Yay Earth!

It seems these days more and more people are trying to be “earth-friendly”.  Stores are offering reusable bags (or giving them away – I got a neat one from Old Navy the other day!), and giving you credit off your total when you use your own bags; companies are using more eco-friendly packaging; cities are expanding their recycling programs.

My household has been trying to be greener as well, and as Earth Day approached I began thinking of some ways we could do our part:

1. No more paper towels (we’ve actually been doing this one for a while, but I figured I’d list it).  We have one roll in the pantry in case there is a particularly ugly mess which would put out of commission any rag we used on it…like a giant oil spill, but other than that exception we use only washable, reusable rags for clean up.
2. No more disposable sponges (again, this one we’ve had in practice since I created my dish sponge pattern).  We use crocheted cotton dish sponges for dishes, counter clean up, and separate ones for household cleaning. 
3. No more paper napkins.  I want to make some fabric ones that can be washed and reused.  I rarely use a napkin anyway, and the ones I give to my kiddo are never used to full potential with just one meal so I usually set it aside for him to use again, but I still cringe whenever I toss them in the trash.  It just seems so unnecessary.
4. No more plastic bags.  Sometimes I forget to put my reusable ones back in my car (which probably just means I need more reusable ones), but I want to be better about having them ready and available for that spur-of-the-moment shopping trip.  Also, I need to make “manly” ones that hubs isn’t horrified to use.  Haha, I can’t blame him for not wanting to carry a frilly, pink, crocheted bag…
5. Each week I want our recycle bin to be fuller than our trash bin.  My city has recently expanded its list of recyclable items and I want to take advantage of that as much as I can.

 

Basically I want less stuff thrown away. 

Now it may seem like it’s a toss-up between throwing away things and wasting water to wash reusable things, but with more and more household appliances becoming energy-efficient, and water usage friendly, you really do come out on top when you wash and reuse items.  For instance, my dishwasher uses only one gallon of water for an entire cycle…that’s less than you’d use if you were hand-washing that same load for sure!  And make sure to choose the appropriate wash size on your washing machine as well (i.e., don’t use your default large load selection for a small load of rags).

I’m also using more cleaning products that are made from naturally-derived items (check out Melaleuca, they’ve got some great stuff!) and all my cleaning “utensils” are washable and reusable (and most are hand-made, bonus!). 

Another thing we’ve been doing more of is eating at smaller “mom-and-pop” places.  It feels awesome to know you’re supporting a local business!  In that same vein is shopping for more handmade items…if you’ve never visited etsy.com, you’re in for a treat.  It’s a great way to support independent artists and get some really neat and unique items in the process.  :)  For instance, this week my kiddo and I planted the grass from his easter basket in our courtyard…it was made from handmade, recycled paper, embedded with flower seeds!

What have YOU been doing lately, or what do you want to do differently in the future?  What tips do you have for green living?

 

The Birthday

Funny things, birthdays.  A day where you expect everyone you know to celebrate the fact that you were born.  Ha!  It’s an odd concept when you really think about it, and these days it goes against everything we preach.  Be more selfless; put others first; sacrificing is good…and yet, “tell me how wonderful it is that I was born!!”

Someday someone will start a trend where birthdays are no longer celebrated or “cool”.  But, until then…  YAY IT’S MY BIRTHDAY!!  ;)

Thanks to all the wonderful and sweet folks who sent me birthday wishes and stuffz.  I had a wonderful day today and it was because of all of you.  :)

But also…because of my cake.  I have a special birthday cake.  It’s been MY birthday cake for years (and years and years).  It’s not as flashy as some, but it’s special to me.  I’ve kind of got a thing for desserts…especially desserts that hold memories.

And this one definitely does.  The card it’s written on is blotched and stained, and the handwriting is either my mom’s or my grandma’s…my mom can’t remember whose.  It’s a copy cat recipe for the old Tasty Kake Peanut Butter Tandy Kakes.  Tasty Kake is an old company that started in Philly in the early 1900s; they came out with the Peanut Butter Tandy Kakes in the 30s.  For a really long time you could only get them in Pennsylvania, which is where my grandma lived, and I ate a LOT of them.  She would mail them to us down in Louisiana because I would just CRAVE them.  Now you can find them online, by the case, haha!  But I’ll stick to the recipe I have…

It just tastes like my childhood.  :)

Happy Day!

Two happy things today:  First, it’s my little guy’s 5th birthday!  We had his party this past Sunday and I have managed to stuff myself full of cupcakes in the days immediately preceeding and following said party.  All in the name of taste-testing dontcha know…  ;-)

Mmmm, Apple Walnut Cupcakes with Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting

Funny story on that party day…I had waited until the night before the party to wrap and display boy’s gifts from us and from the grandparents, just to make sure there wasn’t TOO much temptation in his little life.  And when I brought them down he was over-the-moon excited and wanted to know when, oh when, he would get to open them.  I was happy to explain that he would only need to wait until tomorrow to do so.

Fast forward to the next morning…at the butt-crack of dawn when I was roused from a dream by the sounds of rustling paper and exclamations like “oh my gosh!” and “I can’t believe it!”.  I immediately knew what was happening and threw myself out of bed and down the stairs yelling “NOOOOOOO!  NOOOOOOOOOOOO!”, but it was too late… I got down there to see him standing in the middle of all his unwrapped presents.

“But I get to open them today because today is my party…”

I was horrified, and totally felt cheated out of my picture-taking rights, but I DID say he could open them that day.  I guess in the future I need to be more “time-frame specific”.  *sigh*

"Hey look everyone, I opened this before any of you were awake this morning!"

So the other happy news is that there’s been a shop update!  Lots of stuff with something for everyone: handspun, fiber, sock yarn…  ENJOY!

Buff Base - MerinOcean single-ply in natural cream

Wall o’ Dirt

You know, living in Arizona has a few perks.  Probably the biggest one is that you never really need to check the weather.  If you’re planning a pinic or barbeque you don’t really have to worry about being rained out.  And this is a HUGE deal for someone like me who grew up in Louisiana.  You take your fate into your own hands if you plan an outdoor event there.  Now that being said, sometimes there are things that happen here that are not, well, NORMAL.  Case in point, a dust storm.  I’m pretty sure that dirt should not be lifted from the ground and formed into a wall and then forced forward into anything and everything in its path.  But here?  That’s exactly what happens.  I caught a picture of the storm that blew through here last week (click to embiggen):

The Sugar Daddy called me on his way home from work that day to tell me about it, which was fortunate since I had some goodies hanging out to dry in the sun.  THAT could have been ugly.  But everything was saved, and today I listed a few of them in the shop, go have a peek!  :)

Rain, rain…pathetic fallacy

It’s been a rainy week over here, and last night was one of the craziest lightning storms I’ve ever seen.  As I came home from knit group it was like driving under a strobe light.  The storm passed over our house and the thunder that accompanied some of those flashes I literally felt in the floor.  Thankfully my child didn’t wake up at all, although I thought for sure he would.  Maybe it was because he had such a rough day at school and was just wiped out.  Did I mention he started Kindergarten three weeks ago?  Yep, he did.  He was so excited on the first day, and he has just been loving it…well, you know, until yesterday when he jumped off the jungle gym and landed on his arm.  It was fine and just had a little bump on it, but it just set the tone for the day and he got embarassed and frustrated a few more times during the day.  I could tell when I picked him up that he felt rather deflated.  I’m sure today will be better, though, and here is a pic from happier times on his first day.  :)

And Duster Makes Three

I’ve added a new pattern to the Patterns page: the Biffer Duster Wig.  This rounds out my Cotton Cleaners collection.  I’ve been a little slow getting that one up, but I hope you enjoy it!  As with the other patterns I have listed there, please let me know if you find any boo-boos, I’ve tried to make everything as clear as possible but new eyes see new things…

Biffer Duster Wig

Speaking of new things, as we drove up into our courtyard after some running around in the really-really-too-hot-to-be-outside weather, the sugar daddy looked out his window and under the lime tree and exclaimed, “Oh!  It’s the cutest thing I’ve ever SEEN!!  Little poo-poos with their little pee-pees!!”.  I’m pretty sure he was pretending to be all THAT “squee” about it…but after seeing what all the fuss was about myself, I really went over the top with all the gooshy exclamations of my own.  Look for yourself:

Oh.  MY.  I don’t think I can convey to you the true extent of the sugary sweetness that POURED out of my mouth when I saw these little darlings.  There were eight of them and they were no more than an inch high.  They scurried just as fast as their little legs would take them, stumbling and tripping and falling over onto their sides.  Oh!  It was just more preciousness than my heart could possibly stand.  Really.  ReallyReally. 

How I talk to my kitty, Bella, had NOTHING on this…

ETA:  ooo, in all my gushy-mushy-smoopsy-woopsy blabberings I didn’t even mention what those little pookies are!  Thanks for the question, Stacey, they are quail.  :)

Off the vine…

One vine’s worth of grapes (well, what we picked off after the birds had a wonderful time with them):

The sugar daddy spent quite some time squeezing all of these by hand, and the juice ended up being about a bottle and a half’s worth…and who knows how much it would end up being after the whole, dare I say it, FERMENTING process.  Have I mentioned that all of my food comes from a store?  Yes, I do admit, I am more than a little uneasy about “creating” these kinds of products within my own home.  Meat?  Yogurt?  Cheese?  Wine?  All of these things come to me in neat and tidy packages, with no indication of how long they stood at room temperature coagulating, or “aging”, or whathaveyou.  No sir, God created it with his mighty hand and lovingly packaged it in bright labels and cling wrap.  I beg you not to try to burst my bubble.

Anyway, a new respect for the wine-making process was born.  Mostly with my husband as, you may imagine based upon the last paragraph, I was not around when all this squeezing and sloppiness was going on.  We have six vines in the yard, and this WAS the first year they were allowed to fruit, so maybe we can look forward to a somewhat respectable wine yield from our suburban vineyard further in the future.  :)

Happy 4th of July!

I hope everyone is having a wonderful weekend.  We’re getting ready to do some grilling and throw some poppers.  But first, of course, there’s been a bit of this going on:

I am getting ready for a knitting retreat with the Grrrls next weekend – a phat cabin located in Greer, AZ, where we’ll watch movies, and eat, and drink, and of course…KNIT.  There will also be a bit of a sale there…we’re bringing destash items, and I will be bringing some hand-dyed and handspun goodies as well (along with the very talented Mud.Creek.), but when I get back there will be another update in the shop, so stay tuned!

The Bucket Overfloweth

We’re pushing to get the backyard done, with a little help from Uncle Sam.  Remember that good ol’ Economic Stimulus Plan?  Yep, well it’s playing a large part in the upgrade.

A few pics of what’s going on back there:

Remember these?  they are darkening up quite nicely!

Society Garlic.  So called because you are supposed to be able to eat it and still be a non-offensive member of society.  well, smell-wise anyway…it makes no claims on your personality.  ;-)

My lemon tree, which I love

 I sure hope these do well!

I’ve got big plans for all the lavender plants!

If you don’t hear from me before then, have a wonderful 4th of July weekend!  :)

June’s Socks

My socks for the final month of the SAM KAL 5 are done!

The pattern is Artichoke Socks, and they were made in The Plucky Knitter’s new/old BFL Fingering Weight yarn in the Kelly Bag colorway.  I used size 1 dpns, which made for a great fitting sock, BUT the all stockinette heel flap ended up being a little too loose for my liking.  Now I know that I should stick with the good ol’ Slipped Heel or my new fav, the Eye of Partridge Heel.  I have a rather thin heel and plain St St just isn’t snug enough.  All in all, I’m pretty proud of my first lace socks!

 In other news, we’ve been enjoying our pool to the extreme lately.  It’s been no cooler than 108 degrees outside, and the pool water has been about 90 degrees.  Maybe that sounds warm to you, but may I remind you that 90 is still at least 8 degrees lower than the average person’s resting (non-outside-in-the-blistering-desert-heat) body temperature.  It has been just DE-LIGHT-FUL.  I’m pretty sure my son will turn into a fish by the end of the summer – he swims at least twice a day!  Even last night at 9pm he convinced daddy to go for a little night swimming, although maybe it was a little “pity swimming” as he was recovering from his first bee sting.  At least I now know that he’s not allergic, thankfully.