Lasso The Moon

Green Cleaning

I found this book a couple weeks ago on Amazon, and I’ve been so pleased with it!  The first part of the book names traditional house-hold cleaners and whether or not they are really beneficial to your household health and safety.  The rest of the book lists actual recipes that have been tried and tested to replace those that you used before.

I am having so much fun cleaning with my new home-made cleaners.  And above that, I appreciate the change in odor from bleach- and ammonia-based cleaners, to vinegar- and baking soda-based cleaners.  So much easier on the senses.

Next on my list: get some prettier containers.

We're here, and it's hot!

This is no joke.  The day we moved in, the temperature was sitting at 103 degrees.  Welcome home, right?  But even with the almost unbearable heat, we are glad to be here and are settling in.  We don't have a permanent home yet, but a couple from our new church had an empty guest house.  The Texas-shaped ice cubes were already in the freezer when we got here.  No one has state pride like Texans.

Saying Goodbye

We have roughly thirty days before we drive away to our new home in Dallas.  One thing I'll surely miss is my garden.  I am not a gifted gardener, but I love to putt around in it.  Some of these plants I've had since the first summer we lived here, four years ago.

Like this peony:

This is the one and only blossom I've had since I planted it in 2005.

I'm going to take several of my plants with me, but this one, the state flower of Indiana, will stay here.  It's a finicky plant, and since I finally got the soil depth right, I'm not going to bother it.  I don't even know if peonies tolerate any heat.

But I'm so glad I got to see it once before we moved!

At least it has a nice view...

I am working away over here in my sheep factory.  But don't worry about me.  Any time I want, I can look up and see this:

My newly ironed, folded, and color-matched fabric stash.  Serious eye-candy, huh?

Hope you are having a restful weekend.

Eat local

My mom sent me this really good book, Animal, Vegetable, Miracle, and it got me thinking about where we get our food.  I wonder if the country would be in such an oil crises if we didn't insist on having bananas every morning and green salads in the dead of winter.  I'm not saying I'm a full convert by any means, but it did get me thinking.

I found a great local farmer's market and have been going weekly for the last three weeks.  But last Saturday was the last one until November 22!  And after that, May!  Oh, well.  At least now I know where it is and can start using it again in the spring.

The other night I made a pizza that used tons of local ingredients:
Crookneck squash from my garden
Tomatoes and peppers from the farmer's market
Salad greens and other greens (dandelion!) from my garden  (I just planted them about a month and a half ago, and it's been so fun to go out and pick them for dinners!)

The pizza was very good--even Donnie said so. 

My mom is so into eating local that she started a new business based on the idea.  It's called "edible" and she and her friend, Lori are putting in vegetable gardens for clients in the Dallas area, where they live.  Honestly, it might be easier to eat local when you live in the balmy South, but they don't have the apple trees that we do here, in the Midwest.  So I guess it evens out.  Mom just started a blog about her business.  Check it out!

I spent my movie time last night making her some business cards with the little radish logo I came up with.  They're on their way, Mom!  I am so excited for her.

Shoes

I haven't been posting here this week, because all of my computer time has been spent turning this:

into cold, hard cash on eBay.  I had no idea we had so many.  Why is it so hard to get rid of their little shoes?  I think maybe because they spend so much more time in one pair of shoes than they do in one outfit. 

If you want to track the auctions (I don't know--maybe you have the time!) click here.
I'll be back to share pictures of the costumes as soon as I get a little work done on them. 

And if you still can't get enough of me, I added a few slings to the shop, and I still have a couple left.  Check them out!

Some Old Art

I was looking around the house for something to post about, and realized that I've never shown this little painting I did.  I am frequently inspired by Scripture to make art, but rarely follow through. 

I'm really happy with the style, and I'd love to do more of them.  This one is hanging in my stairwell.
Ink and acrylic on canvas.

Craft Break...

I'm taking a tiny break from crafting to do some real work. 
Some fun (sketches for a client)
And some awful (receipt filing...ugh.)

See you around here again when my chores are all done
Ciao!  --Anna

Happy Valentine's Day!

Some New Reads

I don't know if you've ever visited any of the blogs on my list (over in the left-hand sidebar) but I have just added a couple more.  I like to read a blog for a while before I add it, because I want it to be something I really like and would recommend to others.  So here are the new ones.

I found Geninne's Art Blog last summer, and it is now one of my faves.  She lives in Mexico and has the most incredible talent for watercolor.  So beautiful they make me teary!   And if you have the chance, check out some of her flickr album.  Her home is incredible and inspiring.

Meg, at Montessori by Hand is a Montessori teacher who loves to add hand-made implements to her classroom.  Very inventive and informative.  She's also a pattern-maker and designed this adorable apron pattern.  (On its way to my house as we speak!)

Another is  a crafty mom who has a great knack for turning junk into house-hold treasure.   She also homeschools,  so she has some fun and unique project ideas.

And this color-genius that inspires me to no end with her use of gray.

And finally, there is Jenny, an independent clothing designer who sometimes startles me with her candid insights on the business of handmade.  This girl has serious talent, and I wish I could meet her.

So that's what I'm reading around blog land.  I read actual paper books at home.  In fact, since I can't seem to find the right bookshelf, I just arranged some of my craft books last week on the buffet in the dining room.

This little display makes me smile each time I pass it.  And now I don't have to drag them back and forth from the basement each time I want to use them.