fall flower garden

Autumn Garden Cleanup

Autumn Garden Cleanup

Before winter comes I like to trim back some of the annual and perennials in my front flower garden to make it look a bit more tidy.  I leave some leaves as mulch for the plants and some seed heads for the birds to munch on.  Last week I had some birds perch on my porch posts and scold me while I was inside having devotions.  I guess they wanted food.  So we put a bit out on the ground for them.fall garden bird food Read More

Neti Pot for sinus health

Neti-Potting for Sinus Health

Neti-Potting For Sinus Health

Neti Pot for sinus health

For several years now I have been using my neti pot daily in the winter for sinus health.  I used to get awful sinus headaches and toothaches stemming from the sinuses.  Several people suggested to me trying the neti pot but I thought, “ no way am I pouring water on purpose into my nose”.  Memories of water up the nose while swimming pretty much quelled any desire to want to try it.  But eventually I got tired of being miserable and decided it couldn’t hurt to try it.  I cannot express to you the relief I have found from this simple routine.  I use salt designed for the purpose and warm distilled water only (using tap water could cause worse infection if the water was contaminated).  Read More

dining room after

Dining Room Changes

Dining Room Changes

One of the first things we had to do was paint the dining room.  Beige and white make me a little crazy and I have learned over the years that color is really important to my psychological well-being.  I had seen a really nice green combination on a paint ad and I knew that I wanted my dining room to have that color combo.  Since the woodwork was painted in that room I was fine with painting it again.  So before spring even approached my daughter and I tackled that project with Sherwin William Harmony zero VOC paint in satin finish.   It has held up these almost 8 years well.  Seemed kind of chalky going on so I wasn’t sure if it would last but it has.  The smell didn’t bother me when I was applying it.  I usually like a semi-gloss finish so that I can scrub walls since I have young grand children but it did not come in that finish.  It has proven to be quite washable though so I have been satisfied with it.   Read More

Homemade coconut milk

Making Coconut Milk at Home

Making Coconut Milk at Home

Homemade coconut milk

 

Well I have wanted to try making my own coconut milk at home for some time.  I have been buying Thai Kitchen organic coconut milk for some time.  Mainly I use it in place of milk or creamer in my coffee.  But it is also yummy in oatmeal and amaranth.  Today I ran out of the canned stuff and am not planning on going into town so I guess it is time!  🙂

When you think about it, it makes sense – you are paying for the water that is added and the can goes in garbage or recycling.  I am all about saving waste- I buy my dry organic coconut from the local coop in bulk – bringing my own container for refills and I use my own purified water for the process.  I can dry the left over fiber for coconut flour for future yummies or use it in smoothies or pancakes right away.  Some time ago I did purchase a nut milk bag on Amazon in anticipation of this day.  It made straining so much easier.  Make sure to wash your hands before you do this because squeezing the bag by hand is really required to get all the coconut milk out of the bag.  Read More

Original house

The Beginnings

The Beginnings

When we purchased our house November of 2007 the house was owned by a young woman who was selling it because she was getting married.  Her family had helped her fix it up a bit by adding green plastic shutters, painting the exterior a pale gold and carpeting the upstairs, living room and dining room.

house purchased

They also had put in several replacement windows.  Otherwise the house was fairly untouched when we bought it.  The kitchen remained much as it had been since the early 1900’s, the woodwork in most of the house was unpainted and lovely.  It also had original wood siding.  I found this picture on the assessor’s website of what the house looked like prior to her owning it.
Original house Read More

healthy houseplants

Plants For Cleaner Indoor Air

Plants For Cleaner Indoor Air

healthy houseplants

Since our carpet upstairs is getting older and I have dust allergies we decided to pull it out of our bedroom before our new bed arrived.  We knew from previous experience that we had wide board pine floors upstairs and since I am a fan of painted floors we decided to paint the floor.  Thus making the floor easier to clean as far as dust goes.  Unfortunately I did not do due diligence when picking out my floor paint this time and although it only has 50 VOC it still apparently is an issue for me.  The smell is still lingering after a month of airing out the room.  I used Valspar paint for the walls which is no VOC and is really easy for me to use.  It is a bit smelly while applying but I don’t get headaches or sinus issues during the process.  The next day the smell is gone from that paint.  We have lots of plants downstairs but I haven’t really invaded our upstairs with them at this point because I have more plants to remember to water then. Read More