H 2 the O August 5, 2010

A couple of months ago I got onto a kick of drinking not much of anything except water. Somewhere along the line I added those carbonated beverage back in here and there, and along with that came the juice drinks from a powdered origin, that’s how they roll here. I have noticed in the last couple of weeks that I. just. feel. like. crap. I am always tired, sometimes achey, and severely lacking in the motivation-to-do-anything department. I think it’s time for me to get my drink back on.

Remember a few years ago (maybe 5 or 6 years) when the Nalgene bottles were the new-to-the-scene rage? I picked me and The Manchild up one each of them at the EMS store, along with a trusty mouth guard thingy. About a year later I picked up three more at one of my favorite places, L.L.Bean. They were on sale, and I had lost mine, so how could I not? This time the hubby got one too.

The next thing I know, avoiding #7 plastics is all the rage. Of course, what do you think I found on the bottom our Nalgene bottles? Why, yes, of course, #7, #7, #7. You are not a lucky number, are you?

Let me just go off on a side note tangent about this… I am no expert on plastics and the numbers that you find on them. I have not done any kind of extensive research on plastics and the good, bad, or the ugly that may be associated with them. I have done a little reading here and there that put me on a kick a while ago in which I just wanted to avoid plastic food containers altogether. This kick was short lived, but I still try to avoid the plastics when possible. The point that I’m trying to get at here is how I came to find my treasure, the Klean Kanteen.

So. Back to L.L. Bean I went, the land of satisfaction guaranteed. I refturned those Nalgene #7′s because I was not satisfied with the possibility, whether real, or remote, or not, that they were leeching chemicals into my water. And there, sitting so pretty on the shelf, I saw it, the Bean Kanteen. So pretty in pink. I picked up one that day, and eventually returned to add a plain stainless to the family collection.

I can’t say enough good things about these containers. I have never had one leak on anything, Though they have been dropped a million plus one times, they have only minor scratches and a few small dents here and there. I’m not sure if this can be possible, but the ones we have are not insulated, but they seem to keep our water colder for a longer time period than the average plastic bottle. I’ve had a million compliments on them along with the “where did you get thats?”

So. Are you ready to get your drink on? You will feel so much better, I promise. And if you pick up a reusable container like mine, you will also be friendly to the earth!

Delish August 12, 2009

When I was on vacation a month or so back, I took the time to stop into this little health food store that I have had my eye on for quote some time now.  My friend and I ran in to take a quick look, and I noticed a rack of popcorn in the back, but I just breezed by as I am not a big fan of the popcorn; I can’t stand it when the kernal skins or whatever they are get stuck in the back of my throat.

 

I was about ready to go when my friend called me over and asked me which bag was which size.  I gave my opinion and went on my merry way.  Shortly after we stopped somewhere else and as he ran in, I snatched a taste of said popcorn, which I now noticed was herbed.  OH.MY.DELICIOUSNESS.  This popcorn had some kind of amazing herbal mixture on it, including dill.

 

Shortly after returning home, I decided to see what I could find out about this popcorn, which was named Little Lad’s.  I was surprised, and quite interested to read about the company’s philosophy behind some of their products. I had never heard of them before, but after some poking around on their website, I understood what their popcorn was doing in the health food store.

 

Some more googling turned up this blog post with a recipe on how to make your own Little Lad’s at home.  my DH and the three children are all HUGE fans of the popcorn, and I can’t wait to try to make it myself.  Who knows, I may have a change of heart.

How Does Your Garden Grow? August 6, 2009

 

If you have been following along at all, you know that this year I decided to do some unconventional gardening, and plant on straw bales.  A family friend tried it for the first time last year and she loved it; since I was short on prep time and didn’t have a great space readily available, I decided to give it a go.  

 

I had a…let’s say peculiar start, with these strange mushrooms growing, but they simmered down after a bit and things were going along smoothly… until the last few days.  I had these HUGE beautiful zucchini and squash plants, and it seemed that overnight they rotted away.  I have never really had a garden before, so I am guessing that either they got root rot from all the rain we have been having (because they were all rotten on the bottom where they went into the hay) , or it has something to do with the slugs that I keep finding.  

 

At this point, I have plucked one cucumber, one zucchini, and I have a few eggplants and a zillion tomatoes growing. Tonight when we got home, the children and I went to take a peek like we do every day, and we finally have some grape tomatoes turning orange.  The only problem I have not is that the babies seem to find it greatly entertaining to pick my not-yet-ripe fruits from the vine… this could turn into a problem.

 

Since I am leaving for the Philippines in October and will not be back for 2 years, I am just taking this go around as a learning experience and taking some ideas and lessons from it to use the next time around.  

 

This is what I have to say about gardening on straw so far:

• It was insanely easy to get everything set up and get the garden going
• With the exception of the mushrooms, I have had virtually no weeds
• While my bales are now disintegrating, I have learned that 1-next time I will put some kind of support around the outside so I can get another year out of them, and 2-I will have some amazing compost for my pile at the end of this season

 

I would definitely try this again in a heartbeat with a little more research and pre-planning.

Here are some recent pics, enjoy!

Changelings June 26, 2009

I am torn today because I have two subjects on the brain, both dealing with change, but in different ways.  One has to do with how ‘times change’ and the other with how ‘people change’.  I’m going to stick with the times today since I have been thinking about that for a few days.  We’ll get to people later.

 

A week or so ago I was going to write a post about my grandmother.  And her opinions.  Yes, her opinions did need its own sentence.  I decided against that because I’m still teetering on the fence in regards to how personal I really want to get here (please keep this in mind if you plan to revisit, becuase it will also apply to the soon to come people post).

 

When I was in my teens, I was… let’s say very alternative for the time.  I was quite the tree hugger, years before it became trendy, and I caught a lot of flack for that.  While I held on to a lot of the ideas and practices I had then, there are several that slipped away as the years passed by.  I no longer remember the different properties of different crystals and stones, and I don’t have any more t-shirts that say things like ‘save a tree, harvest a developer’.  I try not to regularly lecture family members and friends on how to be kinder to the environment.

 

I’ve held true to my beliefs that there is such a thing as natural healing (though I don’t practice it very often-and I DO believe there is a place for conventional medicine), and we should all do our part in preserving the earth;  I’ve always chosen a more natural or organic option when it was available.  I’ve gone through times where I was a little more active in the   ‘earth renegade’ lifestyle, and I’m coming back into one of those times.  I’m trying to live a more natural lifestyle (natural food, natural cleaning, natural all around).

 

I specifically remember a family gathering where I was discussing the healing benefits of certain herbs and crystals with my grandmother, and she insisted that ’all that’ was psychological.  I remember making the statement that it may be so, but I would rather carry a crystal in my pocket than take a pill; if I could heal myself psychologically, all the better.

 

The other night I dropped a jar of our homemade jam at my grandmother’s house.  We sat and chatted a while as the kids played outside, and she commented on how she thought it was funny that I was getting so into the homemade thing.  This was after a recent phone conversation we had where she was telling me that she puts peppermint oil in her laundry with the sheets because it kills bed bugs.  I thought it was funny that she seems to have forgotten what I was doing 15-20 years ago; the same thing I am doing now.

 

Within the last few days, I came across this post about how the U.S. is a little late in jumping on the band wagon of the simple lifestyle, but that without America, the change that had been seen in other countries would be short lived.  Rhonda linked to some Oprah articles and shows on cutting back and living simply.  What does it say about our society, that it takes an economic crisis and Oprah for us to join others in efforts to take care of that which has only been lent to us (Earth)?

 

Today I received my email update from Katie over at Kitchen Stewardship, and while her post focused on nutrition, in her ‘How?’ everything was tied together; everything we do is connected in one way or another.

 

I’m so happy to see that even though it has taken a while, we are finally catching on to this movement.  I have discovered so many resources online that are helping me come up with more and more ways to live naturally and healthfully, all the while minimizing my impact, but in a way that is not tedious or not conducive to my currently busy schedule.  I’m hoping that this time around the change is more than a phase, and I can have an impact and inspire others, even if it is only one person.

Garden Update June 17, 2009

Generally speaking, my straw bale gardening seems to be coming along quite nicely, with the exception of the pest problem that I have… well that, and maybe mushrooms.  I just reminded myself that the day before yesterday I went to check on our bales and discovered that there is an overwhelming growth of mushrooms popping out everywhere!  I have decided to place blame for this on the Miracle Grow Organic Soil that I put on top of the bales.  Some of the information I had found online indicated you don’t need to do anything other than water the plants, but I decided that  I would follow the path of our family friend who had turned me on to the idea of bale gardening in the first place, and just put a little smidgen of dirt on top; it seemed like the natural thing to do.  So now I am reminded that since the sun is showing itself today, I have some weeding of mushrooms to do when I get home this evening.

 

Now back to the pests… I seem to have attracted aphids that have taken quite a liking to my little veggies.  I have been trying to research what options I have for ‘organic’ pest control, and I have decided to try a mix of Dr. Bronner’s Peppetmint soap and water in a spray bottle.  I’ll mix that up tonight and let you know how that one goes.

 

Something else that you may find of interest on the gardening subject is this:

As I was poking around this morning in the blog world, I came across Premeditated Leftovers, which I found to be a pretty good read.  One thing of great interest that I wish I had seen a few weeks ago before my big trip to Home Depot for yard tools and such, is this great video on making your own composter for less than $30!  What great ideas!

 

For your viewing pleasure, I will try to get some pictures of our progress, and sqautters, posted very soon!

These Are Days June 11, 2009

Here is what I have been up to for the last week or so…

 

The garden is coming along… for right now I’ll go ahead and say nicely (all the while hoping that I don’t stick my foot in my mouth!).  We watered the bales daily for a week.  They changed color, getting a little darker, got a little stinky for a few days, and they definitely ‘baked’ themselves, becuase when we planted on Monday, it was warm inside near the top where we dug out for the plants, and actually almost still hot in the middle. 

 

Here are some pics for you to take a look-see of what we have so far.  We planted tomatoes (3 varieties), cucumbers (2 varieties), cantelope, eggplant (2 varieties), and peppers (2 varieties).  I am very excited to report that the day after we brought the plants home, they wilted after spending the night just on top of the bales, but they sprang right back to life as soon as we got them planted and watered!

I had a very intense weekend; Popo was sick with a high fever that started on Thursday night.  She had felt a little warm when she went to bed, but just slightly so I didn’t give her anything.  When I went to check on her a little later she was burning up.  The thermometer read 104.4, 104.6, and 105.4.  Needless to say, that even with all of my previous eexperience with The Manchild and his high fevers, and the nursing classes that I do have under my belt, I was still a little worried.  I gave her some Motrin and stuck her in the tub to try to get her cooled down a little.  When the Dr. on call (actually a nurse from the children’s hospital) finally called back it had dropped to about 102.  I knew that she wasn’t dehydrated, she didn’t have any other symptoms that I could speak of, but a fever that high is still nerve-racking.  She was on a cocktail of Tylenol and Motrin throughout the weekend, and she was quite miserable.

 

Other news with Popo is that within the last week, she has started throwing all out temper tantrums.  It’s funny how you look at other mothers with ‘that child’… that is, until ‘that child’ is your child.  What have you done with your spirited children to make it through the toddler years smoothly?

 

New and exciting on the schooling front, I found another accelerated second degree program to look into, and yesterday I took a placement test for one of the programs I applied to.  I scored a perfect ’105′ (the proctor said she is not sure why that happens, but good for me), and I have to go back and take another test tomorrow morning.

 

While I was on campus I stopped at the book/natural living store, and picked up a vegetarian crock pot cook book which I am very excited about, some nutritional yeast, and some soap nuts laundry detergent (I went with the liquid because the actual nuts were just too much for me to wrap my head around).

 

I have been looking for a vegetarian cookbook for the crock pot or some time now, and I can’t wait to try out some of the recipes this one has.  I recently found a vegan recipe for macaroni and cheese that called for nutritional yeast, and though we aren’t vegans, DH is a hater when it comes to cheese (even though he LOVES my baked macaroni and cheese).  The soap nuts are something I came across online somewhere, and I thought it was a pretty interesting green product.  It was somewhat of an impulsive buy for me, but I figured, why not?

 

I’ll keep you posted with the garden’s progress, the cooking, and the soap nuts.  Do you have any experiences with any of these, or ideas to share?

Unconventional Gardening June 4, 2009

Last year while we were on vacation over the 4th of July, we visited some family friends who were having a special party.  Mommy K was LOVING on the baby and we walked around the yard while she nuzzled on her in the sling.  We checked out the chickens, and the new plants she had, and much to my surprise, she had retired her beuatiful raised bed gardens to plant on straw bales!

 

This was absolutely amazing to me, a concept she had read about and decided to try, her entire vegetable garden was planted on straw bales behind the tool shed.  We had been looking at houses for a bit, finally found one we liked, and were about to close… my mind just lit up with the possibilities. 

 

With work and school and children, I didn’t have a lot of time to dig up a spot in the yard and start planting, and I was also a little worried about planting in the area I had plans for, becuase I was sure that some lead paint had chipped off of the garage, and we hadn’t done any abatement yet.  This was a great way to have my own organic produce grown at home, without having to put too much work in to get it started, or worry about what was in the dirt where I was planting.

 

I did a little research online and filed it away in the back of my brain; with the work we had to do to get moved in it would be too late to start anything then anyway.  Since last August, I have been dreaming about my homegrown tomatoes, and at last they will soon be on the way.

 

I found lots of great websites with some info on how to get started, and got my bales going.  I’ll get some pictures posted up, but there is nothing exciting going on with them yet, we’re just watering them until the weekend when we will hopefully have some nice weather for planting!

 

Here are two of the websites I found to be most helpful if you want to take a look-see:

No Dig Gardening

Straw Bale Culture

 

I was surprised when I called around to some local places to see where I could find the bales, that none had ever heard of this.  Have you ever seen anything like this?  Any great gardening tips you have for sharing?

We All Need A Little Marjory June 2, 2009

Did you ever watch Fraggle Rock?  Do you remember Marjory the ‘trash heap’?  I don’t know why I always recognized her as being a compost pile, and not just a trash heap, but for some reason, I have always remembered Marjory fondly, and she gave me a greater respect for Jim Henson; he was great for more than The Muppets.

 

I’ve written before about my love of being green.  I treid to start a compost pile in the backyard when I was in high school, but the neighbors weren’t very appreciative; the husband asked me to clean it up because the wife’s home day care children were attracted to it.  Being that we lived in a duplex at that time and we shared the back yard, I complied with his wishes.

 

That was well over 15 years ago, and while I had often thought of starting another pile, I didn’t really ever have a good place for one.  I generally rented non-single family places that weren’t very conducive to compost piles.

 

Last year while we were looking for a place to call our own, our town was offering compost bins that had been featured on Oprah, FOR ONLY $15!  I can’t even begin to descibe to you the excitement that I had when I heard this.  I promptly got on the waiting list and could not wait until I had a place to set it up!

 

Now that I have been using it for almost a year, I have decided that I would prefer to compost the old fashioned way (sans bin).  While the bin is somewhat compact and can be a little more pleasant to the eye, I have had quite the trouble keeping the animals out of it, and because it is so tall, it is hard to give it a thorough turning.  I stopped at Home Depot over the weekend and picked up some plastic poultry netting and poles so that I can get a pen of sorts set up and see how that works out for me.

 

I decided to post the bin on freecycle, and I have been overwhelmed at the number of responses that I have had!  I think I may send an email to the town to find out if they have any plans of doing another program like they did last year.  At any rate, I am just amazed at the number of people who have piles that they want to get into bins, or people who want to start a pile.  After doing some research, I found that if you do it properly, there really is no benefit to having a bin other than it may look a little neater.  This is not a problem for me as I had the bin behind the garage and I plan on keeping the new pile there as well.

 

At any rate, I was wondering if any of you have had experience with composting, and what your thoughts/preferences are.  For those of you who have considered it but have never acted, here are some great websites I found that may give you the motivation you need to get started, it really is easy!

Create Your Own Compost Pile

Composting for the Homeowner 

Garden Guide to Composting

Conventional Gone Organic? May 28, 2009

I recently visited a friend in the midwest.  He lives on a farm with his children.  We had a busy ‘vacation’, but I always enjoy being there.  I did some cleaning, hung some clothes out on the line (I know, doesn’t sound like a vacation, but I love doing these things when it isn’t at MY house!) and got some relaxation time in there as well.  Whenever I return from a visit there, I want to go back to simplicity, in all ways, not just one specific way.

 

My new thing is that I want to try to live a kind of frugal life.  Do you think of frugal as being almost a dirty word?  Why is that?  I have decided this not only because I want to try to shave off some every day expenses, but also because I want to be as green as possible.

 

In considering ways that I can show love for the earth and be able to save some dollars, I have decided to try using some natural/homemade cleaning solutions.  Several months ago I bought some Veggie Wash to use on the conventional fruits and veggies I purchase, but while it seemed to work really well (at least in cleaning), it is not what I would consider to be inexpensive, by any stretch of the imagination.

 

I remembered that for Earth Day last year, Oprah had a special show with Julia Roberts where they talked about eating oganically.  They shared a recipe for making your own veggie spray at home (thank you to Sophie Uliano).  I’ve decided that this is one of the first homemade alternatives I am going to try out!

 

Sophie’s Veggie Spray

• 1 cup water
• 1 cup distilled white vinegar
• 1 tablespoon baking soda
• 20 drops grapefruit seed extract

Combine all ingredients in a large container. Then, transfer to a spray bottle with a pump. Spray mixture on produce, and rinse thoroughly after 5 to 10 minutes.

*Grapefruit seed extract is available at your local health food store.

 

I found a set of 3 spray bottles at Home Depot over the weekend for only $4.99, and I was able to find the grapefruit seed extract at the local health food store as she indicated.  It was a little pricey, but I figured if I am only using 20 drops for the mixture, it was well worth it.  I have also found it online since then for less, so maybe I will try that option next time.

Let me know if you decide to try it out and how you like it!!!