our one and only bloom off the moonflower on the porch. i should have planted it in the ground next to the porch instead of in a pot i think. but, wow! what a bloom it was. the smell was intoxicating. next year, we shall have more moon flowers!
Thursday, September 6, 2007
flowers as big as your head!
our one and only bloom off the moonflower on the porch. i should have planted it in the ground next to the porch instead of in a pot i think. but, wow! what a bloom it was. the smell was intoxicating. next year, we shall have more moon flowers!
Tuesday, August 28, 2007
our solar oven rocks!
right now, our dinner is cooking...meatloaf and potatoes (to become mashed). add a salad of lamb's quarters, tomatoes and onions and a glass of red wine from illinois cellars and you've got a local meal!
Monday, August 27, 2007
here comes the sun!
our wwoofer finished the solar oven saturday and we took it for a test cook yesterday, cooking spaghetti squash in the dutch oven.
it turned out splendidly.
today i was going to cook a pot pie in there but that flopped due to circumstances i'd rather not discuss.
tomorrow, i shall try again...meatloaf and mashed potatoes.
i am excited beyond words as my kitchen remains cool while our food gets cooked!
the oven was built out of scraps. the only cost was a can of silicon caulking to seal the seams and a roll of flashing for lining the interior. the two boxes were built from scraps of 1/4" plywood, insulation was a bunch of old t-shirts, and the glass cover was from an old window i dumpster dived on trash eve from someone's garbage. it's not the prettiest thing, but the beauty is on the inside in the form of cooked food.
it turned out splendidly.
today i was going to cook a pot pie in there but that flopped due to circumstances i'd rather not discuss.
tomorrow, i shall try again...meatloaf and mashed potatoes.
i am excited beyond words as my kitchen remains cool while our food gets cooked!
the oven was built out of scraps. the only cost was a can of silicon caulking to seal the seams and a roll of flashing for lining the interior. the two boxes were built from scraps of 1/4" plywood, insulation was a bunch of old t-shirts, and the glass cover was from an old window i dumpster dived on trash eve from someone's garbage. it's not the prettiest thing, but the beauty is on the inside in the form of cooked food.
Monday, August 20, 2007
to do
boy am i behind!
kerosene heater, water filter, milk tote, s/s strainer, wringer, mini fridge
-finish herbal product restock
-water garden/herb spiral
-make invites
-sew dress
-dr/bath lights installed
-dr drapes
-summer garden in (beans, corn, squash, tomatoes, peppers,etc)
-june cards
-find nubian doe
so, obviously, the wedding has come and gone. kids are back to school and jaden-bird is doing preschool at home. sagey-bear will be 1 in 2 more weeks! time flies.
dare i set goals for the rest of august? i dare!
august to-do
-find ob who has access to copper iud and can do so in a timely manner
-find doors for kia so it can be repaired
-finish ninas room
-finish unit 1 in rosetta stone (i'm halfway through lesson 7 - it goes to 10, 3 classes per lesson)
-find shelter to take clothing and stuff leftover from sale (i'm purging, i'm purging!)
may to do
-ebay/second hand items search: chamber pot,-finish herbal product restock
-water garden/herb spiral
-
-
-dr/bath lights installed
-dr drapes
-
-
-find nubian doe
so, obviously, the wedding has come and gone. kids are back to school and jaden-bird is doing preschool at home. sagey-bear will be 1 in 2 more weeks! time flies.
dare i set goals for the rest of august? i dare!
august to-do
-find ob who has access to copper iud and can do so in a timely manner
-find doors for kia so it can be repaired
-finish ninas room
-finish unit 1 in rosetta stone (i'm halfway through lesson 7 - it goes to 10, 3 classes per lesson)
-find shelter to take clothing and stuff leftover from sale (i'm purging, i'm purging!)
Friday, June 29, 2007
swamped, in more ways than one
it has rained every day for the past week. maybe longer. it reminds me of the midwest flood of '93. (which wouldn't affect us if it happens again but still, cloudy days are depressing).
the garden (and WEEDS) is flourishing. herb gardens are establishing. our wwoof'er emily is keeping the weeds at bay as they slowly threaten to devour every single garden bed we have.
the ceremony plans are coming along. my dress is about 95% finished. jaden's is finished and nina's will be when she gets home sunday. i have outfits for all 3 boys, only one left is greg. he wanted a kilt and i was going to sew it but i ran out of time and was at a loss on finding the buckles needed to complete it.
currently, i am working on the parting gifts. the plates and cups arrived yesterday. i attempted to find some silverware last night but no luck. i'll search again the next few days and come up with something, i'm sure. i have 54 napkins to sew total (15 completed so far), 18 utensil pouches total (1 completed) and 18 carrying bags to complete. the carrying bag fabric still needs to be tie dyed. i ran out of thread and had to run to the fabric store last night to pick it up along with more needles for the machine (it's on it's last one and is getting dull quickly) and advice on how to change my dress sleeves (none received).
we still have to make our quaker wedding certificate. tonight, we must sit down and rough it out. we must! and write our vows. and the ceremony for that matter.
not panicking yet. still have 8 days.
scary, the lady at the fabric store knew the exact amount of days left. think i've been there too many times?
the garden (and WEEDS) is flourishing. herb gardens are establishing. our wwoof'er emily is keeping the weeds at bay as they slowly threaten to devour every single garden bed we have.
the ceremony plans are coming along. my dress is about 95% finished. jaden's is finished and nina's will be when she gets home sunday. i have outfits for all 3 boys, only one left is greg. he wanted a kilt and i was going to sew it but i ran out of time and was at a loss on finding the buckles needed to complete it.
currently, i am working on the parting gifts. the plates and cups arrived yesterday. i attempted to find some silverware last night but no luck. i'll search again the next few days and come up with something, i'm sure. i have 54 napkins to sew total (15 completed so far), 18 utensil pouches total (1 completed) and 18 carrying bags to complete. the carrying bag fabric still needs to be tie dyed. i ran out of thread and had to run to the fabric store last night to pick it up along with more needles for the machine (it's on it's last one and is getting dull quickly) and advice on how to change my dress sleeves (none received).
we still have to make our quaker wedding certificate. tonight, we must sit down and rough it out. we must! and write our vows. and the ceremony for that matter.
not panicking yet. still have 8 days.
scary, the lady at the fabric store knew the exact amount of days left. think i've been there too many times?
Monday, June 11, 2007
busy as a bee!
carrots from the garden and wild grape leaves in brinebetween working the gardens, running the household, tending to the babies and running my business, i am swamped with work. throw planning the commitment ceremony into the mix and you've got the mixings for a nervous breakdown!
just kidding, it's not that bad, just doesn't give a lot of time for blogging.
in the meantime, here are a few pictures of what's been going on...
Saturday, June 2, 2007
fight monsanto!
copied from lucy's blog:
TerraCycle Sued by Miracle Gro
If you do not already know Scott's, a multi-billion dollar company with ties to Monsanto, is suing a small company called TerraCycle that makes tea from worm castings and packages the tea in recycled 2 litre bottles.
They have a blog http://www.suedbyscotts.com/ that explains where Terracycle is coming from.
Many people have been going out to Wal-Mart and buying Terracycle even if they would not normally use the product. As well as boycotting all Scott's products. This is a good thing but this boycott probably is not doing a lot of good (especially if no one is contacting Scott's Miracle Gro and elling hem they are being boycotted) because people who would be supporting Terracycle's cause likely do not buy Miracle Gro et. al.. So this does nothing to Scott's bottom line.
I was talking about this with my husband and another organic grower at a farmers market about. My Husband (who used to work for the K-mart Corp) said if you really want to hurt Scott's (and Wal-Mart) go buy some Miracle Gro (best if on sale) and return 30 days after purchase (the elapsed time will make these corps assume hey have made real sales). Be sure to buy some Terracycle and use it, it's a good product.
What this action does is artificially boosts MG sales so Wal-Mart starts ordering more MG (thinking sales are up). When the MG you bought is returned, that will go back on the shelf, causing an overstock. Soon Wal-Mart (if enough people do this) will start ordering a lot less MG because of all the returns and slow sales and Scott's bottom line will be impacted.
Imagine what could happen if just 1,000 people did this or better yet 100,000 people buying, say, $1,000,000 ($10 per person) of MG product or even $10,000,000 ($100 per person) or 1,000,000 people buying $100,000,000 of MG and returning it all around the same time for a refund.
Wal-Mart is hurt by the restocking costs it must absorb and slower MG sales (which if sales got slow enough MG could be removed from Wal-Mart shelves altogether).
Imagine what could happen if just 1,000 people did this. 1,000 people buying $10 worth of MG and returning it nationwide (or world wide). Better yet, 100,000 people buying, say, $1,000,000 ($10 per person) of MG product or 10,000,000 people buying $100,000,000 of MG and returning it all around the same time for a refund. And "spending" ten bucks is good but what if we all "bought" $100, or more, of MG products and returned them a month later. The more we "spend" the greater the impact
If we all do this and got just one other person to also do this the impact would be noticed. And if our friends get their friends to join in it would be come a movement and we would soon have the TerraCycle massacree (with a nod to Arlo Guhrie). And maybe, just maybe, Scott's Miracle Gro will drop it's suit and let this wonderful grassroots company alone.
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