Organic and Green Budget in Review



Image Courtesy 123RF

THE YEAR IN REVIEW
The last year has been truly transforming. I am proud as I scroll through the history of this blog, from my first entry to this very last one.

the numbers:
On average, I had about 500 dollars per month to spend on groceries, gasoline, and the home.

In the fall of 2011 I was able to keep my grocery bill down to between 65 and 85 dollars a week.

Outside of food, I was able to purchase gasoline, glass food storage, seeds and planters for my garden within my budget, but I went over budget about 150 - 200 dollars each time when we had events such as my children's parties, overnight guests and out of town trips or special outings.
Things got a little hairy after the new year, as grocery prices seemed to soar. I was spending on average 80 to 105 dollars a week on groceries. When it came to clothing, I hadn't discovered the world of consignment shopping yet, but was able to keep the costs down by buying clothing and shoes a couple of sizes larger for the children.
Thank you JP, who inspired me to start a blog. Thank you LM for encouraging me to keep it up, and for your everyday cheers of all kinds. To D.M-S, my friend and new partner on the herbalism path, thanks for keeping me inspired with the excitement and joy with which you approach life with our leafy companions. Thank you ST for encouraging my spiritual uplifting.  To Divina, thank you for your motherly love, support and positivity. I am so blessed with such beautiful sisters.

Thank you DT and RT for reading my posts and articles and sending encouraging words.

To my mom's group friends, thanks for your support, ideas, green gifts and books, and all in all your kindness and good naturedness. I am so glad we met!

Floury Fun

Used these flours this week for pancakes. I experimented with 1 part Sprouted Flour and 1 part Corn Flour in my recipe. A couple of spoonfuls of greek yogurt helped make them fluffy.

These two flours will go on my sustainability radar as these are two types of flour that you can make yourself.

Sprouting wheat is a fairly simple process and you could even try growing your own corn!

Little Ones, Big Lessons

Photo By Eve. In this Photo: Eve and Little Diva in utero, Spring 2007 :)

Found this informative, straightforward yet beautiful website on wonderful ways to teach our little ones. I am reminded that I don't have to put my 4 year old and 2 year old in enrichment programs right now. I just have to do what I'm already doing, which is....enriching them :)

Yuk

Being treated for Lyme. On Doxycyclene 100mg. Yuk Yuk Yuk. Been strange. feeling better on the meds, but some of the stuff I've read is scary! My daughter just finished her amoxicillin treatment after we found a bullseye rash on her leg. We got the yard sprayed with organic tick repellant and we are using lavender essential oil in everything from laundry, to floor washing, to applying it with olive oil to our skin before we go out. (ticks hate it!) I planted some lavender out front and have a plan to plant them along the borders of the forest parts of our property.

Herbal Waters at Home

Taking a page out of The Herbal Kitchen, a book by Kami McBride with a forward by Rosemary Gladstar, I created a wonderful herbal water today. This book was given to me by a dear friend and is just what the doctor ordered. Lemon and orange slices, paired with peppermint leaves from my garden and accented with cinnamon sticks was today's best thirst quencher!

Cooking with Rosemary

Rosemary Gladstar

image courtesy Sage Mountain

On Saturday I was introduced to some of Rosemary's closest friends by the amazing woman herself; nettle, poppy, and lemon balm to name a few, and learned amongst other things, how to differentiate wild raspberry plants from wild blackberry plants.

We learned the gifts of many plants in the pouring rain on an unseasonably cold afternoon. The only way I can explain how I was not as cold as I should have been is that I was filled with passion for what I was hearing. Moreover, Ms. Gladstar spoke in such a way as to deeply resonate with how I relate to the world and it's natural gifts.

And then....we cooked with Rosemary! This was truly a treat for me. I helped make nori rolls filled with dandelions that had been marinated in an italian seasoning and sauteed in olive oil, garlic and onion. The nettle soup and nettle pesto were my favorites!

She took a minute at the end of our meal to answer my question about helping my son with seasonal allergies, and in her gentle manner gave me guidance with preparing a nettle tea, as well as resources for introducing healing herbs to my children. After the session, I felt elated and stepped lighter as I walked down the driveway of Sage Mountain. "I am on the right path" is what kept popping in my head.

Sheer delight washed over me while taking a turn through the wild areas of my property with my best friend and a glass of wine the next evening after my daughter's birthday party and discovering wild raspberry plants popping up all over the place! "I have something! I have something!" I blurted out in giddy excitement. Huge undisturbed dandelion leaves for salads and wine, violets, elderberry, and possibly even Juneberry live amongst other undiscovered edible and medicinal plants in my back yard. Treasure! When we first moved to this little house, I immediately felt the magic of the garden and lanscape. I felt the urge to learn about the cultivated herbs that were there already; sage, echinacea, oregano, chive...and my curiosity led me to Gladstar's Herbal Recipes for Vibrant Health book..... and one year later I have cooked with the spirited and sparkling lady.

Little did I know that the child who loved to stare at the huge tree growing in the middle of a junkyard behind her South Bronx apartment building, longing to be nestled in it's branches, surrounded by a canopy of green, would as an adult find a home whose greatest gift would be the splendor of it's greens. Tame as well as wild laid out before me I have found a green path to take me to the heights of important knowledge to pass down to my children.

I can see the ingredients are here for a lifetime of beautiful nourishment of all kinds.

It's in the Bag!

Image from www.instructables.com

I had the BEST time making my first personalized bean bag for a dear friend's little boy last week. I'm making toys now! woah, I would never have imagined. This is a huge deal for me! Allowing myself to be imperfect and sharing that imperfection with a sense of confidence and trust as I learn the ropes of being green and mastering the art of living has been amazing.

It was simple, and although my technique was not perfect and the embroidery was a little off, I was happy with the end product....although not sure if my friend liked it! ha ha. But, hey, it's a sturdy little bag of lentils for a toddler to knock around as only a toddler can, so I hope our toddler friend has a blast with it. We've decided to build a bean bag toss game for our backyard and the personalized bean bags will abound this season! I didn't take a picture of the first one I made last week since it was personalized, but I will post the next ones while they are in progress, and I'm confident my technique will improve so that you can tell a grown-up made them, although...they ARE beanbags people....

Kids Parties on the Green Side

Fallen bamboo leaf plates, cutlerymade of corn startch, and reusable home made banners made my son's 2nd birthday party a lot greener than last year's bash. I bought some gingham fabric and made some no sew table cloths that I will be using at every outdoor party. Cute and green - a la Kermit. I opted to rent an extra table and some chairs, rather than buy. Made things easier. I am liking the rental idea for parties. Is it greener? Well, I haven't delved into the specifics of gasoline used for delivery, but I didn't have to purchase new chairs. The bouncy house was definately not the greenest, as it needed an air pump guzzling electricity for about 4 hours, but it was not a brand new purchase, and our house did not have many lights on for the duration of the party, so I think I'm on the right track....but I am learning as I'm going, and there are things I can improve upon for my daughter's celebration in a few weeks, but this has been a gratifying experience, to be sure. For more on greening up your parties, check out my take on it at the Urban Times!

How Cool is THIS?

These were taken about 2 weeks ago. My daughter found it pretty easy to plant these with me. It was a fun project and we did it in under 45 minutes. We transferred our seedlings to the hampers and as of today, we have a few green beans that didn't survive the transfer. So far the carrots, peas, and cucumbers are doing awesome in these containers. We still have some other seedlings to transfer to bigger pots and eventuall to more hampers. So far, so good!

Expunging the Sponge Part II: The Verdict

We like Dad's old cotton T-Shirts better.

Happy Mother's Day

Mother love is the fuel that enables a normal human being to do the impossible - Marion C. Garretty

Days to Celebrate

Mother's Day will be here soon, as will my children's birthdays. When I asked a good friend what she wanted for mother's day she replied "world peace". In lieu of the recent world news, my friend's wish is profound.

Image courtesy of Courtney's Confections

I asked for house peace! My husband will be taking the children for a morning at Nana's.

But, my friend's wish makes me think: What will become of this wonderful, complicated, and at times so politically broken world? How, when I get so nervous, do I maintain this eco-friendly rythm of life in the shadow of the current world geo-political climate? For instance, my fight or flight response can kick in when I begin to let myself feel fearful about the myriad possibilities of retaliation.

One thing I'm going to try is to maintain the focus on my children, friends, and close family and help them, and myself, feel taken care of and content in the present. Loving is green. Compassion is green.

"You're Putting the Vegetables in WHAT?!?!"

...so said my husband this afternoon when I returned from a local discount curtain store that was selling these for 29 bucks a pop. They are about 3 feet tall and about two feet wide. A terra cotta planter that big or a wooden one that big would cost me at least twice that much. The hamper shown here is not the actual type I am using...but I will post mine soon. They are still in the backseat of the car! If weather permits tomorrow my vegetable sprout friends will have their new home, and will grow, hopefully, unhampered.

Expunging the Sponge

After months of diligently disinfecting and reusing the same green, oval sponge it has finally quit on me. I found this product at Whole Foods this week for under 5 bucks and thought I'd give it a shot. It's a washable microfibre cloth featuring an embedded scrubber. I can toss it in the wash and this is touted to last a long time, and to be an eco-friendly product. So far, the scrubber works well, and I'm liking using a larger wiping/cleansing apparatus (huh?) for my dishes and pots. I will keep you posted as to how long this guy lasts!

Photo by: Eve

Mystery Friends

Early Spring is a great time to take inventory of what you have in your yard. MAN! all sorts of friends popping up here and there. This is the first year since we moved here in Spring 2008 (I was like, 1,000 months pregnant with my current toddler) that I have the energy and capacity to want to delve into this project: Plant Identification! Will post slideshow on flickr one of these days soon. Feel free to comment on who you think my mysterious friends are....

Oh My Sprouts!

K. Not a good shot, but if you see on the bottom
half of the picture are my cucumbers sprouting happily! They were moved from their pete discs over into these egg-cartonesque pots today. This was a bigger undertaking than I had planned for. I moved about 20 sprouts to their respective containers today during my son's nap, it took about 45 minutes to mix the new pete with water, saturate the pots, place the sprouts and cover them. My daughter needed attention and didn't want to participate (cranky!) so I needed to stop after a bit. Then before I knew it my son was up and at 'em and the evening cranked up to dinner, baths, and bedtime. It was not the best day for 'family greening' work - I still have about 50 to go. I will make a go for another chunk of sprout transfers tomorrow. Let's see if the little ones are in a better mood tomorrow!

Not Bad for a First Timer!

Happy Easter Friends!

Hmmm....Easter

Eggs, paint, candy, cellophane, baskets, decorations, trinkets, prizes, chocolate bunnies, peeps....

umm...no way. just can't bring myself up to it this year.

Today's plan:

Reuse plastic eggs from last year, put reusable stickers on them with the kids. (no mess!)

Put them in our ONE family Easter basket from last year (new tradition!) which will be donned with bows from fabric scraps, and NO fake grass (just an old blue and white gingham kitchen curtain from our previous house). Add some carrots for the Easter Bunny and there you go.

Easter Bunny will come and bring ONE good sized chocolate something for the family to share, and outdoor or crafty goodies for the family to enjoy this spring (a ball, boomerang, etc). Egg Hunt and a basket of carrots left for our real family of wild bunnies in the backyard......and....well, that's a wrap. Well, kinda: now for the question of explaining the spiritual part to these little ones of Jewish and Catholic, but kinda organized religion confused parents...

Ah...i feel better. Happy Easter!

Nice Surprise on Earth Day

Look what came today! The Compost Brackets!!! WOW. that was fast. i'm sooo excited. Will share the process of putting these together. Click on the Compost tab on the header in the future!

Happy Earth Day!!!

Ready for Earth Day

Compost bin brackets on the way, seedlings planted, eco-friendly birthday party for my soon to be 4 year old and soon to be 2 year old planned and having an Earth Day picnic on Friday :-)

CSA Alternative in the Works!

We are working on planting our sustainable garden seeds. This process has been easier than I thought it would be, and I was able to enlist the help of my almost 4 year old daughter with no problems. Some of my seeds were purchased from Whole Foods Market, some were a gift from a friend who is starting a beautiful garden, and some were from the organic seeds that Lowe's has to offer. The planter shown here is made of plastic, and although i'm trying not to be paranoid about plastic, i did line the tray with paper towels to minimize direct contact between the pete moss and the plastic tray. it made me feel better. If i start to have nightmares about it i will transfer these little guys to a wooden starter tray. I'd like to post my experiences with the garden here, so there will be a labels tag on this blog named "Gardening Journal" that you can click to follow my gardening process. Have an awesome day!

Balancing the Greens

The most fabulous Peter Rabbit Garden idea has been revamped to maximize sunlight for the fruits and vegetables, minimize time spent on building, as well as save costs on building material. We decided to move a bistro set we had on the patio a la Design on a Dime by our cute little shed to create sunny, romantic spot for our garden. Speaking of, the actual garden will be mobile: it will reside in large planters staged elegantly around the table and chairs, with a white lattice backdrop featuring our existing bird bath. The garden won't be as close to my favorite tree, but she'll have other goodies planted at her feet.

Incidentally, the money saved allows us to splurge on....you guessed it...THE COMPOSTER BRACKETS! Hooray!

Temple Throbbing Templates

...i am determined.. ...to get a WordPress template

....that works well

....with my current Blogger template

....ughghghghgh!!!!

....i will be patient

....diligent...

....and continue to be completely off my rocker for attempting this on my own ;-)

Found 'Em!

....just not anywhere local. boo!

It's called a Composter Bracket Set, and looks like only Lee Valley carries them. They cost 89.50. Hmm...not sure i'm sold on the price for these, since they don't come with wooden slats. They are based on a 20th century design which I LOVE, but it's the price i don't love. Trying to go green on the cheap. But it makes for a beautiful compost bin design and will be very easy and not very time consuming to put together. I may have to sit on this for a few days more. The weather is starting to turn warm here in New England, so my "sitting" time will have to be short.

Lemon Meringue a la Bedelia

My kids and I adore Amelia Bedelia. We thought it would be fun to make her lemon meringue pie today! YUM! Organic ingredients, cheap, fun to make with the kids. I'm going to experiment and try not use my mixer, but to do as much as I can by hand. Will post finished product tonight!

Weight of the World Washing Me Over

Earth Day is coming up on April 22nd of this year. I have been awakening each day to the gravity of how humans have negatively impacted the Earth, and I am feeling overwhelmed by my duties. This is not a foreign feeling, for I feel it most acutely when I wonder "how the heck am I going to raise two upstanding, connected world citizens?" But now, I ask myself "How the heck am I going to raise two upstanding, connected world citizens who are helping change the world and who are reducing their negaive impact on it with the everyday decisions they make about the daily business of living?" I look around and I have noticed that about one year ago I had WAY more plastic in my house in the forms of containers, toys, junk, cups, plates..etc than I do today. This took almost a year! I bet tons of plastic are manufactured every year. And I am still not where I want to be. Where DO I want to be? I have a rigid frame of mind at times that dictates a goal of using NOTHING plastic that can be helped. Can that realistically be done? I don't know. But I'm going to try.....maybe that will be what my next blog is about. Recently I discovered the MONUMENTOUS MESS called the Great Garbage Patch of the North Pacific Gyre. I was caught in the undertoe of a provocative video about the debris floating in the Pacific Ocean, most of it plastic.

Synthetic Sea from GreenPlate on Vimeo.

Horrors. What are we going to do? How are we going to do it? What can I do? I feel literally ill and have a physical urge to gag when I am sitting alone with my thoughts about the devastation that we don't want to look at. How can we not look? It's like deciding to ignore a festering sore on a limb because it's too ugly to look at.

Where is this Hardware?

Going to the hardware store today to find the green hardware shown in this bin design that holds the wood slats. Been looking all over the internet and cannot find it! What is this called???!?!?!? It's going to be fun trying to describe this to the hardware store folks today.....maybe i should print out this pic and bring it with me.

Kozy Shack Revisited

This recipe is AWESOME! very close to the original. I promised I would keep you all updated and after several attempts since my August 2010 Daily Musings entry of several months ago, this one is the best. I will play around with a less calorie version but so far I love that my version is organic :-) Thanks Copy Kat!

Dump Day!

And away we go.....

$$Green Team? I'm SOLD!!! $$

Voila! My answer to making the dumpster project more....eco-friendly and responsible. Perfect? NO. But better than the alternative which was to dump EVERYTHING and be totally, utterly ungreen. This afternoon, with the help of our babysitter, I made a HUGE dent in the plethora of unwanted items down in the basement. I separated things into four categories: (1)throw away in the dumpster (so ratty and unuseable it would be downright mean of me to donate), (2) re-useable (things i would realistically - easy and quickly - repurpose for storage, etc) (3)drop off-able (to a goodwill type clothing donation box that are sprinkled in parking lots along my daily driving routes), and the rest - (4)sell-able. The freed up storage space on the shelves in the basement will be a great place to keep the sell-able items along with the packaging boxes that i have saved and will reuse. I will take photos of the stored items and circulate amongst friends in case they want something. The point is - easy. no pressure. All good for me. My current organizational skills are such that coordinating pick ups and drop offs for freecycle and charitable organizations would leave all parties involved with headaches, to be sure. So, my alternative is eBay. How lucky that they have a Green Team now! So, now that I've figured out my system, doing the remaining 2/3rds of this basement job will be a no-brainer for Saturday's big dumpster day. I DID IT!!!

Minimizing and Agonizing

The next phase of our decluttering project has commenced and will end in an event that is contreversial. This weekend we will have a dumpster dropped off on our front yard and picked up after 48 hours. I've consulted with a couple of friends who have suggested I put an add out on freecycle or have local charitable organizations come to pick up what we have. I didn't even think of doing this, mostly because I in the past I have been notorious for not being able to organize something like this well enough in advance to make it work to benefit anyone other than myself. As I write this I realize that this is the pudding that i must put the proof in. Convenience would have me dumping everything I don't want in the house anymore without much thought. How can I make getting rid of my extra "stuff" easier for myself and also beneficial to a community at large, and eco-friendly? I am busy, have 2 little kids, and have limited hours in the day. I don't know how i'm going to make planning for freecycling or donations easier, because i used the box and banish method of decluttering weeks ago. So this means I have a sea of containers, bags, and boxes of stuff that are not categorized in the basement. I have 3 1/2 days. Hmm....

Booting the Bottles

Did you hear about the recent study that found chemicals leaching out of plastic with everyday useage? Google it! BPA-free plastic still contains chemicals that can have adverse impacts on the endocrine system. Now I'm concerned that it's not safe to use plastic for anykind of container for food and drink. So where does that leave us? Uber-Paranoid perhaps? Well, i don't know about that. However, a well managed dose of paranoia can do a body good - i would guess better than a dose of estrogenic chemicals. So, we've decided to transition to non-plastic drinkware and food storage containers. We use tap water filtered with a britta faucet filter and also use a britta pitcher, but having a private well that is not regulated by the EPA, we are going to get our well water tested again just to be sure. On the move toward stainless steel drinkware for the kids, i've also found some cool stainless steel water bottles on Amazon.com. I have finally convinced my husband to let go of his Poland Spring bottled water love-affair!Now....let's see if i can do this cheaply! Will keep you posted!

"Every oak tree started out as a couple of nuts who decided to stand their ground.” Unknown

The site of the herb garden. Around this beautiful oak tree, whom i can see everyday from my kitchen window. One day i may tell you about my experiences with this particular oak, but let us just say that....she is important and it is only right that she watch over our little garden. I hope that the garden will nourish this old tree as much as she has nourished my sense of responsibility.

Peter Rabbit Herbalist

Had a blast last night listening to Rosemary Gladstar's Webinar on Demystifying Herbs. I am looking forward to learning more this summer. In the meantime, the idea given to me by someone very close to me (let's call her Divina) of creating a magical Peter Rabbit herb and vegetable garden is taking root!

It's in the Bag

A no-sew market bag project my daughter and i can do together! What a wonderful discovery, a crafty "bag lady" and her adorable book. I wish i could do all of these today!

ps. tonight at 8pm i will be taking a free webinar offered by Rosemary Gladstar, Herbs Demystified Remedies for Family Health. A cup of tea, a quiet house, and a free introduction to the powerful healing world of herbs, what more could a busy greenworker mom ask for?

Growing The Blog

With spring....almost...i swear i really can see it...almost here, it's time to take another look at the way i'm organizing my experiences. Better organized pages and searchability, and media components are key.These upcoming months I'll be building a compost bin, building seed-starting planters from discarded wood, starting a vegetable garden, taking a class at Rosemary Gladstar's retreat with the incredible lady herself, and making a video diary. I am so excited to make this adventure easy enough so that my children can be involved in the planning and executing a more eco-friendly lifestyle. We are growing!!!

Spring Come Back!

Snowing. Again.

Planting the Seeds...

Little Diva asked me what "orGantic" meant. How do you begin to explain this concept to a 3 1/2 year old??? Simply! I said that organic farmers do not use "bug sprays to protect the fruit and vegetables from getting eaten and from getting sick that will get our bodies sick" And i told her that we are going to grow the above organic tomatoes and peppers (purchased from Whole Foods today) from seeds just like farmers do, with no yucky bug sprays. She was satisfied, and i feel like i've planted the most wonderful seed already.

The Compost Train....

Went on a date with my husbad recently. Out of all of the things that we could have done, we chose to go to a local coffee shop and then to the local Lowe's instead. We had the BEST date we've had since we started doing "date nights" post-kids! We picked out a screen storm door for our front entrance and we also starting eyeing the compost bin options.

We could not find large backyard composts, but we found the above kitchen compost. I liked the look of it, it reminded me of some vintage enamel wear that my grandmother always had in her house. I also liked that it wasn't plastic.

More research to be done....i'm excited to get on the compost train this month!!!

Catching Bugs with Vinegar AND Honey

2 tablespoons of apple cider vinegar in honey whenever i could remember and/or between meals left me healthy as can be during a perfect of storm of viruses that went through my house this past weekend. My son, my daughter, and then my husband went down.

I will carry my powerhouse natural remedies with me into the Spring. I teamed my 2 tbs of honey and vinegar remedy up with echinacea tea twice per evening and 1 raw garlic clove while my family was sick last weekend. It really WORKED! woah. I am a steadfast believer of this combo. My new "go to" remedy when i perceive the beginnings of a sniffle! Now...if i can only figure out how to make these remedies palatable for the kids! Any suggestions?

Living Beautifully

Received a copy of this beautiful book from a friend yesterday. A wonderful guide to living green, i am thrilled about it!!!! It is humbling when I slow down enough to realize that this journey is not only about the mechanics of living more eco-friendly, but more importantly the small connections made to good people, life, and all which surrounds us. It fills me with reverence and gratefulness, and in turn inspires me to live beautifully, in harmony with everyone and everything. It has become quite spiritual, actually. My daughter and I recently started to pray together at night and in the morning to thank The Creator for all that we are, have, feel, see.

This book has inspiring images and a variety of innovative ideas to offer the greenworkers in all of us.

Thank you all for your encouragement and validation!!!

Sage on Stage II

The sage may not be bushier, but i moved it to a larger pot and look! two beautiful flowers :-) this makes me happy. Looking forward to spring!

Wallet Loving Quesadillas

Um.....how have i never made these before? flour, olive oil, salt, baking soda = yum. I used what i had in the fridge and the pantry already and whipped up a hearty lunch and it is so cheap! I used a bit of chicken shredded from my roast chicken of earlier this week, cheese, and green peppers. Made 3 and fed Hubs, myself, and two tots! Made 1 extra to store in fridge, and froze the other two tortillas for later use. Yes, i am proud of myself for having discovered this little recipe ;-)

A Bit of Earthly Inspiration

Click on Image for An inpsirational Mini-Post (my first!) featured on The Urban Times

Nostalgically Practical

This decluttering project has brought up a serious case of nostalgia. I found these adorable receiving blankets in my daughter's closet and decided to use my sewing skills to repurpose them into quaint wall-hanging storage for her crayons, etc. I just could not see myself parting with the tactile memories of holding my sweet baby girl swaddled in these blankets. This is a first for me, so plese forgive the frankenstein-esque nature of my first creation. It is not finished yet, i am adding buttons and ribbons. What you see above is how i folded the blanket to get the bases for what will become pockets once the sewing is done. I guess i could have looked for a how to on it but i wanted to see what my creativity would come up with! When i have a bit more time this week i will post a flickr slideshow on how i did it.

Sticthin' Time....

As you all know, i am still knee deep in the clutter project. I found 3 bins full of fabric and sewing supplies and unfinished projects in my basement last night. A pajama shirt with unfinished matching pants that was supposed to be for me before i started a family, but could probably fit my 3 year old now. A friend asked last week where she could find a local place to buy organic bedding for cheap. I have yet to find such a place and was sorry not to have known any to share with her. Well, this morning that same friend shared a wonderful resource on where to buy organic fabric online! Ingenious! I am definately going to use this as i work toward March's goal of putting my sewing skills to use :-) I will keep you posted on where i get my organic fabric, and what i make with it!

Best thing about having started my journey of "greening" besides inspiring others is meeting and sharing ideas with like minded individuals, and being inspired in turn by their journeys. Happy greening everyone!