A Step Up

I love this project so much, I know I am way more excited about it then anyone else will be. It is just so cool to have something go from being thrown out to being an original piece in your home. This was a foot stool that was in my grandparents home, it is some where between 35-50 years old, one of those items that hung around for no important reason. I took it home when my grandmother past away a year and a half ago with the plans to repaint it, it was a flaking  bright orange color. It took me awhile, but I did it. I wanted something the boys could carry, and I didn't want it to look like I bought it at a store, I think I hit the mark. With all the extra paint we had from our recent mini remodel, I had all the parts right at home. Stenciling the boys feet didn't work out as well as I had envisioned, but I am happy with the finished project. I drilled two hole in the top for some rope, as a handle, and voila!

Great Idea

You never know where each day or weekend is going to take you. You make your plans and to do lists, but if you're anything like us, you rarely stick to them. We are always flying by the seat of our pants, where ever the wind blows!

On Friday evening we cut the garden space and berry beds out of the lawn with a sod cutter, which worked great by the way! Anyway, Saturday morning we had a surprise visit from a couple of friends and after feeding them and chatting a bit about what to do with all that sod someone had an epiphany. Who am I kidding, I'm not going to be modest in the least, that incredibly creative idea came from yours truly (only I was half joking when I said it). I was teasing when I said lets make a play house for the boys out of it. Boy, did that get the ball rolling, the ideas just came pouring out (not just mine anymore). After we make a house, let make the three section compost bin I've always wanted (thanks Alan!) and then lets make the goat shelter out of sod and... Now I don't think we have enough sod to cover all those project, but doesn't it all sound cool. As we cut, hauled and stared to build the boys' play house someone said " you know, this is just what the settlers did" minus the gas powered sod cutter, the truck to haul the sod and the rebar to hold it up. We did have lots of sod, dirt and help,which I am sure is the way the settlers did it, thanks guys!

You know I just love the idea more and more, a living structure could be so much more beautiful and inconspicuous in our backyard. By no means are we finished yet so we will have to let you know how it all turns out (keep your fingers crossed). Here's to shelters growing every bit!

plant labels

It is just amazing how one day can be lusciously beautiful weather and the next turns to torrential down pours all day. I had the garden all ready to plant corn, the ground was tilled the rows were marked and hoed, all I need to do was soak the corn, plant it and watch it grow, but the rain beat me to it. Now I have to wait for another window of opportunity to get it in the ground. We did manage to find an opening in the rain , all though very brief, to get out, blow some bubbles and hope that summer is really on her way.

A fellow gardener and I were discussing plant tags, plastic or wood? I label seeds I have planted in the greenhouse or plants in pots, but I don't put the labels in the garden. I usually can remember what went where or I draw a map. As long as no one else tries to do any gardening it's not usually a problem. For my tags I like to cut up plastic milk jugs to make my plant labels, but since we don't drink milk out of plastic jugs at home we have to acquire them some where else (family members).

You can buy the plastic tags at a store (they work great), but who wants to spend the money. This is just the place for my motto "I can make that", I don't like using plastic that much, but I figure I am adhering to one of the three "R's", REUSE!. I always use both sides of the tag and recycle the plastic when I am done.Many gardeners do like to put labels in the garden though (it makes sense doesn't it). I do understand that if you put plant labels in the garden you wouldn't want the plastic tags everywhere because you would have to pick them up at the end of the year (hunt for the plastic tag game), so cardboard tags will work for the season (the do get lost easy), or those large craft tongue depressors work great, they're wide to give you plenty of room to write those long plant names.

The wood and the cardboard will just grind up with a pass of the tiller or mulch into the soil when you put you garden to bed for the season. (Of course that's not grass you see growing in my garden rows, you must be imagining things)

We did had a little fun earlier this year making decorative garden signs. My mother is the artist who panted plants pics on Fir rounds that Ty cut from the back pasture and stakes he split from some fire wood. TY then screwed the round to the stake (nailing it will split the wood), then he sanded the surface of the round just a little to make it easier to paint. After it was painted we then sprayed a sealant on it to protect it from the weather. I think they turned out really neat and would make a fun project for older kids. Now if we can only keep the dogs from pulling them out and chewing them up.

Well off to re-pot tomatoes. Remember, "someone made it, why not you".

The day after

It is the day after Earth Day, did you miss it? Ty and I were discussing the sad truth that only one day is set aside for the ONLY place we have to live, even though we live here every day of our lives. While every day should be considered Earth Day, Ty made an uplift point. Ten years ago would every television station, talk show, stadium, company, small business or the Internet be paying homage to the destruction we have reaped and the spectacular beauty we live upon, no. Ten years ago many people didn't know such a day existed, so yes there is a silver lining.
Last blog I implored you all to find new and simple ways to adjust your life to help limit your consumption and in the end your waste, e.g. replace paper napkins and paper towels with cloth (saves money), use chlorine free bleach, turn off the light when you leave a room, buy biodegradable trash bags (wow are those simple or what!). I said I wanted to find three more ways my family can reduce our foot print. I have decide to go with one major change, NO MORE PLASTIC! This one is a doosie and not for the faint of heart. I really don't know how we are going to do it, but we can start with not buying or bring anymore plastics into the house. I have been trying to weed it out of the house already, but I think we are ready for the next step.
Now I don't like to admit I, on occasion, watch Oprah (rarely!), but I happened to catch a few minutes yesterday where they were talking about a garbage heap the size of Texas floating between California and Japan, in some places it is 90 feet deep. I did a little research on the net and it seems to have been around since the fifties, it is created by trash being thrown strait into water systems or the majority has been blown off the land into the water, the swirling currents collect the trash and consolidated it in to what has now been loving dubbed the Great Pacific Garbage Patch. In the beginning the trash raft was largely made up of biodegradable garbage, but in the passing decades plastics have taken over and it is now 80% plastic. I was horrified that such a thing existed, but more so that I had never heard of it before.
So, as I make my grocery list I am taking a time out to think about the products that are significantly packaged in plastics. I'll try and find a better alternative and if I can't we will juts do without. A lesson I think all of us (especially Americans) could learn a little better. Living without, living with less, do really really need all the junk. Well, off the store, thanks for listening to another rant. I should be better by tomorrow and back to my usual cute kid and farm pictures. Ciao!

What are you doing?

What are you going to do on earth day, it's tomorrow did you know? Regardless of the fact that everyday should be earth day, I encourage us all to consider three ways we can incorporate simple yet meaningful ecofriendly habits into our everyday live. Here are a few that I try and practice (and I am not always perfect at doing all the time). Switch to energy saving light bulbs and stop using incandescent (the amount of energy they waste in heat is amazing), reduce shower time by just two minutes, plan outings in the car with multiple stops to reduce car pollution, buy second hand, turn the thermostat down. These are just a very few things that everyone could incorporate into their lives with hardly a ripple of change to their "norm". They are so easy and guess what they all save you money too, if your not motivated by helping the earth and the future then just help your wallet. Don't forget the most important ways you can live REDUCE, REUSE, RECYCLE!!!!!!!!! These are so easy and again save you money. If you need a hint in ways to practice each of the three R's then let me help. Reduce what you buy, come on, do you really need more stuff? Look at what you are buying, is it going to just sit on a shelf, will you use it more than a few time a year or once a month? Does it really have to be new, if you need something often you can buy it just as nice used, consignment is no longer meant for people who can't afford it, it is meant for everyone who cares about saving ourselves from ourselves and, you guessed it, saves you money. Now onto Reuse, take plastic containers, do you really need to spend more money on more plastic containers to put left overs in? This seems really silly, food you buy comes in reusable containers you just have to use them, not buy different ones to put different food in. Instead of getting rid of furniture remake it (another way of reusing), give a makeover, new paint or fabric and it looks completely different. Lets get over the mentality of "I can't do that myself" cause you can and you will like it better. You always get just what you want and the satisfaction that comes with it is worth more than any expensive piece you could ever buy. Remember someone made why can't it be you! Reuse those grocery bags, it's not trendy it's responsible! Last, but not least Recycle, recycle plastic, glass anything you can it will cut down on you garbage bill, compost food waste, recycle clothing to others the list goes on and on for what you can recycle. Recycling to me means reuse, because that is eventually what happens to something recycled. Whew, I am exhausted. funny how ranting about something you feel strongly about cone take it out of you. Well stay tuned for tomorrows blog and we will see how the rant grows. Thanks for listening.