The paperwhites are done blooming. I'm ready for some daffodils.
Here is a short movie starring my very silly, very cool, green-hearted friend.
If you ever have doubts that being green is worth all the effort, read THIS. You won't be sorry. The frogs, the stars, the ponds and trees, the boys with rocks and the poets who document it all. Just knowing you're on this little blue planet makes it worth all the effort we can muster.
which, by the way, couldn't have been written more perfectly.
And today is Blog Action Day- the topic is the environment. I hold this topic close to my heart and in the forefront of my mind.
So here's a little nugget from me: I honestly believe the single most important thing we can do (especially as Americans) is to consider returning to a simpler, less materialistic lifestyle. Please, please, please- even you, my sweet crafty friends- before you make any single purchase, stop for a moment. Think about WHAT exactly you are buying, WHERE it came from, HOW it was made and is packaged, HOW FAR it came to get to you, and for Pete's sake, IF you really even need it at all...
You may be surprised how often you put something back.
I know, I know. Some fairly preachy words from a girl who is about to open an online shop! But as we say, Buy Handmade. It really does make a difference.
Love to all- now go hug a tree.
What simple (and dorky) things I wanted for Mother's Day: My breakfast on the patio was yummy. And I asked for a clothesline. We were planning on building a wooden one but hadn't come across the right scraps of lumber. My mom gave us two old clothesline poles she's not using, so Brian put them in the ground for me this morning and I strung the line soon after. This solution was easier though not quite as pretty. But REUSE (n.), baby. It's a good thing.
I'm not kidding myself that I'll line dry all of our clothes. A few loads a week is all I'm shooting for to save a little energy and money. But really, it was so enjoyable that I don't think it will be difficult. Hanging a basket of wet laundry on a warm breezy morning while the kids holler and run through the sprinkler. Ahhhhh.
Now it's time for an iced coffee in the shade.
**quick update: It took me about 20 minutes to download those pictures from my camera and write this little entry. I took my coffee out to watch the clothes blow around and they were already dry! **
I have this incredible husband. More than incredible. He's a great father and my best friend. And get this ladies, he helps around the house. But there's another reason he is so great: he can do anything.
He makes most of our money, he is an environmental activist, he remodels our home, and he fixes appliances. A couple of months ago our clothes dryer stopped heating. He fiddled around on the internet, found information and part numbers, replaced some stuff and Bingo! It's drying again. A few weeks later the washing machine started leaking. The tub kept filling up with water even when it was off. So he did that internet thing again and he replaced some valve, and what do you know? It's fixed too. These are just a couple of examples- He's always doing, making, repairing something. I ask and he says, "Add it to the list!" Now I'm not helpless. I'd almost call myself "handy", but I intimidate easily. This man is fearless. He just figures out what needs to be done and does it.
So now we get to the real reason for this post. Our little N got all kinds of kitchen items (food, pots and pans, utensils) for Christmas and her birthday. I decided she needed a kitchen. I looked around and there are plenty of cute ones out there, but not exactly what I had in mind. This is what I wanted. Amanda showed that kitchen for her very first Corners of our Home post. I showed that picture to Brian and here is what I'm looking at this morning:
Click on either picture to see it a little larger or here to see a close-up.
It's made entirely from salvaged or scrap materials. The ONLY things he didn't dig up in our basement or the scrap metal pile at his store are the two cabinet doors (bought at ReStore) and two bolts with nuts (bought at our neighborhood hardware store). I'm amazed. I painted it white (with paint we already had, of course) an off she cooks. Handmade and well made from materials that would have otherwise been trash- Wow.
Isn't it cute? Brian plays it cool, but he's proud. After one of the MANY times she has said, "Thank you, Daddy" he said, "Maybe she'll want to give it to her daughter someday." See why I want to keep him around?
On a trip to a very charming local (to her) farm, Amy found some pretty green eggs. I've been meaning to snap a quick picture of the technicolor eggs my dad's chickens have been laying. Sometimes they are even a little blueish. My mom says they are practicing for Easter- no dying necessary.
J feeding the chickens a few summers ago. This picture always makes me smile. (That t-shirt fits now.)
Well, that's all. Still cleaning like a mad woman here. A friend stopped by last night at 9:15 on a whim and the house was perfectly pop-in ready. No dirty kid undies on the floor. No stacks of junk mail. Toys put away. I was darn tootin' proud.
I quickly interrupt this scheduled break: For us Black Friday = Buy Nothing Day. A day to perhaps consider the global impact we make when we spend our hard-earned money.
Hope you all had the most wonderful of holidays. (We sure did!) Now I must lounge around and recover.
My niece Jill just turned two. I made her an apron with a patchwork pocket. With plenty of growing room, it should last awhile. Heaven knows with two older sisters, she doesn't need more toys or clothes. My reluctant model looks quite fetching, I think.
Hannah got me thinking about gift-giving and how it has lost some of its charm. It seems that sometimes we give gifts out of obligation not thoughtfulness, and I want to change my approach. It's not that I don't appreciate store-bought gifts from others. I do! But I have always enjoyed the thought and work that goes into making something for someone; I ought to do it more. I'm going to try to make nearly all of my presents or support fellow artists and buy their handmade items. I'm guessing most of my friends and family will appreciate this more anyway. The only wrinkle in this plan is that I can think of very few 6 year old boys who'd appreciate a handmade patchwork apron, or a painting, or cute little bag as a birthday gift! So I predict I'll be buying some rockets and Transformers along the way too.
Of course there will be oh-so-much planning and making to do for the winter holidays. I better get started soon!
Can these shoes be back in style, please? I found them at a thrift store this weekend. I LOVE them, and they're surprisingly comfortable.
I wanted these or a pair of wooden clogs when I was in the third or fourth grade, but my mom wouldn't let me have either. She said I'd break my arm. When my friend Wendy Scott got some clogs and tripped going down the stairs, guess what she did. She broke her arm. It didn't help my case one bit.
I found quite a few nice thrifted things this weekend. One is even a big piece of furniture that needs some love. The problem is I love the thrift store a little too much. I find great used things, most of which we need or can use, but I've been going overboard lately. Our fabulous summer is winding down. We've taken several vacations and spent a little too much. Suddenly I'm feeling the need to pare down and tighten the ship. With the arrival of a new season and the beginning of the school year, I want simple. Less clutter. And I'm dying to finish some of the things we've started. Fall cleaning- it seems to be a new trend. Today is the office/workroom.
We've also set some new spending rules and a few of them will affect my blog-life. First, I'm putting a temporary moratorium on swaps. I love them, but those little projects and postage can add up. Next, I'm self-imposing a Use What You Have period for the rest of August and all of September. I have plenty of projects to work on and my fabric stash has been slowly growing. I bet I could cover every surface in the house with patchwork.
And I just might.
Wednesday is the day my dad drops off our CSA veggies. We're really enjoying it this year and making a big effort to eat every bit that arrives. We split the subscription with my parents, so they take half of everything.
This evening we had a meal of grilled chicken breasts, carrots sauteed with a little butter and brown sugar, and batter-dipped squash fried in a little olive oil. The kids ate every bit, albeit they both dipped their carrots in ranch dressing. But that's ok. They're terribly skinny little things and could actually use the fat. Tomorrow night we'll finish up last week's green beans and new potatoes with a little onion.
I love our CSA for several reasons. It great to buy local- less energy used and pollution produced from the transport, everything is organically grown, and it's all so darn healthy and yummy. Plus it's cheap, especially since we share with my parents. If I were to buy this produce at Whole Foods all summer, it surely would cost tons more. Mmmmm.
We are tree huggers. Well, I'd say we try our best. I'd love to shop at Whole Foods or Wild Oats, but we just can't afford it. So when I shop, I try to buy most of the organic products offered at our grocery store. I believe that the more mainstream organic products become, the cheaper they will get. And recently I have tightened up my grocery standards.
I am trying to buy fewer items that have enriched flour (all the good stuff is taken out and a little bit is added back in), high fructose corn syrup (super sugar- who needs that?!) and partially hydrogenated oils (um, yuck). If the first five ingredients include any of these, I don't buy it. And it's hard. Even our favorite whole grain bread has high fructose corn syrup! Now, I'm not trying to overdo it. I don't want those foods to be off limits. J always gets to pick out a "treat", and he always picks out something worthless. But that's ok. Everyone needs their treats. But I'm really trying to make an effort. I need to feel like I'm doing what I can to protect our health, and the health of the planet.
This year we have joined a csa. It is called Rolling Prairie and we get a big bag of organic produce every Wednesday. One year we joined alone and ended up composting a lot of this locally hand-farmed produce. We just couldn't eat it all. So this time, we're splitting it with my parents.
This week we got a big bag of snap peas. I sat down at the table to shell them, and J wanted to eat one raw. Now, there's nothing like raw, garden fresh peas, so I said sure. J and N and I sat on the couch and ate the entire bag, like three peas in a pod. As N wisely puts it, mmmmmm.
We also got a little container of strawberries. They are tiny, imperfect, and melt-in-your-mouth sweet. A little bite of pure summer.