Old yucky linoleum is off, now needs some tlc

For those of you who have been following our home (built in 1917) improvement projects,  we finally figured out a safe, easy and non toxic way to get that horrid linoleum that had black tar underneath off the wood floors in the craft-music room (see pics "improvement" here & here).   Water.  Yep, HOT water!    No need for commercial or chemical strippers... ok, that sounds rather funny!  LOL Not to mention saving my pretty little knuckles from using a scrapper (boy, that was tedious & tiring!)

Anyhow,  we figure there just had to be a better way! After some searching, Jordanne found this nifty trick; however,   the trouble for me was how to keep the hot water on the linoleum for hours and live in the house at the same time.  I figured I couldn’t do the whole floor but only sections at a time.   I rummaged in the garage and found a stack of burlap coffee sacks, laid one down on the floor and poured boiling hot water. Then I put down a waxed cardboard box and an old throw carpet so that we could walk over the soaked floor and burlap without our socks and shoes getting wet (*shudder*).   It worked!   The horrible linoleum and black as tar glue came right off.    Now, I am one happy girl … wood floors!  Woot!   I sooo love wood floors.

The wood floor is old and not perfect; but I will give it a good cleaning with Murphy’s soap and a  good oiling afterwards.

Our Front Porch Farm Stand is growing and in desperate need of more space to show off all the foods & goods.  Lucky for me, I have two great handy men that whipped up this wonderful little cart.   Ain’t she purty?  Sorry,  folks, don’t have a link to any plans.  Actually, Dad saw a photo of a similar cart in catalog and, using the specs, he drew up the plans himself.   Dad's a practical DIY'er and can build practically anything!  Pretty talented group of guys, don’t you think?

The cart’s NOT exactly finished -- needs some shelf support and few shelves up top where I can put lighter food items; however, Sis and I got to showcase it at recent neighborhood fair and the cart got quite a lot of positive compliments.

The Urban Homestead's Front Porch Farm Stand is open Sun – Fri (10 am – 6 pm)  Come on by, it’s a WHOLE new shopping experience!

Pssst, would you like that wonderful homemade "ORGANIC" sign?    A fellow homestead makes these signs  ("Organic" & "Homegrown") out of recycled metal.  We are selling them online  and here at the farm stand.   They make great gifts!  I have both of them tacked up on my kitchen wall!

Speaking of GIFTS, take time to browse our online store  for practical goods for gardeners and modern homesteaders.  Also,   tis the season for giving and sis & I will be making up some gift baskets full of goodies to sell here at the farm stand!

First jam session in the newly restored room

Before the seed there comes the thought of bloom.
- E. B. White

Such is the lesson of the middle bedroom.

Twenty-five years ago when we purchased this old 1917 (fixer upper) house it came with lots, I mean - LOTS,  of problems. Problems that we didn’t have the money at the time to fix. One of “the problems” old asphalt roof that leaked and did  some serious water damage to the middle bedroom.

It wasn't until 2006-2007 that we finally had the time and money to put on a new (metal) roof.  You can read about the roof saga here, here,  here, here ,here and here -- this last post is worth reading because it talks about who we are and where we are because of choices made

Until then, we lived with a blue tarp covering the whole left side of the house. Of course, not only did we live with a blue tarped roof, we also lived with the unsightly middle room. That room was certainly an eyesore and a disorganized mess ( thanks to friends always giving us books, yarn and fabric) The middle bedroom became like a storage unit serving no real purpose but to store “stuff.”  That room left us fit to be tied.

We all knew this room needed some serious help, but Jordanne was the one who kept the most faith of us both. Faith that one day we’d find the time to fix it up. Year after year, she would go into that black hole of a room and whip that mess into shape – boy, did it give her grief! Slowly and oh, how slowly, the mess was sorted out into a decent order.

Me, well, I have to admit I oftentimes throw up my hands in despair.  The room was a disaster! So much stuff, no place to put it and, oh, that horribly  huge water mark and peeling paint – yuck!   It was a room that we didn't like friends to see, but then again why should folks judge you from appearances?   This was definitely a room that tried tested character.   In fact, the whole house and yard is a testament to hard work and the DIY spirit.

Overtime, we were lucky to get some second hand furniture and even a sewing machine so we put it in the room with plans on one day transforming it to a multi purpose craft/music/library den

A lesson in all this: It sometimes takes years to see a vision fulfilled. After the seed is planted, it takes time to bear fruit. It doesn't happen overnight. And it takes faith that it will produce after all.

Just as 2010 was coming to a close,  the time had come for the eyesore to be transformed.  With not much work to be done in the garden, Justin got on board which really helped us gals.  Couldn't have done it without his help.  Thanks buddy!

After over a decade, within a few days, the room has had its cracks filled, peeling paint scraped and a new coat of paint.

Like kids in a candy shop, we are bugged eyed with creative ideas.   Like to use the room for knitting gatherings and now we (and others) can easily access our library of books so perhaps we can have reading or lending thing going. Lots of ideas/plans that's for sure.

There's still lots of organizing to do - yarns, fabrics and sewing notions.  Not to mention need to scrap up the hideous linoleum because there's beautiful wood floors underneath - just takes some time and lots of elbow grease!

So as I sit on the sofa knitting a few rounds on a prayer blanket for a friend with the soft afternoon sun glowing across the freshly painted walls, I remind myself that it can take a couple days to transform a room but character is built over a lifetime.

Definitely a real life lesson in patience, perseverance and faith.

Water damage that happened many years ago

Cracks and peeling paint

After scraping the walls, on goes the primer

Furniture gets pushed into the middle of the room

First coat of paint

Done but still lots of organizing to do.

Second hand desk, chair, lamp and sewing machine

Sofa was free, found on the side of the road.

Table, mirror and vase second hand. Nice and cozy

"Frugality is one of the most beautiful and joyful words in the English language, and yet one that we are culturally cut off from understanding and enjoying. The consumption society has made us feel that happiness lies in having things, and has failed to teach us the happiness of not having things." ~Elise Boulding

had to borrow this wonderful quote from Mia

We So Cal folks aren't used to weather.  Yep, word is that we are spoiled and we haven't a clue what to do when weather happens.   But for us weather is good, weather forces us to change routines, get creative and perhaps tackle projects that have been on the "to do list" for ages.

Jammin in the kitchen

Blood orange marmalade

Sunshine in a jar

Fixer up. Tackling the middle bedroom / craft room

Thrift store score Two cute little cabinets

Free, "found on the side of the road shutters." Jordanne's using them to build a "closet" in our bedroom

Keeping the house tidy

Enjoying home life

As the year comes to a close, it's a good time to reflect on steps taken and look forward to future journey's that are just around the bend.

I am hoping during this down town between holidays to FINALLY post pics of our family's trip to New Zealand back in early summer of this year.  We traveled to "Middle Earth"  to attend a film festival for a showing of Homegrown Revolution and while there took a road trip back to see the old homestead were I was born!

Oh, for those of you who are visiting relatives in the area and are emailing and calling inquiring about stopping by.  Yes, the front porch stand is open Sun-Fri (close Sat) from 10 am - 5 pm.

We love meeting new people and we do personally see to each and every customer.

Thank you to our readers who sent us cards, email and a box of chocolates.  It's so nice to receive letters and gifts, they really make our day.

Blessings and happy holidays to you all.

Garage in 2001 We painted it (grey) ourselves and the guys made a new garage door, but it still looked rather shabby and needed some new molding.

First tour of the urban homestead in 2002 (located on the right: a bunch of homemade self watering containers on the 30'x30' concrete patio, homemade solar oven and chicken run) The garage was painted once again (white) - still needing molding! Sheesh, look at all that concrete!

And now, spring 2008. We re-painted and re-roofed the garage ourselves back in 2003 (when we self installed 12 solar panels) The "flower-crete" is made from recycled concrete from the backyard 30'x30' slab we removed by hand (see our concrete removal efforts) Last year we hung new "doors" that allow easy access when we have public events. (Located to the right: earthen oven, clay pot irrigation bed, small greenhouse and animal enclosure)

Looking back at all the old photos as I construct the new photo gallery (containing nearly 2,000 photos!), it's a humbling and rewarding experience to see how the urban homestead has evolved over time.

In 1984, trading 10 acres in the countryside for this 1/5 acre uncared for lot with a fixer upper house and garage that looked dilapidated - one had to see past all the flaws for potential. And that's why Farmer D choose this place. Where others saw a "dive," he saw potential for a garden and play area for us kids who were used to the "wide open spaces."

Looking back at the photos, I have to admit our friends and family were right - the place was "a dive." I remember "the looks" people would give us when they would come over to visit - they would see all the work that needed to be done. Before we owned it, the house had been rented for 20 years and neglected. It certainly needed A LOT of TLC. But to us kids, we could care less - we had room to play and plant a garden.

It's been a slow transformation that's taken many years - over twenty to be exact. The transformation didn't happen overnight, nor could we afford to hire help. In fact, we did most of the work ourselves, on the cheap.

Can you believe this is the same exact garage that people advised us to "tear down" or told us that "you can't make a silk purse out of a sow's ear." Really? This "old thing" was made of genuine redwood and the wood was still structurally sound.

Not only is that one time declared "tear down" being used for storage of urban homestead goods and supplies (collection of bikes, grain mill, used grease, biodiesel processor etc.) there are 12 solar panels on top. The garage is now used for community workshop, film screenings and gatherings.

Change takes time and one learns you can't listen and rely on the skeptics who didn't have the vision to see the potential of "a sow's ear."  We learned to labor.... and to wait....

Any readers have a "sow's ear" stories to share?

:: Field Hand Appreciation :: KS Family $25. Thank you for your continued support.

Homegrown Revolution™

When UCLA professor Peter Sellars invited PTF to come and speak to his class, we were honored at such an opportunity. Since it was such a short notice, we had to scramble to get something that would get the students' attention about the homegrown message of PTF.    Since the class focus was on food, particularly slow food, we couldn't just show our 18 min video brochure that covers all aspects of the urban homestead. Well, we could, but we wanted to do something special. So in a period of three days, we hurriedly put together a 10 min short music video comprised of a collection of "growing food" clips from various media crews who have visited the urban homestead.  

Though the clip was a bit rushed (some parts are a bit choppy), it did somehow come together. The selection of music fits just perfectly with the homegrown theme.     Towards the end of the music video sequence, the entire UCLA student audience erupted in cheers and applause (really neat to have had that reaction).

We hope this is one of many more videos to come out of the urban homestead. Already we are jotting down ideas, titles for some future vlogs.

Share, post, email this latest homegrown music video. It'll make you want to get dirty and start your very own homegrown revolution right in your back(front) yard, and we hope it does.

Living Off The Land

On the video clip posted above, you'll notice that not only does our garden provide us with much of our food, it also provides us with a viable income.   True urban homesteading means living off and from the land.    Just like pioneers and homesteaders of old, our sustenance and living come primarily from our small patch of ground. Such an urban agrarian lifestyle is the path to true freedom.   For us, our urban homestead is not just something we do on weekends or in our spare time after "work." This is our work and our life, our path to a sustainable future.

Week Wrap

Whew, whadda week.  

To recap, we are back online after four unexpected days of being offline.   So if you are just coming back to the site, there are a lot of entries to get caught up on.

PTF will be out and about on Saturday. Join us at the GREEN IS UNIVERSAL ECO FAIR at Universal Studios. It's free and we, and a few volunteers, will be on hand to answers all the questions you've wanted to pepper us with. Also, we will showcase some really neat eco goods and gear that we use here on the urban homestead.    Here's what we'll be bringing: toilet lid sink display, sports utility bike, sun oven, bicycle grain grinder, ollas, and urban chickens, to name a few.

Should be fun.   Invite family, friends and hope to see you there.

Next week, stay tuned for a list of our weekly menus, photos from the eco fair, and, if we have time, perhaps even more videos posted on YouTube ( 3 additional videos plus two radio pieces).

There are also some goings on behind the scenes here... I'm not at liberty to say.... just yet!

More yard photos for your viewing pleasure here

Taking off the old roof

Before (1993-2006) After (2007)

Sustainable Steps

July not only marks the sixth anniversary of the PTF journal, last July was when we tackled putting on a new roof which was finished 5 months later in early January (read about ithere... scroll down to bottom of the page)

After living over 12 years with one side of the roof covered with a blue tarp to prevent leaks because the 30 or so year old shingle roof was decomposing we finally were able to find time and tackled a major construction project. Going through one of the most humid and hot summer's in recent memory we spent the better part of it on top of the roof removing our old asphalt shingles, taking out all the nails from the old wood shake underneath and putting up 100 sheets of plywood, nailed in by hand. Five months later, we brought in a "professional" metal roof contractor for the last step to install a sustainable sand coated metal roofing material that has brought us one step closer in rainwater harvesting project.

Sure the work was hard and not to mention extremelydirty & grimy (see photos) but choosing the right metal roof was even harder than the physical work.   But in the end our months of head aching research and hard worked paid off!

After a long and tiring week/day Jules was invited to give a very brief greywater & rainwater presentation last Thursday at the Art Center College of Design as part of the City's 'Greening Workshops'.    With such new greywater systems and using issues we aren't experts at all. We are on a learning path especially when it comes to what the City of Pasadena will allow. There are no really rules and regulations and as with any new innovations we'll just have to see how it goes. I guess you could say we are right now forging the path and won't be able to truly know how these systems work until we have installed and tried them out ourselves.     Climate change will make us forced to change our lives (yes, even us).

Bringing home the greenWorkshop offers tips for energy-efficient living [Pasadena Star News]

PASADENA - Whenever you rehab, replace something or make an addition to your home, it's an opportunity to go green. That was the message Thursday at a city-sponsored workshop, Greening Your House Part II, at the Art Center College of Design. About 70 people attended the two-hour workshop and learned how to reduce a home's energy and water usage via window replacement, increased insulation, use of shade trees, solar orientation of the home, use of solar energy, gray water and rainwater catchment systems.
read more

Newsletter

Again we apologize for the continuing trouble of reader's viewing our'Tracks' newsletter. Being overworked and understaffed in this department we hope to get to the bottom of the problem before our next mailing (Earth Day is coming up!). Believe me this problem is not only frustrating you but us too and we appreciate your patience in this matter.   Many of you wrote suggesting other such email programs - appreciate that. We choose this one because we like the features they offered; however, if we don't get satisfaction we'll be demanding a refund and switching to another program.

You can view the latest issue onlinehere

Brac's system captures greywater from showers, bathtubs, and laundry washing machines, and supplies the water under pressure to flush the home's toilets [or irrigation]. Based upon statistics from Environment Canada, the company asserts that the use of their system will cut the average home's water consumption and sewage effluent by approximately one third.

With theBrac Greywater System we will be able to recycle laundry, tub and bathroom sink water into subsurface irrigation for edible landscaping (this tank can also be used for rainwater!)It's been noted that a carefully designed greywater system that is connected to sinks, tubs, showers, and the clothes washer can create approximately 35 gallons per capita per day or 12,775 gallons per capita per year. A family of four could potentially create an additional 50,000 gallons for use outdoors.

Greening Your Home - Greywater & Rainwater Workshop

Water promises to be to the 21st century what oil was to the 20th century: the precious commodity that determines the wealth of nations ~John Briscoe World Bank, Fortune Magazine May 2000 ~

Now that we are the subject of greywater, on April 5 at the Art Center College of Design, Jules Dervaes will be giving a 15 minute powerpoint presentation about "greywater & rainwater" techniques that are practiced and will be put into practice here on the urban homestead. This is the third of fourGREENING YOUR HOME workshops put on by the City of Pasadena.
Free to Pasadena residents

There will be free full color brochures available on theBrac Greywater System, which, currently, is the only commercial mass producer of residential greywater recycling systems in North America. In addition, we hope to have a theSink Positive Toilet Lid Sink on display,water wise book titles, and more.

Stats On the Rise
PTF website traffic update total from April 2006 to date with over:
42,650,000 hits713,000,000 kb sent1,030,000 sessions4,380,000 pageviews110 countries

The sustainable eco-revolution is growing, help us to continue to grow the future (only $400 more to go to reach our goal for March)


BOOKMARKS
Canary Island to be powered solely by renewables {Yahoo}

El Hierro will be the first island in the world totally supplied by renewable energy," the ministry said, without specifying when the scheme would actually be up and running.
read more

Oil that fries your burger can run your car {Yahoo}

In the search for sustainable and non-polluting alternatives to fossil fuels, a small band of ecologically minded people are turning to vegetable oil and recycled restaurant grease to run their cars, trucks and even home-heating systems.
read more

Officials find invasive mussels in SoCal water supply {Mercury News}

RIVERSIDE, Calif.- Authorities have found hundreds of tiny invasive mussels in a major Southern California waterway that they said could create havoc with the region's water supply.
read more

NPR : Calif. Family Lives Off the Energy Grid

In Pasadena, Calif., Jules Dervaes and his family have already begun living the change that many suggest is needed to combat global warming. They use appliances that are powered by hand-cranks and even bicycles ...

Listen to Full Radio Clip- hear Blackberry steal the show.

Walking not Writing

When PTF started, we had folks telling us, or asking us, to write a book; however, we felt that it just wasn't the time. We had so much to do and didn't have the time to write about what we do. One needs chunks of free time and living a viable urban homesteading life doesn't offer such a luxury. We know firsthand how book writing has put people's lives on hold - gardens suffered, families suffered, etc. We didn't want to put our life on hold - there was just too much to do.

It was first things first - we grow our food, we reduce our energy, we live a sustainable life. So often, writing books is one of the first things folks do. As one of our writer friends put it, "everyone seems to have a book these days." However, being self sufficient misfits as we are, we don't go with the flow and have taken a slightly different "less traveled" path than the "everybody, crowded freeway." Now, with the recent LA Time's piece, the "book" drummings are growing louder and louder in our ears. There are even more requests, now from publishing companies.    We've always known that one day there should/would be a book - but when the time was right. For now, what concerns us most is getting the garden in order (if we don't, we won't eat) and continuing to reduce our footprint, even more so now that it's been "decreed" that we have passed the tipping point with no return.   We walk the path to change, growing, learning, first. Perhaps, one day, around some turn/bend in the path, putting our story in writing will indeed help those who follow behind.

Not only are we getting requests for books, but speaking engagements - and therein, once again, lies the problem. How can we be who we are - living from/off the land, urban pioneers and yet share our message with folks who desperately want to hear what we have to say?   If we write a peak oil/ global warming/ permaculture/ urban ag book or give lectures on such subjects with most of our time spent on the road, what kind of message would we be sending? It has to be about balance - sharing our story while still keeping our hands and knees dirty. That's a hard and difficult path to travel and yet we cannot disconnect ourselves and put ourselves into such an unnatural world of book tours and lectures.   There's a time for everything. Nature shows us that in the change of seasons - when the earth is warm and temperatures are right, it's time to plant and harvest. In the down time of winter, one reflects on the past year and hopes and dreams of the new one ahead - that's the time of gatherings and sharing. It's all about nature, it's all about cycles, and we need to be in tune with the natural rhythms.

:: Sidenote ::

Kitchen Composter (as shown in the LA Times photoposted yesterday)

Yes, that's me chopping up juicy blood oranges to topped our fresh green salad and that's my favoritecomposter next to me.

Besides our hand cranked appliances, one of our favorite kitchen essential is our stainless steel composter. With our eating daily from our garden, there's quite a lot of food scraps. Most go to feed the animals; however for eggs shells, occasional coffee grounds and other such food scraps instead of having to go outside to one of our many bigger outdoor composters, thiscompost pail can be set right next to you while you prepare meals or preserving operations. Thiscomposter, though it looks small it holds - A LOT of scraps without smelling up the kitchen (especially when you don't have AC) thanks to the simple charcoal inserts.   We also like the fact that with everything these days being made with plastics (yuck) thiscomposter is made with stainless steel which doesn't absorb smells and is easier to clean too!   And, yes, you can buy the composter from ouronline store 

Green City Action Plan

We walked to the first in a series of Greening Your Home workshops put on by
the City of Pasadena. They handed out the 'Green City Action Plan' and
while we were waiting for the presentation to begin we were flipping through the
pages and thrilled to find pro action words like:

1. renewable energy

2. waste reduction

3. green space

4. bio-diesel (is being introduced and used in the City fleet)

5. organic food

6. amend code to allow gray water for irrigation

The series of workshops will be concluded with a "Green Building/Home Tour' in June, and it was announced last night that the City will be renting buses that run on biodiesel to shuttle folks -- yes, PTF is on of of the stops.


BOOKMARKS
Report says world to keep getting warmerScientists conclude climate changes 'very likely' caused by human actions {MSNBC}

In the strongest language it has ever used, a United Nations panel says global warming is "very likely" caused by human activities and has become a runaway train that cannot be stopped.
read full story

Pennsylvania's famous groundhog predicts an early spring ahead {MSNBC}

Phil did not see his shadow on Friday which, according to German folklore, means folks can expect an early spring instead of six more weeks of winter.
read full story