It's Easy Being Green

I can still remember the glowing feeling I had nearly 12 years ago when I received my very first paycheck from my very first job. The money you earned as a teen was completely unencumbered. There were no bills screaming to be paid and the masses weren’t clawing your eyes out to receive their portion of your piddly $300 paycheck. You could spend that glorious amount of cash on anything you wanted; new clothes, a bicycle, the newest video game system or *gasp* you could save it. Those were the days and how quickly things change when you enter the adult world.

For the most part, I didn’t go overboard this holiday season with the amount of money I spent buying gifts and should have all credit card accounts back to zero balances by mid-February. And hey, now that our President wants to throw several hundred dollars our direction to “spur the economy” I’ll be even better off. But, I occasionally do miss those days of having a couple hundred dollars you could just spend on some item you really wanted. Just about every summer, I pick up a second job. I work on the weekends to help make ends meet and supply that extra cushion of cash that can weather you through a mild storm (blowing a tire, replacing the water heater, etc.). But that turns into a real drag trying to gear yourself up to work 7-days a week for three to four months.

Since I concluded my ‘07 summer job, I’ve been brainstorming ways to earn some extra cash from the comfort of home. Seeing my girlfriend’s freelance writing picking up at home, I thought I could pursue that too…making some extra cash while sitting in front of my computer. For the past three months I’ve been trying to sign on with payperpost. It’s a website where bloggers can sign up and get paid for opportunities to post blogs about products or services. My blog has finally been accepted and I can now earn some extra cash doing something I already love doing. Don’t worry, my blog isn’t going to turn into an advertisers paradise. It’s simply meant to tag along with my current and future content. I feel that it’s a super sustainable activity to do at home in my spare time. Hey, maybe I can earn enough to pay for the gas to drive to my regular job!

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Our newest additions to the Half-Acre Homestead have arrived.  We picked up three Auracana chicks from one of our friends yesterday who made a big order and wanted to share in the fun.  Auracanas are the “Easter Egg” chickens that lay green and blue eggs.  We’ve kicked around the idea for a year or two, just wanting to start out with a couple hens to provide us some eggs.  Our decision was pushed last year when we had a terrible problem trying to combat the swarms of squash bugs that devastated our zucchini and summer squash plants, leaving us little to enjoy.

Unfortunately we lost one little girl late this afternoon.  It seems the long journey was just too much for her.  She was sluggish on arrival but some sugar water helped perk her up.  Her activity improved along with her eating and drinking but late this afternoon she just quit moving around and wouldn’t get back up again.  We were really excited about her because she had different coloring from the other two girls and it looked like she was going to be a standout.

Our other two girls seem to be doing just fine.  We’ve been getting a kick out of their little antics, spontaneously falling asleep and waking up.  They love to cuddle too.  They’ll roost in the home office for a few weeks until the weather is nice enough for them to transition out full time.  Now it’s time to build them a little garden hen house.

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As we fully head into the new year, you might be thinking about some spring cleaning activities to get you into high gear.  We’re now officially close to four weeks post-Christmas but if you’re like me, there’s probably still a few reminders of the holidays lingering around the house.  If you received a lot of mail ordered gifts this year than you probably have a lot of those styrofoam packing peanuts shoved somewhere.  We all know their full of static and just plain annoying when they start flying around the room.  They’re also wasteful.  So, instead of just chucking them out in the next round of garbage, consider these next options.

If you happen to know you’re going to be shipping something very soon (maybe the horrible figurine Aunt Maude got you for Christmas that you’re just now deciding to exchange) than you can simply reuse the packing peanuts for your own use.  Many UPS stores around the nation will also recycle your packing peanuts and bubble wrap if you drop them off.  In fact, a lot of the stores report only having to buy 50% new packing material in order to fill all their shipments after people donate their used materials.  To find out where you can drop it off, head over to the Plastic Loose Fill Council website.  It’s as easy as typing in your zip code to find out where you can recycle all those peanuts and bubble wrap.

Lastly, if you do need to buy new packing materials, buy the eco-friendly versions that are now available.  While styrofoam packing peanuts aren’t biodegradable,  new ones made from corn starch are.  They simply dissolve in water and they’re gone.  Stores like Staples and U-Haul sell them.  Just hunt around and you’ll find them.  You can also buy cellulose wadding that’s 100% recycled material or you can buy air chamber cushions for your boxes that are made from recycled plastic.

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There’s been a lot of talk about how harsh our everyday, household cleaners really are.  Not only to ourselves but also to our environment.  We’re beginning to see some, commercially produced cleaners that are more natural and biodegradable.  It’s a small niche market right now but as the green movement picks up, more and more companies are turning to more sustainable options.  Not only will it be better for our environment in the long run, it will also protect our children from allergic reactions, poisonings and illnesses in kids associated with chemical-laden cleaning products.

Smaller companies like Seventh Generation are working to produce more natural cleaners and more sustainable lifestyles.  The Burlington, Vermont company lends its employees up to $5,000 to buy a hybrid car or make energy-efficient upgrades to their homes.  They also reimburse employees up to $500 for alternative commuting costs and gives them another $500 to buy energy efficient appliances.  The company also participates in a reforestation program in New Orleans.   Another company making environmentally friendly cleaning products is Method.

Even cleaning giants like Clorox are entering the green age.  This month they’re releasing their new line of cleaners called Greenworks.  The eco-friendly products will be sold right alongside their normal line and will apparently cost about 20% to 25% more.  As part of their move to get on the green movement, the Clorox company also purchased Burt’s Bees for $950 million back in November.

I’ve been interested in making some environmentally friendly cleaners at home.  I recently bought two different books that have different formulas and recipes for homemade cleaners.  I picked up Homemade: How to Make Hundreds of Everyday Products Fast, Fresh and More Naturally and 1,001 Secret Household Hints and Formulas.  I’ll of course post my thoughts on these books when they finally arrive.  I’m hoping they turn out to be helpful in our pursuit to continue living in a more sustainable way in 2008.

Do you have a homemade or store-bought cleaner that’s environmentally friendly and works great?  Post a comment and let us know about it!

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Valentine’s Day here at the Half-Acre Homestead was hot!  Humid too but not because we jetted off to some couples only, exotic beach resort.  No bikinis or frozen concoctions to help us hang on here.  Just the love of our little trio knocking around town together and enjoying one of our favorite spots in Evansville:  Amazonia at Mesker Park Zoo.

My pretty Valentines

The miniature tropical rain forest, cloaked in glass and kept at 75-degrees year round is a deliriously balmy hideout from the swirling snow and sub-arctic blast biting on the other side of those steamed up windows.  It also doesn’t hurt that our Darling Daughter can occupy the better part of an hour just letting off some steam as she runs from one end of Amazonia to the other, pausing briefly to scope out the fascinating and colorful inhabitants.  If you’ve never visited the exhibit before, you enter the tropical rain forest on wooden-planked bridges suspended high above the forest floor.  Here you meet colorful monkeys, birds, sloths and other creatures who like to hang out near the forest canopy.  As you move down through Amazonia you pass through waterfalls and caves meeting more creatures before you end up on the riverbanks coming face to face with piranhas and several otherworldly looking water creatures.  It’s by far one of the bright spots in this fair city and something I wish Evansville could build on.

Orchids tumble out of every nook and cranny and bloom beneath the forest canopy

This trip deep into the misty jungle on Valentine’s Day was to enjoy the Orchid Escape.  We grow a handful of orchids in the Half-Acre Homestead and Talina just amazingly got one to re-bloom after a long slumber.  These amazing plants range all across the globe in nearly every climate, with about 25,000 different known species.  That’s double the amount of bird species on our planet and four times the number of mammals.  More than 30 varieties of orchids are native to Indiana, some growing right here in our own backyard of Evansville.  Orchids are not only beautiful but one species also produces one of the most sought after spices:  vanilla.

Amazonia is already flush with hundreds of different South American tropical plants on showcase (the exhibit also doubles as an arboretum) but for one month every year, the zoo tucks hundreds of orchid plants into every available nook and cranny.  It’s a dazzling display of natural color, form and textures.  Hilltop Orchids out of Cloverdale, Indiana has grown and supplied 170 South American orchid plants for this year’s exhibit ranging across 30 different varieties.  Each grouping of plants has been meticulously arranged and lit with subtle spotlights as if each grouping is on stage to belt out their own aria of uniqueness.

The winter sun beams through the greenhouse roof onto my favorite orchid on display, Zygopetalum "Jumping Jack".

Each variety of orchid displayed is clearly labeled to help you identify your favorites like Phalaenopsis "Jungle Cat".

If you haven’t already checked out Amazonia’s Orchid Escape at Mesker Park Zoo you should take the time to do so.  Time is running out for a visit in 2011 as the exhibit only runs through March 12th.

My "Darling Daughter" Everly and I watching the monkeys climb to the tops of their forest enclosure

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Valentine’s Day is just a few days away and we have been busy making some minor preparations for the lovey day.  This year there isn’t much money to shower each other with nice gifts nor is it really needed.  We handmade some Valentine’s cards with Everly to send to our family.  They were simple and just involved finding little crafty knick-knacks, trinkets and cutouts to glue to simple cardstock hearts.  Everly had fun customizing and gluing each Valentine and will show up with tons of toddler love still attached to them.

I am recycling these wooden shipping palettes by dismantling them and turning them into something new

I’m working on a project for Homestead Hottie that recycles old shipping palettes and turns them into something new and useful.  I can’t tell you what it is going to be yet since it’s still a surprise.  Stay tuned for an update on that and yes, I really have to get cracking on it since there was little time left for me to build this past week.

Instead of the hassle of trying to find a babysitter, Homestead Hottie has elected to stay at home and have me cook our traditional Valentine’s meal: a 4 course fondue dinner.

We really got into fondue living in the Valley and used to go to The Melting Pot for all of our special occasions.  The setting is romantic, the process of eating is fun and keeps you busy, and best of all it’s really good.  The closest Melting Pot to us is in Nashville and after one awful experience there I don’t think we will ever go back.  It just wasn’t the same and the management there didn’t seem to care about it.

In  a few days I’ll dust off the fondue pot, ready the sterno cans and begin slicing and dicing for our big meal.  A hot pot of cheese fondue will start us off, followed by a salad, then the main course of meats in an oil or burgundy based fondue, followed by dessert.  If you’re thinking about staying in this Valentine’s Day we highly recommend it as a way to save money and show your Valentine that you care even more.  If you are cooking a Valentine’s meal in your own kitchen this year, here is a great little dessert recipe to try out if you’re looking for something different.  Espresso Granita would make a great after dinner treat or you could use it as a palette cleanser in between courses.  It’s super easy, can be made in advance of the big meal and seems so sophisticated.  Enjoy!

Espresso Granita

Ingredients:

- 2 cups warm espresso (I prefer Lavazza’s Super Crema for its delicious caramel notes and sweet finish)

- 1/4 cup sugar

Combine 2 cups warm espresso with a 1/4 cup sugar.  Pour the mix into a shallow baking pan and place it in the freezer.  For the next hour, take the pan out every 15 minutes and use a fork to scrape the developing ice crystals.  This will give you a light, delicate granita.  Serve a scoop in a glass topped with whipped cream and dark chocolate shavings.

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We hit  a major milestone here at the half-acre homestead on Sunday.  Homestead Hottie and I went just about a full 24 hours without checking in to the net:  no email, no Facebook, no Twitter, not even a single web page loaded.  I wish we could say that we planned it that way but it really just seemed to happen by accident and maybe it’s better that way.

I got a 6am wake-up call on Saturday and that threw us all off for the rest of the weekend.  One of the route contractors at FedEx had a driver call in sick and he needed someone to take the truck and continue the deliveries.  Needing the work of course I didn’t hesitate to pry myself from my slumber and head-in to load and drive in the wee-hours of what looked to be a restful Saturday.  I spent most of the day crisscrossing Evansville’s west side and making the farm stops over in Posey County.  It made for a long day, finally getting back home around 7pm.  Sadly, we were lights out by 9:30pm because it was a long day for everyone around here.

I woke up around 8 Sunday morning and the house was as quiet as a mouse.  I felt rested but was still relaxed.  Laying snuggled in bed, I knocked out a good 60 pages of my latest book “Survive!”.  Then our Darling Daughter started to wake and it was time to start warming up the house and getting our weekend, almost totally organic breakfast tradition underway:  German Babies with fresh homemade hash browns and some type of meat (in this case it was our truly delish Stonewall Farm country sausage).

After a relaxing breakfast spent at the table together we cleaned ourselves up and headed out to blitz our weekly grocery list and surprisingly we didn’t see the great bread and milk panic beginning with a huge winter storm in our forecast.  With our reusable shopping bags overflowing with fresh greens, veggies, fruits and our weekly case of organic milk we headed back to the homestead.

Suddenly we realized it was time to put the little one to bed and once the quiet set in again, that’s when it dawned on us we were unplugged the entire day.  We were sort of proud of that feat.  Our lives are so entangled in the net these days that sometimes it seems like you just can’t live without it.  A day gone by without a single status update or spam deleted might sound boring but it’s anything but.  It’s good family time and everyone should get some more of that!

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