Making homemade lotion

I haven't gotten to write to my blog almost all summer but now that it is getting colder and our skin is starting to dry out, I wanted to share how I make my homemade lotion.

If you haven't discovered the amazing difference between store bought lotions and lotion made with all pure moisturizing ingredients, I'd encourage you to give it a try.

I get most of my raw materials online because I also sell this lotion on etsy so I am making more than just for our family, but you should be able to find the ingredients at your local health food store.  I have seen them at Vitamin Cottage here in Colorado.

Today I made a whipped shea coconut butter with a mandarin flavored essential oil. This recipe will make approximately 6- 4oz tubs of a whipped lotion

What you need:

8 oz by weight of shea butter

1/2 cup by volume coconut oil

3/8 cup carrier oil; you can select grape seed oil, jojoba oil, almond oil, etc.  I prefer to use almond oil

Essential oil (scent) of your choice

A double boiler set up (I use a glass bowl sitting on a pot of water)

A stand mixer with the whipping attachment

First:

Measure out your shea butter by weight.  I would recommend when buying shea butter, get  'unrefined' shea butter. It is more yellow in appearance but retains all the good vitamins that are lost during the refinement process.   Once you have measured it out, put the shea butter into your double boiler.

Second: 

Measure out your 1/2 cup of coconut oil and your 3/8 cup of almond oil.  The coconut oil is usually solid at room temperature so you may have to microwave it for 20 seconds to get it to melt enough to measure it

Measuring the coconut oil and the almond oil.  The total amount is 7/8 cup 

Put the coconut oil and shea butter into your double boiler.  Now let everything melt, stirring 

often.

My double boiler set up, with all the ingredients melting

The Shea will take longest to melt

When everything is completely melted, transfer to your stand mixer to whip.

The process of whipping introduces air into the lotion while it cools.  Since there is no water added, if you don't whip then you will end up with a solid body butter.  There's nothing wrong with this of course, and you can just stop right here, add your essential oil, put it in a tub and you will have great lotion, but I have found most people prefer the whipped kind.

So to whip your lotion....

You should whip on almost high speed with the whisk attachment. speed 8 on my kitchenaid.

Whip for 10 minutes.  

Add your scent. if it is essential oil, I'd recommend at least 30 drops. if it is an artificial 'scent' oil you will need a lot less.

Whip for another 10 minutes.

Then put your lotion in the fridge for 3 minutes, 

then whip for 15, 

then fridge for 5 minutes, 

whip for 15... 

then fridge for 5, and repeat the 15 min 5 min process until the lotion has cooled and starts to whip up like a meringue.

I can't tell you exactly how long this takes because for me it depends on the day and how hot my house is but I would say roughly an hour of whipping.

This is what it will look like when it is done

Package it up and you will have an amazing moisturizing lotion to use all winter long.  

Hope you enjoy!!! 

And if you read this and say 'oh wow this looks like too much work'  check out my etsy page Bright Star Botanicals :)

Scrap Yarn Knitting - Baby Blanket

I've been so busy this summer I haven't blogged in awhile, but I wanted to share a fun and easy knitting creation I made from scrap yarn.

Someone gave me a bunch of different colors of a shimmery pastel acrylic yarn, that just said to me 'turn me into a baby blanket'. How fortunate my sister is having a baby!
Now there were several colors but not enough of any one of them that I could use a real pattern so I decided to  make one up.  I knew I wanted the blanket to be about 24"x36" and figured I had enough yarn to get there (I think I had a total of 3 balls) but I didn't know how to make it all work together.

Here's the finished product and then I will explain the details of how I made it.

I had a LOT of white yarn, but not a lot of any of the other colors, so it made sense to do a striped blanket where white was the main color.  I had a lot of blue as well, but only a little bit of pink, purple, and multicolor.  I decided to put blue on both ends, and then pink, purple and multicolor in the middle.  I also thought it would look good to have an equal amount of white to color as I striped, and the stripe size would be determined by how much of whichever color I had. For example, if I had 2 1/2" of pink then I would make a 2 1/2" white strip, then if I had 3" of purple I would make a 3" white stripe.
The reason I am explaining all this is I know whoever may read this will have different amounts of scrap yarns than what I had, but this pattern should work for anyone if you just keep with the logic of it.

I wanted to use Size 10 needles, and the yarn was worsted weight but I didn't know what the gauge was because I didn't have the label.
So to determine the gauge I did a swatch of 20 stitches in garter stitch for 5 rows.  This measured just under 5" for me.  I knew I wanted my blanket to be 24" wide so 24/5 = about 5 so I cast on 100 stitches onto my #10 needles.  It's reversed from the way the way the yarn labels usually explain gauge but it works just as well.

This blanket is done entirely in garter stitch (knit every row) so it is super easy.

Here are the instructions:
1. Cast on 100 stitches of your main color. (or as many as your gauge determined for the blanket to measure 24" wide)
2. Knit every row until piece measures 2".
3. Switch to a 2nd color, whichever you have the least of, leaving approximately 6" tails of both the old and new color when you switch for weaving in later.
4. Knit until this color runs out (making sure you don't run out in the middle of a row!)
5. Switch back to your main color, and measure how long your 2nd color was, and match that same number of rows.
6. Switch to a 3rd color whichever you have the next least of, and knit until this runs out
7. Switch back to your main color and knit the same number of rows as your 3rd color.
8. Repeat until your piece measures about 34" or when you've run out of colors.
9. Switching back to main color and finish up the last 2" in the main color.
10. Bind off.
11. Weave in all your ends.

And that's it! you will have a striped baby blanket!

Happy knitting!!

Walking in Colorado : Bear Creek Greenbelt

It's my last week of freedom before I start working full time again, so I wanted to get out on another walk.  Today I chose an old favorite that my sister and I used to frequent.
Bear Creek Greenbelt in Lakewood.
Don't confuse this with Bear Creek Park further south as they are quite different.

This greenbelt is located on Evans just south of Yale, and has a wide variety of trails that cater to bicyclists, walkers, and explorers.  Here is their official website
http://www.lakewood.org/Community_Resources/Parks,_Forestry_and_Open_Space/A_to_Z_Park_Listing/Bear_Creek_Greenbelt.aspx

The parking lot on Estes looks out onto a  lovely pond.  From the pond, go right to get to the trails along Bear Creek.

View just from the parking lot

After going right at the pond, there is a bridge that goes over Bear Creek.  You can then follow the trail along the creek south until it crosses back over and loops back to the parking lot. I was meandering so it probably took me about 45 minutes to walk the loop.

 The reason I love this trail so much is that while there is a paved road that parallels the creek there are also numerous inter-weaving dirt trails that run along the creek. They are intimate and woodsy and remind me a little bit of the woods out East. Woods and water are a bit of a commodity in Colorado, so I always enjoy a walk which has both.

View from the Trail along Bear Creek

Walking along the creek I saw many birds in the trees and hopping around on the rocks in the creeks.  There were also plenty of families with their kids playing and exploring in the water.  I also encountered a few bikers riding through the dirt trails too, so keep an eye out as the trail is narrow.

There is a nice mix of sun and shade along the creek trail so it is not too hot of a walk, even in the summer.

Near the end of creek before you cross over to make your return loop back to the lot, there is a very active prairie dog community.  They are always fun to watch, though sorry this picture isn't a great one.

Prairie Dogs

The return walk has just as many trails to choose from; there's a wide gravel road that takes you near the pond or you can wander back along the creek.  The paved road goes somewhere else at this point though; not sure where truthfully as I always follow the creek.

The wildlife I spotted today included a black crowned night heron and a mallard hen with her brood of ducklings...very cute....  

All in all a wonderful walk full of nature and green and water.

Happy Trails!

Strawberry Rhubarb Pie

I have this great big gorgeous rhubarb plant growing outside so I figured it was time to make something with rhubarb.

I opted for a very simple strawberry rhubarb pie. I started with a recipe I found on allrecipes.com and my trusted pie crust recipe from my kitchenaid book and made a few simple modifications. It turned out great!

Here's my version of

Rhubarb Strawberry Pie

1 lb rhubarb, chopped (this was 6 stalks for me)
1 lb strawberries, sliced
1/2 cup flour
1 cup sugar
pie crust (see recipe below)
1 egg white

In a large bowl, mix together the sugar and flour.  Add strawberries and rhubarb, mixing well.  Cover and let sit for 45 minutes. (don't skimp on this sitting time or the pie will be runny)

Meanwhile make your pie crust. I slightly increased my measurements from the standard recipe because I never seem to have enough.  This amount made a lattice crust in a deep 9" pie pan.
Pie Crust
3 cups flour
1/2 cup shortening
5 T butter, chilled
8-10 T cold water

In your mixer combine flour, shortening, and butter. Mix until shortening has broken down to pea size bits.  Start adding the water 1T at a time until the dough just starts to stick together.  Separate into two balls (they say half but i do 2/3 and 1/3 and use the bigger one for the bottom crust) and refrigerate for 15 minutes.

Now to the pie.....

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.  Roll out the pie crust bottom and place in a 9" pie pan crimping the edges over the sides.
Making sure it is well stirred, add the strawberry rhubarb filling into the pie
Roll out the remaining pie dough and make a lattice crust over the filling, attaching the pieces using a small amount of water.
If you choose not to make a lattice, make sure you cut an 'x' in the middle of the pie so it can steam.
Using a brush, brush the egg white onto the top crust. Sprinkle sugar on the crust.

Place on a cookie sheet to prevent spills and bake for 35-45 minutes or until the filling is bubbly and the crust is turning golden.

Now turn off the oven but leave the pie inside to cool down slowly. (you can crack the door if you want).  This will help the filling to solidify.  These pies can be runny if you don't let them cool for a few hours.  I took my pie out an hour after I turned the oven off, put foil over the top and let it sit for another two hours before serving.

It was sweet and tart and delicious served with vanilla ice cream.   A great spring pie and a wonderful way to use up my rhubarb, and really a very simple pie recipe.

Happy Cooking.

Walking in Colorado : White Ranch Park

It's a rainy day today, but it was glorious last week, so I went on another adventure.  I am trying to make the rounds of all the Jefferson County Open Space parks this summer, because they are FREE, and finding a nice place to hike that is free is not always an easy thing.

So last Thursday I went to White Ranch Park in Golden, Colorado.
http://jeffco.us/openspace/openspace_T56_R57.htm

It is located off of Golden Gate Canyon Road, which is just off of 93, north of downtown Golden.  I have never been to this park, but I have been to Golden Gate Canyon State park also on this road, and I forgot how much I really don't like Golden Gate Canyon Road.  I can't explain exactly why, as there are plenty of curving windy roads in the foothills, but for some reason this one always gets me car sick.  So be warned, you will have to drive up a windy 35 mph road for a half hour to get here.

When I finally arrived, the view was beautiful, so it almost made the drive worthwhile.

White Ranch Park - View from Parking lot

This park has an extensive trail system, and two entrances. I would recommend accessing it from the west entrance, as most of the trails start there.  There is even camping here, as well as an equestrian campground which I thought was kind of neat for the horse lovers out there.  While here I saw other hikers, mountain bikers, and equestrians. I went on a Thursday and it was not at all crowded, though I don't know how crowded it gets on the weekends.

After studying the trail map, I decided to start off on the Rawhide trail going clockwise, cut across on Wrangler's Run and join back up with the Rawhide trail which would take me back to the picnic area/parking lot, where I planned to have my picnic lunch. This is a total of 2.5 miles. I was then going to walk the Sawmill trail to where it meets the Maverick trail to create another loop of approximately 2 miles.  The trails here have many intersections so I would highly recommend taking a map with you and picking your trail combinations by the distance you want to travel.
http://jeffco.us/jeffco/openspace_uploads/whitemp.pdf
The open space website also has a trail profile where it describes the trails and their steepness.

Going in the clockwise direction the Rawhide trail is a gentle slope downhill along a wide dirt road. It travels through meadows and pine forest.  Here's a few pictures along the Rawhide Trail. I saw plenty of birds and grasshoppers and even a mule deer on this trail.

a mule deer that spotted me before I spotted it

Pine trees and boulders dotting an otherwise open meadow

The rawhide trail is intersected by the Wrangler Trail, which is a narrow foot path that slopes down through a creek bed. There were thousands of grasshoppers hopping around on this path, though I didn't see any other wildlife.

Wrangler's Run Trail

Where Wrangler's Run trail joins back up with the Rawhide trail, the uphill portion of the hike begins.  It is about .5 miles of steep uphill back to the parking lot.  The trail goes up through a forested area, so there is at least shade while you are trekking uphill.

When I got back to the parking lot, my total hiking time was about 1 hour 15 minutes.  Unfortunately it took me a lot longer to drive here than I had originally thought, so I didn't have enough time to do my second loop of Maverick and Saw Mill trails.

I would recommend this location if you have all day to explore the trails, as the drive here is long and slow.  There are quite a few picnic bench sites with grills (though there is a fire ban here right now) so it could be a great way to spend the day with friends and a picnic lunch.  It is a large park offering beautiful vistas, and a good variety of trails.

Happy Trails!!

Walking in Colorado : Van Bibber Park

It's officially May, and one of the nicest months for being out of doors in my opinion.  This month I decided to go on walks all around Colorado and document them on my blog. Hopefully they will be informative or inspiring.  Even if it is a quick walk in the neighborhood, I always feel great after I've gotten outside for a bit.

Today I went to Van Bibber Park, which is part of the Jefferson County Open Space.  It's off Ward Rd, just south of 58th Street in Arvada.  The main path is a 1.5 mile paved trail (3 miles round trip) ideal for walking, jogging, or biking.  It's very popular with families, people with dogs and runners. There's also dirt trails if you want a little variety in your walking. I love to go here because it is pretty in all seasons and is a pocket of nature very close to home.

Here's a link to their website which contains a trail map:  http://jeffco.us/openspace/openspace_T56_R20.htm

Van Bibber Park

There is a stream that goes through the park, which supports lots of wildlife from birds to bunnies, and even a coyote family which I've seen a few times.  Walking down the trail there is a constant soundtrack of meadowlarks and red winged blackbirds. Robins, magpies and other birds hop near the trail and if you look at the very tall trees at the edge of the park you may see an owl or hawk.

Nestled along the stream there are stands of old and narly cottonwood trees.  They are so picturesque nestled into the valley.

There are picnic tables and benches along the trail.  Sometimes I've come just to sit there to listen to the birds and the breeze in the trees.  Today I saw an eastern blue jay hopping around on this picnic table. I don't know what it was doing in Colorado.

 

The trail runs along some major power lines, which can be a little annoying due to the constant hum, but it isn't too distracting, and I have seen hawks and eagles perched on the lines.  The path winds all the way over to Indiana Street, where there is another small parking lot, where I turn around and head back.  The houses that border the park near Indiana St. abound with rabbits hopping around their fences.

 

It works out for me to be about a one hour walk, which is perfect for a weekday; at lunch or in the evenings. And I always feel happier after I've gotten to get outside for an hour to enjoy the great weather, the sunshine, and a little bit of nature.  

  I'm hoping my next walk will be the Pawnee Grasslands this weekend.

Happy Trails!

Spring Planting Update

I thought I should give an update on my spring plantings.
My spinach has taken off and is ready to be harvested, so we will be enjoying spinach salads for awhile

My seedlings have a mixed story to tell.  The newspaper pots worked great and all my seeds took off and were growing gangbusters.  The beans and pumpkins had gotten so tall they were starting to fall over so I figured I had to move them outside. We haven't had any nights below freezing for almost the whole month of April, and so I thought it would be safe to move them into the beautiful raised planter bed my husband made for me.
I was wrong.
It appears that young and fragile seedlings don't like temperatures even in the low 40s.  My tomato seedlings and bush bean seedlings died within days.

The zucchinis, cucumbers, and pumpkins are doing okay, sort of.  They had grown too tall for their own good in the warmth of my living room and half of them have just fallen over and are laying prostrate on the ground, groaning in agony at the torture I put them through by going outside.  But at least one of each is holding on to life.

The jalapeno and bell pepper seedlings are hanging on okay, as well as the zinnia seedlings, but they are still tiny. How can they possibly grow to a mature fruit bearing plant by August?  I guess I will see, but in the mean time another year that I will have to go to garden store to get vegetable plants for the garden.
What's their secret??
I was given a little bit of solace when I was at Target today and the cashier said she also has a really hard time with tomato seedlings, and she has an enclosed porch.  So my conclusion for Denver home gardening from seeds in the spring is spinach, broccoli (because the earwigs stay away from them) and rhubarb (our rhubarb plant comes back happier and happier every year). If you don't hate earwigs like I do and want to try out lettuce, I've had great luck with it, but really I just can not handle picking earwigs out of my lettuce.

I will keep you posted on the progress of the survivors.

Farm Life - a Tribute to Cosmo

I am first to admit I was not raised a farm girl. I grew up in suburbia, and still live in suburbia.  I love animals and creatures of all shapes and sizes and am not squeamish about dirt or hard work but I do not have the tough heart that it sometimes takes in farm life.

My sister has a small farm, with maybe 15 nigerian dwarf goats, dogs and cats, and chickens to come soon.  I was visiting her to meet all the baby goats that have been born so far this spring.  Mostly nigerian dwarfs are sold to be pets or small sized dairy goats and have a really sweet disposition if they are properly socialized. We sit with them in the morning while they eat some grain to help socialize them and get used to people. They are the sweetest funniest goof balls, and love to bounce and jump on everything around them including you.  They love to chew on your hair, your shirt, your fingers.  They snuggle up in your lap and will climb on top of each other to get the best position.  In short, you can't help but fall in love with them.

The goats at feeding time

In the evening we took three of the does to be disbudded. This is a common procedure for baby goats to remove the horn buds before they can grow into horns.  It isn't a pleasant thing to watch, but all the kids seem to recover very quickly from it and it is a low risk procedure when done by an experienced person.  All seemed to go well and the girls were up and running and playful in the morning.  Sadly, tragedy struck later the next day.  While we were gone for a few hours, one of the girls, Cosmo, somehow knocked the area open, possibly on a major blood vessel, and died very quickly from blood loss.  It was horrible and tragic, and from what the vet said, a complete freak accident since everything had been looking so good earlier.  I was heart broken as she had been holding her just that morning. I think people that breed animals understand that some babies just don't make it and that you have to calculate that as part of the losses of the farm, but it was hard to accept that when it happened so suddenly to such a happy and healthy little thing. When you see a runt of a litter or a tiny baby that develops an illness, you fight for their survival but can somehow accept if they don't make it.  But when something that is strong dies suddenly, it feels that life is robbed from them. My sister and I cried and questioned if we could have somehow found her in time or if we could have known something had been wrong, but at the end of the day, all we could do was to say goodbye to Cosmo.

Cosmo on her last morning

I can't end the story like this because that would just be too sad, and because as we all know whenever a life is lost another is born.  And thankfully later that day a new life came to the farm.  My sister's vet friend had gone to a farm where a sheep was dying from a brain infection.  She was pregnant, and so two babies were taken from her as she died.  One of them survived and the vet was able to keep it and nurse it as a bottle baby.  He was premature and tiny but he lived.  Since she doesn't have a farm she gave it to my sister to raise.  

Little Huey arrived a few hours after our loss of Cosmo, and he was such an adorable and vulnerable little lamb, we were so happy we could help take care of him.

Huey

We put two sweaters on him and worked to teach him to nurse on the bottles and put him in the warm barn at night under a heat lamp.  Every day he has grown stronger and stronger.  

We would walk around the yard with little lamb Huey bumbling around after us and he was completely adorable.  He is growing to be friends with Bubba, a baby buck my sister got who is also a bottle baby. It is strange to think that he may grow to be up to 300 lbs some day.

So for this suburban girl who is not hardened to the ways of farm life, it was a very emotional day. 

Full of heartbreak and tears and joy and laughter.  

Life is an intense thing; whether it is the life of an animal or a human, it is full to the brim with...well... life; 

and it will always be hard to say good bye.

Bubba 

War on Women

I read a quote today that the Democrats are asserting that the Republicans have waged a War on Women.

Given that it is an election season I am not surprised to see quotes like this, as they are trying to blame each other for everything wrong in this world, but this time there really is something going on and I need to speak up about it.  It isn't just a battle between political parties; the battle is for all of the women's rights that people like my mother worked so hard to achieve in the '70s and '80s.  It is a social and economical battle; it is a battle for the mothers and the single women, for stay at home moms and working mom, and it is a battle we can't afford to lose.
Here are the major battle lines I think have been drawn.

Battle Line #1 :  Contraception
Now I had been living under a misguided perception that all insurance companies covered birth control. It is such a common thing.  99% of all American women have used contraception in their life and it is a generally accepted fact that the pill is much more effective than other contraception methods, so for most monogomous couples who don't want to have children it is really the best method.  And let's not forget all of the other benefits that the pill provides, helping with severe cramps, acne problems, menopause, the list goes on.
And then I hear in this great debate we had a few months back  that in fact many religiously affiliated institutions will NOT cover birth control pills and that there's a huge outcry from conservatives who think that contraception is an evil thing and should never be covered. Seriously??  How can something that provides so many medical benefits for women not be covered, putting aside the primary role of preventing pregnancy?  If there is a religious person who doesn't believe in contraception than they shouldn't use it obviously, but how is it their right to deny the use of it to someone else.  Maybe we can repackage birth control and call it 'hormone therapy' since there's no problem having health insurance companies cover all the mood altering pills we take to make us happy.  I don't know about you but not having debilitating cramps makes me pretty darn happy.

Battle Line #2 : Rights to our Body
So if we can't get access to contraception, then millions of woman will end up with an unwanted pregnancy.  I personally have never been in this situation, but of the friends I have known through the years no matter what their beliefs on abortion or adoption it is a very hard, painful thing to go through. It is emotionally scarring and a deep and personal struggle.  For those who have an abortion, they often go through years of guilt and regret. For those who give the child up for adoption they too often have incredible guilt. And for those that keep the child even when they are teens or single there are incredible sacrifices that are made for themselves and their child. Now many women and families overcome these hardships and struggles and make wonderful mothers, but nowhere in this deep personal struggle do a see that the government should have a role.  Nowhere do I see that they should have mandated vaginal ultrasounds before you can have an abortion. Nowhere do I see where they can dictate what you do or do not do with your body and your choices of how to create a family.  When my husband and I make big life choices, nowhere in the conversation do we ask 'now what would the president have me do'.  And it should stay that way.

Battle Line #3 : Families and Economics
Women have been struggling for years to get the same pay and respect in the work place.  It is nothing new and I must admit that of this current 'war on women' there's not too much that is changing in this continued discrimination.  But what has changed is that times are hard and there just aren't enough jobs out there for everyone.  Many families have only one person working full time; this could be for any number of reasons, by choice, by necessity of the job market, or because day care for their small children outweighs the income they would have received at a job.  This is hard enough for a married family, but for single parents things are even harder. They struggle to juggle work and family life.
But there's another darker side to this struggle that I have seen growing since the economic downturn in 2008.  There are fewer jobs, and so those who have jobs are being asked to be slaves to that job.  Work / Family balance? Companies just don't care.  There has been a shift in the last few years that views employees as widgets not people.  The people lucky enough to have a job are supposed to work 12 hour days and be happy about it. They are not supposed to take off work because their kid  is sick, or because they want to do something crazy like go on a vacation; if they do then they are looked down on, and led to feel that they might be picked in the next round of layoffs.  I have seen first hand women who ask to work revised schedules to accommodate their young children's schedules who are immediately put on the 'expendable' list.    This blatant discrimination is hidden because of the poor economy. Employers don't have to justify their decisions, and so they use perception over performance. There is a very old school philosophy that people who want a work/life balance are not committed to their company.  It isn't true. People that can take the time to keep their home life in order are usually much more able to be more productive at work.  If genuinely hard workers are shunned and ostracized because they want to attend their son's basketball game or don't want to take work calls on a Sunday morning, then we will end up with an empty nation of automatons.  We need to be respected as human beings, and when we are, all of us will bring more to the table.

So let us fight this battle.  I feel we didn't ask for it, but to ignore it would be devastating to our future.

Scrap Yarn Blanket - Knitting Project

My uncle was kind enough to give me lots of yarn recently when cleaning out his house. I love getting yarn, but the pile in the corner of the bed room is threatening to take over so I figured I needed to come up with a knitting project to use up LOTS of yarn.

I piled up all my yarn and sorted it into fiber type and weight.  I ended up with the biggest pile of worsted weight acrylic, so I thought a nice big blanket would be a good project.  I wanted a project that I could change colors easily whenever I ran out of scrap yarn and one that could grow to the size of the amount of yarn I had. I also didn't want something to complicated as this was something mostly to keep me occupied while watching TV in the evening.

My good friend recommended a pattern on Ravelry called the Ten Stitch Blanket by Frankie Brown
http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/ten-stitch-blanket
Here's a picture of her completed design

This pattern was perfect for my scrap yarn because it grows from the inside out, I can switch colors wherever I want, and it has nice visual interest without being overly complicated.
The only tricky parts are turning the corners.

So I picked out a big ball of ivory, bright blue, and smaller balls of navy blue, olive and brown.
Here's my project in progress.

I don't know if copyright laws would allow me to repost Frankie's pattern, so if you want to give it a try for your next scrap yarn knitting project, just follow the link above and the pattern download is right up there in the corner on the Ravelry site. It's a free pattern but it is copyrighted by Frankie Brown and is intended for private use. If you like to knit or crochet, definitely think about joining Ravelry. It's free and a fun way to share projects and find neat patterns.  If you do, come find me. I'm crazyhat.

Until then, happy knitting.

Making Newspaper Pots for Seedlings

So Ace Hardware had a sale this week and their seed packets were $.25 a piece! Go Ace!  I figured now would be a great time to get my seeds started indoors to plant outside in May.
Last year my seed trays were a bit of a disaster, because the roots were shocked when i pulled them up out of that nice planting soil and put them in my less than perfect garden soil.  So I did a little research, and found out about making newspaper pots to start your seedlings in.  They are biodegradable, so when my little vegetables are ready to go into the ground I can just plant the whole thing and hopefully there won't be any shock or root damage. And unlike the biodegradable peat pots they sell at the store, they are FREE (if you have a newspaper and some tape) and honestly they didn't take more than an hour to make.

So I bought 8 different vegetable seed packets as well as some petunia and zinnia seeds and made up about 45 newspaper pots yesterday afternoon. I put two seeds in each pot, and hope that one of them at least will take off.  In case you want to try them out, here's how I made them.

First I did some online research, and saw that people made them many different sizes, from a toilet paper tube to a wine bottle.  I wanted mine to be about the size of the 6pack seedling we get at the store so I decided to use a glass spice jar that I had from Target.  It is sort of square shaped which I liked more than a round pot.

So here's how I made my newspaper pots
Step 1: Open up the newspaper and cut in half. I'd recommend cutting several pages at once.

Step 2:  Fold the paper into fourths.  Try to have the loose ends on one side, so that the top doesn't have any loose pages (it makes it easier to fold down)

Step 3:  Roll the paper around your spice jar, or whatever container you want to use. Leave 1" extra past the bottom of the jar to form the bottom of the pot. Have the side with the loose page ends at the bottom. Once you've wrapped the jar, apply a bit of tape to the side.  I used scotch tape because that's what I had, but if you have masking tape it would be biodegradable.

Step 4: Now turning the jar upside down, begin to form the bottom of the pot. It's just like wrapping a present.  Push down on one side.

Then fold the rest in and apply a piece of tape.

Pull the pot off of the jar, flip it over, and fold down the top to make it as tall or as short as you want. 

And there you have it!  Now just continue this process until you have enough pots, or you run out of newspaper (that's pretty much when I stopped as I was having so much fun)

When I finished all my pots I put them in my old seed container trays.  These will get a little wet and messy when you water them, so you definitely need to put them in something while they grow.

I filled them up and used toothpicks with some duct tape wrapped around the end to make little flags to identify my seeds.

Here they are before I watered them

When I watered them, I noticed the dirt compacted  A LOT, so my next batch I filled them completely with soil, watered them and then filled them up again to the right planting depth.  This seemed to work out pretty well.  So here are my completed pots all watered up

Now I must admit that I am a little bit messy when it comes to home projects, so I am sure your pots will be a little bit neater with a little less spare dirt all over the place, but I thought it was all great fun, and can't wait to watch my seeds grow hopefully into a fantastic garden this year.

Happy Planting!

The Value of a Human Life

So when I first started writing my blog, I wanted to stay away from social and political rants, but I really felt I had to write about this issue.

Yesterday I was reading an article on CNN that talked about the US Government's payout to the families of the 16 Afghan civilians who were recently murdered by an American soldier.
They stated that the US Government was going to pay $50,000 to the families of each civilian that was killed, and $11,000 to those injured.
My first reaction was 'Seriously, That's it????'
We spent $663 Billion dollars on our defense budget in 2010, and yet that is all we value an innocent human life?  These people weren't killed as a side effect of a bomb or military operation while engaging the enemy, they were killed by a lone rogue soldier in the dead of night.  Now the government has carefully stated that this is not 'compensation' but is given out of compassion for their deaths and the murderer will be put on trial, but still... that's it??
This amount, it was stated, is a substantial increase of what the US normally compensates for civilians killed during our wars. In 2010 we typically compensated $2000 to the families of Afghan civilians who were killed during a military operation. I have to wonder who decided $2000 was an appropriate amount. Could that small amount really helps replace the lost wage earner in a society where there is usually only one wage earner per family?

In 1988, Americans accidentally shot down a civilian air liner that was leaving Iran during the Iran/Iraq war.
While we never accepted official 'blame' for that incident, we still ended up compensating each victim's family $213,000 for a total of $8million. Quite a bit more than $2,000....

All of these deaths were civilians caught in the cross fire of our war with their country, and yes we compensated their families for their deaths, but I find it so disturbing to see the wide range of what we deemed 'appropriate' to compensate civilian families for their loss.

What is the value of a human life?  $2,000, $50,000, $200,000?
What would have been paid if it had been American civilians caught up in a military operation? Does our government think that the value of an American life is greater than the value of an Afghan life?  Are these civilians part of the war we are fighting? Are they for or against us and does that affect what they are 'worth'?  Is it right that though we decided to invade a country 10 years ago that we can still make up the rules as to what is 'collateral damage' and what is 'murder'?  I don't have an answer to any of these questions, but I do think they are worth asking.

Post Script:
I hope that this post can be taken as it is intended, an honest and concerned questioning of our government's ethics and moral policies as a country at war.  It is not intended to discredit or dishonor those who are fighting bravely and honestly for their countries, nor is it mean to belittle in any way the lives that have been lost by soldiers and civilians of all nationalities.

Article references:
http://www.cnn.com/2012/03/25/world/asia/afghanistan-killings-money/index.html?iref=allsearch 
http://www.statesman.com/news/world/u-s-provides-payments-to-afghans-after-soldiers-2261074.html?printArticle=y
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iran_Air_Flight_655
http://www.civicworldwide.org/healing-the-wounds/afghanistan

Creating a Place for Yoga at home

So I have been practicing yoga for six years now, mostly with my yoga teacher in our bi-weekly classes. I try to practice more often than that, either at other classes or at home, but I always have a hard time creating a meaningful home practice.

I will throw my yoga mat down in the bedroom or living room and go through my stretches and sun salutations but somehow it just feels like exercise; I can rarely capture the feeling of calm and balance that I get when I'm at class.  We were talking about this a few weeks ago in class. I explained I can't escape all the worries of the day, what needs to be done around the house, etc etc but when I come to class, I can leave that at the door.  So my yoga teacher mentioned that in the beginning of class, we always have a ritual; we light candles in her himalayan salt rock candle holder and chant om.  This ritual help bring us from our daily life into our yoga life.  She suggested I create some special space at home, where I can create a ritual to transform it from the everyday to my 'yoga place'.

This idea has been sitting in the back of my mind for a few weeks, where most good ideas bounce around for awhile before I actually do anything with them, and then yesterday my husband and I decided to pop into a thrift store.  And there, sitting between ceramic Easter bunnies and 70's glassware, was my Buddha.

How extraordinary is life sometimes. In the strangest places we can find such wonderful things.  So my Buddha shrine came home with me, and now sits proudly on my dresser, ready to turn my bedroom into my "yoga place".
This morning I lit the candle, put my hands to my heart in prayer pose, said Om, and had the best home yoga practice I've had in months.
It is just wonderful that I can 'create' a place in my house, where for a moment, I can let go the worries of the day and recharge with calm and balanced energy.  Then I can blow out the candle, turn on the lights, and get back to the crazy.

Spring has Sprung

With the unusually warm March we've all been experiencing this year, I am guessing I am not the only one with spring fever. Spring has sprung and I am anxious to get the garden going.

In Colorado, March is usually our snowiest month, but this year we've seen highs in the 70s and nights well above freezing, so of course I couldn't resist getting started on the yard and garden.  There's been so many things to do; cleaning out the dead annuals, pruning back the dead branches from the raspberry bush and grape vine, putting down mulch, the list goes on. Though that's just cleaning; the best part of March is I can finally start putting things in the ground, instead of just looking at sad brown dirt.

I know things are different for every climate zone, and Colorado is difficult in terms of what we can put in the ground in March, but there's still some things that will survive our temperature fluctuations.

My first and favorite addition to my spring garden is the Pansy.
They are such hardy flowers that they can easily survive the freezing temperatures of March, and if you can find a place for them that they won't get harsh summer sun, these survivors will probably make it all through the summer and give you beautiful blooms through the fall.  I always like to get them going in March, because while they do struggle a little bit when the snows come, they get a great root system and just explode in April and May. And, on nice days like today, they just add such great color to my still barren ground.

The next thing I like to get going in March is the early spring vegetable seeds.  Most of the gardening in our yard is done in container pots, because A. we have terrible soil and B. we have dogs that just can't leave things alone.  I like to devote two entire pots to spinach in the spring (we love spinach and the earwigs seem to leave it alone), and the middle of March is the perfect time to start planting things like spinach, lettuce, kale, broccoli, etc in Colorado.  I try to use my container pots on a rotating system, so that come May when the spinach is done, I can plant my summer vegetables/herbs in the same pot.  When I put my spinach seeds in the ground this week I also planted basil and dill seeds indoors that I will put outside when my spinach is done. 

The other thing we always seem to put in the ground this time of year is grass seed. Now we don't have the world's best success with grass on our lawn, though not from lack of trying. I think the three dogs may have something to do with it, and that we are the only people on the block without an irrigation system, and then there was the incident where we used RoundUp instead of weed-only killer on the lawn a couple of years ago, but we are trying to get a little bit of grass to grow..... 

So though there's only just a few pansies and crocuses right now, I can feel the seeds stirring, the lilacs  budding and the world coming to life.  Even if it is just a packet of seeds or a 6-pack of pansies, I hope you can get outside this month and bring a little bit of Spring into your day.