How are the worms?!!!!!

I know this is a burning question in everyone's mind...HOW ARE ANGI'S WORMS?! It's been a month with no update...was there a worm emergency? did the worms eat through the compost bin and cause chaos throughout the county? how are those worms????

Well, breath easy! The worms are just fine!!! :) LOL!

I put those little buggers in the bin and didn't see any progress! Being the slightly high strung person that I am (no need for affirmations from those that know me well), I was somewhat disappointed with their lack of speediness. Then my worm book arrived and it turns out the poor little guys do not like temperatures below 55 degrees and they were either snuggling together for heat or had already kicked the bucket since temperatures were only reaching highs of 45 at the time.

Now that the temperatures have been rising, those little worms are busting their little hineys (I don't think they actually have hineys...oh well) and making compost like you wouldn't believe!!! I am so excited for my little worms!!! :)

In the meantime, as you can see from my recent book additions, I am continuing to learn way too much about how horrible everything around us is!!!! Once you know a little, it's like a snowball that keeps growing and growing. Now, I am trying to make everything from scratch to avoid as many additives (that may not be as safe as you think) as I can.

It has been a fun learning experience! I have made granola which is YUMMY!!! Soy ice cream, bean salads and no knead breads that are delicious. And this may sound like it would be way too much work to incorporate into your regular life, but it only really takes about 1/2 hour per thing...which is pretty much the time it takes to drive somewhere to get convienience food-and you save on the gas money!

My nemesis so far is real bread!!! UUUGGGHHHHH! First one was a solid concrete rock by the time it cooled. The second one only rose about 1/2 way so it was the densest bread I have ever made my hubby eat (he's such a trooper). After careful consideration, I believe I keep the temperature too low in the house for bread to rise. I am going to try a warmed oven that has been turned off. Keep your fingers crossed for me.

To make myself feel a little better about my complete failure at making bread, I whipped out a batch of old fashioned Castile soap. Oils and fats mixed with flesh burning chemicals I can do with success...mixing yeast with flour and water I can't do- What's up with that?! :)

It's been a lot of fun to create these 'natural' things...I feel better about what we are surrounding ourselves with in this house and in our food and I am learning sooooo much along the way. I am actually thankful that I have learned about what is in commercial products so I would have the oppurtunity to 'create' a natural alternatives!!!