Recycle Update...

Can you check something off your BUCKET LIST if it's something that is on-going?




As part of our household's be more earth-friendly campaign, we started recycling and have been going strong for a couple of months now. The kids are getting in the habit of throwing things in the correct bins and they get so excited each time we make a run to the recycling center to drop off everything. We've found that the center does take all sorts of plastics...but, they only take aluminum cans (like for sodas). Now, I have to figure out what to do with all the veggie, sauce, and soup cans.

Here are before and after pictures of our bins. We used a tree to decorate the paper bin. Any suggestions for decorating the bin designated for plastics?

So...what's next? In regards to healthy, earth-friendly living, we have been attempting to eat more naturally. I should note that this goal is easier in some areas than in others. For instance, buying only fresh fruit is a lot easier (and cheaper for the most part) than buying all the canned and individually packaged fruits. I've found that Morgan is IN LOVE with blue berries, but no one else really likes them. The boys seem to be on board and don't even miss the other stuff. That's about as far as I've gotten. If you have any suggestions on how you incorporate natural living into your daily routine, I'd appreciate the help.

Old Lady? I think not!

While the kids are busy with school and Dad's at work, Mom and Gavin are isolated to the house day after day. Gavin is ignoring me more and more, so it's time to find something to do. Old hobbies...here I come.

Many, many years ago my Aunt Nina taught me how to crochet, but I did nothing with it. Then, my Grandma Pickett taught me how to knit a scarf. Again, nothing. I bought a sewing machine with the intention of being that great mom who makes cute outfits for her kiddos and saves so much money because she can repair holes in clothes, blah blah blah. NADA.

I love being creative and crafty... but have NOTHING to show for that love.

Well, not anymore!

My hands have been idle for far too long. So...knitting it is.

I started with what I know best: A simple cast on, followed by knitting row after row to create a scarf. It's not too bad, but very boring and I am tired of scarves. Yes, I know it is the most basic place to start--but I've got it and want to move on.

... ... ...

What's next?

Many web pages later, I settled on a knitted pencil case. Though I certainly don't need one, I thought I could use the pattern, make it a bit larger, and create a bag to keep all my knitting supplies in. This is what it should look like.

Not knowing anything about picking out yarn, I spent at least an hour walking up and down the aisles at Michaels. I probably looked like a weird, crazy lady walking in circles, rubbing yarn after yarn. I settled on a Lion Brand Yarn that is organic cotton. It's soft and not itchy...which is definitely a must in my opinion.

On size 13 needles, this yarn produced a very stretchy bag, with a large gauge. It's a bit sloppy and does NOT hide any imperfections. Here, you see what the piece looked like after knitting the pattern, using Stockinette Stitch. The ends are so messy. I'm not exactly sure what happened. Also, since I added the stripes on my own and wasn't really paying attention to the number of rows for each color, the stripes are very uneven.

I have this strange obsession with the inside of bags, purses, etc. The inside has to be just as cute, if not cuter, than the outside or I won't buy it. Many great purses have been passed by because the inside liner didn't "speak to me". That's not the case with this bag. The inside is by far my favorite part.



The end result is a slightly sloppy, but cute bag that is nothing like the original picture associated with the pattern. Not only did I try to enlarge the pattern, I also added more difficulty that I was ready for by doing stripes using 2 different colored yarns instead of using a self-striping yarn. OH...I also had to hand-sew the fabric lining and zipper for this one. YEP-TOTALLY CRAZY! But, I actually completed a project from start to finish. Exciting! I now have something to show.