Wednesday, April 18, 2018

Find your passion


Last week I was lucky to meet a few people who are passionate about some of the things they do and it was contagious. The first person I got to meet was Abigail Keam. She is an author that lives here in Kentucky and she has a few book series one of which has some honey bees in it. She talked about her books and she talked about being a beekeeper. You could tell they were two things she really enjoyed doing.


The next group of people was a jazz band putting on  a free concert at our downtown library. They were some older gentlemen and they were amazing, They didnt even have a program they just picked a song from their brain and played it. They would talk about a piece they were playing, give us a little history about the music or times and a few gossip rumors about the composer sometimes. I love to watch musicians especially when you can tell its a song they really enjoy.

The last couple we met were a husband and wife who have a mushroom farm. They were teaching us how to grow a mushroom log. Their story started with how they met, moved to a wooded area and got started with the mushrooms.
This is Mr Ladybug drilling holes in the log, plugging it with spores, sealing it with wax and hauling it to the car


We use to learn how to do things because skills were passed down through families. We dont really see much of that any more. Bee keeping use to be passed down but Mrs Keam said she really thought what would save the honey bees was hobbyists. If thats something you would like to learn about look for a local Bee Keepers Association, thats actually a real thing! Start attending meetings, ask questions, watch lots of youtube videos and next spring get some bees.

If bees are not your thing thats okay too. Getting stung isnt that fun. Poor Mr Ladybug has a terrible reaction to the stings and I barely even itch. Find things to do in your community, check out lots of books on different things from the library, ask someone you see doing something that you find interesting a million questions. If you are lucky enough to be passionate about what you do for a living thats great but if its a way to just pay the bills thats okay too, You dont have to be passionate about your work. If you find a hobby that you are passionate about and can do that regularly I think you will find it pretty rewarding and beneficial for your health and sanity.

Our little urban farm started with us watching Food Inc and being horrified with the egg industry and it just bloomed from there, We fell in love with those little chicks. We started with one 4 foot by 4 foot raised bed and we expand every year. I bought a pack of green beans seeds for $2.79 five years ago and I havent bought anymore since. I just save my seeds each year.
This is bok choy. We went to a garden class and we got to get a free pack of seeds. We chose broccoli and our friend Penny chose bok choy and we shared seeds. Unfortunately Pennys cat destroyed her plantings as soon as she went into the house. Cats are such fun animals.


Its almost berry season so if canning is something you would be interested in jellies are a great place to start. You dont have to pressure can them so all you need is a pot large enough the cover the jars tops with water.

I am still trying to learn to decorate cakes and cookies. I have limited myself to just baking things on the weekend for practice. I dont think we need to be eating deserts every night! There are some daisy cookies I made. Still not perfect and this might be as good as I ever get but I love baking and making the icing. I love mixing the colors and decorating, I even enjoy cleaning up.

 I will try to start posting some of the many things we enjoy doing along with directions and links in case you are interested. Feel free to ask me any questions and I would love to hear about your adventures as well.


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