The Rural Nod and Handwave

(photo from CountryDreaming.etsy.com)

There is an unspoken rule when you live in a rural area. If you are in your car and you pass a pedestrian or sometimes even another car on a back road, you give a little wave and a dip of the head in recognition. It is a gesture that says, "Hi, I belong here and recognize that you belong here as well. I see that you are part of the local landscape and are peaceably passing through." A quick nod and wave, and on we go.

Is that really what it says? Is there some other deeper meaning that other rural dwellers might pass on to me? Or is there opinion out there that it has even lesser meaning than I have stated? Where did it originate? Why does it not exist in most metropolitan areas?

I love the nod and wave. It connects us and knits together our little local community. It bonds neighbors and speaks the unspoken. The photo above was found using the search word "rural" on Etsy. You might want to follow the link and see the other beautiful scenes in that little country shop.

You might wave to this little house on the Peaceful Plains at Evergreenivy.etsy.com.

Or nod to this fine creature grazing at Mamma4earth.etsy.com

Do you nod and wave?

Music for the Soul

One of my favorite pastimes is listening to Mr. Nature play his guitar and sing. He has a wonderful voice, and the ability to transport me out of the cares of everyday and into the castle of Carefree Bliss. Now that the weather has been somewhat warmer and the daylight hours longer, we can sit on the deck with knitting and guitar and soak up some much needed vitamin D.The peach tree is equally excited about the sun and sounds.And, I think the music has even coaxed the early tulips out of the earth.

In these difficult and uncertain times, it is
helpful to me to remember my blessings.

Change The World Wednesday

This week's challenge is ready:

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Receiving and paying paper bills is a lot of paper and a lot of waste ... not to mention resources getting the bill to and from one's home. So, this week sign up to receive at least one paperless bill and pay it online. If you're not sure how to do this, contact the biller for instructions.

Or ...

If this is something you already do, please write a post about all the benefits of paying bills online.
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Gardening tasks in winter

There are many tasks I should be completing in the garden right now as winter winds down and spring sprouts it sunbeams. I am behind, and may not get to the pruning that should have already been done. I am more interested in my knitting, sewing, and charity work right now. It keeps the funk of a dragging economy and lingering personal unemployment at bay most days.

However, I have planted my seeds, and some are already sprouting.

The mustard, arugula, barcarole lettuce, and coriander I mentioned in my Signs of spring post on Feb. 9 have sprouted in their outdoor containers.

Indoor seeds started on 2/17:
12 starts: Mammoth Spineless Okra - non-hybrid, organic from Seeds of Change (seeds must be soaked overnight to allow quick and easy germination)
12 starts: Moon & Stars watermelon - from seeds saved from my own plants last year. The original seeds were heirloom & organic.

The okra have all sprouted!

Started on 2/20 in an outdoor pot: Genovese Basil - non-hybrid, organic from Seeds of Change

Seeds started on 2/21: (the following are all from Botanical Interests seeds.)
Baby Round Zucchini -heirloom
Black Beauty Zucchini - heirloom & organic
California Wonder Orange sweet pepper - heirloom & organic
Early Prolific Straightneck [yellow] squash - heirloom & organic
Sugar Pie pumpkin - heirloom
Speckled Roman tomato - heirloom & organic
Beefsteak tomato - heirloom & organic
Dill - heirloom & organic
Echinacea, purple coneflower - heirloom & organic
Spearmint- heirloom
Chamomile - heirloom
Muskmelon cantaloupe - from seeds saved from my own plants last year. The original seeds were heirloom & organic from Botanical Interests.

The following from Seeds of Change seeds:
Chadwick Cherry tomato - non-hybrid, organic
Brandywine tomato - heirloom & organic


Visit About.com's Gardening Question of the Week from Jan. 12 to read about which heirloom vegetable varieties you might want to grow.

What will you plant?
Have you already started your seedlings?

Silent Sunday

Raw Chef Dan: Flax Cracker Basics

It is time to take another step in the food for health lifestyle path we have been following. One of the things I have on my To-Do list this year is to give up processed crackers and chips. We still sometimes eat Late July organic saltines or Annie's organic saltines, but it would be even better if we made our own crackers. We have also still been eating occasional organic corn chips or potato chips, and will be searching for homemade alternatives for those as well.

I hate that I have so much packaging waste after buying processed foods. Though we keep processed foods to a minimum and we do keep and use the cardboard from the boxes, it creates clutter in the home, and the plastic bag the crackers came in always ends up in a landfill. Chip bags can be sent to TerraCycle.net (Chip Bag Brigade) and they will use them to upcycle into useful things like tote bags. Terra Cycle will cover the postage and will even pay $ 0.02 per bag..but that is for another post!

So, I found Raw Chef Dan on YouTube. I am loving this cracker tutorial, and thought I would share. I believe that raw foods are much healthier in most instances than cooked foods, and these have the added benefit of being raw. Wonderful! Enjoy...

Blog Talk Radio

Listen to Ms. Grow-it-all on Blog Talk RadioI have been poking around Blog Talk Radio lately, and found Ms. Grow-it-All. This show is done by a woman named Audrey who is a Master Gardener in Florida. The show addresses gardening topics and answers questions.

Her next show is scheduled for February 24, 2010 at 4:00 pm. That show is scheduled to be for answering gardening questions. The great thing about shows on Blog Talk Radio is that you can call in and talk live to the host if you call during the scheduled show time.

In the meantime, you can visit Ms. Grow-it-All and hear previously recorded episodes on planting potatoes (it is time now), pruning your roses, (it is time now), care and feeding of citrus (in Florida), and other topics.

Even though she is somewhat regionally focused in Florida and is gardening in zone 8,
she has been helpful to me because I am in zone 7b. She also discusses basics that are the same no matter in what zone you garden.

Happy listening!

Once I work out little details
like what to discuss and whom
to interview, NatureWithMe
will be offering some episodes
on Blog Talk Radio
as well...

Ravelympics event: Mitten Moguls

My first attempt at gloves, mittens, or other knitwear for the hands.
Working on the matching piece for the other hand now.
For Ravelympics event Mitten Moguls.

To be donated to ASAP Homeless Sevices in St. Petersburg, Florida.

I am happy with the outcome of piece #1; now if I can just make its mate match!

More readin' about Ravelympics :
Knitbot
Ravelympics comes to Folsom
Never Not Knitting
Major Knitter
Buttontree Lane

Ravelympics: Olympic Knitting

(My Gold for finishing the Hat Half-Pipe)

I am off knitting. Finished Hat Halfpipe, halfway through Mitten Moguls, and will move on to Single Skein Speedskate soon.

See my medal? If you are not a knitter, crocheter, or spinner, you may not be at all interested. However, those of us involved are finding it to be a wonderfully entertaining endeavor!

My items are for Project #5 of Sharing Our Gifts Across America, which benefits ASAP Homeless Services in Florida this month.

Off to the slopes...

Spirit Jump Cards for Cancer Day

(click the logo to zoom to the site)
Join a team
(here: enter team name Donna's Darlings)
and donate cards
to be delivered to cancer centers on April 10!

If you have read my blog for a while, you will know that I lost my dad to cancer almost 11 years ago. He was 52. When I was 12 years old, I lost a grandfather to cancer. He was 64. My mom's best friend died of cancer in 2007. We miss them.

These days, I would bet that it is very difficult to find even one person whose life has not been touched by cancer in some way. There are so many possible contributing factors, from the foods we eat to the cell phones we carry, the toxic chemicals in our environment, or just plain genetic predispositions.

I received a request in my email inbox from Nancy, a member of my [Craft] Hoarders Unite Team to help her build a Cards for Cancer Day team. I have some cards made, as well as card-making supplies, and I am jumping on board to help. I have pledged to send at least 5 cards to this cause.

Bloggers Unite has teamed up with Spirit Jump and Cards4Cancer to bring us this donaton drive, and here is some information from the Bloggers Unite page:

Objective:
Our purpose is to bring hope and comfort to the many men, women and children battling cancer!

On Saturday April 10th, 2010 Spirit Jump and the team leaders around the world will bring bags of cards to their local cancer centers to be given to those battling cancer. Cards can be collected by asking family members, friends, neighbors, schools, youth groups or just about anyway you can think of getting them. Cards can be handmade or store bought and should have a positive message to help JUMP the SPIRIT of someone who is battling cancer.

If you wish to join Nancy's team called Donna's Darlings, just follow the link above and enter your information into her Google spreadsheet. Or, you can message her through one of her Etsy shops or through one of her blogs:

VICTORIAN VISIONS at Etsy.com

GARMENTURE at Etsy.com

MY BLAH BLAH BLAH BLAHG

Vintage Visions Blog

Handmade Heaven - patterns, how-tos, etc.

GROWING UP RICH IN A POOR FAMILY

See you there!

CSN Stores Product Review: The Surprise Revealed

Do you remember last month when I said I had a secret? I gave you a hint about looking at house numbers on MoreMailboxes.com and invited you to look around and guess what product I might be trying on for size? Well, I will now relieve you of your suspense. Deer Palace is the proud recipient of a new Flambeau Barn Style Mailbox!
Now that we have tried it out for a couple of weeks, I am ready to tell you what I think of this new fixture. Do you see that sad, motley line of battered and tired mailboxes? And do you see that beauty of a red one that has spruced up the line and set a new standard for the neighborhood?That new box is struttin' its stuff like a peacock on parade here at the Palace. See how it preens and flexes its bright plumage?Here is what I love about this mailbox:
It is sturdy, roomy, bright, cheerful, and fits us here at Deer Palace perfectly. It goes right along with our homesteading, chicken rearing, nature-loving lifestyle. It is offered at an affordable price; $28.50. It is weatherproof, rust-proof, and (I think) batter-proof. All the other mailboxes have dents and dings from being knocked off the perch by neighborhood kids or other mailbox vandals. This box can be very securely affixed to its perch via holes in the inside bottom, and it is constructed of heavy duty plastic, so it can't dent. Now we are safe from the mailbox vandals.
Here is what I am on the fence about:
I am on a quest to cut down on plastic, so I am torn about whether its plastic construction is a pro or a con. It is not a food item, and it is not an indoor item, so I am not worried about the chemical component of the plastic. Hopefully, it will last many years, but at some point, it may need replacing. If that day comes, I hope it will be recyclable at that time.

Here is what I did not love about this mailbox:
The catch that holds the door closed is very hard to latch and unlatch. It is just a plastic nib at the top of the door that clicks into a groove at the top of the box under the roof. Once clicked in, it takes two hands and a lot of force to open. If you don't click it all the way closed, the door falls open on its own and stays open. I fixed the problem, however, by using my pocket knife and shaving a TEENY TINY hair of a sliver of plastic off the sides of the nib. Now, it slides in and out of the groove much more easily, and we are very happy with its use. I can now open and close the box with one hand, as can the mail carrier. I suppose the latch might have worn down on its own over time, but I wasn't willing to wait that long to find out.

Overall, I am very happy with this box. It is larger than our former metal rural box, and it really brightens up the line of boxes. If you like barn-style, I can highly recommend this box. Now, I just need to get all my neighbors to visit CSN stores and MoreMailboxes.com so their boxes will fit the new aesthetic.




I received one mailbox from
CSNstores for purposes of review.
All views and opinions expressed
about this item are my own and
were not influenced by receipt of
the sample mailbox.

Signs of Spring

The tulips, crocus, and grape hyacinth are showing signs of life...Planters have been cleared, and seeds have been sown.

Mustard, arugula, barcarole lettuce, and coriander...The peach tree dreams of leaves to come...

Upcycling

I have been doing many chores that have taken me away from the computer these last few days, so posts have been short. I'm sure it is nice to get a break from some of my more long-winded ramblings...

Here is what I did over the weekend:This was a shirt-dress that got too small for Amilia. The bottom was still usable, and not too tight, so I cut away the tank part of the top and hemmed a waistline. I could have ironed it before photographing, but hey, what fun would that have been?I have been playing with "drawing with thread" on my sewing machine, and perfecting some applique techniques. So, I made this little owl patch and affixed to the bottom of the skirt.I am so happy with the result! Amilia never liked the fit of the tank dress before because it was always a little tight in the middle. Now it is the most super cute play skirt ever! She even went to bed with it on the other night. For a few minutes, until she decided it was not comfortable sleeping attire.

Off to do some more sewing play...

On our Book Wish List