container gardening - late spring

Up until today we have had some perfect gardening weather so I have been spending most of spare my time out there planting up veggies for this summer.

My husband built a deer deterrent/hothouse this year which makes a nice warm spot for the tomatoes and green beans.  We'll put some cukes in there too when they are ready.

I have been planting up pots and tucking them wherever I can find a spot.  These pots have carrots, beets and lettuces.

 Swiss chard and beets in the brick planter and more lettuce on the window sill.

 The front steps have 2 more pots of lettuce (we eat a lot of lettuce!), thyme, chive and various unedible plants.  To the left of the steps our Stanley Prune Plum is covered in tiny plums.  They likely won't all mature but we hope to get one for each of us this year.  Patience!

The strawberries that are in pots are slow this year but the ones that rooted in the bark mulch are doing excellent.  The black currant and blueberries have a fair number of berries on them.  I don't think it's going to be a bumper crop but we're focusing more on growing the salad veggies this year.

Here's a list of the edibles that we're growing in containers this year.

tomatoes - cherry and slicing

sweet peppers

cucumbers

swiss chard

lettuce

beets

carrots

radishes

blueberries

black currants

triple crown blackberries

rhubarb

herbs - parsley, sage, rosemary, thyme, chive, savory, tarragon, oregano, basil

teas - chocolate mint, spearmint, lemon balm, bergemot, stevia

That's about if for now.  I'd love to hear/see how your garden is growing this spring!
~ joey ~

inspirational art for kids

I'm at Playful Learning today with a post on 'inspirational art for kids'.

Hope you'll stop by and see how we're inspiring ourselves with artwork!

~ joey ~

zentangle challenge #1 - family artwork

 B - 9 years old "Peace Picture"

 A - 11 years old - "Imagine Peace and Love"

My children asked if they could take part in my Zentangle Weekly Challenge so I'm happy to post our family's drawings and add them to the Link Up Gallery.

I'm proud to say that their drawings speak clearly about the kind of kids they are....nature loving, peaceful, kind, loving people!

Joey - "Tic tac toe"

I think I need to work on more creative titles!

I'm really looking forward to seeing the completed drawings of those of you participating.

We had a Linky glitch that affected the mobile readers but we have that sorted out now so everyone can access the Link Up Gallery.  If anyone else is experiencing any problems please let me know so that we can get them sorted out.

~ joey ~

quinoa sushi - vegan/gluten free

I have been on a bit of a quinoa kick lately so last night I made up our favourite sushi using quinoa instead of rice.  If you haven't already tried quinoa, I highly recommend it as it is packed with vitamins, minerals, fibre and is a complete protein.  Rice seriously pales in comparison but then I must confess to being bias as I'm allergic to rice!

Ingredients: (for 4 servings)

4 nori sheets (makes 8 pieces per sheet)

1 cup quinoa

2 cups water

1 cucumber

1/2 avocado

 Braggs or regular soy sauce (wheat free if celiac)

You will also need:

Sushi rolling mat

Serrated knife

Rinse measured quinoa in a strainer.  Bring 1 cup of quinoa to a boil in 2 cups of water and then let simmer for about 15 mins.  (yes it even cooks quickly!)  Slice cucumber into long strips  Cut avocado lengthwise into strips.

Place 1 sheet of nori onto sushi mat with the rough side up.  Spread about half a cup of cooked quinoa onto the bottom third of the nori sheet.  Top with a row of cucumber and avocado.  Roll sheet away from you up the mat to form a cyclinder.  Wet the top strip of seaweed slightly and seal closed.  Roll the sushi mat around the cylinder and press tightly.

Unwrap the sushi and with a dampened serrated knife cut into bite sized pieces.  Serve with a small dish of soy sauce to dip in.  Feel good about all of the extra superfood ingredients you are getting in this simple little snack!         ~ joey ~

rediscovering your child's space

Have you been thinking about doing a Spring clean/purge or re-evaluating your growing child's space?  Then I invite you to join me at Playful Learning today.  One thing I learned from our recent 'downsizing' project is that sometimes a change like this can stir up some emotions you might not expect...!
~ joey ~

track your trash - reduce your waste

Please join me at Playful Learning today with an activity on tracking your trash.  Let's make 2014 the year that we reduce our waste!

~ joey ~

tips to eating healthy this holiday

I am at Playful Learning today with some tips to help your child to eat healthy foods this holiday...yes it is possible!

Wishing you and your family a very happy healthy holiday!

~ joey ~

Natural Living Blog Carnival: 5 easy ways to live more sustainably

Welcome to the August 2013 Natural Living Blog Carnival: Living Sustainably. This post was written for inclusion in the monthly Natural Living Blog Carnival hosted by Happy Mothering and The Pistachio Project through the Green Moms Network. This month, our members are talking about steps their families have taken, or hope to take, to live more sustainably. We hope you'll find inspiration for your family's journey towards sustainable living, and share your tips with us as well!

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Today I am participating in the Natural Living Blog Carnival and this month's topic is Living Sustainably, a topic dear to my heart!

Here are 5 easy steps that we have taken to live more sustainably.

ONE - shop at local farm markets.

 We are fortunate to live within a few kilometers from several farm markets that are open year round.  In the summer several more open up so we have lots of choices wherever we go.

TWO - u-pick at organic farms.

 To reduce some of the cost of buying organic fruit we get to know our farmers that offer u-picking and fill our freezer with their fruit at a reduced price.   This way we avoid buying imported organic berries during the winter at top price.

 THREE - buy local eggs.

This is a very important one for me.  We are vegetarians so I insist that  we eat eggs from organically feed, well treated birds that run around outside and therefore produce healthy eggs.  They cost a bit more than the commercial eggs at the grocer but I feel better supporting local farmers who treat their chickens well.

FOUR - grow our own food.

 Our biggest challenge is that we don't really have a garden so we grow what we can in pots and a small strip of soil along the front of the house.  It's encouraging that we can grow so much in containers including herbs, teas, vegetables and fruits.  Here are links to several posts about our "gardenless garden".  

FIVE - buy in bulk.

An excellent health food store opened last year that has the largest organic bulk section in town.  About once a month we bring our own bags and containers and buy bulk beans, rice, dried fruits, flour, shampoo, etc. for a considerable savings and eliminate the packaging of these items had we bought them at the grocer.  

And of course we don't go shopping without our reusable bags so that we don't have a pile of waste to recycle when we get home...but that's a given right?! ;o)

It was easy to implement these ways of shopping into our weekly routine and I hope that by supporting our local farmers and reducing our food packaging that we are reducing the harmful impact that the food industry can have on the earth.
When did something as natural as eating become such a destructive act anyway?

Please leave a comment about how you are living more sustainably and visit some of the other contributors below.  We know we're not alone on this journey!

xoxo

~ joey ~ 
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Visit Happy Mothering and The Pistachio Project to learn more about participating in next month’s Natural Living Blog Carnival! Please take some time to enjoy the posts our other carnival participants have contributed:

Sharing with:

 Natural Suburbia - Creative Friday
Teaching Mama - Tender Moments
 Sun Scholars - For the Kids Friday
Frontier Dreams - Keep Calm Craft On

summer days - snapshots

Staying close to home to:

 enjoy the warm weather...

...explore the coast...

...have "noodle" battles...

...and take evening dips.

Spending every day schedule-free to...

...relax and fully unwind from our normal routine...

 

...catch (and release) tiny fish...

 

...and explore all that the ocean has to offer.

This summer I deliberately did not schedule any camps, classes or commitments for the first 2 weeks of summer holidays and I am so happy with the results!  I feel that we have had time to completely unwind from our busy school schedule and are now free to have a truly relaxed holiday.  Much like how I spent my summers when I was a kid.

Next week the kids start a morning Art Camp and I believe that they will feel so much more refreshed and get more from the camp than if I had planned a full schedule from the start.

Months ago I decided that this summer was going to be about:

Simplicity, Activity and Creativity

and so far it's been lots of all of the above!  

Happy summer days to you!

~ joey ~ 

Shared with:
Like Mama~Like Daughter - Eco Kids Tuesday
The Magic Onions - Friday's Nature Table

10 CD's to soothe your child

Please join me at

Playful Learning today

where I have shared 

my 10 favourite

CD's to soothe

a child!

~ joey ~ 







Shared with:
Like Mama~Like Daughter - Eco Kids Tuesday
 

Label Lessons: your guide to a healthy shopping cart

I was recently sent this free e-book put out by Naturally Savvy to review.  As I was scanning through the pages about various food products I stopped on pages 22-25 and let out a long sigh...

...is nothing left natural anymore?!

 I have a daughter who, perhaps within the next couple of years, will start using sanitary pads and here I'm reading that there are harmful ingredients in them?!  What surprised me the most was that companies do not have to disclose the ingredients in a product that is so intimate with your body!  How can that be?

A few years ago I went through and "dechemicalized" our toiletries and (not knowing anything about this) decided to switch to Natracare products as they use organic cotton.  My daughter already understands why she'll be using this brand, so my concern is for those that aren't aware of what is in these products, and are unintentionally exposing their daughters to harmful ingredients.  Scary stuff!

So today I am passing this information on to you (and to all of the women in your life) as I think that it's something that needs some further investigation.  Download the free e-book and read more about what is in our food and health care products.

And because this is mainly a creative blog, perhaps we should make it into a creative project and make our own pads?!  Here are some links on how to make them: 

Works for Me Wednesday:  Make your own cloth sanitary pads

Hillbilly Housewife:  Homemade sanitary pads 

Keeper of the Home:  Make your own cloth pads

And just to add more fuel to the fire (ha ha!) the people that wrote this little e-book have done a short demonstration video of what happens when you light the pads of fire!  Enjoy!

~ joey ~

Shared with:
 Like Mama~Like Daughter - Eco Kids Tuesday
 Frontier Dreams - Keep Calm Craft On 

Natural Living Blog Carnival - Taking care of Mama

Welcome to the May 2013 Natural Living Blog Carnival: Taking Time for Mom. This post was written for inclusion in the monthly Natural Living Blog Carnival hosted by Happy Mothering and The Pistachio Project through the Green Moms Network. Oftentimes, Moms are so busy taking care of their families that they forget to take care of themselves. This month our carnival participants have written posts about what they do just for themselves....

This post was a challenge for me as, like most Mamas, I am more often thinking about my family's needs than of what I can do for myself!  I did, however, back in January spontaneously add a book to our Amazon order that was all for me!

The book is called

"One Zentangle a Day - a 6 week course in creative drawing for relaxation, inspiration, and fun"

How could I possibly pass up a title like that?!!

The idea is to begin by following a series of steps to clear your mind, open up your creativity and learn some new drawing techniques that are quite meditative.  All that you need is some drawing paper, a pencil and some fine tipped pens to get you started.

I cut the sheets of drawing paper into 3.5" squares and drew four 1.5" square boxes per page to practice the techniques.  I also made a small paper envelope out of scrapbook paper to keep all of my drawings together.

 

I haven't managed to find the time to complete all of the 6 weeks of activities yet but I have enjoyed taking a half hour, here and there to relax and learn something new about something that I love to do!

Have you found a special "Mamatime" activity that refreshes you?

Please share your ideas with all of the Natural Living Blog Carnival readers today!

~ joey ~
 

Visit Happy Mothering and The Pistachio Project to learn more about participating in next month’s Natural Living Blog Carnival! Please take some time to enjoy the posts our other carnival participants have contributed:

Natural Living Blog Carnival: Natural Kids

Welcome to the April 2013 Natural Living Blog Carnival: Natural Kids. 

This post was written for inclusion in the monthly Natural Living Blog Carnival hosted by Happy Mothering and The Pistachio Project through the Green Moms Network. This month our carnival participants have written posts about how they communicate with their children about natural living & how they implement those changes with their kids.

* * * * *

2005 - our baby boy - 7 months old

Raising our two children in a natural environment has been our main goal from the time of their conception.  I chose a pharmaceutical-free pregnancy and birth, and continued to be 'drug free' until the children were completely weaned.  When it came time to introduce solid foods, their diet consisted of 100% organic food until the age of two, when their nervous systems were fully developed.  We examined what was in the products that we were using in our home and switched to natural detergents, cleaners and products as they became available and affordable.

It has been a fairly easy task overall.  When the children were little they ate whatever we put in front of them, used the products that I purchased, and many of our friends led similar lifestyles so they were not aware that they lived any different than anyone else.

The children are now older, they attend Elementary School and have learned that some families make different choices than ours.  

We are beginning to encourage them to start making their own decisions about what they eat and items they chose to buy.   At first I didn't know what to expect...

Would they load up on junk food

because they had never eaten it before?!

Would they try to fill our home with plastic toys

and petroleum based products

just to be like their friends?

For all of the Mum's with the same fear . . . I am happy to report that I have been pleasantly surprised!  Of course they want to feel like they fit in with their peers, but I feel that my children make good choices about the foods and toys that they choose.

~ Perhaps because they have been listening to our discussions about the effects of these harmful products?

~ Perhaps because they have learned through our example? 

 ~ Perhaps because we try to make fruits and vegetables convenient?

Whatever the reason, as a parent I only hope that they will continue to think about the food that they put in their bodies and ensure that the environment they are living in, is a healthy one!   

 

 Like the Chinese proverb says:

"Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day.  Teach a man how to fish and you feed him for a lifetime."

 

Teaching your children how to live a healthy lifestyle is no harder

than teaching them how to live an unhealthy lifestyle...

we as parents, are their teachers. 

~ joey ~

Visit Happy Mothering and The Pistachio Project to learn more about participating in next month’s Natural Living Blog Carnival! Please take some time to enjoy the posts our other carnival participants have contributed: