Friday Links

Every Friday I share something I found interesting I found on the internet that week. Here are this week's links. :

Brilliant. I just love these pavement sheets. I love the social commentary that they provide, plus they're really well done. And some of the profit goes to homeless. Aaahhhh, the intersection of art and sociology - it tugs at my heart.

I found this blog written by homeless people while listening to CBC (via podcast) yesterday. Very interesting to hear a perspective that I'm not as used to seeing.


I'm almost up to my 100th post on this blog so am planning a giveaway. I'm thinking hard about what to give away... any suggestions? I'm very malleable. That's fancy for gullible.

When it Rains, It Pours!

Can I tell you about the craziness that's gone on here lately?

Here's a screenshot of the etsy front page (right now!). Notice something second from the bottom on the right hand column? This comes from a lovely treasury made by the lovely emmamaha who makes wool felt accessories as well.

I was also featured in an etsy finds email (like a daily email newsletter) on gardening and have gotten several orders of custom monogrammed garden gloves from that. I'm being very careful to schedule the work in and let people know when I will be able to ship their order. I don't want to disappoint anyone, and I don't want to feel panicky about getting the work done.

And lastly, things on the home front have been really busy. We painted 1/3 of our house two weekends ago (what a gong show with little kids, let me tell you) and then installed new carpet last weekend. For the carpet we had to move all of the furniture from 3 bedrooms and a tv/playroom out which meant that basically none of the house was inhabitable. I have this vivid picture of my husband and I sitting, one on the stairs, the other on a pillow leaned against a dresser in the hallway checking emails on our laptops, tired after a day's work of organizing and moving things. Phewph. I took the kids to the museum on the second day so they wouldn't be in the middle of the chaos.

When it rains, it pours, I tell you. After all that the day job seems relaxing!

NEED_WANT

Here is a screen shot from the treasury I mentioned in my last post. Not much new to say about that except it's long been my belief that more recycling and better light bulbs are not what we need to save to world.
I find it's getting tougher and tougher to tell the difference between an need and a want these days. When you're surrounded by a material culture on all sides it's tough to see an alternative.

Friday Finds!

Interesting things from the interweb this week (see below). I'm working on a super-secret project for my daughter today. I do hope she likes it! I do hope I can get it done before Saturday (ya right!). I like to call my lack of planning ahead "living in the moment". What, you're not convinced?

Friday Finds:

You'll want to check out Angie's drawing, Be the Change. I think I might embroider the second line onto something.

I loved this blog post about perspectives on aging. It's a guest post from several different women of different ages talking about fashion, body image and how it changes over time. I'm glad to be out of my 20s, that's all I can say.

Last up this Friday is an inspiring story on how making art heals. I can completely relate as this is how creating makes me feel alive.

I hope you all have a lovely weekend!

NEED vs. WANT

New Treasury Here!
I was thinking about talking with the kids about NEED vs. WANT as I stumbled upon this article earlier this week. I loved that the article had actual activities and suggestions of things to do with your kids on this topic. We'll certainly be printing out the "what do you need?, what do you want?" cards sometime soon.

a list.

Things have been just a wee bit crazy on the homefront recently. We've painted a portion of our house and are waiting for new carpet. I have pictures to show but no time to download them yet. I've stitching to show but no time to take the pictures. How is it that time is not linear? It bunches up and slows down and I can never keep up.

Found this on a blog I like to visit. I am the complete opposite of this person, which is so interesting. I had the hardest time with #16. It's a satisfying list.

If I were a month I’d be April.
If I were a day I’d be Saturday.
If I were a time of day I’d be quiet and still early morning.
If I were a font I’d be bacon font.
If I were a sea animal I’d be a jelly fish.
If I were a direction I’d be West.
If I were a piece of furniture I’d be a comfy leather recliner.
If I were a liquid I’d be water.
If I were a gemstone I’d be amber.
If I were a tree I’d be a brooding pine tree.
If I were a tool I’d be vice grips.
If I were a flower I’d be a pussy willow.
If I were an element of weather I’d be light fog.
If I were a musical instrument I’d be a clarinet.
If I were a color I’d be cranberry.
If I were an emotion I’d be wishfull.
If I were a fruit I’d be a wild strawberry.
If I were a sound I’d be a sigh.
If I were an element I’d be Oxygen.
If I were a car I’d be silver and small and urban.
If I were a food I’d be satisfying.
If I were a place I’d be the space between mountains.
If I were material I’d be repurposed.
If I were a taste I’d be layered.
If I were a scent I’d be subtle.
If I were a body part I’d be a long graceful neck.
If I were a song I’d be acoustic.
If I were a bird I’d be a heron.
If I were a gift I’d be handmade. And late.
If I were a city I’d be miserable.
If I were a door I’d have a window.
If I were a pair of shoes I’d be sandals.
If I were a poem I’d be by shel silverstein.

Gluten Free doesn't have to be Expensive!

Posts around the interweb today have got me thinking. Thinking about gluten.
Thankfully, it’s only wheat that bothers me, and not gluten, but I end up eating close to gluten free as a consequence. And when I say bothers, I mean BOTHERS, friends, not a pretty sight, so I’m pretty motivated to stay away from the stuff.

I keep having a conversation with a friend about how expensive it is to eat gluten-free. I vehemently defend the point of view that it doesn’t have to be expensive – it just depends on how you do it! For example: For breakfast today I had plain yogurt with frozen berries, a dribble of maple syrup and some pumpkin seeds. Yesterday for breakfast I had cheeze, rice crackers and a couple of strawberries. Lunch was leftover chicken, brown rice and leftover broccoli with apple cider vinegar and olive oil dressing. Supper was homemade hamburger helper with rice noodles. No special expensive ingredients here.

I was recently at a specialty gluten free bakery. I paid $8 for 2 pizza crusts and $3.50 for a coffee cake. One tiny serving of coffee cake. $3.50. And that was the best darn coffee cake I had ever eaten. For someone who doesn’t get cake often (ever) boy that was good stuff (and you can bet I’ll be back). But can you imagine how much you would spend if you ate there on a regular basis? Save it for a treat.

So, my advice to you if you are trying to avoid gluten – avoid the specialty shops and specifically gluten free items. They ARE expensive. Because they can be, it’s a niche market. Eating gluten free is easy when you cook from scratch.

I make pizza crust at home from spelt flour (not gluten free, but you could easily use a gf blend) and baking soda which probably costs pennies. We eat a lot of potatoes and brown rice. I make a big pot of brown rice, leave it in the fridge and serve it with everything. Spaghetti sauce, tacos, everything. When the rest of the family has noodles and breads I have rice or quinoa.

Anyone else with me on this one? Do you find eating gluten free to be expensive? Comments and discussion welcome.

Here are some interesting resources I just discovered – there’s a gluten free carnival going on at kitchen stewardship this week, so I am looking forward to seeing what else comes up. Plus there's a giveaway on there right now from some coconut flour that you won't want to miss.

Also, simply sugar and gluten free looks like a good site for resources. It’s making me start to wonder if I should try quitting sugar for a while, too… but I’m just not sure how to drink coffee without it.

And I have to leave you with Gluten Free Girl’s delightful blog which asserts that she is not missing out by eating gluten free. Just look at the pictures – she is definitely not missing out!