IndigoEllen's Profile

I second the knitting suggestion! It's a learning curve initially, but then you start producing things you can actually use and gifts people will actually love!

They look kinda gross and cheap, I think. Affixing the postcards to the wall with removable adhesive looks a lot more polished, IMO.

Hmmm. Gonna say B.

Gorgeous. I love your collections of items... and how you manage to display them without making the place feel cluttery.

I always sniff, smell, and see. Companies set the dates so conservatively because they don't want lawsuits and they know a lot of people don't have commonsense about food.

We get raw milk, which has no marked expiration date. I've learned to watch it and know. Thing is, with raw milk the bacteria in it are good. Sometimes the cream I've skimmed off is thicker, which then makes it sour cream and perfectly digestible. Raw milk sours, it doesn't rot like pasteurized until much later.

Yogurt can go for a long time past if it's been properly refrigerated. The good bacteria in the yogurt fight off the bad.

I think the delivery thing makes a difference too. If something's been left out in the heat, it just doesn't stay good as long.

We do a lot of hosting and love showing hospitality. We do a mix of styles, often making a large meal (complete with roast, appetizers, etc), and other times we have bring-your-own-meat BBQs. I think there is a place for both. Often the BYOM-type parties are with groups of close friends and we all know that many of us are short $$. It allows us to provide a place for gathering frequently (many of them don't have large spaces), we make the atmosphere welcoming with drinks, sides, etc, and we can afford to do it often.

I think that hospitality is the point. Know your crowd. There are many people I wouldn't invite while asking them to bring something. On the other hand, contributions can make it all work well sometimes and the young guys we have over feel welcomed and not at all bothered by the BYOM. You have to know the relationships.

But opening your home - that is WONDERFUL, whatever your style.

Our electricity is switching to peak usage rates. It costs vastly more to run the washer than the dryer (and VASTLY more to run a hot load than a cold one). So I toss laundry in at 9pm when things drop and stick them in the dryer in the morning, preferably if I'm up before 7, because then it primarily dries in the low-cost period. Spring, summer, and fall I stick the laundry on the line in the morning. Makes for a lot of energy and money saved!

SO true. There are so many things I don't replace in our home because it's just better to stick with what we have. If something HAS to be replaced, then go with the green option.

Incidentally, I feel that next in line for 'greenness' is to buy USED. Using something that would otherwise be in a landfill is much more sustainable than buying an entirely new item that uses new resources, no matter now green the methods and sources are.

So I try to:

1 - Use what I have
2 - Find the item used, even if it needs elbow grease
3 - Do without
4 - Buy wisely what I do need to purchase

Wow! This is an airy, lovely home.

Definitely like the after... and I really like that writing desk!