Spare the Air Day, Friday, January 25, 2013

A Winter Spare the Air Alert has been issued for Friday, January 25, 2013, in the Bay Area.

Wood burning is banned both indoors and outdoors on January 25, 2013, for the full 24 hours.

Gratitude Poem

Thank you sun, for the warmth on my shoulders
Thank you birds, for your soft, warbly presence

The power to forgive
And set ourselves free
Lies in our own hands

But knowing others forgive
Much graver transgressions
Than most will ever know
Helps me forgive
The little things

And instead of dwelling where there is anger or fear
I can sit, clear and still

And say thank you
To the sun that warms my skin
To the songbirds and their quiet, gentle life
To the wondrous world, for teaching me everyday
What it is to be human

Spare The Air Day, Jan 8, 2013

[caption id="attachment_816" align="aligncenter" width="529"] Image © Josiah Mackenzie[/caption]

A Winter Spare the Air Alert has been issued for Tuesday, January 8, 2013, in the Bay Area.

Wood burning is banned both indoors and outdoors on January 8, 2013, for the full 24 hours.

Cub Scouts Birdhouse Project at Our Half Moon Bay Location

We hosted a troop of Cub Scouts last Monday for a great project on making and painting birdhouses. The boys got a great hardware lesson in the different types of woodworking nails and tools and we had a lot of fun helping them learn and play!

Thank you, Troop 263!

Note: If you have a group who'd like to do a fun project at one of our locations, let us know!

Homemade Laundry Soap Good for Septic, Drain Fields and HE Washers

We (and by that, I mean Claudia from our Ocean Shore location) found a great recipe for homemade laundry soap.

A few reasons we like this approach: It's non-toxic; safe for septic tanks and drain fields; it saves you money; and it's perfect for HE washers!

Supplies

1. 1 Bar (or 4.5 oz) of Fels-Naptha (fine grated) [SKU# 1253129]
2. 1 Cup of Washing Soda [SKU# 1380013]
3. 1 Cup Borax [SKU # 1253301]
4. Grater (for shaving the Fels-Naptha bar)

Directions

1. Shave 1 bar of Fels-Naptha
2. Add 1 cup of Borax
3. Add 1 cup of washing soda
4. Stir thoroughly (stirring is complete when you have a fine powder)

Use 1 Tbsp per load (2Tbsp for heavily soiled loads)
1 recipe make 16oz which is 32 loads!

This soap is a “low suds” soap, so it’s perfect for High Efficiency (HE) Washers. Ingredients are non-toxic, containing ZERO phosphates, ZERO fillers (like clay) that clog lines, or harm necessary septic tank bacteria.

Caution!
DO NOT confuse Borax with Boric Acid, they are NOT the same thing! Boric Acid should NOT be used!

Original recipe from diynatural.com

Night of Lights, Half Moon Bay, 2012

The annual Half Moon Bay Night of Lights was a success again this year. We intend to be more prepared next year so that we can participate, but we had fun spectating this year.

Here's what we saw:

Homemade Vanilla Extract Recipe

Homemade vanilla extract!

Ingredients:

10 vanilla beans, split lengthwise - be careful to keep the gooey-inside-seedy-stuff in the pods.

1 liter of Vodka

Directions:

Place the vanilla beans in a bottle of vodka and seal.

If you're going to give these as gifts, find some pretty clear glass bottles and make smaller batches.

Store in a cool, dark area such as a kitchen cabinet for 3 weeks, shaking the bottle every week. Three weeks is the minimum, store it 6 months for the best flavor. After using, replace with more vodka. The same beans will continue to flavor the vanilla for up to a year.