a few things

Posted on June 17, 2010 by BeSquirrely

Just wanted to check in with you and let you know I’m thinking about you, but I’m also thinking about a lot of other things so my blog is going to look a bit neglected. For a little bit. Here are a few snippets of life from our nest:

Chris broke his wrist and while it’s amazing to see what he can accomplish around our nest and at work with only one hand plus some fingers from another, it’s still a major bummer for the nest.
Ever had mastitis? It knocked me out cold for a few days. Ever been hit by a truck? That’s what I felt like. I’m so sorry if you really were hit by a truck because I’m sure it was a lot worse, but you get the point. Pain is really interesting because the pain of natural childbirth, or any kind of childbirth for that matter, is intense to be sure, but it comes with a purpose and that makes all the difference. When was your last paper cut? OUCH!
Wren will be going to “school” a couple mornings a week pretty soon so I can make some progress on my *work* and she can play with some other kiddos. As she’s becoming a busier little 20 pound tornado, my *work* has slowed to glacial speed. No big surprise there!
Wren likes to pull herself up on everything and walk along the furniture, but no real walking yet. Any bets on when that might be? She’ll probably skip over walking and go straight to running, the little high-energy lady that she is.
We’re in the process of refinancing our house. Finance, yuck.
The garden is doing great and I did some bittersweet thinning yesterday. We had a delicious salad with assorted microgreens: spinach, radish, beet, mesclun mix, ooh la la. We also enjoyed our very first red, ripe strawberry, which you can see if you look closely… Here are a couple pics of the gardens and flowers and I promise more on that process later. Enjoy!

These are my zinnias I grew from seed in the sunroom this spring. They make me smile. The best $1.99 I have spent in a while.

What’s been happening in your nest? How are your gardens growing? Have a lovely weekend if I don’t see you in Cyberspace. And a hip hip hooray for all the Dads out there. Although it’s obvious that we literally could not do this (life, that is) without you, we adore you and how much you absolutely adore our kiddos. XO

diapers

Posted on June 16, 2010 by BeSquirrely

A few people have asked me for my opinion on diapers lately so I thought I’d do a post about our experience. Even if you’re post-diapers or pre-baby or post-baby or not interested in babies at all (why are you here?) there just might be something you can glean from this post…

First things first. I am grateful to have a few great, what I like to call, “poop friends.” You know, the lovely people with whom you can easily talk about your child’s elimination. You? Diapers naturally come up in conversation with my poop friends. Most of them use cloth diapers and I’m proud of them. I’m a cloth diaper drop-out and I’m a bit self-conscious about it. There I said it. That’s the first step to recovery from deep green guilt, right?

Before I had Wren and had to change my child’s countless diapers, I was convinced (in a very ‘greener than thou’ way) that I would use cloth diapers on her (or his, we didn’t know) precious bottom. I started off using a combination of cloth and several different kinds of eco-disposable diapers and some Huggies that a friend graciously donated to the Wren elimination cause. The ratio went from about 60/40 to 50/50 to 40/60 to 20/80 to 5/95 in just a few blurry months. I just never figured out a good system for it. Why did it seem so easy for everyone else? Looking back on that time, I’ve concluded that the ratio kept leaning in favor of the eco-disposables because they’re pretty damn convenient. Duh. And I didn’t feel that bad about using them because they’re a bit better for the environment than traditional disposables. Or so “they” say. At least they make me sleep (a bit) better at night. I had a hard time with the Huggies…

Want to read more about the debate between cloth and disposables? According to Wikipedia,

an average child will go through several thousand diapers in his life. Since disposable diapers are discarded after a single use, usage of disposable diapers increases the burden on landfill sites, and increased environmental awareness has led to a growth in campaigns for parents to use reusable alternatives such as cloth or hybrid diapers. An estimated 27.4 billion disposable diapers are used each year in the US, resulting in a possible 3.4 million tons of used diapers adding to landfills each year.

The environmental impact of cloth as compared to disposable diapers has been studied several times. In one cradle-to-grave study sponsored by the National Association of Diaper Services (NADS) and conducted by Carl Lehrburger and colleagues, results found that disposable diapers produce seven times more solid waste when discarded and three times more waste in the manufacturing process. In addition, effluents from the plastic, pulp, and paper industries are far more hazardous than those from the cotton-growing and -manufacturing processes. Single-use diapers consume less water than reusables laundered at home, but more than those sent to a commercial diaper service. Washing cloth diapers at home uses 50 to 70 gallons of water every three days, which is roughly equivalent to flushing the toilet five times a day, unless the user has a high-efficiency washing machine.

Fast forward a year. I’ve tried a few different eco-disposables including Seventh Generation, Nature Boy & Girl and Nature Babycare. Our favorite is Nature Babycare. They’re chlorine-free, biodegradable, and sport a super cute simple green leaf pattern. I just can’t have my child wearing diapers with licensed characters, sorry…

They can be ordered (in cases is the easiest, most cost-effecive way) through Amazon.com, Diapers.com, Drugstore.com, and even Target.com. I can’t find them in a store in northern Michigan, but if you live in a more metropolitan area, I’m sure they can be found a few different places.

Dear readers, what kind of diapers do you like to use for you babies? Do you have a system for your cloth-diapering that you’d like to share with other readers? Share on, readers!

Dig for Victory

Posted on May 26, 2010 by BeSquirrely

While on the one hand I’m immeasurably happier when there’s a full bag of pretzels in the cupboard, our nest is consciously trying to eat whole foods, more locally grown produce and cook most days of the week instead of going out to eat. We’re also working on getting the garden going too so I’m inspired by the timeless nature of this quote from 70+ years ago: “We want not only the big man with the plough but the little man with the spade to get busy this autumn. Let ‘Dig for Victory’ be the motto of everyone with a garden,” – Rob Hudson, Minister for Agriculture, in October 1939.

So this Etsy find appeals to my sensibilities. It’s a new design based on a US Food Administration poster from the World Wars. Have room in your kitchen for it?

I’m equally as smitten by this t-shirt, which is based on a Depression-era design as well. What do you think, dear readers? Although it comes in other colors, isn’t this green the best choice?

How’s your Victory Garden coming along? Mine is WAY behind or maybe these 90+ days are making me feel like it and I’m OK. I noticed LOTS of starts at the farmer’s market this past weekend, which made me smile. Don’t you love the hope that’s embodied in the first leaves of a musk melon? Cheers, lovelies!

Grapefruit pits?

Posted on May 16, 2010 by BeSquirrely

I am no hippy. But (you could see that coming, right?) I have been trying to go a deeper shade of green in our nest and this weekend, I admit to experiencing what I will coin a “happy hippy moment.” Our nest used up all the homemade laundry soap that I posted about last month so I decided to make a double batch this time.

While Chris mowed the lawn with Wren on his back…

I decided to make a batch of homemade deodorant (not anti-perspirant) that I read about a while back on How About Orange’s blog. It appealed to me because I’ve tried just about every “natural” deodorant out there with mixed results and I cringe when I think of all the sticks I’ve thrown away (err, recycled, but still) over the years. For the last few months I had been using Tom’s and of course, like most of the crunchy ones, it smells pretty good (lavender), but the smell doesn’t last and by the end of the day, I’m smelling a bit too ripe. God forbid if I run or practice yoga then smell my pits. Alright, enough personal blah blah blah about my arm pits. Moving on.

Furthermore, the crunchy stuff is pretty darn expensive so this DIY deodorant was sounding more and more desirable. But was it going to actually work? I often have that gut-reaction to a DIY crunchy solution to life’s battles. Probably because the marketing wizards and all the fancy pants packaging has convinced me that there’s no way a “home remedy” was going to work…

But I’m here to tell you that after a weekend of wearing it, I’m thrilled with the results. Really! I wish again for a scratch-and-sniff blog feature so you could’ve smelled my pits after a kick-a** ashtanga yoga practice this morning, but alas, no such luck. You’ll just have to take my word for it.

I guess you’ll just have to have a “happy hippy moment” of your own and make some. You will not be sorry.

Grapefruit Pits Deodorant

Ingredients:
1/4 cup baking soda
1/4 cup arrowroot powder
4 tablespoons coconut oil
10 drops/shakes grapefruit essential oil
A tin or jar with lid

This amount will probably last about 4-5 months. Wow!

How to:

In a bowl, stir together your dry ingredients, then add the oils gradually until you like the consistency, mixing together with a fork. Note: Mine got a bit too thick to stir together at one point so I zapped it in the microwave to increase the viscosity and made it oh-so-easy to stir. Scoop into your container of choice and store the closed container at room temperature.

To apply, scoop up a bit with your finger, hold it against your skin for a couple seconds so it melts a little, then rub around.

Absolutely lovely! Thanks, How About Orange, for the great tutorial. I’ll be forever thankful.

How was your weekend, dear readers? Any progress on your gardens? Did you kick back and read a good book? Eat anything good? I’d love to hear about it.

Best!

budgeting for organics

Posted on May 11, 2010 by BeSquirrely

I don’t know about you, dear readers, but our family’s quest to eat more organic produce sometimes leaves my wallet feeling a bit too empty. This is one reason I’ve been planning a big garden this summer, but this IS northern Michigan and we can only grow so much of our own. We still find ourselves reaching for a banana or orange every day no matter how far it’s traveled. Sigh.

Soooo… when I stumbled upon this handy wallet chart from My Paper Crane, which depicts the organic produce that *always* should be chosen and the low-pesticide foods, which we could skip over if we needed to save a few bucks that week, I cheered. Plus, it’s cute as a button, right?

You can download a copy of it here for your very own wallet. Thank you, My Paper Crane, for such a lovely, clever idea (and nice photos). I already know that next week’s shopping trip will be a helluva lot more fun. Who doesn’t love vegetables and fruits with googlie eyes?

Virtual morel mushrooming, anyone?

Posted on May 10, 2010 by BeSquirrely

Happy Monday, mushroom lovers!

How was your weekend? I happily crossed off a couple more items from my “Spring Forward” list yesterday, thanks to a sunny Mother’s Day hike at the Treat Farm. Cool but sunny meant a spring wildflower hike was in order. And maybe a meander into the woods for some morel-hunting if we were feeling ambitious. We were greeted with a forest full of trillium (some turning to their late Spring light purple hue already), jack-in-the-pulpits, columbine, forget-me-nots, purple and white viola, a few remaining dutchman’s breeches and other lovelies courtesy of Mother Nature.

Through the woods, across the meadow and out to the bluff…

On the way back, Chris wanted to cross the meadow and he spotted these. Have you ever seen such large, woody asparagus? Crazy!

Then we stumbled into the woods in search of morels, but instead we got some quiet moments and some leek-filled breaths. Somewhat dejected, off we hiked back to the car. Until… are you ready now for some virtual mushrooming, dear readers? Give it a shot!

Don’t pick them just yet. Wait until everyone has had a chance to “find” them…

OK, now you can pick! How’s that for a fun fun fun-guy adventure!?

Now what will you do with your bounty? I don’t like to *do* too much to them because the flavor is so delicate. My favorite partner for morels? You probably guessed it. Butter. Cleaned and lightly pan-fried in butter with a dash or two of salt and pepper. And some fresh asparagus… Sounds like we’ve figured out dinner tonight! Whew.

harbingers of Spring

Posted on May 8, 2010 by BeSquirrely

It’s decidedly Spring in northern Michigan when the rhubarb’s thigh-high (remember, I’m short) and the local asparagus decides to pop its happy, green head through the sandy soil. At today’s windy, cold (36) first outdoor farmer’s market of the season, we giddily found both. The smiles of the farmers in spite–or perhaps, because–of the weather, made the outing worthwhile. OK, the down coat helped too. And the hot coffee from Morsel’s on the walk home. And being with my family. So I hereby dedicate this week to the tastiest harbingers of Spring, rhubarb and asparagus. Follow along on some tasty adventures with me this week! Rhubarb crisp and asparagus frittata, anyone? Or maybe some cream of asparagus soup to warm you up? What are YOUR favorite asparagus and rhubarb recipes?

Got plans for next weekend already? Of course it includes a trip to Empire for the 7th Annual Empire Asparagus Festival, right? Rain or shine, asparagus-lovers unite to celebrate the mighty green stalk. Even roasted asparagus beer. Yes! You will find it courtesy of Traverse City’s Right Brain Brewery. And lots more spear-ited fun! Hope to see you there.

Cherry blossom time

Posted on April 22, 2010 by BeSquirrely

In another wee nod to Earth Day, I wanted to share my joy over the lovely cherry blossoms in our part of the world…

This photo was taken near Empire. I love the carpet of grape hyacinth, don’t you?

These last two shots were taken in downtown Traverse City today. Happy Earth Day!

Happy Earth Day!

Posted on April 22, 2010 by BeSquirrely

Happy Earth Day to you, lovelies!

Do you have any plans to honor our favorite Mamma, Mother Nature? Getting outside? Digging in the dirt? Taking a shorter shower? Beginning some new green habits?

I’ve been wanting to go a shade greener in my nesting so thanks, Earth Day, for giving me this opportunity. Truth be told, I do not have laundry detergent loyalty. I usually just buy the eco-friendly variety that happens to be on sale or sometimes, just has the nicest packaging. I know, I know. This has come with mixed results, but regardless of how clean the clothes may or may not be getting, it’s still really expensive. And I always have green guilt about buying yet another container. It doesn’t really make me feel better that I recycle it because there’s still all that manufacturing, shipping, marketing, trip to the store, etc. It’s enough to make this Mamma’s head spin.

So I scoured (no pun intended, I swear!) the Internet for a super simple, economical, earth-friendly laundry recipe. Sure enough there were 152,000 hits just for “Homemade laundry detergent.” And I stumbled upon this simple idea multiple times so I figured this would be a great place to start. Here’s a secret our Grandmothers knew. This stuff rocks! And you’ll gasp at how cheap it is.

Simple Green Soap for Your Duds

4 cup load of homemade laundry soap, which will endure about 32 loads.

2 cups grated Fels Naptha bar soap
1 cup Borax (check out their new look in the photo above!)
1 cup baking soda

Place in an air-tight container.

Shake or stir and you’ve got a container of laundry detergent. I also threw in an old measuring spoon and labeled the old water container so ALL the squirrels in our nest would know what to do on laundry day.

Directions: Use 2 T per load and dissolve in water before adding clothes.

$$$$$ Financial breakdown $$$$$

16 oz box of baking soda: $.59. Only used about half the box. About $.30

Fels Naptha soap: $1.09 for the bar. Only used about 1/4 of the bar. About $.30

4 lb, 12 oz box of Borax: $4.49. Only used about 1/8 of the box. About $.30

1 cup=16 Tablespoons so… about 32 loads! That comes out to almost $.03 per load. Wow! Not too shabby. Sorry, Seventh Generation. You just can’t compete with this! Not even with your new(ish) and improved packaging…

Now what to do with all those clean, wet clothes. I’ve been researching easy ways to dry the laundry outside without erecting a permanent clothesline system and not spending a lot of money. Do you have a system for this that you’d like to share, dear readers? I’m not thrilled about the idea of hanging my Mamma panties and nursing bras up for Bert and Ernie to enjoy, but I’d love to hang towels, the duvet cover, jeans, sheets, and wouldn’t a wee onesie or two be cute?

For your Earth Day enjoyment, check back later today. I have a couple more thoughts and pretty pictures to share with you.

Until then, for our Mother’s sake, please don’t buy bottled water today at the very, very, very least. Come to think of it, don’t buy it tomorrow either…

Man the pumps! We’ve sprung a leek.

Posted on April 11, 2010 by BeSquirrely

That’s right, folks, we’ve sprung a leek. Millions of them. They’re springing up and making the nearby woods smell earthy and oniony. Spring has sprung! No morel sightings yet, but the leeks are here in a big way. (They’re also known as “ramps” in other parts of the country. Maybe in your neck of the woods?)

Check them out in this photo. See all that lovely green stuff popping through last fall’s leaves? That’s them! I wish this could be a “scratch and sniff” photo, but technology hasn’t gotten there quite yet…

These yummies are great with fresh asparagus and morels, but we’re not that far into spring in these parts. So how ’bout these ideas?

Spaghetti with wild leeks

Wild leek and sausage risotto

Roasted chicken with wild leeks and potatoes

Wild leek & potato soup

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According to Traverse Magazine, here are some helpful wild leek tips:

Do preserve leeks by pickling, drying or freezing. Just blanch first for 2-3 minutes.
Do use both the bulb and milder leaves
Do use a tool like a long knife or dandelion digger to help loosen the root hairs that grow from the tip of the bulb
Do store, unwashed, in refrigerator for up to one week.
Don’t leave piles of leeks on the kitchen counter too long or your kitchen will smell like a bus in Rome on a midsummer day