Earth Hour

I just signed us up for Earth Hour. Tomorrow night at 8:o0 I will turn off all our lights, power down this addiction box, and go outside. We may have candles or better yet the monkeys can play with their wind-up flashlights. I will attempt to guilt my neighbors into participating. I may offer beer.

I am really trying to teach my children to take care of our little piece of earth. They are already professional composters and will retrieve banana peels out of your trashcan and give you "The Look." They know the location of the recycling center. They don't throw out paper. We have had to explain to Middle Monkey that it is okay to cut down invasive, nonnative trees. He gave his Opa a lecture about how bad it was to cut down a tree. Opa was amused.

Anyway, should you feel inclined and want to have fun in the dark, sign up for Earth Hour. No Meme, I do not want a report on how you spent the time. I wonder if I am the only one in small town Texas participating in this global event?

Aunt Debbi Gives You A Lecture.

I am going to be out again today clan raising a bunch of our offspring.

I read a really good post on Poor Richard's Almanac this morning. Check it out. I truly believe that it is essential that we all know where our food comes from. If you are going to eat meat, and I do, respect the animal that it came from. Learn about soil. Learn how we are all connected. Conserve water. Make compost.

SAVE THE EARTH. IT IS THE ONLY PLANET WITH CHOCOLATE!!!!

I feel better.

Have a Nice Day

Additional Observations

1. Apparently you should not ask your loving husband if you have hay in your hair.
2. A ten year old and a middle aged woman can build a compost pile about 10 times faster than the middle aged woman can by herself.
3. Compact florecent light bulbs are great for saving energy, but they cast more light on dirt. I have made my best friend crazy cleaning her baseboards - good times.
4. An eight year old will try to wash his plastic flip flops in the washing machine.
5. I am really bad at matching socks.

If you would like to add any observations feel free to share. Please don't use this blog to pick on a sister. Oh, never mind go for it.

The new quilt

reusable shopping bags

The dollar store lady thinks I can sell my homemade shopping bags. They are made out of crochet thread. This one was done on the green knifty knitter loom. I have made five so far. The other four are bigger. The broccoli with it is out of the garden today.

my shopping bag

Reusable bags are now cute

Our very pretty, very fashionable neighbor proudly showed me the reusable canvas bags she bought at Brookshire's for her groceries. She likes them because they are cute. Going green just got a cute endorsment in little old Crandall. She most likely will not think my homemade string bags are nearly as cool.

Compost heating up rooting agave

The compost pile has heated up to 120. According the the thermometer that is active, not hot. Hot is over 140. At least it is doing something. Michael feels better.

Debbie gave me a huge cutting of a century plant. The bottom is already calloused so we will see if it will root out in a container. I am not a fan of cactus, but this is a cool plant.

We may get a freeze in the next few day, so tomorrow we move all the plants into the greenhouse, pick all the green tomatos, and bring in the basil to dry.

cold compost

When we got up this morning the compost pile was at 100 degrees. It was 95 three hours later. I guess there was not enough nitrogen. Michael wanted to add more water, but that will just make it harder to turn when it goes completely cold. When it gets cold we will turn it and start over.

House keeping

I use natural products to clean our home. I have asthma and strong chemical cleaners really make me sick. We use orange oil and baking soda in kitchen and bathroom the combination will take soap scum right off. I use white vinegar to clean windows and mirrors. We got rid of the carpets and put in wood floors that are much easier to keep clean just sweap and mop and they are completely clean. I cant prove it, but since we started using the orange oil, I have seen fewer bugs. We had some grease stains of a few of our shirts. I did a little research and found a site that suggested corn starch. I put some on the stain while the shirt was dry, let it sit for a while, shook it out and washed the shirt again. The stains came out. I am trying it on a motor oil stain on one of dh's shirts, dont know if it will work yet.