Be a Planeteer!--UPDATED

If you didn't already know, I'm a greenie. A tree-hugger. A lover of nature. An environmental champion. A Green Panther?  Thesaurus.com lists that as a synonym for environmentalist so I'm going with it. I try my hardest to reduce, reuse, and recycle everything I come to possess. I'm working toward a no-waste household but it's going to be a long process. I'm going to share with you a few things that I do differently than most to save energy and reduce waste. 

I've been recycling for years. For those in my area, the Solid Waste Authority holds a collection event every Saturday from 9:00-1:00 pm at their location on North St., if you didn't know. They take paper, cardboard, plastics #1, #2, #4 & #5, magazines, books, cans, and glass. If you have any questions about that, please leave them in the comments and I'll do my best to get you answers! 

Please recycle. Seriously, just do it. Please? I said please....

I recently started composting. This is a great way to reduce waste and enrich your garden at the same time. I throw very little away now (except hard, plastic, microscopic pieces of demolished dog toys that my feet have a knack for finding...in every room of the house). Things I consume almost daily, such as eggs (shells), coffee (grounds and filter), and bananas (peels) can all go in the compost. Cardboard can also be composted so if I'm unable to reuse a box I get from Amazon to sell something on eBay (my other hobby), I can cut it up and throw it in. Junk mail, packaging from anything I buy, such as plastic, cardboard boxes, paper instructions, etc., and containers (that I don't reuse, usually as planters) go into my recycling bag, below. I tried taking a picture of it without Sansa but she wouldn't get out of the way. She insisted on showing her love for recycling. 

My recycling bag and Sansa, the recycling enthusiast 

Composter

I added a clothesline to the side of our deck. It's a great location; I can reach both lines while standing on the deck and only have to go in the yard when I drop a clothespin..which is every time I hang laundry. This will be great as the weather warms up so that I won't have to run the dryer and heat up the house (the huge windows in front help enough with that 🙄)----> I copied and pasted an eye roll emoji from my messages! It makes me happy to be able to express myself accurately. 

We've traded in our modern, convenient coffee maker for a pour over contraption. The Chemex glass system and kettle take slightly longer to brew but the taste is way better and totally worth it. We have two stainless steel filters that we use on weekends, when we're not in a hurry and on our way out the door. They take about twice as long to filter the water through. We use paper filters during the week, which I was originally against but changed my mind when I realized I could compost them, and therefore, not waste them. This doesn't save a ton of energy since I have to heat the water on the stove, but I'm not a fan of eating or drinking from plastic and this eliminates that issue.

 

I HATE plastic bags. I hate that it's common practice in stores to give everyone a bag. I don't need a bag for my jug of milk...that has a handle, thanks. I've read some of the controversy surrounding the recently installed self check-outs at our Walmart, how they take jobs away from workers. However, I choose to use them because using my own bags is much easier with those than having the cashier hand me everything she/he scans. And I can bag things the way I want them. Apparently, not everyone thinks all cold things should go together in one bag and some people think it's appropriate to put raw meat on top of my produce 😖

These bags are Baggu brand and I found them online somewhere. They're adorable and they fold up into small bags that I keep on my handy dandy binder ring.  The notebook in the picture above is a dry erase book that I write my store list on. I'm slightly addicted to organization so I like to write my list of things in the order they are located in the store. I erase my list as I go and keep a running total so I'm not surprised at the register. By the time I'm done shopping, my list is clean and ready for next time. 

Speaking of dry erase, I also use one at my desk at work. I rarely use paper notes, except to give to other people. I also have my reusable cup with me at all times and drink water like a fish. 

That sums up this Green Panther's tips. To finish out my post,  here's another picture of Sansa. It's your lucky day 😂 

(She's awesome, guys!)

The Dog Father (he likes when I call him that) and I try to achieve the goals set for us on our Apple watches so our daily routine usually includes taking Sansa for a 2+ mile walk. TDF always walks her on the way down and he rewards her when she's a "good girl," which means walking by his side, not pulling on the leash. If he doesn't notice she's being a good girl, she'll tell him by sticking her wet nose in his hand to check for a treat. Every 7 seconds until she gets one. This is her showing him she's a good girl 😃

Oh My Growing Garden!

Everything's a growin'! Well, mostly. The cucumbers have pooped out a bit but there are still a few. The zucchini are gigantic! Okay, maybe that's an overstatement but I am surprised at how well they're doing. Zucchini must be one of those plants that you could just throw seeds out in the yard and they would grow. Not that I haven't done a good job tending to them, I just haven't done anything special and they are thriving!

Zucchini 

Cucumbers

Note to self: next year, don't leave space between the pallets or leave a lot of space between the pallets. The weed eater head won't fit between them so I had to trim the grass in between with a rusty pair of hedge trimmers. I don't want to spray any chemicals so I'm going to figure out a way to kill that grass. Maybe I'll put some cardboard over it. Or steal borrow some rocks from the railroad to put on it. I'm kidding, if you're reading this and in charge of the railroad rocks. 😜

Anyway, the green oak lettuce is doing well and I transplanted the romaine lettuce today. In the rain. Because I'm a dedicated gardener. Okay, maybe it was just sprinkling, but still! 

I did have help though...

Sansa being sad that she can't be outside "helping" Mom

Sansa supervised and "cleaned" the window while I worked. 

I had to clean out the mess the weed eater made. Note to self: cover pallets while doing yard work. Got it. 

The broccoli is coming along. A few have shriveled up on me but the majority are still kicking. For now. Until the rabbits coordinate their attack plan. I googled how to keep rabbits away from your plants naturally and one person said to use either garlic powder or cayenne pepper. BUT, they said if an animal gets cayenne pepper in their eyes, they are likely to scratch their eyes out to make the burning stop. I would rather not be responsible for blind, bloody eyed rabbits running around. I'm pretty sure those things can't see very well to begin with, evidenced by their reaction to run closer to the car as you're pulling in the driveway, rather than away from it. Although, that may be sign of intelligence rather than the quality of their eyesight. 

Broccoli

The San Marzano tomatoes were looking pretty healthy so I transplanted them today, too. I staked them, kinda. I put sticks in there so they could lean on them.

San Marzano tomatoes

The beefsteak tomatoes I transplanted last week are doing well.  Especially the ones that have been in the kitchen window. 

So that's it for my garden update. I forgot to take a picture of the carrots that are in a big pot on the deck. I'll leave you in suspense for next time. I know you'll be anxiously awaiting.

Puppy Love

                                    I love my dog. I take the job of "Dog Mom" very seriously.

          Sansa (like Santa, with an "s" instead of a "t." Or like Sansa Stark, if you're a GoT fan) is our 16 month old chocolate lab and she makes me smile every day. She is the goofiest dog I have ever seen in my life. I wanted to post a picture that really captures her essence...so here are 45 of my favorites.

                    Her hobbies include chasing and barking at bugs, (especially stink bugs that crawl up the wall late at night) chewing her toys into a thousand tiny pieces, barking at people outside on "her" road, begging for bread if she hears the bread box open, taking up as much space as she possibly can in Mommy & Daddy's bed, when outside, running at full speed for the safety of the house when she hears a train coming, (or a helicopter overhead, or a bird cawing *there really needs to be an eye roll emoji on here*) playing hide and seek, chasing balls and refusing to surrender them when she brings them back, and forgetting to close her mouth when she drinks water. 

             She has been one of my biggest challenges. We were blessed with two wonderful, (mostly) trained dogs before that we got as rescues. (Look how cute!) We had Pretzel (left) for 10 years and Jade for 8 years. They both passed away from cancer last year. It was a tough year. I am so grateful to have had them in our lives for as long as we did. Dogs really do make life better! 

            So, anyway, getting a puppy was a huge learning experience. She and Daddy and I all had to learn how to love each other and live together as our household environment changed. She learned the rules about pottying, chewing, sitting, and walking (mostly) and we learned to laugh at her fits of zoomies and to move our feet when she comes carrying a heavily chewed Nylabone that is sure to get dropped on our toes. Teaching her has really tested my patience but she's definitely worth it. Even when she smacks me in the face with her tail, which could be classified as a weapon. 

If you want someone to love you unconditionally, make you smile, create chaos in your house, and hog the couch: get a dog. But only if you can commit to loving her back for her entire life, she deserves that. 

My Lip Gloss is Poppin'

I got inspired to make my own lip balm after purchasing some homemade from a craft show (shout out to The Card Lady!) Hers was wonderful and didn't leave my lips feeling dried out and needing another application 10 minutes later. Turns out, making your own is super easy and you'll know exactly what's in it, and more importantly, what's not in it...have you seen the list of chemicals?! Yikes. In my true repurposing fashion, I gathered up all the tubes of chapstick around the house, (I have at least one in every room. I'm addicted to moisturized lips!) an old tube of sunscreen, and two other containers. I cleaned them out and sanitized them in boiling water because I'm a germ-a-phobe. 

 

I googled a quick recipe a few weeks ago and ordered the ingredients from Amazon because I'm in a committed relationship with my Amazon prime. I threw together 5 tbsp. of coconut oil and 3 tbsp. of beeswax in a glass measuring cup and microwaved it for a minute and half, stirring every 30 seconds. Once melted I added about 20 drops of vanilla essential oil. I poured it into the tubes and viola, the best damn lip balm ever. Seriously, I don't lie. As they cooled the middle submerged a little so I used a syringe to top them off so that they would have a nice round top. This recipe doesn't have the most flavor, so if you're looking for something that tastes good, a different essential oil or lots more vanilla would be the way to go. I prefer something tasteless because sweet smelling lip balms mess with my head and help convince me I need to eat something sweet. And I don't need anymore help in that department. Resistance is hard. 

As you can see, I had quite a bit leftover because my tube round up only produced 9 regular sized and 1 gigantic one. This recipe could easily fill 15 or more regular sized chapstick tubes. I've decided to just reheat the leftover when I need a refill or find another tube, which is inevitable. I haven't checked my desk at work or the baskets in my bathroom yet 😀

       For Easter I bought my two nieces and two nephews eggs with candy for an egg hunt, BUT getting the big eggs (which I knew would be the most sought after) came at a cost. Each big egg was filled with 2 Reese's eggs and instructions for exercises 😂 I told them they had to do them or I was going to take the candy back and they know me well enough to know it's true. H collected the most eggs-er-cises (get it? 😏) and said she specifically tried to find most of them because she thought they would have the best candy (I knew it!). She did some of her exercises and then tried to pass the rest off on K, who is usually really into working out but was having a cranky day. C said, "Aunt Kim, why do we have to work for our candy?" Because life's not fair, buddy. 💋

Oh My Garden! Part Two

     The garden is started! Ahhh! It took most of the day last Sunday (we had to break to go buy more dirt 😒 shouldn't that stuff be free?!) but 7 pallets are filled and ready to go. We transplanted zucchini, cucumbers, (some) broccoli, and green oak lettuce. One week later and the zucchini are going strong, the cucumbers are hanging in there, a few broccoli are still alive, and the lettuce is M.I.A. I'm not sure if it shriveled up and died or if one of our many neighborhood rabbits feasted on it. It was such a nice day out today so I decided to replenish the broccoli crop (FYI, don't start ALL the seeds in the packet when there are 5 million. You will end up with 5 1/2 million plants. Although this ended up being a good thing since the first round petered out). The green leaf lettuce was looking more lettucey so I decided it was probably ready to go outside. We'll see if it becomes a rabbit delicacy.

     I felt like the egg cartons were inhibiting the plants' ability to grow bigger so I transplanted the tomatoes and another lettuce (I can't remember which one, there were five to begin with!) into bigger pots and put them back on my "sun" table. I don't trust that they're quite big enough to survive outside yet so I'm gonna give them another week or so. I can't risk losing the tomato plants, we have lots of canning plans later this year and we are sauce loving people!

    I started some Mexican sunflower seeds along with all the veggies and they were starting to look strong so I also transplanted them today. I hoed a small area along the back of our building, about a foot and a half wide, (using the grass I dug up to fill a hole in our yard that is a HUGE pain in the ...to mow around) and then topped it with organic garden soil. Because they need so much room between them I was only able to plant five flowers. There were about three more that seemed viable and I'm saving them in case any of the transplanted ones need replaced. What I like about this little garden space so much is that I got to use a couple of branches from our tree that were cut out around five years ago and have been lying in a nuisance spot ever since. The person who cut them *cough cough* thought they would decompose much faster, apparently. Now they won't scratch me when I mow the bottom of our yard, or seem like a really great place for a snake to nap 😳

Until next time! 

Oh My Garden!

             I've been saying I am going to plant a garden for the past five years and THIS IS MY YEAR! I got a little excited at Walmart and bought 12 different plants, which may be a little much for my first go round, but I'm confident! I don't have the best reputation for keeping plants alive but I'm trying to rehabilitate myself into a great gardener. I've had a houseplant for well over a year now that is beautifully green, so that's a start. I bought it because it specifically said it was "hard to kill," and they were right! It survived my neglect for the first six months. I've recently committed to being more mindful of watering and caring for my plants. I have several succulents (which you can kill without trying too hard, by the way), a pathos, and air plants, in addition to my "hard to kill, I don't remember the name of it" plant. They're all pretty low maintenance so planting my garden will be taking this whole plant tending thing to the next level! 

         We planted our seeds in cardboard egg cartons, watered, and waited. On the fifth day, broccoli started to sprout (cue angelic music)! I've never been more excited about broccoli in my entire life! Seeing those tiny sprouts of green made my entire morning joyful (I'm not kidding, which may be quite pathetic). The other plants started to come to life in the next few days, with the exception of the bell peppers and the Danyelle Red Oak lettuce. We were a little disappointed about the peppers because we like them but I've never had red oak lettuce before so I don't know what we'll be missing. Five different kinds of lettuce is a little much anyway when I'm really just a spinach loving lady. The lettuce variety came in a pack of five so I just planted them all. We will not be deficient in calcium, vitamin C, biotin, manganese, phosphorus, vitamin B6, magnesium, copper, iron, chromium....who knew lettuce could provide so many nutrients?! Now, if only it tasted good without being drenched in something...oh well.  

        The zucchini are as tall as my middle finger is long so I'm thinking transplanting is in our near future. I got wooden pallets (for free, score!) to make a raised bed garden. Figuring out the most level spot in our cratery (it's a word if I say it, autocorrect.) yard, laying newspaper and cardboard, and filling the spaces with dirt, is on the agenda for tomorrow. This West Virginia weather acts like it caught a fever with the inconsistent temperatures; in the 70's one day and then snowing the next! Hopefully the last frost has come and gone so my baby plants can grow big and strong and then feed me!