Acorns and Projects

We’ve lived in our home for four years this summer and never have we seen or heard so many acorns falling from the red oak that lives just off our patio. I have no idea why it’s happening this summer, maybe because we had it pruned last winter? Maybe it’s the weather? Our daughter’s room is also on that side of the house, and she woke up this morning startled from the knocking sounds. The patio has shards of split acorns, fragments of acorn tops and toppled potted plants from the squirrels. I bet it’s one reason our little woodland friends have left our vegetable garden alone this late in the season, too.

Almost every morning, I’ve gone outside to assess the garden, the lawn and landscaping and after walking around bits of acorn shells get embedded in my flip flops. But, now and again, I find whole acorns and of course, I pocket them. It reminds me of picking and collecting pine cones everywhere I went. (Heck, I do that now with the kids when we’re at the park.) I’m fascinated with the little acorn shapes, and more curious about what I might do with them. Right now, they’re sitting on our dining room buffet. But maybe…

…maybe I’ll turn them into something later this Fall.

Nature Craft – Acorn Fairies at Blissfully Domestic

Harvest Napkin Ties at Martha Stewart

Something similar to this Acorn Necklace at Heather Donohue Crafts

Summer Reading

I feel like it’s been a long time since I’ve read books that don’t rhyme every other sentence. I mean, I do read from time to time, but mostly it’s with the kids. And then there’s my long relationship with craft books and other DIY manuals, but not a lot of fiction.  Abby is an avid reader (we are so proud of her), and right now she loves mysteries. She would rather read than play soccer, I think.

Ollie on the other hand is still in the picture book stage, and once in a while we borrow graphic novels from the library (think comic book) like Teen Titans or Iron Man, to satisfy his superhero cravings.

So, the last two summers I signed up for the reading club at our local library. If the kids signed up, why shouldn’t I? It definitely forced me to pick up books I normally wouldn’t even give a second thought, and in one case, I was introduced to a historical fiction/mystery series that I’ve come to enjoy. Unfortunately, since I’ve only read them during the summer months, my husband pointed out that it may take me sixteen more years to finish (eighteen books in the series – I’ve read 2).

Here are some favorites:

Food Books for Kids

picture from taliajenea.blogspot.com

Food for Thought: The Complete Book of Concepts for Growing Minds (Elffers & Freymann) * The pictures are clever, creative and well done! Makes you want to take a closer look in the produce section.

picture from www.jamakimrattigan.com

Dumpling Soup ( Jama Kim Rattigan) * In this book, the family celebrating New Year’s with dumplings and relatives is so much like our our family. If you go to the author’s site, you’ll find a recipe!

By Amy Wilson Sanger: Yum, Yum, Dim Sum (board book) and First Book of Sushi and Let’s Nosh * I love the colorful collage images

Mom’s Historical Fiction Picks

Picture from www.ameliapeabody.com

The Ape who Guards the Balance by Elizabeth Peters (The Amelia Peabody Series) * A slow start for my second book by this author, but I’ve grown fond of the characters. I really should start with the first book next time. Set in 1900s Egypt, follow the Emerson family through archaeological exploration, mystery and murder.

Picture from www.ameliapeabody.com

The Hippopotamus Pool by Elizabeth Peters (The Amelia Peabody Series) * My first Amelia Peabody book, but number eight in the series. I thoroughly enjoyed the banter between protagonist, Amelia Peabody, and her archaeologist husband, Radcliffe Emerson. In 1900, The Emerson family gets caught up with a mysterious criminal to find a lost queen’s tomb in Egypt.

Loving Frank by Nancy Horan * Take a (fictional-with-a-bit-of-fact) look into the life of architect Frank Lloyd Wright, his choices, and relationship with Mameh Cheney. I’ve studied FLW’s work and biography, so I knew how the story ended. And even then let’s just say, without spoiling it too much, I had a slightly difficult time getting through the tragic ending.

Anyone out there have favorite summer reads from this year to share?

Tags: books, reading, summer

Making Our Own Rotating Barrel Composter

Example barrel composter at class

** NOTE ** In an effort to get this posted quickly, I may not have all the dimensions, products or resources listed as I would like to. I’ll come back and update. I promise!

In trying to be more “green” at home, I finally finished putting our compost barrel together. Of all the recycling-earth friendly things we’ve started to do here, I’m most excited about this, but it probably shouldn’t have taken as long as it did. I started it in March at our local park district. (Embarrassed, yes.) Since I wasn’t able to stay for the whole class (1-1/2 hours), I jsut made sure I had all the pieces that were needed to finish and brought everything home. Of course, there was every intention to get it done on the first nice weekend, but that weekend went by, as did several others… and here we are today.

There have been a few inquiries about how to put it together. I was able to take a few pictures at class, which will hopefully be helpful with the instructions.

Materials needed

Legs

• (2) Plastic sawhorse brackets (hardware included)
• 4 pieces of 2×4 at 31″ to 32″ lengths each for legs
• 2 pieces of 2×4 at 12″ each for pipe surface

Composter

• (1) Food grade plastic barrel
• (2) hinges
• (2) barrel bolts
• (2) pull handles
• (1) 1-1/2″ diameter PVC pipe – 60″ length
• (4) 1-1/4″ EMT/pipe brackets
• several wire nuts to cap off screws

Equipment

• Jigsaw
• Hammer
• Tape measure/ruler
• Hole drill bit
• Power drill (cordless is easier, but not necessary)
• Drill bits
• Permanent marker

Making the stands

This was essentially like making legs for a sawhorse except I didn’t place a long 2×4 across the legs. Instead I used two small pieces of 2×4. (See the pictures above and below of the finished barrel.)

Find the center of the 12″-2×4 and drill a hole to fit the bracket bolt. Center the sawhorse bracket on hole and hammer it down in place. Take the piece and place it on the sawhorse bracket. Take your assembly and put it on the ground upside down (ready to receive the legs). Insert leg pieces into the bracket/holders, hammer to secure, then place center support piece in the middle and tighten bolt. It may help to have someone steady the legs.

Preparing the barrel

On barrel ends, mark the centers. Drill a hole on both ends large enough for the 60″ PVC pipe.

Cutting the door

The door will be approximately 11″ x 11″. Your barrel may have seams (ribs or lines) that will be helpful for marking. From rib to rib on my barrel, I have 11 inches. I marked a square accordingly.

Before cutting the door, install the hinges and barrel bolts so that the door piece wouldn’t fall in after you cut it. To have the door open up like a trash chute, the barrel bolts are on top and the hinges are on the bottom. Place the pieces in position (no real measurements here) and traces locations and holes. Predrill all your holes with a small bit (5/16″ worked well) – it makes life so much easier!

At this point, take the jigsaw and cut ONLY at the hinge and bolt locations (4 cuts). Make sure your cuts go slightly past the hardware so you have somewhere for the jigsaw to start easily when you cut the rest of the square. Then install the hinges and bolts by hand making sure not to strip the screws (that’s actually me in the picture).

Cut out the rest of the square. After it’s finished, open the door to check if everything is cut correctly.

Install the two pull handles the same way, marking its location and predrilling holes. Basically, the pulls go on opposite sides of the barrel, above and below the door.

Using wire nuts, I cover all the screws on the inside.

Lastly, drill a number of random holes all around the barrel… but not through the door (plenty of air space around there).

Mounting the composter on the stands

Place your PVC pipe through the barrel. That’s the easy part.

It helps to have friends around for placing the barrel, but I was able to have my two kids hold the legs/stands upright and in place, while I maneuvered the barrel holding on to the pull handle.  Once you get the PVC pipe on the legs, take a couple of pipe brackets and secure to the 2×4. I had to angle the screws in a bit. They were slightly long, and would have gone through the 2×4 had I drilled straight down. As it is, you want to angle the screws in, to make sure the brackets are tight against the pipe when you secure it to the wood.

What to Compost

• Coffee grounds
• Tea leaves/bags
• Eggshells
• Fruit and vegetable scraps (I’ve been told that banana peels, orange peels and peaches have high levels of pesticides, so don’t compost them if you’re going to use your “black gold” to grow food.)
• Shredded newspaper (for carbon)
• Leaves, straw, hay, grass clippings

Do Not Compost

• Deadly weeds
• Diseased plants
• Human or pet waste
• Meat/fish scraps or bones
• Oily/fatty food products
• Dairy products
• Chemically treated wood products

Tags: backyard, compost, composting barrel, garden, home, recycled, tutorial

A Little Rest and a Little Online Game

I’m taking a little break from the blog to relax with my family. It’s been a fun week in the Seattle-Tacoma area (it’s NOT raining, ha) and I can’t wait to share some great places, food and finds.

While we were sitting around having a lazy morning, I heard my little man squealing with laughter mixed with screams from the laptop. Of course, I wanted to know what was going on and my nephew showed me this game. I found it slightly disturbing, but I couldn’t help but laugh. Tell me, am I sick? Warning to those in an office – turn down your speakers and try not to laugh out loud.

Cheers…I’ll catch you readers next week!

Tags: family, vacation, wasting time, websites

Life Lessons with Bubbles

I spent a good two hours outside with Ollie riding his tricycle, bicycle with training wheels, talking to the neighbors, playing hopscotch… and then he said, “Let’s blow some bubbles!” This was an exciting thing for him: I’m blowing bubbles until I nearly pass out and he’s chasing them all over the yard and driveway. There’s just something so innocent and lovely about watching your kid screeching with happiness as little round glass-like spheres float all around. Tell you what… you quickly learn how good or bad your lung capacity is!

You can find a ton of homemade bubble solutions online, but here’s a nice quick start.

• 1/2 c. dishwashing liquid
• 2 c. water
• 2 tsp. glycerin or corn syurp

Mix in a shallow pan. You can also refill your old bubble jars.

Don't eat the bubble liquid!

My “lessons learned” from bubbles that day:

• The most simplest of things are temporary
• Chase after your goal, big or small
• Time is fleeting, enjoy it while its here…

and, maybe a bubble machine would be a worthwhile purchase. *whew*

Happy Fourth of July everyone!

Tags: bubbles, outside, summer

Gotta Get Outside

I’ve learned from working in construction that there are really only two seasons in Chicago: coming out of winter and going into winter. Sometimes there is an in-between, and that’s when everyone runs outside. We’ve been spending some time outside in our backyard. I’m so excited the plants are coming up after last year’s late season planting especially the brunella (Jack Frost), the garlic and some ferns that were transplanted from Oak Park to a far west suburb and then to our home. You’ll see the ferns have grown a lot in just a few weeks!

(click on the pictures to zoom in)

The shrubs are looking a little lopsided, hopefully after some pruning and warmer temperatures, they’ll bounce back. I’m slightly worried about them. I planted some lettuce and spinach in “the farm”, but I’m afraid it’s late in the season. They’re sprouting now, as of this post, so we’ll see what happens. Saturday, chicken wire was added to help deter the rabbits. I’m looking to add some marigolds soon…along the perimeter of the kitchen garden.

This week is starting out a little damp and cloudy, but by the weekend, I should have some warmth to do more outside. Right now, I have a leak somewhere in the roof to take care of, too. Grrr!

Tags: backyard, garden, garden bed, landscaping, planting, plants