Saturday 30 May 2015

Sleeping on the Floor II

I have now slept on the floor for more than a month and a half.

Strange critters make their way into my bed somehow. 
Pros:

  1. I RELISH going to bed and fall asleep almost immediately, sleeping through the whole night. 
  2. No stiffness whatsoever. 
  3. It is strangely liberating to wean yourself off another possession.
  4. When I have guests over, I have an extra bed. 
  5. I can store all sorts of crap on the bed... oh wait, not sure that is an advantage for the messy person that I am. 

Cons:

  1. It takes a few nights to get used to the lack of support.
  2. In the beginning, I woke up a few times during the night. 
  3. Initially, my hip bones were a bit sore from lying on the side. 
  4. There is no such thing as sleeping in. When you wake, you're AWAKE.
  5. The floor gets dirty. 
  6. I hear lil T's pitter patter when she wakes up at 5:30 MUCH better than before. Or is it the vibration that I feel...?

So, what to do with the big bed in my room? For now, it stays. We've got a few people staying this summer and it will be great not to have to lug up the extra beds from the basement.

However, once I move downstairs to take over mamma's and pappa's room, I think I may just put the bed in the basement. Being bedless will surely provide an interesting furnishing experience!

Ordering the wood stack! #movetoSWE #wood #fuel #selfsufficient #paulssonpaleo #blog


via Instagram http://ift.tt/1LPSizb

Wednesday 27 May 2015

Working on the electric fences ready for new guests...#movetoSWE #selfsufficient #paulssonpaleo #paleolifestyle #blog #fencework


via Instagram http://ift.tt/1HKWW2R

We shall name this rock 'Chris' after the guy who helped dig it up and remove it from vegetable bed no.6. Thank you Chris! #movetoSWE #selfsufficient #paulssonpaleo #producegarden #blog


via Instagram http://ift.tt/1HKWW2N

PaulssonPaleo in the News

Our family commune was covered in the local newspaper Halmstad 7 Dagar today! Patrik Ljungman wrote a really nice feature story about us and included some gorgeous photos of the family, particularly the photos of lil' T. Check out the online version here, we are on page 12.



For those of you who can't read Swedish, here's a translation of the best bits in the article...

The whole Paulsson family is under one roof

Three generations of Paulssons work and live together on the small farm Kannesten, in the woods just outside Simlångsdalen. There is always lots to do with a family of five adults and one child: Kerstin, Mats, Cecilia, Catharina, Simon and little Tora all live under one roof.

Cecilia says 'it mostly works really well, but it can get complicated sometimes, as everyone has their own ambitions and we also have big plans for the family as a whole. Our shared dream is to live a less stressful life.'

Cecilia, Catharina and Simon moved to the serenity of Simlångsdalen after several years in London. 'We got to a stage in our lives where we wanted to do something radically different. We decided to move in together and focus on our shared interest in health. When it transpired that mum and dad also were interested, we started looking for a place where we all could live together.'

The family runs a health business called PaulssonPaleo, which provides nutritional advice and personal training. 'Paleo stands for paleolithic, i.e. stone age, food. It is about cooking from scratch and avoiding sugar and grains.' Catharina, Cecilia and Simon have been eating this way for several years.

'We save money and show our respect for the environment by choosing to eat offal. It isn't sustainable to only eat the prime cuts of an animal.'

For the farm to run like clock-work, the family has a kitchen rota and a meeting every Wednesday to discuss the long to-do list.

Catharina says 'we are aiming to live as naturally as possible and we have started growing vegetables and got hens. This is a long-term project, which one day will make us self-sufficient.'

Saturday 23 May 2015

Thursday 21 May 2015

Photographer in the House


A reporter from the local newspaper visited us today. Halmstad 7 Dagar contacted us to see if they could run a story on our family collective and apparently we will be on the front page when the newspaper comes out next Wednesday. There will be some great action shots of all of us. Exciting times…..

Sunday 17 May 2015

Chicks in the henhouse = Ray needs to go

White Vera's first three chicks were hatched yesterday and a fourth one tootled out from underneath her this morning. She's still got three eggs beneath her, but as she's already left the nest with her entire brood, we reckon those won't hatch.

One predominantly black (looks like a penguin!), the rest grey
This is of course fantastic news, but this also makes the removal of Ray the rascal rooster high priority. We can't have him bullying hens or chicks around the food. Youtube is now my best friend, as none of us have done this before. Plenty of grisly videos out there...

Saturday 16 May 2015

Sleeping in the trees

For those who follow my Instagram feed (@nomispohsib) you will have seen a post a few weeks back showing my excitement when our new tent arrived! Last night was the first night I spent in the tent during a recent spell of good weather.



So, the tent is not your conventional, pitched canvas, pegged to the ground type shelter, but rather a floating blob. It is more like a tree house than a tent, but a portable treehouse, one you can fold up, put in a bag, sling over your shoulder and move on. The concept behind the Stingray tent is that you suspend it above the ground, keeping its footprint and any ground disturbance to an absolute minimum. This was the appeal for me, the fact you could pitch it anywhere - no matter the ground conditions, stay the night, and leave no evidence of your visit within the natural habitat.

Essentially, you tie it to three trees, crank up the tension in the straps so that it lifts off the ground and bingo, you have an elevated platform for sleeping on. The platform has an insect mesh layer stitched around its perimeter and when the two poles are inserted and fixed in position, this layer raises up and gives the tent its distinctive form. In the bag is also a waterproof fly sheet that you drape over and this will give you added protection incase of inclement weather.

For my first night, I didn't venture too far and found three trees nearby and strapped the tent at about 2m above ground. Whilst at this time of year the fly sheet is a necessity at night, it was so nice during the day to chill out with just the insect mesh cover, as you can see through it. This gives the impression that you are really amongst the trees and allows you to bask in the sunshine.


We are really looking forward to spending lots of time up in the trees this summer, so if you come and visit us, be prepared for a bit of camping!!


Friday 15 May 2015

Monday 11 May 2015

What a Day!

Caveman coffee
Oh, wow, what a day! When we signed up for Turista Hemma a few weeks back, we didn't set our expectations too high for the day; we thought we might be able to attract a dozen or so visitors to  Kannesten. Imagine our surprise when we had visitors non-stop from 11:30 to 16:30! We completely lost count of how many were here. At one point there were nine cars parked outside. I don't think our road has ever seen so much traffic before.

Our caveman coffee went down a treat. We got our visitors to try liver, heart, tongue, beet kvass and a smoothie made with edible weeds (note: not that kind of weed)... and many were pleasantly surprised. But the star was clearly the paleo ball. Swedes have a huge sweet tooth, but at least our paleo ball only contained natural sugars from the dates.

Cat, Cecilia and the first guests
We enjoyed some great conversations during the day... food, wellbeing, functional training, sheep, hunting, foraging and self-sufficiency. We think we sparked some real interest in the paleo lifestyle.

As promised, here is the paleo ball recipe to try at home.

Frozen goodies
Makes approximately 20:

6 fresh dates
2 dl almonds and/or hazelnuts
5 tbs desiccated coconut (plus more for rolling, optional)
2 tbs coconut oil
2 tbs ghee
2 tbs orange peel
2 tbs ground cardamom
1 pinch salt

Combine all ingredients in a food processor and blitz until it sticks together. Roll into small, medium or large balls. If it is too sticky to roll, then let it rest in the fridge for a bit. Cover in dessicated coconut. Store in an airtight container in the freezer and try not to eat them all at once!

Thank you for a great day!

Saturday 9 May 2015

Quick Update from the Paleo Commune

These last few weeks have been really busy, but good. Our website and Facebook page were still just basic text when we decided to participate in Turista Hemma a few weeks ago, so we've spent a lot of time writing, translating and taking photos. At the same time, we've tidied up the grounds, painstakingly finished the fifth vegetable bed (we’re saving the sixth for our summer guests…), filled the other beds with seedlings and seeds, moving berry bushes around, raked the paddock (Si is a very strong man), painted signs and designed leaflets.  But now we're ready to show off our lovely Kannesten and our services in nutrition, training and Paleo cooking classes. We’re so excited!

Three out of a gazillion to-do lists
For those who aren't familiar with Turista Hemma: it is an event to encourage people who live in Halland to be tourists in their own neighbourhoods. So for one day, local businesses strut their stuff to the locals. And there is plenty to be proud of out here! I have rarely met so many entrepreneurial spirits before - all of them with an incredible can-do attitude. There are so many of them, I shall leave that for later blog posts: the whirlwind hotel owner, the Dutch moose shop, the award-winning chili greenhouse builder and the Bournemouth born and bred tea lady, to name just a few.

On a different note, our rooster Ray is still being a nuisance. I described his behaviour to the expert panel at the rare breed club and their response was no surprise: he should be removed. Harsh, but best for the flock, as he isn't fulfilling his end of the deal. I’m just going to savour having 4 chickens a tiny bit more, as I guess I will be the one putting an end to his short life. Deep breaths, very deep.

Anyhow, onwards and upwards! Tomorrow is the big day, we can’t wait to open our doors to our neighbours, family and friends. Välkomna!

Who can resist?
Ö

Friday 8 May 2015

Tomatoes basking in the sun #tomatoplants #tomatoes #selfsufficient #movetoSWE #paulssonpaleo #blog


via Instagram http://ift.tt/1QtOPsO

Launching paulssonpaleo.com!


We are very excited to be launching our website www.paulssonpaleo.com. The website offers more information about us, our nutritional advice, personal training and cooking courses.

So, please come visit us.



Thursday 7 May 2015

We don't have enough hens to feed our egg habit... #paulssonpaleo #paleo #primal


via Instagram http://ift.tt/1EdJ6iY

Introducing the Paleo Ball

This little orange and cardamom flavoured beauty will feature at this weekend's caveman coffee (stenåldersfika) at PaulssonPaleo HQ. If it is as appreciated as we think it will be, then I am sure Cecilia will share the recipe.

Tuesday 5 May 2015

Instagram is struggling with the sheer whiteness of my feet. #paulssonpaleo #huaraches #lunasandals #barefootsandals


via Instagram http://ift.tt/1R9bb3R

Strawberries Moving in with the Beans

Having free range chickens is great - you can spend hours watching them peck around the garden and the eggs are of course a massive bonus. The downside is that they sometimes like to dig up and eat  plants that we would like to keep. The rooster started eating blueberry flowers the other day, so we decided not to risk our (probably) measly strawberry crop. After much consideration to who likes who in the vegetable world, we decided that the strawberries would move in with the beans. Hopefully, this will keep them at safe distance from the greedy chickens!