New Deck

We FINALLY have a fully operational deck!  It took up all summer, but better late than never. 

Let's see it started in April when we hired a friend to build it.  The first day of demolition was enough to make anyone nervous. 

Building took about 2 months since our friend was doing the building on weekends and free days.  After getting it all built, I waited for the stars to align to do some staining.  I needed a day that wasn't too hot or cold, a day that would be followed by dry days without rain forecast, and most difficult of all a day that I had back-up for watching the baby.   Tricky, huh.  Truth be told the deck still isn't completely stained, but I think the high side has been knocked off it. 

The last piece of the puzzle was getting some furniture for the deck, and this one took a while.  After paying for it all to be built we had limited resources set aside for shopping, which meant waiting for a clearance sale.  The umbrella and base came from Kohl's bought on clearance with a 30% off coupon.  After using it I wouldn't recommend it, but it will last a little while.  Then the furniture came from Sears - also on clearance.  I had been shopping craigslist looking for a lucky find for a couple weeks - and I think S just got tired of hearing about it.  We went shopping and after some minor dramas found what we wanted.  I put together the chairs, and he helped with the table and voila!

Now we have an excuse to invite everyone over for some grilling!

Homemade Tooth Powder

We made our very own homemade toothpaste for the first time today!  It was super easy, and means that we will never have to throw away another toothpaste tube ever again.  Here is the recipe if you would like to give it a try in your own household.

2 T Salt
5 T Baking Soda

I put the above together in a blender to mix them well.  It costs pennies, and it lasts forever - or about 8 months for 1 user.  Just dip in your damp toothbrush and away you go!  I would probably recommend separate containers for different people, unless they are people you are okay swapping germs with them.  You can even flavor your powder if you wish.  Once the garden has a good supply of mint in it I intend to blend some in, you could even blend in a bit of Cinnamon or Clove if desired.  For those who are concerned with such things, according to the all knowing interwebs this is less abrasive than most commercial toothpastes.  I'll let you know if my dentist has any comments for us after we've been using it for a while.

**UPDATE**
So this week we had our dentist appointments.  Remember when dentist appointments used to mean sunglasses, and posters on the ceiling?  Now kids get TV's up there!  After gathering our courage we sat in the chair of torture and got the verdict.  No new cavities.  Hooray!  Spencer felt that there was less "scraping" then last time.  And I received the comment that my teeth had a surprisingly small amount of tarter build-up on them.  So I think that this recipe is a keeper!!
My Hygienist even asked me if I used an electric toothbush she was so impressed! 
As far as the recipe goes I did give some of the additional spices a try.  I added a bit of Cinnamon and Clove.  These make it look kinda gross when you spit - and fail to add any flavor whatsoever, but supposedly there are some antibacterial benefits or something.  To be honest I didn't find it worthwhile, and I probably wont be adding it in the future.

I wonder . . . should I try a Homemade Mouthwash next?

The Great Escape...attempt.

It’s been 1 week since the worms arrived. They are still climbing the sides of the bin. This morning when I checked the population numbers on the wall were up.

 

They are obviously eating something. They have grown considerably since their arrival. Why are they crawling and clumping on the side of the bin? There must still be a problem with the bin…

I had a few theories. The bin is too cold and it may be warmer towards the top. The existing food and bedding is not homogenous enough. The existing food is not diverse enough.

Of these theories the warmth one has been debunked. I dug to the bottom and it’s quite a comfortable temperature there and worms are found there. As for the other theories I don’t know really how to test them. I have mixed the bin up to distribute/homogenize everything. The only food I’ve added since adding the compost has been a piece of tomato. Keep in mind they loved the compost I fed them, this was a diverse food source for sure. The tomato was just for fun to see how long it would take for them to get to it in my new bin.

For now I’m feeling like the worms and I are competing with one another. Not my preference of roles but I’m determined to be more persistent then the worms. As long as they aren’t dying, I’ll eventually provide them with a comfortable home that they can flourish in. Until then it’s eat what you have or go hungry.  Below you can see a cluster of baby worms already!

Vermicomposting has begun. A modest 1000 Red Wigglers.

Welcome to Spencer's newest hobby!  My basement is full of worms!  The adventure began a couple weeks ago when Spencer created the holding facility based on an online design he found.  I'll try have him link it here for you so you can make your own!  (I know you want to.)  Then he began scouring websites to find just the very best breeders, you can't accept worms from just anywhere you know.  After settling on his favorite it just became a waiting game with Mr. Postman.  Spencer had high hopes that they would arrive before Easter so he could share his excitement with all of our house guests.  But unfortunately they didn't make it here until Monday.  When Spencer heard they were here he just couldn't wait to get them moved into their new home.  After tossing them in though it seemed they were wriggling as fast as they could for the exits!  What could be wrong!  Spencer quickly turned to online forums to try and find out the problem, and when I got home he was in full panic mode.  The web stated that if they don't like the food they will try and escape, but since he followed all the directions he couldn't figure out the problem.  Spencer had also discovered that he was a bit more squemish about touching them than he thought he would be.  Ignorance can sometimes be bliss.  I said that the worms were just confused, and didn't feel at home yet.  I had Spencer throw a bit of the outdoor compost in the bin to make them feel cozy.  And I grabbed all the worms that were trying to get away and threw them back in.  After a little bit Spencer took off his gloves and managed to touch the worms too and helped toss them in the middle of the bin.  Sure enough after a night in yummy good compost the worms were ready to settle in and get to work.  Soon we'll have black gold!