Living Free in Tennessee - Nicole Sauce

Today, I kick off a new daily show concept: Thought of the Walk. You see, going for a walk clears your head and often allows you to see things that you once thought were complex into a simpler light. So tune in today for my first "Thought of the Walk." Wonder what it will be about....

It’s the first episode of 2019 and we had a wonderful week off. Today, I will talk through processing deer as well as share recipes along the way that we use. My independence fund got a huge boost last week in the form of venison. 40 pounds to be more specific. Processing it cost me $38 in supplies, of which I only used ¼, so that works out to $.23 cents a pound spent for $120 in meat (conservatively). Add to that the 6-8 quarts of deer stock I will be canning and it was a pretty big score!

Closing out the series, we bring you two versions of The Night Before Christmas. One from an intellectual fellow and one set to music. Enjoy!

Rest, regeneration, rejuvenation and reflection are the topic of today’s show. The season has changed, we are officially in winter - and have been weather-wise for a bit. And the hardest days are likely ahead. But right now, in this moment, if we are following the natural flow of seasons. We finally have time to get some rest. Today, I also wanted to discuss the spirit of the season - no matter your religious leaning, and to think through ways to make the most of the season of regeneration.

This year on the podcast, we started hearing more often from a certain redneck. Sometimes as a segment, sometimes on an interview and a time or two on Youtube. So when he offered (ok was voluntold) to read a redneck version of The Night Before Christmas, how could we say no. Don't worry though, there are no bad words if your kids want to listen.

A friend from down under recorded this version of the poem for us with a few adjustments made for her local environment. Thank you AussieRo.

NOTE: I TALK ABOUT WHO SANTA IS IN THIS...Join us in the series in the first in a series for 2018 of poems read from throughout the world. This version of The Night Before Christmas comes from our friend “Jaggy Little Thistle” who listens from Scotland. Thanks for the recording Jaggy!

Today, we take on another country kitchen topic but from a bit of a different angle over last week: Modern Cooking in the country kitchen with a sous vide machine. At first I was a bit skeptical about if it would really make a difference. Then I got the thing and ended up LOVING it - like as in loving it more than my crockpot. So today, we will talk about what sous vide is, why I have started using it here at the Holler Homestead and even talk through some recipes.

Today, we talk about five areas of first aid that you should think about both on your homestead and, well, pretty much anywhere.

I haven’t talked much about homesteading or domestic arts lately. We’ve focused more on building the life you want to live. So today, I thought, why not surprise them with something that goes back to our roots of homesteading?

Living on a homestead is like having a variety show in your life: Something unexpected happens almost every day. Today, I will walk through several topics that impact homesteaders and those of you who are starting or have started your own business. From honey bees to healthcare, today is like a fireside chat.

Easy ways to find ideas for homemade gifts and firing the toxic people in your life, today on LFTN!

Today, I have two topics for you. The first is a simple walk through our simple weekend of doing odd, quaint things. Someone pointed out to me that what I think of as a stress free Thanksgiving is filled with tons of basic homemaking skills that no one does anymore….and we will talk about a deeper idea: Mourning loss as an adult and also mourning loss for the first time, and ways to navigate sadness when you lose someone close to you.

Today, we will talk about a basic homesteading activity: Processing Pigs for winter -- and a deeper topic: Processing Life. The last 10 days, many people I know and ones I just recently got to know in the LFTN community have been facing hard life lessons. So we will look at lessons learned from processing pigs next to lessons learned from life. And they are not all that different.

Today, I run through three key lessons from the #TSP18 workshop that happened over the weekend at Jack Spirko's place in Texas. There were many more than three lessons to learn, but when it comes to living your life rather than have someone else live it for you, this event was a great motivator.