One of my favorite "green" things to do is to compost. And while there are numerous "technically correct" ways to compost, I do it the simple way.
Here's my method.
Toss veggie waste, coffee grounds, tea bags, etc., into a stainless steel bowl or other container. Empty that bowl daily in a pile somewhere in the garden. (If you don't empty it daily, mold will grow...that's up to you but I don't like to do that!) Now and then shovel a thin layer of soil over the plant material. If the summer is dry, give it a good shower with the sprinkler. The microbes who do their work need a bit of moisture. If you find a stray earthworm or two in your garden, toss them on the pile, too. They'll burrow down and enhance the composting.
Now and then dig into the pile and turn some of it over to allow the outside areas to get into the composting going on in the center of the pile.
Once you have a sizeable pile, begin a new pile in a new location. Generally it takes a couple months or more to mellow down to compost. In the fall of the year the pile will need to sit there over the winter. By the following spring you should have good compost.
Never add oils or fat or meat products. Use only plant matter (which includes coffee grounds, filter and all).
Be wary of tossing old tomato plants onto the pile due to the diseases that may introduce to next year's tomato crop.
Be wary of tossing in seeds from squash, etc., unless you are ready to spade under the new plants...which isn't a bad idea...they will enhance the pile.
Even in the winter, we'll continue to toss material onto a pile...usually a new pile, letting the first one mellow. But last winter we were unable to do that...the compost was buried under several feet of snow drift. So last winter I was sad to have to toss all that good veggie waste in the garbage! Sigh!
There are all kinds of things you can do to enhance our method...using boards or wires to build a larger pile! Purchasing commercial composting barrels. Using the small "indoor" composting buckets. But I like to keep life simple.
We often compost leaves this way, putting them into a large pile, layered here and there with a bit of garden soil.
P.S. We Never use Oak leaves...those leave are practically indestructible and take a long time to compost. We have no oaks but our neighbor lady does...and we wish the wind did not blow from her direction. Sigh!
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Tuesday, April 13, 2010
Monday, April 12, 2010
Head On Over!
I'm selfishly hoping you will pay no attention when I tell you that John Bird over at While We Sojourn is having a book giveaway.
(Yes, I admit that self-centeredness is a sin, and truthfully, I will be happy for anyone who wins this book.)
The book? Eric Metaxas’s new hardback biography, Bonhoeffer: Pastor, Martyr, Prophet, Spy.
On April 9, 1945 (65 years ago), Dietrich Bonhoeffer, German pastor and theologian, was executed at the Flossenburg concentration camp for daring to stand up to the evils of Hitler and the Nazis. His death came just three weeks prior to May 2, 1945, when the Germans surrendered in Berlin.
So head on over to John's giveaway. Click here to leave a comment on John's blog to be eligible for the drawing. He has two copies to give away.
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(Yes, I admit that self-centeredness is a sin, and truthfully, I will be happy for anyone who wins this book.)
The book? Eric Metaxas’s new hardback biography, Bonhoeffer: Pastor, Martyr, Prophet, Spy.
On April 9, 1945 (65 years ago), Dietrich Bonhoeffer, German pastor and theologian, was executed at the Flossenburg concentration camp for daring to stand up to the evils of Hitler and the Nazis. His death came just three weeks prior to May 2, 1945, when the Germans surrendered in Berlin.
So head on over to John's giveaway. Click here to leave a comment on John's blog to be eligible for the drawing. He has two copies to give away.
.
Saturday, April 10, 2010
Tossing and Turning and Words in the Wee Hours
It is a consistent thing in my life that in the wee hours of the morning, somewhere around 3:36 AM, I awaken. I glance at the clock. Sometimes it's 3:34 or 3:38. But I awaken consistently within a ten-minute time frame. And when it is the later time I note that I have been tossing and resisting the awakening.
I don't know why. It's not train time. There are several trains that go through town during the night with most of them hauling Wyoming coal to the power plant up near the city. Trains with coal cars that are sometimes decorated with graffiti. Colorful graffiti probably painted by gang members and so even though it is colorful I try not to admire it too much. (Am I the only one who cannot read what they are writing?)
Early this morning, while lying awake, I was thinking of several things, several people, saying prayers, reciting Scripture in my head. And one of the verses that popped into my head was this one:
And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him. Hebrews 11:6
Surely, with the splendid awesomeness of our natural world, one's mind must be drawn to the fact of a Creator. Something cannot come from nothing. Even the most astute scientist cannot say something comes from nothing...although I have not spoken to that man, whoever he may be, so perhaps he might try to explain how something CAN come from nothing. But I bet not. The science world always explains how things were created from SOMEthing.
But to my way of thinking there has to be something before "the beginning". Something outside of us. Something beyond us. And so I believe in a Creator God and I believe in Him as explained in the Bible.
This verse talks about the man who wishes to draw near to God and that he must first believe that there is God and secondly that God rewards those who seek Him.
I want to say that this "reward" is not the reward as promised by the "health, wealth, and prosperity" gospel, that promise of some famous or infamous TV preachers that if you send in your seed money of $58 or $75 or $15 and promise to do so monthly that you will reap a great financial harvest. It seems to me there is an aura of "Gimme" in their words. Doesn't it seem funny that they always want you to send your money to THEM and not to your LOCAL church or even, indeed, to the local FOOD PANTRY or even to a family member who is losing their home.
The promise of those things (riches now) is of too short duration. In fact Jesus tells his disciples (and all followers) they will undergo suffering and persecution in life. (John 16:33) Life on this earth is hard. There is not a single solitary soul who escapes the trauma, the tragedy, the loss of loved ones, the struggle just to survive and to make life a decent place for self and family. Yes, there are days and seasons of "good". But we all go through the tough seasons as well. (And since suffering hits all, we should be compassionate to others in their time of need.)
Now I do believe that God does indeed bless us with the things of "here and now" with each of us being blessed in different ways. Our forebears certainly were not blessed with the knowledgeable medical care that we have available. Nor did they have such comfy homes as we have, with dishwashers, laundry machines, warm furnaces, and hot water available at the spigot.
Even in my life time, as a child, we never went to the doctor unless our temperature hit 104 and that was only because Mom knew that having a fever that high or higher could cause brain damage.
Even in my lifetime we lived in homes with no electricity or inside plumbing and using an outdoor facility called an "outhouse".
Even in this lifetime many around the world live in poverty and starvation and joblessness and you name it. I challenge you to preach to them the health, wealth, and prosperity gospel and tell them to "name it and claim it". I hope they boot you out the door, if they have a door through which to boot you.
No, the rewards of this lifetime may simply be existing another day. And sometimes that is the prayer of the day..."Give us this day our daily bread."
I've come to believe that when the writer of Hebrews wrote "that he rewards those who seek him" that the reward spoken of does include the things of now, the "daily bread"", the things I need now to live through the day. It includes peace of mind in the midst of good and bad. But more importantly, it includes an eternal reward, a knowledge that there is more to this life than the "now", that eternal life (which begins now.. see John 5:24) awaits those who have faith in the Creator God and what He has provided us through Christ's dying for our sins... forgiveness, salvation, justification, and the robe of righteousness that we will wear when we stand before the throne of judgment.
That verse, Hebrews 11:6, is short but it is powerful to the one who reads and hears.
The photo? A small reminder of the creative power of God. My granddaughter took this photo in Oregon last week. Thanks, Mel!
I don't know why. It's not train time. There are several trains that go through town during the night with most of them hauling Wyoming coal to the power plant up near the city. Trains with coal cars that are sometimes decorated with graffiti. Colorful graffiti probably painted by gang members and so even though it is colorful I try not to admire it too much. (Am I the only one who cannot read what they are writing?)
Early this morning, while lying awake, I was thinking of several things, several people, saying prayers, reciting Scripture in my head. And one of the verses that popped into my head was this one:
And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him. Hebrews 11:6
Surely, with the splendid awesomeness of our natural world, one's mind must be drawn to the fact of a Creator. Something cannot come from nothing. Even the most astute scientist cannot say something comes from nothing...although I have not spoken to that man, whoever he may be, so perhaps he might try to explain how something CAN come from nothing. But I bet not. The science world always explains how things were created from SOMEthing.
But to my way of thinking there has to be something before "the beginning". Something outside of us. Something beyond us. And so I believe in a Creator God and I believe in Him as explained in the Bible.
This verse talks about the man who wishes to draw near to God and that he must first believe that there is God and secondly that God rewards those who seek Him.
I want to say that this "reward" is not the reward as promised by the "health, wealth, and prosperity" gospel, that promise of some famous or infamous TV preachers that if you send in your seed money of $58 or $75 or $15 and promise to do so monthly that you will reap a great financial harvest. It seems to me there is an aura of "Gimme" in their words. Doesn't it seem funny that they always want you to send your money to THEM and not to your LOCAL church or even, indeed, to the local FOOD PANTRY or even to a family member who is losing their home.
The promise of those things (riches now) is of too short duration. In fact Jesus tells his disciples (and all followers) they will undergo suffering and persecution in life. (John 16:33) Life on this earth is hard. There is not a single solitary soul who escapes the trauma, the tragedy, the loss of loved ones, the struggle just to survive and to make life a decent place for self and family. Yes, there are days and seasons of "good". But we all go through the tough seasons as well. (And since suffering hits all, we should be compassionate to others in their time of need.)
Now I do believe that God does indeed bless us with the things of "here and now" with each of us being blessed in different ways. Our forebears certainly were not blessed with the knowledgeable medical care that we have available. Nor did they have such comfy homes as we have, with dishwashers, laundry machines, warm furnaces, and hot water available at the spigot.
Even in my life time, as a child, we never went to the doctor unless our temperature hit 104 and that was only because Mom knew that having a fever that high or higher could cause brain damage.
Even in my lifetime we lived in homes with no electricity or inside plumbing and using an outdoor facility called an "outhouse".
Even in this lifetime many around the world live in poverty and starvation and joblessness and you name it. I challenge you to preach to them the health, wealth, and prosperity gospel and tell them to "name it and claim it". I hope they boot you out the door, if they have a door through which to boot you.
No, the rewards of this lifetime may simply be existing another day. And sometimes that is the prayer of the day..."Give us this day our daily bread."
I've come to believe that when the writer of Hebrews wrote "that he rewards those who seek him" that the reward spoken of does include the things of now, the "daily bread"", the things I need now to live through the day. It includes peace of mind in the midst of good and bad. But more importantly, it includes an eternal reward, a knowledge that there is more to this life than the "now", that eternal life (which begins now.. see John 5:24) awaits those who have faith in the Creator God and what He has provided us through Christ's dying for our sins... forgiveness, salvation, justification, and the robe of righteousness that we will wear when we stand before the throne of judgment.
That verse, Hebrews 11:6, is short but it is powerful to the one who reads and hears.
The photo? A small reminder of the creative power of God. My granddaughter took this photo in Oregon last week. Thanks, Mel!
Thursday, April 8, 2010
Spring is a Daffy Time of Year
Finally. The time has arrived. The snow drifts are gone. The air temps are kind. The first daffs are in bloom.
Spring has arrived.
If you've been paying attention you will know that thanks to another round of chemo, I do not presently have hair atop my head. The photo is from two years ago. But the daffs are the same. Only the hair has changed. Er, Um, disappeared entirely. (Sigh!!)
In my experience, daffodils are much more likely than tulips to come back year after year after year. Oh, I like tulips well enough...I like the variety of color and differing heights and just plain loveliness. But I do not have good luck with them. Each year they seem less prolific than the year before.
But my daffodils! Oh, my, how they do love to bloom every spring. And how I do love seeing the first bloom each year.
P.S. I am doing really well in regards to the chemo. Other than hair loss. For the most part I suffer no other side-effects other than slightly low blood counts. God is blessing me through this time. And I am grateful.
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Spring has arrived.
If you've been paying attention you will know that thanks to another round of chemo, I do not presently have hair atop my head. The photo is from two years ago. But the daffs are the same. Only the hair has changed. Er, Um, disappeared entirely. (Sigh!!)
In my experience, daffodils are much more likely than tulips to come back year after year after year. Oh, I like tulips well enough...I like the variety of color and differing heights and just plain loveliness. But I do not have good luck with them. Each year they seem less prolific than the year before.
But my daffodils! Oh, my, how they do love to bloom every spring. And how I do love seeing the first bloom each year.
P.S. I am doing really well in regards to the chemo. Other than hair loss. For the most part I suffer no other side-effects other than slightly low blood counts. God is blessing me through this time. And I am grateful.
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Wednesday, April 7, 2010
Whereupon I Notice Strange Things Today
It's not that I know everyone in our small town by name but I do recognize most faces as being "locals". So it seemed a bit unusual today at the grocery store when I saw nothing but strange faces...strangers. It seemed so unusual that I actually looked around me to see if I were imagining things.
One young mother in particular caught my eye. She was dressed like a hippie or a Mother Earth type. Not that there's anything wrong with that...it's just that we haven't had any hippies around here for decades. She had two delightful toddlers in tow. The younger of the two wore a leash that was attached to a loop on her mother's pants. Nobody around here uses child leashes although it seems like a reasonable and sensible thing to my way of thinking. Easy to keep track of a kid that moves quickly. The two little girls appeared happy and well loved.
Her grocery cart was filled to the max and a second cart held six gallons of milk and six gallons of water. I wondered if they were traveling or perhaps lived way out in the boonies somewhere in the hills on the far side of the county.
We left at the same time so out of curiosity I looked for her license plate to see if she were local or "out-of-town". No license plate on the back of her old Toyota. As I exited the parking lot I noted no license plate on the front either. I wondered how long she'd been driving without plates. Strange.
Then I stopped at the thrift shop. A young mother was checking out a large stack of jeans and shirts. Her young daughter was happily carrying a blue stuffed dog which she told me was "Sado Abigail". Her mother explained that what she was saying was "Sarah Abigail". Nothing unusual about that...a young Mom saving money by buying clothes and a stuffed dog at the thrift shop. Then I overheard the mother tell the clerk that she should probably head on home as she had left a pan of eggs boiling on the stove!
I haven't heard the fire sirens so I suppose her home is still standing.
.
.
One young mother in particular caught my eye. She was dressed like a hippie or a Mother Earth type. Not that there's anything wrong with that...it's just that we haven't had any hippies around here for decades. She had two delightful toddlers in tow. The younger of the two wore a leash that was attached to a loop on her mother's pants. Nobody around here uses child leashes although it seems like a reasonable and sensible thing to my way of thinking. Easy to keep track of a kid that moves quickly. The two little girls appeared happy and well loved.
Her grocery cart was filled to the max and a second cart held six gallons of milk and six gallons of water. I wondered if they were traveling or perhaps lived way out in the boonies somewhere in the hills on the far side of the county.
We left at the same time so out of curiosity I looked for her license plate to see if she were local or "out-of-town". No license plate on the back of her old Toyota. As I exited the parking lot I noted no license plate on the front either. I wondered how long she'd been driving without plates. Strange.
Then I stopped at the thrift shop. A young mother was checking out a large stack of jeans and shirts. Her young daughter was happily carrying a blue stuffed dog which she told me was "Sado Abigail". Her mother explained that what she was saying was "Sarah Abigail". Nothing unusual about that...a young Mom saving money by buying clothes and a stuffed dog at the thrift shop. Then I overheard the mother tell the clerk that she should probably head on home as she had left a pan of eggs boiling on the stove!
I haven't heard the fire sirens so I suppose her home is still standing.
.
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Tuesday, April 6, 2010
The Old is Made New
One of the benefits of last week's window replacement was that the upheaval put me into "clean deep" mode. That mode is where you vacuum more than the main portion of the carpet...you 
move furniture; you use the brush attachment to clean along the edges of the room; things get put away where they belong; the cleaning goes deep. It takes time to deep clean but when it's done? Oh! how good it feels!
The worst room in our house is my sewing room which also serves as my office and which contains a twin bed for the occasional guest. Last week this room got a much-needed deep clean. And to celebrate I put away the heavy quilt and put a light-weight vintage quilt on the bed for the summer.
About ten years ago I found a vintage quilt top (a Double Wedding Ring pattern) at a yard sale in the City. Judging by the fabrics I'd say this quilt was pieced together in the late 1930s or early 1940s. And then, for whatever reason, the quilter placed this top aside, folding it carefully, keeping it safely on a closet shelf for the next 60 years. There it lay, hidden away, waiting for me.
The quilt top became mine. I wanted it to be as authentic to the 1930s as possible so I used a very thin cotton batting and hand quilted it in the style of that time.
I was mildly surprised to notice in these photos that I missed completing the cross-hatching in one white area. I thought this quilt was finished! But, no, it needs a couple more hours of work to be done. If you click the photos you can get a closer view.
I won't show you the old version of this corner of the room. No, I'm reluctant to do that. But I do hope you enjoy the new, cleaned up version.
2 Corinthians 5:17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.
move furniture; you use the brush attachment to clean along the edges of the room; things get put away where they belong; the cleaning goes deep. It takes time to deep clean but when it's done? Oh! how good it feels!The worst room in our house is my sewing room which also serves as my office and which contains a twin bed for the occasional guest. Last week this room got a much-needed deep clean. And to celebrate I put away the heavy quilt and put a light-weight vintage quilt on the bed for the summer.
About ten years ago I found a vintage quilt top (a Double Wedding Ring pattern) at a yard sale in the City. Judging by the fabrics I'd say this quilt was pieced together in the late 1930s or early 1940s. And then, for whatever reason, the quilter placed this top aside, folding it carefully, keeping it safely on a closet shelf for the next 60 years. There it lay, hidden away, waiting for me.
The quilt top became mine. I wanted it to be as authentic to the 1930s as possible so I used a very thin cotton batting and hand quilted it in the style of that time.
I was mildly surprised to notice in these photos that I missed completing the cross-hatching in one white area. I thought this quilt was finished! But, no, it needs a couple more hours of work to be done. If you click the photos you can get a closer view.
I won't show you the old version of this corner of the room. No, I'm reluctant to do that. But I do hope you enjoy the new, cleaned up version.
2 Corinthians 5:17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.
Monday, April 5, 2010
A Glimpse of the New
I have serious things on my mind this morning. And not enough time to develop those thoughts into a post. So today...for your viewing pleasure...is the "after" of our living room window. (Ooops...already posted this...OK...here's a pic of the kitchen "after" as well.)
We were amazed that these two fellows could replace NINE windows (and one of them a large picture window as shown here) in a day and a half of work. They were meticulous and tidy. And when the job was finished I merely did a light vacuuming (they had already vacuumed using their shop vac before leaving each room) and the larger task of putting things back in order.
The old windows seemed sound. They were air tight...that is, we never experienced wind moving through them even on days of the worst blizzard. But they were single pane and anyone living in Iowa knows you need double panes to prevent heat loss through the glass.
Oh, we could have installed aluminum storms and been done with it. But we wanted windows that we could open...the old ones were "stuck" and every spring, in order to open a window in this room or that, we had to use a block of wood and a hammer to assist the cranking mechanisms.
We're pretty happy with this new energy saving addition to our house. And we're pretty happy with Jeff and Paul, the installers for a job well done.
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We were amazed that these two fellows could replace NINE windows (and one of them a large picture window as shown here) in a day and a half of work. They were meticulous and tidy. And when the job was finished I merely did a light vacuuming (they had already vacuumed using their shop vac before leaving each room) and the larger task of putting things back in order.
The old windows seemed sound. They were air tight...that is, we never experienced wind moving through them even on days of the worst blizzard. But they were single pane and anyone living in Iowa knows you need double panes to prevent heat loss through the glass.
Oh, we could have installed aluminum storms and been done with it. But we wanted windows that we could open...the old ones were "stuck" and every spring, in order to open a window in this room or that, we had to use a block of wood and a hammer to assist the cranking mechanisms.
We're pretty happy with this new energy saving addition to our house. And we're pretty happy with Jeff and Paul, the installers for a job well done.
.
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