Ann Leach

.... the transition to a minimalist lifestyle. My husband has recently been reading some books on simplifying and minimalism, and he came to me (big grin) about embracing a minimalist lifestyle. He spoke about less stuff requires less maintenance, less cleaning, less space for storage, and costs less. We would pay less for housing since we need less space, which would reduce our utility bills. I was hesitantly excited. Could this really be happening? This morning, we sat down together for breakfast and I asked him if he was certain he wanted to go down this path of minimalism, and he responded with all the right answers. We talked about what it would mean for us, individually, and as a family. And in the end, we added it to our list of characteristics which define our family. Coincidentally, I am reading, on my kindle, the ebook "Adopting the Minimalist Mindset: How to Live with Less, Downsize, and Get More Fulfillment from life" by Ben Night, which includes an overview...

I got the ok from the library to start a new discussion group, and I've decided to go with Parenting as the topic! I'm sooooo excited!! Meetings will be the last Tuesday of the month, 6:00 pm, at the Wapakoneta Library, downstairs. Our first meeting will be Tuesday, June 28 and will be a meet and greet for everyone to come in, share some of their parenting successes and challenges, and help set the direction for future books. The first book up for discussion is The Secrets of Happy Families by Bruce Feiler. I came across this book recently on a random stroll through the parenting books, am so  inspired by it, and am looking forward to discussing it with other parents. "In  The Secrets of Happy Families ,  New York Times  bestselling author Bruce Feiler has drawn up a blueprint for modern families — a new approach to family dynamics, inspired by cutting-edge techniques gathered from experts in the disciplines of science, business, sports...

A month or so ago, I started buying our milk from a local dairy. It comes in half-gallon glass jars with plastic lids, has 5% milk fat (yum!), and costs $3, which is a little pricey, but it's worth it. It's worth that price for so many reasons, including:  We're supporting a small, local dairy. The flavor and creaminess are wonderful. And the only trash generated is the plastic cap. We pay a $2 deposit on each jar which is refunded when we return them. So the other day, I was chatting away and popped off with "Wouldn't it be great if our only trash was the lids from the milk?! Hahaha"  *giant pause* Whoooaa... what if that was our only trash? And how can I make that happen? This week, I am paying special attention to the trash as it goes into the bin, and there is a fair amount of trash coming through the mail. I will call into the post office next week to find out how much of it can be blocked before it comes in the mail box. Meat comes in recyclable containe...

... is the book I am finishing up this morning. And I am compelled to share this paragraph from the epilogue: "I've only recently become aware of my good fortune in having grown up in an environment where everyone knew everyone else. In our community no one was a stranger. If we met an unfamiliar face on the way to the Farmers Store, we offered a greeting because we knew that person had to be a guest in the house of someone we knew. We were privileged to live with the comforting conviction that we had absolutely nothing to fear from people. Of course, we were quite aware that there were dangerous forces and conditions over which we had no control, but we were confident that no person was out to do us injury. This atmosphere created in us a sense of security, a sense of belonging in the world. Is there a more valuable gift than that?" We, here in the US, are constantly on the lookout for the bad to happen. Bad courts us through the media all day long. And it has ...

.... packing (waste-free) lunches. Waste-free lunches is an idea we picked up from the kindy (preschool) our daughter attended over in Australia. The day ran from 9:00 am to 2:30 pm which, obviously, includes lunch time. But contrary to most preschools here in the US, there was no hot lunch served. The children were expected to bring a packed lunch from home. And it was to contain no throw-away waste. No plastic wrap. No paper napkins. No pre-packaged chips. Or cookies. Or string cheese. Or throw-away yogurt containers. Or juice boxes.  A long way from most packed lunches here in the US. And we adapted. I browsed the thrift stores to pick up a few plastic containers with lids; as well as a lunch box and a stainless steel water bottle, which she still has. Once we adopted the mindset, it wasn't hard at all. And our lunches are still packed this way now.  Fresh foods are packed in washable containers. Forks and spoons from the drawer are included (usually). An...

Planning the Garden The Baker Creek Seed catalog came in the mail!!! And yes, I've been page-turning, dreaming about all the seeds I'd like to order and putting out a garden again. Kenn and I went for a walk and talked about where we'd like to put the garden. We've had it behind the barn, which was good for water access, but not so good for weeding. Out of sight, out of mind and all that. This year, we're going to put it out kind of in the space between the house and the chicken coop. It will require a long hose for watering, but unless we're up to installing a new water line (which we're not), almost anywhere will require a water hose. I'm dreaming of tomatoes, green beans, lettuces, and so many other fresh veggies. Maybe we'll even get out some fruit trees. In a perfect world, we'd get a couple of bee hives and plant a special bee garden. Oh! And a butterfly garden. It's so easy and fun to dream. It's so easy to get in...

Maple Fest 2016 Our county parks department puts on a Maple Fest in the even numbered years. And so, out we went. This is a modern tapping system - plastic spilees, plastic tubes, and a plastic collection bag. Not a typical collection bucket, but it let us see the sap dripping out of the tree. Sap can run for as little as 6 days or as much as 6 weeks. It all depends on the temperatures. Trees are typically tapped in late winter or early spring, but it isn't the date they go by, but the temperatures. To make the sap run, temps must be below freezing at night and above freezing during the day. Maple trees (ash, dogwood and one other) grow branches directly opposite each other. That plus the 5-pronged leaf make them easy to identify. Native americans were the first to collect maple sap and cook it down to sugar which was easily stored. They heated the sap by heating rocks by the fire and setting the hot rocks into a container (hollowed log, tightly...