Birds of a Feather

I started a new creative hobby this week. 
You know, with all my spare time and all.
My sweet friend, Allison, gave me this book for my birthday, and I haven't been able to put it down:

Al originally thought it was full of patterns to make items out of store-bought felt, like the little wallets that I have made for my nieces and other special ladies. Boy, was she wrong... and boy, am I so glad!  I "felt" in love with this new art the minute I opened the book.  

As I thumbed through the pages, making a list of tools and materials that I would need and that I was so sure Chris would be ecstatic for me to purchase and store in the house, my eyes fell to what I knew would be my first project: a sweet bird mobile for a new baby. Looked simple yet impressive enough that a novice like me couldn't mess up. I got myself to Joann's as hurriedly as I could and nearly fell out at how expensive a quarter of an ounce of roving was going to cost, and I needed a lot more than that. I was a bit discouraged that my new hobby was over before it began because I couldn't afford it. Sad day in the life of a stay-at-home-crafting-to-keep-sane-because-I-live-in-the-woods-and-camp-is-starting-mama. And now I wouldn't be able to make my mobile. Stink.

I pulled myself out of that close call with defeat and went home to do some more research online. Apparently, I am not the only one intrigued with this creative outlet as there were many, many websites and resources. And that's when I found these fine folks, Living Felt. I quickly and easily found what I wanted and needed to get started at extremely fair prices. I spent about $30 and got a lot of variety of wool and colors...where at J's it would have cost me almost three times that for the same amount. Not to mention my order was shipped that same day with a sweet hand-written note from the company. And then, just today, I got an email from them checking in to make sure I am enjoying my order and lending their assistance if I have any questions. They are good people, making sure they provide folks with the best product from humane practices. The only thing that could make them better is if they were local and I could support my community. I will definitely continue to order from them...

Let me back up a minute... for folks who may not know what "felting" is, because I honestly had no idea before seeing this new book, here's the rundown: It's taking raw wool called roving, dyed or natural in color, and forming it into shapes, three-dimensional or large sheets. 

There are two types: needle felting and wet felting, respectively.  I have only tried needle felting with my first project and I think I'm already attached, it may be a while before I try the wet felting. With the needle you are simply rearranging the wool fibers, interweaving them with themselves, into whatever shape you want them to be. It's repetitive and mindless once you get going, which makes it all the more wonderful.

In my first project, the chosen shape was a sweet little bird, with several spheres:

This little bluebird is a part of a bird family that is now living in my cousin Kristen's nursery for her sweet baby, Easton.  I wanted to do something unique and handmade for them and when she told me that they were doing the nursery in a "natural and earthy" theme, I knew this would be simply perfect:

I love how it turned out, especially for my first try at felting! 

Poor Noah, his mama got all domesticated after his nursery was done. And now I only have time to make things for other people. Maybe this summer, buddy...

If anyone is interested or in the market for a mobile for a baby gift or yourself, let me know. I would love to create one for you for a fair price. They are just that fun to make...

And for your viewing pleasure, a few photos of the photographer:

                           

                           

Home Sweet Pensacola

I came "home" for the week to surprise my mama for her retirement celebration. Littleford and I packed up the car, with Chris' help, and headed down on Wednesday, meeting my dad in Prattville, AL to follow him the rest of the way. Yes, I know my way to my childhood home, but he had sweet Abbie with him and she is one of Noah's favorite six cousins, which also meant entertainment in the backseat for the last few hours of the drive.

Bowens, Fords, & Bullingtons at Mom's Retirement Shindig

Fords & Bullingtons

Dinner at Fridays with Mom and Fifth Grade Teachers

I remember now why I don't like margaritas...tequila = headache.

Noah likes the carpet...much more than tile.

Cheeseball

Look at those teeth...two more on the top coming in.
Kisses from the mama...
Papa and littleford...they spent the evening together while margarita madness ensued.
Love this boy. More than my hippie crystal.

We have done lots since getting here and still have a long list to check off before heading north...We miss daddy though. Noah told me so.

But we would miss daddy either way...camp has started!

Look forward to much more blogging, the life of camp widow has begun for Summer2010.

Fair Warning

Warning: I am about to try out my hippie crystal for the first time in the hot Florida sun. Now we will really put it to the test. It's worked so far in hot and sticky situations (literally) but it could meet it's match with the southern heat. Let's have faith and hope not.
I will conjur up the hippie spirits to be with me and my armpits this afternoon.

But just in case they aren't listening, I will go ahead and apologize in advance to any family or friends in my close proximity if it fails miserably.

Consider this your first and final warning.

Bring it, Florida.

Sudsy

In the spirit of homemade and crafting, I just finished my first batch of chlorine and bleach-free laundry detergent. Mostly I thought it would be entertaining and something to fill my creative itch, but hello, affordable. I will explain cost-effectiveness in more detail in a moment, but the ten gallon yield of suds would cost around eighty dollars, conservatively, if using ready-made detergent.
Yes, sign me up please. Twice.

Ingredients: Borax, Washing Soda, Fels-Naptha Soap, Water

Top to right: Melting Fels-Naptha, Stirring in Borax & Washing Soda, Finished Product (thickens overnight)

Love it. And it works... even on poopy cloth diapers.

I will have to say that I am a little embarrassed about where I found the recipe... You know the family on TLC that has a bajillion children and counting? Yes, I admit, I swiped this recipe from their family website. Probably the only thing that I will "borrow" from their approach at life, but for the soap, I am thankful.

So here is the cost breakdown:

20 Mule Team Borax                                            $6.75

Arm & Hammer Super Washing Soda         $3.79

Fels-Naptha Soap                                                  $.99

5 Gallon Bucket w/ Lid                                          $4.00
Essential Oil (optional)                                          $7.00
Water                                                                     FREE
________________________________________________
10 Gallons of Laundry Suds                                $22.53

So when you compare that each gallon costs about $2.25 each of homemade suds versus most basic suds (conservatively) range anywhere from $6-14 for the same amount of soap. Also, it's natural and "free & clear" as far as chlorine and bleaches are concerned.  I win.  And the only thing that I will have to buy more of each time, for a while, is the Fels-Naptha soap. The other ingredients will last several batches...but it will take me a while to even go through the first batch, and we do a ton of laundry around here! I win again.

Chris questions why we use soap at all after listening to the folks on NPR tell us that it's unnecessary, it only makes your clothes smell good. If you don't mind the smell of water, suds are just bonus.

The Face I Love to Live For

And live to love for.

Captain Noah Greenbeard.
He doesn't really like avocados, but he sure does make them look good.

Down County Road 876

"As you come to Him, the living Stone-rejected by men but chosen by God and precious to Him-you also like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ." -1 Peter 2:4-5

Good things are happening at Camp Living Stones. Other than the fact that my brother and dear friends live/work there and that's awesome enough, they have completed and now dedicated their brand spanking new chapel. And it is breathtaking. The Ford fam ventured out Saturday afternoon for the celebration with other friends and family of the camp.

You see, CLS has a unique mission and "style" of camping. First off, it is a family-owned and managed operation, dreamed up by the Smeltzer family several years ago. Their first summer with campers was in 1998 and I believe at that time there were three buildings total ( give or take a few, correct me if I am wrong).  Part of the deal is that the students who come with the church groups get to lend their hands and hard work at a mission project, usually involving construction or camp beautification. I was there in the summer of 2000 when they put the walls on the dining hall. When I got there it was just a concrete foundation...one week later the walls were in place. It is one of the most beautiful and peaceful places I've ever been, and I've been to many camps. Many others pale in comparison, and to think, the majority of the work has been done by teenagers and their leaders. Amazing.  My parents have lent their skills as well - my dad on the chapel, library, cabins...my mom in the kitchen and other projects around camp. It's quite incredible to love, sweat, and tears that have been poured into this place. How many places can you go and say "I helped build that"... not many, right? Unless you are Bob the Builder or something...

I learned the other day from Mama Smeltzer that there is a man at their church who repeatedly reminds them, since they started, that they are crazy for doing what they do. And in most cases, it probably sounded like a pipe dream. But these people have heart, have hope, have faith in the promises of Jesus and his grace. They would be one shade shy of insanity if they were going at it alone, but their faith is so big it envelopes you when you share in conversation and laughter with them. You feel like you're at home, like your presence is appreciated, like you're part of the family. 

I am proud to be a part of their extended family and honored to share in their mighty blessings. Here's to you, Camp Living Stones, for twelve years of ministry and many more to come.

"Blessed are those who hunger 

and thirst for righteousness,  

because they will be filled."

Holy Cow: Part One

Ask and you shall receive, right?
Well, we received alright. A swift kick in the reality rear, delivered by:

Holy cow. 

If you haven't seen it, you need to. Not so you can jump on some radical activist bandwagon or become president of PETA, rather so you can be informed, for your health and your family's health. How do we, as a country on the whole, not know or care what we put in our bodies at least three times a day, every single day? Blows my mind. 

Here are a few things the film has me thinking about:

• Did you know that there is ammonia in most of the beef you consume? Yes, a "meat filler" is doused in ammonia and then added to the beef to help reduce the risk of E.coli.  And why is there a rise (73,000 cases in 2007) in E.coli ? Because the cows are overcrowded into small confinements where they spend most of their time "knee deep" in their own waste, are corn-fed, not grass-fed, which increases the risk of the virus because their digestive systems aren't producing what it needs to fight off the bacteria. Nice.
• Corn is in everything. EVERYTHING. Thirty percent of the land in the United States is used for mass corn production. Corn products include, but not limited to: ketchup, cheese, Twinkies, batteries, peanut butter, Cheez-Its, salad dressings, Coke, jelly, Sweet & Low, syrup, juice,
  Kool-Aid, charcoal, diapers, Motrin, meat and fast food. Even better.
• Seventy percent of processed foods have some genetically modified ingredient. There are approximately 47,000 products found in an American supermarket, most of which are made by a few companies. Awesome.
• In the largest slaughter house in the country located in North Carolina, 32,000 pigs are sent to their death each day. EACH DAY. Most of the workers there are immigrants from Mexico that are bussed in daily from a 100-mile radius...and the company has an agreement with the government to turn them over for immigration violations, fifteen per day. This is the thanks they get for slinging bacteria-ridden pork for you and me to consume for the past fifteen years. Sweet.
• And this one absolutely makes my skin crawl: In 1972, the FDA conducted 50,000 food safety inspections. In 2006, the FDA conducted only 9,164. In 1998, the USDA implemented microbial testing for salmonella and E.coli 0157h7 so that if a plant repeatedly failed these tests, the USDA could
  shut down the plant. After being taken to court by the meat and poultry associations, the USDA no longer has that power. Yep, that's right. Keep on cranking out that bacteria, big meat companies, we can't stop you. Are you kidding me?
• How are the farmers fairing these days, being "owned" by the big man? The average chicken farmer invests over $500,000 and makes only $18,000 a year, making it next to impossible to break free from the "man". And that's only if their contracts aren't terminated for things like refusing to build chicken houses where the birds literally never see the light of day. Then what? Farming, the backbone of our country's short history quickly dies to mass-production meat and produce factories. Heartbreaking.

And this is just the tip of the iceberg, a glimpse into all that the film uncovers that I believe everyone needs and deserves to know about. Once you have the facts, you can decide for yourself what you want to do about it, if anything at all, but don't we at least have the right to know? The film mentions that we are actually buying the processed foods at a much higher cost than the price that is being sold to us: the cost of our health.

As the title of this post mentions, this is Part One. Keep checking back for what Chris and I plan to do to change our habits and routine. I will tell you this much, I have been all over the web this morning researching local beef and chicken farms. After we consume what's in our fridge, as to not be wasteful, we will no longer turn a blind eye to the source of our meat. It will cost more financially, but so worth it in the long run.

I may not be able to have Bessie in the backyard, but I will come as close as I can. I can maybe finagle a chicken or two for fresh eggs...
As anyone semi-local interested in going in on a local, grass-fed heifer? They run about $600 - 800 for a whole cow, approximately $4/lb...

These facts are all taken from the Press Materials for the Food, Inc Movie, directed by Robert Kenner.