The Solar Clothes Dryer...

I hang my laundry out to dry for a lot of different reasons. One of the most important is to save electricity. It may not add up to much per load, but when you add up all the loads you save over the course of the year, or even just the summer, it makes a big difference! Another reason is to make my clothes last longer. You know that lint trap that you have to empty after every load? That's little bits of fabric that were worn from your clothes, making them a little bit thinner every time you wash them. Hanging on the line keeps the fabric stronger! Sunshine is a natural stain bleacher also... so if you have a stain that just won't quite go away... point it to the sun! And don't forget about that sunshine smell that you can't get anywhere else! Line-dried laundry is one of my favorite classic summer smells. I intentionally located the laundry line close to my lilac bush, but even when the lilac isn't blooming, that fresh laundry always smells fantastic!

Lily and Piglet love to come with me when I hang a fresh load. She plays in the

toes of the pants and helps hand me clothespins.

I must admit that there is a rebellious side in me that likes the idea of going against the mainstream whenever I get a chance. Hanging your laundry is definitely not the norm in America... which is kind of sad, actually. Going through the motions of hanging the laundry on the line is a bit of a meditative practice. It is very grounding to be standing outside in the pure sunshine, repeating the same sequence over and over again, without really thinking about what you are doing. Many people could benefit from this brief quieting of the mind.

Do you ever hang dry your laundry? Is it even allowed in your neighborhood?

Sustainable Aloha!

I just got back from a weekend trip to Maui, and one of the things that really struck me was the attitude of the businesses there.  There were recycling bins everywhere, and people really seemed to understand the importance of naturals and organics.  The shops had large organic food sections, and sustainability was a common theme on things such as t-shirts and bags, and other touristy type stuff.  I can't help but think that if the businesses around here would follow the same path, we would see more of a change in attitude of the locals here too.  Its so much easier to live this way when you aren't constantly battling the opposite message!  Hawaii has got it right, folks.  Be it for health, wellness, concern over the planet, or just because you feel this is the way we were meant to live, give yourself some little daily reminders, around the house or work, or even in the car!  If you see it often, it will come more naturally!

I got a few pictures last night...

Managed to snap a few pictures last night of the new setup in the yard...

Here's my new clothesline!  Its cemented in properly and is much sturdier than I expected!  You can see the new Lilac planted to the right.  I'm hoping that in the spring it will scent the laundry as it drys.  Drying the laundry outside is something that can save a ton of energy.  Our dryer is electric, so it will be nice to see that bill drop a little!

This is an old photo which shows the old location of the greenhouse, on the right.

This photo was taken standing on th corner of the deck, by the grill.  Rob just dragged the whole thing across the yard with his pickup!  And the yard now feels HUGE!  We will be getting rid of the dog house soon, and that will open it up even more.

Last but not least, the new chiminea!  We've used it 2 nights in a row.  I've wanted one of these for years!

Happy birthday to me!

I have the most wonderful husband in the world.  Yesterday was my birthday.  In the pouring rain, he managed to move my greenhouse (YAY!) to its permanent location, install my new solar clothes dryer (LOL, such a fancy name for a clothesline!), and purchase and assemble a new chiminea!  As soon as the rain stops I will have to take some pictures!  And now, I have new places that need flower beds!  Then, to top it all off, he dug a big hole today, filled it with good soil, and planted my lilac bush for me.  Yard work is such a great birthday gift!

Watch this movie!!!

Mmmmmmm.... Coffee

I recently acquired a French Coffee Press, which I have never used before.  I like my coffee in the morning, but hate making a full pot as that is just too much caffeine for just one person.  I tried the French Press for the first time this week, and I am in LOVE!!!  The coffee comes out creamy and perfect every time, and I can heat a kettle of water first thing in the morning (excuse to make a tea kettle cozy!), and have coffee as I want/need it all morning long!  Why didn't I get one of these sooner?!  Not to mention, this makes one more non-electric appliance to replace my plug-in everything in the kitchen!  Hubby still will want his pot of coffee on the weekends, but I can live with that.  I wonder if I could get away with putting the coffee pot in the cabinet during the week, as it takes up so much room on the counter.  I'm still looking for a hand crank coffee grinder, but these are very hard to find in the thrift shops.   Now if only I had my woodstove, even the hot water would be passive.  One step at a time!

Build it up, then tear it all down...

I got quite a bit of the garden situated for winter today. I have only 2 more beds to tear down before the snow flies. The zucchini/bean bed is waiting patiently for me... and the snap peas are still blooming. We had a really hard frost last night, so I won't be able to harvest peas for very much longer, but right now they are sweet and wonderful!

I finally turned on the main heater in the house, but set it at 66F and turn it back off during the day, like the fireplace. Winter is coming, like it or not!

Brrrrrrr!

It is most definitely getting colder outside. Earlier this week, the air changed. It went from cool summer air, to cold crisp fall air. You can smell the snow creeping down the mountain, and it is getting downright COLD at night. I still haven't turned the heater on yet. I've been baking every day and the heat from the oven is still enough to keep the house warm enough. I have turned on the fireplace in the bedroom the last 2 nights, but that's more for being cozy than for being cold. I am really a cheapskate when it comes to heating fuel. My husband hates it, and secretly turns up the heat when he thinks he can get away with it, but I always turn it right back down! I figure, especially with fuel prices the way they are these days (gasoline is running $3.36 a gallon right now, and heating fuel isn't far behind...) our pocketbooks will thank us if we just put on a sweater. Lily has lots of cute, warm footie pajamas that will keep her warm, and Stephen likes it a little cooler like I do.

I have been letting the dogs stay in the house for most of the day now. Boss is almost 10 and has cancer. The cold last year nearly crippled him. I honestly don't think he will make it through another winter. That's a hard thing to come to terms with. I rescued Boss when he was 8 months old, and he has been the best dog I have ever known. I'll just keep him comfortable as long as I can, and know in my heart that that old dog had a good life because of me. He used to go on sleep-overs to Stephen's cousin's house. I have pictures of them in bed with Boss snuggled up under the covers, happy as a clam, and twice the size of the kids!

My husband mentioned that we might get another dog when Boss passes on, but honestly, I don't think I want to. Lady is quite a handful, although she is getting more mellow as she gets older (finally!) I do need a dog for protection around here, but Lady is 140 pounds, and can do the job quite nicely on her own. She is quite fond of scaring the crap out of tresspassers! She is not mean at all, but they don't know that when she walks up to them and looks them in the eye, and is the same size as them! She has the intimidation thing down nicely... she gets about 3 feet away and just stares! (We don't have tresspassers all that often any more, but it was a real problem last year... mostly punks on four-wheelers or snowmachines tearing up the driveway, with no concept of private property or respecting the rights of others.)

All in all, life is good here at Woodside Gardens. We are content and happy, and ready for the change of seasons. Lots of stuff to do around the house still before the snow flies, but that seems to be a never ending chore, and sure to get worse once the chickens are here. I have all winter to convince Rob to build that chicken coop in the spring!

No luck this year...

Rob is still out hunting, but is getting ready to head back home. Looks like no moose this winter. Its a bit disappointing, but since this was his first year hunting, it isn't all that surprising. It would have been nice to have moose in the freezer, along with the salmon that we depend on every winter, but maybe we'll have the opportunity next year. Rob did say that next year he is entering for the permits for the land close to our home, so he can go every evening. We see so many moose on our road, it is much more likely that he will get one that way. That is one of the things I love about living where I live. My road goes back into the wilderness for several miles before you see any sort of civilization. There is wildlife everywhere! I see fox, moose, bear, owl, eagle, porcupine, spruce hen (stupid road chickens), or hawk etc etc, most every day that I leave the house. In Alaska, you don't have to go far to find the untamed country, and many of us, like me, are lucky enough to live right in the middle of it!

I got out most of my "fall" decorations this weekend. The subtle colors in my house have changed to the oranges, browns, reds and greens of the season. I don't go overboard, but the little changes make a difference in the feel of things. Everything is just a little more cozy today than yesterday. And I even turned on the fireplace in my bedroom for the first time since early spring! I turn my heat off completely in May every year, and the first time the fireplace comes back on is a sure sign of things to come. It will still be a few weeks, however, before I turn the main heater back on... have to conserve energy as much as I can!

I baked the first pumpkin pie of the season last night, made from fresh pumpkin rather than canned (of course.) Pumpkin is something I would eventually like to grow in my garden, but I think I will have to build a raised bed designed especially for this lovely orange orb. Next year I am building the raspberry beds, so maybe I will put in a pumpkin patch the following year. One step at a time, my garden will get bigger and bigger! Living on gravel like I do gives me the unique opportunity to situate my garden exactly how I want it, where I want it, which is kind of exciting! I wonder what my yard will look like ten years from now!

Is it time to re-define our priorities?

All you seem to hear in the news is the (still) tanking economy and other public discomforts. It makes me wonder when more people are going to realize that sometimes, simpler is better. The American People as a whole are working themselves to death, just to keep up appearances within a superficial, materialistic society. Families are living together, co-existing, without ever getting to know one another. How are parents supposed to lead by example and instill morals and values into their children, when their children never see them because they are always at work? If society placed a higher value on being at home than traveling, multi-tasking, and spending money, we would have a greener earth, happier families, better LOCAL economies, and have (possibly) poorer, yet much better off and contented, people.

There is nothing better to me than being at home, watching my children grow, learn and play, while my husband works on whatever project he has dreamed up in the back yard. We aren't spending money, we're using hardly any electricity because we are outside in the yard instead of in the living room watching TV (we don't even HAVE TV), and the children are learning that home is a good thing, to be enjoyed every day. Sitting on the front porch in the covered swing with a cold drink on a hot, sunny day, is, to me, better than being in a mall, or a car, or just about anywhere else.

Being 5 is great!!

Stephen was excited to help me in the garden today. I was feeling particularly low on energy, so we decided that we would empty last years flower pots into the wheelbarrow and get the soil ready to re-use. He had so much fun making dirt "cupcakes" and helping me remove roots that he hardly realized he was learning something also! We talked about the cycle from dirt to plant to compost back to dirt, and he said "Hey, its kinda like recycling!" I was tickled that he maybe listens to me after all! We talk about recycling and reusing everything we can, saving energy, using reusable bags at the grocery store, growing our own food, healthy foods that we can eat every day versus foods to only eat once in a while or hardly ever, etc. I may have a little homesteader on my hands! Not to mention his kid sized garden gloves are soooo cute!!! It will be great when we get our chickens going, he is really excited about that, although I don't think we will have any before next spring. If we can just get the coop built this year, I will be happy!