Life On The Central Coast

"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 li...

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 Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

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 wond...

  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) Aft...

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.

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:  S hare with us your gardening goals for 2012. Gardening Goals? Wow! I have a bunch! We started gar...

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 p...