Can Green Energy Help Prevent Nuclear Weapons?

We all know that green energy is good for the environment, better for our breathing air, and helps lessen our dependence on foreign oil, but what about world affairs? Can green energy help with that? Well, it could certainly help prevent the generation of dangerous nuclear weapons.

Some people refer to nuclear power as a "green" energy, and while it is true that it doesn't produce emissions like coal, it is certainly not a "green" energy. The Nuclear Energy Institute says that "A typical nuclear power plant in a year generates 20 metric tons of used nuclear fuel." That's a lot radioactive waste, which can remain highly hazardous for thousands or sometimes millions of years. The only way to dispose of it is to bury it for thousands upon thousands of years. Somehow a power source that produces so much dangerous waste just doesn't strike me as being all that "green."

2 Minute Valentine Card



Here's a simple, kid-friendly Valentine card that's good to do with younger kids. It's quick and easy and turns a bunch of hearts into a flower for Valentine's Day. Regular tacky glue and kid-friendly scissors will help keep the project nice and safe for tiny hands.

An Easy Homemade Cleaning Product

When it comes to household cleaners, many of them carry a toxic chemical ingredient list long enough to warrant a hazmat designation. These noxious chemicals pollute our water when they're washed down the drain, as well as being potentially hazardous to breathe while they're being used to clean. Fortunately there are some safe (safe enough to eat even) and very effective alternatives that you can find right in your own kitchen.

Vinegar is probably most well-known of natural cleaning substances and with good reason. It's a wonderful disinfecting cleaner and is great for rubbing down countertops and greasy appliances. When mixed with baking soda it can be used to unclog a drain, and you can even throw a little vinegar in with the laundry for a safe, natural fabric softener.

How to Make a Valentine Hearts Wreath from Scrapbooking Paper

This wreath uses 6 strips of scrapbooking cardstock to make hearts. I used tacky glue to fasten my hearts together which makes the sides pinch up and gives the hearts a pointed, abstract look. If you don't like that look and want the heart edges to remain rounded, use some scrapbooking sticky dots instead to connect the hearts together.

You Really Believe That?

In a world of email, social media and digital camera phones, it is now easier than ever to keep tabs on what's going on. We can share everything with our friends and family and they can share back. And while that is a wonderful convenience, the ease of connection also has a dark side sometimes. The sad fact is that the simplicity of sharing information makes it even easier for someone to say anything they want, no matter how untrue, and let it spread like wildfire across the Internet.

I've gotten my share of forward emails containing completely fabricated information. People will forward everything from imaginary children dying of cancer to photoshopped images of sharks hunting people in the Hurricane Sandy aftermath. The part that amazes me is the fact that people often forward such emails without thinking twice. I guess if someone writes something in an email then it must be true right?

How to Make a Hair Scrunchy

I have long hair so I often wear it in a scrunchy, and as I don't really like going shopping, I usually make my own. Due to sewing all the time, I generally have plenty of leftover material lying around, and scrunchies are a great way to use up some of those extra pieces. They require very minimal sewing, using only a basting stitch. For each scrunchy you'll need a piece of fabric 18 inches long and 3 inches wide, as well as a piece of thin elastic (no thicker than 1/4 inch).

Cheap Home Decor from Nature

Leonardo da Vinci once said "Those who take for their standard anyone but nature - the mistress of all masters- weary themselves in vain." He was right. When it comes to creative design, Mother Nature is still the greatest maker. Decorating with branches can be an easy and inexpensive way to put Mother Nature's beautiful genius to practical use.

At our house, we do a lot of outdoor decorating with branches. In particular, we love the branches that the cows have rubbed over and over again by the edges of the pasture. The oil from the the cows rubbing them gives the branches a shine and makes them look as beautiful as any store-bought stain. We have several gnarly "cow branches" gracing our gardens.

Spock's First Christmas

No, it's not Spock the vulcan, it's Spock the big-eared cat named after the vulcan. Spock is the little kitten I rescued over the summer. He's gotten much bigger since then, but he still has very much the energy of a kitten. As such, he tends to get into mischief.

This year was his first Christmas, and to his delight, he thought that we had provided the Christmas Tree just for his personal amusement. He spent most of the holiday season running up and down the tree continuously, trying to pulling off all the paper cranes that were decorating it. He actually succeeded in completely pulling the tree over three times this season.

This was just some video I shot of him in the decor, to the tune of Silent Night. Most pet owners can probably relate. Hope you enjoy.

New Year Reflections

Well as 2013 begins, I think it's safe to say that one of the best parts of 2012 was my family's new addition, Mr. Spock, the market rescue kitty. He has thoroughly enjoyed his first holiday season, succeeding in pulling the Christmas tree over three times in his obsession to rip off every paper crane on the branches (and we haven't the taken the tree down yet, so he might still get the chance to pull it down once more!)

So as I head into the new year, I've decided to make it easy on myself. My resolutions are consisting of three things that are pretty much guaranteed at this point. My evil plan is to convince myself that I've gotten a lot accomplished by selecting resolutions that are already a sure thing. That way maybe it'll end up actually allowing to get more completed later if I give myself that false sense of accomplishment now.

So my to-do for 2013 consists of getting my first children's book, The Witching Hour, published (it's actually in process now). Get my website made over (already half done). And lastly, clean my craft room (aka my bedroom) and finally complete all those half-started projects. This is the one that's going to take the most work, but it's also the one I want done most of all (I hate feeling cluttered with unfinished projects). And as my crazy quilt and the Clint Eastwood serape are both part of that equation, I'll be doing a lot more work on them as well (yes, I really am planning to finish them at some point, it's just slow going).

So now if I can have all that done by the end of 2013 (or actually before the start of farm market season would be even better), I'm going to be one happy farmer!

Renewable Energy Doesn't Have to Be Ugly

When people mention green power, images of clunky solar panels and huge fields of wind turbines often come to mind. These are often the way sources of green power are implemented. The problem is that they're such an eyesore, people are often hesitant to accept these alternative sources of energy. That's understandable, as anyone who has ever been close to a field of wind turbines, probably wouldn't want that to be their backyard view.

The truth, however, is that alternative power doesn't have to be ugly if it's done on the smaller scale. At left is a picture of the windmill that my neighbor uses for electricity. We don't consider his windmill an eyesore at all. It's much smaller and cuter than the huge white wind turbines. In fact, it used be common to see a windmill at every country house back when they were used for drawing water. Nearly every farmhouse painting includes a windmill in it. The trouble is that when green power is reduced to the small scale, it means that individuals profit instead of some large corporation.