BE THE CHANGE

"We do not inherit the earth from our ancestors, we borrow it from our children."    ~Native American Proverb

As I was working in my garden this morning I was thinking that exact thought. What kind of world AM I leaving to my kids and grandkids? A world full of debt? (nearly 17,000,000,000,000!) A too strong Government that is only getting stronger as it feeds off removing freedom after freedom? "Super Farms" that use GMO seeds, super fertilizers,pesticides and yet whose end product isn't as nutritional as something grown without all that? Pesticides that actually KILL the biggest pollinators, bees! A medical Dr./ insurance/ pharmacy trio that works to make sure you never REALLY get well? (Remember the days when you actually got OVER something? When Drs. FIXED what was wrong with you?) There's poverty, racism, injustice, overcrowding, polluted lakes, oceans, streams and groundwater from agricultural run off and trash being dumped into it .... well, the list could go on and on. 

Seems pretty bleak wouldn't you say? Or perhaps I'm only seeing the glass "half full". I hope so, I really do!! But bottom line, the world seems to be traveling in a "not that great" direction right now. 

Mahatma Ghandi said, 

                                                                     
    "you wish to see in the world."

"What can I do, little old me, to help turn things around?"

Speak out. Walk the walk and talk the talk. Get out of debt. Garden and grow some of your own food using natural methods of soil amendment like composting and manures. Attract birds and bees and other beneficial wildlife to your yards. Fight for SOMETHING, where ever your heart leads you. Be a model for your kids and grandkids in the way you live! Have compassion for others whose life doesn't mirror your own. If you have extra food, clothing... THINGS.... give the extra away to someone who is in need. GIVE THOSE THINGS AWAY without expecting anything back. That is true giving. If you see an injustice, don't just stand there and do nothing. Find the strength to speak up. There IS strength in numbers. Use spare time to work with others in a soup kitchen, homeless shelter, community garden and with victims of domestic and child abuse. We are all given "talents", and not all the same thing. Recycle, not just bottles, aluminium and cardboard. Recycle clothing, furniture, bikes by passing it along to the next person. Create nutrient rich compost by recycling vegetable waste, vegetable leftovers and leaves. 

I hope I've inspired you to get out there and make a difference. Each day we do positive things like this, we will be making "deposits" into the "account" we are leaving for the generations to come. Even though we are only ONE... we CAN make a difference. Be a Rainbow Warrior!

Word of The Year 2013 - JOURNEY

My Word of The Year For 2013
Is
JOURNEY



Webster's defines Journey as "an act of traveling from one place to another." I've also seen it described as traveling from one stage in your life to another. I'm hoping to do a bit of both!

Hope you stick around for the ride!


“It is good to have an end to journey toward; but it is the journey that matters, in the end.”
― Ernest Hemingway




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Lavender Wands

Lovely Lavender, Lavandula Angustafolia, one of my favorite flowers! It attracts and feeds tons of bees, smells heavenly in bouquets and has historically been a useful herb due to its antiseptic qualities.


After visiting two local Lavender farms in my area, I started growing Grosso and Provance and each year I get a bumper crop of flowers. Last year I dried bouquets for decoration, made wreaths and a bunch of drawer sachets. This year I'm trying a little something new, lavender "wands". They can be swished in the air to add a sweet smell to the room or use them as I do, as a means of relaxing right before bed. I keep one on my night table and will take deep breaths of the wand right before I drift off to sleep.


If you would like to try your hand at making Lavender wands, check out this YOUTUBE VIDEO. 


 After watching I got my scissors, clipped some lavender, made my wand and then added on some ribbon for a feminine touch. I can't begin to tell you just how wonderful it smells!





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New Projects and Update

 

With Memorial weekend and the 4th of July quickly approaching, I'm feeling a bit Patriotic! (Not to mention the upcoming Primary election!) So here is the little project I'm currently working on.... a pretty basic quilt with squares and hourglasses. It was seeing those little hourglasses that reminded me just how long it had been since I updated my blog! Found the idea for this over at That Girl That Quilt where Jennifer put together the sweetest little quilt all in pinks. It's been MANY years since I sat down to make a quilt and most of mine never progress beyond the top because I'm terrified of "messing up" the 3 B's.... batting, backing and binding!! That being said, following along with someone and watching A LOT of YouTube videos has given me the courage to give it a try. 


The top was finished about two weeks ago and I spent this last week trying to pick the perfect backing and binding material (ie: see I'm still terrified!! Ha Ha Ha) After making a trip to JoAnn's last week, I came home with a really pretty light blue with stars for the backing and a solid red for the binding, which I'm going to MAKE.... I know, can you believe it?! 


Next step? Laying everything out, pinning the layers together and getting read to quilt the top. This step will be a machine quilting and probably a pretty basic quilt in the ditch. One of these days, soon I hope, I'll get to the freehand quilting but not with this one. Did all the ironing yesterday so the layers are nice and flat, and today will be the pinning!! Yay!! Have to keep going with the forward motion. I'll keep you posted as the progress continues.

I have also been gardening, although a little less than I should. My backyard is a "work in progress" to say it nicely. My sweet little neighbor across the street offered to give me some of her old picket fencing and I was ECSTATIC!! Early in the Spring, I had plans for a new gardening or chicken area that was going to be fenced off from the regular yard and now I was going to have the fence to do it!! We cleared out our strawberries, took pictures off the internet, decided how large we wanted it, etc. etc. and I was so excited!! Then we decided against chickens when we found a pretty good price for farm fresh eggs. It was kind of sad and good all at the same time. No hassles, no having to be here all the time or find someone to watch pets, not having to "off" them at some point when they were no longer layers. So, now off to the gardening idea. It's nearly June friends and my yard still looks a lot like this... Over the last couple of weeks, once my Spring garden beds were all cleaned out the questioning began to my husband, "Are you going to try and finish this and move the beds or am I going to Summer plant where I'm at?" Maybe you can guess the answer.... That's right, still not done, no date in mind and the rest of my back yard looks a WHOLE lot worse than this area while the upheaval is happening. 


The older you get, the harder it is to wait on things. I've teased my husband a time or two that just when I get everything here looking the way I want it, we will either move or die!! Why can't I just have the space I want NOW and enjoy it? Oh well...... I'm sure with time it will all happen and be worth the wait.  There are days when it just becomes one more "negative" thing in my already wild and chaotic life. 


The update? There will be more blogging here. It's not going to be all sugar coated though, because frankly, that isn't my life. Each day, probably like a lot of you, I set my intentions to find happy, positive things to focus on and do. Like attracts like right? And some days that works. But some days... well, to coin a phrase from my daughter, "It's like Hell on Earth" and there is just nothing you can do to make it better no matter how many times you "restart your day." So I will be sharing some of that here too, because that makes me REAL. And one thing I am is real!!


If you're still with me on this blogging adventure, THANK YOU!!  I hope to have much, MUCH more to share with you in the upcoming months.

Where is my BLOG??

Wow, it hasn't been THAT long has it? I went to update my blog today and I COULD NOT FIND IT ANYWHERE. Well, just so you know, I'm ready to get posting again so stay tuned.

Day 14 - Urban Gardening

It's Day 14 of the 23 day challenge over at Frugally Sustainable. Today's topic is Urban Gardening. Have you given any thought as to how much money you could save growing your own produce? You could tuck some herbs in to your landscape, have a couple of raised beds, tubs of fruit such as blueberries and citrus trees, even do some sprouts right in your own kitchen. Saves a bundle of money!


If you need some help on figuring out where to start, check out the Urban Organic Gardener. Mike has A LOT of ideas no matter how big or small your gardening space is. I really like his sections on composting and natural pest control.  We are organic gardeners and sometimes I think the bugs must spot the "open for business" sign. Mike has some pretty good, and funny ideas on how to control those little BUGgers.... get it? Bug.... Well, onto the Daily Goal......


Daily Goal: Share with us your gardening goals for 2012.

Gardening Goals? Wow! I have a bunch! We started gardening on a much larger scale about 2 years ago. I kept hearing in my head, "Garden like your life depended on it." So I did!

LAST YEAR                                                                                    
2 raised garden beds                                                                     
2 big pots for potatoes                                                                    
2 8' section Gutter Gardens                                                            
1 - 4 x 4 strawberry bed                                                                 
2 - Rain Barrels to save water for drip                                    
About 15 different kinds of herbs                                                   
We grew sprouts throughout the summer to add to salads
(mung bean, alfalfa, pea, sunflower, wheat berries)
Added a greenhouse


THIS YEAR
Add 4 more raised beds
4 Potato Pots (russets, white, reds, golds) 
4 more outdoor raingutter gardens 
3 more Strawberry beds   
More rain barrels working in tandem for drip irrigation  
More herbs & medicinal varieties as well                                                                                           
Espalier a pear, cherry and apricot along a fence
With extra gardening beds, try to preserve more of what we grow
Get an earlier start in the spring utilizing the greenhouse
Ok, not necessarily GARDENING, but I am pushing for 2 to 3 hens for fresh eggs

Last year we grew peas, beans, celery, onions, leaf lettuce, baby carrots, potatoes, spinach, chard, tomatoes, cherry tomatoes, peppers, zuchinni, and much more! Basically, we looked at what we eat in the way of fresh produce and tried to grow it. We even have fruit (lemon, lime, mandarin orange, fig, apple) and avocado trees.... dwarf varieties so we didn't take up all our backyard in trees and blueberries, grapes and ollallieberries too. 

HERE'S a little video of what we are doing.....

Day 11 - Going Car - Lite

I could just tell from this title that THIS was going to be a challenge. 


Sometimes I tell my husband that I feel like we own a car lot. Just too many vehicles, even though we drive each of them and they are all just about paid for. We plan to get rid of the excesses this year so hopefully, this will be an area that we can work on reducing.

But you want me to go "Car-Lite" for the assignment?

Daily Goal: Plan a time in the near future to do a tiny experiment: Keep your car parked in the garage and try going to your local grocery store through an alternative method (i.e. on foot, by bike, or by bus). Foot, bike or bus not an option? Plan a trip into town and coordinate a carpool with a friend or neighbor. Side note: If you take your bike,  it has a rack, a carrier, or a basket so you can bring your purchases home.

Oh, OK, I think this challenge is doable for us. Even though my hip prevents me from walking the 8 block round trip to the grocery store, I can and have riden my bike. Oh, yes, I forgot to mention, we have a couple of E-moto electric assist bikes we found last year at Costco. We outfitted them with bike bags and can do a pretty good size trip between the two of us.

Here is the catch though.... these bikes cost us quite a bit. They were definitely an investment. We are both in our 50's and wanted to be able to continue riding our bikes and the electric assist helps us go up hills and pedal easier when the going gets difficult. But the cost of having to replace a stolen bike makes it very difficult for me to park my bike, even with a HUGE lock on it, in front of a grocery store and shop for 30 min. 


We have discussed getting a BOB to tow along behind one of us. That would make it easier to haul BIG groceries and the bike / trailer combo may appear too much to steal in a short time as well. We've been looking at our local Craigslist and garage sales for one since last summer. Hopefully we will find one soon.

Could you do it? Have you thought about other ways you may be able to commute around without driving? How would YOU complete the Daily Goal?