in the oven as I type this and we’re going to make (and hopefully can) some applesauce from the apple trees on our property.

Oh! I know this is a redundant comment, but really…I have the most beautiful fiancee:

Rocktober 1st

I can’t believe it’s already October! That only leaves me with four weeks left on the farm. No worries though, I got a call back regarding an application I put in. Just some seasonal warehouse work, but definitely better than part-time.

Today marks the beginning of the Eat Local Challenge for October. Easy so far since we mainly had leftovers. So, I suppose this is my statement of participation:

1. What is your definition of local?

I suppose the usual is around 100 miles of where ever we are (ie: New York, Seattle, SF). I’d like to focus as close to our epicenter as possible though.

2. What exemptions will you claim?

The norm: sugar, tea, spices, and coffee (locally roasted). We’ve been dumpster-diving bread from the local bakery. It’s leftovers from the day and we tend to find a lot of our bread for lunch sandwiches and morning bagels there. We aren’t counting their ingredients because there isn’t an exchange of money. Also, chocolate is usually on the list, but because their is a local chocolatier we aren’t counting it under excepmtions.

3. What is your goal for the month?

I’d like to have more recipes to cook from and become able to follow them by what’s un season. Also, I want to become more aware of which restaurants use local produce.

I finished the testing for the Auto Tech program I’m looking into. I meet up with an Admissions Coordinator on Monday to go over the scores and funding options. Both Dev and I are really excited about my training. It would start in February and finish with an internship in August. We’ll see if I can really get into the program and pay for it.

It’s late and we work early in the morning, so I’ll leave you with a photo of Dev and our new kitchen table.

bringing in the plants for the winter

We spent a very productive morning together putting up window shelves for the plants during winter months. The air definitely smells like Fall now, I was wondering how long it would be until that happened. I love it when the seasons change and truely missed that during my year in California. From the crispness of Fall to the first fresh sweet scent of Spring, it’s going to be great especially since I get to share it with Devorah.

I think we might have found a nice kitchen table and hopefully we’ll be able to pick it up tomorrow. It looks similar to this, but is rectangular and beat up:

Still, it’s on sale for $12.50 and no, I won’t say where.

We’re thinking of participating in the 2008 October Eat Local Challenge. I’m just worried because we haven’t canned or frozen a lot this year because of our move here late in the season. Hopefully, we can get some put away before the entire harvest is finished. So, my goal is to have the freezer full and at least a shelf of cans finished by Halloween.

Sunday drivers

It’s official. Dev and I are already training to be Memaw and Pepaw. I wouldn’t have it any other way really. We spent a lovely morning together before she had to go into work. The plan was to go to the local antique shop (we’re searching for a kitchen table and some bookshelves) before heading to Cortland for the SPCA garage sale fund raiser. Unfortunately, it’s a miserable rainy day. We decided that an hour drive would be better spent with sunshine, plus we only had a few hours before we needed to head to town.

We started by going to Linda’s Diner in Lansing. It’s only about 5 miles from our house and I drive past it on my way to work. It’s always hopping and seems like the “going out to breakfast/ dinner” spot out here. No complaints here. It was mostly older couples and us. We were talking about how cute they were and Dev overheard a couple talking about us as we were leaving. They smiled and waved. Dev waved back. Those are the interactions we moved out here for. I love small town community. Dev even noticed the woman check out her ring, I suppose just to make sure we were doing things properly. Ha.

Anyway, after a tasty meal of biscuits and gravy, coffee, and orange juice we were on our way. We had an hour to kill before the antique shop opened. I remembered from yesterday (yes. I scouted this place out yesterday while Dev was working) that there were some signs up for an alpaca farm nearby. Definitely something we’d both enjoy, so we headed down the country roads in the drizzle. We found our way to Angel Tree Farm (click the link for photos). We were the only ones out there, so we got the VIP tour. I really wish I would have gotten the owner’s name, as there seems to be two couples listed on the website. He talked Dev up a storm and showed us all the ladies in the barn. They have 27 alpacas after starting with 6 a few years ago. They were all very curious about us, even though the majority seemed like they would have run outside if it hadn’t been raining. Dev picked up a great knitted hat (produced locally – up the street from the farm) for the upcoming winter. We even got to see some of the peacocks, including three babies that are only a few months old.

After that detour, we made it back to the antique shop just as it was opening. Perfect timing. We managed to find a few deals too. There’s a table in the bargain barn that might just be perfect, we just need to measure the kitchen area because our house is so small. But, we did manage to find a lot for only $30. We purchased some lovely Pyrex mixing bowls (a set of three), a kerosene wick lamp w/ extra chimney, and a glass corn cob (for Dev’s glass vegetable/ fruit collection….see? that’s a Memaw thing to do. I love her!).

Also, I found an antique bow yoke which gave me hope that I’d be able to find the tools I’ll need once I’m able to start working with a team a few years down the road.

Now, it’s just time for weekend chores and making to-do lists for the rest of the week. I’ll leave you with a photo from last week, taken when I went out to grab the mail. This is our view on a nightly basis.

Hello, Fall!

Wow. The trip to Vermont was simply amazing. The drive was mostly on side roads and the slow part of I-90. It was only about 7 hours with stops for gas, but in reality the majority of the drive was through small towns with 35 – 40 mph speed limits. The last time we were up at Pan and Dinny’s it was the end of winter, but of course that still means a ton of snow in Vermont. This time around we were able to see the property: three gardens, a pond, and a lot of open spaces. Basically, I feel like Dev and I are on the same path as them. We want to be self-sufficient and only rely on local goods for anything that we can’t grow ourselves. Also, we had a totally flash-forward moment: Pan and I were working on their tractor, I stood up to check it out and saw Dev up in the apple tree picking apples with Dinny. We are so blessed to have them in our lives and I hope we are both able to learn a lot from them.

We are totally enamored with living so close to Dev’s family. Kesh, Kami, and tiny Ixa were already there when we arrived. Ixa is so beautiful. She has these lovely eyes that are HUGE and just taking in everything surrounding her. It was great to just watch her. They are raising her as diaper-free and are also following the principles of attachment parentlng. I’ve never seen a baby cry less than Ixa. Seriously, I think over the weekend there were maybe two real cries and they didn’t last more than a few short minutes. Usually, she just wanted to look at something else or was hungry.

Unfortunately, we didn’t receive the new camera until we arrived home on Monday night. So, I don’t have any images from the trip at all. However, we do have a camera now and we are planning on driving back up in October. I’m sure we’ll get a bunch of photos of the foliage changing. The trees are already starting to change, but they’re not even close to how they’ll be in a few weeks.

We did get a frost out here last week, so I’m going to be putting up some shelving in the windows. We have a staircase of plants outside and I need to make sure I bring them inside before the killing frost.

Does anyone have any good tried and true canning recipes? We’ve mostly missed the fruit and tomato season, but maybe something for squash and apples? Also, we’re starting to look into small chest freezers. Something less than 8cu ft. Any suggestions for brands?

Dev made an apple crisp last night on a whim. We figured that our dinner plus dessert cost us about $1.35 a piece. We’ve been taking home free day old bread on the nights Dev closes. Also, I take home produce from work, so our grocery bill is mainly for grains, meats (or tofu meats), and cheese.

Here’s a pic from last night. I’m still fiddling around with all the functions. This picture is taken with the color accent mode, so only the red show up. Our kitchen is mostly yellow, but I really enjoyed this shot. I hope you do as well.

Vermont is for lovers

Friday was a long one at work. 11 hours of weeding and harvesting:

Parsley – curly and italian

Heirloom tomatoes – the last batch since it frosted Thursday night

Eggplant – lots and lots of eggplant – regular, striped, light purple long, white and purple eggs.

Peppers – hot, hungarian sweet, red apple, red bell, green bell

That’s about it. I’m sunburnt (again) and still sniffling from the ragweed. The second field (where most everything we picked was) is full of ragweed. So much so that the pollen is visable floating in the air.

We’re headed to Vermont after Dev gets home from work today. It’ll be nice since the last time we were up there it was the middle of winter. Now, we might even have a chance to go swimming in the pond! This is also going to be my first meeting with little Ixa. I’m really hoping that our new camera comes in the mail today before we head out. I want to take a ton of photos.

I’m looking into what my winter job is going to be. I’ve always been into automotive mechanics and have been looking into doing a training/ apprenticeship program since about 1997! So, I figured that obviously this is something that I’m really interested in. I think I’ve missed the start of the fall program. There’s a welding class a few nights a week at a local vocational school. It’s only $200 and that includes all supplies including goggles and gloves. I’d really like to check that out.

That’s about it for now, hopefully I’ll have a post up on Tuesday.

living in the country

Dev came back from her trip to Boston yesterday. One cancelled flight and 6 layover hours later, I picked her up from the airport and dropped her right off at Gimme! for her first shift. Craziness for sure.

We’re still trying to figure out how we are going to make all this work out here. She has a full time gig for sure, but mine isn’t so stable. This is a completely new feeling and it’s been overwhelming lately. Early Morning farms has two work days a week for me, but that’s not enough. I need to stay busy. I’m hoping to pick up two more weekdays while meeting up with some farms at the farmer’s market this weekend.  I’m definitely keeping my fingers crossed.

We opened up an account at the local credit union last week. While we were there we found out a lot of information regarding mortages too.  They even have a saving plan for lower income families where they match all deposits 4:1! The main requirement for this plan is that the purchased property must be in Tompkins county. We’ve already fallen in love with the area, so this really shouldn’t be a problem.

I’ve started reworking some drawings too. I need to figure out the balance of work/house/art. Hopefully, things will smooth out a bit more once we are unpacked entirely and once Dev gets her first paycheck so we can see what our budget is going to be.

The farm job is great btw. It’s not exactly what I was looking for, but it’s work and that’s what matters. I get to spend my whole day outside, COVERED in ragweed, just harvesting. It’s hard work and relaxing at the same time, if that’s possible.

Exactly where we need to be.

I figured that I couldn’t keep up a site called “Westward Bound Son” now that we’ve relocated to the East Coast. So, here’s the blog following our migration to NY. We’ve explained to most that this move was spurred on by our wanting to purchase land in the next few years and how impossible that would be in California. We are realizing (on a daily basis) that this move to Ithaca, NY was not only necessary, but that we couldn’t have picked a more perfect spot to settle down.

The place we are renting is small, but cozy. On an acre of land with a lovely garden that will double in size with our help next spring. The neighbors and community are friendly and helpful, something that we’ve both missed in the City.

I’m hoping this blog will just be a continuation of www.tristanskye.wordpress.com and that Dev will have more input on this page as well.

The farm jobs are plentiful at the moment and I’ve already started shifts harvesting at Early Morning Farms (there’s a permanent link on the right). We’re trying to collect as much information as possible on becoming a self-sufficient homestead and are open to any links/ tidbits/ recipes that you might care to share with us.

We’ve already started making saurkraut and drying peaches in the oven. I’m hoping to get a few jars full of peaches before the season ends, then it’s on to apples!