Mini Farming: Self-Sufficiency on 1/4 Acre by Brett L. Markham - A Review

Mini Farming: Self-Sufficiency on 1/4 Acre by Brett L. Markham

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


There are many parts of this book that I feel needed to go into greater depth, but at other moments, Markham breaks down processes in ways that other books I've read on the topic fail to. I appreciate that Markham expects his readership to be tech-literate and rather than repeating everyone else's research, supplies suggestions as to where we can find the information we may want in a convenient manner. At times it felt like I was reading a personal blog more than a guide to mini-farming, and the extremely casual tone could, at times be off-putting, I still found, on the whole, the information was useful and I learned enough from this book that it was more than worth my time investment.
That said, I don't plan to be the "crazy chicken lady," so that bit of advice was wasted on me.

Little House in the Suburbs: Backyard Farming and Home Skills for Self-Sufficient Living by Deanna Caswell - A Review

Little House in the Suburbs: Backyard Farming and Home Skills for Self-Sufficient Living by Deanna Caswell

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


The only thing I didn't like about this book is the fact that it made me want goats and chickens as pets for my kids. Slyly, it avoided talking about the inherent problem with animal ownership: someone has to care for those animals, even when you're not there, and therefore travel is complicated. Obviously, this means I should not be a goat or hen owner.

This is supposed to be a book review, not a discussion on why I shouldn't own farm animals, inside the village limits, that my son would love to pieces all while helping us be somewhat more self sufficient.

Okay, back on track. I love that this book deals with not only growing things and self-sufficiency from a production standpoint, but also gives concrete examples of what one can do with the things one has grown. Caswell and Siskin make a point of having practical advice, and even go so far as to include possible garden layout suggestions that actively include pest deterrents. Companion plant list? Yes, please.

I know that in the past I've occasionally voiced irritation with informational books written in an overly anecdotal and conversational format, but here the "blogger" feel translates well.

I enjoyed the book, and most importantly, learned even more than I knew this morning, including exactly what is happening to my squash.

Surviving the ER with a Baby

Let me begin by saying, you don't want to be in the ER with a baby. Not for the baby, not for you, not for your other kids, not for your spouse.
Generally speaking, you don't want to be in the ER, and you certainly don't want to take anyone extra with you if you can avoid it.
So first, I suggest keeping the number of someone who can watch your offspring, in case of emergency, handy.
Next, you're going to need to remember that even though the beds get clean sheets and pillow cases, the visitor chairs and floors do not get cleaned between patients and have all the germs of all the people who have used them. The nurses can't wash the soles of their shoes between patients, so the germs from the floor of the room with the coughing up blood patient get tracked onto the floor of the patient with the broken wrist. Therefore- KEEP BABY OFF THE FLOOR.
Does your kidlet like a stroller? Bring the stroller.  But also bring your most comfortable sling.  If you don't have time to grab it, call someone to have them bring it to you.  You're going to be tired as is, you certainly don't need to wear your arms out when babywearing is so much easier.

Don't put off nursing the baby because you're in a strange place.  If your wee one is nursing, take advantage of the fact that you can help calm and soothe your baby, and boost his/her immune system by nursing him.  The nurses and doctors aren't going to forget how to do their job if you're nursing, but if your wee one is hungry and screaming, they might just get distracted.
Toys.  If at all possible, only hand baby toys which can be sterilized before you leave, and if a toy hits the floor, it needs to go in a plastic bag and not be handed back to baby. Remember that bit about the floor? Nothing that touches the floor gets handed to baby. Ever.
Sippy cup hits the floor?  Bag it. Pacifier? Bag it.
Now here's where you get a break.  Most hospitals no longer have rules against cell phones in the ER.  If you've got a smart phone and an unlimited data plan, you can go to youtube.com and find great content like Celebrity Lullabies with Ricky Gervais

Don't have a smart phone with a data plan?  Do you have a MP3 player?  Baby just might be okay with listening to one of your earbuds, just remember to keep the volume down.

You can survive the ER with a baby in tow, just remember to keep baby off the floor and be prepared to be there for quite a while.
Goodluck, and may you never need this advice.

Baby enjoying the same rules applying to inpatient care rooms.

Do you have any tips on surviving the ER with a youngling?

World Breastfeeding Week: The Unexpected

This year's World Breastfeeding Week's theme is Emergencies. More specifically, "Breastfeeding: A Vital Emergency Response: Are You Ready?"

At first this had me scratching my head, wondering what I could possibly say about emergencies and breastfeeding. I don't live in a part of the world that is habitually visited by the ire of mother nature, so I really don't know a lot about natural disasters or the types of living conditions often endured by people in "emergencies." Sure, I've seen the inside of my share of tornados (one), but never with deterimental outcome to anything other than the yard. But then as I read a little further, I learned the following.

Now bear with me a moment, as this one is something of a no-brainer... Children are the most vulnerable in an emergency. Well, no duh. They can't take care of themselves, so again, let me say it- duh.

But it's deeper than their dependence on a caregiver. As is pointed out on the site, it's a bigger issue than that.

Children are the most vulnerable in emergencies – child mortality can soar from 2 to 70 times higher than average due to diarrhoea, respiratory illness and malnutrition.

Breastfeeding is a life saving intervention and protection is greatest for the youngest infants. Even in non-emergency settings, non-breastfed babies under 2 months of age are six times more likely to die.

Emergencies can happen anywhere in the world. Emergencies destroy what is ‘normal,’ leaving caregivers struggling to cope and infants vulnerable to disease and death.

During emergencies, mothers need active support to continue or re-establish breastfeeding.

Emergency preparedness is vital. Supporting breastfeeding in non-emergency settings will strengthen mothers’ capacity to cope in an emergency.

And this, my friends, got me thinking.

We *have* been without electricity and therefore without water a few times in my life. Sure, I can drink whatever bottled malarky there happens to be lying about, but that's not a safe source of nutrition for an infant. If you have well water, you don't have water without electricity. Formula is certainly not a good option, even if you are just waiting for the power to come on, because you need clean water to mix the formula and the ability to wash the baby's bottles.

And you certainly can't be storing excess formula for later use without electricity.

Now lets say you're being forced to evacuate the area, formula, again, isn't a very good option. How do you know you'll have access to potable water? How do you know you'll have access to the sorts of facilities necessary to get the bottles clean enough to be safe to use? Nearly no-one is going to think to grab a bottle brush and a bottle of dishsoap before rushing out the door in an emergency evacuation, and so then the babies are looking at getting fed water from questionable sources in bottles that are less than clean! Think of the illness to which that could lead.

I know, maybe I'm being a touch dramatic, but for the record, I once was living in a small town in New Mexico. After about a month of living there I got to spend two weeks in the hospital, pregnant, rapidly losing weight, and unable to hold anything down. After more tests than you can shake a stick at, the dietician asked me a very simple question.

"Have you been drinking the tap water?"

Um, yes?

Aparently I missed the one notice posted on a faded and dusty sign at one of the main entrances to the town which pointed out, but only to the observant traveler, that the water was in fact, not potable.

Of course, the people who lived there drank it some of the time, but being raised around it, that wasn't a big deal for their bodies. I, on the other hand, was not, and instead was made violently ill. But imagine if you were in an emergency situation and temporarily being relocated, would you have seen the sign? Would you have known what it meant? Would you have understood why the more water you gave your baby, the sicker she got?

Probably not.

So yeah, I totally see why breastfeeding needs to be encouraged specifically for its emergency scenario benefits. Lets face it, it's a foodsource you certainly won't forget to bring along in a time of crisis.

So be ready. Help others be ready. Help new mothers to stick with it for the health and protection of their children. It's not just about saving money, it's about saving lives too.