Kitchen / Garden / Sanctuary - Urban Homesteading to Nourish Body + Spirit
Happy Easter to you today! It’s a quiet, sunny Sunday morning here in Colorado, and this morning it really seems like spring has come. The lawns are getting green, the finches and robins are chirping, the daffodils and grape hyacinth are blooming, and the trees and bushes — though still bare silhouettes — are coming to life again.
May you have a wonderful Easter, however you choose to celebrate the re-awakening of nature in this most welcome and hopeful season!
*****
What a dear holiday Easter is. I love the sweet, cheerful decorations, the colors of early spring, the smell of hyacinth.
Back in late January, I had clipped some aspen branches and brought them into the house. They’ve been such a nice touch of nature to have around, carrying on with their life cycle of blooming and leafing out, content in just a vase of water.
So naturally, our indoor aspen tree needed some Easter eggs. I do have some blown-out-and-dyed eggs from several years ago, and this year I blew out some brown eggs, which are beautiful just as they are.
***
To make your egg tree:
Clip a few branches and place them in a vase of water or sand.
Blow out some eggs by piercing both ends with a sharp implement like nail scissors or a needle or an old-fashioned ice pick; blow the innards into a bowl.
A nice way to hang each egg is to get a length of thin branch and cut it into short bits, 1/2″ or 1″ (2cm) long (or use part of a match stick or toothpick). The branch I used was from an elm tree.
Cut about 12″ (30cm) of thread, and tie a double knot on the branch bit. The knot doesn’t have to be completely centered on the branch. It helps to start a knot with the thread, and then slip the branch piece into it.
Slip your branch bit all the way into the top hole of the egg.
Hang it like this. Tie off the thread about 3″ (7cm) above the egg.
Then decorate your little egg tree! Don’t worry, your cat will help you.
*****
It’s Free Shipping at one of my very favorite companies, Tropical Traditions, 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 EST on Monday January 28th, they’re offering free ground-only shipping when you order a minimum of $16, and enter coupon code 28113 at checkout.
I’m going to restock my supply of powdered laundry detergent this time around…
***
(See below for my favorite items.)
***
And 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.)
***
Here are my favorite items:
Moisturizing lotion – I use this every day on my face and hands. It’s the most luxurious stuff, and very gentle since it has only a few wholesome ingredients. Definitely my all-time favorite lotion.
Moisturizing cream – Much thicker than the lotion, this is another favorite. Also great for use on face and hands.
Virgin organic coconut oil – Great for cooking, eating, and also for skin! Has a much better taste than other unrefined coconut oils I’ve tried. I just love this stuff.
Organic raw honey – This is the best-tasting honey I’ve ever had. I like to buy and taste lots of different honeys, and this one always wins, hands down. When I first tried it, my eyes got big and my mouth dropped open; it just has the most amazing taste! Quintessential, flowery honey taste. This honey is a staple in our house!
Coconut cream concentrate – I love this stuff. LOVE it. The “format” is a little strange, because when you receive it, it will have settled out into a hardened layer of coconut oil and a layer of dried/finely ground coconut meat. You’ll wonder what to do with it at first; what I do is put the jar into a pan of simmering water and let it sit there until the contents have softened and liquefied, and then I can easily stir it up. Then, I put it in the fridge until it’s hardened again. Once hardened, you can then store it in the fridge or at room temperature (it won’t separate again unless it gets really hot in your house). I usually just eat this stuff plain, it’s so good; I break it into chunks with a knife, and eat it as a snack. Sometimes I’ll eat it dipped in the raw honey, which is a very decadent and extremely delicious snack!!!
Organic Maple Syrup — Delicious, and it’s the Grade B type, which I prefer since it has deeper flavor and more nutrients than Grade A.
Laundry Detergent – This detergent is all we use, now that I’ve discovered it. It works very well, gets the stains out, and lasts a long time, making this a very economical purchase.
Oxygen Bleach – Like OxyClean. If you need a tough stain-fighter/deodorizer for laundry and everywhere else around the house.
***
Now, I’ve also tried their organic bar soap, and though it was really nice soap, Hubby and I have never seen a bar of soap get used up so fast! It was weird. It just seemed like it was gone in record time. So I wouldn’t get it again. (Though my mom has the liquid soap and really loves it.) I haven’t tried every single product that they sell…but the ones I listed above, I make sure to never run out of!
Also, I bought the Atchara once out of curiosity, and it was extremely strong (even for this vinegar lover!), and a little weird. Not quite a favorite.
*****
The Christmas decorations have been slowly disappearing back into their boxes, and the birdsong around our place sounds distinctly spring-like. The near-60° weather lures us outside while the sun keeps us warm as we play Scrabble on the porch in shorts, t-shirts, and bare feet. While there’s undoubtedly plenty of cold still ahead, there are certainly whiffs of spring.
On a sunny afternoon just the other day, I clipped some aspen branches for the table and made a few wreaths from virginia creeper vine.
My favorite home decor is that which is taken straight from nature. Simple and classy.
***
Are you feeling spring getting nearer?
*****
Thanks to an afternoon with my mom and her car (thank you Mom!!!), we’ve got a big beautiful charlie brown tree in the corner of our living room. I think one of the very best parts of Christmas is having a real live tree in the house.
This morning, to the soft sounds of Christmas music I remember from childhood, I strung the lights and laid out the ornaments. It’s cloudy today — a rarity that I cherish in this very sunny climate. Clouds make the day cozy and peaceful.
Tonight my Honey and I will decorate.
Assuming the ornaments remain intact till then…
*****
Welcome to The Herbangardener! This site is dedicated to nourishing the body + spirit, backyard organic gardening, traditional foodways, and homesteading in the heart of the city. Do come along and join me!
"There's nothing more pleasurable than making things by hand, and nothing more beautiful than handmade things."
"Do what you can, with what you have, where you are."
- Theodore Roosevelt
"Only after the last tree has been cut down; only after the last fish has been caught; only after the last river has been poisoned; only then will you realize that money cannot be eaten."
- Cree Nation Tribal Prophecy
© 2024 The Herbangardener
Theme by Anders Noren — Up ↑
