Garden Update 6/27/13

 

The garden is now growing well! After we planted most of the first round of seeds too deep, I re-planted them, and now they are thriving. The peas are nearly ready for their trellises, the beans are about 5 inches tall and showing their pointy leaves, and the squash and cucumbers are in various stages of happy sprouting. 

It's an explosion of green growing things– including weeds! You can see in the photo above, in the back near the mounds, just how overgrown it got while we have been so busy. 

Many thanks to my parents who dropped by last weekend to help us get a start on laying down newspaper and straw in the walkways, and clearing out the weeds from among the rows.

As you can see, it's not quite finished, but between Erik's 55-hour work weeks and sprained wrist, and me being sick for the last five days, that can wait a little longer.

In other news, my gigantic order of 2600 acorns is on track to be finished within the next couple of days! I will post pictures of them when I have all the colors finished.

Favorite Things Friday: Spring Cleaning

 

Sorry for the gap between posts, folks. Sometimes life is just happening and I get behind in photographing it and writing about it.

Anyway, I'm back now! And as our weather has been warming up, I've been doing some spring cleaning. I thought I'd share my favorite products here.

• Vinegar: I've just recently discovered the wonders of this liquid for cleaning. It might smell like salad dressing, but it's a natural, effective cleaner for so many surfaces in the home! Plus it's nontoxic, so getting it on your hands is no problem. You can dilute it and use it on so many things, from kitchen floors to counters to toilet bowls. My absolute favorite use for it so far is removing mineral buildup on sinks. It has [relatively easily] removed calcium deposits from sink fixtures that no other scrub or product could get clean!

• Dr. Bronner's Peppermint Soap: Not technically a cleaning product, but I love this stuff as hand soap! I dilute it with 2 parts water for every 1 part soap, and it smells amazing. I have read that it can be used for everything from dish soap to toothpaste, but I haven't yet explored the outer reaches of its usefulness.

• Mrs. Meyer's Clean Day products: For the surfaces that need a little more scrubbing, I use these. The Lemon Verbena scent is wonderful, but I think my true favorite is the Geranium scent (yes, I love weird things). I also like Basil, but I have only smelled it in the store.

• Agave fiber / recycled plastic sponges: I'm not really a big fan of sponges in general, but these are pretty nice. They work the same as the normal synthetic ones, but they come with less guilt. I get grossed out by sponges, so I used to go through them a lot faster. Now I mostly use a brush on my dishes, so the sponge gets to dry out on the windowsill between uses, and that cuts down on both the gross mildew smell that sponges get... and my need to throw them away when they get like that. So it's a win-win solution with this natural/recycled kind!

Do you have any favorite household cleaning products? I would love to read about any tips, tricks, and products you love!

Home Project: Reusable Cloth Napkins

In honor of Earth Day, I have a project for you that's just about the Earth-friendliest I could think of. Reusable cloth napkins!

I made a set of 30 this weekend, and over their lifetime they should save hundreds thousands of paper napkins around here! They shouldn't cause any extra laundry, either, because I'll just toss them in with the other loads I'm washing.

Here's how I made mine:

 1. Find an old bedsheet. I had some around the house already, but you can find them easily at thrift shops. Wash it, iron it, and fold it in quarters.

2. Make a "pattern" for the shape and size you would like your napkins to be. I chose a regular 8.5x11" sheet of paper for mine, but squares are also common. Cut around your "pattern," leaving at least a half-inch around to leave space for the seams. I made mine larger to make just a slightly bigger napkin than my handy sheet of paper. :)

3. Pin two together. Make sure the right sides (prettier sides) are facing inward if your fabric has a pattern on it.

4. Sew around the edges, leaving about 1/4" for your seam allowance.

5. Sew almost all the way around, leaving a 4-or-so-inch gap before you meet up with where you started.

(a gap like this)

6. Turn the piece right-side-out again, and iron it so the edges are sharp. The 4-inch gap will stick out funny, so just fold it in as if it had been sewn with the rest. You'll secure it in the next step.

7. Top-stitch, about 1/8" from the edge, all the way around. Done!