The California PE Exam

Eva 3 yrs old Self Portrait

It is with a joy and peace that I re-visit this space again.  In honor of my daughter Eva's 3rd birthday I  am exhibiting her photography.



Toys - photo by Eva.

Again I studied nightly at the neighborhood coffee house, five precious minutes from home.  The place is busy so I use earplugs, order a herb tea and a macaroon and hit the books, solving math word problems for the California Professional Engineering exam.



Eva's little brother Julien - photo by Eva.



Because I live so far north, I must travel 300 miles to sit for the exam. I left my two babes in the care of their father, and drove 5 hours east to where the air temperature was still in the 90s.



Playroom - photo by Eva.

I will receive the exam results in 3 months in the mail.  A thin envelope from the California State Board means I passed.  A thick envelope means I have failed as the board includes paperwork to retake the exam.



Doll - photo by Eva.



Herbal Salves and Parenting Lessons

I have been making salves from my herb infused oils.  The herbal oils have been sitting outside soaking up the sun, for month now.   I made four potions, each with a different herb and carrier oil. I want to investigate their individual personalities.

Autumn is here, and I will not be able to infused oil in the sun until next summer

Blurry suits me.

As this is my first year making salves, I had a few lessons to learn:

-  fill the jar completely with oil, to reduce mold growing on the inside of the jar.

- Dry the herbs 1 day prior to infusing them, in order to remove moisture.

- My beeswax was unfiltered which resulted in a grainy texture  salve scrub. I need to filter the melted beeswax prior to adding it to the oil.

Perhaps it was the full moon, but with all the little feet tucked in bed,  my thrifted double broiler steaming, I became a medieval healer, adding beeswax to oil , and knew the herbs, the oils, and the wax, all had intelligence.

 

 

 

Avocado, the best moisturizing meal ever!

 

 I left my salve samples within easy reach, they are perfectly harmless and can be ingested.

I found  Eva applying the lavender salve to her body.

She had been sick with a high fever the day before.

 

 

 

 

I was secretly honored, as I watched her play with the sweet smelling golden goo.  I relaxed as the goo started dispersing to the mantle, the wooden furniture. I will enjoy the cleaning task of wiping up the salve.  The lovely smell of lavender surrounding us.

A mama couldn't be more pleased, as I learn to trust my child and let her lead. 

I just need to get out of my own way. and keep hanging my laundry outside. A required moment, just to focus on the clothes, the sun outside, the air, the moment, a simple moment, outside, folding laundry.

Foraging Friday

 

Autumn is here.  My instinct to gather wild food is strong:

Now is time to get outside, in nature before the winter comes,
To collect the sun's rays and saturate my body with vitamin D.

To build and straighten my immunity.

Now is the time to forage, identify and collect medicinal plants.



 

 

With Julien in the stroller, my dog on a leash, I explore my neighborhood.  In the stroller I carry gardening gloves, plastic bags, and a hand shovel. 

I have brought home apples, rose hips, thistle leaves (made a lovely tea), mullein  and blackberries.  I discovered this Mullein plant in a parking lot.
  

 

 

Mullein leaves can be prepared as a tea for bronchial congestion, colds and coughs. The perfect herb to have on hand for the winter cold season. I look forward to working with this herb.

I am also infusing olive oil with the mullein flowers.  Mullein oil is recommended for earaches.

I discovered a rose bush covered with rose hips. Rose hips have a high vitamin C content.  Rose hips can be prepared as tea or a concentrated syrup. Rose hip syrup sweetens our hot tea and even our picky eater Eva will happily swallow a teaspoon daily.

Wishing you abundance on this fall Equinox.

 

 

 

 

 

Waste Stream Wednesday - What I Learned

 

 

 

 

 

 

I am stopping my household weekly waste stream analysis. A weeks waste analysis, preformed once or twice a year,  is good method  to become aware of a households waste stream. For example, I used up to three rice milk cartons a week.  I now make my own almond milk, which generates no cartons, great for my budget and super yummy, oh and I use the crushed almond meal for baked goods! 



What I  Learned

Choose products least damaging to the earth. For example I choose paper and glass over plastic.   Little decisions here and there add up in a lifetime.

Bring your own bags grocery shopping. Refuse single use plastic bags.

Letter writing  success?
Yesterday at Costco, to my delight I discovered that  my favorite wine is no longer wrapped in plastic.  I happily purchased the wine, voting with my dollar.  A few months ago, I wrote a letter to Costco and Folie a Deux, criticizing the additional plastic wrapping on the Menage a Trois bottled wine.

Eat organic vegetables, compost the scraps, and use the compost on raised beds to grow more veggies.

Filter tap water and carry a stainless steel water bottle.

Feel good about waste reduction activities,  actions are commitments to earth and its people.

My Goal

Attempt to make my own beauty products, including toothpaste and deodorant, using herbs oils and other easy to come by ingredients. The process of crafting skin products is enjoyable. Homemade is a lost art these days.

Make my own reusable cloth produce bags.  Maybe this winter when the rains come.

What I Could Not Implement

Toilet paper has received complaints in this family. The unbleached recycled one-ply, non absorbent, scratchy and down right unpleasant TP, has prompted me to purchase cheap, non-eco groovy, soft TP.

The food budget currently is more of a priority than avoiding plastic wrapping. Bulk items will be forgone if a better priced item is wrapped in plastic.  For example I am omitting grains and replacing them with nuts, Costco has cheap nuts, cheaper than bulk at the health food store.

Gratitude

I welcome

The awareness
Of the abundance
That surrounds me

Today I sold my extra gas stove, which sat unused, in a corner of my small home.

I had the strong sense to clean it, and list it on Craiglist.

It sold in two hours, to folks who were cooking on a hot plate.

The buyer exclaimed how the timing was perfect.

Love, love, love , the universe shuffling goods around, taking care of our needs.

Tips - Traveling with an infant

Before

Packing

Start to pack two days before at the latest

Pack light, you will be carrying the full load plus the infant

In the morning recheck your packing, remove items
 

Equipment

Slings, carriers- The more back support the better

Carryon bag - my has wheels.
Car seat or stroller, someplace safe to place baby when you need to.

Messenger bag

Small purse

 

Strategy

Eat well the morning from home, protein, greens, a salad with turkey, broth, hydrate, - this will ensure optimum health , and good mood and energy for the task ahead.

Nurse baby right before leaving, nurse him while you relax, eat, check emails, read a blog, etc.

The main objective is relax, even if you have to give yourself a fake departing time.

I always start my trips in a mad frenzy of last minute packing, stress, and anxiety. I will now pack completely the night before.

Prayer

Visualize protection, ask for guidance, bless your trip.

 

 During

Choose a centrally located hotel with kitchenette near restaurants and food stores.
The hotel will serve as a home base to come to every few hours, to nurse, change diapers, let baby nap, relax.
Easy meals are fresh veggie juices , whole fruit, and cooked meat (protein). Bring plenty of snacks to munch on, water bottle, especially if you are nursing and travelling with others, you may not be able to find food.
Do not expect to do much, make it easy, enjoy window shopping, and walking around, and down time at the hotel.

After

Unpack quickly, in one session

What I found to be essential:

A moby wrap - I could nurse baby discreetly within the moby.
Snacks- raw food bars, chocolate, apples, etc easy reach within my messenger bag.
My Chico bag- my Chico bag fit within my little purse and was used to transport purchases bag to the hotel.  Staying near my home base meant I only needed to take my small purse with me.
Patio- My hotel had a patio where I spent many hours holding baby and watching people.

A trip allows for a change in perspective, and appreciation of home.


 

10 Minute Paleo -Swiss Chard Sardine Wraps

Ingredients:

3 young  whole swiss chard leaves

1 can of skinless, boneless sardines

handful of greens: spinach, kale, parsley etc

raw goat feta (optional)

tomato, radishes or any other veggie from the garden

Place sardines on clean swiss chard leaves

top with feta and  chopped greens

add tomatoes and radishes as a side dish.

My Home Is

My Home Is

old redwoods nestled in the hillside

a backyard offering blueberries, radishes and tomatoes

a chair in a sun drenched corner window

a voice carrying the rhythm of a guitar

falling leaves at the end of  summer

WSW- Gone Fishing

Eva reading to Julien.

A Labor Day Weekend trip to Seattle, Washington manifested itself for Julien and me. As I need to prepare for my trip, I am not going to count my weekly waste (which is a good thing as I have decluttered my house and thrown much that could not be donated away).

I wish you all a relaxing and non-productive Labor Day Weekend.

WSW - disowning stuff

Waste Stream Wednesday


Progress

Hang drying laundry prompted the release of cloths, towels, blankets to the rescue mission thrift store. The items were extras, filling empty space, harboring secret emotions and attachments, daily reminders of long ago.

A double broiler ,stainless steel, made in the USA awaited me at the thrift store. The pot for my potions, salves and herbal tinkering, finally manifested itself.

Finding a home for all - disowning stuff

--College textbooks were listed free on Craiglist and snatch up within 24 hours.

--A long battered coffee table with the free sign disappeared quickly from my sidewalk.

--A dump run condemning a particle board desk, stool and cloth to the grave was undertaken.

ADD decluttering tip:

Remove everything from the room, clean with water, and replace only items that satisfy a need . This time and energy intensive task can be simplified by making piles of items with the same function. Replace the necessary items first.

What No More Recycled TP at Costco

Costco has discontinued their Kirkland Signature recycled paper toilet paper.

and subsequently received this comment :

I am disappointed that you have "deleted" or discontinued your kirkland signature recycled paper toilet paper. Please continue carrying the recycled paper TP, its a great product and good for the earth.

Thank You

Elisa Meyer

Costco Response

Dear Elisa,We appreciate you taking the time to email Costco Wholesale. It is our goal to provide our members with the highest quality name-brand products while keeping our stock focused on the best selling items. Since we price our items as low as possible, all items must demonstrate high sales in order for us to continue to stock them.Our buyers occasionally review the possibility of re-introducing products. I will forward your e-mail to them so they are aware of your interest, as we value our member's input.Thank you,Sue Costco Wholesale Corporation

To Be Improved

Grocery shopping is challenged by reusing plastic bags. The process of finding the right bag for the veggie, fruit, and grain is disorganized and clumsy, creating a logistical problem.


I need to refine my produce bag system.

Landfill

Waste Stream Wednesday

Each Wednesday, I take inventory of my waste stream and think of ways to reduce my garbage. Inspired by Zero Waste Home and the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, I hope to lead a sustainable and minimal waste producing household

Progress

Laundry line drying

Lint,  the deterioration of our clothing , has overtaken our outside laundry room, covering every surface like mold on old cheese.  The cloth dryer spewing lint so thick that a weeding hoe was employed to remove it from the concrete floor.

Two days it took to remove the lint and the dust that it harbored. Two pounds of lint was removed from the outside laundry (I weighed it). 

and thus came the realization that

1) Clothes will be lined dried and
2) My family is a laundry producing machine, we own way too many clothes and linens.

To Be Improved

Laundry audit - Too many clothes go thru the laundry system.  Currently three piles of laundry  are waiting to be sorted, washed and line dried. The added activity of line drying, means that I need to reduce the sheer amount of laundry we produce. I want to smile at my laundry pile as I hang each individual item of clothing.  Line drying the quantity of clothing currently in use is not a task I am brave enough to embark on.

I will simplify the laundry needs of my family.

Landfill Audit

meat butcher paper
meat plastic wrappers
misc plastics
walnut plastic wrapper
cookie wrapper
plastic toy parts (an argument to buy better quality toys)
milk and ice cream carton
butter wrapper
cheese wrapper
tea bag wrapper
broken cup
broken pen
cloth waste, clothing tags

Do you have a simple laundry tip?

Waste Stream Wednesday

This week waste stream was interrupted by a family camping trip in the Mattole Valley, Humboldt County, and because I left my garbage in the campground dumpster, I want to talk about clothes........

Don't Waste Your Good Clothes

I found myself avoiding my "good clothes" because I did not want to stain or ruin them. So I would look into my closet of good cloth and avoid them by wearing my grungy old clothes (sweats, T shirts, stained yoga pants, but no never that cute new black dress I haven't worn yet).

Wearing old cloths and never wearing "good clothes" has become a waste. A waste of the shopping trip it took to acquire them, a waste of the manufacturing , the material and the storage in my tiny 50's style closet. (My closet houses my "good clothes" and my dresser houses "my not good clothes that I wear").

I would not wear my good cloth for years and then decultter with the rule that when an article of clothing is not worn for six months get rid of it.

Perhaps I was suffering from episodes of ADD. I don't know, but I am making an effort to wear my good clothes everyday.  Each morning I look into my closet (a very stimulating and creative activity , I must admit I love self-decorating)  take my pretty outfit out of the closet and put in on my body for everyday activities.  Yes, my brain screams "you can't wear this"   as I slip into the delightful organic cotton dress.


I wear the cloths I buy and I love the way I feel in my everyday Sunday's best.

Waste Stream Wednesday

Photo by Eva (2.75 years old)

Each Wednesday, I take inventory of my waste stream and think of ways to reduce my garbage. Inspired by Zero Waste Home and the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, I hope to lead a sustainable and minimal waste producing household.

PROGRESS

"Jason have you taken out the trash this week because there is practically none today (Wednesday)" I ask.
"Not to my knowledge" he responds.

Yes, I have practically no trash this week.  I take out the trash on Wednesday and inventory all the items. I only have half a kitchen garbage can full of mostly plastic packaging.

Our eating habits are transitioning towards a paleo/primal diet as the diet lends itself to fresh veggies, fruit, nuts and meats, and precludes grains which are the majority of packaged food. 

To avoid plastic packaging from soil amendment/compost bags, we imported two large trash cans of zoo compost for our garden.  Our local zoo is practically giving it away. The compost included monkey, panda, bear, goat, sheep, donkey manure, hay and wool.

THINGS TO WORK ON


--Need to figure out how to repurpose stained baby clothes.

Landfill Waste

-2 butter wrapers -I tried making pate with the butter, ended up giving the pate to our dog.
-cotton cloth tags-tags on items are a form of clutter and I grew tired of looking at them.
-tea bag wrapper-finishing the disposable tea bag collection.
-plastic cookie wrapper-found a cookie in the back of the pantry and ate it.
-ice cream carton-Jason love his americon dream, the family usually goes out for ice cream scoops.
-milk carton-locally produced.
-plastic meat wrapper-salmon, turkey bacon, chicken. - paleo/primal diet contributing to this.
-chicken bones-Sola our dog devours most of the meat waste, which can't be composted.
-diaper wipes container (3)-Using up the last of our supply of non-recyclable wipe containers.
-plastic bags for nuts-I should buy them in bulk.
-plastic box wine bag-Jason loves his box vino.

How To Prepare Herbal Baths

On Sundays, my rhythm is to prepare an herbal bath for myself and the kids. We take turns soaking in the hot herbal sanctuary. The scented steam of rose, chamomile, lavender, and marjoram fills my house.

My life is more peaceful, calmer when I collect, brew, ingest and soak in the delicate yet profound essence of plants. Their absence is noted, when I am too busy to make a cup of tea, or pick roses to dry.

To prepare an herbal bath:

I combine whatever fresh herbs are growing in my yard at the time, for example today I have rose, lavender, marjoram, spearmint, dried St johns wort I foraged, wilted calendula and store bought dried comfrey.

I put them all in a pot and fill with water. I bring the tea to boil and let simmer for about 1 hour.

I draw a bath, add some essential oils such as lavender and chamomile. When the bath is full, I bring my pot of herbal tea and a strainer. I strain the tea as I pour it into my bath. and voila, a most marvelous soak.

The bath will cheer up even the most grumpy baby.

Do share your favorite herbs.