Let It Snow

 

This is the window in the living room after we hung the snowflakes on 

Christmas Eve. We are really happy with how it turned out, plus it was so cute when Lola 

discovered the "snow." See the tutorial on how to make snowflakes here.

We hung the flakes with fishing line by threading it loosely through 

the openings in the flakes, and then tied the line around the curtain rod.

 

White Christmas

Pin It

I thought I'd share a few pictures from

the Christmas we went in search of the perfect tree on snowshoes.

This was back when Jet was our only baby.

That shadowy figure is Jet, the snow was so deep that day it was almost over his head.

I never did remember to zip up my pockets.

Jeff taking a little break after a few miles, and before cutting down the tree.

This is about when he realized that he had forgotten the ropes to
pull the tree out of the woods. When we got home, the were on the front porch.

Waiting so patiently!

I'm disappointed that I didn't take a better photo of the decorated tree, because it really
did look great, I think you can get the idea though. It was very minimal, and very Scandinavian with only a few porcelain birds, large felted snowflakes, cranberries, pine cones, white lights and one trout for Jeff.

Truly a storybook Christmas for us.


This year we are going to be making our own white Christmas, 
look forward to that post in a bit.

Going Soap Nuts

Soap Nuts are not nuts at all really, they are actually berries of the sapindus tree.

When the berries ripen and drop to the ground they are collected and dried naturally
in the sun free of any pesticides or chemicals. This entirely eco-friendly, chemical free,
and hypo-allergenic laundry soap comes from the hard outer shell of the berry that
contains saponin (a natural detergent with anti-microbial properties) that is released
from the soap nut when it's agitated in water. The saponin acts as a water surfactant,
which enables water to penetrate fabric and mix with the dirt and oils so it can be
removed when the water is drained resulting in clean clothes without
the need for a rinse cycle.

Soap nuts are low sudsing so they are safe for HE washers, are gentle enough to
use on cloth diapers, and do not have added perfumes. However, if you prefer your
clothes to be scented you can always add a little of your favorite
essential oil to the wash bag.

 

To use them is as easy as can be, you simply pop 4 to 6 soap nuts into a wash bag
(which is usually provided with your order, but you can use any drawstring cloth bag),
and pop it into the washer. These same nuts will wash approximately 5 loads of laundry
(cold water allows for more washings). When the soap nuts have released all the saponin
(you will know because they will be shiny), go ahead and  toss them into your compost.

Not only are soap nuts much more eco-friendly (not requiring extra packaging, using
less energy, and require less water without the need for a rinse cycle) and 100% biodegradable, they are also MUCH cheaper than traditional laundry detergents. While traditional detergents average $11 for a 64 load bottle (17¢ a load) a $22 bag of soap
nuts yields on average approximately 300 loads of laundry equaling .076¢ a load.

 The sapindus is native to Nepal, India, and some parts of Asia but will thrive in most

tropical regions inculuding some areas of the US. You can find out more about growing
your own sapindus here.  But be warned, if you are thinking of re-landscaping,
it takes about 10 years for the tree to produce the berries. 

Cabin Fever

When I began this blog, or at least when the original concept for the blog came to me
(well over a year and a half ago now), I was extremely passionate about what it was that
I wanted to do, that I had something relevant to say, something that I believed would
interest, and perhaps even inspire readers (my mom, my sister, and best friend at first,
and then perhaps if I was right...in time...maybe, even a few strangers).

Inspiration first came when Jeff and I were living in a 90+ year old cabin in the middle
of the San Juan Mountains just outside Telluride, Colorado. The cabin was charming
and quirky, and was exactly what we were looking for. We knew it was going to be much
different from anything we were used to, a little harder, and liked that about it.

Jeff split wood while I would stack it (he would later re-stack it because he is a
perfectionist, which is one of the things that I love about him), we burned the wood for
heat, and we made everything from our bread to the cat's food ourselves (in part as a
conscious decision, and in part because the nearest mini market was an hour round trip
drive in the snow, and four hours round trip to the grocery store). Trash collection was
minimal, and so we reused and re-purposed absolutely everything. We didn't have TV, and
did not get cell reception. We did have internet, but it was spotty due to winter storms,
so mostly we didn't have internet. This was an incredible life experience, and a test
of what it means to live simply (hence the name of the blog).

The cabin was the first place that Jeff and I lived together, the place where we learned
so much about ourselves, and one another, the place where our daughter Lola was
conceived (no TV, no internet, barely any heat...we had to do something) and
a place that we both loved (I can say love now, because distance in time affords
you the benefit of nostalgia).

Since the first concept for this blog came to me, many many things have changed in my
life (having a baby, moving across the county, the decision to pursue a career as an art
teacher, and quite honestly a better understanding of blogs), and as a result so then will the
content of the blog, although my original concept of living simply, creating by hand, seeing
beauty in flaws, and striving to make the world a bit of a better place environmentally,
socially, and aesthetically both locally and globally remain.

I imagine that as I now start posting regularly (something that I have not been able to
do until now) I will start with the present, and occasionally tell you some of our wild
stories of life in the mountains (like the time that we had a sheet of  ice coating
the entire inside of the exterior wall in the kitchen, or when I stepped in snow in bare feet...in the living room, or how we hiked on snow shoes several miles into the woods during
a blizzard to cut down our own Christmas Tree...and then had to drag it back out...with the ropes we intended to use forgotten on the porch). The truth is, I intend to allow "Simply Living" to take on a life of it's own, and allow it to grow as it does. No formula, no strict schedule, just aspirations of fantastic blogging, and simply living of course.