Sheetar.com

One Local Summer 2015 – Week 1

By Sheetar 10 May 2015 9 May 2015

This is our SEVENTH year of One Local Summer and it’s hard to believe it’s been that long already. If you’re not familiar with the One Local Summer thing, it was a challenge started locally by Farm to Philly. The basic rules were make one meal a week using only local ingredients allowing for exceptions like salt, pepper, and oil. The challenge encouraged participants to visit farmer’s markets, farm stands, and get to know your local producers. It reduces “food miles” (the amount of resources from gas to man hours spent on getting a product to you) which means less of a tax on the environment to make a meal, thereby reducing your carbon footprint. I know that sounds a little hippie crunchy granola, but it makes sense. If you can get amazing locally grown asparagus, why eat asparagus that was trucked in from California? Plus, it supports your local economy and helps local, hard-working farmers who take pride in what they do and care about the crops/animals they raise. Over the years we’ve found everything from butter to flour, beef and bison, eggs and an amazing array of vegetables, but there’s always something new to make! It encourages us to eat healthy (free-range eggs, beef, bison, etc all are far healtheir for you than their commercially-raised quivalents) and be creative in the kitchen. In fact, during the summer months, it’s fairly likely that all of our meals are 90% or more local at this point! It’s become more of a way of living for us than just an annual challenge, but it’s still fun to concentrate on that one special meal a week that’s all local.

Explanation out of the way, our local farmer’s market, the Phoenixville Farmers Market, had their opening weekened on May 2nd. It was SO nice to see our favorite vendors back for the regular season – you really get to know these folks, seeing them every weekend for so many years, and it brightens my week to see familiar smiling faces and have a quick chat with my favorite vendors. Words can’t really accurately describe the wonderful little community we have in this market and I am truly grateful that it exists and has grown SO much. I’m rambling on again, aren’t I? That plate! Okay, back on track. Lots of greens! Earlier on in the season, there are SO many delightful greens available (mustard greens, pea shoots, lettuce, bok choi) and I HAPPILY scoop them up to include in our meals. Asparagus is another early season favorite, the mushroom guy grows year round in a climate-controlled mushroom house, plus the chicken (grilled with home-grown saffron on top!) which all made for a really full plate for dinner. It’s paired with a cool glass of homebrewed mead made with honey from local bees. The whole thing was enjoyed on a warm evening on the patio, and it was just the perfect end to the day.

Ingredients:
Chicken – Deep Roots Valley Farm
White Trumpet Mushrooms – Oley Valley Mushrooms
Snap Peas – Jack’s Farm
Pea Shoots – Jack’s Farm
Mixed Greens – Charlestown Farm
Asparagus –Hill Creek Farm
Non Local – Olive Oil, Salt, Pepper, Balsamic Vinegar

Sepia Saturday

Sepia Saturday 278: Decayed and Damaged Photographs

By Sheetar 9 May 2015 7 May 2015

Still on theme for this Sepia Saturday, but I went with damaged negatives instead of photos! Afterall, the photos are made from negatives, so in the long run, it works out. These negatives are square format and were subject to some kind of light leak, likey while inside the camera since there are a series of photos with evidence of the same light leak in the same spots. The photos are of Romayne (Greenaway) Kitko (1936-2013), my grandfather’s second wife. While we were going through yet another trunk of photos, we found an old paper photo sleeve stuffed full of negatives. Being the preservation nerd of the family, I grabbed them up and scanned them, because you just never know what you’ll find. I’m still using a super old scanner, the Canon Canoscan 8400F because it comes with negative carriers for the most popular film types (except for 127 film), and it gets the job done. Unfortunately, damage like this is just impossible to undo – the negative was overexposed from the light leak and it’s not possible to reconstruct data that isn’t there or was blown out by the light leak. There’s also a little bit of dust/scratches and other damage from age and being improperly stored for so long.

As far as a date/place goes, I’d assume 1948-1952 or thereabouts, taken at her girlhood home in Clearfield County, Pennsylvania. Romayne looks to be about 15 or so in the photos, maybe younger. In the first photo, she’s standing with two children, but no one has yet been able to identify those kids. They don’t seem to be family members, but perhaps neighbors or friends or something like that. The other two, she’s sitting in front of a car, and in one, it looks like she might be petting a dog standing near her, but it’s hard to tell with the light leak flare. Even though these are damaged, they’re still treasured for a peek into her life as a younger girl and because they’re the earliest photos we have of her. Even damaged photos have their merits and are worth digitally preserving as they are.

Subscription Boxes

Goodebox May 2015

By Sheetar 7 May 2015 12 May 2015

I’m not sure when May happened, but it did, and so did another Goodebox! This one arrived yesterday, still within the first week of the month. It’s not a box that blows me away, but the variety is great, and there are new products I’ve never heard of before. The face oil I’m most excited about and the other products are things I’ll at least try.

Seaweed Detox Cellulite Cream – 6 oz / $14.99 – (Sample is 1 oz, value of $2.50) My first impression, upon breaking the safety seal is that this STINKS. It smells medicinal, and almost like Vicks Vaporub. As far as the claims of reducing cellulite, increasing thyroid function, I’m just too skeptical to believe any of that stuff given that you’re putting it on your skin in such small amounts that it’s unlikely to make any difference. Another small gripe is that the bottle is so sturdy that it’s impossible to squeeze the product out – I have to screw off the cap and shake it out into my hand instead. If I use it, it would probably in the evenings when I won’t be carrying the stink of this cream around with me, but I have serious doubts that it will do anythinig to my cellulite. The cream is pretty thick in the bottle, but turns almost to an oil on the skin and sinks in fast, so as a moisturizing cream, it’s great. It just smells so terrible, and I’m not sure I can get past that. I’m also a little concerned because I do have a thyroid issue that involves medication and I don’t want a skin care product to mess up the delicate balance we have going.
Juice Beauty Blemish Be Gone – .27 oz / $15 – (Product is full size, full value) Really love the fact that it’s a roll-on, but I’m not entirely sold on the ingredients. I don’t get pimples often, but what clears them up best are products containing sulfur. This contains a natural version of salicylic acid (which has never done anything to my pimples) and a bunch of other fruit acids. It’s worth a try since it came in the box, and I’ll be sure to report back about its efficacy! It doesn’t have much of a scent, so that’s a plus.
Derma-e Evenly Radiant Brightening Day Creme – 2 oz / $29.95 – (Sample is .5 oz, value of $7.50) I had received a batch of Derma-e samples in another Goodebox a while back, but not this one specifically. I love that the sunscreen is a physical block instead of a chemical block, so I’ll definitely be using this over the summer! Again, my skeptical side isn’t exactly buying the whole skin brightening thing, but I dont really have visible discoloration and sun damage for it to improve anyway. Still, as a good daily moisturizer with SPF, it’s worth a try!
Mullein and Sparrow Cheek & Lip Tint – 1 oz / $22.00 – (Sample is approx .2 oz, value of $4.50) Not too impressed with this. I’ll admit that I’m not a huge fan of lip products that I have to apply with my finger. The tint doesn’t seem to show up at all, and the product is really oily and melts a little too easily. I’d be worried on a hot day that this would melt all over my bag. There’s no discernable scent other than smelling like vegetable oil, and it goes on about the same. I definitely enjoy lip products that are more sticky/thick like a beeswax lip balm and stay in place longer than oily/greasy products. As a cheek product, again, it’s got no discernable tint without heavy application which then makes my cheeks look greasy.
Meraki Rose Grapefruit Face Oil – 2 oz / $20 – (Sample is 1 oz, value of $10) I tried this out right away because I’ve always been interesting in trying the oil cleansing method, but didn’t want to invest in a larger product without being sure it would work with my skin. This smells SO good, and following the directions on the product card, it definitely felt refreshing and moisturizing. I could even see using a few drops before bed for an extra hydration boost. I’ll have to see how well it removes makeup later and report back!
Update, 12 May 2015 – It worked GREAT as a makeup remover! Much more gentle, removed everything easily, and my skin didn’t feel stripped dry afterwards. This may be my new favorite thing in the world.

Overall the value of this box is $39.50 which is about mid range for the box. I’m REALLY happy with the Meraki oil, and the Derma-e sample will definitely be used up quickly. Even the other products that I wasn’t exactly thrilled with, part of this is finding out what I do and don’t like by sampling products instead of ending up with a drawer full of full-size products that didn’t work out. So, even though sometimes there are things that are misses, boxes like this are a great way to be introduced to new things.

Sepia Saturday

Sepia Saturday 277: Sport, Football, Action

By Sheetar 2 May 2015 29 April 2015

I had a hard time with this week’s Sepia Saturday theme since I had no football players (we’re less of an athletic family, more musical), and of course the older cameras weren’t really capable of taking action shots without a ton of motion blur. However, if we take the theme down to “play,” I have a great set of photos of my grandpa, Leon Kitko, when he was a young boy, posed in front of what is probably a pedal car with his teddy bears. He was probably about 3 or 4 when the photo was taken, so that makes the date about 1936-1938 or so. The back of the photos are only labelled with his name, abut the right photo has an extra note, “Leon J. Kitko and his 2 bears.” The bears are actually still around, wrapped up in a cedar trunk that my grandpa moved with him over the years. The front of that pedal car has, “Bud,” painted on the side. As the story goes, he was called buddy growing up and when he went to school, the teacher called, “Leon Kitko,” during roll call. Confused when he didn’t respond, she looked at him directly and asked him why he didn’t respond. He said that Leon was not his name, it was Buddy!

It’s a darling set of photos taken in the yard at the house where he grew up. While he’s not in a football uniform or tackling anyone, he’s a young boy playing with his teddy bears and I think that plays into the theme fairly nicely!

Subscription Boxes

Spring Bonus Goodebox – Spring 2015

By Sheetar 28 April 2015 28 April 2015

Every quarter or so, Goodebox does a bonus box to clear out their stash of leftover products from previous boxes. I’ve gotten a couple and so far have had some pretty decent bonuses! This is no exception. I’m just going to list the contents below, but for $25, I know just with the MyChelle (full size, value of $45.50), the cost of the box is covered, no problem. I am excited to try the serum, love the nail polish color, the candle and MSC perfume, and the Zosimos mask are all stuff I was really happy to see included, even if some of them are dupes from other boxes. Overall very pleased with the bonus box and looking forward to the next!

MyChelle Pure Harmony Serum
MSC Candle in Scent 003
MSC Alcohol-Free Parfum in Scent 002
Tatcha Polished Rice Enzyme Powder
EO Bubble Bath in Yoga scent
Tallulah Jane Eau de Parfum in Aiyana
Barre3 Field Guide & Wrist Band
Zosimos Raspberry N Honey Facial Mask
Juice Beauty Stem Cellular Repair CC Cream in Warm Glow
Jacobsen Salt Co. salt tin
Hue Nail Polish in Wilshire Boulevard
Blissoma Scentless Solid
Vapour Mesmerize Eye Color in Flash
The All Natural Face Vegan Cream Blush in Dark Rose

Sepia Saturday

Sepia Saturday 276: Babies, Newlyweds

By Sheetar 25 April 2015 22 April 2015

I had a bunch of different options for this post for Sepia Saturday, but I figured I’d give my husband’s Dutch family a turn again! Here we have Ellechien Dijkema (1912-1974) and Luitje Huisman (1914-1986), date unknown. They were married 29 May 1936 in Groningen, Holland, so I have to assume this photo was taken around that time since it fits in with the dates of the other photos in the album. The second photo is of their first child, Nanne Huisman. So, fitting right into the theme, we have a newlywed couple and their first child!

Of course, I couldn’t resist posting just one more since this photo is really lovely even if there’s no label or identification to tell me who or when. I’d assume this was taken in Holland like the rest somewhere in the mid 1930s, but with no label on the back, I have no idea who these folks are! It’s possible that this is the same child as above – the heights and faces seem to match, but without an identification on the back, it’s hard to be absolutey sure. It’s possible this is another of the sisters or even a family friend or cousin. The photo is still really great between the couple standing together in their coats and hats and the child hanging on to the side of the stroller, probably just learning to walk. And that’s that for this week’s Sepia Saturday.

Subscription Boxes

Petit Vour April 2015

By Sheetar 23 April 2015 23 April 2015

April’s Petit Vour arrived today, and unfortunately, I’m disappointed in this month’s box. I really wish they had a color preference section in their beauty profile because then I’d be able to tell them that I HATE HATE HATE pink. One simple change and I would’ve been pretty pleased with this box! As it stands, the nail polish is an absolutely hideous color to me and one I’d never wear, and it would’ve been nice to have the sponge in a not-pink color (I saw on instagram, folks were posting green nail polish, and green sponges, so, it’s possible). I received the Suntegrity sample in the Goodebox this month, so the only thing left are the two towelettes which don’t amount to all that much. This one was a complete miss for me, and it was mostly due to the color which is silly, but c’mon Petit Vour, how hard is that to add to the beauty profile? Not every woman likes pink – I find the whole pinkifying everything for women really abhorrent (I do not want or need a pink power drill, the orange and black one is just fine) and as a result, absolutely loathe the color. Anyway, on to the contents.

Lauren B Nail Polish – .5 oz / $18 – (Sample is full size, full value) I received color, “#ImSoLA.” Going back to the whole pink thing I mentioned above, this is a nope for me. I’ll pass this off to a friend, but this is seriously the world’s worst color for me ever. I understand other people might love it, but this is not at all my thing. Give me green, blue, a bold red, a nice neutral.. ANYTHING but pink. This is also on the high end in terms of price for a 5-free polish, so it’s probably not a polish I’d buy anyway.
Konjac Sponge – 1 Sponge / $12 – (Sample is full size, full value) I received the Pink Clay version for “tired or devitalised skin.” The Green or Red versions probably would’ve been a better fit for my skin type. Plus, Pink.. again. But hey, I tried it out because it was in the box, so why not? It feels slimy when it’s fully hydrated and didn’t do anything to exfoliate. I think my cotton washcloth (maybe even my bare hands too) is more abrasive than this! My skin didn’t feel softer or any different than before use, I still had all the same blackheads, so I’m not impressed. It also seems wasteful in comparison to a washcloth that you toss in the washer and use over and over again – the sponge is only good for up to three months. The string included on the product just got in the way so I snipped that off and let it air dry on a clean soap dish. For exfoliation, I still prefer rougher salt/sugar scrubs once a week instead of something like this, so while it was fun to try, it’s not something I’d add to my routine.
Suntegrity BB Cream – 1.7 oz / $45 – (Sample is .25 oz, value of $6.65 by volume, or sample tube on website is $4.95) I received this in the April 2015 Goodebox in the same color, so I’ll point you over there. I tried it out on a sunny afternoon and still got sunburnt (after 2pm), so I’m even less impressed than I was before. I don’t have super fair skin and don’t burn all that easily in the first place, so it was basically like using nothing. I’d definitely prefer this to not be tinted and just be a sunblock/moisturizer.
Box Naturals Luxe Towelettes – 12 Towelettes / $9 – (Sample is 2 towelettes, value of $1.50) The product card says they can be used for, “freshening up down there,” but it is NEVER a good idea to use anything scented down there. I’ll use them, probably on my face, but it’s not something I feel the need to keep around for “freshening up.” I’ll wash my face or take a shower if I need freshening up!

Total value comes to around $36.50 which is about mid range for this box. For me, the value is MUCH lower since I won’t be keeping the nail polish and already had (and don’t like) the Suntegrity sample, so I’ll pass this unused one off to someone else. That leaves me $13.50 worth of things I’ll actually use (once the sponge has hit the end of its lifecycle, I won’t be getting another) which doesn’t even cover the cost. It’s inevitable that there are going to be some fails now and again, and for me, this is definitely one of them.

Sewing

Retrotastic Camera Bag

By Sheetar 22 April 2015 22 April 2015

I’ve been on a sewing kick! Between starting the Spoonflower Instagram Cheater Quilt challenge and finishing this project, the sewing projects are really keeping me busy. This project was inspired in part by the Rhianna Indiegogo campaign that was delivered recently. I love the camera, and the idea that there’s a bag to match is pretty nifty. The fabric is printed by Spoonflower and is basically a pattern printed on fabric of the bag complete with markings, directions, and a cute bonus key fob. In addition to the fabric, there’s a really great tutorial by HappySewLucky here.

Overall, I found the sewing really easy. Line everything up carefully, follow the directions and it’s a breeze. One small change I made was to use fusible fleece instead of quilt batting since the instructions didn’t specify the quilt batting thickness (there are a variety of lofts available). I was able to iron the fleece to the fabric which made it MUCH easier since I wasn’t dealing with extra pins or basting and the fleece then didn’t shift around since it was fused to the fabric. The fabric info on the Spoonflower site says to order “Upholstery Weight Twill” which Spoonflower doesn’t make anymore – instead, they have Heavy Cotton Twill ($32/yd) and for the fat quarter needed for the project, the cost is $17, plus $2 for shipping brings us to a total of $19 for the fabric. The fleece I had lying around, so I have no idea what the cost would’ve been. The puff of stuffing for the lens I snagged from a stuffed toy the boydog had mostly eviscerated (he won’t miss pulling out one teensy bit of stuffing, right?). The velcro I did have to buy, and that was $1.99 for four sets of .75″ rounds, so only $.50 for the one set I used. Total project cost was under $20 which isn’t too bad! Between cutting out the fabric and sewing I think it took about an hour, and I’m no sewing expert. The pattern is VERY well marked and the instructions thorough, so that helped make it go fairly fast. The hardest part, by far, was turing the strap inside out which, in hindsight, I probably could’ve sewed right-side-out instead.

Overall? I’m pleased! The Rhianna fits very well inside the case, the stuffed lens bit does a great job of protecting the camera lens, and the bag is super fun to carry around. Plus, there’s a satisfaction and pride in knowing that this is something I made with my own two hands instead of bought in a store.