Pumpkins

I'm a little late here, mainly because I just got my film back. Also because I tend to procrastinate. But I wanted to share how we did our pumpkins for Halloween this year. I followed an idea I saw on Crafting A Green World.

This activity was more than just pounding holes in our gourds. Burl exercised his concentration, his gross and fine motor skills, we talked about all sorts of different subjects from spelling, to counting and subtracting seeds and pumpkins, anatomy, nutrition, compost. I'm already really, really enjoying my experiences with homeschooling/ unschooling my sweet boy. And although it's well past Halloween, we still drift off to sleep together with a small candle burning in one of our little pumpkins. So very sweet.

I'll be back in another post to show you what we did with our pumpkin seeds.

Hallway

I know I've mentioned here and there about how much I would LOVE to have more property where I could take in and care for rescued farm animals. Truth is, as much as our family plans on and would like for this to happen, it will be a while before we're able to make a move like that.

In the mean time, we've decided (actually I decide, usually spur of the moment, and late at night) to make small changes along our way while we are in our home. For example, like ripping out the hallway carpet at 10pm several months ago. I knew we had wood floors underneath, I just didn't know what kind of wood and what condition. After spending the entire night ripping out and cleaning up the who-knows-how-old carpet, carpet padding, 60 or 70 year old cardboard/ sheep fiber-type glued on padding, we found fir flooring underneath. IT WAS DISGUSTING! There was so much dirt, muck and grim on that wood, I was horrified to know we had been living with and breathing it in our home for these many years. It felt so good to get it all out. We still have two rooms to go.

The wood seems to be some sort of sub flooring and needs to be sanded and finished. Until that happens, we chose to paint the floor white. Our hallway is a small and dark place and needed some lightening up, so white was a good decision. Although dirt and dust are a lot more visible than they were on the carpet, I'm confident in our decision to make our home more healthy.

We ventured down to EcoHaus in Seattle, which I highly recommend. We chose to use paints by American Pride, for several reasons. Zero VOC's for starters. We started with one layer of primer. For the top coat, I mixed a 50/50 ration of Interior Eggshell Pastel, in "Grace's Smile" by American Pride and Vermont Natural Wood Finish, in semi-gloss. After living with the finished floors for several months now, I plan to add one last coat of the Vermont Natural Finish.

Good Stuff In The Mail

Every now and then I treat myself to a little something. Probably more often than I should, considering we're on a tight budget. But when I do splurge a little, I try to purchase things that everyone in my family can benefit from. Like the 3191 quarterly magazines. They're worth every penny.

And The Winner Is...

Tonya, of Plain and Joyful Living.

I want to thank ALL who donated, I had so many wonderful comments. So many wonderful friends, so much support I feel here in my little blog. My heart is full. I appreciate you allowing me to be myself and express just who I am. And I appreciate having your support for the causes that are dear to my heart.

The plans are rolling ahead for our weekend getaway to Forks, Wa. to assist Olympic Animal Sanctuary. I plan on camping out in a motor home with Burl, my mom and our dogs for the weekend. My mom and I will take turns entertaining Burl and working with the rest of the group. My mom traveled down to New Orleans with me in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina to help with the animal rescue efforts there. So she and I are accustomed to roughing it together for the sake of the animals.

Thank you again to all who donated to the animals of Olympic Animal Sanctuary! Tomorrow, I'm spending the day volunteering with my dear friend, Dr. Brad Cauer who is the medical director of the Seattle Humane Society. We're working a low-cost Spay/ Neuter day and hope to alter 200+ cats! It's going to be a loooong and rewarding day. See you later this week, my friends. Xo.

Autumn Nature Board

I was inspired by the the Fall Collection Board posted on Design*Sponge by Small Stump and Studio Choo. Burl and I made our own board to display our Autumn findings. We purchased our materials from the thrift store and spent less than $5. We're filling it with all sorts of specimens collected from our daily walks. It's a work in progress, we're still finding items to add, identify and label. It's been a perfect Fall project to work on with my sweet, nature-loving boy.

I'll be back later this afternoon to announce the winner for the giveaway. Happy Monday, my friends.