tag!

stephany at naturally simple tagged me. Green Meme #2. It was the first time I was tagged, too.

Guidelines:

1) Link back to Green Meme Bloggers. (use image if you like)

2) Link back to whoever tagged you (no need to wait to be tagged!)

3) Include meme number

4) Include these guidelines in your post

5) Tag 3 other green bloggers.

1. Do you use baking soda toothpaste or baking soda shampoo? If not, would you consider it?
i use baking soda for brushing my teeth (and the little ones too) and i use the acv method for hair washing which includes baking soda on my hair. for the little ones, i use the bar of soap for their hair.

2. Do you make any home cleaning products?
i use vinegar and baking soda for most cleaning. for laundry right now, i am not making my own right now but plan on going back to it once my trader joe's detergent is all used up.

3. What is your top green issue at the moment?
using a vehicle more than i want/like to. i have to drive once a week to pick up my older kids from their dad's so i try to combine errands on that day but $10 off day for grocery shopping falls on different day of the week so i have to go out on that day every couple of weeks to grocery shop. also, i'm almost done with my master naturalist course which is on another day of the week.

4. Given unlimited cash, what is on your fantasy green wishlist?
solar and wind power for the house and barns, james wringer washer, green house with natural heating source and solar shower, outdoor kitchen for summer cooking and canning, cisterns for our own water catchment, be totally free of the grid. I too would also have one of these:

5. Have you implemented any new green act/behaviour/product this month?
cooking on the wood burning stove to not use propane/waste energy, buying items such as the catalyst cap for our peacock hand warmers and berkey water filter to eventually use with our own well/cistern water

finally!

i've got my etsy shop up.

simplicity in action

patching jeans with scraps of wool sweaters

snuggling together for warmth

puzzles and games trump tv

regular blogging will now resume...

after several months of limping along, typing without the 3, e, d, f, c keys, it all came to an end today when my new keyboard arrived in the mail.

i finally buckled down and resolved to live without my laptop for 1 week (what the computer repair guy said it would take to get it done). i sent it off with greg to drop off across the street from his office. he brought it back home that night saying it was recommended i buy a keyboard off ebay and then bring it in for them to install.

well, they were going to charge me $50 to do that and being the cheapskate i am, i started researching how to install it myself. finally, i stumbled across dell's manual that gives you step by step instructions on how to do it. basically, you remove the battery, pop off the plate above the keyboard, unscrew 2 screws, unplug it from the mother board, plug in the new one, screw back in, replace plate, put battery back on and presto....i'm back to my 60wpm typing!!!! HAL - A - LU - YAH! 5 minutes of my time. amazing how simple it was.

making up for lost time now! :D

independence days - week 29

since i'm struggling to get the garden in again this year due to my rambunctious toddler, i thought taking the id challenge would be a good moral booster for me. i try to practice this idea anyway during the growing seasons so it's a great reminder of how much i really do even when it feels like i do nothing.

i am now focusing more preparedness & solstice gifts.

1. plant something

2. harvest something:
^eggs
^calendula flowers
^chard
^celery
^carrots
^rutabagas
^sunchokes

3. preserve something:

4. prep something:
^8 dozen cookies into freezer for solstice goody bags

5. cook something:
^rutabagas...they are quite good, better than turnips

6. manage your reserves:
^

7. work on local food systems:

8. reduce waste:
^use canvas bags at grocery store
^re-use egg cartons for our nest run eggs

9. Learned a skill:

our nature table

a bit chaotic but loved by all.

i got this gnome when i was a kid...he is the keeper of the hollow tree home. there are all sorts of treasures hidden inside.

my newest addition...three cedar mushrooms from etsy seller mamakopp. aren't they lovely???

independence days - week 28

since i'm struggling to get the garden in again this year due to my rambunctious toddler, i thought taking the id challenge would be a good moral booster for me. i try to practice this idea anyway during the growing seasons so it's a great reminder of how much i really do even when it feels like i do nothing.

still going!

1. plant something

2. harvest something:
^eggs
^calendula flowers
^chard
^celery
^carrots
^rutabagas
^sunchokes

3. preserve something:

4. prep something:
^quartered potatoes

5. cook something:
^rutabagas...they are quite good, better than turnips

6. manage your reserves:
^more lamp oil stored
^

7. work on local food systems:

8. reduce waste:
^use canvas bags at grocery store
^re-use egg cartons for our nest run eggs

9. Learned a skill:

How do you make Corn Flakes?

this was in a newsletter i get through email. i thought it was interesting...

What you will need:
A large stainless steel, flat bottom frying pan
1 cup of finely ground or medium-fine ground corn meal
¼ cup of granulated sugar or powder sugar
2 fine small sifters (one for corn meal and one for sugar)
1 spray bottle for water

Directions:
Place the frying pan in medium heat. Place some corn meal in the sifter and powder the frying pan with corn meal—as thick or as thin as you would like your corn flakes.

Next, fill out the spray bottle with water and spray the corn meal in the pans until it is well moist, but not running.

Do not stir. You never touch it.

Let it cook slowly until the water is halfway evaporated, and immediately sift sugar to taste on top. If you prefer, you can make it plain. Let it cook until the water dries out and the flakes begin releasing from the bottom of the pan. Don't let it burn. If necessary, scrape the flakes out with a metal spatula.
The flakes will be large. Store in air tight container.
That is it. Enjoy your corn flakes!

independence days - week 27

since i'm struggling to get the garden in again this year due to my rambunctious toddler, i thought taking the id challenge would be a good moral booster for me. i try to practice this idea anyway during the growing seasons so it's a great reminder of how much i really do even when it feels like i do nothing.

over the hump!

1. plant something

2. harvest something:
^eggs
^calendula flowers
^chard
^celery
^carrots
^sweet potatoes (i forgot i had them!)
^3 roosters
^rutabagas
^sunchokes
^zinnia seeds

3. preserve something:

4. prep something:
^started growing eyes on potatoes

5. cook something:
^rutabagas...they are quite good, better than turnips

6. manage your reserves:
^gauze bandages/pads, surgical tape purchased for first aid kit
^rubber hot water bottle (we now have 5...used to keep us warm in bed at night)

7. work on local food systems:

8. reduce waste:
^use canvas bags at grocery store
^re-use egg cartons for our nest run eggs

9. Learned a skill:
^

terrible twos?!

isn't 4 great?

homeschooling the harvest

i found an awesome series of books at the library called 'we celebrate'...there are a lot of the general holidays, i skipped those, but the other ones are great...winter, spring, harvest, family days. they are full of rich lore and celebrations, poems, songs, activities and great pictures. i've been using the harvest one all week and will into thanksgiving to celebrate the harvest. i wish i'd found it sooner as the harvest celebrations in the book started back in september. but, we are having fun with it anyway. we made a moon rabbit and moon toad to celebrate the harvest moon festival (chinese).

we've been using the harvest poem that sasha posted on her blog:

Harvest

Now all the farmers from far and wide

Have gathered their bounty of countryside:

Corn and barley from field and wold

Honey from beehive and wool from the fold,

Fruit from the orchard all ripe, red and gold,

Log for the fire to keep out the cold.

~Dorothy Hancock

this poem has been read every day and i stapled together a few scraps of paper to make an activity book for jaden. on the cover, i wrote 'harvest' in block letters which she colored. inside, i have 3 pages with the 3 words we used for vocabulary words for the weed (bounty, wold, fold). i had her draw a picture on each page to represent the meaning. then, we came up with a word for each letter of harvest (for example, H-helping hands, A-apples). it took us a few days to complete and was a load of fun, plus it helped her learn some new words. i think i'll try it with each new theme we do if she's interested.

once thanksgiving is past, we'll delve into the winter book.

lots of counting has been going on...she's stuck at 9..she skips 10. it will come with time. she helps with setting the table, taking the chick back outside in the morning (to protect her from the weasel, we bring her inside at night), she cooks, picks up toys, helps fold, sort and hang laundry out. plus, we work on writing letters, play with clay, make things, work in the garden, & play outside. i ^started growing eyes on potatoes xpos^started growing eyes on potatoes her to a lot of spanish (muzzy, computer cd-rom program, dora). sometimes i think i'm starting too soon but kids are taught some of this in preschool plus, i don't want to have a completely unstructured 6 years & then wham! it's time to start schooling!---surprise!!

i am so torn between classical education formats and waldorf. i like them both. sometimes, i feel like i'm trying to cram too much into the day. i try to stick to mostly waldorf but she's so eager to read and do worksheets and write that i feel i owe it to her.

i've tried to start doing one on one with sage. that went over like a lead balloon with jaden. how do mothers juggle preschooling 2 and 4 year olds??!

feeding our own

back in may and august, i wrote about how we were going to attempt to grow some crops for the goats, sheep, turkeys and chickens this winter. today, i checked on my crops and wanted to report on my observances.

crops were planted at the end of august this year. i should have started a bit earlier i think, maybe 1 month earlier. also, i need to find a better seed supplier. the local place i ordered from (3 orders this year) were less than impressive in customer service, delivery and performance. strike 3, you're out!

the wwoofers planted the seeds and i'm a bit confused as to how they planted some of them. i'm hoping they planted them out correctly...

anyway, here's what was planted, how much and how it is doing:
chard 9 rows (8' x 19') there are about 6 plants total growing now
cabbage 4 rows (12' x 57') doing so/so...about 1/4 - 1/3 is growing
beets 3 rows (3' x 54') crop failure 1 plant
parsnips 7 rows {7' x 30') crop failure about 3 plants growing
kohlrabi 10 rows (7' x 30') so/so...about 1/4 is growing
rutabagas 5 rows (7' x 30') excellent success full plot
kale 8 rows (7' X 30') so/so about 1/4 - 1/2 is growing
spinach 5' x 10' bed complete failure
radishes 5' x 10' bed excellent success full plot and these suckers are HUGE
carrots 9 rows (5' x 30') excellent...my best crop yet
tyfon volunteers, not sure how big an area as they are wide spread excellent

so far, i've harvested some of the rutabagas. we are going to eat them for dinner tonight. the goats enjoyed the tops but didn't touch the roots.

sunchokes will be part of the fodder this winter. they grow abundantly in our garden and we never eat even a 1/4 of the patch.

the sunflowers did ok. i hung them to dry and the birds robbed them. i should have put them in paper bags.

we also had a lot of milo self feed in the garden (from the goat bedding). since it is hard for me to kill off any useful plant, i let them grow as a quasy feed experiment. today, i cut off a bunch of the tops and tossed them to the goats. they loved them. i'll cut the rest and store them in a feed bag for this winter or perhaps save them and sow a field next spring. i'm thinking it might be something to sow in an 'undesireable' area and then in the winter, tether some goats out there to eat it up. i'm going to feed them some stalks tomorrow and see if they would like that part too.

anyone else have any luck with crop growing for animal feed this year?

independence days - week 26

since i'm struggling to get the garden in again this year due to my rambunctious toddler, i thought taking the id challenge would be a good moral booster for me. i try to practice this idea anyway during the growing seasons so it's a great reminder of how much i really do even when it feels like i don't.

6 months!

1. plant something
^transplanted peppers to bring inside

2. harvest something:
^eggs
^tomatoes
^okra
^calendula flowers
^chard
^pumpkins
^green beans - one round then the freeze hit :(

^celery

3. preserve something:

4. prep something:
^ordered seeds
^hopefully located more chicks to replace those the weasels wiped out

5. cook something:
^lots of cooking on the wood stove top this week, soups, stews, bacon & eggs

6. manage your reserves:
^made soap
^stored the winter squashes in the bales of hay (used the existing stack to create a root cellar)
^winterized celery patch

7. work on local food systems:

8. reduce waste:
^use canvas bags at grocery store
^re-use egg cartons for our nest run eggs

9. Learned a skill:
^lots of cooking on the wood stove top this week, soups, stews, bacon & eggs, learning to manipulate the fire to my advantage