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! :)

Mama's Special Tea

Little Mr. came down with a cold, so I mixed up some cold care tea using herbs from my big order. I used a 25.5 oz jar (old marinara sauce jar) and approximately these amounts of the following:

about 1 cup of linden flowers and leaves

about 3/4 cup of elder flowers

about 1/4 cup of peppermint leaves

about 1/2 cup chamomile flowers (may cause an allergic reaction in those with allergies in the daisy family)

about 1/2 cup meadow sweet (apparently acts enough like aspirin you shouldn't give to children with chicken pox or to anyone with an allergy to aspirin.)

I've provided some informative links to the ingredients so you can know more about them should you try this mix on your own. There are also plenty of books out therethat tell more about herbs. (Just a disclaimer, I am not dispensing medical advice, just telling you what worked for us. :) )

When I took the picture, I'd already made a batch of the tea, so my amounts were a pretty good guess for filling the jar in any case. First, I poured the ingredients in a large bowl, mixed them up, and then made a funnel out of a piece of paper to pour it in the jar, about a cup at a time (using the measuring cup I used to scoop out the herbs from their bags... when I used a measuring cup, that is. :)

My proportions were largely based on what we had the most of and the fact that the peppermint is very aromatic, so I assumed the mix didn't need much. However, since Angelo was pretty stuffy, I used 1 tbs. of mix and 1 tbs. of peppermint in about a cup and a half of hot water. I used our small french press, which is so easy for loose tea, especially when you want more than one serving. Adding some raw honey to the infusion (once it's in the cup) makes it extra taste-y and you also get the anti-bacterial and mucus-clearing properties of the honey.

Since a box of Traditional Medicinals Kids' Cold Care Tea costs an average of $5, (which we really liked and where I got the idea to use linden flower and chamomile) I am guessing this jar of tea is equivalent to at least $20 worth of tea, and I know it did not cost me nearly that much. It only took a few minutes to mix up, so I'm not sacrificing convenience as far as I'm concerned and I also don't have to deal with any packaging.

Have a great weekend!

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. :)