Milestones...

This is post number 300! Wow... and it certainly took me long enough.

I know I've been absent for... oh, a couple weeks now, but I have very good reasons for that. My life has changed dramatically in those two weeks. I have become completely obsessed with voluntary simplicity. I have borrowed just about every book the library has on the subject and have been obsessively reading through them (the best of which has been Affluenza, it's humorous and poignant all at the same time.) It's become obvious to me that environmental degradation stems from this rampant consumer lifestyle that is characteristic of Americans. The more I research this subject, the more I feel like I'm taking control of my life. I think it's stated best with the phrase 'the best things in life aren't things.'

On top of that, I've had another major life event... I've found an apartment. Up until this point in my life, I've always lived with family or roommates. I've always known that living on my own was something I had to do at least once in my life. As things generally go for me, the perfect apartment, in the perfect location practically fell into my lap. It is minutes from my mom, my brother, the food co-op and my all-time favorite mexican restaurant. I could bike anywhere I need to go except work (though, at this point, I don't have a bike.) It's closer to work so I won't have to drive as far. On top of all that... it's in my price range. I put a deposit on it and will be moving in in the next week or so.

When I was there putting down the deposit I took some pictures...This is a picture of the living room into the dining room (I never thought I'd be lucky enough to afford a dining room too!)

This is the bedroom where the windows all look out onto the street.

This is a picture of the study that's off of the bedroom. Guess what I'm using that for? Knitting/spinning room, anyone? I wonder to myself how I got this lucky. Right place at the right time I suppose.

So planning and packing for this move have been taking up my time a bit. I'm just so excited.

These last couple of weeks have had some gorgeous weather also. The monthly meeting of my knitting group two weekends ago was just about the most beautiful day.
One week later, even more trees were in bloom.

With so many things going on, it's no wonder I've had no time to blog...

Happy Spring everyone.

Reduce, Reuse, Recycle

I've been very inspired recently to become less of a consumer (this is all a part of my quest to be more environmentally conscious.) It's an interesting journey I've taken so far. Starting with the animals then moving to the environment and now it seems I've come to the root of the problem. Endlessly consuming stuff is really taking it's toll on our planet and those living on it (including humans.)

So, reduce, reuse, recycle it is! I've stopped using plastic bags, not only at the grocery store, but also other stores (which I have to admit, I haven't been to any in awhile.) I always bring my travel mug with me to the coffee shop. I've started using all natural cleaners for my apartment, ie. baking soda, vinegar, etc (I'm amazed at how well it works!) I use handkerchiefs instead of tissues.

I have been on a major kick of knitting dishcloths. Not only do I want to stop my use of paper towels, but I don't really want to buy sponges anymore. I was inspired the other day to reuse something you wouldn't normally think of....

Those old shower puffs. I had one just lying around.
What's a girl to do but cut it up into one long strip...
And knit it into a dishcloth....
As dishcloths go, they don't take very long to knit (though it can be a bit more time consuming wrangling the puff strip) so I finished it very quickly.I don't care what's stuck on my pans, this thing is sure to get it off!

I also started a ballband dishcloth. So far, so good...