Building Community

It's no secret that one of my biggest goals for the last year (and it turns out this year too!) has been to really build my neighborhood into something great.  We built an amazing patio and grill area.

Marco and Neighbor Tim built a beautiful bike shed and arbor.

There are new flower beds, the community library and we even hosted a really, really nice tree care workshop.

But I just couldn't stop there.  I really, really want people to be able to plant, and grow, and personalize their homes here in the big CG, but it has been really difficult since our soil is, well, less soil and more clay and sand.  And that's not just my opinion either- we did a soil test and sent it to MSU.  For $6 they came back with all kinds of specific suggestions to help grow all sorts of different plants, grasses, vegetables and trees.  For more information about getting your own soil tested click here for more info.

After the soil results came back, I put them with other information I have been collecting too- guides on native Mississippi plants, information on attracting (or deterring) wildlife and pollinators, how to landscape when starting with nothing, all kinds of things.  Then I labeled everything with a very friendly "Property of Community Green:  Please read and return" and filled an entire expandable folder. The folder went straight into our library for everyone to share.

Want to create something similar for your home or community?  I collected my information from our local Master Gardeners club, the Mississippi State Extension Service, the Garden Club, the Community Garden and the Arbor Day Foundation, but I'm sure there are plenty of other sources.  

I guess the point of this is to inspire others to get involved with their own neighbors.  Not everyone in CG comes to every meeting or event or community cookout, but it is very important to me and Marco (and several other neighbors) to offer these types of experiences.  You don't have to host a dinner party every week to meet the guy next door.  Sometimes you just have to be willing to get your hands dirty.  

Anyone else working on group plantings and curb appeal?  Anyone else planting rogue watermelons?  How cute would it be if we had our own pumpkin patch this year.  Don't think I haven't started working on that already!

Fists Full of Lettuce

I picked our first round of lettuce and arugula this morning. Weighing in at a little over a pound, it doesn't seem like much, but it sure tastes good. 

Endings and Beginnings

On May 21st I am closing my Etsy shop.  Yep.  Not even a year in and I'm going to shut'er down. 

But why would I do such a thing??

Because I have been offered a great opportunity with the Americorps VISTA program and on May 21st I will start my training.  That means that by May 21st I can have no other source of income other my my living allowance provided by VISTA. 

But there is plenty of good news as well!

First, the good news is that by closing my shop and dedicating the next year to VISTA I will receive an incredible experience with the Yoknapatawpha Arts Council, health care, a living allowance and help with my student loans- all very cool and exciting things.

Second, the good news for my fans is that today- at my Double Decker Demo- I will be giving away free coupon codes for 35-50% off ANY ITEM in the shop AND free shipping!!

WHAT?! 

Yep.  I hate to think of all of these dresses just sitting, waiting to find forever homes, so I'm going to be coupon coding like crazy!  But the only time to come get one is today from 12-4 at Amelia's/The Lyric in Oxford.  Stop by, catch some demo action and say hi.  It's going to be a good time, and a very exciting new chapter.  Hope to see you there!

What I Got For Free Today: Plastic Bin

When I picked up a few bins of t shirts to make a couple of quilts, the woman who dropped them off mentioned that she wanted her bins back. "No problem!" I told her. Most of my t shirt quilts start in bins, and they make the entire process so much easier, so I don't mind them temporarily taking residence in the guest room, and I don't mind all of the free space when they leave.  When I went to grab the bins however, the woman remarked that one of them was broken, so I could just throw that one away.

Throw it away?? For a small crack in the side? I asked if she would mind if I just kept the broken one. She looked at me and shrugged her shoulders. "Sure, if you want it." She said. Snap crackle and pop! Welcome home new worm bin! Or maybe new chicken compost bin. Or maybe new potato planter bin. Or mini greenhouse. Or hand washing station. Or tiny rain barrel...

I could go on... But what are your suggestions? What would you do with a slightly disfigured, but free plastic bin complete with lid??

Earth Day Introductions

After spending several evenings and spare moments glued to the Oxford City Codes and Ordinances, my own neighborhood covenants and considering the various and sundry ways to bribe my neighbors, I am finally ready to introduce our newest family members to the internets.


What started out as this:

Waiting to come home with me!

Are now these:

Strutting hard at 8 weeks.

I love that picture of #4.  What a pretty (although stubborn and sometimes easily excitable) girl!

They are currently living in the rabbit hutch because several things have to happen before their big girl coop is complete.  Mostly the building of the coop, but also the removal of the tree Marco started to cut down last year, and the completion of the fence (I know, I haven't mentioned that yet, but it's coming, I promise!).  The seem content enough right now though and are really enjoying the sunshine. I am really enjoying them not being in the guest room so everyone wins.

Now to answer some common questions while I jump into more pictures of my girls.

Do you have a rooster?  Nope- nothing but ladies.

What kind of chickens are they?  Plymouth Rocks or Barred Rocks.  They'll be big and fat with black and white spots and red combs (the things on top of their heads).

Going through their "ugly duckling" phase when they lost their down feathers and started growing real ones.

So, about their eggs...? Their breed lays an average of 250 brown/pink eggs per year, times 4 chickens that's looking at about 1,000 eggs a year once they start laying.

Are they laying eggs yet?  Nope- most hens need to be about 6 months old before they lay eggs, so we've still got about 4 more months.

What are you going to do with all of those eggs??  Use them to bribe the neighbors not to complain (there is nothing in the codes or covenants that prevents chickens, but bribery never hurt anyone either) and sell what we can't use.  

Do they smell??  Yes, right now they smell like grass clippings.  When they move into their big girl coop they will smell like cedar and by the time the leaves start to fall off the trees, they will smell like leaves.  Oh, you meant do they smell bad!  No- we are committed to keeping our coop and our girls clean so that they are healthy and don't smell.  Plus, we have a few neighbors who already want some of their compost, so I don't think we'll have a problem getting rid of any excess.

There are few things at cute as a sleepy chicken pile.

Alright, other than eggs, why chickens??  So.Many.Reasons.  They are great, low maintenance pets.  Although ours still face a chance to end up as soup (that is yet to be determined),  they really are fun to handle and watch.  They eat ticks, mice, snakes, snails and grubs.  I have no love for any of those things, so the chickens can have at them.  They compost like crazy.  Whatever bedding we put down for them (grass clippings, leaves, wood shavings, a mixture of all three) they will dig and break down while adding their own fertilizer.  Add in their food scraps (plenty of veg and their own chicken feed) that get composted along the way and BAM garden gold that can be mixed into the garden up to 30 days before we plant.  Or composted and mixed in all season long.  Plus they are natural tillers, weed killers and soil amenders.  AND they are way cheaper than the alternatives- tick control or snake poison, bagged fertilizer, renting a tiller for the garden, weed killer, mouse traps, buying a second compost bin, and lawn service to de-leaf our yard... all for about $75 a year in chicken feed.  We were sold.

Can we come visit them??  Of course!  They love visitors!  They get a little excited when I pull them out of the hutch, but they love to be petted and picked up.  The neighborhood kids have fully tested the "Will it peck me?" question and the answer is "maybe, but it doesn't hurt."  Plus, I am taking them to campus on Wednesday as part of Go Green week, so if you are around the Union between 12 and 2, you should come find us.  I'll be the one with the wagon full of chickens...

What I Made Today

I had several things I needed to do today, wash clothes, do the dishes, finish a quilt, but instead I got distracted by these boxes that Marco's new bike came in.

You see, what I wanted to do was build a fort for the neighborhood kids. I orginally thought a nice "house" shape would be nice, something with four walls, a door and a roof.  But the more I thought about it, the more I realized that there would be 6 kids (or more!) playing in it, so I wanted to create something with more space. This is how I did it.

First I cut the big pieces into big, flat pieces, and arranged them to make four rooms.

I added some doors and windows (and shutters).

I ended up with two "outdoor" rooms and two "indoor" rooms.  Taking this as my jumping off point, I started to build a few props.

Pictured above are a stove, two fences, a mail box, a baby bed with baby and the makings of a few bushes and a tree.

Next I added some details by hot gluing on some tissue paper that I rescued from a recent birthday party and some ripped up scraps of other cardboard pieces to make the bark of the tree.

And then moved the whole thing outside in the sunshine.  It kept blowing over in the breeze, so I had to support it with a few well placed bricks and a bamboo pole.  Hopefully the kids won't mind too much.  

I love how the awning over this doorway turned out.  This picture is a little blown out- I was trying to get out of the way so the kids could play and didn't bother messing with my camera settings.

You can see the flowers I drew on the fence got tissue paper heads, as well as leaves on my tree base.  I attempted to draw some last minute bushes on the wall, but I had run out of green tissue paper.

I drew on a fireplace in this room since most of the houses in this neighborhood have them, and added the fire with pink and yellow tissue paper. I thought the doll and bed should go in the room with the cozy fire.

At the last minute I added this little table with tissue paper table cloth and three cardboard dishes.  I thought it would go nicely with the stove and counter.

I wanted it to be pretty minimal, allowing the kids to move the props around, or forgo props completely.  I think the basic principle for cardboard houses should be to encourage imagination, not provide everything possible.  Some rooms turned out "better" than others, but we'll see what the kids think when they all get home from school.

Honestly, I don't love the way it looks in these pictures.  Too washed out and empty.  But I guess I didn't do it for the pictures, I did it for the kids.  Hopefully next time I'll try to slow down and actually adjust my camera settings.  Now though, it's time for playing.  Happy weekend!

Trying to Stay Motivated

I am half way through my second month of our debt pay off scheme and I'm still about $400 shy of this month's $1,000 goal.  It has taken a lot of work and effort and sewing to get this far and right now, I'm feeling really really far away from where I want to be.  We have planned another yard sale (the first one was average, but I was a little disappointed) and I don't know how well are booth is doing at the Antiques Depot, but I know that neither of those avenues will bring in the cash I need to make the kind of payment I want to make this month.

I am trying to stay motivated and grateful.  I am looking at all of the money we are saving this month and looking for ways to make next month better already.  But at the same time, I'm a little tired and I could really use some ice cream.

Until the final numbers roll in this month I'm going to keep looking at this poster found on And Then We Saved.  The next 6 months are going to be hard, but we are both looking forward to celebrating our success.

I am trying to just keep my head down and keep going.  Paying off debt, it turns out, is a lot like running.  At some point, you're going to find your threshold, or things won't go exactly as you plan, but you just have to keep going.

What are you doing that you could use a little motivation for?