I'm so excited to announce that I have talked another group into been given the opportunity to write for another great organization! I'll be writing a blog on the called On My Way. Grit is a magazine (and a website) about rural living, with great resources on everything from gardening, food production, livestock, DIY projects and so much more. I'm proud to be a part of their extensive community of bloggers.
My first entry is up! Please check it out, and let me know what you think!
Since apparently the husband (see comments here) has been less pleased about the dryer balls than I am, I'm embarking on a challenge to find a better solution. It seems his main concerns are static and more static. (Understandably, in a house full of cats.)
Even when we were using dryer sheets, I was using the most minimal kind I could find. My super-sensitive skin can't tolerate anything else. So I need something that fits these requirements:
Reduces/eliminates static
Environmentally friendly
No scary chemicals or heavy perfumes (and absolutely no lavender since the hubs is allergic)
As it turns out, regular dryer sheets can have lots of scary chemicals. (from 2007, so this may not be the case anymore) even mentions chloroform. Eek!
I started, and ended, my search at Whole Paycheck Whole Foods, trying a brand called . Their sheets come in scented and non-scented, and all their claims seem to hit the mark:
No animal testing.
Vegan.
Gluten-free.
Soy-free.
Casein-free.
No tree nuts.
No peanuts.
Completely biodegrade in 21 days
No peanuts? Is that a normal concern with dryer sheets? I don't even know what caseins are... but I guess I'm glad they aren't in it.
I added them to the existing routine of vinegar rinse and dryer balls, so I don't know how good they are on their own. But, they seem to be doing the trick. Much, much less static. Of course, by the time I got around to this project it wasn't nearly so cold or dry. So, things seem to be much less staticy, but I won't know if this solution will stand up during the dead of winter. C'est la vie.
As a bonus, the company is even relatively local - in PA. They make other products too, so I'll have to check them out as we run out of the traditional cleaners. Especially for dishwasher soap - my first attempts at homemade have been less than ideal.
Things, they are a-changin'. Last week, I quit my job. I'm leaving for a variety of reasons, one of the major ones being the 3+ hour a day commute. I was able to find a new position, doing similar work but working with non-profit groups. I'm excited about the new job, and I'm beyond excited about losing 2+ hours per day in commute time! I start the second week in May.
It's my hope that all this extra time will allow me to simultaneously take on more and relax more. I'd like to start an exercise routine and spend more time gardening. I'll have more time to learn, more time to write and time to finally work out the chicken plan. As it is now, I leave before the sun is up and get home after the sun is down... not good timing for keeping the chickens safely locked up during the dark hours and happily outside during the daylight hours.
There are some great people at my old company I'll miss. And, I'll need to find a new source for local milk and dairy products! The delivery service I've been using won't deliver to my house or my new office. Hopefully, I'll get some help with that at the next !
Speaking of time and Accokeek - it's a good thing I've got more time coming to me! Between the monthly Local Food Forum, the June Canning series and Rain Gardening workshop in May, it looks like I'll be over there quite a bit in the next couple months! As much as I like it there, I also need to do some research to see if there are similar programs closer to me.
Do something nice for the earth today! Commit to using reusable bags, start recycling, reduce the chemicals in your life, use CFLs, buy local food (yep, I still believe it's better!), plant a tree.... something! Some more gardening type ideas are . If not today, because I realize it's 6:30 already - plan to do something this weekend!
There's always something we can do to help improve or at the very least, to stop harming the earth.
In a nice syncing between the office job and my outside the office life, I was reading a Brand Week article discussing the challenges of things that people . They specifically mention CFL light bulbs. There's this pesky problem when they break or are not disposed of properly... mercury released into the environment. It's not a tough path to figure out how that hurts us... In the air, back down in raindrops, into the ground and ground water... Or, just leeching straight into the ground from landfills. Either way it ends up in our water, our plants, the fish... our bellies. Good times.
Anywho, they also mention local food. As a "green" fallacy. Uh, oh.
Jeffrey Hollender, co-founder and chairman of Seventh Generation, points out, "Consumers have come to believe that local is always better, but increasing research shows that, in many cases, [it's not better] because of the energy inefficiencies involved in transporting local food. There's no question that there are a lot of things that consumers believe to be so and are not so."
So, um... what's a girl to do?
This girl? Mostly, I'm going to ignore the statement. I will still choose to buy locally whenever possible. It allows me to have a better understanding of where my food comes from, in some cases I SEE where is comes from and how it is produced. It forces me to be more concerned about how it is produced. After all, that's my backyard they could be hurting.
I vote with my actions, and my money, for sustainable farming methods. For humane treatment of food production animals. And I support my local economy in the process.
By the way, that article also addresses the marketing problem Stoneyfield Yogurt is attempting to solve. That problem? The known fact is factories product CO2... CO2 hurts the environment. But, cows produce high levels of methane (via cow farts!) which is more harmful than CO2. They are working on different kinds of feed to reduce their... output. Go put that in your slick marketing campaign.
Does it surprise anyone else that as soon as I get myself all set up to post here semi-regularly, and add on , that everything else blows up leaving me very little time or energy to actually do such things? No? Well, ok. Me either.
This week has been one of the busier weeks I can remember - both in and out of the office job. Although, mostly in. As a result, I'm completely wiped out. I woke up this morning as tired as I was last night. A good sign for the rest of today!
Fun plans for this weekend though... we're getting together with friends, I'm enrolling in an intro web development class that starts next month, and I'm picking up meat and eggs from Polyface. I might make it over to the community garden as well, though that's looking less and less likely as I look a my to-do list. Ah, well.
Since I'm running on fumes, here are a few interesting things other people wrote:
- A nice intro post about the program and the Capital Food Bank. It's DC-centric but I'd bet there are programs like this all over.
- It's happening May 2 for anyone interested! The farm is beautiful, so if nothing else, it's a great excuse to check it out.
Oh, the excitement. I have been hearing about and anxiously awaiting first two books in her Homemade Living Series. And only a teeny tiny bit of it is my "I wanna be like her when I grow up" desire. (Let's ignore the fact that I'm mostly grown up already.) I got both her and (more on this one later) books the day they came out.
Right off the bat, the first sentence, "A movement is building, in city apartments and country kitchens, as more and more of us reconsider how food ends up on our plates" grabs me. Obviously, this book was written for me. Just for me. Thanks, Ashley!
Seriously though, as someone who is intensely interested in understanding what's in my food and where it comes from, canning is near the top of my list of things to learn. (Ice cream was first, but can you blame me?) Wanting to learn canning may also have something to do with the upcoming CSA shares (ones we had trouble consuming with 4 people in the house, and now we are 2), loot from the community garden, and an already packed chest freezer.
I had trouble getting to the end of this book. Not because it was difficult to read, but because I wanted to savor each and every page. Charming from cover to cover, she makes canning approachable. I also own the
, and while I'm sure it will be a great resource for me in the future, it's intimidating. As in, sits next to my computer scaring me. Not Ashley's book. Her book accomplishes just what she set out to accomplish:
My sincerest desire is that this book provides you with just the right amount of instruction, creative challenge, and comfort to get you started on your own canning adventures.
No question, I'll be starting with her Strawberry Jam. Soon, so soon, they'll be in season here. And I love her suggestions about fresh herbs you can add. Strawberry Mint Jam? Um, yes, please!
Because I also see pickling as a solution to some of my upcoming produce problems (oh, woe is me, too many fresh veggies...) I'm looking forward to using her Basic, All Purpose Brine for Pickling.
If you've ever wondered about canning, go by her book right now. She also writes a really great blog. You can check out it .
Just before my hard labor on Saturday, I took a quick stop at the Riva Road Farmer's Market in Annapolis. I love farmer's markets, and feel so lucky that there are 4 so easily accessible to me. (It was 3, but there's a new one at the Annapolis Towne Center this year!) I'm not sure I'll need them too much this year, what with the farm and community garden, but I suspect I'll be visiting anyway.
Check out if you'd like to see a list of what was available at Saturday's market.
After picking up a nice 6" pot of cilantro (I really can't go to a FM this time of year... maybe ever... without coming back with a plant.) I headed out to the community garden. Imagine my surprise with this sight met me:
Another benefit of driving a prius? Being able to drive just a little closer (with the engine off) for a better view.
Turns out, there's a guy who has 4 of them pretty close to the garden and every so often they make a run for it.
The other day I read a really interesting post on , a blog that is always entertaining and often informative in the process. That entry, entitled , was an interview of a couple who own and run a farm in rural Virginia. The entire thing is interesting, so I encourage you to check it out, but the thing that grabbed me was this:
“You have to be willing to squat five hours a day,” says Susan. “Our interns can expect to spend at least half of every day hunched over in the dirt harvesting and weeding.”
Which might not sound so bad…if you’ve been attending Body Pump classes at YMCA.
First thought: Totally makes sense. Second thought: Oh crap.
You see, there have been no Body Pump classes in my life. No gyms of any kind. And, still, I've joined this community garden with the mutual understanding that I'll be working. Quite a bit. I did a small stint over there already, but this weekend was my first real chance to get full days in. I lasted about 3 hours. And could hardly walk the next day. And the day after.
Don't get me wrong, I had a great time. Our main task was transplanting seedlings which is my favorite gardening job ever. There's nothing more satisfying to me than putting those partially grown, hopeful plants in the ground. So much more satisfying than putting some seeds in the ground and waiting. And waiting. With seedlings, you plant them and then you can see what you've done. We also weeded, spread compost, watered and spread hay. It was a beautiful day, and I enjoyed doing my time... but I'll need to get in much better shape before I think about doing this all on my own!
It was quite chilly again on Saturday, but all in all, a good day. A few extra pictures from my time at Jug Bay:
and 
(more on this one later) books the day they came out.
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