Planted pot of lettuces, chives, basil and flowers on our deck - easily accessible from the kitchen

I've decided that unless I can eat it, I'm not planting it. So if you've seen my lawns lately, well, actually, what lawns? The front lawn was a goner awhile back when I decided to stop trying to water the dead grass. And the back lawn has been claimed by the water shortage. And they're not going to be replaced with grass. It's just too maintenance heavy and not environmentally sound. But what to do? That's the eternal question. I like this Synthetic Grass website, but it's a pretty pricey option and I'm not that big a fan of the lawn look anyway - it's fairly uninteresting. There's also the Edible Front Lawn option, which I personally love, but the fact that our front lawn is on the North side of the house, and mostly completely shaded, doesn't fare well for that option. And the back lawn is subject to Comet's wanderings, so not a good choice either - and we already have an entire terraced garden where he cannot trespass.

Our house style is considered Monterey Colonial - already a mash-up of styles - and so more of a Spanish theme seems to be appropriate. So that would be a fountain, crushed rock, curved paths and either terra cotta colors or perhaps some brighter hues. But I'm also not that big a fan of that look. A pond of some sort would be nice, with natural rock all around....but sounds expensive. So for now, I believe that the fallen leaves from the four trees shall be my front lawn....and by end of winter they'll be perfect to scoop up and put in the composter that Scott got going again in the garden. If anyone knows of edibles that thrive in shade, let me know!

You may have read about this play in the SF Chronicle - if not, you should, and either way, you need to go. Anyone who is a parent in the east bay and struggles on a daily basis with their choices for schooling needs to see this. Not because it will answer any questions for you - quite the opposite. Because it will gut-wrenchingly highlight and magnify every hope and conversely every concern you have about the choices you make everyday, how those choices are effecting your children as humans growing up in this world, and ultimately will leave you realizing that no matter what you do, your child is going to have to question everything he/she knows, believes in, and was raised around.

Ryan, Sierra and I have a joke - we know that whenever we go to Berkeley around 3:30 or 4pm, we will run into "those crazy teenagers". Now this doesn't apply just to Berkeley High students - it applies to all high schoolers including those traipsing around Montclair Village around the same time. But the joke started with Berkeley High students because that's where we tend to spend the most time. Capoeira is in Berkeley, the best library ever is in Berkeley, my sewing machine/vacuum repair place is in Berkeley, we bought Ryan's bike in Berkeley, their City Camp program for two summers starts every day in Berkeley, sewing camp is in Berkeley, the farmer's market is in Berkeley, Spun Sugar-the only place I know of to get sheet gelatin-is in Berkeley, the annual Halloween store is in Berkeley - okay, you get the picture? And frankly, all but one of these listed places is within 3 blocks of Berkeley High. So we see these kids A LOT. They're not any crazier than any other teenager, but there are MASSES of them milling around. And they are a varied lot. Which is exactly the point of this play. And all your preconceived open-mindedness does not prepare you for the coming together of this varied lot. Think not only racial inequalities, but shades, sub-shades, and sub-sub-shades of how this plays out in an atmosphere and environment that prides itself on being so open-minded. I truly found the writing brilliant, poignant, and unbelievably entertaining. They've just extended their run through October 19 at Berkeley Rep. Please, please go see this play. Parental guidance: I would not find it appropriate for children below 7th grade.

The sewing family thing continues to work out really well. Ryan made this cycling cap for Scott from an online Cycling Cap Pattern that we found. He picked out the fabric himself, cut it, sewed it, and gave to daddy for his birthday. It's worn under the bike helmet....or you can flip up the visor to look cool:

Also, again frustration for me with my sewing machine....it wouldn't switch stitches. I tried this, I tried that, I finally threw up my hands and said...Ryan, can you please try? It probably took him 3 minutes to get it to work. I love my little sewing technician.

The Pledge

I, Laurie, pledge that I shall abstain from the purchase of "new" manufactured items of clothing, for the period of 2 months. I pledge that I shall refashion, renovate, recycle preloved items for myself with my own hands in fabric, yarn or other medium for the term of my contract. I pledge that I will share the love and post a photo of my refashioned, renovated, recycled, crafted or created item of clothing on the Wardrobe Refashion blog, so that others may share the joy that thy thriftiness brings! Signed Laurie

Hmmm.....what have I done? While I've been dabbling for awhile, I'm giving myself a kick in the butt to stay focused. I have so many half/quarter/not-finished sewing projects it's crazy. I still haven't lost my desire for creating some kind of sewing circle, but haven't quite figured that one out yet either. So be forewarned.....if you get a phone call/e-mail from me you may want to clear a Sunday afternoon......

So here's my first project. Now it just so happens that I completed it just as I joined up so I'm counting it.

And in fact, it's the 2nd refashion of this sweatshirt. My first issue was that this plain, black sweatshirt was waaaaay too big for me. But because it supports my daughter's halau, I really wanted to wear it. So first I actually took some old pajama pants in a pretty, silky fabric and replaced the arms. I loved the fact that I reused pj's that were too big AND cut down the sweatshirt to fit a bit better at the same time. But unfortunately it didn't go over too well....the asian-inspired, black & white fabric pattern wasn't loved by the hula kumu. And while I could have kept it and been rebellious, that's not in keeping with halau culture. So I decided to find a nice island print that we can all be happy about. And because I had already put on the pinkish ruffle on the bottom (from an old skirt....again - too big), I really love how the new fabric colors tie together with sleeves, ruffles, etc.

I basically just detached the sleeves and cuffs, cut fabric to the same size, layered new fabric on top of sleeves to keep warmth, and sewed it all back together. Because I cut down the sizing of the sweatshirt, I had to gather the sleeves at the top to create a little "cap" or whatever. Clearly I'm a beginner and don't have appropriate terminology or technique....but I'm giving it a go. And I don't have to wear a boring black sweatshirt.