bee's nest

Design-It-Yourself Clothes

2009-11-01T22:21:00.000-08:00

I am currently obsessing over this book. I saw it at Borders a couple of weeks ago and was intrigued. Then I remembered that my mother-in-law had given me an Amazon gift certificate for my birthday, and I miraculously had not spent it yet. A quick trip to Amazon for the book and Amy Karol's killer gift labels, and I'm in business. Maybe.

I've hated sewing clothes ever since I HAD to in high school home economics classes that resulted in several hideously ill-fitted items. I hated the fabric choices available. I hated the patterns. And I hated spending so much time on a project only to have it turn out so very, very wrong.

The last couple of years I've been slowly turning the corner. With Fabric Depot, Mill End, Bolt, and Cool Cottons all within easy driving distance, I have thousands of great fabric options at my disposal (Yes, thousands, it can be a bit overwhelming). And I've come to like great fabric made from natural fibers. Give me cotton, silk and wool any day over the synthetic fabrics used in the mass-produced clothes in my price range.

But I still have a hard time with patterns. I can go into the store with an idea in my head and end up completely frustrated that I can't find a pattern to match the idea. Or I can find a pattern but it seems exorbitantly expensive for tissue paper on which is printed a pattern that may or may not fit my body.

Enter Do-It-Yourself Clothes: Patternmaking Simplified by Cal Patch. I am so stoked about this book! If it works the way I think it will, I'll be able to think up a simple silhouette in my head, draft a pattern on my own, and sew a garment that is uniquely fitted to my body. So far, I read most of the book which was pleasant and easy-to-understand. I sweet-talked the Wise and Bearded One into measuring me 18 different ways, and I've drawn up my first simple skirt pattern.

I'd be in my studio sewing up my prototype skirt this very minute if it weren't next door to my lightly-sleeping daughter. Hopefully I'll get to tackle it tomorrow.

So if you're a latent fashionista, a Project Runway devotee, or simply tired of crappy cheap clothes, this might be the answer. I'll let you know how it works out for me. I have high hopes, friends. High hopes.

P.S. You can get a taste of the book over on this tutorial on Etsy.

Another Photo

2009-10-26T22:32:00.001-07:00

IMG_4135
Originally uploaded by ndmiller

Another Lazy Day's Skirt

2009-10-26T22:03:00.001-07:00

IMG_4130
Originally uploaded by ndmiller

I feel like I never have time to be creative anymore, but then, here and there, I find a minute or two and a bit of inspiration and something comes of it. The Sprout had a red onesy and some black leggings and it was just begging for a little skirt. So one night after she went to bed I cranked one out in less than an hour. No pattern. Just the memory of making a few Lazy Day's skirts. Little people clothes are so forgiving...especially those with elastic waists. I sure hope I have more to share here or I'm going to lose the loyal few "followers" that I have!

Here's hoping you're using YOUR creativity!

End of Summer

2009-09-30T21:24:00.000-07:00

Summer has officially ended, so I thought I'd look back at my summer goals and see how I've done.

Here's what I'd LIKE to get done this summer:
--re-pot all the houseplants DONE
--paint the dining room back to a warm white DONE
--patch and paint the trim in the living room FAIL--fall project?
--make the obligatory doctor, dentist, vet appointments for all the members of the household DONE
--exercise every day--walk, bike, or yoga I'd give myself a 50% on this
--spend some time in meditation and prayer every day same as the exercise goal
--stay on top of the laundry EVERY day DONE, I did more loads of laundry this summer than I have over the total of my entire life up until now.
--relax for a weekend at the coast DONE---Well, actually a couple of day trips, not a whole weekend
--get to know the other mamas in my neighborhood so we can network about baby-friendly activities and hang out in general DONE
--sew.....skirts for me, clothes for the Sprout, "Maker" items for my facebook friends Not done--fall project
--finish Sprout's baby quilt Not done--fall project
--paint or draw...just get some marks on paper for once instead of thinking about it FAIL
--take a class: either photography/Photoshop, painting, or machine quilting FAIL, unrealistic goal
--visit the family in Indiana in August DONE
--repaint the lawn chairs FAIL
--gather and preserve some local food: blueberries, peaches (?), apples, etc. so the Sprout has food to eat this winter when she starts into the Real Food In progress, froze some blueberries and hope to make applesauce sometime in October
--spend some quality time with my female friends Not enough, must do more of this!

I'm fine with my progress, even though I wish I would have had more time and energy for art and craft. I have been working on enjoying my time being the Sprout's mama and reminding myself that I am pouring a lot of my creative energy into raising her as a strong, healthy, curious woman.

More Owl Fabric

2009-09-28T20:37:00.000-07:00

Miss A. , the daughter of the lovely and talented Rachel Austin, had her first birthday party last month. I didn't have much time at my disposal but I knew I wanted a handmade gift for this special little girlie (and the Sprout's first party invitation, no less). So here's a quickie birthday gift--the Lazy Day's skirt in my favorite owl fabric with another little owl zigzagged onto a gently-used shirt.

My husband grimaced when he realized I'd repurposed a garage sale purchase as a birthday gift. Knowing Rachel's appreciation of thrift and craft, I feel pretty safe. What do you think? Is it tacky to give a recycled gift?

Photographing the Forest Floor

2009-09-26T21:05:00.000-07:00

We went hiking last weekend on Bald Mountain. While the hubs is busy toting around the Sprout and admiring the trees and the views, I can hardly take my eyes off the forest floor. In part, this is because I'm a total clutz and I HAVE to watch the path or I'll trip and tumble off the mountain. But it also indicates my complete fascination with lichens, mosses and mushrooms. I shot a lot of terrible, blurry pictures but here's a few that aren't too bad. I really want a macro lens for my good camera....someday. In the meantime I need to learn the patience to hold still for the longer exposures necessary for low light situations in the woods. Patience....someday.

Gee's Bend Quilt Kits and Fabrics

2009-09-08T18:50:00.000-07:00

Can I just say, "Yes, please."

I have blogged before of my love for the quilts of Gee's Bend and someday I will make one for myself. Someday.

Doll--Mimi Kirshner

2009-08-26T22:00:00.000-07:00

Bloggety Bloggety Blog

2009-08-26T21:51:00.000-07:00

Yes, we have returned from vacation with the family in the hometown, and we have returned with a vengeance. Since I have a quasi-administrative job in a nearby school district the two weeks leading up to the school year are very busy--fielding phone calls from anxious parents, hunting down materials and curriculum and files for anxious teachers, getting teachers up to speed on new software, holding a few emergency IEP meetings, and on and on.

So blogging, especially crafty blogging, is going to remain a little slim for the rest of August. In the meantime I'll post a few interesting and inspiring things I've seen around the internets lately.

Thanks for stopping by to see what I have to say and enjoy those last little bits of summer!

Wardrobe Refashioning

2009-08-09T22:00:00.000-07:00

One thing I did get accomplished while home on leave with the Sprout was to clean through our clothes and coat closets and purge the stuff we're no longer wearing. Nice stuff got packed off to Goodwill. Stained, torn and otherwise battered stuff got ripped into cleaning rags. What was left was a box of miscellaneous t-shirts and stuff that has small flaws but interesting fabric. I'm thinking that some wardrobe refashioning might be coming my way. I've been seeing all these great posts about how to refashion t-shirts and dress shirts.

The first one I decided to tackle was this brown Old Navy shirt. I liked the light-weight fabric used for it, and thought it would be a great summer shirt. But I rarely wore it because the collar and three-quarter length sleeves made it feel a little more stuffy than my usual summer wear. So I decided to "refashion" it.

I carefully removed the collar and sewed the placket back together (placket? is that the right term? do you know what I mean?). I ripped out the sleeves and made little gathered things (now, what would you call THEM?). The armholes were much too big once the sleeves were gone so I sewed a few darts to try to gather them up and keep the arm hole from gaping too badly.

I'm not in love with the final product, but, heh, it was FREE. And I'll see if I get a little bit more use out of it now that is has been "refashioned".

Creative Baby Gifts, III

2009-08-07T22:00:00.000-07:00

I just had to show off this tag blanket that my mother-in-law made for the Sprout. I didn't make it but can you tell that I helped pick out the fabric? Hah! It's my favorite Spotted Owl from Alexander Henry! The Sprout likes sucking on all the tags, and I like looking at the lovely owls.

Question of the day: Magazines

2009-08-05T20:00:00.000-07:00

What magazines do you subscribe to?

I adore magazines, especially glossy make-me-wanna-buy-stuff, eye-candy magazines. But I got sick of having piles of magazines stacking up and felt that it was an area of my life that I could simplify. I let all of my subscriptions go, and chose to use design and craft blogs for my eye candy and inspiration. The only subscription I miss right now is the O magazine. It's the most literate of the women's magazines that I've found and I often read it cover-to-cover. Even the sections that I strongly disagree with.

Lately I've been experimenting with internet magazines. They're free, they're multi-media, and they're total eye-candy. I miss paper though. I really do. You won't find me shelling out big bucks for a Kindle anytime soon.

Here are a couple of e-magazines I've found:
-- Parasol--Artists and Designers
-- LMNOP--An Australian mag for "hip, stylish parents and their children"
-- Small--more gorgeous stuff for the wee ones

Do you know of others? What do you think about internet magazines? What paper magazines do you find it worthwhile to continue to subscribe to? When you're stuck in an airport between flights, what magazine do you buy to get you through?

Playing with 50 mm lens

2009-08-03T22:39:00.000-07:00

One of my goals this summer was to work on my photography skills. I didn't find a class that worked with my schedule but I did do some reading and some trying-to-listen-to-my-husband-explain-technical-mumbo-jumbo. I've got a long way to go to learn how to use my camera to its full advantage, but here are some photos I took playing with my 50 mm lens and aperture priority settings. I have only the slightest understanding of what I'm doing, but it's a baby step in the right direction.

These were taken before the string of hot days that fried all living things to a crisp.

Made: Amy Butler's Comfy Jumper Dress

2009-08-01T22:19:00.001-07:00

This is The Comfy Jumper Dress from Little Stitches for Little Ones. I am so in love with this "Spotted Owl" fabric from Alexander Henry that I bought it in several different colorways. You can be sure you'll see it again around her.

I used the pattern pieces from Amy Butler, but, as usual, I find her written directions a bit confusing. I skipped a whole section about a "front band" and a "back band" because I just didn't get it. I also finished it more carefully on the inside so there are no exposed seams against baby's skin. The directions left some of the seams exposed which doesn't make sense to me if you're going to fully line it anyway. It's not that much more work to finish it with the seam allowances to the inside (Does that make sense? I'm not used to writing much about HOW I sew.)

I made the 9-12 month size so it would be big enough to get plenty of wear out of it. I figure the Sprout can wear it over a long-sleeve t-shirt and leggings this winter.

I also made bloomers out of some tangerine colored Amy Butler fabric that goes great with the owls (see post above for photo). Too bad the dress is so long that you can't see the bloomers :)

Things I would do differently next time: The whole bodice is just odd with the buttons on the back side and the odd notch down the middle in the front. I think I might try to draft my own bodice and switch the buttons to the front, make the neck a tad deeper, and get rid of the "notch". I also realize that making a drooling baby's bodice out of linen is probably a mistake. Every little drop of spittle shows up instantly. Ah well, it's still pretty darn cute, if you ask me.

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We're leaving for vacation to visit our family in the Midwest. I had a bunch of half-finished "draft" posts sitting around so I'll be scheduling them to post while I'm gone. Happy August!

Go Local: Meal #4

2009-07-27T11:00:00.000-07:00

The other day I made the most scrumptious blueberry-peach cobbler. The berries were from our very own yard and the peaches came in our Organics to You box the other week. The recipe was from my never-fails-me Cooks Illustrated cookbook. Yum!

One of the ways we've experimented with local food is by trying our hand at some edible landscaping. When we bought our current house, the previous owner had been a pretty serious gardener but more of the roses and pretty flower type. There were lots of pink and blue flowers in narrow flowerbeds on the perimeter of the property. There was a lot of lawn. Or at least more than the Wise and Bearded One and myself care to tend to. So we've been steadily tearing out lawn and adding beds the last four years. We figure that if we add a few more feet of beds every year, soon the lawn will just disappear.

On our side yard we've tried to plant native plants and/or edible plants. Blueberry bushes grow well here. Apparently they like our rainy winters and acidic soil. There are different varieties that make good landscape plants--some stay small and trim instead of getting all big and scraggly. The leaves turn a nice red in the fall. We also have strawberries for a ground cover. In our planting strip we have several herbs that love it hot and dry--lavendar, sage, rosemary,. oregano. In a new bed that we started this year we have a grape vine, a fig tree, rhubarb, and some black currants. In the back yard in pots we have several different kinds of mint. Next year I'd like to start an asparagus bed too. I don't feel the need to have to raise enough food on our property to sustain us, but I like the idea of having plants that do duel purpose--they look nice AND they give us good food right outside our door.

Links for the Week

2009-07-22T14:32:00.001-07:00

--Bolt, one of my favorite fabric shops in Portland, has started a blog. Yay!
--Some very artistic Portland women are hosting a Summer Social sale this Saturday. The website shows the different artist-crafters and their projects. I'm especially inspired by the screen-printed linen by Elizabeth Bentz. Beautiful!
--This weekend is also the Grand Opening of the Urban Farm Store....the store created to meet all your urban farming needs---chicks, bees, pet food, edible landscaping, canning supplies, etc. If you live in Portland you should SO check it out!

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--July marks five years since the Wise and Bearded One and I hauled all of our stuff across the country to our new lives in Oregon. You can take a trip down memory lane with us over on Barkdust.

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Pictured above are some of the sweet hand-printed onesies that the Sprout received from our dear friend, Amy. There's an owl, a sprout, and an ear of corn (an ode to Indiana and our claim that "there's more than corn in Indiana"). I just had to show them off here.

Go Local: Meal #3

2009-07-06T23:04:00.000-07:00

We made mozzarella cheese the other day. Seriously! The Wise and Bearded One had seen these kits at the Urban Farm Store and we both thought they looked like a lot of fun to try so we bought one.

The recipe is calculated to work with one gallon of milk, so with our gallon of milk in hand we proceeded to attempt to make our first intentional batch of cheese. (We won't talk about the nasty curdled, unintentional messes we've made a few times in the past. Yuck!)

The ingredients are simple: citric acid, rennet, cheese salt, and milk. The directions are few. It just requires a thermometer and some attention to detail. Fortunately, the Wise and Bearded One was there to take care of the detailed piece since I'm more a fly-by-the-seat-of-my-pants kind of girl in the kitchen.

Here's a picture "cutting the cheese" and then seeing the curds separate from the whey. Having never made cheese before I didn't realize what a nasty, greenish liquid whey is. The kit had recommendations for what you could do with the whey, but since it skeeved us out we threw the whey away. (Say that line three times fast!)

After the curds and whey separated, we squished out as much of the whey as possible and then kneaded the curd for a while until--voila!--it turned into cheese. Two balls (or since all I do these days is breastfeed--they look a little more like silicone breast implants to me...sick, I know).

It was good cheese. It tasted just like the fresh mozzarella you can buy at the gourmet grocery store. Next time I think we'll put in a little more salt and some herbs from the garden....dill? rosemary?...just to make it extra special.

We sliced up the cheese and served it with fresh basil from our garden and some tomatoes for a caprese salad when our friends came over for a cook-out. Yum!

If you are intrigued by this, you don't have to live in Portland to buy a cheese making kit. Urban Cheesecraft also sells on Etsy. There's the kit for mozzarella/ricotta that we used, plus kits for paneer/queso blanco and goat cheese/chevre. Yummy! These would also be great gifts for your foodie friends....that brother-in-law that watches Alton Brown religiously, the girlfriend who makes her own bread, perfect gift!

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This post is part of the Go Local Challenge hosted by my blogger-friend, Heather Jane. You can find out more about the challenge here.

Go Local: Meal #2

2009-07-06T21:22:00.001-07:00

We've been cooking with local food every week. Really! I just can't seem to keep up the blogging of the local meals for the Go Local Challenge. So here's a meal from the other week. Maybe I'll blog two Go Local Meals this week in an attempt to catch up with Heather's challenge.

One of the ways we've attempted to eat healthier and more locally the past two years is subscribe to Organics to You. Organics to You is a little like a CSA crossed with the old-time milkman delivery. Every other Tuesday a "small bin" of produce is delivered to our front door. Organics to You contracts with thirteen local farmers to buy their produce. During the off-season they purchase organically-grown foods from a local distributor. Usually these off-season foods come from California or Mexico. But even in the winter time we get some local food---onions, apples, chard, mushrooms, squash.

We like Organics to You because it forces us to eat our vegetables---they're here, we already paid for them so we'd better eat 'em before they go bad. We've also learned to eat and appreciate vegetables that weren't on our usual grocery store shopping list---kale, swiss chard, winter squash, among others. Sometimes I have to call up my vegetarian friend, Amy, and ask for help identifying or figuring out how to cook an u.f.v. (unidentified flying veggie). We've learned that pretty much any vegetable can be sauteed in butter with a little garlic and everyone is happy. I've also been using the Simply in Season cookbook because it is organized seasonally and has cooking suggestions for all kinds of vegetables. I just discovered that their website also has the handy-dandy fruit and vegetable guide. Check it out!

The other week we made the Spring Celebration Soup in an attempt to use up a LOT of vegetables in one fell swoop. It's on page 36 for those of you who care. It is veggies in chicken stock with a shot of lemon juice to zing it up. It's the kind of food you couldn't have forced me to eat before the age of 21 but now I find fresh and appealing. I thought the lemon was a cheerful, Greek-inspired addition. The Wise and Bearded One wasn't such a fan. However, he cooked up some lovely steaks--also locally-grown, grassfed--so the meal worked for him too.

Cooking meat is really his job since I'm not fond of handling raw chunks of flesh. He did the work last summer of tracking down local beef and pork farmers by walking around the farmer's market and talked to various vendors until he found farmers who were willing to work with him to purchase a 1/4 beef and 1/2 a pig. So now we have a freezer half-full of meat to be eaten whenever we remember to thaw some of it.

What do you do to get your family to "eat your vegetables"? Have you found other ways to "shake the hand that feeds you" as Michael Pollan recommends? We're always looking for new ideas so please comment below. Or take on the challenge yourself and tell us about YOUR local meal.

Made: Huck Finn Pants and Yard Sale Skirt

2009-06-27T23:50:00.000-07:00

I bought Heather Ross's lovely Weekend Sewing book well before the Sprout was born because it was so beautifully photographed and designed. I paged through it over and over again thinking of the projects I would make out of it, but I had no energy and, dagnabbit, my belly got in the way of the sewing machine.

So I put the book away until this spring when I made the Lazy Day's skirts for my nieces and I needed a pants pattern for my little nephew. Out came Weekend Sewing and the Huck Finn pants pattern. It's a sweet, simple pattern and went together very quickly. I liked Heather's idea of putting buttonholes in the elastic waistband so the pants can be adjusted as the little boy grows. I haven't heard anything from my sister so I'm assuming that the pants are working....huh, sis?

Then I decided to tackle the Yard Sale Skirt. I had read enough comments from other sewing bloggers to know that this pattern has some issues---namely that 6 panels weren't wide enough to cover most women's heinies and so people were adding a 7th or even an 8th panel. I wanted to use fabric that I had lying around (a couple of yards of Heather Bailey's Fresh Cut) and I didn't want it to be TOO full so I decided to alter the pattern and make each panel a little wider at the waist. I'm a little wider at the waist these days having not entirely returned to my pre-baby shape (and that was not too trim to start with). So I thought widening each panel would do the trick.

It did. Sort of.

I don't know what's up with this skirt, but I just don't like it. I think part of it is the fabric...needs to be washed about 30 more times before it is nice and limp and summer-y. I think part of it is my pattern alteration that made it less "swooshy" of a skirt. And I think a lot of it is just that I don't like how this pattern emphasizes the waist which is my least favorite body part at the moment. Sigh....

To compensate for my dissatisfaction with the skirt, I used the scraps to make a cunning little kimono for the Sprout using Habitual's pattern. You can see her picture here. She does not have body issues. Thank goodness.

Despite my lack of enthusiasm for the yard sale skirt, other folks have been really happy with it and with the Weekend Sewing book in general. There are a couple of other projects I'd really like to try out of it, so...I will venture forth into Weekend Sewing again soon. And maybe I'll even take a second shot at the Yard Sale skirt.

Transition to Summer

2009-06-27T23:02:00.000-07:00

I think I'm one of those people who just takes time to move from one activity or mode to the next. It's taken me two weeks to move from School Deb to Summer Deb--to be able to relax and think about things I want to do just for me on the long days of summer. And now I have to adjust my expectations of what can be done on any given day with the addition of the Sprout. It takes so much longer to get anything done with a 3 1/2 month old to tend to.

Other people like to make New Year's resolutions, but I tend to make my loftiest goals for the summer. I suppose other teachers think the same way.

Here's what I'd LIKE to get done this summer:
--re-pot all the houseplants
--paint the dining room back to a warm white (currently a poorly-painted red that I can't live with any more); patch and paint the trim in the living room
--make the obligatory doctor, dentist, vet appointments for all the members of the household (except the chicken)
--exercise every day--walk, bike, or yoga
--spend some time in meditation and prayer every day
--stay on top of the laundry EVERY day
--relax for a weekend at the coast
--get to know the other mamas in my neighborhood so we can network about baby-friendly activities and hang out in general (Hey, I'm well on my way with this one. The picture above is from brunch last week that I hosted for four other mamas and their babies from my neighborhood.)
--sew.....skirts for me, clothes for the Sprout, "Maker" items for my facebook friends
--finish Sprout's baby quilt
--paint or draw...just get some marks on paper for once instead of thinking about it
--take a class: either photography/Photoshop, painting, or machine quilting
--visit the family in Indiana in August
--repaint the lawn chairs
--gather and preserve some local food: blueberries, peaches (?), apples, etc. so the Sprout has food to eat this winter when she starts into the Real Food
--spend some quality time with my female friends

I'm trying to give myself the grace to realize that not all of these things will get done this summer with a baby and that is ok. Even when I don't feel like I'm getting anything done, I'm trying to remind myself that I am raising a beautiful, healthy, strong daughter and that is enough.

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I have lots of half-finished blog posts in my head and in my drafts, so expect a flurry of posting in the next few days.
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I made a new batch of laundry soap and saved my receipts so I could update this post including cost per load information. Less than 5 cents a load, baby!

Guest Blogging

2009-06-22T08:28:00.000-07:00

Hi there! I'm guest blogging today over on the lovely Heather Jane's blog Living Senses. Come check out my Chicken post over there.

If you're visiting for the first time because you saw Heather's blog, welcome!

I'm Deb, a Midwestern Mennonite girl who grew up and moved to the Left Coast. I live in Portland, Oregon, with my husband (The Wise and Bearded One), my 3-month-old daughter (The Sprout), 2 dogs, and 4 chickens. I have a Real Job working in special education for a local school district, but here I blog about the creative things I'm doing (or wish I was doing) in my "spare" time. I fiddle around with sewing, quilting, painting, papercrafts and pretty much any other hands-on project that strikes my fancy. I'm also really interested in living a little more simply, a little closer to the land, and making a little less of an impact on the earth.

So, that's who I am. Please leave a comment and introduce yourself!

P.S. I'm playing around with a new header and some settings.....It's not going so well....will keep working on it.

More Terrarium Inspiration

2009-06-19T22:05:00.000-07:00

Thanks for the terrarium love, friends! And thanks to Lauren for introducing me to her blog that has even better directions for growing healthy terrariums.
--The Fern and Mossery

Made: Terrariums

2009-06-17T22:24:00.000-07:00

I've been on a terrarium kick lately. I keep seeing cool ones on the internets and in shops--I think it's yet another nod back to the 70s when terrariums were last en vogue.

So the other Sunday the Crafty Women got together and made terrariums. I love this one that Stephanie made with the little owls peeking out of it.

Terrariums are simple and satisfying to put together. The challenge is finding great glass containers for cheap (Goodwill) and tracking down some horticultural charcoal (Portland Nursery). It's a little hard to know how to water them initially. One of mine started growing mold--yikes! So I had to let them sit around for a couple of days with their tops off. But they're still alive so I'm hopeful for their on-going success.

Now I've got a little terrarium-building addiction! I am going to be hunting down more glass containers, looking for the perfect miniature plants, and foraging about for the lushest patches of moss. Oh, and I need to find some little critters to put in mine too....any idea where I could find a miniature garden gnome?

More terrarium inspiration and how-to's can be found here, here, and here. Oh, and you've got to see these Etsy sellers: Blithe Gardens, Made by Mavis, and Greenspot.

And then, go make one. Because, seriously, what's not to love about a miniature mossy green world?!

Go Local: Meal #1

2009-06-15T14:11:00.000-07:00

Whoosh! The last four weeks of the school year went by in a flash! I had to go back to work to keep our health insurance for the summer so the Wise and Bearded One stayed home with the Sprout for the four weeks and I worked my tail off back in the Very Litigious School District. (For those of you who are newer blog readers, I work for the director of special education coordinating programs in two high schools in a district-that-will-not-be-named.)

But now it is summer, summer, summer! And I can't wait to enjoy the sunshine, fabulous food, and time to be creative that summer brings. I'm taking up Heather's challenge (see post below) to make at least one meal every week with local ingredients. I feel a little sheepish doing this since I must confess that the Wise and Bearded One does most of the cooking around here. Maybe having to blog about it will get me to cook a little more.

Anyhow, here's our first Go Local meal. We decided to Go Local Extreme Style and make our first meal grown entirely on our property.

Eggs from our Urban Hens
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One Square Foot Mesclun Mix
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Radishes
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Yummy Extremely Local Salad

Yummy Extremely Local Salad
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Bacon Bits
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Salad Dressing
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Local Salad with Benefits

Go Local 2009 Challenge

2009-06-15T14:02:00.000-07:00

My blogger-friend, Heather, has challenged us to Go Local.

The Rules:

Who: Anyone who wants to challenge themselves to buy local, eat local, or grow local food/handmade items
What: A challenge to eat one meal per week consisting of locally(within 250 miles from where you are) produced ingredients. You get salt, pepper, spices and oil for free. (I also take liberties with basic baking necessities like soda, sugar, flour, etc.)
When: Every Monday from June through August Mr. Linky will appear on Heather's blog. You can post a link back to your blog once, or every week throughout the summer any day of the week.
Where: You post about the foods you are eating locally, the conversation you had with a local grower/farmer, the pictures you took of your very own garden, the dinner you made from scratch using foods grown by someone who loves growing food, the local food potluck party you threw on Market Saturday...Bring it all right back to Heather's blog and we'll come see what you've been up to.
Why: To inspire and be inspired to eat healthy, local foods. It's good for you. It's good for the environment. It's good for the economy.