GAPS – Gut and Psychology Syndrome – written by Dr. Natasha Campbell-McBride MD, has been life changing for me. I am talking about dramatic changes in my physical health since beginning the GAPS Introduction Diet! If you have not already, please take time to read the GAPS Review which will explain a bit more about the link between poor digestion, health problems and the diet to target healing of the gut. So that you might know me a little better and appreciate the changes, let me give you a brief medical history.
Growing up, it seemed that I always had stomach problems. By problems, I mean pain, nausea, diarrhea, and/or constipation. By the sixth grade, my pain was so severe that an exploratory laparotomy was performed. Unfortunately, only swollen glands were found.
At 17 years of age, I was diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis which is an autoimmune disease. With rheumatoid arthritis the body overreacts to an irritant and begins an inflammatory process which normally attacks the joints but may also cause inflammation in the lungs and around the heart. I was put on prescription medication which provided some relief but also exacerbated my stomach pain.
At age 19, I was tested allergic to beef, fowl and pork. In addition to allergy shots, I became a vegetarian – eating only eggs, dairy and fish along with veggies and grains.
I would continue with arthritic flair-ups and periods of remission throughout my adult life. Extremely difficult periods occured after childbirth, when the baby was anywhere from 6 – 10 mths old. These periods thankfully were always followed by a period of remission. In 2011, however, after some female surgery, the arthritis pain was so severe that my husband had to cut my pancakes every morning! There seemed to be no relief in sight!
As if I did not have enough wrong, at age 47, I was diagnosed with osteoporosis. Prescription medication was prescribed for my low bone density. I felt as though I was falling apart!
My daughter-in-law, Jessica, introduced me to GAPS. She was able to attend a conference at which Dr. Campbell-McBride was a speaker. After talking with Dr. Campbell-McBride personally about me and my history, she came home excited that I would have relief from my pain and once again eat meat.
Her enthusiasm was contagious and I began the GAPS Introduction Diet the week before Thanksgiving. The Introduction Diet is the most restrictive part of the diet and includes six stages. I am now in the fourth stage and slowly continuing to add more foods to my diet.
As of this writing, I have had complete relief from my arthritis symptoms and (drum roll please!) I am eating meat again after 30 years! This is really great since we just butchered our first steer! I will not have another bone density test done for about 6 months. It will be interesting to see if there is any change.
Hopefully, my enthusiasm over the wonderful changes that have occurred will be contagious also. I would encourage any of you interested to purchase the GAPS book. It is a detailed book with a lot of information that for some, like me has been life-changing. You might also visit Dr. Campbell – McBride’s website Gut and Psychology Syndrome.
Yesterday I told you about our adventure filled weekend butchering our first steer. We knew we wanted to try tanning the hide when we bought Hammy. I had read a bit about tanning your own hide but since it looked complicated, I priced having it done professionally. After calling around, I found that I could buy one cheaper than having ours tanned. How hard could it be? After all, people have done it for years. So, being the do-it-yourself types and not wanting to miss an opportunity to provide a learning opportunity, we got started. I am using “we” loosely here because the boys have done all the work!
After carefully skinning the cow, the hide was washed to remove all the dirt. Since we finished cleaning the carcass so late Saturday night, we laid it over an outside table to begin drying where it stayed all day Sunday also – because we were busy processing the meat.
Monday, the boys began very gently scraping the large chunks of flesh off. The danger here is puncturing the leather.
Next, the hide is laid out and a layer of salt spread over and rubbed into it. This presented a problem because of the wind here in west Texas – it kept blowing away! So, we finally rubbed in as much as we could and left it. There really is no covered place which is out of the wind that it could be left. I did not consider the living room an option  For now, it is on the north side of the house which normally is not so windy.
The hide will remain salted for about 2 weeks until it is thoroughly dried. During this drying period, we will keep a close watch on it and re-salt as needed. Hopefully, by that time, I will find where to purchase the alum solution or whatever we decide to use to complete the process!
This weekend certainly took an unexpected turn when our ox fell into a ditch – literally!
We have had a steer out to pasture with the intention of butchering him sometime soon, at least before vineyard work begins. As with all overwhelming tasks, however, it was easier to talk about it, plan and put it off. This weekend we were forced to action when he fell into a ditch and broke his pelvis.
The work began when our oldest son called to let us know he had found Hammy (yes, you read it correctly, short for hamburger – his fate was planned when we got him!) in a ditch and was unable to get him out. We quickly went to help dig the cow out and set him free. That was not to happen. John and the boys worked for a couple of hours without success. After consulting our vet, they dug enough dirt away so as to get straps around him and pull him out with a tractor. It was obvious that Hammy must be taken care of quickly.
Several months ago, with butchering him in mind, I had purchased a basic book on butchering. After all, the only experience I had was dissecting a pig in nursing school and I did not think that would help much! So, with book in hand, Saturday was filled with skinning and cleaning the almost 1600 lb animal. (We did not weigh him but guesstimated based on Buttercup’s weight.) We used a forklift to raise the carcass as it was skinned. Stretched out, it was about 9 ft long. Once skinned, it was washed and left to hang overnight. This sounds like a few easy steps, but it took all day! Especially removing the internals was a bit scary, but it was a wonderful anatomy lesson for the children – home education is a lifestyle! Thankfully, the weather had once again turned cold and, although it was miserable for us to be out in the cold wind, it was perfect for the meat.
Sunday, again with book in hand, we tackled the job of cutting and wrapping the meat. The most difficult part was determining where to make the cuts.
The chart in the book showed very straight cuts which did not follow muscle groups. After varying amounts of discussion, decisions were made and the meat cut.
Once the pieces were cut, others wrapped the meat in plastic wrap and then butcher paper for added protection and finally the packages were labelled. Butchering definitely involved everyone!
We ended up with about 570 lbs of meat, mostly roasts but also plenty of ground beef and soup bones! For a 1600 lb steer this may not seem to be much meat but he was a Holstein. Holsteins are bred for dairy purposes and not meat production. As a result, his frame was large and not as much meat, as say, an Angus. That being said, we only paid $10 for him at a local dairy when he was a few days old. So, except for the initial $10, Buttercup’s milk when he was young and pasture grass, we had very little invested! It is so exciting to have such economical, good quality, grass-fed beef now in our freezer.
It is also a huge relief that it is over and everyone is safe. Plus, we had a lot of fun working together – What a sense of accomplishment!
“Use it up, wear it out, make do or do without!”
—— My husband
At the end of 2009, I posted “My Top 40 Frugal Living Tips.” Now, 2 years later, it is encouraging to review it. If you have been reading Dimes2Vines for a while, you know the last 4 years have been challenging, to say the least! Starting a 20 acre vineyard from scratch is a lot of hard work. Hard work without an accompanying paycheck!
With a large family, frugal living has always been a part of our lifestyle but became significantly more important. Now after our first successful harvest, we are continuing our frugal lifestyle. Why? To be good stewards. I am not talking about a miserly lifestyle. Rather, we are continuing to work together for our common family goals.
These goals include expanding the vineyard – we are planting another 2 1/3 acres of grapes this year – and finishing our house which overlooks the vineyard. Hopefully, we will continue the Insulated Concrete Forms (ICF) upward after this year’s havest in Oct. 2012.
Many items on my top 40 list seem to be common sense things but they are also easy to forget about, such as, #16 adjust your thermostat, #17 turn off lights and #18 turn off ceiling fans when leaving a room.
In fact, as I review the list, we are still practicing them all – from tithing (#1),to writing down all expenses in my budget book (#2) to using VoIP as our phone rather than cell phones (#40).
Don’t underestimate the power of the “little things”. The little things can quickly add up! Each of the 40 tips alone may seem insignificant, but, together they can amount to great savings.
While many may not see beauty in a vineyard during the winter, I do. Vines which are growing so vibrant and green during the summer, are now brown and gnarly. I’m not sure “gnarly” is a word but it definitely describes the dried, brown, bare vines.
I guess when I look at the vineyard this time of year, I see promise and the hope of things to come.
Or maybe …
I see a vineyard that does not require work right now … ie… a rest period for us!
What will eventually be our basement is now home sweet home. We are all enjoying starting the New Year in our own home. So far we are very pleased with the ICF (insulated concrete forms) walls and are amazed at the insulation value. Our small wood burning stove can quickly cause us to open windows to let out the heat!
Having done all the work ourselves has taken time but certainly saved us a lot of money. As of now, we have spent right at $42,000 and have1500 sq ft with 3 bedrooms and 1 bath (Yes, 1 bath for 9 people can be challenging at times but there are more to come upstairs!).
We did decide to do some extras since this is hopefully the house we will grow old in. The $42,000 figure includes a $1500 Pelican water softener which has been well worth the expense. We did purchase the larger model to accommodate the remainder of the house. If you live in an area which has hard water, you may be interested in one as it uses no salt but rather a bed of crystals. The crystal bed causes the naturally dissolved minerals in the hard water to form tiny crystals suspended in the water. These tiny crystals are relatively inactive and so the water “feels” soft in the shower, dishwasher and other normal usage. The bed never needs replacing and in just 4 years it will have paid for itself.
John also installed a fire sprinkler system inside, we used beaded board wood for the ceiling, the bathroom is floor to ceiling porcelain tile and the kitchen counter is made of granite tiles (bought on sale).
The exterior door opens into the laundry room which leads into the kitchen.
The kitchen, dining room and family room are really one large room.
It is very conducive to our lifestyle to be able to see what is going on from any room. The bedrooms are off the southwest side of the family room. Complete settling in is happening little by little and hopefully will be completed before the vineyard work really starts.
Phase 2 is planned to begin after this year’s harvest. Extending another 14 feet on 3 sides with the ICF and continuing upward. The 14 foot areas will provide storage, wine cellar, cheese cave and root cellar. The first floor will have 4000 sq ft. with a very large center family room surrounded by a 5 ft wide hall. The bedrooms, bathrooms, kitchen and study will surround the center room and be off the hall.
The roof will be metal of a yet to be determined color. The temporary TPO (Themo Plastic Olefin) roofing, which is now covering what will be the first floors sub-flooring, will be removed once the ICF walls and metal roof are in place. The exposed basement walls will have a stone facade with stucco on the exterior of the upstairs.
Being do-it-yourselfers has provided us many memories, opportunity to learn new skills, and the chance to work together as a family besides having more that we otherwise would have been able to afford. While it has taken time and been a lot of work, it has certainly been worth it!
Now, to be content and wait for phase 2!
Time leading up to and following harvest has certainly flown! We harvested the Roussanne, Montepulciano and Aglianico successfully and with much help from family and friends. Because of the extreme heat which causes problems with the harvester, harvesting began anywhere from 10pm to 3am. Before dawn there is an amazing beauty in the vineyard. Lit up by the harvester, with the stars shining overhead, it is an atmosphere made for romantics!
Given the hard winter, unusually high summer temperatures and drought, we had very good yields. Praise the Lord for His provision!
Although we began work on the house as soon as the vineyard work slowed, we still found time to glean the vines for our own wine-making fruit! Remember the “I Love Lucy” show when she and Ethel stomped the grapes with their feet? Well, everyone got in on the action:
From children:
To grandchildren:
Everyone wanted their feet to be a part of it:
Note: Every pair of feet which stomped were properly cleaned and disinfected. However, according to our grape consultant, micronutrients provided, whatever the source, actually help the yeast!
If you remember, we had begun an insulated concrete form (ICF) house. Working on the house which overlooks the vineyard consumed our time once vineyard work was finished. Each morning we packed lunch and dinner to take with us. We even carried school work to the new house and studied in our bedroom which had become the makeshift dining room. Naps were taken in the boy’s bedroom on a rug with blankets. Doing all the work ourselves not only saved quite a bit of money, but has also provided many learning experiences, as well as, great memories.
During this period, I have had a very difficult time physically. My rheumatoid arthritis decided to rear its ugly head. It was aggravated by two plus days of texturing all the walls with sheet rock mud to give a stucco look. Anyway, I am excited about dietary changes that have made an amazing difference and look forward to sharing them with you in the new year.
We moved into the new house the weekend after Thanksgiving (I will be posting pictures soon). Slowly and surely, we are getting settled. Everyone is looking forward to our first Christmas here. Our traditional trim the tree party was a success and our tree appropriately trimmed!
Buttercup handled the move without a problem. The chickens on the other hand have dropped their egg production by half. Squiggles and now our new dog, Bob, are also glad to be here on a permanent basis and not have the 1/2 mile walk one way to work everyday!
With temperatures over 100F for most of June and July, we expected the grapes to shut down. Thankfully, that has not occurred. Instead they are thriving and it appears that harvest for us will be a month earlier than last year. This means that we will begin as early as Thursday!
Having drought conditions this entire year, we have had the water on daily since February. The underground drip tape that we have between the rows is a very efficient way of watering – we lose no water to evaporation and it does not encourage weed growth as above ground irrigation would. The drought has not hurt us as it has other farmers. In fact, without rain there has been no need to spray for fungus or molds and no weeds means no hoeing! I prefer to get my upper body workout another way. Another concern with the storms here in west Texas is the threat of hail. Invariably the rain has hail with it which can devastate a vineyard as well as other crops.
How do we know harvest is near? First, the appearance of the grape, they change color. Then the amount of sugar in the grapes is tested. This is called the Brix. Brix is tested by taking a random sampling of grapes, crushing them to extract the juice and then either a hydrometer or a refractometer is used.
Wineries like a balance of sugar content and pH. We will be shooting for a Brix of 23 -24 on each of our varieties this year. Our Roussanne is at 22 and the Montepulciano is around 17. The Montepulciano was a test of only purple, ripe looking berries – so it was not precise but gives an idea. The Aglianico is a bit further behind the Montepulciano so we have not yet checked it.
Normally, as the Brix increase so does the pH which can present a problem for the wineries. Acidity is needed in wine for it to be stable. To balance the pH and obtain the proper acidity, the wineries add tartaric acid. There is, however, a legal limit to the amount of tartaric acid that may be added. If the acidity is too high and can not be controlled by tartaric acid, the wine is again unstable. This year however, the sugar content is gaining much faster than the pH, which is great!
While we have not actively been working on the house recently, it is so nice to look over the vineyard and see it in the distance.
Much of the house is complete. All but a couple of pieces of sheet-rock have been put up and the last pieces are cut. We even started mudding it. Once the sheet-rock is finished, we can paint it.
The ceiling will be tongue and groove wood which I plan to white-wash so that the wood grain still shows through. Finally comes the finishing with bathroom tile and fixture, as well as, kitchen counter top and fixtures. Oh, and don’t forget the lights, ceiling fans, shelves and trim!
I guess that sounds like quite a list of unfinished items, but in light of what has been completed – we are almost done!
I would like to give you a glimpse into the routine of our daily life.
Every morning we wake, eat breakfast and walk the half mile to the vineyard (we are saving money and getting exercise!). Most people walk their dog but we walk our cow. Yes, you read it right. Buttercup walks with us every morning to the vineyard where she is staked in the rye which surrounds the vineyard.
Squiggles is not to be left out. She walks with us but being the smart corgi that she is, she walks in Buttercup’s shadow to avoid the sun. You can see her in the picture below, to the left of Buttercup
Buttercup’s preference would be to have free reign in the vineyard. She absolutely loves fresh grapevines! But, she settles for the rye. At lunchtime we take her some fresh vines from the ones we have de-budded, fill her water and we walk back home for lunch.
After lunch and a power nap, John and the older children walk back to the vineyard to finish the afternoon work until milking time. Buttercup is walked home for milking, her grain and bed.
I stay home after lunch to allow the younger children longer naps (code for my nap!) and catch up on everything I did not do in the morning (read, housework, make butter, cheese, prepare lunch for the following day, laundry…)
After milking we eat, everyone showers, read as a family, go to bed and …. wake to start all over.
This may seem a bit monotonous to some, but it is very fulfilling. There is definitely a lot to be said for a simple lifestyle!
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Grab My Dime! 
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About Me 
God has amazingly blessed me, Dina-Marie, with a wonderful husband and 10 beautiful children. Moving from our "secure" life in Alabama to the "exciting" life of starting a vineyard in west Texas has been challenging to say the least. I have had the opportunity to take a crash course in frugal living and become a real farm girl - complete with milk cow and chickens. I have learned the importance of health from the inside out, "traditional" cooking and cod liver oil!
I hope to encourage you to make the most of where you are and what you have. |
