Summertime drying

Last year Jeff installed a clothesline in our backyard for us. I absolutely love it! Clothes fresh from the line smell so good. As an added bonus, our backyard is a wind tunnel, so they look like they've been ironed, too! Our backyard isn't huge, so Jeff designed the line to be removable should we need the room. So far it hasn't come down once, but I like having the option. It's a double line, which I love because I do a lot of laundry at once (I'm a procrastinator!)



These are my cloth napkins and kitchen linens (pic taken last summer).

Some other things to consider about clotheslines-
1. Energy savings- sunshine = free!
2. More energy savings- dryers are hot and heat up the house which bumps up air conditioning usage
3. Sunning helps remove stains from clothing!

Does it seem like our system won't work for you? Check out different options here!

Happy Summer!

Farmer's Market

One of my favorite activities is going to the Farmer's Market. There are quite a few in this area, but my favorite by far is Boggy Creek Farm. It is an organic farm smack dab in the middle of a neighborhood in downtown Austin. Free-roaming chickens add to the charm of this little white farmhouse. It is small, but it is ALWAYS busy. I've gone both on Wednesdays and Saturdays at all different times. There is never a dull moment! Check out my Wednesday morning haul!



Fresh okra, peppers (bell and sweet), long beans, andive, potatoes, jarred tomatoes, and smoke-dried tomatoes (I wish you could smell these! YUM!!!).

Not too shabby, right?! So far we've made fried okra and used the potatoes in a casserole. I'm pushing for soup to use the herbs, beans, and tomatoes. Maybe a pepper in there, too, though I'm not a big fan of bells.

Fresh veggies, grown 25 minutes from my house, picked the morning I bought them! The flavor is amazing!

Do you have a Farmer's Market near you? Now is the perfect time of year to check one out and support your local farmers! Check this site for quick info!

And just for funsies:

Daisy

Yeah. So I'm not good at keeping up with this blogging thing. At all. But I get the blogging bug occasionally, so I thought I'd give y'all something to do to kill time! :)

Let's talk puppies. Well, specifically, our new puppy Daisy! I've gotta tell ya, she's the cutest, sweetest, smartest, craziest pup out there, and I'm in love!! Her parents are both trained assistance dogs for the hearing impaired, so she comes from good stock! She definately is learning fast! She's mastering sit and stay (we still need work when she's crazy hyper!), and she's working on come, heel (heal?), and drop it. She's got get ready down. She sits and looks straight ahead waiting for you to throw her toy!

She was the tiniest little thing when we got her (on Dec. 7th). I weighed her yesterday and she was 17 1/2 lbs already!! She's growing like a weed!! Her legs are so long, and her paws are big, so she's really in the floppy faze. It's precious! She loves to have her belly rubbed!! As soon as you start petting her she rolls over to her back so you can rub her tummy!!

She's a trickester, too! She knows what she's allowed to play with, and what she's not allowed to play with. If we're not paying enough attention to her (like when we're getting ready for work), she grab something she's not allowed to have, run over to us and shake it and growl, and then run like crazy so we'll chase her! If we gave her an unlimited supply of qtips and ponytail holders, I swear she'd never come near us unless it was time to eat!!

No lead in like that can come without pictures, so to all of Daisy's adoring fans:

This is Daisy at 6 1/2 weeks. She was so tiny!! Look at that sweet face!!

This is Daisy and Lenny the Lamb. Look how clean Lenny is in this picture!! Man, you can tell it's old! Hahaha!

This pup can eat!! We had her small bag of food in this basket, and one afternoon (shortly after she ate) we walked into the dining room to find this!! Look at those pleading eyes saying, "Mommy, I'm still hungry!!"

This is her first trip to the 'lake' a couple of weeks ago (ha ha- those silly Texans- calling a pond a lake!) She got in the water up to her belly, and it was 41 degrees outside. That's a heck of a lot closer than I'd get!!

This is her on Tuesday after we took her to the nursery with us. I now love all places where she can come with us!! She's a giant compared to those first pics!! (Sorry it's blurry-we were driving!)

Okay, okay. I'm done for now!! I hope y'all get to meet her soon! Pictures just don't do her justice!!

BTW- her birthday is October 24, and we're having a party. Be there, or be square!!
(j/k, j/k!.......sort of!)

YIKES!! It's been a while!!

Ok- so it's been TOO LONG!! I apologize!! A new job + all the holidays at my house (that I'd just moved into 3 months prior) + all of the not fun January traveling = no blogging!! But I'm back!! So let's play catch-up!

January- my resolutions this year are 1. Read the Bible from cover to cover in a year 2. Start keeping my food journal again (this helps me!! I'd rather not write down that I ate a half pan of brownies!! So I just eat one or two!!) 3. Get our clothesline up and use it!! 4. Start our garden.

February- We decided to make it No-Fast-Food-February!! It was hard, but we're still going strong!! Jeff did eat fast food once while Liv was in town, and he got a Sonic slush once that weekend, too. But other than that, we went ff free the whole month (this ban does include drinks! NO SBUX!!). We haven't gone back, either!! We're not huge ff eaters anymore, anyway, but we were starting to get into the habit when we felt lazy. Like, 'I'll hit snooze one more time instead of getting up and fixing my lunch. I'll just grab something.' Not only is this a drag on the finances, but it was a drag on my body, too!! I could feel the effects of rushing through lunch and all that greasy blechiness quickly, and it lasted the rest of the day.

March- it's off to a bang!! We're continuing on with the no ff. I'm getting some seeds started, and we're getting copies of our HOA covenants to figure out where our garden can go! I'm hoping to get enough produce to have some to can (pickles anyone?!!)!! Yay!! I started using a new DRY homemade laundry detergent in January. In the past I've used a liquid one, but this one is so much easier, and it works well!! I'll definately post the recipe soon!

So that's it for now! You're all caught up! Is there something you want me to blog about? I have lots of research that I'd love to share if you have questions!! Just let me know!!

Crunchy Cleaning

Cleaning is no fun!! I guess y'all know that. Cleaning with poison is even less fun!! I used to get sick every time I scrubbed my tub with unnamed cleaners ::cough::comet::cough::. But that's only the beginning. You name it, it bothered me. I lived with daily headaches for years, that worsenend when I cleaned!! Life shouldn't be like that!! So we decided that we would switch to homemade, crunchy cleaners. They take no time to make, they work as well or better, and they're cheaper, too!! 3 great reasons to bump them to the top of my "Let's give it a shot" list. You see, we didn't make all of these changes at once. We started slowly, did our research, and prioritized based on our needs and willingness!! LOL

There are many books, websites, magazines articles, etc... that give MANY different recipes. I use just a few that work for most things. I'm going for less clutter, too, so I don't feel the need for 20 different bottles under my sinks.

For general cleaning:

#1

1-2 tbsp Dr. Bronner's liquid soap (I don't actually measure- I just squirt some in. I use peppermint or tea trea oil (TTO) for their natural disenfecting qualities) OR non-toxic dishwashing liquid (I like 7th generation)

Water

Mix in a spray bottle. Shake. Squirt where dirty. That's it!! Easy cheesy!!

#2

50% vinegar

50% water (amt. depends on size of spray bottle)

Mix in a spray bottle. Shake. Squirt where dirty.

Do NOT use vinegar on marble!! It will ruin it!!

#3

Hydrogen peroxide

Put in an opaque spray bottle (very important as peroxide degrades when light hits it). Spray on surface after vinegar for added disinfecting qualities. Great for cutting boards!!

For heavy-duty cleaning:

#4

baking soda

a couple of squirts of Dr. Bronner's liquid soap OR non-toxic dishwashing liquid

water (enough for consistency)

Mix together in a bowl until consistency is a little thinner than paste (if you add too much liquid, balance it out with more baking soda!!) . Use with a scouring pad or scrub brush to scrub just about anything!! Sinks, faucets, bathtubs, etc...

#5

lemon juice

salt OR baking soda

Mix into a paste. Let sit for a few minutes. Scrub away!


These are what I use most of the time, but the key is to find what works best for you!! I get my scrub brushes and spray bottles from the dollar store, and they work really well!! Dr. Bronner's can be found at most health food stores, some Targets, some grocery stores, and online. Most of these recipes were used for generations by our grandmothers and all those before them. Toxic does not equal clean. New does not equal good. Maybe we should learn from those who came before us. Sometimes simple (and inexpensive) equals BETTER!!

look who's jumping on the blogging train.....

So I guess I'm a blogger now. Go figure. I haven't checked my myspace in 2 months, but I'm going to start a blog. An eco-blog. From a christian's perspective. Sheesh.

I don't know if I'll stick with it, but I'm going to give it a shot. I'm doing this to share my experiences with my friends and family, and to keep myself accountable. I'm not a maniac or anything. I just want to do the best I can.

I'm a christian. And I'm crunchy, eco-friendly, hippie, whatever. Yes. The two can go together. In fact, I think the first demands the second. This planet (and everything on it) is on loan from God. Would you borrow your best friends car, trash it completely, and return it with an, "Oops- sorry- it wasn't easy to take care of it, so I didn't even bother." No.

Please don't misunderstand me. I'm not perfect by any means. I'm just trying. Little by little. Maybe this blog will motivate me. Maybe this blog will motivate you. Who knows? Feel free to ask questions and share.

Here we go!!