inspiration

Inspiration tends to come in waves for me. Right now, I'm feeling re-motivated to strive toward a lower-footprint lifestyle. For the environment, for peace of mind, for my family's financial "bottom line", for the kids' future...there are endless reasons abstract and concrete, selfish and altruistic.

Here are three blogs whose archives yield a wealth of ideas and inspiration.

http://thenonconsumeradvocate.com/

http://zerowastehome.blogspot.com/

http://notbuyinganything.blogspot.com/

This week's mini-mission: Eat all the fresh locally-grown, organic vegetables in my fridge before they become food for the chickens.

We belong to a wonderful CSA, a farm-share. The boys think it sounds conceited when I say my farm, but I think of it that way, and I don't think the farmers would mind. It is a beautiful spot tucked into the Coast Range about 45 minutes from town. Once a week, they deliver boxes of veggies picked that morning to drop-off sites on members' front porches.

Every week we pick up a gorgeous box packed with vegetables, which we carry home in cloth bags and eat for the week. However, the things that are "easy" or that we would tend to buy anyway (like carrots, salads, and spinach) go quickly, which vegetables we are not quite as crazy about or less sure how to cook tend to linger (think fennel root, spicy radishes, and eggplant).

Minou's solution to our Thursday bounty of produce is to make soup, and it is a good one. However, some things just don't lend themselves to it (again, fennel root, spicy radishes, eggplant...)

I can't let this bounty go to waste. I'll let you know how it goes.

What is inspiring you these days?

simple sunday style

I have decided to try going natural.
I am already a pretty natural kind of lady (gal?).
But I'd like to be more so.
Good health and self-care are most beautiful.

I do wear makeup, but not so anyone would notice.
Just a little brown eyeshadow, mascara, and natural lip color (more of a gloss).
I think I'd like to try to do without.

I'm not really sure what "real" color my hair is now--I've been using henna on it since I was 15 years old!
It's been a lot of shades, from aubergine to auburn to bright red to dark brown to a medium brown now.
I used to enjoy mixing the powdered henna colors and waiting for the surprise result.

Henna is a plant-based color that also naturally conditions the hair.
However, it is becoming quite expensive, and it's a lengthy and messy process
(think slathering green mud on your head and leaving it on for several hours!).
I'm getting tired of the quarterly upkeep.

My hair is growing in silver around the temples now...

One of my coworkers has the most beautiful silver hair, looking very stylish.
My mother also has lovely cascading silver hair.
I'm ready to try. I cut off about three inches last night.

Following the recommendations of Mrs. MM (and many others!),
getting a good night's sleep of 8 hours, daily exercise, and healthy food with many fresh fruits and veggies, are among the best (and certainly most frugal) beauty practices.

simple sunday: groceries

At the beginning of the month, I wrote about trying to decrease our monthly grocery budget in order to pay down the mortgage principal more quickly. Part of this involves meal planning and focused shopping.

Each weekend I think about the main dinner meals for the upcoming week. We have several staple main dishes that we rotate that are quick, easy, and liked by at least three members of our household (have I mentioned that p'tit minou deux is a rather picky eater?). Those include spaghetti with marinara sauce, garden burgers, enchilada casserole, homemade macaroni and cheese, burritos, homemade pizzas, and vegetable soup for the Parental Units (as the boys enjoyed calling Minou and I for a while).

Then we do a weekly grocery shopping, also making sure to have snacks (yogurt, fruit, baking ingredients), lunch materials (sandwich bread, carrots, cheese and peanut butter), breakfast food (generally rolled oats, raisins, nuts, cinnamon), and vegetables.

Last weekend I did not do a big grocery shopping, deciding that we would try to empty the cupboards first. And empty them we did. I don't think I've ever seen the fridge so empty at the end of the week. Success!
However, with two hungry teens in the house, I have to be careful not to let the pantry get too bare. It feels like a serious emergency when there is nothing quick to grab and eat. Explosions could ensue.

Yesterday, Minou did our big shopping for the week, and took seriously my maximum $100 spending request. I'm curious how we will do this week for further shopping, since we no longer have the back-of-the cupboard stores we once did. Don't worry, I will not forget the importance of fresh fruits and vegetables.

My challenge: we are almost, almost out of coffee (actually finished the real beans a week ago, and I've been drinking the Nescafe we bought for my mother-in-law).Coffee, my precious...my very favorite small luxury...

What would you do?
Buy more coffee, or go without?

simple sunday

Food, glorious food....
I love cooking on Sundays.
It's my day to enjoy bustling around in the kitchen.
We will have lots of leftovers to carry us into the week, as illness has struck the Urban Farmette.
Poor p'tit minou un is sick with an ILI (influenza-like illness).
When this boy isn't hungry, I know he's really not feeling well.
Minou has something brewing as well. Hand washing--lots of handwashing!

In the meantime, since I'm feeling fine, I made:

• Onion and spinach quiche with cheddar and parmesan cheeses; vegan olive oil crust (not bad!)
• Blueberry whole wheat muffins 
• Vegetarian curry with potatoes, carrots, onion, garlic, veggie broth, coconut milk, and curry spices
• Brown rice
• Blueberry pie with a whole wheat/butter crust 

Sorry for the lack of pictures. Maybe one day I will remember to take them!

What are you cooking this weekend?

simple sunday

Today, I was the first one up (I was also the first one in bed last night).
I headed out into the foggy, chilly morning to walk the dog, clean the chicken coop, and feed the cats.
Then I made a strong pot of French press coffee and sat down with some schoolwork.

I am struggling with procrastination these days. To admit to it somehow makes it better.
I know how lucky I am to study, I love to learn, I want to complete this degree.
But I do not feel like doing homework! So many years of studying...

Minou is up now too. Laundry is going, the steady hum. The boys are still sleeping.
It's a nice day to be at home for a simple, cozy Sunday. I'm still in PJs with a wool sweater, wool socks, and a wool scarf (it's cold!). I'm thankful for another day at home tomorrow.

I am feeling like I want my "space" these past few days. I am so happy to have my family near, but I want to be a little bit separate from them. It's the ongoing dynamic of the only child, perhaps--growing up comfortable with, and enjoying, alone time. It's much easier to find as a parent of teens than as a parent of preschoolers.

Later today I plan a long dog walk, some more homework, and maybe a trip to the public library. It's a no-car day, as I hope tomorrow will be too. I've started riding my bike to work again, and it feels so good. We still have a Burley bike trailer in the garage that the boys rode in when younger (and more recently towed the dog in). If I really get motivated, I can do my big grocery shoppings using the trailer!

What's on your Sunday agenda?

lazy day

Where my mother is staying, at Plum Village (a Buddhist retreat center in France), once a week they have a Lazy Day. That means a day with no regularly scheduled activities. No Dharma talks, no classes, and no gatherings. I think they still have work duties, meals, and meditation times.

My Lazy Days are a little different, but yesterday I had a delicious one. Despite the alarm that went off at 7:30, I was still lying in bed at 9:00. I only got up when the call of "Waaafles!" echoed up the ladder to the attic loft. Then the poor dog, terrorized by the beeping of the waffle iron (??), needed reassurance. Then I spent some time fiddling around  looking for high yield savings accounts (advice, anyone?). I was still in my PJs, unshowered, sitting on the couch with the cats at 11 am. I roused myself to cut Minou's hair, then settled down with another cup of coffee and my book group book, Mountains Beyond Mountains by Tracy Kidder (it's really good).

I love lazy home days. How about you? What do you do on lazy days?

sunday sniffles

Sniffly days around the maison des minous this week, but we have not let it stop us from embracing the coziness of a rainy November three-day weekend at home. PJs and bathrobes were worn all day by some. Much reading and studying, lounging in bed, and perhaps a little too much computing, took place.
We baked apple muffins (using the last red apples hanging from our tree like globular jewels), and drank lots of tea.
We installed pine tongue-in-groove decking as attic flooring.
It looks lovely, rustic and simple, like a Swedish county cottage.
(where are those pictures I promised you? so sorry.)

We also put on our fancy shoes and took Grammy Minou out to dinner, sniffles or not, because we will soon be losing her to the monastics. She is leaving for a six-month stint at Plum Village in France. We are excited for her, but also feel a little sniffly about our upcoming long separation.

And my mantra for the week: Be nice to yourself.

simple sunday

A lovely, cuddly, extra hour of sleep.
An early morning phone call to France via Google for a birthday.
(at 2 cents per minute, it's fine to talk for an hour--and we did)
A day-old baguette warmed in the oven for breakfast. Delicious with jam and Inka.
Helped Minou with framing upstairs. Another window framed in for the Attic Addition.
A long, sunny, weekend run with the big brown dog.
Up the trails at the edge of town, where the forest begins and the leaves are gorgeous.
Ran into two old friends on the trail.
Home for lunch of leftover pizza, carrots, and homemade red lentil soup.
A green tea day, instead of a coffee day. Easier when the sun is shining.
Start of a great new library book: Happier at Home by Gretchen Rubin.
Paid the mortgage and added a little extra.
Now: a quick shower, and off for more tea with some friends.
Back to get a head start on this week's homework, read a couple of chapters of Huck Finn with p'tit minou deux, and watch Tangled. (I also have Oscar et la Dame Rose and My Beautiful Laundrette, again from the library).

A simple Sunday.

What is your Sunday like?

simple sunday

Here's a household item we decided we can live without:

....the humble dish drainer.

Oddly enough, this common kitchen feature has been a source of frustration and even contention for Minou and I over the years. We used to have a simple wooden dish rack--I loved the aesthetic, but he was frustrated by its design functionality and inability to clean (we live in the Pacific Northwest, where things that stay damp have a tendency to develop mold quickly).

So we switched to the cheap, basic plastic-coated wire type that can be found in any drugstore household department (you can still see ours lurking sadly in the background of this picture, ready to be schlepped to the garage, on its way out the door). It initially had a rubber pan-mat thingie that quickly developed pink slime--I can't remember the technical term (biofilm!), but it disgusted Minou and he hated cleaning it. So we discarded the rubber mat and moved to an absorbant towel on the counter that could be quickly thrown in the wash. Now, the rack itself has developed small spots of a nasty blackish mold. Minou requested a change to just using the towel-on-the-counter system--why not?

It works, and it's one less thing sitting on the counter (provided we put away the dishes after they dry).

What common household item have you learned that you can live without?

simple sunday

Something simple for dinner...soup.

Healthy, filling, satisfying...

I make a pot on the weekend and we eat it all week (the kids don't usually partake, sadly).

Sometimes it can be a complete meal in a bowl, vegetarian chili or minestrone.

Lately we have been really enjoying vegetable soups, the French way (pureed, not too thick).

This week's recipe:

5 russet potatoes, scrubbed, with skins
5 large carrots, scrubbed, with skins
2 large zucchini squash with skin
2 cloves garlic
1 small head broccoli with stalk
1 cup canned crushed tomatoes with basil
Cook all together in a large kettle until soft, let cool
Puree , adding water until desired consistency
Add salt (or Lo-Salt) and black pepper to taste

Enjoy! It gets better each time you warm it up. Add salad and good bread, maybe a sprinkle of fresh parmesan, a few nuts or a fried egg, and you have a complete dinner in no time.

simple sunday

James really knows how to keep life simple

This week's simple idea...

I wear a uniform to work. Not the military kind, not the fast food kind, not even the health care kind...but a uniform nonetheless. I find it stressful to hunt for clothing in the morning, making sure that it is clean, unwrinkled, matching, and fits my "mood" for the day. Ten or fifteen minutes can easily slip away standing in front of the closet and digging through laundry baskets. I would rather spend that time walking the dog for a few extra minutes, having a second cup of coffee, or reading a chapter of our  book (right now 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea) with p'tit minou 2.

Solution? I borrowed an idea from Minou (when he worked in an office). I wear almost exactly the same thing every day. For Minou, it was corduroy pants and white dress shirts and a tie. For me, I wear comfortable non-wrinkling black pants (I have two pairs), black socks and black Dansko clogs.  For tops, I choose from a few sweaters/knit tops/button-downs depending on the season and wish for color...but they all go with black. On casual Fridays, I have a different uniform: jeans, agency t-shirt, and silly striped socks.

However...if I forget to keep up with the laundry, my whole system is thrown into jeopardy! Last week somehow both pairs of black pants were in the wash (not yet washed) at the same time, and I was thus in a tizzy getting out the door and to an early staff meeting. Most of the time, however, wearing a uniform works so well for work and keeps life simple. True, it can be a little boring--but a simple uniform can be altered or dressed up easily with a scarf or earrings, and it saves a lot of time in the mornings!

What do you wear to work? Do you use clothes to express your creativity, or prefer a time saving solution?