When we lived in Washington state, we used to purchase a Forest Service land pass to hike with a chainsaw and cut down a wild tree for Christmas. It helped with forest management, maintaining space between trees to reduce wildfire risk, and also gave us a very fun adventure. We have not done that yet in Florida - though you can get a similar pass. The tree would look a little different, of course. But we still get a real tree. I love the smell and at least feel a tiny bit of connection to the wild trees we left behind out west. If you decorate with a tree, what kind of Christmas tree do you put up? And what is your favorite tradition?

I love making sauerkraut with kids. They enjoy every part of it and get interested in fermented foods at a young age, which kickstarts taste buds geared for a healthy adulthood. It’s incredibly easy to do! Fermented foods are packed with probiotics, vitamins and minerals. They restore your gut health, which is the center of all health. Please drop your favorite fermented food recipe in the comments. Here’s how we make sauerkraut.
🥬 One large head of cabbage, remove outer leaves.
🥬 Rinse under cold water.
🥬 Cut out the core and slice into thin pieces.
🥬 Put in a bowl and pour 1-3 tablespoons of sea salt on it.
🥬 Mash the cabbage in the bowl, use your hands, a muddler or a wooden spoon. (This is the fun part for kids!)
🥬 Once cabbage pieces are almost half the size they were, and you have a good amount of liquid in the bowl, transfer to your fermentation container.
🥬 Add water to cover the cabbage and use weights to keep it below the water level.
🥬 Add dill or anything ...

Did you know that chickens love milk? Whenever our goats knock over a jar while we are milking them, we give the remainder to the chickens as a treat. They go crazy for it. It has a lot of protein, which gives them a boost for winter nutrition, and calcium, which is great for strengthening egg shells. Raw milk is also given to chickens at times to aid with gut disorders because of the beneficial bacteria and enzymes. Plus, our chickens just love it! Anyone else do this?

Here's a pretty tangled web. While people lose homes over school/property taxes. Schools are buying property to give teachers low cost housing.

California’s ‘teacher village’ model spreads as housing costs soar
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/news/california-s-teacher-village-model-spreads-as-housing-costs-soar/ar-AA1RPwHd

https://open.substack.com/pub/coffeeandcovid/p/tidal-turns-saturday-december-6-2025?

https://open.substack.com/pub/conservativeladiesofamerica/p/sanctuary-state-20-just-dropped?
Sanctuary laws in Wa will affect you too!