I swear I'm not a dirty hippie

Being as independent as possible has always appealed to me- case in point, growing my own veggies. Screw you, corporate farms! And, also, screw you to the farm stands around here that claim to have farm fresh veggies, yet somehow all the vegetables have stickers on them showing they are from the other side of the country or South America. 

I'm also not a fan of chemicals or synthetics at.all. I haven't used your standard household cleaners since I moved out from my mom's. I get horrible rashes whenever I'm close enough to -smell- your basic bleaches and Lysol's and what have you, let alone if they actually make contact with my skin. I haven't used toothpaste in almost two years, and before that I didn't use fluoride toothpaste for probably 4-5 years. (But, unlike Jessica Simpson, I still do -brush- my teeth several times a day.) I haven't used tampons or pads in over two years (I use this thing instead, and I less then three it) I have to use organic (read: expensive) lotions and body care products because, again, conventional ones make me break out and whatnot, but I'm trying to get away from those as well. Christ. Typing this all out, I sound like a frickin' hippie, minus the patchouli.

So, one of the things I've been meaning to do for awhile is getting rid of my shampoo and conditioner. I was blessed (or cursed) with thick, thick, thick hair, and there has yet to be a shampoo and conditioner combination that was kind to it. I don't wash my hair that much- three times a week, unless I've been rolling in mud or something, and it always air dries (using a blow dryer every time would become way too expensive- not just the 1/2 hour + I'd spend drying it, but I have a tendency to blow out hair dryers) but it's still so. friggin. unhappy. 

Working a short week last week, I didn't really feel compelled to wash my hair on my normal 3rd day (Thursdays), and then I didn't feel like washing it Friday...or Saturday...and now I'm pretty sure I should wash it tonight before I go back to work tomorrow. Despite not washing it in five days, it's not greasy like I feared. Just soft, softer then it was when I washed it last. Weird. During tonight's shower, I'm going to try the baking soda wash/vinegar rinse method and see what happens. 

If it works, and works well, I'll probably see about talking Anton into trying it as well. Since he's been so keen on cutting back on things to save money, I can't see how this would be any different. We don't spend that much on hair care products a year, but still, 180 bucks on shampoos and conditioners yearly is still more then 50-60 bucks yearly on estimated baking soda and vinegar use.

ALSO- plastic. I hate plastic. And if don't have to bring any more in the house, then yays!

Gardening update number something or other

Sometimes I wish I had a big straw hat and overalls for my urban garden. Though- Gram used to garden in jean shorts and tube tops, so I guess there really isn't one set dress code...

It's still early in the growing season, I suppose- even though we did start in March- but we've learned lots of valuable lessons. Aside from "don't start in March."

For one- some things can be grown closer to their mates then others. Peas? Separate those fuckers. We ended up with only 3 pods before ripping them all out. We'll try again this fall once it gets cooler again. 

For twosies- do not start leafy things in the mini-greenhouse. Start them right in their pots or they get all sad and die when you transfer them. Wimps.

For three- Don't try bok choy again until you have a proper garden. Stupid bok choy.

For four- Don't worry about spending money on containers. The window boxes for our green leafy things are great, and we only spent about 25-30 bucks all together on planters, but the majority of our plants are in re-purposed juice and soda bottles, and they are happy and big and lovely. 

For five- Research your broccoli! Ours is so so so dumb. It's tasty! but dumb. The florets of ours don't get very big, and aren't really useful for cooking. Unless all you're looking for a nibble of broccoli.

For sixes- Kentucky Climbers are obnoxious. They are on notice until they produce me a crazy crop of beans 

There are few things as sublime as walking out into my garden after work, though. Everything right now is so green and lush, and watching wee little flowers turn into something edible is awesome. If you've thought about growing something but don't know what to try first, do cucumbers. They are prolific. We've already had two off the vine, there are about 26 more in various stages of growth, and 50 some odd flowers. All that from 12 plants. We definitely we'll be cutting back on how many cucumber plants we have next year. 

Now exclusive to you, until I get around to posting them on Facebook, pictures:

One of the few flower plants I have. It's a mandevilla (we call her Judy*), expressing her desire for light. 

Judy, repotted and moved outside. This was last weekend, and now she's doubled in size. 

One of our first harvests, which turned into...

...a lovely salad. The radishes were store bought, but look how lovely it all is!

A few of my cuke plants, attempting to grow -off- the balcony.

This is the closest I could get to a full shot of the garden. There's more behind me and hidden at the other end as well. 

My jerk Kentucky Climbers. 

*When I was growing up, We went to church with a lady named Judy Madeville. All my gram's mandevilla plants were always known as Judy from then on, and it still seems to fit.

Not dead. Yet.

Ha! Bet you thought I was dead.

I am not. I just haven't had anything update worthy. The older I get the less I feel I can get away with stream of consciousness entries, but I can not focus when typing on a computer. (Computers are so counter-intuitive to how I work, especially when it comes to writing. When I write on paper, I turn the paper sideways and have my hand perpendicular to my body. It has never felt natural to type on a keyboard, which only adds to my lack of focus when trying to write something.)

Anyway. So I've been trying to reduce my stress lately to keep myself from imploding, but it's not working out that great. My work days have gotten insane, with overtime every. friggin. day. And yet my paycheck is sad and pitiful. Spending 10+ hours, five days a week at work is killing me.

My family isn't helping keep stress levels low, either. Last Friday, my gram had back surgery- a surgery that was postponed for two years because her doctor wanted her hips replaced first to avoid any other complications. And she spent several additional days in the hospital because, surprise, she had complications. It's so, so hard to be away from her when she's going through these things. If she had asked, I would have gladly quit my job and moved in with her to take care of her.

Then, Sunday, Anton was staying late after work,and when he was about, oh, 528 feet from home, was rear-ended by a ditz from the next town over...who had her mommy call to see if she could talk Anton out of reporting the accident to the insurance company. Apparently, her little princess was going to lose her insurance if she was in any more accidents. I just...What the fuck? He's fine, the car should be back next week since it was mostly superficial damage, but...I mean, really? She called 5 times before giving up. Get your fucktard daughter some driving lessons or keep that idjit of the road.

THEN! One of my younger cousins was turning into his driveway Thursday on his motorcycle  and was hit by some moron. Now, I hate motorcycles because I see them as death traps on two wheels, and I think I've seen maybe 2 motorcyclists in my adult life that obeyed any traffic laws. However. My cousin is a safe driver, and he babies that bike. Babied. The bike is destroyed. At least there was no major damage to him but he's got a pretty bad case of whiplash and is all  bruised up.

I should say both accidents happened in broad daylight, and both driver's said that they didn't see the person they hit. Then maybe you need glasses and no license.

So. It's hard to relax when I want to cause severe bodily harm to people who insist on hurting my family. And to the people I have to spend my days on the phone with.  Sigh. This past week and the next two I have four day work weeks. Maybe the will help kick start some zen like atmosphere in my life.

Probably not.