When work is slow I can draw in a relatively distraction-free zone for hours at a time, provided I don't hop on twitter or facebook... Those are my happiest days, the ones where I work the day job (which means we have health care coverage for our family) but I also get to have a creative field day. Yes, I do know how fortunate I am!

A couple of those kinds of days plus a few good afternoon naps for Mabel so I can scan, color everything in, and make the drawings into repeats and I actually get stuff done!
I ordered 2 yards of each on organic cotton sateen. These will become tea towels. (Of course, that's as soon as I have another good nap day with Mabel...amazing the things I can get done when she takes an afternoon nap.)
 

If you like these, check out my other fabric patterns on Spoonflower.

a little organic honesty

Once again we finished the weekend as exhausted as it began. Hi-C has been making a playhouse for the little one while I've been clearing out invasive plants from several patches of the front yard. I'm going to regain a greater area of the property for planting useful plants, while planning and integrating play space for M. I will win. I will. (Okay, I'm done convincing myself for now.)

When I first moved back into Chez Sneak, I was newly interested in gardening and knew much less then. I tried using chemicals (like Round Up) to get rid of the masses of English ivy that were taking over the yard. The Round Up barely did anything, and as a $7 an hour record store employee, I wasn't going to keep buying ineffective and relatively expensive products. My budget was most likely my greatest ally in getting on the path towards organic problem solving. Now that there is a small person around, I'm even more passionate about finding solutions that won't poison her or the earth.

All that said, without toxic chemicals the seems daunting.  I say that simply because about half the property has been taken over by wisteria, English ivy, elaeagnus, privets, laurels, green briar, and a few other bullies. To spray a broad application of herbicide would be a faster solution; except that the weeds have evolved to become herbicide resistant, so it takes many applications to kill them off.

Instead, I'll continue to wield the loppers, pruners, and Mechanix gloves that I've come to rely on. I'll pull and dig and gnash my teeth, and get a work out just from exotic weeds. But Mabel will keep her safe play space, I'll get to know the soil first hand, and I will win.

some serious cute

I know she's a little sponge at this age, imitating C and me. How can I not be amazed at this little girl; the one who wakes up in the morning and starts drawing and later in the day stays by my side outdoors while I garden and she digs for worms. C'mon people.  That's some serious cuteness there.

This weekend will involve all of the above plus a few other projects, including inoculating shiitake logs, attacking invasive plants, and finally getting all of my seeds started. All of those tasks are merely distractions. What you won't see me doing this weekend is drumming my fingers and tapping my feet, impatiently waiting for the samples of patterns I sent to Spoonflower yesterday. 

On being a fan of Weeds

Hey look! You can download this image here

As I've been reading up on herbs and their uses, I've realized just how many weedy plants in the yard are actually medicinal.  After the initial feeling of astonishment passes, the same thought runs through my head each time, "They're weeds only if you don't know how to use them." That one thought and a little series of drawings was born.

In it to win it

Last year we spent a good deal of time fighting one particular area of privet, ivy, and wisteria that were taking over part of the yard. For several weeks there was a continual wall of debris, waist high, and prickly as hell. Seems we'd trim back one part and before we could take the limbs and vines to the road some other beast would put its roots down.

Now we're back at it. Same area, same plants, new growth. This year I'm convinced we'll win, although we must've already carted 15 wheel barrow loads of debris to the street. I bet there's another 15 we've yet to tackle. Why the fight? That stuff is taking up precious full sun space, and if I can grow more food there, I'll go face to face with the devil...or whatever nasty invasive plant decides to show up next. When it comes to regaining the rare full sun areas of our yard, I'm in it to win it.