Episdoe FOUR - Locked Out

It was night time and unannounced to the humans, we (3 hens) were out in the woods playing an evening game of duck - duck - goose. The big guy locked up the coop, assuming we were inside.

"Duck...duck... huh, what was that?" said Helga.
"It sounded like the lock." worried Hazel.
"3 girls out tonight! What should we do? Tear up this town?" said Harriet.
"You better start praying that coons don't tear us up tonight!" yelled Helga.
"Let's finish the game and then go find some fun!" said Harriet.
"Game? Fun? Are you coo coo? We need to find shelter and find it now." declared Hazel.
"Party pooper" said Harriet.

The girls walked in a nervous line. The wind whistled and they darted into full sprint. Exhausted, they hid beneath a fallen tree and fell asleep. Hours later the sun began to rise.

"That was horrible. I dreamed of horrible things. From now on it's in the coop by sunset for me gals." said Hazel.
"MOVE IT!!! Is the door open? Did anyone check? My egg is coming and it's coming NOW!" said Helga.
"Quit your squawking and find a tree Helga! I slept great! A little excitement does a chicken good." said Harriet.

our next GREEN step

Its been a little over a year since our family gave up paper towels. In there place, we use rags that can be washed and reused. Our next GREEN step is going to be giving up paper napkins. That mardi gras 500 pack is just so convenient, but I am going to switch to cloth or knit. Hey, mac-n-cheese night just got fancy! :)

Several years ago I was given a book by my friend Wendy whom I had worked at the zoo with. Since reading Serve God Save the Planet by Matthew Sleeth, we've incorporated the following into our life.

• Buy shade grown coffee
• Eliminate paper towel usage
• Recycle (We've always done that.)
• Use reusable shopping bags (When I remember to bring them with me!)
• Look first to craigslist or a yard sale for a need versus buying new - I've learned to LOVE the hunt!
• Use reusable water bottles versus regularly buying bottled water
• Dry clothes on a clothes line (I used this maybe a dozen times this year, but it was a dozen times I didn't run the dryer.)
• Energy efficient bulbs outside and in the garage

If you haven't read the book, I would recommend it. The foundation of the book is that God tells us to love our neighbor and that has a lot to do with how we consume. Your thinking, "what?" read the book...

homemade laundry soap link

Ok, when a friend shared this recipe with me I was excited to try it, but skeptical. I was a TIDE girl and I wasn't so sure. I share this because first off it cleans clothes and second it is cheap to make. We have front loader machines and a septic system and this laundry soap is GREAT for that. I made a batch today, enough for 640 loads! It took about 15 minutes and cost under $5. Check out the link below.

http://www.duggarfamily.com/recipes.html

I have felt down today. A cold lingers at the back of my throat and I am tired. I am moved tonight by all the goodness in my life. I have so much to be thankful for. Our home, our cars, my husband's job, 3 healthy kids, people who love me and people to love, the joy of hearing my kids laugh, shoes for my feet, food for my belly and clothes on my back. The list could go on an on, you get the idea. Forgive me God for not being thankful today. Thank you for leading me back to your presence tonight. As I sit and give thanks for the simplest things all around me, peace washes over me. Thank you for love, peace, joy, gentleness.....

upcycle versus recycle

I keep bumping into the term upcycle and was confused how it differs from recycle. Here's what I understand after some "research". Upcycle is to take an item and reuse it in a new way. For example, taking a bike chain and making a wall clock from it. *An important note, this only works IF the bike chain was used as a bike chain and is now done as its bike chain existence. Purchasing a new chain and using it for a clock is neither re or up cycling. :) Recycle is when plastic, for example, is melted down to create new plastic or an entirely new item. Recycle requires a chemical process and upcycle is an artistic change versus a chemical or process change. Another upcycle example would be creating a scarf from recylced sweaters. (See picture above) Technically, upcylce could be a subcategory of recycle.

My take? As green becomes the new black, new terms are popping up. Being green is more widely available and desired by a more diverse audience than ever before. No matter what you call it or how you define it, the good news is whether upcycle or recycle it is more gentle on the planet and a good practice to adopt.

5 easy ways to help the planet

1. Buy only shade grown coffee. http://www.groundsforchange.com/learn/shadegrown.php

2. Use energy efficient bulbs on outdoor porch lights. (If you don't mind the light they give off, use them everywhere!)

3. Bring your own shopping bag to the store.

4. Use rags instead of paper towels.

5. Use a personal water bottle versus continually buying bottled water. http://www.refillnotlandfill.org/whatcanyoudo.html

Displaying Masterpieces

We've always enjoyed displaying our kids masterpieces as art work in our home. Over the years, we've done this at varying degrees with tape, clips, magnets, wire and so on. Yesterday, I thought of an EASY and fun way to display more art. :)

Materials Needed:
A length of ribbon, lace, rope or other. Tacks
Clothes pins (I used mini ones found at JoAnnes)
Glue
Buttons (In my opinion, you can NEVER go wrong with adding buttons!)

How To:
1. Choose a wall. Tack the lace to one side and with a gentle swag, secure the opposite end with another tack. (Have a small space that needs a little something? Hang the lace vertically.)
2. Glue a button on the clothespin and let dry.
3. Pick art work, photos, postcards..... and "pin" up.
4. Enjoy!

ordinal numbers

We are on lesson 19 in Natalie's math book and it is on ordinal numbers. Yes, ordinal numbers. Natalie is in kindergarten. Yes, kindergarten. I am pretty confident I did NOT learn ordinal numbers at this age. I'm pretty sure in the first month of class I was still learning to take off my coat and raise my hand. I'm guessing we'll be in long division by Valentines Day.

an egg confession

I can't eat our hens eggs plain. There, I said it.

I gladly use the eggs for baking and they are beautiful and delicious. I feed my family fried eggs, scrambled eggs, and omelets for breakfast, but I just can't partake. Why? The yolks are unbelievably yellow. Scrambled eggs aren't a pale hue in our home, rather an eye stopping yellow similar to a school bus. And yes I do add milk to them. I'm serious. I know our eggs are more healthy but I can't get over the color. I recently heard duck eggs were wonderful and I almost puked in my mouth. So, with all this I am committing to eat one of our hen eggs by the end of 2009. I'm scared already!

a lil harvest this year

So, our pumpkins were VERY late getting in and thus harvest is a lot slim. BUT, I am reminded of the summer joys of caring and watching over the pumpkin plants. We had fun! Next year, we will plant sooner. Next year, we will plant more plants and have an official patch, as I don't think 3 lil rounds constitute a patch. Next year, we will have pumpkins for all our friends! How many pumpkins comprise a patch?

*Sadly, I delayed in photographing our robustly challenged pumpkins. They rotted quickly, thus having a very short front porch life. They were returned to the field to be enjoyed by critters.

love to cook

Our house is preparing for Grandpa's arrival and one of the things I most look forward to is blessing him with yummy food. I enjoy cooking, but LOVE to cook for others. Dennis, my father-in-law is a lot like his son Ted, or maybe that's the other way around. :) These men love to eat and enjoy any kind of food. This makes experimenting a total blast for me. I have elaborate meals planned in my head, but even if they don't all come to pass I know what does will be enjoyed. To try something and not be able to fail, ahhh the best canvas to work with! I can't wait to fill your belly Dennis!

Work

work- the effort applied to complete a task.

There's nothing like good old fashioned physical work. Ted's labor of choice lately has been collecting wood (more like whole trees!) and splitting it for firewood. Today, I took the garden a part and cleaned out the chicken coop. I realized I'd been missing hard physical labor. At one point, my tomato cages were such a mess I was ready to throw in the towel and let Ted take over when he got home, but instead I "dug deep" as he would say and cut the wire to pieces. When the plot was cleared (about the size of a large bathroom), I almost roared, feeling such a sense of accomplishment. I see this same need and satisfaction in all my kids. We were created to work and to "dig deep" as Ted would say.

Socks! Oh socks, where art thou??

I love washing laundry, but am not a fan of folding and putting away. I totally fizzle out carrying the warm load to the couch. On top of that, I despise socks! With 10 feet in our family, I find it frustrating from the beginning, and that is never a good attitude to go into a task with. Can anyone relate?

We worked outside this am, cleaning the coop and ripping out the garden. I told Will he couldn't come out until he had socks and shoes on, it was cold. He came out and I didn't notice anything peculiar. After our work, I showed Will how to build a bike ramp. (Will I be sorry for this later?) As he road on the ramp again and again I noticed his socks. The only socks he could find, not surprisingly, were his soccer socks with built in shin guards and ankle bone pads. With his pants on I hadn't noticed. I had to laugh and commit to folding socks today, no matter my attitude.

Simple Curtain How To

MATERIALS

1. Tea Towels (2)

2. Safety pins (10)

3. Twine

4. Copper pipe (1)

5. Mounting hardware (2)

Mount a 5/8 to 1/2 inch diameter copper pipe to your wall as the rod. In the plumbing section of a hardware store, you will find copper mounting brackets. Place one at either end by fastening screws in the top and bottom holes.

Use the 2 tea towels as the curtains. Place 5 safety pins at the top of each tea towel, then "thread" a piece of twine through and tie it to the pipe.

Other ideas? Sew a piece of ribbon and use them as tab curtains tied at the top.

Voila! Curtains in less than an hour. :)

*My plan is to change them out seasonally. The curtains pictured are for fall.

My youngest is 3, how can this be?

Her birthday came and all of a sudden our little pumpkin is a little girl. It's amazing how that can happen in a mother's eyes literally over night.

This year, we celebrated with a giant cookie cake. :) In the morning, I often ask the kids what they dreamed about. 99.9% of the time Lydia responds, "I dreamed of cookies mama." So, it seemed only appropriate to have a cookie cake this year. I love being your mom honey.