Green Dreams

Over the last few years, I've been taking teeny tiny steps that will get us closer to urban homesteading/greener living (even though there is really no need, since we all know global warming is a huge LIE made up by the liberals). It's easy to get carried away with goals, but I have to be realistic, since:

• We do not live on a homestead. Our home is on a tiny quarter acre, in a subdivision. Extensive crops and roaming livestock are not viable options in the 'burbs (though thankfully, denim coveralls are).
• I am a terrible gardener.
• I am afraid of 99% of animals.
• I have committed vermi-composting genocide...twice.
• I have zero DIY skills, but am also very picky. This is an unfortunate combination.

Although fate is not on my side, I still want to do more than what we're doing: 

• Limited gardening. I'm still limping along in this area trying to see what works. None of our trees will yield for years, and even when they do...they won't yield much.
• Using alternative energy (we have solar/PV), but no battery to get us off grid. 
• Driving a hybrid and a motorcycle as our daily transport vehicles.
• Started a tiny fish pond (guppies in a large bucket) to use as a source of organic fertilizer.
• Connected two fifty-gallon water barrels to our rain gutters (and use them to water our plants). 
• Basic recycling of our paper, bottles, cans and glass.
• Spent the last 3 months purging 15% of our belongings and sold/donated them to live 'simpler.'
• Created 2 compost bins that we use to store 100% of our green waste.

I know that we are far from self sufficient, and wouldn't have a chance of gaining admission into a doomsday cult (even though our Spam supply would still impress them). So if I'm being realistic, here are my green goals for the near future:

• Acquire more barrels and (ask Rich to) create a simple, outdoor shower that uses our collected water, with the grey water being routed to water our banana trees...
• Reduce our grassy area & reallocate as gardening space (for pineapple, lilikoi, mountain apple).
• Build a very simple DIY chicken coop...and get two hens that can live off our table scraps (this is only if Armageddon appears to be on the horizon).
• Try to grow spinach (iron rich, great supplement to pasta dishes).
• Once our lanai is done, start a tiny container garden of lettuce greens. I envision simple dinner salads...

I'd like to get started on a few of these...but I may be starting a third part-time job soon (sigh...the life of a working mom).

I also have dreams of cooking more since I found a cookbook that's geared more toward the impatient, guppy-brained types...lots of pretty, colorful pictures and ingredients I can pronounce. I'll try to check in later and hold myself accountable to these goals (because if I don't...well, we'll know what won't happen).