Confronting Reality By Reading Fantasy Author Lev Grossman says C.S. Lewis taught him that in fiction, stepping into magical realms means encountering earthly concerns in transfigured form. By Heart is a series in which authors share and discuss their all-time favorite passages in literature. See entries from Claire Messud, Jonathan Franzen, Amy Tan, Khaled Hosseini, and more. “If you were in a room full of books,” Lev Grossman writes in his latest novel, The Magician’s Land, “you were at least halfway home.” For Grossman, no books feel more like home than C. The Magician’s Land concludes Grossman’s acclaimed and best-selling trilogy, which has been praised in magazines like The New Republic and The New Yorker for being a darker, grown-up, and more complex Harry Potter. Lev Grossman is a book critic and senior technology writer for Time magazine. Lev Grossman: I can’t say with total accuracy when I first read The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. So the Narnia books had a special place for my mom.
Recycling for the Garden: Upcycling Items for a More Productive Vegetable Garden Gardening needn’t be expensive. By recycling or repurposing waste materials you can save money while doing your bit to go green - one man’s trash really is another’s treasure! Read on for some ingenious ways to reuse so-called ‘useless’ materials, raid the recycling pile for gardening goodies and breathe new life into the old. Seed Sowing and Labeling Sowing is the easiest place to start recycling. Even your daily read can be reinvented for sowing. Make your own plant labels by cutting out strips of yogurt pot, or use lollipop sticks. Protecting Plants Many plants need protection from the cold and wind as they establish. Old windows form the starting point for a home-made cold frame. Once in the ground, crops can be protected from pests such as pigeons by draping netting over canes topped with upturned pots. Creative Containers Anything that holds potting soil makes a good container…literally anything! Recycled Wood Old planks of wood are widely available. Other Ideas…
Kitchen Month – Family Dinner Favorites – FREE Printables Menu planning is a really hot concept right now. I would guess that either you are totally on board or don’t have time for it – am I right? The beauty of menu planning is that it ultimately saves you time, effort, calories, and money, but it can be really hard to implement in an already busy life. If you are up for trying your own menu planning, I have a couple ideas for you this week to get you started. First up? Family Dinner Favorites – aqua + lime Family Dinner Favorites – black + gray Family Dinner Favorites – brights Need some recipe ideas for Menu Planning? Click here to see all the posts in this series. I also have Menu Planning Kits in my shop, sure to give your menu planning a boost: {brights} {aqua + lime} {editable menu planning kit} also in the shop: Editable Recipe Pages Editable Favorite Recipe Page
7 Secrets for a High-Yield Vegetable Garden The fastest way to get that deep layer of fertile soil is to make raised beds. Raised beds yield up to four times more than the same amount of space planted in rows. That’s due not only to their loose, fertile soil but also to efficient spacing—by using less space for paths, you have more room to grow plants. Raised beds save you time, too. How do raised beds save so much time? Related: The Ultimate Compost Bin 2. In a 20-foot-long bed, for example, rounding the top increases your total planting area from 100 to 120 square feet. 3. Just be careful not to space your plants too tightly. Overly tight spacing can also stress plants, making them more susceptible to diseases and insect attack. Related: DIY Raised Garden Beds 4. Growing vegetables vertically also saves time. Try growing vining crops on trellises along one side of raised beds, using sturdy end posts with nylon mesh netting or string in between to provide a climbing surface. 5. Related: The Most Brilliant Raised Bed We've Seen 6.
free printables Looking for the perfect cleaning resource? Check out my book, The Organically Clean Home! Clean Mama everyday life. simplified. free printables Below you’ll find FREE printables for your personal use – I hope you enjoy them! Every month I give away a FREE cleaning and organizing calendar – get February’s calendar here. Want to try your hand at Make-Ahead Menu Planning? Want to jot down all those cleaning recipes? Looking for a cuter way to track your homekeeping? 4 FREE Seasonal Cleaning Checklists Company coming and house a mess? Curious what all those laundry symbols mean? Need to drink more water? 2 Cleaning Checklists for Kids Cleaning With Natural Cleaners Round-Up – 55 Recipes! Looming project? How Long Should I Keep It For (paperwork reminder sheet) File It….paperwork brainstorming page 5 FREE Checkbook Registers Kids’ Routines Checklists Quick Clean Ups Homemade Cleaning Recipes Printable DIY Homemade Cleaning Recipes – Labels 3 To Do Lists to Jumpstart Your Productivity Medical Exam Tracker
90 Pounds of Tomatoes from 5 Plants At the lumberyard, I bought 7 feet of heavy wire fencing about 6 feet high. I had the clerk cut a 3-foot length of small-mesh hardware cloth that stood about 30 inches high. I lapped the hardware cloth into a circle about 11 inches wide and secured it by threading wire over the edges. Then I set this circular basket in the middle of my fertilized plot and filled it to the brim with compost. Next, I planted five tomato seedlings around the outside of the heavy wire circle. How To Save Tomato Seeds About 90 days after setting out the seedlings, I gathered 2 pounds of sun-ripened tomatoes. So, try growing tomatoes in an organic double ring if space is limited.
United States Citizenship Test — Citizenship Test Civics Writing Exercises This citizenship writing exercise is designed to help you prepare and pass the written part of the US Citizenship test. The vocabulary that is used comes from the 2011 USCIS vocabulary list for the writing part of the Naturalization Exam. Although we do not know the exact sentence that you will be given during the interview, every effort was made to use all the vocabulary to create meaningful sentences. The USCIS writing vocabulary for the Naturalization test is divided into people, civics, places, months, holidays, verbs and other words consisting of a total of 75 words. All of these words are used in this writing practice. A sample of those words are: Washington and Lincoln (people), Father of Our Country and President (civics), Washington D.C. and United States (places), November and July (months), Independence Day and Thanksgiving (holidays) is/was and lives (verbs), and fifty and first (other).
Growing Fruit in Pots Related: Container Gardening Strawberries These herbaceous perennials are highly productive and delicious. Catalogs separate strawberries into four groups: June-bearing varieties yield one large crop, ripening in late spring or early summer, depending on the climate. Pot: An 18-inch-wide weatherproof container can accommodate 10 to 12 plants; two can accommodate the 25-plant bunches typically sold. Soil: Strawberries demand excellent drainage—their crowns rot in wet soil. Light: Place containers where they receive at least 8 hours of direct sunlight a day. Water: Because of their shallow roots, strawberries must be watered regularly. Recommended varieties: Select for regional adaptability and taste. Pruning: Many strawberries put out runners, which divert energy from fruiting to plant production. Fertilizer: Apply low-nitrogen fertilizer in early spring, late spring, and midsummer. Hardiness: Strawberries are suitable for USDA Plant Hardiness Zones 3 through 9, depending on variety.
The first 100 days at a new job Starting a new job can be overwhelming. Between meeting new colleagues, mastering new skills, and tackling new responsibilities, your first three months might leave you feeling exhausted and burned out. To help alleviate some of that stress, we’ve put together a First 100 Days plan that will help you avoid rookie mistakes, impress your boss, and endear yourself to your colleagues. So print out the plan below, set up some auto-reminders, and hit the ground running! Before you start Review all of the research you did on the organization when you applied. Day 1 Today is all about absorbing as much information as you can, so stick to a 90/10 rule. The First Week Ask your manager to set up getting-to-know-you meetings with people who know your work area well or have specific institutional knowledge to share. The First Month Study up on your new home away from home. The Second Month The Third Month Improve a process. Go back to our resources. Share on Pinterest There are no images.
He Put 4 Tomato Slices On A Bucket Of Dirt. 12 Days Later? Unbelievable! Got any overripe tomatoes in your fridge? Don’t throw them away! Instead, turn them into seedlings and grow entirely new tomatoes in just a handful of days. In this video, The Wannabe Homesteader teaches us how to grow tomatoes using nothing but a pot, some soil, one tomato… and, of course, the help of Mother Nature. First, cut a tomato one quarter-inch thick. According to Yale Environment 360, every year, 30 to 40 percent of what is grown and raised in the United States is thrown away or rots between farms and kitchens. Credit: The WannabeHomesteader video courtesy of their Youtube Channel
How to Budget Your Money: The 50/20/30 Guideline When it comes to money, there’s certainly no shortage of ways for us to spend it—food, rent, retirement accounts, a down payment on a house, gym memberships, gifts … you get the picture. In fact, it’s why LearnVest Planners are often asked one key question: “So where should my money be going?” When it really comes down to it, the answer is different for everyone. You may be in a hurry to pay off debt, so you’re willing to spend less on eating out in the meantime. So what’s a budget-perplexed person to do? Whether you’re a parent with two kids or a recent college grad working your first job, this 50/20/30 guideline can help you not only figure out how much you may want to allocate to each area every month; it can also help you determine the order in which your money can be allocated. 50/20/30 Broken Down The 50/20/30 guideline can be easy to follow because instead of telling you how to break down your budget across 20 or more different categories (who could possibly keep track of that?) 1.
Information on Allotment Gardening Information on Allotment Gardening Information and tips on allotments and allotment growing and how you can use your allotment to grow organic food and promote sustainability: The Best Garden Clubs No Dig Gardening - Create New Beds The Easy Way How to Plan a Vegetable Garden: A Step-by-Step Guide No Space to Grow Food? Creating New Vegetable Beds Fast How to Keep On Gardening When Things Get Tough Browse by Category Click any category for a list of useful articles: 25 Things Everyone Should Experience In Virginia At Least Once Old Rag is a challenging climb, but it rewards hikers with some of the best views for hundreds of miles. Virginia was the site of the first permanent English settlement in North America more than 400 years ago, but would not officially become a state until June 25, 1788. To celebrate more than two centuries of statehood, we have compiled a Virginia “bucket list” full of Old Dominion activities that area residents should try to experience at least once. (Of course, if you prefer the Free State, we posted a Maryland bucket list earlier this year.) If the Capital Beltway and I-66 represent some of the worst driving conditions that this area has to offer, then Skyline Drive surely represents the best. Luray Caverns is an undeniably beautiful attraction — and quite a contrast to the green areas surrounding it. If the great outdoors aren't your thing, a trip into the renowned Luray Caverns represents something of a departure. Of course, we couldn't list everything there is to enjoy in Virginia.
How to Grow Fresh Food During Winter by Sprouting Mung Beans For many of us, winter’s a pretty bleak time of year. If the garden’s not under snow, it’s being battered by wind or hammered by heavy rains. When the weather’s unpleasant outside, it’s time to head inside where we can grow all manner of greens and sprouting seeds. Mung beans, also known as bean sprouts, are exceptionally nutritious and take just five days – yes five days! – to grow. Mung Bean Sprouts The humble mung bean is a wondrous thing. Sprouting Seeds Day 1 Start by thoroughly rinsing half a cup (80g) of mung beans. Day 2 The next morning the beans will have swollen significantly. Cut nicks into the top corners of the carton. Drain the soaked beans then pour them into the carton using a funnel. Day 3 Though you won’t be able to see it, the next day all of the beans will have sprouted. Day 4 Another day on and the sprouts are coming along beautifully. Day 5 Your bean sprouts are now ready to enjoy! Rinsing Mung Bean Sprouts