Town Hall Event!! :)

Hello, hello!

So this past Thursday was a big day for me.
I finally got to do my presentation at the Corvallis Sustainability Coalition's annual Sustainability Fair & Town Hall event.

I'd first been invited by the leader of the organization, Annette Mills, to present back in January and have been pretty much freaking out about it ever since.

What was my presentation about?
What else? The Corvallis Family Clothing Swap and Gift Economy Facebook Group I started, of course :)

But I won't say anymore on the subject, and just let you see it for yourself:

I'm very pleased with how it came out, and was so happy at the opportunity to spread the word about Gift Economy ideas.

Would you ever consider attending or starting up a Clothing Swap in your town?
I do hope so, and let me know how it goes! :)

Til next time, take care and Happy Town Hall Event!!

Spring Come Early!

Hi hi!

So here we are, DST has arrived and spring officially starts in ten days!
And already we are seeped in a beautiful wonderland of warmth and flowers.

The cherry trees have been blossoming gorgeously over the past few weeks, as have the plum trees, like that in our front yard.

To prove it to you, behold this beautiful collection of all that is green and lovely around our home and around town:

William and Ella sitting in a plum tree...S-M-I-L-I-N-G!

Hard to tell but it's a circle of daffodils down the street from our house!

I ought to have more photos, really, because there are just so many beautiful things blooming in the neighborhood.

So many varieties of daffodil...
Magnolia trees??
Even the first rich red tulips at Peach Blossom Preschool!

I love, love, love it.
Maybe spring is actually my favorite season...
Everything just smells so good and looks so hopeful.

Anyway, I know it is not as lovely for people in other parts of the U.S. right now, but I hope that these photos at least give you some consolation.

In the meanwhile, take care and Happy Spring Come Early!!

Spring 2015 Corvallis Family Clothing Swap

Hey, all!!

Sorry for the short absence there.
It was a kinda crazy weekend.

Firstly, with the turn in health the kiddos had...it went straight to Dash too and had him really laid up in bed all Friday, Saturday, and Sunday (>_<)!! Poor guy but also what poor timing because this past Saturday was also...drumroll please...

The Spring 2015 Corvallis Family Clothing Swap!!

Okay, so by now you readers ought to know quite a bit about this love of mine.
But if you want to read past posts about it, check out this, this, and of course the article in the local newspaper.

It really has grown very large and has also turned into a seasonal, rather than biannual, event.
Thanks to sponsorship from Gentle Beginnings Midwifery Care, and then the First Presbyterian Youth Ministry.

What started as just reaching out to mamas and kiddos, has become an all-family inclusive event, that really reaches people from all over the socioeconomic spectrum here in town and beyond! In fact, I met someone who said they came down from WA and an old friend came up from Burkley! Granted, it wasn't solely for this one event, but I still like to think folks from afar will take back with them the idea of a Clothing Swap to spread in their own hometown. :)

There were a couple of things that made this Swap even better than ones past, and they are the following:

1) lots of volunteers!
I finally got the idea to make the volunteer signup form more public so that a big variety of people (mostly Gift Economy members!) could sign up. Of course, by the end there were only three of us having to deal with this mountain of leftovers, so that's oooone area that could always use some extra love, but all in all, I was pleased with everyone's help!

2) more volunteering positions!
I added the two jobs of Greeter and Maintenance Crew to the list of duties. The Greeters made a point to approach people just walking in to explain how the Swap works and direct them where need-be or to even help take their contributions off their hands so that they can get right into the browsing. The Maintenance Crew was in charge of making sure that tables stayed relatively orderly and were on the look-out for any tables that were getting overly filled and chaotic. The 2T-4T table has been notorious for that in the past...

3) a microphone!
In the past, I've had to yell over the roar of the crowds to make my announcements (greetings, reminders, etc) but this time I made sure to have the onsite microphone system up and running for us. :) It worked like a gem...until William touched a button and I couldn't get it to turn on again... >_<!! Oh well, lessons learned~

4) donated food!
Only three days before the event, I made lots of cold calls to local businesses to see about getting any treats donated to the event, so that attendees could be kept fed and happy. I had an amazing turnout from it! We had the following foods:
- sourdough loaves, baguettes, and rolls from Alpine Sourdough Bakery
- sweet mexican breads and pasteries from Pilos Bakery
- Hamantaschen cookies from New Morning Bakery
- various muffins from Sam's Station
- huge tray of cookies from Taylor Street Ovens

I was almost afraid I'd have "too many" but it was all cleared out by the end of the event. All I contributed was butter to smear on the breads... Mmm, yummy.

5) new signs!
Last but not least was the generous contribution from K.K. to redo the table signs with bright new colors and sturdy laminate finish!
It may sound like a small thing, but it was a huge improvement in making "categories" of clothes easy to spot and more durable for the long haul. :)


Hmm, I think that's all the "new improvements" I can think of for this Swap.

The only downsides to the event were:
1) We didn't have full access to the hall at 11am, as I'd asked for, so we had to scramble to get tables set up when people were already coming and dumping stuff. That threw a bit of a wrench into the works, but the group taking up our space did apologize and try to help set up tables with us.

2) I had to ask for money this time around because our sponsorship wasn't able to cover the whole fee for the space, and though I had a Suggested Donation jar, it was a little too out of the way and neglected, so we didn't reach the amount needed. D'oh! Thankfully, that is being remedied on the Gift Economy site. But still, I feel bad having to ask, and I just hope from now on we can secure sponsorship that really covers all our fees :)

3) There was a bit of a scare there when S.G. couldn't find her wedding ring and my stomach was turning flips hoping to high Heaven that it would be safely recovered... Thankfully, it was! But the couple of hours when it was missing was very nerve-wracking and I was afraid I'd have to label this Swap as "the infamous Swap where S.G.'s precious wedding ring got lost ;_;" Phew!!


Anyway, back to the Swap:
I personally didn't take any photos (darn!!) but I am hoping some folks who attended snapped some shots. And if not, oh well... There's always next time!

And I am starting to think there might be a pattern where the day following the Swap I am so exhausted from all the effort of the day prior, that I have a little lapse in health. So Sunday I spent most of the day in bed and though I feel better today I haven't had much of an appetite since Satuday! Hm, very un-Chrissylike~


Well, thanks for reading that super long post.
I hope you all stay well and enjoy this continuing glorious weather.
If you attended the Swap, lemme know what treasures you took home with you in the Comments section :)

Until then, take care and Happy Clothing Swap!!

Sniffles & Drawing

Gooood day~!

So Ella woke with quite some cold-like symptoms (sniffling, snuffling, coughing), and little William has a yucky cough (on and off).
That means that what was going to be a playdate-filled day, has been changed to a day of relaxation and healing.

Ella is obviously all too happy to stay in bed today :)

I was just thinking the other day how lucky I am that I can really put the whole day on hold when sickness comes around.

So this is what our schedule will look like more or less:
- warm oatmeal for breakfast
- dozing in bed all day
- social functions cancelled
- fresh air wafting in through the window
- chicken noodle soup for dinner
- apple cider vinegar sipped throughout the day
- maybe a little jaunt during the warmest time of the day to get that good ol' sunshine.

I know that probably seems like a pretty standard sickday to lots of you parents out there, but I am still reeling from how effective such a simple system can be.

It may be because I grew up with a mom that had us do the following instead:
- tough it out and go to school anyway (passing your cold on to all your classmates)
- cough medicine (to suppress symptoms, so you can keep going, but not really heal)

Hence making a simple cold last weeks and weeks instead of nipping it in the bud.

Boy, that makes me sound very ungrateful and judgmental, but I also ought to give her the benefit of the doubt, since it's not like she had the luxury to just stay at home with us when we were unwell -- she worked all the time, so a sick child could really throw a wrench into the works.

And I'm not saying that I'm the best at keeping the kiddos in bed where they belong, but I do try!

It won't be all sleep, that's for sure, as even a cold won't keep Ella from engaging in her favorite past time: drawing!

On that lighter note, I'll be showcasing some pieces she does by the end of the day soon.

Until then, take care and stay well everybody!!!!!!

William on Two Wheels...For Reals!!

Hi, all!


So we've been having some wonderful weather these days.
That means the kids have finally been getting back on their bikes...and with big results!

Back in September, right around Car Free Day, William got the knack of riding a two-wheeler and could cruise around quite well...except when it came to stopping. His way of dealing with that was just crashing into things (sometimes people!) which did not often go over well...

But now that he's a little taller, he can manage really well on his own!
He needs a little help at the start, but can pedal, steer, cruise, apply brakes, come to a complete stop, and dismount. Yahoo!!

Here is some video evidence for you:

I'm not about to have him join me on the street or anything, but speed walking to keep up with him has made our jaunts to the library that much quicker! And is a welcome form of exercise :)

And if you noticed his little pink gloves, it's because he likes to wear Ella's gardening gloves for better grip and to protect them in case he falls over. Clever boy! :D

Well, that is all for now~
I hope you've been out enjoying the sunshine, and have safe rides on your bicycles!!

Til next time, take care and Happy William on Two Wheels...For Reals!!

Return of the Quilt

Hello, hello!

Wow, after almost one whole year since initially starting this quilt, I am finally picking it up again!

The first mention of this quilt can be found back here.

As I'd mentioned back then, it is being made solely out of pieces of fabric gifted to me and already conveniently cut to 2" x 2" squares.

Here is where I am with it so far:

The rainbow theme may be going by the wayside, but oh well! :D

My goal is to be done with it before the summer months!!
So that's three months from now. I think I can do it... ;)

Unlike last year, I find myself with more time in my schedule to do these non-mama things like reading, watching shows (what!?) and quilting.

I chalk this up to two factors:
1) The children going to bed earlier and more reliably. In bed by 7pm, no joke!
2) Prioritizing "me" time more. :D

Are any of you quilting?
I'd love to see your work!

Until then, take care and Happy Return of the Quilt!

Back From The Dead!

Wow, this feels familiar~

I have risen from the dead on at least one other occasion, and it seems to happen around the spring time when I drop of and then return... Hmm, I wonder why that is...

So it's been 11 months since I last wrote here, and I can definitely pinpoint the reason behind it:
It came from a conversation I'd had with my sister, Kathy-neechan.
She was telling me how frustrated she was with how upbeat and positive my online blog posts are even if "behind the scenes" I would share with her the less-than-golden moments of my life.
It got me feeling like maybe I wasn't being genuine and fair to my readers.

And so I let my blog die.

But I was just scouring Dash of Green today, to hunt up some photos (more on that later!) and was flooded with so much nostalgia and gratitude for this virtual time capsule that I hereby officially am resurrecting my blog. :)

I wish I had photos to post up here because the kids have changed so much, we've been up to so many projects, etc etc...but my phone is away from me and so that will just have to wait until tomorrow.

Thanks for sticking around and I hope you enjoy the return of Dash of Green as much as I do!!

Until next time, take care and Happy Back From The Dead!