Sunday, September 14, 2014

Maybe you can live on the moon.....

 Last week I got a fortune cookie and the paper inside said, "Maybe you can live on the moon in the next century."

I tell you, the way this planet is going, we are going to have to find somewhere to live, we are rapidly depleting all chances of living here on Earth. Some days I feel utterly hopeless about what we are doing to this planet. I go to the recycling center and marvel at the trash we all bring to dump, and that is just from the ones of us who bother to recycle. I can't get my head around where all the unused crap in our lives is going to end up in the next century.

I can't get my head round this cell phone generation that never looks up. I despise sitting somewhere with cell phone people. I can't get my head around the drug companies pushing their drugs, the fracking, the terrorists beheading innocent people, but then reading that this could be a government staging, the chemtrails in our skies, the poison being put in the food we eat...... I could write pages of things we are doing to really ruin this precious place we all have to live. I know I'm preaching to the choir here, but let's DO SOMETHING!!! WHAT?!?!?!

Remember my ranting a while back about the smart meter and the health issues we were all having? I fought the good fight and got it removed. All of our symptoms went away. Now, they have built a cell phone tower less than a 1/4 mile from my house. My headaches have returned, ringing in our ears, weird shifting of sound in our ears, Gerry is having spells of nausea, Wesley came home yesterday, said she had trouble sleeping last night and felt nauseous. I'm not sleeping again. These were all the things we were experiencing last time RF waves were pouring into our house, now they seem to be back with the start up of this tower..... ugh. Here we go again......

But then I go out and pick up my chickens and watch their silly minds try to work, or I go to the mountains and breath that air, and I hope that there will be a way to save us from ourselves.... please.... can someone do that?!



 Yesterday I made cheese out at Chapel Hill Creamery. A local shop, The Fifth Season, was hosting a cheese making workshop and I signed up for it. Today there is a winter gardening workshop and I signed Gerry up for that one. Somehow we are going to get off the grid and fend for ourselves. No one else out there is looking out for us, that's for sure!

The Chapel Hill Creamery is a beautiful little farm, with Jersey cows, happily eating and being well taken care of. Their cheese is soooo amazing, I buy some most Saturdays at the Farmers Market.

So, we made cheese. It was hot, there were a lot of people, it wasn't quite what I expected, I thought there would be more hands on making. We mostly watched and listened. That was ok though. It was interesting. Portia was great and fun to get to know.

I think I threw up a little in my mouth at the smell of the milk curdling in the citric acid. I'm not sure I'm cut out for the cheese making business, I might give it a try, but I do know I will not be  cheese maker and I totally respect those that do make cheese. It is a process of patience and understanding of chemistry. There is probably math involved too. I really wish I had not daydreamed so much in school.....
In the end, I brought home some ricotta that is probably the best I have ever tasted. But the best part of the whole thing:


Somehow they managed to have a cow give birth right in the middle of the workshop. There we were, stirring the curds, waiting, waiting, and we hear a loud mooooooooo come from the cow in the pen. We had been warned that the birth was eminent. We dropped what we were doing and got to the pen just in time to see the baby roll onto the ground.......... the cutest little black angus cow you would ever hope to see! Poor mama, she looked pretty ragged, any of us that have given birth could totally empathize with how that cow was feeling at that moment.




Everyone went back in the hot room to finish up the cheese, me and my A.D.D. slipped out for one more look, just as baby calf struggled to her feet.  See mama's nose there? She gave me a warning snort to not get too close. Good mama, protect your young.


Now, here is a little slice of southern redneck for you. Gerry and I are looking for land out in the county somewhere. We want a farm, we want animals, we want space and seclusion. So I found an adorable log cabin on realtor.com.  Price was great, it was on a river, 10 acres, there was a greenhouse.... perfect.
Only one small problem. Them that owned it (we are calling them Bubba)  divided the land they owned   and what do you reckon? Some dumbass has built this storage building right up next to the property we were looking at and they are living in this thing!  See where the grass is mowed? Yep, that is the property line. Unbelievable. You have this beautiful 10 acre farm and your neighbor builds an 8X10 storage building, puts it up on some blocks, as they love to do here in the south (so you can take it with you when you move, I guess? or just saving money not having to pour a foundation, or better yet, don't have to get a permit to build).  Even better, they paint the front blue..... why? I was standing on what would be my back porch when I shot this photo. Can't you just see yourself, sipping a nice cool iced tea after picking veggies from your garden and waving over to Bubba Junior sittin' on his steps? and what is up with that yucca plant?

So, I meet the realtor, she is adorable, I love her. We are all like WTF?!?! about this building, know this is not going to be the house I am going to buy, but we go in for a look, just for grins. Open the door, the smell of tobacco wafts out and slams us. The house is dirty, tacky, not kept up, not prepared for potential buyers....... and all I can think is, this is what is wrong with this country. We have embraced mediocrity as an acceptable way of life. We are the Walmart nation. There are not enough of us waking up and going, STOP THIS MADNESS, give us back our better way of life. You can still be poor and clean your damn house up!

Maybe the answer really is to go live on the moon..... it would be so quiet.

PS: thanks once again to all of you for the comments on my last post. I like to reply to each comment individually but sometimes it gets away from me. I do appreciate the readers and the comments, as we all do that blog. It was also great to hear from some lurkers, that's a rare treat!!

12 comments:

Anonymous said...

Oh, Tracey, I come here and read & wish there were answers….in 2nd grade they told us we'd have the chance to live on the moon or under the ocean when we grew up & I was so happy then with hope, & so disappointed now.

Dennis Allen said...

It would be easier to live on the moon than to change some of the people we share the planet with.

Tracey Broome said...

Cindy, I know!!! I livd in the ocean in my mind for many years.....
Dennis, there should be planets for like minded souls, haha! Imagine that world......

cookingwithgas said...

Where ever you go, there you are. This always baffles me but it is true. Figuring out where you want to be is going to be a challenge. Keep looking, there is something out there. Or save your pennies for a ride to the moon. Miss seeing you.

Michèle Hastings said...

When I was selling real estate I saw it all!
Gorgeous million dollars home and houses that I felt like I needed to take a shower when I left.
A lot of people complain about neighborhoods with deed restrictions but if you don't want to live near trailers, clotheslines, outbuildings, etc. then your safest bet is that type of home. Unfortunately when living in the country it's the chance you take. Unless you buy lots of acreage and situate your house in the center... you may end up looking at the riff-raff!

Tracey Broome said...

Hey Meredith, ain't that for sure?! Miss you too, let's do something!
Michele: I worked for a brief time decorating residential homes and was so surprised at what people let me see.... Behind closed doors.... Haha! There is some riff raff here in the south:-)

Sandy Miller said...

well girl you are preaching to the choir here…..
before I head off to get my knee fixed I had your blog rolling around in my head all night.
I always believed in creating your own reality and voting. Well it's not working and feeling a great need, like yourself to get off the grid! Here in Ohio they are fracking everywhere so if you head out and buy a plot, your ground water might not be there very long or in the least contaminated. Jesus we have kids, what are we leaving them?

an article on the front page this morning…..
fracking in Ohio leads to a boom in the plastics industry……. running from the room with my hair on fire!!!

So how far can we be pushed up against the wall? 350.org is holding on big march in NYC the end of Sept. 40,000 supposed to go but in my circle many friends are going and two buses from Cleveland are full!

Mind blown reading Michele sold real estate!!

Headed to the car and watching the geese on this 40 degree morning in Ohio……

stay center sis'ta! :) be posting on the flip side…..

Tracey Broome said...

Sandy, good luck with that knee this morning! Ugh fracking, I really don't understand the greed of money, we are all gonna die, can't take it with you.....

Lori Buff said...

I've been wanting to learn to make cheese, I just never expected it would mean birthing a calf too, hehe. What a great experience you all had.

I've thought about why some poor people can't clean their houses and wonder how much of it has to do with depression. Of course you get slobs in every income bracket so it's just speculation anyway.

Vicki said...

I'm with you on cell phones (and associated towers) - I hate the f***ing things.

When we had our little farmlet, we had sweet milking goats - best animals ever!
I used to make cheese from the surplus milk. Natural, wholesome, delicious herbed soft cheese. I've tasted nothing as good as that since those days.

I miss my goaties. One day, I'd love to have some sweet girls again. I want to be known as "that crazy old goat lady".

Wishing you find your rural utopia soon :)

cindy shake said...

…just reconnecting :)
your sister from the North (or the moon!)
xo

Tracey Broome said...

Lori, definitely try the cheese making, very satisfying and interesting if you are into science! Yeah, that cleaning business, who knows, I think it just lack of caring......
Ahhh, Vicki, goats! Yes one of these days.....l I love me some goat cheese:)
Cindy! Sending you an email!