A quiet lunch

The local public schools have today off. So, my kids organized a picnic with some of the neighborhood kids today. It's been very cute to peek at them down the street, the little herd sitting on a big fuzzy blanket eating sandwiches and apples with peanut butter and cheese. It also means that the only break in a rather unusually peaceful lunch hour for me is the neighbor a few houses down playing his radio way too loudly. I could get used to this.

The really good news is that Boyo could walk halfway down the block to where they are having this picnic. Which means his ankle is healing up nicely.

I'm still trying to understand who sets up and goes to a picnic when it's below 60*F outside.

I can still run!

My daughter popped her head in the front door this afternoon to worriedly announce that her brother had fallen off of a scooter and twisted his ankle. Off I ran, literally sprinting down the street (as he had managed to fall at the far end from our house). Neighbors came out of their houses as the crazy lady in the orange shirt ran past their driveways. One nice man asked if we needed help, but as we were only two houses away from our front door by the time he asked, I politely thanked him and proceeded to haul my hobbled boy into our front door. The adrenalin has worn off. I can tell because my body is letting me know, in no uncertain terms, that I rarely run flat out anymore. It would have to be the evening Hubby is getting home late this week!

Looking back to move forward?

Does it seem to anyone else like we are consistently shoving our way forward towards the latest, greatest thing that is supposed to save the world? What would happen, if while continuing that quest for new technology, we used some very low-tech, historically inspired things to give us more time for that quest? Things like hanging up some of your laundry instead of using the dryer. ( You do have hangers and door frames right?) Cook at home. Make double what you need. Bag up the rest, throw it in the freezer to help you out when you are short for time or the fridge is empty. Take up a hobby that doesn't require an outlet or batteries. (Underwater basket weaving anyone?) Plant some herbs or lettuce where ever you have room. Packets of seed are cheap, and if you are lucky, you have free dirt. If you are like me and have sand, clay and/or concrete, big bags of organic soil run about $6 each (at least out here).

These are in no way original ideas. Research household management from WW1 and WW2. You come up with Victory Gardens and phrases like "Make Do and Mend". It wasn't about just conserving energy, it was about conserving everything. Why shouldn't we be using these techniques? Yes, they take more time and effort. Aren't the rewards worth it? I detest making up a price book, but have found it very much worth the work. Shouldn't we be learning from our history? Especially as they were so kind as to leave us very detailed notes and instructions on what they did.

Not the best weekend

This is why I should not be allowed to make homemade fries with a mandolin slicer anymore. Even with the handguard, I managed to put two gouges in the heel of my hand. They weren't deep enough for stitches, just. It takes talent to be quite this uncoordinated.

Luckily, it hasn't gotten in the way of my knitting.

Don't Panic

A relevant bit of advice don't you think? I've been repeating it almost mantra-like this morning. I had to deal with spiders. I am not fond of most spiders, especially out here since many of them have rather nasty bites. Not nice daddy long legs, no, a mini tarantula and a black widow were what I had to deal with. Now I knew the little tarantula was out there, he'd been camping on my back door for a couple of days. I also knew that I didn't want him hanging around till he got bigger. So, clad in boots, gloves, long sleeves and long pants, I ventured into my back yard with the intent to get rid of him with the bottom of my boot. Only to find he wasn't on the door anymore. As I was watering my plants, I saw him crawling on the wall. Up towards my bedroom window! Hose in hand, water pressure turned up, I began to spray him, all was taken care of...till the black widow dropped from the corner of the patio I had hosed down. I am happy to report I got her too. Have I mentioned I don't like spiders? I have to admit, they were easier to get rid of than the centipede the size of my index finger that was in the kids' bathroom! I just really would rather avoid all large, potential hazardous creepy crawlies from now on, thanks.

Three hundred and twenty...

and still counting! My efforts to organize my knitting patterns are becoming even more long and drawn out than I expected. Yes, I am really up to 320 patterns thus far. I thought I was done filing things when I found a binder on a bottom bookshelf. A 3-inch binder. A little over half full of yet more patterns! Then I remembered the knitting kits I put together about 6 months ago, probably a half dozen or more stashed in the downstairs closet.
I would like it noted that at least 95% of these patterns are freebies collected over the last 5 years or so. Buying patterns is something I do when I find a design very striking and only then, as I have to be able to afford the yarn to make the item in the first place. I would also like it noted that this does not include all my pattern books (of which there are dozens) or any of the magazines (of which I have lost count).

My new books came in yesterday! Yay! I am the only one in the house with any enthusiasm for square foot gardening year round or Ani Phyo's recipes. This means getting it all rolling on my lonesome with the hopes that my enthusiasm will be contagious and I will not be looked at like I am just making noise anymore. And people wonder why I spend so much time knitting anymore.

Thoughts moving too fast

Makes blogging about anything so very difficult.

There were the obnoxious, drunken, loud and slightly belligerent neighbors last weekend who decided that I didn't need to get to sleep at a reasonable hour. I really don't think 2 am is reasonable.

There's the fact that there are at least five people under the age of 14 in my house almost daily now. I'm happy my children have friends, just very much missing a peaceful afternoon.

The fact that with a little bit of urging from the lovely folks at Raw Fu, I bought three books I had been drooling on for months; The Square Foot Garden, The Four Season Harvest, and Ani's Raw Food Kitchen. Please note, none of them are knitting books. Yes, I am feeling fine, thank you.

I did break down and buy a vintage dress pattern. It's a cocktail dress a la 1958 and very Mrs. Robinson sexy. Made in dark green silk, I should be able to stop traffic.

I have also been trying to find ideas on being green and frugal. This would work so much better if I didn't already apply so many in my household.
I don't have a clothesline, our HOA forbids them. Apparently this is because homeowners struggling to pay their electric bills are more aesthetically pleasing than said clothesline. I've been thinking a folding drying rack out of sight on the back porch might be acceptable. I did run around changing out old light bulbs to the cfls that had been stashed in a closet "for later". Most of what I've been finding and using is a combination of current energy saving ideas and World War 2 "make do and mend" ideas. They mesh surprisingly well, where they don't overlap entirely. Just makes me feel decidedly old-fashioned, people thought I was weird before.

I just console myself with things like raw chocolate chip cookies.

A little more detail

As requested here's a little more detail about the "no 'poo" way of doing things. Please keep in mind I have waist length fine hair, you will need to play with the proportions to get things to suit you personally. I use about a tablespoon or so of baking soda made into a thin paste and applied to the roots of my hair, left for about a minute or two, then rinsed well. For the vinegar rinse I use about 2 tablespoons of herbed vinegar in a cup to a cup and a half of warm water, poured over everything except the roots of my hair and left for about the same amount of time as the baking soda paste, then again rinsed well. If this is too much work, as it does take a bit of prep time and thinking ahead, Burt's Bees makes lovely shampoos and conditioners without all the extra unwanted yuck in them. Hope this helps!

Officially the Mother of a Teenager

Isn't she sweet? I suppose I should be feeling old at this point. I don't really. I rather enjoy the fact that she picks out loud color skull and cross bone earrings with colored rhinestones, wanted a cake in the shape of an octopus, and to spend most of her actual birthday in various bookstores. Yay!

This is also the second week of Husband's vacation. I'm wondering if what was supposed to be done the first week of said vacation is going to get done this week. I admit to being a bit doubtful. On the upside, the more he sits around not doing what needs to be done, the more I tend to sit around and knit. I've finished a sweater(this morning so I haven't taken pictures yet), am working on the Mystery Stole 4 and have cast on a shawl of bat lace a la The AntiCraft. All the while plotting(with yarn on the way) lovely baby items for one of my Darlings. I'm rather thankful for the excuse really, otherwise my small hoard of baby patterns might seem a bit creepy. I prefer to think of it as being prepared for any eventuality, kind of like a practical pack rat. Which is why I have a small pile of lint from the wool/silk blankets I bought(at almost half price) for the beds. It looks a bit like roving, it's fiber-y, so there's a chance it could be spun into yarn....right?

My first attempt at hula

It's been something on my list to try for quite some time. I figured it would be interesting. I have a good bit of belly dance experience so that should help, right?

Not as much as I thought. The words awkward and embarrassing come to mind.

The forms have similarities, mainly hip motions. Not enough for me to pick it up as quickly as I'd like. I've spent the rest of the day randomly practicing moves while checking my form in the bathroom mirror. My body isn't thanking me yet. In fact, it yells at me every time I go up or down the stairs. Which is why it made perfect sense to go out and rake up rocks in the backyard afterwards. Maybe that wasn't such a good idea. Energy is at an all time low. Sitting, knitting, and watching mindless television call to me. Knowledge of the huge pile of clean laundry on the couch, waiting to be folded is ignored.
My respite is short-lived; dinner must be made, house must be tidied, and that horrible monster called laundry must be finished. I imagine I will do an astounding impression of a rock not long after I fall into bed tonight.

Trying another something new

This morning, after much deliberation, I decided to try the "no 'poo" thing. That's right. No commercial shampoo in a large plastic bottle for me. I got my hands on a couple of lovely triangular glass bottles in Hobby Lobby a couple of weeks ago. One is frosted looking and green, the other shiny and blue. Both are so dark as to look black in indirect light. I had a bottle of apple cider vinegar with nettle and rosemary steeped in it for just this purpose. With everything all ready to go, I didn't have any more excuses. I mixed up my stuff in the lovely bottles and proceeded to pour baking soda solution on the roots of my hair. After a minor wait accompanied by a rinsing, the rest of my hair got a vinegar rinse, followed by another minor wait and another rinsing. Then it was business as normal. I was worried that my hair was going to end up a tangled, greasy mess, but so far the results have been decidedly positive. This is very much a good thing. Even little things that mean fewer chemicals (in me and in the water) and less trash, count for something. It doesn't hurt that this particular experiment also ends up being a frugal endeavor as well. My waist length hair uses mass amounts of conditioner on a regular basis. Commercial stuff gets pricey. Apple cider vinegar and baking soda, not so much. Conventional shampoo has been one of those things I've been leery of getting rid of. I make soap, body and face butters, scrubs and face masks no problem. The idea of having manky hair was just too much of a consequence. Till now. Maybe all that raw food has gone to my brain!