Here he is....

Meet Angora Eden Niko

I drove to Indiana this morning to meet a very nice young man, Dustin Maschino, who is selling several French Angora juniors for his friend who is ill. Her rabbitry is where the 'Angora Eden' prefix comes from. I wasn't sure what his name would be, but when I saw him, none of the ones I had considered seemed to fit.  On the drive home, it came to me....Niko.  (Nee-koh)

He is the result of a brother/sister mating ( ! ), so I thought about Caligula  (ha - ha),  but decided not to do that to the little guy, besides not wanting such a gruesome name here.   Although that would be too close in most other species, I'm told that is done sometimes, but rarely, in rabbits for the same reason anyone would line-breed, to try to imprint good qualities on future generations. 

His color is a mystery.  Dad was a smoke pearl, Mom a lilac. In this photo from Dustin's blog, Niko's face and paws look very 'taupe,' but really he is quite a bit lighter.  His face and front paws are a light beigey/fawn shade.  He does have some gray mixed in on his nose, but lighter than the photo.  His back paws are barely colored, and his tail is the same as his body color.   His pedigree says 'lilac tort,' but Dustin says he is definitely a chocolate pearl.  The irises of his eyes are dark for sure, but I haven't gotten a good enough look in strong light to make out the color, and his pupils definitely are a red/pink.   His body color is a lovely creamy/white, and baby soft.  He is still a 'baby,' at four months old, even though he is every bit as big as my other rabbits.  (It's amazing how fast they grow)

He's a sweet little guy, who doesn't seem to mind being picked up - unlike 'the girls,' who still hate that - and seemed to take the car ride and new surroundings in stride.  He is very inquisitive, sniffing everything, and sitting up on his back legs to look around.  As  before, the cats took a look, but were otherwise unperturbed, and he doesn't seem to mind them either .  Niko is resting in his brand new cage now, getting used to his new home.  No, I'm not planning to breed him to one of my girls.  He will be a fiber producer.  But now the next one ........

Something's coming, something good.....

But I'll say no more just yet.  Suffice it to say I am spending this weekend assembling cages......

Most of my seeds have started, but because the only place I have for them isn't the best for direct sun, they are are already very leggy.  That's OK for tomatoes, because you can bury the stem when you transplant.  I'm not sure about the rest.   I am going to try to grow a little of a lot of things.  I have Japanese-style eggplant, patty pan squash, beets (I hate beets, but they say when they are pulled up as babies and roasted, they are completely different), bush beans, a few different tomatoes, potatoes (in buckets) and as usual, lots of herbs.   I yanked out clumps of lambs ear yesterday to make room for them.  I left a few small clumps, and it spreads so fast, there is no danger of not having any left.  I have not been able to find sugar snap pea 'seeds,' but I would like to grow some of those too.

There were lots of signs of life in the garden yesterday.  Crocus and early daffodils up, Dutch Iris and daylilies sprouting, the few roses I have left are budding, along with Alpine strawberries and artemesia putting forth new growth.  (My garden is both ornamental and food crops)  As beautiful and warm as it was yesterday, it is hard to resist the temptation to start putting things in the ground, BUT....... we are far away from our last frost date, so only cold-loving plants need apply at this point.

I bought a blueberry plant ("Duke" variety) which is supposed to be able to be grown in containers, so I am going to give it a shot.   I bought a bunch of 5-gallon buckets at Lowe's - less expensive and sturdier than plastic pots - and will be growing some things in those.     I don't think I am the only one more interested in growing some of my own food this season. At Lowe's, they had LOTS of food plants for sale - potatoes, asparagus, grapes, blueberries, raspberries, strawberries, and many more.  Much more than I have seen in the past.  It's a good trend.

seed time

The seed catalogs have been out for a while.  I only get one or two, but when I saw the price of seeds had gone up 100% or more this year, I pushed them aside.   Since then, I've decided I should look for non-hybrid varieties that I can save seed from year-to-year.   I found this place http://highmowingseeds.com/  and really liked it.  Completely organic, mostly non-hybrid, and some heritage varieties.  They don't have a huge selection, but I have a postage-stamp sized garden.  I ordered 5 or 6 packs and got good, very quick service at a good price.

When I first moved into my townhouse, I planted a big English-style flower garden.  I reduced the size of the plot a few years ago, and over the years droughts, hard winters and short-lived perennials left holes.  That's where I plant, mixing flowers, veggies, and lots of herbs.  Herbs can be tucked in almost anywhere and are so easy to grow - not to mention the difference it makes in cooking.  Fresh, or (in the winter) home-dried herbs have SO much more flavor that the grocery store varieties.  For those, I buy local, already started plants in pots. 

This year I want to try growing potatoes in a tub, and utilizing my deck stairs for more pots.  For varieties that need to be staked - the railing makes an automatic stake to tie to.   I bought a drying variety of paste tomato and want to try sun-drying some.  My deck gets incredibly hot in the afternoon, so it seems like a possibility.     

Collections

I'm not one of those streamlined, no-clutter people.  I have to have things around me that I consider beautiful and love to look at.  I have some things I collect on purpose, and some things I backed into - until I realized I had enough of them I should admit they were a collection.

Years ago, I started collecting sterling teaspoons in flea markets.  Just one of a kind, never with the intention of accumulating a set.  In fact, I think their beauty is diminished when duplicated so many times on a table.    

I looked for ones that were old ( a few of mine are over 100 years old)  more elaborate patterns, and especially ones with hand-engraving.  Even if it's not my name or inital, hand-engraving is so beautiful, and rare now.  I never spent much - I don't think ever more than $12.  I gave a few away as gifts when they had the name or initial of the person on it. One person loves hers and talks about it to this day - the other looked at me like I was nuts. (shrugs)  When I had enough to fill one of those spoon racks you hang on the wall, I quit.  They are harder to find now, and with the price of silver now, no longer inexpensive. 

I also collect pretty china plates. Again, only one of each (although I have a few "Blue Willow).  I hang them on the wall as art, and in plate stands to put a dash of color or pattern in a room.

.

I have a couple of antiques, but mostly they are found at places like Home Goods (one of my favorite stores)  There is no theme of pattern or color - just what I think is pretty, or would make a nice seasonal decoration. 

I recently found this blog,  Little Red House.   I love her photographs, and she collects many of the things I love too.  Her style is waaay more formal than mine, but I'm loving reading her blog.

I was given a couple of creamers that had belonged to a great-great Aunt.  The cat knocked the sugar bowl off the shelf, leaving the creamer....I bought a few more over time, some porcelain and flowery, some pottery - hand-thrown or yellow ware....yeah, it's a collection.  

I have stacks of cotton tea towels.....a few 'sheepy' items..... now that the rabbits have come, I had to get some bunnie-themed stuff.....  More books than will fit on my two tall bookcases.....We won't even talk about my spindles, niddy-noddies, and other spinning paraphernalia....but those are working tools right? 

Oh $^@%!!!!     It's no wonder my house is such a mess.  There may be a 'hoarders' intervention any minute!!!     But, somehow I suspect I'm not alone.  What do you collect?     

Introducing the family

I've barely mentioned my 'family' of four cats.  All are rescues - one out of a parking lot where she was dumped as a baby, and the other three from shelters. 

I should start with the one who has been here the longest, but she has been camera-shy.  Instead, the photo is of Yoshi, the youngest.  I had two cats and my Sheltie, Smudge, until a year ago when Smudge died of Lymphoma.  The house seemed empty without him.  I did some serious examination of my age, activity level, living circumstances, and decided cats were a more reasonable pet for me than another dog.  So, I went to a no-kill animal shelter in Woodford County, and among the many, many cats they had were 5 or 6 half-grown kittens in a cage that looked like it was meant for a Parrot.    The littlest one, a male named Ricky, came home with me and was re-named Yoshi.  After looking at 'him' for a while, I got a little suspicious, and when we went to the vet for 'his' first visit, found that 'he' was a 'she!!!!"   Yoshi was not very socialized, and took a while to warm up to me.  She is still a little skittish at times, and loves to rough-house with my only male kitty.  She is the first to jump in the bed with me at night to snuggle, though!  

What's in a name.....

I've decided to name my house.  It will also serve as a 'business' name if I ever get ambitious enough to create some fiber related items to sell.  It would also be the name of my rabbitry.......such as it is.

I wanted something charming, but not too cute....my townhouse is tiny, so something diminutive would serve......I mulled over a few names, but today I think it came to me.  Wren Cottage.

For someone reading this but not living in this area, we had a lot of snow overnight.  One of my first tasks was to go out and fill the bird feeder on my deck.  All sorts of birds visited today - the usual Doves and Sparrows, some loudmouth young Grackles, Red and Purple Finches, Titmice, Chickadees, a female Cardinal, Juncos, then late in the day, a little brown Wren.   The others were certainly flashier, but there was something appealing about that little bird with her jaunty tail (I like to think it was a her).  It perched on a flower pot and stayed a long time after eating. I tried to get a photo, but it flew away.

I've been searching the net for images of wrens.  I would like to use one as a model to  paint a sign for the front of my house - and I also want to do a small version of one of those great 'barn quilts' for the back deck of my 'farm.'

I think giving my house a name will give it more personality than just a house, and names need not be reserved for just rural property.

Urban Homesteading: homemade laundry detergent

Oh boy!  I'll bet you can hardly wait to read this one!  Here are some tips on saving money, energy, and re-using some things instead of sending them to the landfill.

Homemade laundry detergent is not something I invented, in fact there are 'recipes' for it all over the internet. Over a year ago, 1) my favorite brand of detergent - ERA liquid - could no longer be found.  According to the website, it is still made, but I haven't found stores locally that carry it any longer.  2) I got tired of prices going up and up, and when I found myself spending about $5 for a bottle of laundry detergent, I thought "Enough!  This is crazy!"  Thus began my experiment with homemade laundry detergent and softener.

The recipe I use is this:

1/3 bar of Fels Naptha Soap - grated

1/2 cup Arm & Hammer Washing Soda (not baking soda)

1/2 cup 20 Mule Team Borax

2 gallon bucket  - with a lid - to mix it up in  (Lowes or Home Depot)

I managed to find all of these things in local stores, but not all in the same place.  I found Fels Naptha at Meier, the washing soda and borax at Kroger - all in the laundry section.   Fels Naptha is a bar of yellow soap that your Grandmother (or Great-Grandmother, depending  on your age), probably used to wash her clothes.  The other websites that talk about this say Ivory, Zote, Castille, and home-made soap can all be used successfully (the Ivory, castille and Zote, I'm told  take a whole bar)   For larger families. there are recipes that explain how to make this five gallons (!!) at a time.

To make it:   put 6 cups of water in a large saucepan on the stove over med heat.  Add grated soap and stir until soap is melted.  Fill 2 gallon bucket 1/2 full of hot water at the sink - add the soap and water mixture.  Add washing soda and borax.  Mix well (I use a large whisk).  Top off the mixture with more hot water from the sink and mix well again.  Cover with lid and let set overnight.   It will not gel completely.  It may be gel on the top, with a layer of liquid on the bottom, or liquid with blobs of gel in it.  This is how it should look.  Just mix it up before using and/or transfering to a smaller container.

I transfer some to a plastic juice bottle, well cleaned, that I keep next to the washing machine. I shake to mix before each use, and use about 1/2 cup for each load.    An extra step I take is to pour the bucket contents into a large plastic cat litter container that has been well cleaned out.  The handle and large pour opening on the cat litter container allow  me to lift and pour the liquid into a smaller bottle easily, and stores better in my space than a large round bucket.  NOTE: You will not see suds in the wash - that is the way it is supposed to be, but IT IS CLEANING.

It took a bit of getting used to, but yes - I've been using it for over a year now - I do like this, and  see no need to go back to expensive store-bought.  Yes, I keep some Tide and Woolite around.  If it is a delicate fabric or strong color I'm concerned will fade, I may Woolite it.  I do pre-treat stains, but I had to do that before!  It smells fresh and clean, and although I have not figured the exact cost - it is literally pennies a load.

Softener was a little harder sell for me.  I have never liked softener sheets.  I felt like they left a greasy film on the clothes, so I always used a liquid softener.  There are lots of tips out there for using sponges and/or washcloths soaked with softener, dried and used as a substitute dryer sheet, but they weren't for me.  For a while I used a mix I found on the internet that was about 1/3 water, 1/3 white vinegar, and 1/3 cheap hair conditioner, but I didn't like that either.  I finally settled on plain water and white vinegar.  That's right!  My clothes ARE soft - especially the towels - and do not smell of vinegar.  You could just use straight white vinegar, but I mix it half-and-half in another one of my cleaned-out juice bottles so it's sort of pre-mixed.  I really feel it takes out any remaining soap residue, and removes odors (with a houseful of  animals, that is necessary)

I find myself hanging more and more of my clothes to dry rather than put them in the dryer.  No wrinkles, they might last longer (?) and it certainly saves on the energy!   Long ago for drying skeins of wool, I bought a second shower rod, and placed it so it was inside the tub - down the middle.  I am fairly short, so it doesn't interfere with showering in any way, and when the shower is not being used, adds SO much more space to hang clothes (or skeins of wool) to dry.

I hope these tips are as useful to some of you as they have been for me.