felting soap!

I have taken a table at the "Santa Claus Supermarket" craft fair/trade show here in town at the end of November.  These felted soaps will be for sale there, among other things.

Including my home made soap.

a colorful,wet, soapy, messy scene!

turns into scrumptious, lovely scented felted soaps!

  turning, smoothing, lathering the felt over the soap...

gave me a chance to just relax and meditate (and listen to Definitely Not the Opera on CBC radio)  in the center of my day, whilst Attie slept.

Then she woke up!

and wanted in the action, as per usual.

 The balls were definitely more felted after she played with em!

 

Glorious Creature.

such a colorful affair!

floral soapys

These aren't soap, they are little felted balls.

- Att was really into them, so I must make more!

one of them has bells in it.  

 

art in old journal entries

Last night I took out all my old journals and began reading.
I have been journaling regularly for the last 15 yrs.  A lot of this is a time in my life where I was traveling and learning.  Finding out who I was in the way that was right for me. 

My journals are mixed media art.  There are all kinds of papers, poems, photos and art (by me and a lot of other people) pasted or taped on to the pages.
 there's  paint, pencil crayon, marker everywhere making it colorful.  
There's envelopes with keepsakes and photos in them...    
Most of them are home made journals from recycled paper and record covers.


I am so glad i had done this to the point where I have wanted to publish them somehow. Exactly as they are, with things popping out each page!


So, weekly, I am going to share little bits and bites from my past!     Mostly Art, quotes, and the odd journal entry.    It is probably as close to publishing as i am going to get!  




Here's my first clipping.
Its from 2005, when I was taking a carpentry pre-employment course and brainstorming of projects to build in class: 

The tea shelf made it to real life (as a spice rack)...

Do you journal?
I encourage YOU to share little bits from your past journals in the comments!  If you are moved to photograph them and post on your blog, leave a link!  I'd love to see how yours looks. 

Journal entries are like blog posts that you can hold in your hands!  

Its that time again

moon time.

got dem taters n carrits outta da ground...

and thanksa to good buddys who wanna chat and sweat a little in the dirt, on a beauty fall day!

 I am just a bit excited for my winter stash.

 

Attie is just glad to get a ride in the wheelbarrow!

While digging, we decided that our goal for next winter for us two (and anyone else who's interested!) is to be carrot and potato self sufficient for all of next winter!

What else could we add to that goal? 

garlic and onions!

olden day dreaming plus a great series

  

I spotted this beaut of an old shack on my travels.

It was some family's home no doubt... 

    

Its made of hand hewn logs and a home made concrete! 

Cob?? 

Is it that simple?

you can see the axe marks from 

when they were hewing the logs by hand

 This is what they saw when they walked out of their home! 

(kinda-probably more trees back then...)

Pretty river view.

I would give anything to see what the world was like back when this house was built!

What people were like. 

what their conversations were about. 

gardens?

putting food by?
animals? 
wood cutting?

what did they do for fun? 

go on walks? 

have picnics?  

play cards? 

I can't help but feel that the olden way is the best way - although i know that is not the case for many things such as racism, sexism...  It just seems that people were friendlier back then?  

The main thing I long for from the past is the strong communities that the times built. 

You HAD to be good to your neighbor because you needed them and they needed you.
 (we still really need each other)

It was all about survival. 

simple.  

that's what I miss about a time I never 

knew.

 

who walked through that door daily...

pioneer quest

This is a really neat series they filmed in Manitoba where 2 couples were put on some land in with limited resources (a cow, a couple horses, an axe, coffee...), had to wear and  use gear from the 1900's, no power or running water, no phones or tvs...

  and had to live for a year!  

That includes building a house and barn!

I'd LOVE to do this.

my heart is pumping just thinking about it...

saving more seeds, spinach seeds and pea seeds

Look at how many seeds mother nature gives us from just one plant.

blue lake beans

Bounty Peas

bloomsdale spinach

 dry them really well,

 label, date and store in an envelope or bag.

How to save tomato seeds (and cucumber seeds)

 I have just noticed that it is full on AUTUMN! 

loving it. 

The gardening task for now is to save seeds for next year.

Ever wondered how to save tomato and cucumber seeds? 
Its not as simple as beans, peas or spinach. 

 Here's how:

Find a really ripe tomato.

 I get right in there with my hands!

(a more civilized way would include a knife to cut it in half and a scooper type utensil)

Get the seedy goop out of the tomato with your preferred method...

place the seeds in a cup or bowl with a couple tbsps of water,

cover loosely - allow a bit of air in.

Let this sit for 3-7 days in a warmish location (in a sunny windowsill). It needs to ferment!

When it has fermented, there will be a scummy layer on top. carefully remove this.

Rinse the seeds very well in a fine sieve.

lay them out on a screen/ board/ paper coffee filter... to dry.

Allow them 1-3 weeks to dry.

Now label and date your little envelope and store till spring!

I have a sister who has done this process a gazillion times at her work, so she filled me in on some of the details.

 Cucumbers go by the same fermenting process.

Let the cuke ripen fully on the vine. 

then let it ripen a bit more on the counter.

Let it sit for 3-5 days.

rinse really well with a sieve:

cuke seeds:

now dry them on a screen/ coffee filter/ board 
for about 3 weeks, until a seed will easily snap right in half.

store in an envelope, label and date, wait!

Mother Nature gives us SO many seeds within just one fruit.

It feels really good to take that gift and use it.

happy seed saving!