Composting

Since I set my garden resolution I have been diligently saving all fruit and vegetable scraps and putting them into my new composter. Hopefully it will work well for this year, but if not, it will no doubt be extremely useful for next year.

Ryan has been less enthusiastic about the garden goal since he realized it includes a bowl of rotting produce on the counter (his words not mine). I think he will come around when we actually start harvesting gardeny deliciousness.

Using our pantry

My friend Mary just finished a month of *no* spending. Pretty impressive.

So Ryan and I are going to try our version this month. We are not cutting out all spending, because to be honest, we don't really spend much on superfluous stuff anyway. Instead we are going to try to limit our food expenditures for the entire month to $60! That will basically cover: milk, eggs and a loaf of bread or two.

We haven't done any real preparation for the month, because the point for us is mainly to use up some of the food we have stockpiled away in our pantry and freezer. I will be shocked if we are able to get through it all in one months time.

Also, lest anyone be worried that we will not be eating healthy, our CSA share starts next week and we will be getting 2 boxes of farm fresh in season produce during the course of the month. We may become vegetarians in an attempt to eat it all, but at least we will be healthy.

I <3 Etsy

Today I made my first Etsy purchase. I have been a big fan of the site for sometime. I love to just see what other people are creating and selling, but I haven't jumped in until today.

What was it that finally prompted me to buy....

Owls! A cute green owl ornament and an owl crewel picture (to be honest, I don't even know what that is, but I know I really want to try it out). I am going to refrain until after the PMP and after Audrey's Xmas is crafted, but then, watch out world.

Also, I love this person's blog. She has all kinds of neat tutorials. I think Audrey and I may try making some Xmas ornaments with the sunshine clay tutorial. Thanks Nikki.

Picnic blanket

So I have been wishing we had a good hearty picnic blanket/car blanket for a long time. And coincidentally, I found a denim quilt pattern that I really want to try.

I rarely go to fabric stores, as knitting is really my crafty hobby of choice, but I just happened to be in one the other day for material to make Audrey's present. I also happened to see some amazing picnic fabric - so I have yet one more project on the back burner now. :)

Audrey's Xmas present

I know that I said a couple of posts ago that I was not taking on any new projects for xmas. Well, I am making much better progress on my PMP exam prep than expected, so I went ahead and bought the pattern to make this doll for Audrey.

I also went to the fabric store while she was at Gymboree and bought the fabric to make the doll. Now I just need to find a great yarn for the hair and I will have most of what I need to make the project. I am so excited.

I keep looking at this flickr group and getting so excited for the possibilities.

Recent projects

I haven't written in far too long, but I have been knitting even if I haven't been blogging about it.

I recently started making the "dishcloth reloaded" from the Mason Dixon Knitting book. It is this fabulous hexagon shape and it goes pretty quickly. Plus I love making something both functional and fun. I will post pics once I download them from my "new to me" camera.

Are there any knitters out there with other unusually shaped patterns for dishcloths that they enjoy?

Mom's bag

Since my mom knows that I am working on a bag for her, I figured it is okay to talk about it.

To be honest, this has been a fantastic learning tool for me, so I feel a little bad giving my mom my practice bag.

I learned how to use dpns (double pointed needles) and how to knit on circular needles too. I also learned how to weave a new ball of yarn onto an existing one without a knot. I have learned yarn overs and knit two together, basically it is a very loose lace pattern.

The idea was to knit a green "green bag" ie a reusable grocery bag for my mom. Here is a picture of the progress to date.

Can we really be altruistic?

Sometimes I think there is no such thing as altruism. Doing some small good for someone else makes me feel just as good if not better.

Lately, I have felt this strong affinity to help out a young unwed mother, whose family (except her mom) are trying to make her give the baby up for adoption.

A good friend asked me why I felt so strongly about this person and this cause in particular. I can't really think of any one super strong reason, though I have several smaller reasons.

For one, I feel that every child deserves to be celebrated and cherished and every mother - especially new mothers deserve to be honored. And I definitely was the lucky recipient of much love and celebration during my pregnancy and after my daughter's birth.

Another is that I was raised in a church that preached very strongly in favor of adoption when a mother is unwed. While I think that is an option that should certainly be open to a woman - I don't think it is something that should be pushed on people - EVER!! There is just too much at stake to let someone else make that decision for you or even influence you in it. Ideally a woman in this situation will have a good sounding board and people who will be straight with her about the consequences of her choices. Each of us has to live with our decisions, so I think we should take full ownership of them for better or worse. Sorry for the soapbox - I was fed the "free agency" thing while being told what to choose for a little too long and now it makes me angry to see that happening to others.

Perhaps the most compelling reason for me right now, is that I feel like my small contribution towards this young mother and child will actually make a big difference in their lives. And how often do we (and by we I mean human beings) get the opportunity to make a concrete difference in someone's life - especially at such a special life meridian. I really feel like I am the lucky one to find someone truly in need so that I can repay a little of the human kindness shown to me in so many ways big and small.

Decluttering

I recently started reading a book called "Clutter's Last Stand" which I borrowed from the library. It has had a profound affect on the state of our house. The author points out how when you save everything 'just in case' you end up with so much junk that you can never find the thing when you actually need it and then you end up going out and purchasing the thing anew. He also talks about how much time we waste finding our stuff and then maintaining it. So I have been doing a major decluttering of our house. It has been liberating! I am definitely planning to travel through life a little lighter from now on.

So my project for this week is to actually tackle the office - which has long been the dumping ground for miscellaneous paper, cds, books, electronic equipment, etc. Wish me luck.

Project - car in garage

We have a very small one car garage, which until now we have used as storage space. Well this week that changed. I was watching an Oprah on Monday about a family who had Peter Walsh - an organizing guru come and help them get their crazy house in order.

The first thing they tackled was the family's two car garage that didn't have room for any cars. He pointed out that the family's most expensive possessions were their cars and they were storing them outside in the elements while storing a few hundred dollars worth of miscellaneous stuff in their garage. When he said that - I realized how utterly silly it is for me to do the same.

So, today while Audrey was asleep I emptied our garage of all its junk and put the mini-van in it. It is a very snug fit. So snug in fact, that I can not get the sliding door open because of the garbage can. Needless to say, I need to keep decluttering in there so that I can rearrange. (I think I am going to put the food storage stuff in the laundry room and then I should be able to fit all of our painting stuff on the shelf and move the garbage can to where the painting stuff is.)

So my project this week of getting the car in the garage is nearly complete. However, my project for next week of finding a new home for all our stuff is just begun.

Project - blinds

This week my project is to put up the valances for the last 4 windows in our house where the valances didn't fit. Sadly this project has been in the works since we bought our house and put up all the blinds in the first place nearly 1 1/2 years ago.

Steps to do:
-Measure the 4 windows
-cut the valances to size
-install the valances

Project - basement door

It is funny how sometimes I can just procrastinate something for no real reason at all. Lately, I have been trying to get to the small and big things that I procrastinate finished one project per week. So this week I put up a paper shade over the window to the basement door. This project took me literally all of 5 minutes - and yet, I have had the supplies to do it for months just sitting in the garage. At least it is done now.

As a side note, I must give credit to Mary Merna for letting me in on the one project a week idea. She found a blog where the lady does that and posts her progress.