calming the mind

This morning I was getting a head start on Friday's Modish post by looking through the ICE vendors for garden related goodies (no go), when lo and behold I stumbled upon SuperCute! I'm pretty sure I've met the SuperCute gals at ICE events in the past, and have an unceasing lust for Becky's lunch kits, but didn't know about the SuperCute blog until this morning.

Chock full'o' eco-bits and bytes, inspiring ideas and tutorials, and general down to earth-edness; you, too, should visit the blog and take a gander.

On a belated note, Happy Mother's Day to all you mommas out there! I don't consider myself a momma (yet) but got lots of well-wishes for the day, and sent out a few to the important women in my life.

We spent the day on a blanket in the sunshine (and then periodically in the shade to prevent scorching our skin) threshing the barley. We planted the 2 raised beds in the back, and it took 1 1/2 days to harvest (with scissors!) the nearly 200 square feet, and all day yesterday to thresh about half of it. Then you have to winnow the chaff, then we'll either malt it, mill it, or both.

Now we know why Team Beer at Sunset Magazine said, "We kept trying to make the process less tedious but nothing really seemed to help." If you don't have the machinery to do this stuff for you, expect to spend a lot of time separating bits long after your fingers have become numb.

If nothing else, it was good for calming the mind and enjoying the outdoors on a beautiful sunshiny afternoon.