Being Green - NOT

Last week I listened to a radio program as the host and guests discussed "being green at Christmas". It sounded interesting so I listened. What a joke it became. Here are two of the most hypocritical suggestions from two of the guest "green experts".

Decorate a house plant with Christmas lights so a tree does not have to be cut down or an artificial one be purchased.  The guest was questioned further about this, it turns out she will not actually be home for Christmas, she will be visiting her parents who will have a real Christmas tree for all to enjoy.  To me this does not seem "green" so much as sensible, if you are going away for Christmas why bother putting up a tree? 

The next expert also suggested decorating a house plant with Christmas lights and mentioned she and her family had already had their Christmas celebration with extended family. The host asked what their plans were over the actual date of Christmas, oh, she and her family were going on a skiing vacation, the host asked how they were getting there! FLYING!!! What absolute hypocrisy. She did seem embarrassed to admit she was flying and spent a fair amount of time trying to avoid answering the question directly. The host laughed along with her about feeling "plane shame"!  What the heck!

A caller said they decided against Christmas cards this year as it seemed a waste of paper. So instead had written a brief poem, and made some hand-crafted ornaments and mailed those out to her friends and family.  I think her idea is nice, but I am really not seeing how it saved anything at all, surely the poem was printed or written paper, and the ornament and poem needed to be packaged for mailing etc. 

Others called in with what I thought were more practical suggestions, using newspaper and recycled ribbon for wrapping. Although I wondered why they still took a paper newspaper when most news is freely available on the internet requiring no paper be used. 

A few callers preferred to shop at second hand shops looking for gifts, but agreed this was probably not something most people would be comfortable doing. But of all the "green" suggestions it seemed the most practical. 

Free Fun Activities and All Close To Home

We live in an unincorporated part of our county, but I would not exactly classify us as rural, or suburban, but something in between. Leo, IN is just a couple of miles south of our home, it is a small suburban community, it has many nice sub-divisions, a number of businesses, is well run by it's council, and with a good tax base it is a great community with a couple of really nice play parks for children. Each summer over a weekend close to July 4th, Leo puts on the Freedom Festival, there is a 5K run, food trucks, vendor booths, bouncy castles and other child friendly activities, live music and the finale is an awesome fire work display around 10 pm. As a family the fireworks have become a tradition, we all go, it is a fun and enjoyable time. And throughout the year the park hosts a number of festivals that are all well attended.

A couple of miles east of Leo is Grabill, another small town, again well run, with many amenities including a small grocery store, bulk food store, hardware store and our doctor's office. There are two nice play parks and a branch of the Allen County library, and a large antique mall. Each September the town hosts Grabill Days, a community festival with lots of good food, lots of craft booths, and live music, the festival is very well attended, it began in the about forty years ago and is still going strong. 

The road that connect Leo to Grabill, a distance of 2 - 3 miles, has an awesome bike/walk path running beside the road, it is in constant use with walkers, joggers, and cyclist and a very nice amenity for the local residents.

Just south of Leo there is Metea Park. The 250 acre park run by Allen County has trails, a swimming beach, a nature center, and a nice woodland with the Cedar Creek running through it. The park does have an admission fee, but instead of paying each time I visit I decided to purchase an annual pass for Dave and myself and the grandchildren. At 55 I am considered a senior, so it only cost $25, that seems quite a good deal and is good at all Allen County run parks.

A few weeks ago I took Ralph and Masen to one of the Grabill parks. As a community project some years ago a long wooden train was built at the park, it has an engine, and six or more carriages, it is a wonderful attraction for small children,  perfect for their size and all children love playing train. There are picnic tables, mature trees, softball diamonds, slides and swings and climbing frames. Off to the side of the park is a paved trail that meanders a mile loop around a recreated wet land, and prairie land. A recent walk along the trail, on a beautiful summer day was so enjoyable, butterflies were enjoying the wild flowers, crickets chirped and other than insect sounds it was peaceful and so beautiful.  Ralph and Masen enjoyed the walk, it was a prefect distant for them.

Picnic at Grabill Park

Standing by wild flowers on the Grabill Park trail

Last week I took six grandsons to Metea park, we spent about an hour "hiking" on the trails in the woods. Again it was a beautiful summer day, low humidity with a pleasant breeze. We went up hill and down hill, and looked a the creek, and the boys collected acorns, it was a very relaxing and enjoyable time. When we finished our hike we stopped at the play ground for a few minutes and then headed home for a cold drink, and the boys all enjoyed an ice-cream sandwich treat.

The fun begins with a nice downhill trek

Enjoying the woods, they all wanted to find a stick to carry

Enjoying the view

Last Friday we took a trip to Leo to visit the Splash Pad and Rock Creek. What a glorious place for kids to play. The boys love the Splash Pad, and once they had their fill they moved on to the Rock Creek, a fun place to climb over and feel like you are having quite an adventure. Once finished with rock climbing we moved over to the play area, they went down the slides, played on the swings and dried out as they played. Then over to the music garden, a lovely area, with over sized instruments to play with. There are chimes, bells,a xylophone, and bongos, a fun area for kids and adults.  After our fill of music making we walked along the trail, it winds around the park and along the side of the St. Joseph river, towards the end of our walk the boys took a rest on a bench by the river. Afterwards we headed home for a cold drink, and again they enjoyed an ice-cream sandwich.

And, sometimes, after a fun afternoon out we need to take a little nap to recuperate. Little George made it almost five minutes into the movie we chose to watch, The Sandlot.

It is so nice to have a variety of fun activities to do that are all withing a few miles of home, and it breaks up the day for the kids, they can have lunch, a nice afternoon activity, and then home for a snack and a movie, or nap, and then it is time to go home. But most importantly are the memories made, and the fun I get to have with all of these wonderful kids.

Garden Bounty - Sure Wish We Had Planted More Veggies - and Thoughts on Self-Sufficiency

Enjoying the bounty of our garden and it is wonderful. The tomatoes are ripening nicely, each day I pick more, I may well end up canning some as the plants are loaded with fruit. The cucumber and zucchini plants, one of each, are keeping me well supplied. And the pepper plants just give and give and give, I love peppers, so the bounty is appreciated.
















I have a crock of cucumbers on the kitchen counter, they are well on their way to being dill pickles. I made a brine, then added a few garlic cloves and some fresh dill, popped in the cucumbers and covered the crock with a piece of cheese cloth and now they are left to ferment for one week. On Saturday I will move the pickles into a couple of jars along with some brine and then store in the refrigerator. Refrigeration halts the fermentation process. Fingers crossed they turn out nicely and have remained crisp. My next batch of pickles will be sweet, but I will probably use zucchini instead of cucumber, a nice sweet pickle is a fabulous addition to any sandwich, or so my taste buds think.

My only regret, I wish we had planted more. We haven't really done a garden properly for several years, this year we did it right but on a very small scale. I have kept up on the weeding, watered when needed, and generally tended my plants. It was much less daunting having only a small garden, but I know next year I will add kale, onions, rutabaga, radishes, and do more than one each of cucumber and zucchini.   But, I still want to keep it small scale. Gone are the days of planting fifty tomato plants, lots of potatoes, a large patch of corn, rows and rows of green beans and peas, and anything else I could fit in. I can't believe I used to keep up all the weeding on three huge gardens, and canned, froze, or stored all of the garden bounty. I would have a hundred plus pints of green beans canned, eighty plus quarts of tomatoes canned, corn, some canned, some frozen, peas always frozen. Potatoes and onions and other root veggies stored in mesh sacks in the basement. And with our four children home it all got eaten. Then I would can jars of grape jelly and make strawberry jam using our grapes and strawberries. And lots of applesauce from the fruit of our apple trees. One year I made some fabulous brandied pears. It was a satisfying way to live, but a lot of work.

I feel pulled back to my old ways, I am back to baking all of our bread, and although vegan, I miss having laying hens, and sometimes feel tempted to have another flock. But the cruelty of the hatcheries is beyond belief, and the poor little chicks are a day old and sent out in the mail, it is all rather horrendous. My motives are different now, I am trying to create less waste, so baking our own bread avoids bringing plastic bread packaging into the house. Baking cookies and other goodies for the grand children and family also avoids bringing packaging into the house. I was able to purchase thirty pounds of blueberries at a very good price, and they came in cardboard packaging, win win for me. I froze half of them for eating, and the other half Dave is going to use to make blueberry wine.  I like doing things myself, so does my husband, so a certain level of self-sufficiency is satisfying.

But in regards to self-sufficiency, it is a nice dream, but it is not really doable. Sure I can bake my own bread, but I don't grow and mill the grain for the flour, I don't know how to make yeast, I have to buy sugar and other dry goods. I can't make my own canning jars and lids for them, there are always things that we use that we cannot supply for ourselves, and I am okay with that, it is the way the world works. I think the main goal of those who desire self-sufficiency is to do for one's self as much as possible and to be good stewards of the earth and the resources provided to us. Some want isolation and separation from society as a primary reason. I would say my husband and I are quiet people, we keep ourselves to ourselves and the friends we hang with are our adult children and their partners and our fabulous grandchildren, that is our circle, and we love it.

The other benefits we reap from our way of living are enjoyment, feeling in touch with the seasons,  with nature and with the cycle of life. We find it brings great satisfaction to our mind, body, and spirit.

On another topic, today is a Triple Birthday in our family, my husband is 61, our son Ben is 28, and our grandson Peter is 5 - how cool that three generations in our family share a birthday. Tonight Dave and I will celebrate alone, and on Saturday we are having a family party, as on the 10th our daughter-in-law Taylor is 26, she is Ben's wife, and our son-in-law Brad, Amber's husband, is 34 on the 14th.  August is a crazy birthday month, our oldest grandson Henry will be 11 on the 26th, and my mom will be 80 on the 27th.  Our newest grandson, is due to arrive on September 7, but if he comes early he too could add to the August craziness!

The Big Sort Out

Wow what a whirlwind of activity has taken place in our home and how refreshing it feels. I started to de-clutter our home two weeks ago, I have now gone through almost everything and have donated four van loads of stuff to a variety of charity shops throughout Fort Wayne. I have a feeling of accomplishment and satisfaction.

My kitchen counters are clear of all stuff, my cabinets are organized and contain what we need, the drawers are neat and tidy, items are easy to locate. The pantry is pleasing to look in. My book shelves are a treat, all of our rooms look peaceful, tidy, calm. My husband caught the bug, he cleaned out his side of the closet and his dresser and end table, he is keeping everything picked up and put away too. Hubby is talking about sorting our the garage and barn, this will be quite an accomplishment, I will help, but he needs to lead the sort out as the bulk of the stuff is his and it is not my decision to make in regards to what we will keep, sell, donate, or trash.

Cleaning the house is so easy, there is no picking up to be done, simply dusting as needed, and vacuum as needed. I give the bathrooms a good wipe down each morning so they stay fresh and clean until the next deep clean. I have a few small areas to finish sorting, some shelves in my sewing room,  a few storage bins in the attic, some paperwork in a file cabinet drawer, and my sock collection, that is it. I cannot believe how much I got taken care of in just two weeks, and some areas I did twice!

All my closets are organized and I know where everything is, as there is a place for everything and everything has a place, what a wonderful feeling. And my basement, it is neat and tidy again :) I even tackled a lot of the attic, just a little more to go.

My concerns. I read that due to the "Marie Kondo Effect" charity shops this year have had record amounts of donations, in fact have received so much stuff that many have had to resort to renting storage space. And, I would think, the flip side of this is that as people are realizing they need less, and want less, they are perhaps not shopping as frequently at charity shops so they are maybe having a harder time shifting the overwhelming haul of stuff they have had donated. I hope that all the people who have rid themselves of excess possessions and stopped mindlessly consuming will continue to do so, it is good for them, good for their bank account, good for the environment, but it is not so good for the manufacturers and the retail outlets and I hope it doesn't result in people at the low end of the totem pole being laid off because less of the items they help produce are wanted. Knowing human nature, many who have had a good old clear out and want of life of minimalism will pursue it for a while but will find old habits die hard and unless vigilant will find that "stuff" will again enter their homes. I hope I am vigilant, I hope I continue to feel motivated by the peace and harmony created by a neat and tidy home, and hope this is a way of living that continues for the rest of our lives.

My best suggestion if you want to begin a big sort out, start small, decide to sort a book shelf, perhaps one kitchen cabinet, a bureau drawer, do something each day, baby steps add up fast and before you know it you are on a roll. The more you do the easier it gets. Watch some YouTube videos, The Minimalist Mom and Joshua Becker are both excellent and offer practical advice. A book on YouTube, The Joy of Less by Francine Jay - an excellent primer, listen to it as you purge areas of your home, she will motivate you with good advice and sound philosophy. Whatever you decide to do don't feel intimidated, just get going and I don't think you will regret it.

Bean

Around the House

Here we are, the final day of May! So far a cool, wet spring. The peonies are beginning to open, the trees are fully in leaf, summer is almost here even though the temperatures don't feel like it.

This morning while out walking I turned a corner and was wowed by the sunrise, the sun was just a large orange-pink-red circle, it was truly beautiful, my picture does not do it justice.

This is not a good picture, because it was really beautiful and rather stunning in reality.

Also on my walk I came across a strange creature, something I have not seen before, and I do not know what it is, if you have any ideas let me know. It was about eight inches long, appeared to have many teeny-tiny legs, and moved rather like a worm. It was in the road heading into grass, not too far from a pond and a wetland, it looks as if it is more at home in a wet or damp environment.

What on earth is this creature?

This week I learned about sprouted grains, the health benefits of eating them and how to sprout them. Armed with my new information I went to my favorite health food shop and picked up three whole grains, rye, wheat, and spelt, and a fine mesh strainer lid for my mason jars. I started the sprouting process on Wednesday, and this morning the sprouts have started to emerge. I will store the fully sprouted grains in the refrigerator to retard further growth, and enjoy some with each of my meals. Sprouted grains are good to add to salads, cooked foods, and to my morning oats. The benefits of eating sprouted grain are many, there are numerous YouTube videos to watch if you wish to learn more.

I attempted to make Vegan Yogurt this week with unsweetened soy milk and probiotics, using a recipe I found online. The yogurt thickened up somewhat, more like a buttermilk consistency, but it was so tangy, and I mean tangy, that I ended up throwing it away. I am going to look for another recipe to try. As the saying goes, try, try, and try again :)

The other week my grandsons brought over a dragon fruit, a fruit I have no experience with. We googled to find out how to eat it. I must say it was rather odd, the pulp inside is an unappetizing gray color with little seeds, rather like a kiwi in texture and taste, but the color is so off putting. The outside of the fruit is beautiful, a ruby pink fading to a yellowish green, it is so shocking to cut it open and be faced with a very bland gray pulp. I think I can honestly say I have had dragon fruit and doubt I will ever choose to eat it again.

Last weekend Dave and I went shopping for glider for our front porch, we had a porch swing for many years, but it eventually fell victim to the weather and was no longer safe to use. I missed the porch swing, but decided a glider would work better on the porch as it would not need a frame to hang from, the frame takes up a lot of room.  We went to several stores and eventually picked out this glider, we really like it and it fits well on the porch.

We decided to really limit the amount of plastic we bring into our home, we now take our own bags to any store that we visit, and I choose glass containers over plastic when there is a choice. But to avoid bringing any plastic into our home seems to be an impossibility, so many items are in plastic and I can understand why, it is a versatile material, lightweight, not easily broken, but when we are done with it what do we do with it?  Due to years of not using our own bags we have tons of plastic grocery bags in our home and I was feeling frustrated about what to do with them and then I discovered PLARN, lol.
Plarn is yarn created out of strips of plastic bags, there are many tutorials online to see how to turn your bags into plarn. Once the balls of plarn are rolled you simply crochet with the stuff, I am going to make a tote bag. I think this is an excellent way to up-cycle our plastic bags. The tote will be useful, practical, and long lasting, and those plastic bags get to live a second life, a much, much longer life of usefulness. I will post an update on this new to me project, wish me luck with my plarn adventure.

I really like that I am fifty-five years old and every week learn or experience something new to me for the first time. What new things have you experienced or learned recently?

Peace be with you,

Bean

What Stories Could This Tree Tell

Dave and I took advantage of the unseasonably warm January weather this past Sunday to take a hike through Pokagon State Park near Angola, Indiana. We did a little over 6 miles, up and down hills, through woods and open spaces, around ponds and past creeks, enjoying the scenery and the walk.  We made a slight alteration to our normal route and  at the top of a steep hill came upon the tree pictured. What happened to this tree? How did every branch get broken off? What type of tree is it? What I do know is that even in  death the stark beauty of the tree still gives pleasure. 

Around The House November 2018

Wow November blew by. It was a very, very cloudy month, and we had more little daily dusting's of snow than I can ever remember for this time of the year.

We celebrated two birthdays, Alivia was 6 and Ralph was 2. And of course we celebrated Thanksgiving.

All the grandchildren at Ralph's birthday party

I am keeping up on my reading and have a stack of books to keep me reading for several more weeks. I am knitting again, and recently finished a sweater and hat for Dolly Dingle and started a sweater for Masen and plan to knit a sweater for Peter, George, and Ralph. All that knitting will keep me busy for a while.

Dolly Dingle in her new sweater and hat

A sweater my talented mother knitted years ago.

Every Wednesday Masen, Ralph, and any other grandchildren who are over enjoy a trip to story time at our local branch library in Grabill, it is a nice little outing with story time, a craft and some playtime, and grandma can pick up any books that I may have on hold.

Masen and Ralph all bundled up to go to story time

I am busy getting ready for Christmas. I baked a fruit cake, traditional English fruit cake, for my parents, I purchased the marzipan for it yesterday and will put that on the cake in another week. I decided to make our Christmas crackers, they are expensive and I need twenty-four, so far it has gone well, eight made and they look alright.

Homemade Christmas Crackers

We have planned a Breakfast with Santa on December 16th. My dad gave his Santa suit to my oldest son Matt when my parents moved to Florida. On the big day everyone will show up for breakfast at ten-thirty (brunch really), this way no one need miss Mass. After a fun breakfast, sausage, hash browns, waffles and eggs, with orange juice and chocolate milk, my son Matt will disappear and Santa will appear! WOW how magical is that? We will have a small gift for each grandchild. The younger kids are so excited that Santa is coming to grandpa and grandma's house, it warms my heart.

Peter the marshmallow king

Tonight, December 5th, St. Nicholas comes, I made little treat bags for all grandchildren, with chocolate coins and candy canes, the treat bags are going home with the parents and the children have all been instructed to put their shoe outside their bedroom door before going to bed. My kids loved this tradition growing up. Best to be a good kid, because naughty children get a lump of coal.

We put our tree up a week ago, I purchased a real one, it is short needled and I really like it. To remember to water it I re-purposed a wine bottle to be a tree waterer. I keep the bottle next to the sink as a reminder. The wine bottle is the perfect shape to reach through the branches to the water container beneath the tree.

And finally, a couple miscellaneous pictures.

Found this in the junk drawer, oh how long ago.

One Eye the Cat, the stray who adopted our family.

Packed Lunch for Vegans

Well I am pleased to say that Dave is still eating vegan for most days of the week, with an occasional vegetarian meal and he eats meat for one meal a week.

I work two full days a week, and I take the same thing for lunch each day, yes you have guessed it, my bowl of weeds along with an apple and some cut up veggies. Dave usually takes a sandwich, sometimes with soup, and sometimes a bean and rice wrap.

Each morning I wake up at four-thirty and am out of bed by five at the latest. I head downstairs put on the coffee, make my oatmeal, take my vitamins and supplements, check the news via the internet and make our lunches and head out for a walk or run. First I put my veggies on to steam, cut up my raw veggies, and put lentils, canned tomatoes and nutritional yeast in a plastic container in readiness for the addition of the steamed veggies. That's my lunch made. For Dave I make a "salad sandwich', he had a 100% whole wheat bun with Dijon mustard and then has some lettuce, sliced cucumber and tomato, a nice slice of Vidalia onion and some pickled mild yellow peppers. If it is a cold day, he works outside, I add a thermos of soup. Vegan vegetable soup is his favorite, and I do a sort of vegan Jumbalaya soup he enjoys too. Vegan soup is quick and easy to make, no waiting for meat to cook thoroughly and become tender. For a change he takes bean and rice wraps. I mix together a can of fat free refried beans, mix in a cup of cooked brown rice, salsa to taste, and some chopped onion. I put this mixture into an X-treme Hi-Fiber whole wheat wrap, he usually takes three, a tasty lunch, they are good cold or hot.

My lunch. I take a knife to cut my apple with, chopsticks to eat my lunch with, and a book to read.

My trusty lunch bag

Dave's "salad sandwich"

A thermos of soup, I think this was the vegan jumbalaya-ish soup.

Thanksgiving 2018

Boy Thanksgiving seems a long time ago, but really only a few weeks have passed since our celebration. What a fun day we had together. Good company, good food, good fun. I organized party games for the younger grandchildren, oh don't you remember the fun you had as a child playing musical chairs, musical statues and best of all, pass the parcel. It was high entertainment indeed.
The older grandchildren played Monopoly with the Dad's.

Our oldest son Matt plays Sorry with his oldest, Alivia. I love, just love this picture.

After Sorry the younger grandkids were all in for a rousing game of Memory.

Of course I had to prepare a lot of food to fuel the troops, and they obediently chomped their way through the goodies and dinner.

The childrens table, set for ten

The grownup's table, set for ten