Firestarters

I made firestarters today. I'm hoping for a camping trip this Fall while the weather is nice. They cost 99 cents to make a dozen (they would probably be free if you have little kids).

You need:

• dryer lint
• a paper egg carton
• a tin can with the label removed (I used a large tomato can)
• broken crayons with the labels removed (I bought a bag of used crayons at Savers for 99 cents)

Stuff the egg carton compartments full of lint.

Dump all your broken crayons in the tin can and put in a pan of water and bring to a gentle boil. Lower heat and shake can until all crayons are melted.

Slowly pour the hot wax into each compartment of the egg carton completely covering the lint.

Cut apart each compartment and store in a ziploc bag. Set under your kindling and light the egg carton paper when ready to use.

A variation of this craft uses paper cupcake wrappers, old unscented candles, and wood shavings (fill wrappers with shavings and pour melted wax over). I didn't have those items on hand or I would have made both and evaluated which was better. In girl scouts, we made wax paper tubes stuffed with lint. They burned way too quick to effectively start a fire if your kindling was less than ideal or slightly damp. The wax firestarters we've bought at the park stores have never failed to start a fire, so I'm hoping these will have similar results.

Gardening

I used to have a garden at our house. It was rather extensive at one point and then we scaled back. We did raised beds to the side, raised in-ground beds that took up most of the yard, and raised store-bought beds. I thought I had pictures of the first two variations, but apparently they have gone by the wayside. I enjoyed our vegetable gardens and my extensive native plant garden. I really enjoyed all the birds and wildlife. However, I do not miss the yard work and trying to keep plants alive in a drought.

Our former yard

Our balcony

I have been trying to do some gardening on our balcony at the apartment.  I forget what the plant in the blue pot is called. It stands up well to neglect and has pretty little blue flowers. The "window box" style planter has done fabulously. It has a sage and silver pony foot. I made it from a gift basket my mom gave me that I lined with a heavy duty trash bag with holes poked in the bottom. It is attached with zip ties. The basil (not pictured) I moved from our front porch is also doing well.



Basket planter a couple of weeks after planting

Basket planter

My experimental yellow herb containers (recycled soda bottles) are so-so. They are technically sub-irrigated planters. The top is cut off and inverted in the bottom to create a water well and a piece of felt acts as a wick. The seeds were very slow to start. So far only the cilantro and climbing spinach look like they might make it (and even then they are puny). I was also trying to grow oregano and lemongrass. I will give the yellow containers another two weeks and if they haven't become more successful, I am replacing them with another large basket planter.
 

Sub-irrigated herb planters (and an aloe and rosemary)

Duck

If you are in Austin and love duck, go to First China BBQ in the Chinatown Center. Do not order off their highly Americanized lunch menu. If you open up the menu they have several roast meats served with rice for the same price as the lunch specials. I've had the duck on several occasions and it is amazing. Duck skin and fat is uniquely delicious. Other restaurants price duck like it is some rare and precious meat. Here it is $6.50 for a decent sized portion.

After you eat, go over to the giant Asian supermarket. It smells awful, but has really well priced Asian goodies. The junk food aisles alone are worth the trip. I love exotic foods. Hence while I still try to buy clothes and other wares made in America, I refuse to apply this to food products.

Awhile back we visited a Hindu temple in Houston. I really enjoyed it, but was shocked to learn that certain Hindu sects do not eat onions or garlic. We met a man at the on-site restaurant that had never had onions or garlic in his 40+ years. That blew my mind! I eat onions or garlic with nearly every meal I make at home. I love sauteed onions dearly. I try to understand people who restrict their diet because of religious or moral reasons, but I can never quite wrap my mind around it. I love meat. I love the commonly forbidden pork. I love wine and other alcohol. I fiercely love onions and garlic. One day I may discover I am in fact the unenlightened one, but until then I will enjoy all the glorious foods and beverages this world has to offer.

Apartments

The sweet joys of apartment living! No, seriously! You don’t really appreciate apartment living until you have owned a house. Going back to an apartment after owning a house is like living a vacation. You wake up on Saturday and no longer have to tackle yard work. When the AC isn’t working, you just call the maintenance number. You don’t have to care about how much something will cost to fix or what exactly is wrong with it. There is much less space to clean (assuming most apartments are smaller than most houses). We have the added benefit of living within walking distance to the grocery store, several restaurants, a pharmacy, and a bookstore. There are also two pools and a work out facility on site, plus trail access to a large green belt.

There is a lot of pressure in our society to own a home. I talked in a previous post about how owning a home is not always a great investment these days. It can be if you get lucky, but it can just as easily result in a net loss. Plus, even once it is paid off you are still stuck paying property taxes and paying for repairs. I am not anti home ownership; I just recommend taking a critical look at that path. Just because you can afford a house doesn’t mean you should buy it. Just because you can afford a larger place doesn’t mean you should move.

In other news, I recently made a baby mobile for a co-worker (mostly because he bugged me to make him one for 3 months after seeing a mobile I made for another co-worker's birthday). He is also into the buy domestic movement and told me about trying to find a crib that was made in the US. I had guessed he ended up with one made by the Amish and sure enough he did. It was pricey, but is solid wood and there are no worries about paint or sealant chemicals or unsafe parts.

 

 

Bike Commuting

In my decade of working life I have never lived closer than 20 miles to work. I started out over 40 miles away with my first job while living in San Marcos. Now I live about 3 miles away from my office. I can get there in 10 minutes! So what do I do? I go and make my commute almost as long as when I was 20 miles away by deciding to commute by bike.

First I had to get a bike. I had a nice bike when I was in college back in San Marcos which was stolen off our front porch (they cut the chain). Then, I had my niece’s old bike which had brake issues so I intentionally left it unlocked at work to be stolen/taken. I followed that up with my co-worker’s daughter’s old bike. That bike got me to and from college classes at ACC for 2 years. It was removed after sitting idle for several years locked up at work. I was not heartbroken because it was nothing fancy and pretty well worn out (starting to rust). So, I was bike-less as of last weekend and really wanted to get started on bike commuting before I got completely spoiled by a 10 minute drive. Most cheap bikes from big box stores are foreign made. They also seem to be worth about what you paid for them. Bike shops in Austin are very proud of their merchandise and both their new and used stock are priced such that you understand why they offer payment plans. Ultimately, I found a bike for $30 on Craig’s List. The bike seemed practically new and was just what I needed. I took a safety buddy to pick it up and have been bike commuting since then.

First off, I am pretty happy with the whole bike commuting experience. I can get exercise and save money while fulfilling a need. Here are some of my suggestions if you want to get into bike commuting. Although I’ve only been bike commuting a grand total of 3 days, I have quite a bit of experience with urban bike riding from my college days.

1)      If you live within 5 miles of work and can get there without getting on a highway or major thoroughfare, give bike commuting some consideration.

2)      Buy a cheap used bike to start out. You can always upgrade later. First off, a cheap bike will probably be a tougher workout since they aren’t built for speed. Second, it will be less of a target for theft. Third, it will be easier to tune up yourself. Cheap equals simple and simple is good when you are starting out.

3)      Take it easy. Don’t try to get there quickly. It is not a race. Don’t be embarrassed to get off and walk up a steep hill (there is one hill toward the end of my ride home that I so far refuse to ride up).

4)      Take a route through neighborhoods. It seems safer. People drive slower, are looking for obstacles like kids, dogs, and bikes. They are also probably less likely to be texting and driving as there are too many obstacles such as parked cars, speed bumps, and traffic calming islands to take their eyes off the road.

5)      Be aware of your surroundings at all times. Slow down at intersections and parking lot entrances/exits even if you technically have the right of way. Cars might not see you, so make sure you see them.

6)      Wear a helmet (duh!).

7)      All locks can be cut, so just get a decent steel u-lock and save your money: http://www.lockyourbike.org.uk/how-to-lock-a-bike-guide/

Free

Sometimes free doesn't mean free.

The Kohls near us routinely sends out $10 gift cards. Unlike other stores where you have to buy a certain amount to get the free money, this is $10 with no strings attached. You can walk in and walk out with a $7 tank top by just giving them the mailer card. In the past I have used the cards to get shorts, a skirt, and tank tops for nothing (or pocket change). This weekend I had another $10 card so we walked over to Kohls after eating yogurt <aside> if you are in Kyle, check out Chill Out frozen yogurt; really nice owners and good yogurt</aside>. I looked around and couldn't find anything that wasn't cheaply made and/or manufactured overseas. My husband also looked, but when he wasn't thrilled with anything we both decided that there was no point in getting something we didn't absolutely love.

It can be a challenge to pass up free stuff. It doesn't seem like that long ago when buying a new pair of shorts or a new shirt was a big deal to me. It was special because I had limited funds so I carefully picked out what I most liked in the price range I could afford. Back in high school or when I was in college the first go round, free stuff was like found money.

Even with a stable income, it is still hard to pass up free or almost free stuff when it is new and looks nice. I make sure to ask myself:

• Do I absolutely love it? If not, why bother?
• Am I willing to pay to house this item? The less stuff you have the smaller the space you can live in.
• Is it an item that will either last a long time and/or an item that will be desirable to someone else used? For example, solid wood furniture will last a long time and will be much easier to find a new home for if you no longer need it than cheap particle board furniture. These days cheap clothes are no longer in demand. Most thrift outlets and charities have more clothing than they know what to do with. Check out this article or Google "disposable fashion" for statistics and analysis: http://www.slate.com/articles/life/fashion/2012/06/the_salvation_army_and_goodwill_inside_the_places_your_clothes_go_when_you_donate_them_.html 
• What am I supporting by taking this item? By accepting a "free gift" that was produced under poor conditions and shipped around the world, you are letting the giver know you are okay with that. This obviously applies more to promotional items where the giver will just continue to order more of the same item than it does to accepting your friends or neighbors used clothes/housewares. And it certainly never should apply to actual presents given to you!

American

Some things I love that are uniquely American (the North American continent, not specifically our little portion):

• sweet corn
• chipotle peppers
• yucca
• prairie dogs
• bighorn sheep
• blueberries
• sunflowers
• avocado
• bison

We've exported some of these, but they all originated right here on our beautiful continent. I am not always the most patriotic about our country since politics and arbitrary lines are tedious, but I love this geographic region and think a shared pride between all human beings on our continent is far better than isolated, nationalistic tendencies.