« March 2010 | Main | May 2010 »
A couple of the ladies in the Prayer Shawl Group are having a KAL to make Haruni (Rav link). It's a great knit so far and I'm looking forward to knitting the edging. The yarn is Araucania Ranco Solid and I really like the color. In the LYS, the color looked more like the columbine on the bottom. But as you can see, it looks more like the iris on top.
What are you knitting these days?
Today's topic is in honor of Earth Day - 10 Ways to Be Green. Some of these we do and some we need to do better.
Teach others to recycle and reuse - One of the classes I'm teaching is a biology class where we make models from recycled materials. The kids bring in materials that their family recycles and we've made some great projects. I hope the kids now look at things in their homes and figure out a way to reuse or recycle them. (Speaking of reusing, I really want to make some of these! I just have to order the glue because I haven't been able to find it around here.)
Compost - I love having a compost pile but I don't add to it as often as I should. We even have a container for kitchen scraps but I get lazy. I think today I'll go to the basement and get the container and start using it.
Knit more Swifties - One thing I learned from this project was that I've been using too many Swiffer cloths. I would use one, throw it away when it was full, put on a new one and go to the next room. With the Swifty, I had to get the junk off of it before I threw it in the wash. That made me realize I should have gotten more mileage from the purchased cloths by cleaning them off.
Use reusable grocery bags - I have to confess that I am terrible about this! I use them for carrying stuff around but I rarely remember to take them to the grocery store with me.
Reuse plastic grocery bags - We use ours when we take the dog for a walk. But I have also taken them to the local food pantry because they use them to give food to clients. I keep saving up the bags but I forget to take them in. I should do that today because I'll be driving right by there.
Eat at home - It is all too easy for us to get busy and run through a drive-through somewhere. But it feels terrible to have all that trash to throw away. We try to recycle the bags and plastic containers but eliminating them all together would be better for the earth and for us.
Cook from scratch - Maybe this isn't true, but it seems like there is less to recycle when we cook from scratch. I read a comment from one of Carole's readers about making yogurt. That really would use less plastic containers. I even have a yogurt maker so there is no reason for me to buy yogurt.
Use a mulching blade on the mower - It's good for the grass, it saves time, and it reduces yard waste that may go to the landfill. When our grass gets too tall for the mulching blade we put the clippings on the compost pile.
Garden organically - I love having a garden! And I feel so good knowing where my food is coming from and that it hasn't been sprayed with anything.
Can, freeze, and dry food - As a result of having a garden we often are able to preserve food for later. The containers are reusable so a one time investment in jars or freezer containers pays off over and over.
Wow, this list could go on and on. What things do you do to be green?
Did you all have a good weekend? We had beautiful weather and I enjoyed being outside in it to cut the grass yesterday. With the mulching blade on the mower, I didn't have to empty bags of grass onto the compost pile and it hardly seemed like work. I did see a lot of things that need done around the yard, though.
I didn't get around to posting on Friday so I'll show you a finished object today. It's Swifty (Rav link) from Mason Dixon Knitting's Outside the Lines.
These aren't good photos and the project itself isn't pretty like the ones in the book. But the Swifty does work great! I just tried it out this morning and was amazed by the dog hair and dirt it picked up. I need to knit a few more of these. Do you think I'll clean the floor more often if I have fun cloths to use?
Emma's drama production went well this weekend. Can you believe I forgot to get a single picture? I wasn't back stage for costuming and it never occurred to me to snap a photo before. I'll have opportunities later because the group is taking their show on the road and will visit area elementary schools who don't have arts programs. I think they'll enjoy acting for the school kids and I think the school kids will love the show.
Now that much of the drama stuff is over I feel like I have a bit of a breather. Time to catch up on some of this housework that's piling up around here. I'd also love to straighten up my sewing room so I can make a few things for my wardrobe. Lynne has been sewing a lot lately and seeing her lovely projects makes me want to make some of my own.
Have a wonderful day!
Last week's Ten on Tuesday topic was 10 Favorite Magazines. I meant to post about it before I left for vacation, but never got around to it. And to be honest I don't end up reading many magazines. I subscribe to them but never seem to find the time to sit down to take a look.
Except for Cooking Light... Sometimes it does pile up with the rest of them, but often I do look through and turn down the corners of the pages with recipes I want to try. Over the weekend we tried Roasted Fingerling Potatoes and Baby Artichokes from the current issue and I thought I'd review it for you. Caitlyn does this and I always enjoy her reviews and the delicious looking food photos she shows.
Unfortunately my family is not a fan of artichokes and I forgot this when I planned the menu. I guess my enjoyment of artichokes caused me to forget this little tidbit of information. So I don't know that I'll make the recipe again without the modification of omitting the artichokes. I personally thought the dish was delicious but didn't enjoy the brown color of the artichokes. I did soak them in the lemon water the recipe recommends, but most of them still turned brown during roasting.
This recipe was easy to prepare. Since I hadn't cooked with fresh baby artichokes before, it was fun to learn a new cooking technique. And I liked the fresh flavors of the parsley and lemon rind. Hey, I learned about another new thing - Meyer Lemons. Steve bought them by mistake when he went by the store. I'm glad he got them so we could try something new.
Just a quick post today because I've got a bunch going on - trying to finish up nine hooded capes for a drama program, getting ready for school, church stuff, etc. I'm in the middle of a couple of knitting projects right now and here they are (details can be found in Ravelry):
The Original Prayer Shawl - I'm using James C. Brett Marble Chunky yarn. I love seeing the color changes while I'm knitting. I would have finished this on the trip home from spring break but I ran out of yarn. I'm hoping to get to the store today.
Zackenbarsch - This is a test knitting project. I'm using Cotton-Ease from my stash. I keep forgetting how much I like knitting with this yarn. Here's a link to the designer's original project.
I hope each of you has a great day and that you get a lot accomplished!
Last week was our spring break and we traveled to Florida to visit Steve's parents. The weather was terrific - not too hot, not too cold, and a little breezy. It was so nice to have a break from everything but I did miss not checking my email often and not posting. I just never feel that comfortable using someone else's computer unless they leave it on all the time.
We really took it easy on this trip. There was shuffleboard, soaking in the hot tub, watching a sunset on the beach, taking a boat ride, spending the day at the beach, shopping, lots of card playing, and lots of good food. Oh, and there was knitting! For some reason I woke up early every morning so I was able to knit for an hour or so until everyone else woke up. That was one of my favorite parts! Pictures later...
Now it's back to the usual routine so I guess I should get to work. Have a great week!
