rethinking toilet paper

I read the New York Times online every day. I look for news that I wouldn't find in my local paper, local television, or national news. Today I came across this article on the environmental impact of toilet paper: Mr. Whipple Left It Out: Soft Is Rough on Forests.

Even though I cloth diaper, I'm embarassed to say I've never really given toilet paper much thought. It gets flushed down the toilet and I don't see where it goes, so I think I'm able to imagine that it somehow has no environmental effect. I think a lot about the rest of the trash our household produces: we try to buy products with minimal packaging, we reuse items whenever we can, we donate what we can't use instead of throwing it away, and we recycle everything we can.

So why haven't I given toilet paper any thought? Now I'll have to.

newest custom

So this is my first custom since starting back up last month and I absolutely love it! The colorway is "Annie" by Disco Baby Knits and the yarn is a single ply merino.



My girls fell in love with the pants and wanted to keep them. Luckily they were way too small for us, but hopefully they're a perfect fit for the little girl I made them for.

early morning musings

One of my favorite memories as a little girl was sleeping over at my grandparents' house. My grandmother always made us popcorn that she had made on the stovetop, and she would put our hair in curlers. The curlers were actually rolled up pieces of toilet paper around which she'd wrap our hair. (You can tell my grandmother grew up during the depression.) In the morning, we'd always have the same breakfast: a cup of hot cocoa that she had made from scratch and sunny side up eggs with toast. I loved this breakfast!

In the past year or so, I've started making our hot cocoa from scratch too. After the girls and I play outside in the snow, I always promise them a cup of hot cocoa. I made it on the stovetop for a while, just like my grandmother had, but one day I decided to take a shortcut and microwave it and the girls hated it. Now they ask for "stovetop" hot cocoa.

This isn't my recipe, it's the one on the side of the Hershey's cocoa box, but it's the one my grandmother and I use and it's my favorite. I've modified it to make 3 cups:

1/4 cup sugar
1/8 cup cocoa
dash salt
1/6 cup hot water
2 cups milk
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

Combine the sugar, cocoa and salt in a small saucepan. Stir in the hot water and heat over medium heat until the mixture boils. Boil for approximately 1 minute. Add 2 cups of milk and heat until desired temperature. Do not let it boil again. Stir in the vanilla extract and serve.

Spring is coming...I hope

After weeks of temperatures below 20 degrees (and sometimes below zero), it's finally been in the 30's this week. And despite the fact that we're getting heavy snow tonight, the days are getting longer and daylight savings time begins in 2 weeks. I'm ready for winter to be over!

To get myself in the mood for spring, I've been working on some play foods to give as gifts in Easter baskets. I've made three sets of Easter eggs as well as some cupcakes and strawberries. I'm having a small play food stocking this week in my store and, if you're looking for something different, you can always purchase a custom spot and choose from my extensive list of play foods.

So here's to spring!