Does size really matter?

My kids were playing in the basement today. Noah decided that he would make a fort to play in. He used a smaller blanket than the picture above and it was perfect for him. Then Morgan came along and decided she wanted to play in the fort as well. The problem was, there wasn't nearly enough room for both of them. In this case, the fix was easy. I grabbed an old comforter and threw it over the chairs for an extra large fort, big enough for both of them and all their stuffed animals.

In our real lives, there aren't always any easy fixes for problems of size. We live in a 1200 sq ft home with a finished attic and unfinished basement. The attic is completely taken up with hubby's computer business, so that takes away a large amount of space for us. The reality is that in our society 1200 sq ft isn't very big. In my world it gets rather tight trying to store all the things I've accumulated in my quest to simplify and green our world.

Just the prospect of storing food can be daunting in a small space. First is the equipment for seed starting. Lights, heat mats, pots, soil and seeds all take up a good amount of space. Then I need to preserve all the wonderful herbs and veggies that I grew. This involves a dehydrator, canning equipment and hundreds of jars, rings and lids. All of this stuff needs a home. In my case that home is my basement. I have shelving on every available wall to have space to store all of my goodies. There also needs to be space for all the great things I buy in bulk.

Then there is all that needs to be recycled. We end up with a lot of paper recycling as a result of hubby's business. Since we throw away relatively little, the recycling needs to have a home until we can get to the transfer station to get rid of it.

All of this takes up space. I feel that it all has a purpose in my home. I like my hundred foot diet very much. It helps us to reduce our impact on the earth and keeps us healthy as well.

Now, I certainly have size envy from time to time. I would like to have a bigger home, although not much bigger. I would definitely like to have a bigger piece of land to garden on. We adapt to what we have. We all do the best that we can with what is given to us. But, yes, size certainly matters. It affects what we do and how we do it. The size of our home, our family, our land and our commute are all major factors in life.

This post is my submission to the APLS September Carnival on "When does size matter?" It is being hosted by Tina this month. Head on over and take a look at all the submissions sometime after the 15th.

Earning their keep

The chicks are quickly becoming chickens and should be laying in another month or so. Even without eggs, they are earning their keep. Right now they are in the garden. They're happily eating all the spent veggies that are left. They are also doing a great job of cleaning up the mess of weeds I was too lazy to pull up. When we moved the tractor last night their space was as full of green as that area just outside the coop. They have, in just a few short hours, cleaned up a large amount of weeds and debris.
All of this cleaning up is great for both of us. While they eat, they get rid of weeds for me. They also till the first few inches of soil and mix in they're wonderful manure at the same time. As the beds are emptied, they will be moved around the garden. They are currently in what was once the squash and cucumber bed. The yummy things they are eating also help to increase the health of the eggs they will soon be producing. All the bugs, worms, weeds and spent veggies will be transformed into eggs that you can't buy at the supermarket. These eggs can only be achieved with the varied diet of a chicken able to eat what it was meant to eat.

I'm so amazed by these wonderful animals. I feel so blessed to be able to care for them and see that they have a good life. The eggs will be a wonderful benefit as well, but the chickens have blessed us in many other ways as well. Who else has chickens, or wants to get chickens? I really encourage you to get them if you can. They are quite easy and really fun.

No product recals for this toy

Morgan just had her 5th birthday a few weeks ago. A huge milestone for her. To celebrate I wanted to get her a kitchen to play with. The problem is that so many are all plastic, made in China or crazy expensive. Then I remembered that I had my uber-talented neighbor J. J is the one who built my super cool chicken tractor this Spring. He loves Morgan and was thrilled to be able to make her something special.

This is what he came up with. He really did a nice job. Excuse the mess around it, its in the basement playroom which is also where all my storage is. He cut out a butterfly and got butterfly drawer pulls.
I love the little stove he made with real knobs to turn.
Here is a shot of the oven and cabinet. I even gave him the leftover paint from my kitchen, so it matches perfectly. Morgan loves it and is having a wonderful time making little pretend meals for everyone. I'm just thrilled with it in general. I've already talked to him about Christmas presents for the kids....

Making produce bags

Its the end of summer and I've been going through all the clothes. Some have been passed down, some have been donated and some are just past any redemption. Above is a picture of an old t-shirt of mine that has too many stains to wear. I've tried everything, but its a lost cause. What to do with it? I've already made hubby's shirts into napkins and we have plenty of them.

Then it dawned on me! I've been looking for fabric to make produce bags from. Being my cheap self, I didn't want to buy fabric, so this would be perfect. The shirt is very worn, so not too heavy.

I started by cutting off the top.
Then the sides were removed. The bottom was left, as that has a purpose.
Up to the dark attic to sew up the sides. What this very poor shot should be showing is to start sewing just below the bottom seam. That seam will be where we put the drawstring.
All sewn up and turned right side out. They're pretty big.
I dug through the kids craft supplies and found these pieces of yarn with the plastic ends. They're kind of like shoelaces. I'm not sure how well they'll work long term, but for now they're perfect.
String them through the seam and you're done!
Just for fun, I weighed them. Each one weighs about 2.25 ounces. Since they will each be able to hold several pounds of produce, I'm not very concerned about the added weight. Now I need to find some more fabric to make smaller bags!

Salsa!

We love salsa here. Every year my son anxiously awaits the making of the salsa. Its one of his favorite snacks with tortilla chips. So today, while he was fighting through his math, I chopped and measured. The recipe I use is called Annie's salsa and I've seen it referenced dozens of times on the internet. The recipe is linked above about halfway down the page. I omit the sugar and cilantro. The first because we don't need it and the second because we don't like it.

The tomatoes have been loving the dry weather we're having. There is no rain predicted for the next week at least, so eventually I'll probably have to break down and water them. So far though, they seem to be thriving with a lack of water. Honestly, they only have a few weeks left anyway, before frost does them in for good.

The chickens love when it when I go to the garden. They stand poised, waiting for the treats they know they'll soon get. Half rotten tomatoes, weeds, overdone cukes, lettuce gone to seed, its all heaven to the chicks. Since I've been doing lots of canning lately, they've gotten even more. Instead of throwing the tomato cores into the compost, the chickens get them. Since they then eat more of the feed pellets, its a great deal for everyone. It won't be long until they go into the garden to do the cleanup for me. Wonderful little garden helpers.

Farmer's Market

This is the first year for my little town to have a farmer's market. A professor from the local college helped to set it up and it has been wonderful. I'm actually quite amazed at the number of people that have been attending each week. It had started out in a small parking lot are, but after the first week, had to be expanded.

When I said I was going to the market, my sister in law said she had no need to go since she had her own garden. So do I, but the market is about so much more.

This week I got lettuce from one vendor, mine is dead and the next group isn't ready yet. Then there were the early apples and jalapenos from another vendor. The jalapenos will go with my tomatoes and onions for salsa today. The apples will be a nice snack.

Another farmer had eggplant, so that went into a very garlicky baba ganoush. Yummy

Then there are the bakers, we have to bakery vendors. One has bread and roll and the other has cookies and bars. I got lemon bars from the second vendor. They are so yummy I can't stand it. Yes, I know that lemons aren't local, but in those locally produced bars they are heavenly.

Lastly I got 2 lavender sachets. The woman who runs this booth is a teacher with a small lavender farm. She makes her own sachets from hand dyed fabric. She also sells lavender in bunches and bags. The smell is heavenly.

The thing is that I can get all these wonderful things in one place. It gives the vendors a place to let people know about what they do. Every week there are more people there to try the wonderful things that they are hearing about. This week I saw the local supermarket buyer over looking at all the great produce. Hopefully that will translate into more local foods in the supermarket(small, locally owned supermarket). Its a win-win for everyone!

Kindergarten

Morgan is in Kindergarten now and is so excited to be a big girl. She loves doing anything with me, but is especially enamored of school right now. Its such a thrill for her to learn something new and get praise for it as well. What could be better?

As the kids get older, I realize how very different they are. Morgan loves to do everyday things with me. She wants to help everyone. She is also very observant. She can notice details that others miss, quite amazing. Her other strong suit is how very verbal she it. She expresses herself so well.

Noah couldn't be anymore different. He is our absent minded professor. He can do long division in his head, but can't find the socks 2 feet from him. He is the sweetest, most loving child in the world. He is very energetic, but non-violent. Trying to get information out of him is like pulling teeth.

They are so different and so wonderful in their own rights. I am so lucky to have such wonderful, healthy kids.