Month: May 2012 (Page 2 of 3)

Gratitude Sunday * May 20, 2012

May 20, 2012 / Lindsey / 4 Comments

~ I’m once again joining Taryn over at Wooly Moss Roots in her Gratitude Sunday tradition. ~

Gratitude Sunday is a time to slow down and remember those thankful moments that graced our week. One reason I love keeping a daily gratitude journal is because it helps keep things in perspective for me. Each Sunday, I open my journal and share some of those moments with you here. If you’d like to join in, just leave a comment!

Gratitude is powerful energy. I love hearing others’ gratitudes!

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– For my really wonderful mom, and all of her support and love for me.

– The sweet day with my mom and dad last weekend on Mother’s Day.

– The flowers that are blooming everywhere you turn! Our weather this year is so unusual; we seem to be 3 or 4 weeks ahead of schedule with everything… it’s really something. I’m thankful for it, and glad we didn’t get our usual late frost/blizzard which kills all the fruit blossoms! I think we’re gonna have a great fruit year.

– Sliced zucchini and onions lightly cooked in marinara sauce, for a quick breakfast before a morning meeting. So GOOD!

– Eating the last of the garden beets from last year, which had been in the bottom of the fridge since October. They still tasted so amazingly delicious.

– The person who ran after me to give me my mitten when I’d unknowingly dropped it. I really appreciated that.

– Working in the garden all day one day this week. There was so much work I couldn’t believe it, but it was really good for my spirit to be outside all day like that, working hard on something that gives me so much satisfaction.

– Going bar hopping with some friends on Friday night; that’s such an unusual thing for F and me to do — but we both had so much fun!!

– My honey F… his love and companionship… how much he makes me laugh… I’m so lucky!!

– The produce we’re already harvesting from the garden! That glorious lettuce!

– Hanging out in my parents’ beautiful yard. Connection to nature in a private space like that is so essential for my happiness and overall wellbeing. I’m so thankful that their place is just a bike ride away.

– Riding my bike on gorgeous summery evenings through beautiful neighborhoods, with the long shadows and warm glow of the setting sun. A simple pleasure.

– Waking up to rain.

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What have you been grateful for this past week?

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Make a Bug Bath!

May 16, 2012 / Lindsey / 5 Comments

If you’re an organic vegetable gardener, or just a lazy cheapskate-type gardener (or both like me), then beneficial insects are at the top of your list. They’re easy, they’re free, they do the work for you. For example, I’ve never found a better way of controlling aphids than relaxing in the shade with a cup of tea and letting the wasps eat them off one by one.

All you need to do is lure the beneficials in by making your garden as irresistible as possible. One good way is to make sure you have a variety of flowers blooming amongst your vegetables. I’ve noticed they especially like herb flowers and wildflowers.

Another good way is to provide a reliable source of fresh water — just like a bird bath, only for bugs.

To make a bug bath:

1. Find a dish and some rocks; the rocks will stick up above the water and provide islands for bugs to land on.

2. Locate the bug bath somewhere in your garden. Feel free to have multiple bug baths throughout your garden.

3. Keep the water fresh; I dump it and re-fill when I water the garden.

4. It may take a bit for the bugs to discover their new bath; have patience — they’ll find it!

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Free Shipping at Tropical Traditions! (Thru Monday May 14th)

May 13, 2012 / Lindsey / 0 Comments

It’s Free Shipping time again at one of my very favorite companies, Tropical Traditions! I love free shipping days. You save about $10-15 off your order, so it’s a good time to stock up, or try them out if you haven’t before. I really love this company’s products, and use them daily. Now through Midnight EDT on Monday May 14th, they’re offering free ground-only shipping when you enter coupon code 14512 at checkout.

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Click here to view my favorite products at Tropical Traditions.

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If you’re a new customer and have never bought from them before, you can also get this Virgin Coconut Oil book, with information & recipes, for free (any time, not just today) by entering my User ID, which is 6032410. When you’re going through the checkout process and you’ve added your shipping address and phone number, you will see the question “How did you hear of us?” Just choose “Referred by a friend” and then a new “User ID” field will appear below that where you can enter my User ID. (See screen shot below.)

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Garden walk, first week of May~

May 8, 2012 / Lindsey / 3 Comments

Let’s go see what the garden’s doing!

And you’re barefoot, right? Ok good! ‘Cause garden walks are so much better when your feet are on that cool grass, touching the earth directly…

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Mulching the beds… I know, I should’ve gotten to this task while the plants were smaller. Because when they’re already this big, you’re having to delicately thread your mulching material in amongst those maddeningly fragile stems!

Broad bean flowers

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A broken toe slows ya down… but moving more slowly has turned out to be a good thing.

Try it sometime (moving slowly I mean).

Raised bed vegetable garden, (c) The Herbangardener

Potato patch

Onion patch

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Gratitude Sunday * May 6, 2012

May 6, 2012 / Lindsey / 7 Comments

~ I’m once again joining Taryn over at Wooly Moss Roots in her Gratitude Sunday tradition. ~

Gratitude is powerful energy. I love hearing others’ gratitudes!

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– Accomplishing so much in the garden this week. I feel so on top of it and so caught up — that’s a really great feeling. There’s always more to do — always! — but at least I’ve gotten a lot of critical stuff done this week.

– Lots of moneymaking work at the moment; it does feel good to be earning money. And yet still feel like I’m in charge of my life and not constantly feeling like I’m stuck under the thumb of a boss. I’m very, very, very thankful for this setup.

– The paradise-like weather we’ve been having.

– My Honey. He always puts a smile on my face, no matter what!!!

– Sometimes, just the fact that a day is over is reason enough to be thankful. And that sleep is the best reset button there is, and that the next day is a brand new day (and often much, much better!).

– The company and companionship of the people I love.

– Lily of the Valley. Oh gosh, that scent.

– Closing my eyes and inhaling the old-fashioned grape scent of an iris, the kind just like in my best friend Sonja’s backyard. That particular scent is powerfully associated with the really wonderful times we had goofing around together in her backyard in the summertime while those irises were blooming. It is one of the scents associated with being light-hearted and completely carefree — two things that haven’t quite been present in all of my days of late, ha!

– Finding a local source for Pu-Erh tea since my two usual sources have been out of it for a while. Cause I miss that stuff when it’s gone!!

– The slower pace I’ve been forced to adopt. I broke my baby toe three weeks ago but didn’t know it was broken until I finally went to the doctor this past week. I have to say, though, how nice it is to move more slowly. I don’t normally move very slowly. But I’ve found that the day feels much calmer and more in control if I just simply move slowly, even if I have a lot I need to get done. (And I’m also thankful that a broken baby toe is not incapacitating!)

– Baby squirrel antics. You simply would not believe how cute they are. I’ll post more photos, but here are just a couple from the other day. The babies are getting big!