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✨ if you don’t mind dying, you’ll live forever

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Resources for Homeschooling Children

Books:

Teach Your Own - John Holt

Podcast/YouTube:

Honey I’m Homeschooling the Kids Podcast

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Spicy Vitamin C Splash

- ginger root (about 3oz)

- 3 lemons

- 2 oranges

- 1/4c or less of honey

- juicer/squeezer or blender

- little jars or bottle to keep fresh

Blender:

Peel the ginger root, lemons and oranges and blend on high in the blender until very little pulp is left, sift through a small mesh strainer or coffee filter. Mix honey as you see fit, stir well. Serve cold.

Juicer/squeezer:

The ginger needs to be juiced or put into a blender, so do that separately from squeezing the oranges and lemon. Add together after straining the pulp from the ginger with the mesh or coffee filter. Mix honey as you see fit, stir well. Serve cold.

Benefits:

Ginger has shown it may help fight inflammation, boost immunity and deliver digestive support.

Orange and lemon juices are high in antioxidants and micronutrients like vitamin C, folate, and potassium.

Honey. Renowned for its potent antioxidant, antimicrobial and antiviral effects, honey modulates the innate and adaptive immune systems in various ways. Its antibacterial effectiveness is made possible by a novel molecule known as defensin-1, which plays the role of a natural antibiotic.

This is a great drink if you want to help boost your immunity in the winter or if you’re feeling low energy all of a sudden. Serve in small amounts as this is a fairly spicy drink!

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Pine Needle Tea

- pine needles (can be foraged locally in Canada! long, round needles are what you want for this tea, not flat/short)

- honey (optional)

- boiled water

Chop up the pine needles into 2-3cm long pieces and steep them in a tea steeper or coffee filter covered for 10-15 minutes.

I have also tried adding cinnamon, cardamom and other spices (or a “chai”/apple tea bag) for a deeper flavour

Benefits:

Pine needles have natural vitamin c and a! Great for your skin in oil tinctures as well. Pine needles have often been the go-to for chest complaints as it is a very effective expectorant (gets all the build up out if you’re sick).

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• two terracotta pots, one big enough to fit over top of the second

• 1/4″ x 3″ hex screw with two washers and a hex bolt

• planter plate base

• feet or cans to prop up pots

• candles

1. Arrange the feet on the planter base to hold up the terracotta pot

2. Take the screw and anchor it inside the pot with the bolt and washers, this helps pick up the heat and transfer it to the sides of the pot quicker

3. Put the pot on top of the feet so that it is upside down with a gap for candles to get air

4. Put the second pot over top of the first pot, light the candles underneath and you are set!

* As with all my posts please use caution, never leave flames unattended and ensure there is no wax buildup on the pot.

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Since I was a child I always loved the idea of living in a little cabin in the woods. Birds greet you in the morning, you boil water over the fire, smell the moss, maybe you catch a glimpse of what you think could have maybe been a faerie?! But as I grew older I was taught that magic isn’t real, that cabin in the woods isn’t reality and that there isn’t that much green in my world.

I started working the jobs I was given and grinding, trying to climb those ladders. I’ve gone from the “garbage girl” to “manager” and something was always lacking. That’s when I decided to take a journey into the past. I decided to start my own homesteading expedition, in the city. I may not get my cabin in the woods but I am going to ensure I have my little patch of green. Here is what I have found helpful to start out with so far:

It seems overwhelming at first but don’t fret! No investment type purchases necessary yet. Figure out what you want to cut down on financially, transitioning to homesteading is smoothest when you don’t have huge bills to cover. I suggest starting with streaming services, cable, phone bills, internet usage and any other monthly plans.

 While you’re doing your planning, you’ll still need to shop and feed yourself. Start looking for reusable items to replace things you consistently go to the store for. Parchment paper, baking sheets, paper plates etc. Finish using and replace as many single use items as possible. Bonus if they don’t use electricity (ex: hand grinder for coffee, non electric kettle etc). If you have a local market or farm stands nearby, get to know them and their prices. You may be shocked to discover a ton of savings and good info about the growing climate.

This one sounds odd but I feel like it is a big step in moving from a very hands off technology based lifestyle to one that is more self sufficient – take time to reflect “spiritually” (whatever that is for you) and address any addictions or negative traits that revolve around your industrial upbringing. For me the biggest are: overworking myself, mindlessly scrolling the phone, caffeine and refined sugar. This is the hardest part of the entire journey because it involves creating a habit that goes against societal norms/what is exceptionally easy to access and relies on setting boundaries for myself. Addiction isn’t easy that is for sure!

Gather information about the things you are most interested in. For me, that is growing my own veggies and alternative herbal remedies. The city I live in does not allow livestock or chickens, but there are tons of cities in Canada that do! Shelter building, water purification, fire starting and tying knots are always interesting research topics. Pinterest is also fairly handy for this stuff, funny enough! Search “survival tips” and you’ll find quite a bit on there, as well as the “homesteading” tag. The library is a great resource for herbal remedies, medicinal, all sorts of books about psychology etc. Spend some time researching things you believe will help, and stuff that gets you excited, too!

Set some realistic goals and work towards those projects. For example, I had very low funds so I started growing herbs in the window. Chives, green onion, parsley and mint all grow fairly quickly and can be kept through winter if properly maintained. Pick something you use a lot or do a lot – let’s say cleaning; and slowly swap all of your products to home made solutions.

Lastly, because these are just starter tips, find some people with similar interests. If you aren’t able to connect locally (check your cities Reddit board for keywords like garden or the cities website for local greenhouses) there are a number of groups online that promote this kind of lifestyle. I’m sure if you’ve found this post though, you are well aware. But if not there are tons of blogs under “homesteading” or “natural solutions”.

Although I am nowhere close to the “end goal” I imagined and haven’t become completely self sustainable; I can definitely say I am a lot happier, feeling more positive about the future and have no fear as compared to where I started. I think if this journey is all for “nothing”, at least I have some peace.

Do you have any tips? Tricks? Disagree entirely? I’d love to hear from you!

✨Thanks for existing👋✨

Chili Here

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Sweet potato fries:

(serves 4, sidedish)

- 2 large sweet potatoes, cut into strips of your choice thickness

- sprinkle of Himalayan salt

- sprinkle of cinnamon or Chili powder/paprika

- olive oil to coat

Cook at roughly 450 degrees for 15-25 minutes, flipping after the first 10

I love these with spicy mayo 💚

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“Awareness is torturous to the mind that is unwilling to change. That’s the reason why many choose to remain in denial.”

- Xavier Dagba

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“No amount of anxiety makes any difference to anything that is going to happen”

- Allan Watts