Amber Michello

Cheese. My greatest weakness. Thank you for opening a discussion to talk about cheese.
It’s so nice to see everyone’s thoughts on it.


I love tartufo with a little local honey and fig jam.

Anything that Sweet Rowan in VT produces.

And there’s an aged cheddar in VT by Grafton that is delish.

In Ireland- Brie. Because yum.

I also like smelly cheese. The really icky stuff. Roquefort is amaze. There’s one I found recently called Luna something. Maybe from Wisconsin. It is amaze.

Where’s the cheese party?!?!?! I’m all in. If there are olives of course.

My bff and longest relationship was with a pup who made it 18 years. He also trained up a younger girl. It was fun to watch them passing wisdom and him pushing her to me before he passed. They are the best! They are tiny, but their best and favorite friends were shepherds. Such amazing critters. I just said that if I ever found a man that loved me the way Duke did I would be a lucky girl! The loyalty, dedication, forgiveness, and unconditional nature that they share is everything that seems to make relationships work. That and the communication that they develop to say exactly what they need and respect what we need and find perfect balance helps as well! Looks like you are making great progress out there. Texas seems like an interesting place although I have never seen more than the Dallas airport during layovers. Love their rocking chairs. Is there a winter where you are?

Is the letter game still on? Or resurrected somewhere new? Sounds like tons of fun. I recently shared that I was part of a book swap like this. Send your fav book to a person on the list. It was really sweet. I’d love to write letters/swap books. If anyone is still doing this!

I am super interested in reading the manual! Sounds like a really cool addition to the community.

What a fun idea. Thanks for organizing it.

I am a wild at heart Gypsy soul right now that apparently can’t sit still. I know very well throwing the time into creating and then being called all over the place.

In S GA zone 9a where I had a part year homestead I grew collards and mustard greens that loved to come back each year and built a sweet potato mound. It provided again and again and had cilantro and fennel growing on it. Basil of 12 varieties grew rampant, I also allowed all the ‘weeds’ to grow. The aphids loved the dandelion so they didn’t bother my food crops. There were over 50 native medicinal plants that came up when I let the land just go wild for a full season. Many great sources that I didn’t even have to bring in. Nature offered it up. It did result in many people the first two years commenting on ‘that lady that won’t take care of her yard’. But year 3 when there was abundance and beautiful flowers people were asking to come and take cuttings and many neighbors enjoyed the abundance of food and herbs. Even the nasty bidens that I allowed to be free in area because they are wonderful food and medicine!

I have a rarely visited cabin in zone 3b. There, volunteer tomatoes came from habits of just chucking things out as far as I can throw them. Potatoes grow under the apple trees. Pumpkin and other types of squash grow in an old cellar hole that was back filled with horse manure. Timothy hay also grows out of it every year for chickens and gets chopped down for mulch. Peas and beans line the edges. Wild mustards grow many places and provide wonderful food. Garlic and kale seem to grow happily and freely. Wild berries grow everywhere. Fiddleheads are wildly available (although I recently learned only certain species should be harvested for food. I heard people saying they got a little sick on them because of their ‘detoxifying’ qualities when it seems that they were just eating species of fern not meant to be eaten). , along with ramps and some invasive Japanese knotweed which people like to eat.

A lot of companion planting I think helps to keep things when there is little time to spend and gardens are left. And a lot of just chucking out left overs and throwing out seed to see what may happen. The earth tends to take care of it and the birds spread it around. I also make ground bird habitat and plant things for them. I assume they keep a lot of the glory growing but there’s no telling on that one.

In 9a in coastal Florida, the soils is different than the same zone in GA and I am having a lot of trouble getting things going. It’s taken about 5 years to get ground cover which I believe will help. Although I have not put much time or research into FL and plan to in the next year. It was sand flats here with turkey oaks, cactus and sawgrass it is slowly shifting to other things growing. Would love ideas for this place!

Judith Browning wrote:thanks!
that makes me wonder how an eventual electric pump will handle iron then?

Is there a consideration or available option with your setup for a sediment filter prior to the pump?

So much great info. And so true that it is so personal, and so dependent on where we are in our healing journey-which changes and evolves in every moment.

I was diagnosed in both ankles with osteoarthritis at the age of 13. Lots of falls and related junk. Tried many remedies. Sam e was hard. Sharks cartilage. All sorts of things. At 32 they diagnosed it in my neck as well. At 34 I was clear- no signs of any osteoarthritis anywhere.

For me- it felt like it came more with what was a release of emotions and spiritual work. A lot of yoga, a lot of meditation, a lot of quiet and dedicated internal work and barefoot under A LOT of trees. A lot of time management and being careful to witness where I was giving way too much to others. Learning more about truly getting in touch with my own body.

At the same time, I was practicing things I had for years, Ayurvedic diets on rotation, acupuncture treatments monthly. I still drank wine and ate pizza and pasta, cheese and bread and goodies and meat on occasion, but all was in moderation. Very little strength training as I was healing a deep neck injury. So who knows the combination, the timing, the exact cause and effect. Simply that it does not have to be a life sentence.

Chinese medicine says liver is governor of joints (sinews to be exact which control joints) this would lead to herbals that affect liver perhaps being effective here. It’s always balance. Enhancing one thing too far can throw other things out. Balance and rotation. Liver is also spring- looking into seasons of organ systems is helpful in adapting diet or practices.

There are movement therapies directly created for joint- Ba Duan Jin is particularly effective for joint/tendon. And sounds for the liver.

What is right for you in the moment will feel the most calm and serene. Here’s to that coming along! Thanks again for the collection of what has been helpful or could be helpful. A little database of goodies is always a nice thing to dip into.

Theyeastconnection.com is also a great resource for attacking the sugar monsters. Practical insight and they’ve been at it for a few decades now.

Nancy Reading wrote:

Amber Michello wrote:We received a book of the persons choosing and then were meant to send any book we loved to the next person with a note.

Oh I like that idea!
Amongst my sentimental clutter I have a tin with letters that my husband and I exchanged before we were married and lived in different towns. I somehow don't think a text or email would be cherished in the same sort of way !

Nancy. Those are amazing memories. I agree. I have cards from my grandmothers and seeing their handwriting is th e most precious. I have a lot of old letters that they saved from people and there’s just a feeling. It is beautiful that you and your husband took that time with one another. A practice long gone by I think. Such a beautiful way to develop your connection together.
There’s some amount of anticipation and excitement in waiting on the mail that we miss a lot without that as well. There’s so much to it. I am all for letter writing being a time honored tradition that doesn’t stop. I also love receiving postcards. The ultimate in giving without anything in return and telling someone you were thinking about them while you were busy out in the world, and took the time to buy, write, and find a way to send it. The postmarks from other places are fun as well. Very different than email.

If someone is smarter than me in figuring out the dynamics of that book swap, it would be fun. And between a bunch of permies it would be fun to send a ‘non permie’ book….. if that’s possible for anyone?! I find all of my books generally have to do with some part of my ‘work’ and it’s hard to get myself back into things I love for the simplicity like stories or poems or plays. Reading simply for the sake of reading and allowing something to be stirred up.

Stephen B. Thomas wrote:Hello Amber, and welcome...!

I have a number of penpals I exchange hand-written letters with, and when I mention it to the "uninitiated," responses range from they think it strange, or exotic, to completely beyond them. Keep the postal service alive, says I.
.

Stephen. Thank you. I love it! I miss letters. I’m eager to get settled at the next general temporary-ish landing place to get a mailing address there so I can begin the letter writing again. I once was a part of a list where people submitted their address and everyone was given a random person’s address and then a who’s next. We received a book of the persons choosing and then were meant to send any book we loved to the next person with a note. I can’t remember the logistics of it’s the name of the person who sent me the book or what I sent. But I do remember the book I received, the way I felt from the letter that was in it. And how much I enjoyed it in a way I may not have otherwise. It’s been over 15 years and random things will spark that warm memory of a complete stranger taking the time to share a piece of something that inspired them with me.

I’ve been a part of many letter writing activities for shut ins or people that just need a pick me up and would love to have more of those opportunities! Thank you for providing these things in the world. It is a special gift. And so real to read handwritten words. A true gift.

Matt,
Smart creatures these birds are. I had a bunch of robin that took refuge building around my place in VT. The neighbor would run them off and take down nests and I just let them play. They never hurt anything around my place, helped eat the berries and played with the chickens and made cute babies. I heard people say they wouldn’t come to the same nest twice, but they reused 5 of them this Spring from last year. 3 of them on the porch right over the cabin door. I am not smart enough about robin to know. They are sweet. Birds tend to make good guides. I find certain kinds showing up at really significant times and I hear myself saying things like ‘time to go…’ and only later realizing it was because of their presence. Like road markers, leading the way of decision and timing. All is well listening to the crack boom of storms and watching rain in the south today, although it is thick and sticky air outside. The roosters were calling before the thunder would hit hard. It was an interesting one.