I got an email from change.org today about signing a petition that I really want to pass onto my readers. In a nut shell, the plastic industry is lobbying to make it illegal for individual towns and cities of Illinois to ban the use of plastic bags. Banning plastic will be impossible if this bill gets passed! Of course there are parts of this bill that are good, like having more plastic bag recycling locations... but recycling plastic bags is almost an oxymoron. We need to get rid of it! In the end it's up to each individual person, but when an entire city makes the decision to ban them it's a really big deal!
Here's the petition:
6.25.2012
6.24.2012
the tale of two tomatoes
< the facts >
Two tomato plants are growing outside on our patio. They are in smallish handmade clay pots and they quite like it on the patio because it is south facing but gets ample shade from the ceiling above them so they are protected from the harsh sun. We filled the pots with aged donkey shit, mushroom compost, and a layer of banana peels for potassium plus egg shells for calcium and other minerals. Once a week I fertilize them with Mendocino County sea weed tea. For stakes we used sticks from the forest.
< the residents >
Carlos and me, Desiree, who will be leaving this Sunday for the gathering and to travel a bit.
My mom and dad, who will be leaving in a couple weeks for their anniversary.
Many plants in the garden and on the patio.
< the dilemma >
Our tomato plants grew way tall, super fast and one day I noticed that our Chocolate Cherry tomato was very wilty and losing many leaves. As it turns out, it outgrew the stakes, leaned over our railing, and cracked open on its stem. Also, everyone on the patio will need to be watered while the family is away. Carlos and I moved a tomato to the garden bed that gets watered with the sprinklers but the sun was killing it... so we moved it back onto the patio.
< the climax >
AND...
I came up with a way to water while everyone is vacationing!
Two tomato plants are growing outside on our patio. They are in smallish handmade clay pots and they quite like it on the patio because it is south facing but gets ample shade from the ceiling above them so they are protected from the harsh sun. We filled the pots with aged donkey shit, mushroom compost, and a layer of banana peels for potassium plus egg shells for calcium and other minerals. Once a week I fertilize them with Mendocino County sea weed tea. For stakes we used sticks from the forest.
 |
| playing with carlos' new instagram app |
< the residents >
Carlos and me, Desiree, who will be leaving this Sunday for the gathering and to travel a bit.
My mom and dad, who will be leaving in a couple weeks for their anniversary.
Many plants in the garden and on the patio.
< the dilemma >
Our tomato plants grew way tall, super fast and one day I noticed that our Chocolate Cherry tomato was very wilty and losing many leaves. As it turns out, it outgrew the stakes, leaned over our railing, and cracked open on its stem. Also, everyone on the patio will need to be watered while the family is away. Carlos and I moved a tomato to the garden bed that gets watered with the sprinklers but the sun was killing it... so we moved it back onto the patio.
< the climax >
DIY How to mend a cracked tomato stem:
 |
| gauze + cotton yarn = tomato cast |
 | ||
| a happy, loved tomato is a healthy, delicious tomato |
I came up with a way to water while everyone is vacationing!
DIY self watering container
 |
| inspired by "aqua globes" but free.. and "shabby chic"! |
raw milk is so delicious
Today I'm going to share my experience with raw milk! :)
Growing up, I didn't care much for milk from the store. Store bought milk contains blood, pus, and fecal matter from cows which are kept in extreme confinement. They are overloaded with hormones and antibiotics. Milk is a massive industry controlled by a few large dairies so it's hard for them to pay much attention to hygiene and the well being of their animals. And all they care about is money.
A couple years ago I tried some raw milk, unpasteurized and unhomogenized and since then I have been a milk addict and drink 3 or 4 glasses of it every day! My milk comes from a local dairy where the cows eat green grass, relax in the shade of the trees, and they aren't given any hormones or antibiotics because they don't need them. From the milk we make butter, ice cream, cheese, and wonderful smoothies.Thank you Jersey cows!!!
Growing up, I didn't care much for milk from the store. Store bought milk contains blood, pus, and fecal matter from cows which are kept in extreme confinement. They are overloaded with hormones and antibiotics. Milk is a massive industry controlled by a few large dairies so it's hard for them to pay much attention to hygiene and the well being of their animals. And all they care about is money.
A couple years ago I tried some raw milk, unpasteurized and unhomogenized and since then I have been a milk addict and drink 3 or 4 glasses of it every day! My milk comes from a local dairy where the cows eat green grass, relax in the shade of the trees, and they aren't given any hormones or antibiotics because they don't need them. From the milk we make butter, ice cream, cheese, and wonderful smoothies.Thank you Jersey cows!!!
6.20.2012
6.14.2012
my day + etsy
I had a wonderful day today! This morning I spent time with my parents and my boyfriend Carlos, chatting, had a lovely breakfast of bacon and eggs - the usual.. Carlos and I took a walk down the road to our neighborhood farm and produce stand to pick up some veggies and ground beef. They had banana peppers and bell peppers today! So yummy. $11 got us 2 pounds of beef, 2 bell peppers, 3 banana peppers, and 2 fat cucumbers. All organic and local. They were out of eggs, gotta get there earlier next time.
It's my wonderful sister's birthday today - Happy Birthday wonderful sister! She had to go to work - bleh.
And I added some new handmade envelopes to my etsy account today, super geeky superhero Animal Man!
upcycled envelopes in my etsy shop - http://www.etsy.com/shop/ReGrowRoots?section_id=7622554
It's my wonderful sister's birthday today - Happy Birthday wonderful sister! She had to go to work - bleh.
And I added some new handmade envelopes to my etsy account today, super geeky superhero Animal Man!
upcycled envelopes in my etsy shop - http://www.etsy.com/shop/ReGrowRoots?section_id=7622554
6.08.2012
Headband Giveaway
I am having a FREE GIVEAWAY!!! My friend Melanie has the giveaway and a wonderful review featured on her blog. Check it out and enter to win a free men or womens headband! The winner gets the choice of any headband in my etsy shop. They are all made from cotton, organic cotton, wool, and/or upcycled fabric.
Here is the giveaway:
http://melanieski.blogspot.com/2012/06/regrow-roots-review-giveaway.html
Here is the giveaway:
http://melanieski.blogspot.com/2012/06/regrow-roots-review-giveaway.html
6.05.2012
The Latest on Etsy
I just added SIX NEW ITEMS to my etsy. Now I have 66 items, getting closer to the critical number...
I made three sets of scrubbie sponges last night in these beautiful colors and when I was photographing them today on the funky textured concrete outside, I decided to set them all up together in this retro square. Super cool, huh? It inspired me to sell a made to order set of 9 sponges, in custom colors.
It was an inspirational moment.
Here are some uses for these wonderful eco friendly sponges:
- cleaning dishes
- pot scrubbers
- makeup remover
- cleaning counters
- exfoliating
Can you think of any others?
Love and loops,
Desiree
It was an inspirational moment.
- cleaning dishes
- pot scrubbers
- makeup remover
- cleaning counters
- exfoliating
Can you think of any others?
Love and loops,
Desiree
Caretakers Update
We were supposed to go to the 16 acre farm where we were offered the caretaker positions, to take a look at the place and do some weeding this morning. We got up and ate breakfast at 8 and around 8:15 we got a call from Catherine. What I gathered from the short conversation with her is that she used to have a caretaker who no longer wanted to do it so she asked us, but then the guy changed his mind and wants to continue being the caretaker. So Carlos is back on the hunt for land.
My parents are looking to buy a house somewhere near Branson, because my dad works in town. Their ideal is that they find a piece of land (5+ acres) so Carlos and I can grow veggies, raise chicken for eggs and meat, and raise some dairy goats. It's mine and Carlos' dream to have land so we can live a self sufficient life and share it with others. My family has been interested in the idea for about a year, but we still haven't found anything. Actually we have found a few places, but none have worked out so far. My parents lease is up this month so we have to find something real soon so Carlos has been a busy bee, looking all the time. He found a real nice one today, but I don't want to say too much about it. :)
I was feeling real down this morning. A caretaker position would have been so wonderful and I was looking very forward to it. It made me wonder what I should do and it made me feel like I'm waiting for something to happen instead of making it happen. I feel better now. My parents are starting to support Carlos in his search more and become more active themselves. AND I got a lot of work done this morning. I finished some new dish cloths and face scrubbers. Crocheting is such a mellow out activity. It calmed my mind to sit on the patio bench and zone out. Wish us luck with the land endeavor! :)
Thanks for stopping by.
Lots of love, Desiree
My parents are looking to buy a house somewhere near Branson, because my dad works in town. Their ideal is that they find a piece of land (5+ acres) so Carlos and I can grow veggies, raise chicken for eggs and meat, and raise some dairy goats. It's mine and Carlos' dream to have land so we can live a self sufficient life and share it with others. My family has been interested in the idea for about a year, but we still haven't found anything. Actually we have found a few places, but none have worked out so far. My parents lease is up this month so we have to find something real soon so Carlos has been a busy bee, looking all the time. He found a real nice one today, but I don't want to say too much about it. :)
I was feeling real down this morning. A caretaker position would have been so wonderful and I was looking very forward to it. It made me wonder what I should do and it made me feel like I'm waiting for something to happen instead of making it happen. I feel better now. My parents are starting to support Carlos in his search more and become more active themselves. AND I got a lot of work done this morning. I finished some new dish cloths and face scrubbers. Crocheting is such a mellow out activity. It calmed my mind to sit on the patio bench and zone out. Wish us luck with the land endeavor! :)
Thanks for stopping by.
Lots of love, Desiree
6.02.2012
A Farm and A Concert
Wonderful things in my future.
Wonderful feelings in the present.
Wonderful tunes in my ears.
A Farm...
It started with a Craigslist ad that I posted for Carlos a few months ago offering music lessons for anyone interested. A lady named Catherine called to schedule violin lessons for her little niece, an adorable shy little girl who picks up dead moths and thinks turtle shells are cool. She started coming once a week and like most kids she picked it up pretty quickly. Personally, the violin is not for me. The crazy posture involved in holding a curvy, fancy block of wood and plastic between my chin and collar bone or shoulder....not for me. Anyway, the two of them hadn't been around in a couple of weeks and we didn't know what happened. Then, out of the beautiful blue, Catherine called Carlos to share a proposition with him. Turns out she has this farm on 16 acres of land with a geodesic dome house sitting on it in Omaha, AR which is right across the border of Missouri maybe 20 miles away from here. She's also got this place in Springfield, MO and she travels between the two which is a trek and she is getting tired of it...
Here is the kicker -
She wants us to be caretakers on her farm!!! WHOA I know. She has food growing there so I'm sure the beds are all prepped for lots more goodies to be planted aaand she has chickens. Chickens. I think about them during the day and I dream about them at night, chickens. We are going over there to look at the place on Tuesday so I'll try to remember and take a few pictures of the place. I'm very interested to see what this geodesic dome looks like. She said it has 1 bedroom plus 2 lofts and it's 1200 sq. feet I think... that's a big dome. It's a dream come true and I love it here.
A Concert...
Tomorrow Liberty and Justice will be playing their biggest show yet! That's my band with my boyfriend Carlos, for those of you who aren't too familiar with my life. We decided to call ourselves Liberty and Justice because our songs are about freedom, community, nature, and self empowerment... and we also mock the government a little bit, here and there. So it's a literal take on the ever popular slogan "liberty and justice for all". We take it pretty seriously and try to bring honesty into a very jaded world. We started our little duo on the road during our hitch hiking adventures last May. Me on harmonica and Carlos on banjo and we played all over the country to unsuspecting pedestrians. I now play the ukulele and Carlos also jams out on the guitar and mandolin every now and again. Since moving to Missouri we have played a show at the Farmers Market of the Ozarks and got paid with delicious local food and we also had a gig at the Springfield ArtsFest with a total of maybe 8 folks in our audience. One lovely lady gave us a $20 tip at that one! Tomorrow is day one of the Summer Concert Series that the mayor of Forsyth, Missouri is putting on as a fundraiser to feed hungry kids. Liberty and Justice will be kicking off the series at 5PM tomorrow evening and we are playing for a full TWO HOURS. Whoa. A two hour set. We've been practicing a dang awful lot the past couple of days.
There's a kicker to this story too -
A boy named Adam broke Carlos' banjo about a week and a half ago, so Carlos had to buy another banjo on ebay and it hasn't gotten here yet. The banjo and my voice are the centerpiece in our 2-piece band. Luckily we have a friend named Jim who plays the upright bass and practices with us sometimes, who just bought himself a banjo a little while ago. He said he'd meet us at the show so Carlos could borrow it. Either way, the show is going to rule!
Check out some of our music on our totally hip facebook page:
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Liberty-and-Justice/206637086113219
Have a wonderful night everyone. 'Tis almost a full moon again. :)
Wonderful feelings in the present.
Wonderful tunes in my ears.
A Farm...
It started with a Craigslist ad that I posted for Carlos a few months ago offering music lessons for anyone interested. A lady named Catherine called to schedule violin lessons for her little niece, an adorable shy little girl who picks up dead moths and thinks turtle shells are cool. She started coming once a week and like most kids she picked it up pretty quickly. Personally, the violin is not for me. The crazy posture involved in holding a curvy, fancy block of wood and plastic between my chin and collar bone or shoulder....not for me. Anyway, the two of them hadn't been around in a couple of weeks and we didn't know what happened. Then, out of the beautiful blue, Catherine called Carlos to share a proposition with him. Turns out she has this farm on 16 acres of land with a geodesic dome house sitting on it in Omaha, AR which is right across the border of Missouri maybe 20 miles away from here. She's also got this place in Springfield, MO and she travels between the two which is a trek and she is getting tired of it...
Here is the kicker -
She wants us to be caretakers on her farm!!! WHOA I know. She has food growing there so I'm sure the beds are all prepped for lots more goodies to be planted aaand she has chickens. Chickens. I think about them during the day and I dream about them at night, chickens. We are going over there to look at the place on Tuesday so I'll try to remember and take a few pictures of the place. I'm very interested to see what this geodesic dome looks like. She said it has 1 bedroom plus 2 lofts and it's 1200 sq. feet I think... that's a big dome. It's a dream come true and I love it here.
A Concert...
Tomorrow Liberty and Justice will be playing their biggest show yet! That's my band with my boyfriend Carlos, for those of you who aren't too familiar with my life. We decided to call ourselves Liberty and Justice because our songs are about freedom, community, nature, and self empowerment... and we also mock the government a little bit, here and there. So it's a literal take on the ever popular slogan "liberty and justice for all". We take it pretty seriously and try to bring honesty into a very jaded world. We started our little duo on the road during our hitch hiking adventures last May. Me on harmonica and Carlos on banjo and we played all over the country to unsuspecting pedestrians. I now play the ukulele and Carlos also jams out on the guitar and mandolin every now and again. Since moving to Missouri we have played a show at the Farmers Market of the Ozarks and got paid with delicious local food and we also had a gig at the Springfield ArtsFest with a total of maybe 8 folks in our audience. One lovely lady gave us a $20 tip at that one! Tomorrow is day one of the Summer Concert Series that the mayor of Forsyth, Missouri is putting on as a fundraiser to feed hungry kids. Liberty and Justice will be kicking off the series at 5PM tomorrow evening and we are playing for a full TWO HOURS. Whoa. A two hour set. We've been practicing a dang awful lot the past couple of days.
There's a kicker to this story too -
A boy named Adam broke Carlos' banjo about a week and a half ago, so Carlos had to buy another banjo on ebay and it hasn't gotten here yet. The banjo and my voice are the centerpiece in our 2-piece band. Luckily we have a friend named Jim who plays the upright bass and practices with us sometimes, who just bought himself a banjo a little while ago. He said he'd meet us at the show so Carlos could borrow it. Either way, the show is going to rule!
Check out some of our music on our totally hip facebook page:
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Liberty-and-Justice/206637086113219
Have a wonderful night everyone. 'Tis almost a full moon again. :)
6.01.2012
Interview by SimplyCherise
I was featured in another lovely blog!! Thank you so much, Cherise, for doing an interview with me and featuring me in your lovely blog. You are a doll!
Check out the interview here:
http://simplycherise.net/2012/06/01/featured-amazing-artist-desiree-fleck-from-re-grow-roots/
Check out the interview here:
http://simplycherise.net/2012/06/01/featured-amazing-artist-desiree-fleck-from-re-grow-roots/
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