by Psyche on Tuesday May 19, 2009
in green
Instead of getting delivery or frozen pizza, we made our own. It was really good, though it will take a few more tried to get the stuffed-crust perfected. I am sure there will be no complaints from the taste-testers.
My hair has gotten more wavy as I have gotten older (we will not discuss the silver invasion). Letting it air dry gives it an interesting bounce and makes it look a lot more full. The Rogue has to make sure he washes his hair in plenty of time to let it dry, or it is an unruly mess in the morning. And the Toddler? Well, many cows licked him so his hair does what it wants to, wet or dry.
Sadly, we will not be buying any more meat from the vendor at the first farmers’ market. The pork chops were mainly bone and fat with very little usable meat. We have not yet opened the beef but I am not keeping my hopes up. We are really disappointed but are not giving up. We will find a source for organic meet locally.
I love our new cast iron pans. LOVE THEM! They are taking some getting used to but I am so happy we made the switch. I really want to make a pineapple upside down cake in the big skillet like I had when I was a little girl. Yum!
Making foaming hand soap with Dr. Bronner’s soap worked better than I expected. It mixed easily and foams really nicely. It is not as conditioning as other foaming soaps are but it rinses easier and my hands feel cleaner. I am going to make some and add a couple drops of lemon essential oil to use in the kitchen for getting those strong food prep smells off my hands.
I am proud to say that after an afternoon of prepping produce for the week, Audrey II is now full. Since we plan on using the compost for our garden, I need to decide on a bigger composter to dump the contents into.
Cloth diapering is an adventure. They leak more than the disposables did and we are changing the Toddler more often. Six disposables are not quite enough to last us for a day, so either we need to buy more, let him run around naked more and hope he figures out the potty or resort to disposables on occasion. So far we have avoided the disposables – but we ended up with an unexpected piddle puddle when we made a run to the bank. My kid, the Super Soaker! The Rogue now knows not to put a dryer sheet or fabric softener in with the cloth diapers. I did not know we even had any left, it has been that long since I have used them. Ah well, lesson learned. I will be honest – I prefer disposables, but we will stick with it.
My present has not arrived yet. I am told it should be here tomorrow.
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by Psyche on Tuesday May 12, 2009
in green
We are getting much better about turning out the lights and fans. I have forgotten a time or two – this challenge is definitely harder for the Rogue. The Toddler is really good about it, so good he even turning the lights and fans off when we are still in the room.
I have more wax than clear cups for the tealight candles, so I will just save and reuse what I have. I feel less guilty using my sconces now because I am not worried about the cost of replacing the tealights.
The cloth diapers have not yet arrived, but I will post an update after we have used them.
Using cloth tushie wipes is taking some getting used to. The Toddler does not know what he thinks about it. I need to get a bucket for them and the diapers – the one I was planning on using broke.
The Rogue has been doing a great job thus far with Project Green 365. He has given me quite a few ideas that will be implemented. I really like that this is now a group effort, rather than me dragging everyone along for the very bumpy ride. This was a great Mother’s Day gift. He also bought me the new domain name. Oh yes, I am keeping him. No, he does not have a single brother.
We still have ants in the house but not as many as we had before. There are some new ones that are bigger, not the tiny ones I found in the pantry and I think they are staging their attack from a different area. I have only seen a handful and sprayed bombarded them with vinegar when I saw them. I am hopeful they took my declaration of war seriously. They will NOT win!
The Rogue still has not given me a clue what my present is. Big meanie!
We are already mourning the breakup with prepackaged shredded cheese. We made homemade pizza for dinner and could not find the hand grater. Luckily I have a Salad Shooter which shredded the cheese in short order. I cannot promise I will ever give up my Salad Shooter or many of the other kitchen appliances I have that make life easier for me. Carpal tunnel syndrom is a bitch while I have a huge love for being eco-friendly, I love my independance too. The less I have to ask the Rogue to do, the better for my own sanity.
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by Psyche on Tuesday May 5, 2009
in green
The first night we ran Ethel, the dishwasher, it equaled FAIL. Everything came out just as dirty as it had in the old dishwasher. It was only after telling the Toddler for the 9273518753 time to stop touching the buttons that we realized he was a saboteur and had obviously plotted long and hard (all of a nanosecond) to sabotage our efforts. Once the dishwasher had actually run through a COMPLETE cycle, we were astonished at the difference.
We are running the dishwasher full – every other day. The homemade green dishwasher detergent seems to be working well. Vinegar is definitely needed as a rinsing agent, but I blame our water for that. I am not into polka-dotted glasses.
In shocking news, I did NOT buy a new reusable shopping bag this week. I know, I cannot believe it either.
With recycling more and using less, we have now decreased our garbage output substantially – so much so that we removed the larger kitchen garbage can and can easily make due with a small under sink can. This is shocking to me. I did not realize we would be seeing big results that quickly.
I am very motivated to continue – and research more ways to become greener.
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by Psyche on Wednesday April 29, 2009
in green
…since you looked at me
Cocked your head to the side and said I’m…
Oooops! Sorry. My brain ran away with me. Now where was I? Ah yes.
My skin is still happy after having the face mask. I think I need to see how that mixture would work with a pedicure. Because I am worth it.
I bought two new reusable bags at the store with the bullseye. What? They were on clearance and sturdy canvas and cute! I could not make then for the price I got them. I am very likely going to give them as gifts, so it is all good. The Rogue did laugh though.
Is it bad that I want a digital picture of my 10 trees, and status reports, like I would get with some of the Feed the World programs? Do my little tress know I love them?
Liquid filled metal water bottles will split if frozen, just sayin’.
The Toddler thinks it is great fun throwing recyclables away. I need to put a piece of plywood down on the back deck so we can smash cans. I have been flattening the tin cans so there is more room and I do not want to muck up my deck.
All in all it was a good start and I am really happy with our progress.
I have a tendency to wear my mind on my sleeve
I have a history of taking off my shirt
Speaking of “One Week” by Barenaked Ladies, have you see/heard the Morgan Freeman cover? It is made of pure awesome!
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