jane:  we thought we'd share few of our favorite poetry books as poetry month comes to a close.  

a child's calendar by john updike and illustrated by nancy ekholm burkett:  this is a special little vintage book that i found at a library book sale.  it offers sweet timeless poems and illustrations for each month of the year.  we love turning the page each month and reading the poem that speaks perfectly to what is going on right then.  this book is on display year round.  recording this here is the first time i realized these poems are by john updike!  our book was published in 1965, but i found that a 2002 version received a caldecott honor with a different illustrator.  we are partial to burkett's illustrations, but the new version also looks charming.

a child's introduction to poetry by michael driscoll:  julia has studied poetry throughout the school year guided by this book.  we love all of the michael driscoll child's introduction books, and a child's introduction to poetry is no exception.  it gives an overview of poetry and exposes readers to a diverse group of poets.

poetry for young people:  rudyard kipling:  to compliment this "introduction" we used many of the books in the poetry for young people series.  lovely illustrations accompany a selection of poems appropriate for younger audiences. numerous poets can be explored, including those as different as edgar allen poe and maya angelou.

jo:  these two anthologies have been wonderful, when i was younger and still now!

one hundred great poems for girls edited by ceclia johnson: a sweet anthology of poems, divided into convenient categories such as 'nature', or 'inspiration', 'tongue twisters'. i almost think the title conveys that the book is a bit childish, but it really isn't. i like it just as much as i did when i was twelve!

favorite poems old and new edited by helen ferris: a giant (over seven hundred poems!) anthology of various poetry, to be enjoyed by all ages! again, divided into great categories and containing poetry from all time periods... wonderful!


and there you have it, a few of our favorite poetry books! if you have any that aren't mentioned, we would love to hear about them!

jane + jo

one of our favorite weekly meals is the mexican bowl/plate!  :)  this is one way to use those beans...and it is zero-waste with the exception of the bit of plastic wrap that comes around the cheese block!  we vary the ingredients, but it is always yummy!  the recipe for this particular one follows.

mexican bowl 

black beans (bulk, dried, then cooked and frozen)
brown rice (bulk)
avocado
lime
red pepper
tomato
spring onions
pepper flakes (bulk)
salt
pepper jack cheese

the rice is simply made by adding some tomato sauce (i have my frozen sauce from our tomatoes last summer), chopped onion, and pepper flakes to the rice as it finishes cooking. this warms everything together…and you have spanish rice.  when i run out of my tomato sauce, i will just chop a tomato and use that instead of the sauce.

arrange it however you like and enjoy!

love, 
jane

i learned to sew when i was young.  it opened the flood gates on my creativity!  i loved to be able to imagine something, think about how to construct it, and then be able to make my thoughts into something concrete.  doll clothes, dolls, and then clothes for myself formed in my hands. 

i learned that my aunt sewed levis jeans for her job, and she was suddenly even more admired!  i mean, jeans!!  in history class, i learned about the triangle shirtwaist factory.  i never forgot the name or the image in my head of 600 women inside that factory terrified of the consuming fire.  one hundred forty-six women died.  we learn about this event that happened in 1911, because it resulted in laws made to protect workers' safety in the usa.  

two years ago today 1100 people died while making clothing in a factory at rana plaza in dhaka, bangledesh.  this was an event that caught the world's attention because of its magnitude, and because the clothing made there filled stores in our neighborhoods.  will students be learning about rana plaza in history class someday?  will it have inspired real change?  change starts with me, my choices, my wallet, my voice.

love,
jane

this was an exciting find on our walk today…spring onions!  we made sure to leave some, so hopefully we'll know where to find them next spring.  you can't beat the taste of fresh spring onions!  i'm still on the lookout for a patch of wild asparagus!

love,
j + j + j

i had read about banana ice-cream in a few different places, but finally got inspired to try it when i read about gwenyth paltrow's and julia turshen's version in their cookbook, it's all good.  this banana ice-cream is easy, tasty, guilt free…and zero-waste!

banana ice cream (adapted from it's all good)

bananas, sliced and frozen on a plate to keep them from clumping
almond milk, coconut milk, or any type of milk
honey (bulk)
peanut butter (bulk)
vanilla (recyclable glass bottle)
cinnamon (bulk)

mix all ingredients in a blender.  add the milk sparingly, so that you end up with ice-cream consistency rather than smoothie consistency- unless you want a smoothie, which we do sometimes!  

the recipe is loose and you can add what you have and leave out what you don't have.  on this particular day, i added coconut manna, and it was really good!

this is also really yummy with toppings like coconut, chocolate chips, or nuts that you might have on hand.  pecans mixed with brown sugar, salt, olive oil and a little chili powder and then roasted are a favorite topping for our tribe!  enjoy!

julia says, "it's a hit!  i could just eat this all day!  it's yummy with pretzels!"
jo says, "who needs ice-cream when you can eat this?!"

love, 
jane

it's spring again.  the earth is like a child that knows poems by heart.  rainer maria rilke  (via)

it's set.  julia is a girl who naturally leans toward the adage of less is more.  maybe we all do, really.  maybe we just "learn" to think we need more and more to be happy.  i'm not sure, but i do think we could all stand to take a closer look at less…and then less again.  

i humbly recognize that all this talk of less and more is pure privilege!  even this "less" is still way more than we really need!  uggh… i feel that in the pit of my stomach.  there are many who truly do need more.  let's make an effort to get our excess and outgrown clothing to the places where they can be used well.  let's be sensitive to the children of those who make the ready-made clothing available to us.  let's vote with our dollars for fair wages, so that those skilled workers can provide for their families.

well, on that note, here is what julia will be wearing until the now sprouting leaves grow crimson and caramel.

~5 tops
~4 skirts
~2 shorts
~4-5 dresses
~sweater
~sweatshirt
~toms/flats
~flip flops
~athletic shoes
~3 pjs/work-out sets
~swimsuit + hat
+leggings for now

most of her tops go with most of her bottoms and the sweater and sweatshirt go with everything.  the flats will get put away as the temperatures rise.

i look at this list and want to make the note to myself that she would be great with 2 less skirts and 1 less dress at least (maybe i'll put one away for autumn).  those are mostly there because we had them.  we did donate some things that just seemed like way too much or didn't mix well.  next year we won't have that excess.

julia has grown a lot this year, so we did have to replace her shorts and dresses.  we also bought a very basic, versatile skirt to tie in with all the tops (i might still make one instead and return that one) and some new flip flops.  i sewed 1 new top, made alterations to a couple more, and also altered a skirt.  i usually sew all of julia's dresses (she likes to wear dresses the most).  she is right at the size between children's and women's patterns where neither fit just right, so i opted to buy a handmade mexican dress and dresses from ebay and threads4thought this year.  everything else is left over from last year.

love, 
jane

as national poetry month continues, why not read a book? if you're not into books of poems, try one of these.
books told in verse are really wonderful, when you want a quick, but well told story:
:the watch that ends the night by allan wolf
:three rivers rising by jame richards
:the day before by lisa schroeder
and these are on my to read (someday) list...
:the language inside by holly thompspn
:wicked girls by stephanie hemphill
:odette's secrets by maryann macdonalds
:new found land by allan wolf
do you have any favorites? 
x,
jo

in order to actively move toward being zero-waste, i decided to buy dried beans + peas in bulk.  i wasn't exactly sure i'd love taking the time to cook them, but i was certain i wanted to reduce the waste i was producing by buying them in cans or plastic bags. i thought i'd share how i work these items into my real life.

it is not at all difficult to rehydrate these tasty sources of protein, but it does take a little time.  beans + chickpeas are best soaked overnight (or for a couple of hours in the morning) and then need around 1 1/2 - 2 hours to simmer.  they do not need to be stirred, so it is mostly hands off time when i  just need to be home to make sure no accidents happen. (they could probably be made in a crock-pot...and certainly in a pressure cooker, but i don't have either one of those.)

i stock 2 types of beans/peas at a time.  when i make my weekly menu, i note which ones i will need.  often there are already a few jars in the freezer, but if not i take the time to schedule soaking + cooking them in my planner.  that way, i don't accidentally forget to have them ready when i need them.  by then, it's too late.  i usually just pick a day when i'll be at home a bunch of the morning to cook them, let them cool, and put them in jars. here's the great part though:  i cook up my whole jar full of dried beans at one time and have lots + lots of smaller jars of cooked beans to use and freeze.  that's one cooking time for lots of meals worth of beans.  when i make the next week's menu, i can make use of my already cooked beans.  

i've been doing this for a few years now, and it really is not a burden at all.  i'm not always so great at thinking about a lot of things all at once, so i need to write down when to make them.  that is the key for me.  planning really is key to moving toward zero-waste and also healthy eating. with my beans in the freezer, i feel like i have convenience food at home (no drive-thru necessary)!  i cannot tell you how many times i think to myself, "i love me right now!" as i pull them out of the freezer!  :)

when short on time dried black-eyed peas and lentils are great, because they cook up in about the time it takes to cook rice.  they can even be cooked in the same pot.

go get yourself some love...from yourself!  :)

love, 
jane

p.s. this is quite cost effective too!

i wanted to do a little update on some of the zero-waste habits we've worked on since starting this journal.  some have been smashing successes and some have sort of been duds.  

the greats include zero-waste yogurt!  our entire tribe is in love with it!  first of all, the tubs that are not being added to the recycling each week are worth a few jumps for joy!!  that thought makes me so happy!  in addition to that triumph, is the amazing taste!  some of us didn't eat yogurt very often before, and now all of us are eating it almost every morning.  the question comes up again and again, "what's in this again?"  just skim milk, honey and vanilla (plus a little of last week's yogurt that was made of those three things as well)…this yogurt will be on repeat for a long, long time.  can't believe i didn't try this earlier!  

the zero-waste liquid soap is not a success for us.  it was fun to start with a bar of soap and see it come out as liquid soap…plus there is so much of it.  like i said in the original post, it did not work as dish soap or shampoo for us, as i'd originally hoped.  we've been trying to use it for liquid hand soap for a while and don't really like it for that either.  it doesn't lather, so we don't really feel like it's cleaning well.  

i have found a natural, low-waste alternative that i do really like for hand soap:  a little bit of castile soap + lots of water in a foaming soap dispenser.  i had a dispenser that came with soap in it, and now i just refill it with my own mixture of soap and water.  castile soap is pricey, so this very diluted mixture will make it last.  

love,
jane