new hair 2.1

it was mini me's turn today
BEFORE

AFTER

WITH OUR AWESOME STYLIST AMY

Patchouli Propagation Numero Tres

This time I'm including a picture of a test area I didn't think would work (which is why it wasn't in any other post)

A non-draining, ceramic pot located in full sun. I didn't think ANYTHING would last there...but it seems as though I have two good shoots taking hold

Mama is doing GREAT, full of new growth again


As are the cluster group and 2 of the peat pot minis (one might think only 2 is not that great of a harvest but remember, I was going to be happy if only ONE of my plants took especially if they produced a plant as hearty as mama!)





**side note, several of us believe the little peat pot success stories are due to a little Nicha energy being left over in her toy that stands guard :)

life saving potential

We went to pay our citation today for last month's dog incident
I prayed before hand...that financial situations would not become a burden and that Bear will be able to come back to us.
$500 cash handed over to the clerk of court and we'll go to visit Bear today

Just in front of the car in the parking lot was this branch filled with Usnea

This caught my attention for several reasons
I've been meaning to harvest some to create a tincture since it helps EVERYONE in the house when we struggle with strep or allergy related symptoms but I won't let hub or the kids just go pull it off the trees (even though it is plentiful in our yard) because I want the harvest to be pure...for the tree to be done with the Usnea and the Usnea to no longer have need for the tree...that way the Usnea be harvested with all of it's potential. Usnea has life saving potential.
Of course those words...taken out of context mean a lot
but today I'm taking them fully in the context of the sentence.
Usnea has life saving potential
and this branch was placed in front of my car to let me know my prayers had been answered and the Universe has everything in order for Bear and for our family.

Keep on reaching for higher ground

Weeks ago we got rid of our microwave and you know...no one is any worse off. I thought for sure it'd be a huge mutiny but with this one small change in our kitchen, seems as though the fruit and sandwiches are getting eaten more often instead of the microwaveable burritos and pizza rolls...it's a good thing.

We've also switched to unhomogenized milk ... we may go raw if we can find a good source but it's only sold for pet consumption in our state so we'll see.

My most recent switch has been our cleaning products both for our bodies and our home. I've stopped buying myself body wash (even though I used great, animal friendly organic products) because one less plastic bottle is still one less plastic bottle...not to mention this great honeysuckle soap is only $0.75 a bar which is MUCH less than my old body soap!



So onto higher ground.
I've been a clorox wipes girl forever
the kids swish and swipe their bathroom daily (yes I dream but it does get done a few times a week), there's a tub in our bathroom, a tub in the kitchen and one under the sink for just in case uses...
I started thinking about how many of these things we throw away a day, and they're not labeled as biodegradable so my conscience started to get to me.
Then...voila! Greenworks biodegradable wipes
honestly, that only made me feel half good...because the company still makes non-earth friendly products so who cares that I use their earth friendly ones...it's just twice as much plastic on the earth.

Last night the hub and I watched a commercial for a new eco-conscience, biodegradable cleaner by another famous brand name company and I mentioned that we really just need to create an eco-bucket with some vinegar, salt, lemon juice, baking powder and good old fashioned elbow grease. His first comment, "that would be better for our septic too, let's do it."
Woo hoo!


ingredients:
- white vinegar
- lemon juice
- baking soda
- salt
- water


glass & window cleaner:
- 2 cups water
- 3 tablespoons white vinegar
- 6 tablespoons lemon juice


scouring powder:
- equal parts of vinegar, salt, baking soda and water * it should be pastey


toilet-bowl cleaner:
- 1 cup white vinegar and 6 tablespoons baking soda. let stand for 30 minutes and scrub clean.


additional cleaning supplies:
- Murphy's Oil for our wood floors. it is a vegetable oil base.
- earth friendly laundry and dishwashing detergent (we've been using Seventh Generation)

Man and just imagine all the money we're going to save...it's the non-food items in the grocery basket that kill our budget every week...a gallon of vinegar is less than $1.50 and our neighbors grow lemons!

I have some great "recipes" for other clean cleaning projects but I dunno how to post a pdf so if you're interested, let me know and I'll email them

gluten free from the sea

Yum!
Hub had a good day at sea today!

insert pic here

I get new hair today
:)

update...I got new hair today
nothing fancy schmancy...just shaped it up while it grows
it can be flippy a'la lisa rinna
or not...when I left the salon it was sorta early 70's mod
but after a full day at work and school this is what you get

Happy Gluten Free St Patty's Day!

Whole foods had yummy fresh pork bangers on sale...of course to celebrate the little leprechaun, that inspired me to amend a recipe for bangers and mash (the hubs favorite irish pub food) for dinner tonight all organic and all YUM (Aimee would be proud!)
Okay so the pic might not look THAT great...but I don't really think bangers and mash is very photogenic.
Even got some gluten free beer...and it's pretty tasty!

Back to Basics...Yoga Basics

Okay so it's time to consider how my physical ailments are tied to deeper mental or emotional issues


couldn't hurt...could only help
My hub made a great observation this morning
the soreness that has settled in from yesterday's practice is exactly where I want it to be (if I were to want soreness) my chest, my triceps, the tops of my shoulders my hamstrings and my outer quads (yay I'm ready for butterfly to go away!)
I'm ready for my practice again
I'm ready for it to be an integral part of my life again
I'm sad that I let it get away from me
but I'll let that sadness go with this morning's sun salutations

MMMMM Monday

Today has been glorious
Started with a yoga class at CPY...the entire studio is "power yoga" so even this yoga basics class kicked my butt (forget the fact that I haven't truly practiced in a year). My intention was some me time on my mat...and I got that, and some drops of sweat to boot.

Then off to Whole Foods to shop for groceries
I love shopping when there is no agenda and I can just walk around basking in the smells and colors around me. Unfortunately this WF is in a snooty part of town so some folks aren't as fellow-shopper conscientious as they could be, but I was in no hurry so I patiently waited and smiled at the butcher while he tried to apologize with his eyebrows.

I bought a new book on healing herbs...seems even the hub is ready to move away from pharmacology and into farmacology so I'm dusting off my literature and saving glass jars and bottles...we move into tinctures over the next few weeks...especially while the usnea is everywhere!

Took my time with this week's menu and got some great fish from the fish market...i think we'll do "breaded" cod and shrimp tonight. (I stumbled across some rice flower in the mom and pop mexican store down the street and tried it out on the family last week, they all LOVED it and it made for a delicious coating that wasn't too "heavy")
Tomorrow...St Patty's day, we'll have Bangers and Mash (I love that my blackberry gets great internet reception! Bangers were on sale today and I had a recipe on my screen in no time) I took my time in the beer aisle too...what is st patty's day without some beer... bought 2 different brands of gluten-free beer...the hub and I have decided we'd try some GF stuff together...that way if he likes it, we don't have to be doubling up on the groceries, save space AND money.

Last but not least I had a luscious lunch


These crackers are amazing (I bought the herb variety) and have definitely made me "brave" enough to try making my own on low heat in the oven (I don't have a food dehydrator) I topped them with a shmear of natural liverwurst and raw cheese and a touch of mustard for kick
then I just kicked back and let myself feel each chew
It's amazing how satisfied I am with the little things when the little things are whole.

I need more water...and to stretch a bit
this morning's class is gonna leave me sore!!!

CPY tmw 9

woo hoo
back to a regularly scheduled yoga class

The First Garden

http://www.eattheview.org/petition

Sign the White House Victory Garden Petition!

This Lawn is Your Lawn from roger doiron on Vimeo.

Pumello

Yum!

Our most recent farmer's market find

looks like a VERY LARGE (they can be up to 9lbs each) grapefruit

but tastes NOTHING like it...very sweet, not as citrus-y as an orange

YUM! 

and some local orange blossom raw honey...it's that time of year! Ahhhchooo!

I thought this was something we'd stick in the "collective unconscious" file...

patchouli part deux

so it's been a few days and I've checked on my plants

lots of the "older growth"

 in my cluster pot has wilted...but that was supposed to happen I guess to protect the new growth?

the stems seem REALLY hearty and the new growth is "perky" yeah, I said it.

the individual peat pots...I don't think they're doing so great but my patchouli mentor tells me not to fret they're doing fine and to remember the live to die ratio on these things isn't all that

one (out of the bunch) looks really good

and several of them seem to have somewhat "rooted" into their soil. Heck with the way mama grew, if I get one new plant out of each propagation

 I'll be happy...

Speaking of Mama...

she's sprouted a bunch of lil ones

so far so good...

and there are root trails forming in the water jar...but they're still too small to clearly catch with my camera so you'll just have to wait for those :)

changing my template

seems to be a recurring theme

changed the kitchen

changed the garden

changed the glasses

changed my wardrobe

seems only fitting to change my blog

Patchouli Propagation Project

Well, if you've followed my blog you know I've been nurturing a patchouli plant from a cutting for a while now. Pictures of our front door show how massive the plant has gotten...I just LOVE it and simply brushing by it in the morning puts a nice fresh scent (not heavy like commercial oils) into the air.

Well...

it's time to either move it into yet a larger pot, or put it in the ground

before I do either, I had to prune it back (poor thing looks like it got it's annual crew cut before going back to school) but it does have TONS of new growth so it should fill out nicely.

The woman who gave me the cutting at a local farmers' market told me they are quite hard to grow, but once they do they're very hardy...I got lucky...all of hers died save one.

So, since I had all these great cuttings after the "hair cut," I decided to try propagating my patchouli. I've tried several different scenarios hopefully some of them take!

We have the root hormone in water method

the cluster method

and individual cuttings in peat pots

even if none of these work, I still have my original plant

and with the leftover leaves...i'm going to make a smudge stick

mmmmm  can't wait for that to be ready!

one less

if you look closely at our kitchen re-do, you'll see there's no microwave

ours died about 2 weeks ago...around the same time i was doing some research on eating to help keep my EBV under control...one of the topics was throwing away your microwave

so the hub and i decided, no better time than the present

it could all be conspiracy theory

but then again, maybe not

Reveal Day!

I've decided to get technical...technically, the kitchen is done! The "breakfast nook" will need another day for the final coat of paint and the herb shelf in the window...