DIY Room Freshener

This is so simple to do, I'm not sure why anyone would use the chemical-laden, hormone disrupting, cancer-causing commercial air fresheners.

All this one involves is using a 3 oz. travel spray bottle, filling it about 3/4 full of water and adding about 15 drops of orange essential oil and about 2 drops of lavender essential oil.  Shake before use.

You can also spritz this particular formula on your hair for a little extra shine or for a nice perfume.  You know how smells always last longer in your hair?  You can take advantage of that fact here.

Orange oil is especially good for oder removal and is even recommended for improving the Feng Shui of a room.  If you made one of only lavender or lavender, ylang ylang and maybe some geranium oil, it would be for a great for spraying in your bedroom before bed for a nice, restful sleep.    

There are plenty of aromatherapy formulas out there, so you're sure to find one you love.  A couple awesome things about essential oils: most are naturally anti-bacterial and if you whatever you don't mix with a carrier oil/other essential oil or water lasts forever.  The 3 oz. bottle is nice because you will probably use it up before it goes bad.  If it smells rancid, don't use. (That makes sense, right? ;)

Just be sure the oils you use are actually essential oils and not "fragrance oils" or you risk just making a nasty chemical version.  There are some oils that shouldn't be used for certain conditions, so be sure to research that.  The ones I've listed are pretty safe and can even be used during pregnancy. (Except don't use lavender directly on little boys.  There's a possibility it affects their hormones.)

iHerb.com sells plenty of essential oils and their service is great!  If you use this code: ZEV497 then you get $10 off your first order of $40 or more or $5 off your order of less than $40.  If your order is over $60, you get free 1-3 day shipping and they always fill orders fast!  I do get credits if you use this code, but I really am very happy with their service and it sure beats using up gas and time driving around to find all the natural products I need.  They even have non-perishable food.  

Our Neighborhood Park Part 1

These photos are from the Earth Day celebration in April at the park a few turns from here.  It was really nice to be able to go to this family friendly event with our whole family for free and that the focus was right up our alley.  Angelo enjoyed crafting with the Girl Scouts, and I was especially proud when, after painting with the paint they'd provided, he asked if they had any water colors.  That's my little mixed-media artist! :)

(I found that picture CD!  Catch up post 1 complete! :)

More Sprouts and Planting

I followed the suggestion in Make Your Place to start pepper and tomato seeds in an egg carton. It worked really nicely and it's super exciting that it was so cheap and easy. Any time Angelo gets a chance to play in dirt is bonus too. (There is green glass in our overhead light here. We haven't punked his hair- yet. ;) Though I couldn't remember whether the book said to remove the starters from the carton or not, I did. Some of the roots had started growing into the paper, but for the most part, they removed easily when I cut the cups apart and tore down the sides to release the dirt. The transplants are doing well. Some tomato stakes are in order later, of course, but for now they are fine.

Really looking forward to the Mixed Media Collage Workshop I'm teaching over at Sterling Yoga! It is wonderful and fulfilling working in my studio, but sharing art with others is just so exciting and fun!

Speaking of sharing art with others, I'm working on some new Artist Trading Cards for the latest Art Chix swap. For a while, I've played with the idea of organizing a swap myself, even though I just played in my first one a few months ago. There are quite a few belly dancer visual artists out there and I've talked to a few about having a small belly dance themed swap. There's no reason non-bellydancers couldn't participate also! What do you think? Would you be interested? Let me know in the comments below! :)

Also, welcome and thank you to the new blog followers here! So glad you're joining us! :)

Sproutiness!!

Angelo is helping to plant lettuce and carrots in the top picture. His sand toys served as gardening tools since ours are probably hiding in boxes in the basement. The organic potting soil and big pots are from our local hardware store. The rest of the pots are what we had around the house. By the way, if you are ever tempted to do mosaic tile work on your flower pots and use joint compound instead of grout, never let your husband put them out in the rain. Moving fatigue made me ignore the dangers and then it was too late. :( Oh well, it was really fun putting them together and the tiles are already broken, so maybe I'll find a new indoor project...
We came back from Blackstone Raid on Saturday and found lettuce sprouts!!! So exciting!! This is the first time I've planted anything in about 9 years and the first time I've ever planted lettuce. *satisfied grin* I opted for a container garden since our deck is so conveniently located off the kitchen and thought it would be easier than raised beds. All the work I'm putting into the attic means I wouldn't be able to do both in time. We have seeds for other plants, but this is our start. I am so pleased that I actually got seeds in dirt this year and did it early enough for lettuce! That's one more step to depending less on "the man". Whoo Hoo!

More Books and My new Endeavor

Do you have a pile of books that you know you "should" read? If you do (and I'll bet most of us do), you are not alone. On those library shelves are plenty of books I've not read and there are several floating around the house waiting for me to pick them up again. As SARK reminds us in one of her books, "Books do not have to be finished to be beneficial." So, it's OK that we haven't finished all those books, but I really was feeling nagged by myself to dive further into them. Remember "Radical Homemakers"? Every time I ran out of lotion and hadn't made any, I thought of this book. I also looked through the book my Mom got me in college after I'd started buying bulk herbs at the co-op for colds, stress relief, etc. (A massage therapist who took my belly dance classes let me borrow one of her herb books and the rest is history... :) Make Your Place also showed itself and it is so straightforward that I could see more clearly how I would try making my herbal teas, lotions, etc.

I decided to start with one step: look for emulsifying wax, which I knew was in every recipe I'd seen for lotion. (Including this one.) The next time I went grocery shopping, I was keenly aware of how much I was spending on herbal teas, laundry detergent, etc. So my one little ingredient turned into a pretty big order. I have been thinking this over for many months, and am relieved to finally have the means to save money and depend less on industry. Even if I only make these supplies last 4 months, I will cut my expenses (for facial and body care, baby wash, supplements, pain and stress relief, etc, etc.) by about half. Plus, I will not have to run out every time I'm out of lotion, laundry detergent, green clay mask, and more (or at least can spend much less time at the grocery store.) Also, instead of giving my money to Giant Eagle and Target, I'll be giving my money to a small company that focuses on the earth.

When I did my initial search for emulsion wax, Mountain Rose Herbs came up. Angry Chicken recommended this company and they had most of what I needed. I tried looking for companies that were more local who sold organic, fair trade herbs, but didn't find any. What Mountain Rose didn't have, Starwest Botanicals did.

I have the ingredients out on the counter and am posting here to encourage me to get creating. :) Boxes are left to be unpacked and shelves to be built in the attic and we have seeds to plant, so there's lots of work ahead, but I'm sure that Angelo will enjoy being my helper and I'm looking forward to it, really. :)

Tomato Canning Feminists

Before I elaborate on the tomatoes, I just want to give a little update on my second detox attempt. It will be short, because I had no major symptoms. It went well. Don't go to Wine and Jazz festival and then up your detox efforts the next day and all should be well. :)

I'm currently reading "Radical Homemakers; Reclaiming Domesticity from a Consumer Culture" - "Mother Nature has shown her hand. Faced with climate change, dwindling resources, and species extinctions, most Americans understand the fundamental steps necessary to solve our global crises-drive less, consume less, increase self-reliance, buy locally, eat locally, rebuild our local communities.In essence, the great work we face requires rekindling the home fires.Radical Homemakers is about men and women across the U.S. who focus on home and hearth as a political and ecological act, and who have centered their lives around family and community for personal fulfillment and cultural change. It explores what domesticity looks like in an era that has benefited from feminism, where domination and oppression are cast aside and where the choice to stay home is no longer equated with mind-numbing drudgery, economic insecurity, or relentless servitude.Radical Homemakers nationwide speak about empowerment, transformation, happiness, and casting aside the pressures of a consumer culture to live in a world where money loses its power to relationships, independent thought, and creativity. If you ever considered quitting a job to plant tomatoes, read to a child, pursue creative work, can green beans and heal the planet, this is your book."

This book has spoken to me in so many ways, and I'm barely into part 2. I've known for so long that "working for the man" didn't make much sense to me. You work and work and work and don't have time to clean your house, do the laundry or cook from scratch. You also don't have the energy to put into personal relationships or build community bonds. (Even though I've not worked for an employer [except for contracting with WVU for classes here and there], I still am feeling the demanding requirements of teaching weekly.)I'm more inspired than ever to:

1. Plant a garden

2. Sew clothes and toys for Angelo, re-usable shopping bags, baby wipes, cleaning cloths, napkins, and any decorative home items we might "need"

3. to dye/re-dye/tie-dye stained clothing to extend its life

4. Frequent thrift stores even more for art/craft supplies, clothing, dishes, books, etc.

5. cook more from scratch (including making all sauces, crusts, mac n' cheese, and any other "convenience items" we used)

6. make more of an effort to make the local farmer's markets. (Morgantown and Cheat Lake) Last year, we did a CSA, but the schedule was difficult to adhere to.

7. use cloth training pants for Angelo at least part of the time.

8. find a source for raw milk and make our own yogurt

9. find out how and make our own flower essences

10. make our own shampoo/conditioner/soap, household cleaners,lotions, herbal remedies, etc. (Make your own shampoo: http://www.brighthub.com/environment/green-living/articles/15787.aspx ;Make your own liquid soap: http://tipnut.com/homemade-liquid-soap/)

12. Weave!!! I love yarn!!! (and have a ton of it)

11. Frequent libraries more(for free books to learn more skills, story hour to take advantage of social and enriching activities for Angelo and used book sales for cheap used books for more skills and art supplies)

12. Barter belly dance lessons, Reiki, Occupational Therapy evaluations for puppy sitting, baby sitting, photo developing/printing, ...

13. Build community by inviting friends for potlucks, attending WV Sprouts meetings, letting them know about library and other activities I'm already going to.

14. Learn to make wine.

15. Discontinue all magazine subscriptions and look at online articles.

My last few Face Book posts have highlighted a couple inspiring quotes from the book. To sum up, family is really important to me and spending more time at home, nourishing our family, acting as a cohesive unit is my ultimate goal. I told my brother-in-law, Mike a few years ago, before we had Angelo that I "just wanted a peaceful life". These goals will definitely help me get there. :)

Inspired and Encouraged

My toenails are painted orange to celebrate the Halloween season! I included the picture with Angelo's toes because they're just too adorable not to share. :)

I always love this season- Falloween as the newspaper called it last year. Every year after Pennsic, I get so excited about Halloween preparations. I used to restrain myself and wait to decorate or make things, but the last couple of years I've given in. Why put off Joy? Besides, with all the creative energy I have around this time, I think it's actually bad for my health to resist the urge to make things involving witches and bats.

This has been a life-long love for me. Besides loving to dress up (apparently it was my first game; gee, who'd have thought I'd become a professional belly dancer? ;-), I've always loved things that were kind of creepy. Not necessarily gory or bloody (though I did have a few years of bloody costumes ... ), but dark and mysterious. I like ghost stories and my favorite part of the sunrise Children's museum was the upstairs section with all the antique toys, which would give everyone else the creeps.

For Angelo's first Halloween, I was so excited to have a baby to dress up that he had about 5 costumes. We sought out all the kid friendly Halloween parties we could to take advantage of it. But, I definitely bit off more than I could chew. I was still trying to sew my matching Kanga costume to his Roo costume about 10 minutes before we left for Trick-or-Treat in our friend's neighborhood. So, the next year I started finishing that costume with what I thought was plenty of time. I even vowed to take any and all shortcuts, fighting my nemesis, Perfectionism. Well, I finished mine early and figured that since I now knew what I was doing with this sort of thing, it would be easier if I finished my husband's Tigger costume. Of course, that put me hot gluing stripes right until we frantically left for Trick-or-Treat in the DeHaan's neighborhood. I'm pretty sure I dressed in the car on the way over. So, I promised Angelo and Eric both that I would not do that again. I will start on the Halloween costumes right after Pennsic so we can enjoy and celebrate my favorite day of the year instead of running around like mad people. I have my costume ready to go and have all the materials for Angelo's. I've even drawn out a plan for his costume pattern and done a body tracing (it's so hard to believe he's that tall!) Last night I took some more baby steps toward getting his costume made. I'm relieved to know that I have enough material and won't have to order more. Things are laying in the right direction, waiting for that first oh-so-scary cut. I trimmed up the body tracing to help make the pattern. When I got too scared, I started working on more Halloween cards.

Speaking of Halloween cards, I'm considering selling some. I think I mentioned that... Well, I'm still considering it. It has been fun, so I will keep you posted. I'll start by posting here and link to FaceBook, I'm sure.

As if I weren't doing enough already, I have been reading Amanda Blake Soule's "Creative Family". Reading about her and the other creative Mamas in Mothering magazine was what gave me the final inspirational push to start a blog of my own. I love the book! I have already been doing some of the things in the book, and that's what I connected with when I read the Mothering article. It was exciting and encouraging to read about someone else doing them. I had plans to do some of the other things (like make cloth blocks) and found simple, easy to follow directions for those ideas. Since my husband is busy building a pirate ship (see pictures above) to play on in the yard, I decided that it was absolutely necessary for me to make Angelo pirate dress up clothes. When I read Amanda's section on dress up, I was excited about my original idea and encouraged to make even more costumes; especially since I loved dress up so much as a kid ... and still do. I also really loved the section talking about making as many gifts for the holidays (and other occasions) as you can and buying handmade when you can't make them all. I've made handmade gifts over the years, but could only do so much. Committing to buy handmade will not only be fun, but more love and artistry goes into each gift, less commercialism, less materialism. I'm glad I've been buying natural toys for Angelo for this reason too. I also love her projects for making reusable cloth banners and party crowns for birthdays. How cool is that! And the ones she made are so cute! How great to put love into something that celebrates your child and also protects the Earth they'll be living on long after we are. And the "bed time bags" that hold pj's and bedtime stories? Adorable and ingenious! I'll be making one for Angelo in the future, I'm sure. Can't wait to see what else is in the book!

Also on the "make things" docket- a bag for Angelo to carry his trains in (he's in that stage where he has to have certain things, usually trains, in his hands most of the time and not being able to hold them all can be frustrating for him), business cards and a new halter, maybe a silk gauze blouse for Shimmy, New dance bra for the performance at Patty's, more Halloween decorations and costume accessories (I've done some fun stuff with antique photos lately), perhaps to sell, a tiara because I think the fairies who put the fairy ring at the entrance of our door may have run off with mine, costumes for FaerieCon ... I guess I start on those holiday gifts mid November. :-) I'll probably be setting up auxiliary work stations around the house so Angelo can be set up with crayons, pencils and paper while I create too. He's liked that a bit more lately. Or Daddy can play pirate with him while I sew, glue, paint, etc.

Earth Loving Practices

So, while I do not claim to be a perfect Global Citizen, over time, our family has taken steps to be more Earth friendly. I've found that once I became a mother it became even more important to me to preserve M0ther Earth. After all, "We did not inherit the Earth from our ancestors, we borrow it from our children." (Chief Seattle, more than 150 years ago) and "With our every deliberation, we must consider the impact of our decisions on the next 7 generations" (Great Law of the Iroquois Confederacy) Hopefully, this list of what we've done so far will help anyone looking for ways to help the earth and inspire those who weren't looking. :)

*Most obvious, despite the fact that no one collects recycling in our area, we separate and deliver the recyclables to a recycling station an exit down the road.

*We have a large amount of dish and hand towels to reduce our paper towel use. I've even cut up old towels and serged the edges to make more cleaning towels.

*I am a vegetarian. My husband does not eat red meat or poultry. 

*We are raising our son vegetarian, therefore reducing his carbon footprint.

*We use environmentally friendly cleaning and paper products. (7th Generation all purpose and shower cleaner, toilet paper, paper towels, chlorine free training pants [uses no chorine and recycled paper]; Ecover non-chlorine bleach and dishwashing tablets; Method laundry softener, glass cleaner, biodegradable wipes, Lil' Bowel Blue; Baby-Ganics floor cleaner.

*We increased the amount of insulation on our home and added a heat pump to reduce our energy usage.

* We use high efficiency washers and dryers.

*I re-use food containers to store leftovers

* I re-use glass jars for craft storage and paint water

*I collect bottle caps, wooden fruit crates, receipts, tags, cardboard and other odds n' ends 4 art.

*We drive zero emission cars.

*We give to Goodwill or find a friend who could use something rather than throwing it away. May seem like a no-brainer, but some people throw away useful things and I don't know why.

*We buy a share in our local CSA farm (community supported agriculture). Reduces shipping/fuel usage.

*We take plastic bags to the co-op so they can re-use them.

*We support local businesses whenever possible. (reduces shipping/fuel usage)

*Collect clothing I no longer wear but like for recycling as costuming, toys, etc.

*We use all natural, environmentally friendly toys for our son. I am also making some out of organic, naturally dyed material, organic cotton batting and stuffing. 

I have not figured out why I cannot cut and paste things in this blog. :P otherwise, I'd give you more reasons why what we're doing is important in the words of other journalists, etc. 

I hope you are inspired by this list to make some changes and keep the earth viable for generations to come. or maybe you can pass it on to others who may want some ideas.  there is also a short video clip on howdini.com on how to reduce your carbon footprint.   

I also plan on starting to cook more from scratch, even it is only once or twice more a week or month. Baby steps do make a difference. This will be a theme throughout this blog. :)