Vacation!

House work was very slow this last week because we went on vacation! We packed our bags (and half the kitchen) and went up to Bayfield Wisconsin. Bayfield is a bit of a touristy spot, right on Lake Superior and is one of the only ways to get through to Madeline Island. A friend of ours has a boat there that we were able to stay on.

We did a little bit of research about Bayfield and Madeline Island - where to eat, farms, orchards, museums, places to go, etc, etc. And then we pretty much ignored all that and relaxed and did what we felt like.

Sunday and Monday we mostly hung out on the boat.



We made our meals in the tiny kitchen - and not stinting on our normal meals either. We made pizza with sauteed garlic tips, stir fry, beautiful salads, pancakes, omelettes, etc.


steamy tea and Jeremy making breakfast

We brought a stack of books with us and read for hours. We snuggled up in blankets on the deck and read aloud till it was too dark to see. Every night at about 8:00 a mother duck came paddling by, chaperoning 4 or 5 ducklings who swam up to each boat in turn and nibbled bits of algae. As the sun sank, bats came out swooping low over the water. One night I saw a hawk swoop down out of the sky and nearly catch a baby duck. But its mother was nearby and they both dove for safety just in time.



On Monday we managed to go out kayaking for awhile along the shore. We also spent some time walking around town, exploring an antique shop and a great used book store. We discovered the candy shop sold ice cream cones and we duly visited after every lunch and dinner for some excellent ice cream.

On Tuesday we caught the ferry over to Madeline Island.



The ferries are much smaller than the ones in Seattle - the biggest can only hold about 20 cars! We took our bikes over and once on the island biked the 7-mile road to the other side and the state park.



They don't allow bikes on the trails, so we locked ours up and took a hike. We brought a picnic lunch with us and stopped to eat that. It was a beautiful area and we even found some wild strawberries growing in the rocks.









We hiked back, got our bikes, and went back to the main town on Madeline Island. We found we didn't like it very much, so we took the ferry back to Bayfield and got some ice cream. =)

On Wednesday morning we packed up and took a scenice drive back to Duluth. Then, instead of heading back south, we went up north and stopped at Betty's Pies for a pasty and a piece of pie. Then we continued on to Gooseberry Falls and had a nice hike around the river and falls.







Now we're home and still trying to get back out of vacation mode. It was hard to do anything for the first day or two because we were both plagued by the constant sensation that the whole world was rocking - like we were still on the boat. But that seems to have passed and we're back on track, painting and putting up siding and trim.

Garbage Day

When we moved into our house we discovered there were two garbage bins, not one. Not sure where the second one came from. They're the standard, large size cans: 94 gallons. 94 gallons!



Every year, Americans throw away about 230 million tons of "trash." That's about 4.6 pounds per person per day. Less than one-quarter of it is recycled; the rest is incinerated or buried in landfills (according to this site).

There are a lot of different statistics (that don't all agree) about how much we throw away in comparison to other countries, how much of each kind of thing (styrofoam, diapers, paper, etc), and how long it takes things to biodegrade. They're ugly numbers. We really are a wasteful society, and more wasteful than we've ever been before.

It costs Minneapolites about $28 a month for garbage service, and you can knock $7 off that if you recycle. But $21 a month? That seems too cheap to support our addiction to waste. I kind of think it should cost more. It should hurt a little - because garbage hurts us and the environment.

But I know some people can barely afford that amount. We had garbage service cut off for a time when I was growing up. We just couldn't afford everything and garbage service had to go. We managed for some time, though I don't recall how now.

Perhaps it was from that experience, or somewhere else along the line, that I've been able to seriously reduce the amount of garbage I (now we) throw away. Perhaps it's because I don't often go shopping (for non-food items) because I hate spending money. (And many consumer goods come in a lot of packaging.) Perhaps it's because we buy in bulk and reuse a lot of things and recycle as much as we can. Or, it's just a combination of all of these! In any case, I realized we were only throwing away 2 bags of garbage a month! We definitely did not need the 94 gallon cart. So we switched to the smaller, 22 gallon cart.


It's tiny!

So, I offer up, for the blogosphere, ways that we reduce trash:

• we use towels/washcloths/sponges instead of paper towels
• we use cloth napkins instead of paper napkins
• we wash out and reuse plastic baggies and sheets of foil - until they can't be used anymore
• we recycle as much as we can - we keep a pile of recylables in the bathroom as well, a place where it is easy to toss paper/cardboard into the trash
• we have a compost bin (and chickens!) for food waste
• we use cloth grocery bags everywhere: trips to the grocery, farmer's market, Target, clothing shopping, you name it
• I've been using tall plastic containers (like what yogurt comes in) to make garden markers
• we buy in bulk as much as we can, bringing in our own containers to refill olive oil, spices, laundry soap, shampoo, pasta, baking supplies, and so on!
• We try to buy products that don't have a lot of packaging
• When we want to purchase some new item, we look at craigslist or other resale places first (we're helping someone out, and the packaging is already gone!)
• I'm thinking about using ice cream containers for growing seedlings in the spring
• We cook a lot from scratch which means we don't have a lot of prepackaged food containers to toss out

That's a start. I'm sure I may think of more eventually. I think the biggest thing for us is to be really aware of a need versus a want and to think carefully about our purchases. The less things you buy, the less waste.

Special Delivery

Jeremy and I were eating lunch today and we started hearing a very funny noise. It almost sounded like a duck quacking. We munched thoughtfully on our bites of lunch, straining to hear this bizarre sound, looking at each other and arching our eyebrows. What IS that sound!?

Finally I lept up and went out to the chicken coop. It was the chickens. Two of them to be precise, Rhode Island Reds. Jeremy looked it up and it seemed like the sound they were making was the sound a chicken made while laying an egg!

They seemed unpleased with the nest boxes so I hurried to fill them up with more straw. They seemed to like that, but kept squawking and trading boxes and carrying on.





We kept waiting and waiting and waiting. The rest of the chickens stayed down in the run, very quiet. At one point they were all hunkered down - like we were all expectant parents waiting out in the hall while this tremendous racket of squawking was going on!

We wanted to go run some errands and this squawking and nestbox-hopping had been going on for an hour, so we decided we would leave. I looked in the hen house and saw the birds were mingling about more than before. So I decided to check on the nest boxes:



Our first egg!!

Sew much to do, Sew little time

Groan, groan, I know. When I run out of bad puns about sewing, perhaps I'll stop posting about sewing. =) Looks like I haven't posted about sewing since February! It seems like I haven't done a lot of sewing in that time either.

It was hard when things were getting packed up, and then there were boxes everywhere in the new house and nowhere to put a sewing machine. But somehow, in the midst of all that, I have done a few things.

An acquaintance wanted this chair:


covered.


A friend wanted a new cover made for this glider and ottoman (this is the new one, the old one was red):


I've also been continuing mending and hemming and altering and etc. This is the craziest thing I've had to repair recently:


And the patch worked out pretty well:


In the beginning, for the sewing room, we had our bed and a thousand boxes. I moved out the boxes and moved in a table.


But then we got to planning and thinking (and I got to complaining about my honey-do list!) and Jeremy built me this!


Much better. Now if we can just get the upstairs finished so we can move the bed out of here...

Secret Garden: chapter 3

Yes, the yard keeps blooming and all sorts of things have been popping up - or finally blooming anyway. The fruits are growing and ripening too - such a wonderful time of year!

After waiting for months (it seemed) our peonies finally bloomed, two big bushes of pink and one of white.





Our kitalpa tree suddenly burst into bloom last weekend. It is a sight to see.




As promised, here is a picture of our rose bush in full bloom.


One of the few flowers we purchased, but we just had to have nasturtiums!


Yet another mystery flower. This is more of a vine and I've found it curling up a fence in the back, and one in the front. Anyone know what it is?


Solomon's Seal. We've just got this one, but there are several false Solomon's Seal around too. I've seen some better ones, as far as all the bell-like flowers hanging off it. Perhaps it will be better next year.


Is this the infamous Bellflower? Or something else entirely? I'm not sure. It's probably another "weed," but I think it's lovely (even though it's growing behind our garage).


And now for the aforementioned fruits. Our raspberries have been growing and I just saw today that some are starting to look like this!


Our cherries have been growing bigger and turning red. Some of them feel like they might be ripe - I'm not sure when to pick them. Most people who come by the house pick one to try - and then pucker up like they've bitten into a lemon. These are definitely sour pie cherries!


With all this greenery come bugs and insects of all kinds, very colorful too. I've seen monarchs flying around many days now, after our milkweeds.






I think there are more chapters still to come!

Hello, shiny new roof!

That's our roof finished, though not the best shot since it's a cloudy day. Here's a better one from when they were putting the roof on:



It's very shiny. =)

Yes folks, that is a metal roof. Steel to be precise. Why a metal roof you ask? Well, there are several reasons.

1. A metal roof can save you money on your a/c costs because it has a higher heat reflectivity than other roofing products. During the summer it makes buildings cooler by reflecting away sunlight and reducing the amount of heat transmitted into the building. Likewise, it makes buildings warmer in the winter by reflecting inside heat from the underside of the roof back into the building. (courtesy of these guys)

2. Metal roofs have a very long life. Our roofers said we'd never have to replace the roof. Well - that may be going a bit far, but I suppose it's possible the house will cave in before the roof has to be replaced. Metal roofs will often be backed for 50 years (hard to get a guarantee like that on asphalt!) They are resistant to fire, mildew, insects, and rot, and shed snow easily (a plus around here).

3. Steel (what the roof is made out of) is recyclable. Asphalt shingles are not. So, if we ever do have to replace the roof, all the material could be recycled - instead of going into the landfill, like our old asphalt roof did. =(

Some other info, in case folks are wondering: our roof won't blow off in the wind, isn't super loud (or even that much louder) when it rains; won't rust; and should hold up fine to hail.

We're pretty happy about it. Now we just have to think of what color to paint the house. Any suggestions??

This would be nice...

...for Jeremy mostly...



I don't think I could pull more weight than me and my bike. =) But, now that farmer's market season has started again, we're trying to figure out how to get a ton of stuff home on our bikes. Jeremy's bike actually. I don't have a basket or paniers or anything! When we lived with the family they lent us their Burley and that fits a lot of things. Then a neighbor lent a little cart he'd made. We haven't had a chance to use it yet and now it's buried in the garage somewhere.

But after yesterday, when Jeremy's bumpy bike-ride return from the market caused three bunches of scallions to fall out of his paniers, lost on the bike trail, we'll be looking into better vegetable-transport options.

Like, perhaps, a new MADSEN Cargo Bike!