tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-178303172013-05-24T06:40:01.343-05:00Sustainably CreativeSleehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07649221624958002039noreply@blogger.comBlogger617125PaisleyAndPrettieshttp://feedburner.google.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17830317.post-13314409985102508162013-05-24T06:40:00.000-05:002013-05-24T06:40:01.368-05:002013-05-24T06:40:01.368-05:00

Clockwork Princess by Cassandra ClareMy rating: 4 of 5 starsI am erring on the generous side with four stars. My better judgment says three stars, or somewhere in between. However, math says that if it's three and a half, you round up because it will result in an even number. Therefore, I went with four.I stayed up far too late to finish this book. It was fast paced, engaging, somewhat (quite?)

Sleehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07649221624958002039noreply@blogger.com0http://fentonslee.blogspot.com/2013/05/clockwork-princess-by-cassandra-clare.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17830317.post-36404469758390730542013-05-21T04:00:00.000-05:002013-05-21T04:00:08.443-05:002013-05-21T04:00:08.443-05:00

Edible Landscaping: Urban Food Gardens That Look Great by Senga LindsayMy rating: 3 of 5 starsIf you are looking for a book to give you examples of different types of areas that can be landscaped for edible purposes, this is a good book. If you are looking for copious example pictures to inspire you, this is not the book you are looking for. If you are looking for a quick run down of various

Sleehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07649221624958002039noreply@blogger.com0http://fentonslee.blogspot.com/2013/05/edible-landscaping-urban-food-gardens.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17830317.post-4903610124701322112013-05-17T15:23:00.001-05:002013-05-17T15:23:29.799-05:002013-05-17T15:23:29.799-05:00

I've been pulling weeds today, and since the entire plant is edible, I feel like I should be cooking these up rather than tossing them. What's your favorite dandelion recipe?

Sleehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07649221624958002039noreply@blogger.com0http://fentonslee.blogspot.com/2013/05/dandelion-stew.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17830317.post-65165196964918291972013-05-17T05:52:00.000-05:002013-05-17T05:52:00.135-05:002013-05-17T05:52:00.135-05:00

Little House in the Suburbs: Backyard Farming and Home Skills for Self-Sufficient Living by Deanna CaswellMy rating: 4 of 5 starsThe only thing I didn't like about this book is the fact that it made me want goats and chickens as pets for my kids. Slyly, it avoided talking about the inherent problem with animal ownership: someone has to care for those animals, even when you're not there, and

Sleehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07649221624958002039noreply@blogger.com0http://fentonslee.blogspot.com/2013/05/little-house-in-suburbs-backyard.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17830317.post-58752159221053312312013-05-16T06:00:00.000-05:002013-05-16T06:00:03.262-05:002013-05-16T06:00:03.262-05:00

Dearly, Beloved by Lia Habel My rating: 5 of 5 stars Yes. Lia Habel's high tech with a Victorian twist world, rife with holographic edifices reminiscent of the world before the second ice age, took on a broader life in Dearly, Beloved that left me smiling for hours. The Characters from Dearly, Departed are here given the freedom to interact in new environments and blossom into themselves.

Sleehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07649221624958002039noreply@blogger.com0http://fentonslee.blogspot.com/2013/05/dearly-beloved-by-lia-habel-review.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17830317.post-67038287202908172632013-05-14T09:57:00.000-05:002013-05-14T09:58:35.820-05:002013-05-14T09:58:35.820-05:00

Last year my area was hit by a drought. Rivers receded until they resembled wide streams. The soil felt like sandstone. Communities were forbidden to water. Some farms languished in the baking heat with sun scorched leaves on crops that wouldn't grow any taller. On the bright side, we didn't need to mow the lawn for months. The grass refused to grow. One neighbor struggled to keep grass at all.

Sleehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07649221624958002039noreply@blogger.com0http://fentonslee.blogspot.com/2013/05/vestiges-of-drought.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17830317.post-7200090737930528272013-05-12T21:06:00.001-05:002013-05-12T21:06:28.628-05:002013-05-12T21:06:28.628-05:00

A few weeks ago I mentioned a gamble we'd made, my son and I. We had wagered that the closer we got to Mother's Day, the less likely we were to have a freeze. The "last danger of frost" date here is May 15th, but as a rule, my community generally hits the gardens on Mother's Day. May 12th, May 15th, close enough, right? Wrong. Ah, the trials and tribulations of gardening. I was oh so very

Sleehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07649221624958002039noreply@blogger.com0http://fentonslee.blogspot.com/2013/05/the-failed-gamble.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17830317.post-8389068681580350472013-05-10T11:37:00.000-05:002013-05-10T11:37:33.158-05:002013-05-10T11:37:33.158-05:00

Clockwork Prince by Cassandra ClareMy rating: 4 of 5 starsIn the Clockwork Prince by Cassandra Clare, the characters truly blossom, taking on an emotional gravity that the first book in the Infernal Devices series failed to attain. Watching the slow unfolding of Will Herondale's back story alone made this book a worthwhile read. I enjoyed the treatment of the era much more deeply than in the

Sleehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07649221624958002039noreply@blogger.com0http://fentonslee.blogspot.com/2013/05/the-clockwork-prince-by-cassandra-clare.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17830317.post-15839780322594790372013-05-04T11:18:00.000-05:002013-05-04T11:18:28.677-05:002013-05-04T11:18:28.677-05:00

Alice in Zombieland by Gena Showalter My rating: 3 of 5 stars With a one part tragedy to two parts adrenaline ratio, Showalter's novel races forward without forgetting that despite the big events in life, the little mundane things can still hurt and heal. The title character, Alice, "call me Ali," Bell's world gets ripped apart one fateful night on the way home from her sister's dance recital

Sleehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07649221624958002039noreply@blogger.com0http://fentonslee.blogspot.com/2013/05/alice-in-zombieland-review.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17830317.post-28815676444016430122013-05-02T12:11:00.003-05:002013-05-02T12:11:25.269-05:002013-05-02T12:11:25.269-05:00

Mr. In Charge of everything decided about two weeks ago that he wanted his own garden. Around here, our last "risk of frost" is May 15th, so really, he was planting his garden a whole month early. That didn't strike me as the best way to introduce him to gardening. Walking out one morning to water your tender seedlings, only to find them decimated by deadly frost doesn't engender a lifelong love

Sleehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07649221624958002039noreply@blogger.com0http://fentonslee.blogspot.com/2013/05/little-boys-garden-update.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17830317.post-84880143879891569162013-04-16T16:37:00.000-05:002013-04-16T16:39:34.461-05:002013-04-16T16:39:34.461-05:00

It's almost that time of year again, but we're doing an experiment and pretending that it is that time of year again. The ground is warm, the sun is shining, and if we waste a few seeds under little plastic mini-greenhouses, it's okay, because the Jabber Walky is excited about planting his very own garden. Today we're planting sunflower seeds so he can grow vines up them this summer. I'm leaning

Sleehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07649221624958002039noreply@blogger.com0http://fentonslee.blogspot.com/2013/04/gardening-with-children.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17830317.post-45489340342278325432013-04-08T13:43:00.005-05:002013-04-08T13:43:55.127-05:002013-04-08T13:43:55.127-05:00

Last week I was talking about how to pick the right candidates for the positions that matter, but there's a few other voting guidelines which I have come up with. Sometimes and office doesn't seem wholly important to me, or I don't have strong feelings on the issues. Some years I've forgotten my own rules and walked into the voting booth (well, not really a booth, we don't have booths, we

Sleehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07649221624958002039noreply@blogger.com0http://fentonslee.blogspot.com/2013/04/ballots.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17830317.post-25925705220071600572013-04-02T10:02:00.000-05:002013-04-02T10:02:03.501-05:002013-04-02T10:02:03.501-05:00

There are a lot of local issues on our ballot for next Tuesday, and it's my patriotic duty to get informed and then make my opinion part of the collective decision making process. Who will be the new village president? Who will sit on the county board? Do we want our municipal electric co-op to buy up yet another supply source? Is hydroelectric really doing it for us? Big questions. However,

Sleehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07649221624958002039noreply@blogger.com0http://fentonslee.blogspot.com/2013/04/how-to-pick-candidate-thats-right-for.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17830317.post-68339552876517339482013-03-15T11:12:00.000-05:002013-03-15T11:13:14.600-05:002013-03-15T11:13:14.600-05:00

Sleehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07649221624958002039noreply@blogger.com0http://fentonslee.blogspot.com/2013/03/squee-my-new-spoonflower-swatches-are.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17830317.post-84351936211391669272013-03-04T16:29:00.001-06:002013-03-04T16:29:08.581-06:002013-03-04T16:29:08.581-06:00

The winter blues had been wearing pretty hard on me this year. The endless gloomy skies and my roses trying to grow against the snow, to their own detriment in January did little to lighten my mood. I've been craving spring like fountain Pepsi over crushed ice. I need the sunlight. I need the green. I need to see things vital and growing again. I need to see rampant healthy life. I'm a big girl

Sleehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07649221624958002039noreply@blogger.com1http://fentonslee.blogspot.com/2013/03/but-not-real-green-dress-thats-cruel.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17830317.post-17766255495631344372013-02-11T14:46:00.000-06:002013-02-11T14:46:13.286-06:002013-02-11T14:46:13.286-06:00

You may or may not have noticed that I sing. I sing with an excellent chorale who routinely performs with a superb symphony. You'll have to take my word for it, but I have always been willing to admit when groups I sing with lack skill or professionalism, and while I can't vouch for every singer in my choir, by the time our conductor is done with us, we're kind of awesome. This year, because

Sleehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07649221624958002039noreply@blogger.com3http://fentonslee.blogspot.com/2013/02/being-heel.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17830317.post-53196377514099837642013-02-06T13:51:00.001-06:002013-02-06T13:51:51.803-06:002013-02-06T13:51:51.803-06:00

This winter has been a dark one. I suppose they're all a little dark, but I've been feeling this one a little more than usually. I've been battling the darkness with as many picture-heavy gardening books as I could find. They've helped. My mother and I have discussed indoor plants, like growing lettuce in her sunny dining room, and I've got an army of Aloe Vera growing on my bedroom dresser.

Sleehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07649221624958002039noreply@blogger.com0http://fentonslee.blogspot.com/2013/02/potting-up-pups.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17830317.post-82540603059481274092013-01-20T10:57:00.001-06:002013-01-20T10:57:30.875-06:002013-01-20T10:57:30.875-06:00

Think back, way back. All the way back to when you were in school. Do you remember working on your homework in elementary school, middle school, high school? Do you remember asking if you could have a friend come over to study with you? Did your parent, guardian, or even your friend ever ask you "are you allowed to work together?" Maybe you've recently asked the question yourself. I know I did.

Sleehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07649221624958002039noreply@blogger.com0http://fentonslee.blogspot.com/2013/01/ignorance-is-island.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17830317.post-66629139495469713052013-01-18T13:45:00.001-06:002013-01-18T13:45:26.775-06:002013-01-18T13:45:26.775-06:00

While I was out in my garden today, I noticed something disquieting. It is January 18th in zone 5, and my little baby rose bush hasn't figured out that it's supposed to be dormant and instead is setting new leaves. Silly baby rose bush doesn't want to go to sleep. Am I the only one whose plants never went dormant or picked an unfortunate time to wake up? How do I keep the upcoming hard freeze

Sleehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07649221624958002039noreply@blogger.com0http://fentonslee.blogspot.com/2013/01/go-to-bed.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17830317.post-53294769371929162122013-01-18T10:43:00.001-06:002013-01-18T10:51:13.021-06:002013-01-18T10:51:13.021-06:00

It's winter, and I'm already planning my spring planting. Aren't you? This year I've decided that I want to go predominantly edible with my plantings, because not only can they be beautiful, they're functional. Let's face it, anything is more functional than grass. Sure, grass is great if you need something for your sheep or goats to munch on, but we don't have sheep and goats at my house (at

Sleehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07649221624958002039noreply@blogger.com1http://fentonslee.blogspot.com/2013/01/the-edible-front-yard-by-ivette-soler.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17830317.post-6957684591870673312013-01-17T09:27:00.001-06:002013-01-17T09:45:55.462-06:002013-01-17T09:45:55.462-06:00

 Remember when I demonstrated how to fold an vast amount of bias tape quickly? Well, if you've started making lots of it and have it coming out your ears like some woman I know, you might be wondering just how to keep it from becoming a tangled mess. The obvious answer is "wrap it around something. But what? A piece of cardboard, like commercial bias tape is packaged, leaves those

Sleehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07649221624958002039noreply@blogger.com0http://fentonslee.blogspot.com/2013/01/repurposing-ubiquitous-altoids-tin.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17830317.post-20796654406273916442013-01-16T12:17:00.001-06:002013-01-18T10:50:29.855-06:002013-01-18T10:50:29.855-06:00

Try It Tuesday So you've taken the fabric you picked to make your own homemade bias tape and turned it into a parallelogram of doom. You've marked it, folded and pinned it so that the first marked strip pins to the second and so on. You've pinned it, lost hope and stitched it anyway, all the while grateful you decided to try it with a fat quarter instead of larger yardage. You took your

Sleehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07649221624958002039noreply@blogger.com0http://fentonslee.blogspot.com/2013/01/folding-5-yards-of-bias-tape-in-10.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17830317.post-32909447607202338522013-01-15T15:37:00.001-06:002013-01-15T15:37:35.438-06:002013-01-15T15:37:35.438-06:00

Meet "Mumms the Word" by Debbie Mumm for SSI. It's a nice floral motif with butterflies, and the design seems like a nod to traditional and folk arts, so I liked it. Well, no. I loved it in the blue colorway. However, the quilt shop I found it at only had the blue left as part of a quilt kit bundle, and a limited amount of the off white as well. The shop was closing, and I hadn't seen this fabric

Sleehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07649221624958002039noreply@blogger.com0http://fentonslee.blogspot.com/2013/01/life-lessons.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17830317.post-54596660731709350312013-01-15T13:42:00.000-06:002013-01-15T13:43:06.592-06:002013-01-15T13:43:06.592-06:00

Sleehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07649221624958002039noreply@blogger.com0http://fentonslee.blogspot.com/2013/01/sometimes-most-satisfying-projects-are.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17830317.post-58463428700032751022013-01-11T15:15:00.001-06:002013-01-11T15:15:22.028-06:002013-01-11T15:15:22.028-06:00

Sleehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07649221624958002039noreply@blogger.com0http://fentonslee.blogspot.com/2013/01/this-is-how-ive-been-spending-my.html