Thinking again about trying graywater from the kitchen.  Kitchen graywater has more gravity working for it than my laundry water would.

If I ran it thru two barrels first and then out to a salt-tolerant marshy planter, it could be wonderful, beautiful and productive.  I think there's just enough space to do this.  Two barrels with sand filter would ( Read more... )

Last night I pulled down the curtains, took them outside to shake off some of the dust, and finally FINALLY hemmed them to fit the windows.  They've only been waiting, like, 4 years.  I put the curtains in the washer, then cleaned the tub and toilet.  Because it was tub & toilet day.

I tried to clean the shower curtain but was not quite ( Read more... )

I began Saturday morning by washing both Harley Beau and Princess.  This occured on the back step, with a half gallon jug of soapy water and two gallons of rinse water.  House Fae fussed at Harley for rolling in the dust immediately afterwards.

We ran a couple errands in M'boro with Ryk, and discovered that there is a Saturday morning farmers ( Read more... )

I am working on making my dryer machine obsolete.  Three reasons to do so:

1. To save electricity and therefore money
  2. To see just that much less coal ash produced in Tennessee 
  3. To regain the 6 or 8 square feet of kitchen space that the dryer currently occupies

( this could only interest a fellow hard-core greenie...read on if you qualify )

Week 2 almost complete.  We're taking tonight off.  It's full Moon, it's almost Ryk's birthday, and I need a break.

My fingers and knuckles hurt, my shoulders are sore, my back aches, and my feet are killing me.  Scraping paint and old caulk off a house is no fun at all.  It's so bad that I've been delighted to walk into the office nearly every ( Read more... )

It was one of THOSE weekends.  Not bad, in fact, pretty good.  But after spending 2 hours on a Sunday afternoon in 95 degree weather (35 celcius to the entire rest of the world) scraping paint and smelling primer, I became supremely happy to have a day job that involved a desk and computer.

When you are 8 feet up a ladder with a container of ( Read more... )

For the foreseeable future, I will be showering in the evening.

I began scraping paint off of Sundog Manor's exterior on Saturday morning.  The wire brushes accomplished almost nothing, so I tried a glass scraper.  And my thumbnail.  I didn't get far.

Ryk showed up with a magic tool known as a "putty knife."  It slid under the flaking paint and ( Read more... )

I have to start projects small.  Doesn't matter what kind of project.  I have to start small, and familiar.  So I began painting my house by cleaning my bathtub.

Ok, I haven't started painting my house yet.  But my brain turned over the steps and bits and such while I sprayed my tub with vinegar solution, and pondered ladder safety as I scrubbed ( Read more... )

http://shine.yahoo.com/event/haven/25-ways-to-clean-with-vinegar-1371277/

I have been using vinegar to clean for several years.  It works!