a room with a view

our sunroom: its my favorite room in our home. we eat our meals here, knit, color, cut paper, draw, write letters and stories, have quiet times, visit with friends adn family, watercolor, read and do nearly all of our living in here. i don't know if it will be warm enough in here during the cold months but i aim to put some little heaters by our feet to prolong the sunroom-goodness. and according to my mama (the expert flora and fauna lady) we have lilacs, dogwoods, possibly a red maple, and more azaleas on the side of the house. [which means we'll have red buds in the winter and the gorgeous dogwood blooms in the spring.]

all of this talk of flowers, seasons and gardening inspired me to get out yesterday and weed my frontyard beds. i am half-way done. i will be putting in some lovely mums soon. fall is not quite here but i am looking forward to the changes that we will see through our sunroom views.

we also just spied a "sharpie" or a sharp-shinned hawk on our fence. what fun!

radical homemaking via soulemama

i was just perusing amanda's site and found this fantastic review of the book radical homemaking - i want to go run out and buy it! while i believe that it is a God-given role for the woman to be in the home, i think that the reviewer has some excellent points. check it out. ps i am already planning out my garden for spring 2011! so excited!

leftover solutions

i had some leftover oatmeal from yesterday's breakfast and so we made delicious pancakes with the remainders! here is a terrific/easy recipe i found through keeper of the home. the kids ate theirs with real maple syrup and i had mine with homemade blackberry jam that my mama made a few days ago (from our berry picking at morris orchard in monroe, va!) needless to say everyone was satisfied. this will be a good go-to meal for the upcoming school year.

make your place

last week i ordered make your place: affordable, sustainable nesting skills by raleigh briggs. i am loving this book.

words to describe the home i am creating:

affordable
frugal
sustainable
green
mindful
loving
caring
listening
noisy
peaceful
nesting
keeping
watching
waiting
protecting
creative
safe
intentional
community
busy
joyful
d.i.y.
industrious

so i am off to make the house in to our home ie. time to unpack the office!!

using everything

here is a few ways i have been trying to be more frugal in our home:

1. ate delicious green beans we picked the day before in my mama's garden + cooked them with some bacon = saved the boiling water and freezed it for future soup broths

2. chopped up almost all of the celery (including the the leaves) to use in a bahamian macaroni and cheese recipe i was making -- usually i would have cut all of that off -- but now we got all that good stuff right in the casserole. maybe it outweighed the cheese and butter?:)

3. bought a 10 lb. bag of freshly ground whole wheat flour from our mill back near my folks' farm + my own bread hook on the kitchen aide = fresh bread. my mama used to make four loaves every week when we were little b/c it was so cheap and they were living on a shoestring. she made some for us when we were visiting and used some of the leftover whey from making her artisan goat cheese. it was phenomenol. i am vowing to make my own bread (as soon as i can get some bulk ingredients). i think if i get a little station up and running and in to a routine, we are going to be so much happier with the finished product. plus it just makes sense for our family, as our four littles get bigger and require more food.

here are a few links to some great cooking from scratch posts:

from kitchen
stewardship via simplemom

scratch hacks from simple mom

leila's use for potato water in bread

vinegar my new friend

wanting to bring more mindfulness to how we keep our home and our planet, i have begun in this move to choose more sustainable products to use in the house for cooking, cleaning, gardening and health. each day is a new step towards the switch over. little steps make this switch doable. so my new favorite household product is the humble vinegar. rather then listing everything for you here, please go here.

a few of my favorite that i am either trying or will try in the near future:


cleaning:

renew sponges and dishrags by placing them in just enough water to cover them. then add 1/4 cup white distilled vinegar. let them soak overnight.

kill germs all around the bathroom with a spray of full-strength white distilled vinegar. Wipe clean with a damp cloth.

to kill germs, spray full-strength white distilled vinegar on doorknobs and then wipe them dry.

to clean and disinfect baby toys add a good-sized splash of white distilled vinegar to soapy water.

clean vinyl baby books or board books by wiping with white distilled vinegar. wipe clean with a damp sponge or cloth.

clean and deodorize urine on a mattress with a white distilled vinegar and water solution. then sprinkle the area with baking soda and let dry. brush or vacuum the residue after it is dry to the touch.

clean and deodorize a drain by pouring in 1 cup baking soda, then one cup hot white distilled vinegar. let this sit for 5 minutes or so, then run hot water down the drain.

deodorize the garbage disposal by pouring in 1/2 cup baking soda and 1/2 cup hot white distilled vinegar. let sit for 5 minutes then run hot water down the disposal.

laundry:

get stained white socks and dingy dishcloths white again. add 1 cup white distilled vinegar to a large pot of water, bring it to a rolling boil and drop in the articles. let soak overnight.

some stains on clothing and linens can be soaked out using equal parts milk and white distilled vinegar.

before washing a mustard stain, dab with white distilled vinegar.

attack spaghetti, barbecue, or ketchup stains with a white distilled vinegar and water solution.

remove perspiration odor and stains on clothing, as well as those left by deodorants, by spraying full-strength white distilled vinegar on underarm and collar areas before tossing them into the washing machine.

forgot that you left wet laundry in the machine and it now smells moldy? pour a few cups of white distilled vinegar in the machine and wash the clothes in hot water. then run a normal cycle with detergent.

get cleaner laundry! add about 1/4 cup white distilled vinegar to the last rinse. the acid in white distilled vinegar is too mild to harm fabrics, yet strong enough to dissolve the alkalies in soaps and detergents. besides removing soap, white distilled vinegar prevents yellowing, acts as a fabric softener and static cling reducer, and attacks mold and mildew.

gardening:

kill weeds and grass growing in unwanted places by pouring full-strength white distilled vinegar on them. this works especially well in crevices and cracks of walkways and driveways.

give acid-loving plants like azaleas, rhododendrons, hydrangeas and gardenias a little help by watering them with a white distilled vinegar solution now and again. a cup of white distilled vinegar to a gallon of tap water is a good mixture.

stop ants from congregating by pouring white distilled vinegar on the area.

health:

stop insect stings and bites from itching by dabbing them with a cotton ball saturated with undiluted white distilled vinegar.

soothe sunburn with a spray of white distilled vinegar, repeating as often as you like. ice-cold white distilled vinegar will feel even better, and may prevent blistering and peeling.

for cuts and scrapes, use white distilled vinegar as an antiseptic.

automotive:

remove the leftover odor after a rider has been carsick by leaving a bowl of white distilled vinegar overnight on the floor.

loosen chewing gum stuck to carpeting or upholstery by soaking it in white distilled vinegar.

doing the math

keeper of the home has a post over here on price comparisons for making your own household cleaning products v. store bought. good to note!