Repurposing a Man’s Shirt

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This is my husbands nice white shirt he wears to church.


He has had it for just over three years, it lasts a long time because it is only worn to church, however it was starting to show a little wear. Here on the collar, at the crease the fabric was starting to fray.

Then the other night he sat down and bent his arm, and his elbow went right through the sleeve. This isn’t something that I could fix without it being very, noticeable. I could patch it and Dadzoo could use this as a working shirt, for dirty outdoor job, but he already had several of those, so I decided that it needed to be repurposed.

Dadzoo is a big guy, so there is a lot of really good material that is in great condition.

The only question, is what to do with it.


First, I cut off all the buttons.


And added them to my stash of buttons. I got this tin from my Grandma, it has buttons that she collected, and now I add my own.


Then I searched for ways to reuse a man’s shirt, and these are some of the things I found:

and
Wow, now I only need to decide….
(I am feeling like that shirt really wants to become a frilly summer apron…hmmmm.)

Usually I have cut up shirts to make into rags that I use in cleaning or for medicinal purposes. However I am trying to only use 100% cotton for such things now, and this shirt isn’t all cotton. The Polyester in the cloth makes it less absorbent and less breathable, two things I look for in my cleaning rags, handkerchiefs and bandages.


So here he sits, waiting for me to decide exactly what he is going to be in his next life…

( I am still thinking something with pink ruffles)

Chicks, a Week Later

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It is amazing to me how fast chicks grow! After only having them one day the little wing feathers were starting to grow in, and a week later not only are the wing feathers in, the tail feathers are starting to grow too.


I have been asked a couple times what breed of chickens did I get. I ordered two different types, Delaware and Araucanian (aka Easter Eggs Chicks).

I got the Araucanian because I love their Green/blue eggs, the make a beautiful addition to my regular brown eggs.


I got the Delawares for a couple reasons: first, they are listed as “Critical” with the American Livestock Breeds Conservancy. Meaning they are a breed that is slowly becoming extinct in favor of commercial breeds. I like to do my part. Second, they lay big brown eggs, I like brown eggs, it makes me feel like a farmer. Third, they are suppose to be quiet, since my chicken aren’t exactly legal, quite is good.

Then I had a “rare and exotic” breed thrown into the bunch, I have no idea what kind it is, that is my little black chick running around.

My little Delies and starting so showing black baring in their wings and tails, while the Araucanian are all sorts of colors.

This red/brown lady is a special favorite of ours, she is pretty much guaranteed a place in our little flock.

Everythings comming up GARLIC!?

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Remember this post back in October:
Planting? Food?

In it I showed y’all how to plant garlic. Once it started to get really cold I put my garlic patch to bed. I covered the box with about 6 inches of straw and then covered the whole thing with something called “floating row cover”. I then left it to sleep over the winter. Well now that the days have become longer and it is getting warmer I took a little peek at my garlic patch.


And what do ya know, little green spears are pushing up through the straw.

I will leave the row cover off the patch now, but keep the straw for a few more weeks.

The straw and cover isn’t a necessary step in the process, but since they were planted in a raised bed and the temperatures in the winter can get below zero I thought the extra protection would be worth it. I didn’t want those bulbs to freeze solid.


I love this time in February, it is like a little game for me, wandering around the yard looking to little bits of green pushing up here and there after the long winter.

Making Pretties

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When I was little we called all little hair bobbers
“Pretties”

For Valentines Day my oldest girls and I made pretties for our hair.


Do you remember in the ’80’s (oh, dated myself) when these little guys were popular.


I had a pair of blue ones, with beads and feathers on the end.

(yuck!)


However, I think these turned out really cute!

Here is a link for the direcitons:

Recycling Eggs?

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Recycling eggs?

Really?

….yup.

Egg shells are very recyclable (is that a word?).
In fact if you are wanting to adopt a simpler life, reducing the amount of waste you produce, recycling egg shells is a very easy way to start.

Instead of cracking open eggs and tossing them in the garbage or disposal, just set them to the side. When you have time give the eggs a good rinsing and set them on a kitchen towel to dry. Once they are dry I give them a quick spin in my blender. A blender isn’t absolutely necessary, a good crushing with a rolling pin, or meat mallet will work, I just happen to like the shells ground small.

I feed my eggs shell dust to my chickens. They get a lot of kitchen scraps, I just sprinkle the dust on top of those before I take them to the chickens. This helps give them the minerals, especially calcium, that they need for shell formation. It saves me money, otherwise I would have to buy oyster shell from the feed store.

I also sprinkle the egg shell dust in my compost pit. I have put whole shells in my pile and they will break down, it just takes longer, the dust is quick and easy. This will help add minerals to the soil, if you want your broccoli to have calcium in it, it needs to be in the soil. This an easy, cheap and semi organic way to do so.
If you don’t have chickens and aren’t a gardener, sprinkle your eggs shell dust among your decorative plants and bushes, they will be healthier.

There you go, recycled egg shells, what simple ways do you recycle and reuse?

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