I have a pair of denim (jeans) and noticed it’s made with both cotton and lyocell. I like that lycoell made this jean softer than most denim material.

It’s comfortable and cooling to wear in the summertime and warm in the winter. And the sheen and drape is nice too. So what exactly is lyocell?

According to the Ohio State University’s fact sheet, lyocell is made of cellulose fibers from wood pulp. The first commercial production of lyocell in the U.S. was in 1993 by Courtaulds Fibers, under the Tencel trade name.

Lyocell is considered to be an eco-friendly fabric because the wood pulp is harvested from sustainable tree farms. And dissolving agent used in production is recycled.

Because it is made from a plant material, it possesses many properties of other cellulose fibers including cotton, hemp, linen, rayon and ramie.

The fabric fact sheet also states that Lyocell is more absorbent than cotton and silk, but less so than wool, linen, and rayon. Stability, overall, is similar to that of silk and better than cotton or linen.

It is the strongest cellulose based fiber when dry. Even stronger than cotton or linen and is stronger than cotton when wet. Lyocell is much stronger than rayon when wet. This property of high wet strength usually determines the extent to which fabrics can be machine washed successfully.

It’s an easy to care fabric and has not lost it’s sheen after several washes.

Prices of vegetable oils have been going up and prices of organic oils are a bit higher too. Luckily I was able to save on shipping by getting my organic oils from a local source. Not a huge savings since I still have to drive to the next city over to get them.

I am proud to be making my soaps with these new organic oils. Especially love that the palm oil is from a sustainable farm and no orangutans or humans were harm while gathering them.

This is Organic Neem & Kelp soap. The kelp is the top portion with swirls. According to skincare experts, this slipperiness is from the gel like quality of kelp which helps to protect and restore hair and skin. It’s very hydrating and healing ingredient in skincare.

Made with all organic oils (coconut, olive, and palm), organic neem and kelp. Neem oil has a strong smell so I had to add sweet orange essential oil to make it more usable. Once you realize how good is it for your skin, you’ll just think of it as the smell of healing and good health.

Handmade soaps are gentle on your skin. They contain no parabens, sulfates, or artificial color. All my soaps are Eco-friendly and bio-degradable. All the suds going down the drain are harmless, so even the fishes are happy too.

More soaps available at Cambree Naturals Etsy Shop. Enjoy!

Everyone has probably seen these curly lights known as CFL (compact fluorescent light) bulbs that’s been labeled as the “green” replacement. By 2012, some traditional incandescent bulbs will be phased out of production.

Sure they last longer than regular bulbs, but are people aware of the dangers of CFL bulbs? Breaking a CFL can can be very dangerous to your health and the environment. The bulbs contain mercury, when exposed is a neurotoxin.

Used CFL bulbs to be recycled.

The EPA has the following recommendations should a bulb break:

Before cleanup

* Have people and pets leave the room.
* Air out the room for 5-10 minutes by opening a window or door to the outdoor environment.
* Shut off the central forced air heating/air-conditioning system, if you have one.
* Collect materials needed to clean up broken bulb:
- stiff paper or cardboard;
- sticky tape;
- damp paper towels or disposable wet wipes (for hard surfaces); and
- a glass jar with a metal lid or a sealable plastic bag.

During cleanup

* Be thorough in collecting broken glass and visible powder.
* Place cleanup materials in a sealable container.

After cleanup

* Promptly place all bulb debris and cleanup materials outdoors in a trash container or protected area until materials can be disposed of properly. Avoid leaving any bulb fragments or cleanup materials indoors.
* If practical, continue to air out the room where the bulb was broken and leave the heating/air conditioning system shut off for several hours.

And to think some people wouldn’t know better and start throwing these bulb into the trash. That could be very bad news! It will break into tiny pieces and contaminate everything. Then eventually the mercury will find it’s way into our air and waterways.

Therefore, please take the CFL bulbs to a qualified recycling center where the mercury can be properly handled. In California, we can bring the used bulbs to Home Depot and Ikea.

The Chicago Tribune article also pointed out that, “CFL bulbs are made in China and India where environmental controls are lax at best and workers are undoubtedly exposed to mercury in the production process.”

For those concern with their health, CFL bulbs contributes to dirty electricity. Which can cause migraines, dizziness, nausea, confusion, fatigue, skin irritations, and eye strain.

Health Canada issued a warning after UK Health Protection recommends you should not be more than 30 cm from the light bulb for more than 1 hour per day as it emits UV rays. Test are currently being done in Canada.

So what other choices do we have? There’s LED light which is much safer and more Eco-friendly. It does cost more then CFL light bulbs and aren’t as bright. But they contain no mercury. Right now the most affordable LED light bulbs I’ve found are from Costco. I’m going to start replacing the CFL bulbs in our home soon.

The African Golden Cat is probably one of the most elusive wild cats that have rarely been seen in photos or even in videos.

The Golden Cat was recently captured on video in the wild. From CNN. This is the first known video of the cat. And it’s such a pretty cat too!

Scientists tracking this elusive wild golden cat finally caught one on video. It was recorded by a motion-activated camera placed in a Gabon forest.

The feline is shy, medium in size that avoids human contact and lives in hard to access parts of the central African forests. They live deep in the forest and people rarely get a glimpse of them in their natural habitat. Because of that reason it’s hardly been studied.

With this discovery, scientist could contribute to a greater understanding of the species. The International Union for Conservation of Nature has listed the animal as near-threatened. It is also Africa’s least studied felid. There are no reliable density estimates, but the world’s population of mature golden cats probably exceeded 10,000 in 2007.

The golden cats were always known as nocturnal or crepuscular (meaning active at dawn or dusk). But scientist caught these on video roaming around during the day. There are still many other things scientist are eager to find out this elusive animal.

I am always amaze and how much diversity we have in this planet, especially in Africa. It’s too bad human beings can’t seem to live as peacefully as animals.

One of my favorite songs from the 80’s. I remember listening to this as a kid and even to this day it makes me smile. Also love this Youtube video - it looks really beautiful out there in Wild Africa.

The Sotho people use the words ‘Khotso Pula Nala’ meaning peace, rain and abundance as their traditional greeting.

Partial lyrics of Rain in Africa by Toto

I hear the drums echoing tonight
But she hears only whispers of some quiet conversation
She’s coming in 12:30 flight
The moonlit wings reflect the stars that guide me towards salvation
I stopped an old man along the way,
Hoping to find some long forgotten words or ancient melodies
He turned to me as if to say, Hurry boy, it’s waiting there for you

It’s gonna take a lot to drag me away from you
There’s nothing that a hundred men or more could ever do
I bless the rains down in Africa
Gonna take some time to do the things we never had

Note: For the longest time I thought he said, There’s nothing that a hundred men on Mars can ever do. I guess that wasn’t it.

More than 15 years ago the dermatologist told me I have some form of psoriasis. Mainly effecting my fingers, where they crack and bleed. So it makes doing crafts (as well as typing) a bit painful.

The doctor gave me all kinds of lotions and creams but nothing worked. It’s some type of auto-immune condition, and thank goodness it’s not contagious. Since using handmade soap I’ve had less and less of a break out.

Once in a while, I’ll still get bother by dry spots on the scalps. The usual tar shampoo and other OTC prescription strength shampoo only did so much as the condition return.

Recently I found a new shampoo made with neem oil that’s really helping my scalp. It’s Thera Neem shampoo and conditioner made by Organix South, retails about $10. The conditioner also leaves your hair very soft too.  The only thing I don’t like about this shampoo or any neem product is the strong smell. But the fact that it has so many benefits to trouble skin has me being a big fan of all things neem.

Below are some highlights for why neem is so neat!

- Neem has been used for thousands of years in Ayurvedic treatments, applications which have been validated in more than 100 studies in universities and research centers around the world.

- Neem oil contains extraordinarily high levels of antioxidants, which help protect the skin from free radicals caused by over-exposure to sun, environmental toxins and other damaging elements.

- Neem oil also contains high levels of fatty acids that soak in quickly to soothe and nourish even chronically dry and itchy skin.

Photo & highlights from Organix South makers of Thera Neem.

I would recommend this shampoo to anyone that suffers from dry scalp. Not only does this company make great natural products, they are also a very eco-conscious company too.

Note: 100% neem oil handmade soap will be next on my to-do list!

The trail follows the banks of Alameda Creek in southern Alameda County from the mouth of Niles Canyon westward to San Francisco Bay (a distance of 12 miles). We didn’t hike that far, just hung around to check out the wildlife and creek.

Here’s some nature photos taken near the Alameda Creek Regional Trail.

Hello birdie! It was a bit windy & chilly but this guy looks warm.

Little bubbles and moss form while the water rushes along the rocks.

Egret waiting patiently for fishes. He was there the whole time and never left this spot.

Read the rest of this entry »

Walk around any American suburbs and you’ll notice how people love their green lawn. And there’s lots of work to keep it nice, from watering, cutting, to adding fertilizers.

Busy bee and clovers. Photo from Nye Noona.

For a safe lawn, we need to avoid using pesticides and other harmful products. Especially if you have children and pets playing in the yard.

First step to natural lawn care is to keep the clovers. Because clovers are good for the lawn, despite what weed chemical companies want you to believe.  Clovers are nature’s fertilizer factory because it has the ability to store atmospheric nitrogen in its root systems. They also attract bees, great for pollination.

Paul Tukey from People, Places and Plants encourages us to go organic when it comes to lawn care. That doesn’t mean it’s going to make for ugly lawn, but you’ll be using alternative and safer choices. Watch this Discovery Channel segment for more info.

You can learn more by visiting SafeLawns.org and check out this HOW-TO DVD: “How to Make the Organic Lawn Care Transition” featuring Paul Tukey for only a $10 donation to the SafeLawns Foundation. The DVD includes 16- how-to segments that cover an entire season of lawn care from spring through fall. It’s applicable to warm- and cool-season climates.

As noted in The OC Registar:

Every year:

* A lawn-mower user pollutes as much in one hour as he does driving an automobile for 20 miles.

* 30 to 60 percent of urban fresh water is used for watering lawns.

* $5.25 billion is spent on fossil-fuel-derived fertilizers for lawns.

* 67 million pounds of synthetic pesticides are used on lawns.

* 580 million gallons of gasoline are used for lawn mowers.

* $25 million is spent for the lawn-care industry.

* $700 million is spent for pesticides for lawns.

* 30 million acres are planted with residential lawns - enough lawn to carpet New York state.

This trailer on Youtube is about one town’s move towards natural and eco friendly lawns: “A Chemical Reaction” Trailer (Keep off the lawn!) Hudson, Quebec.

Note: If I had my way, I would opt for no lawn and just have a small garden with a patio area. And grow drought resistant plants, lay out river rocks, and maybe a water feature. Anything but a front lawn!

Here in the U.S.A., I sometimes worry about my fruits and veggies being organic or not. When it comes to potatoes or other root veggies, I chose the organic ones. Luckily with pineapple and watermelon it’s of little concern. But if you live in China, you’ll have to wonder where exactly does your food come from?

We’ve all heard of the tainted baby formula and pet food, now the list is growing.

A recent report from the LA Times pointed out China’s food scandals are becoming increasingly frequent and bizarre. And bigger, cheaper, faster is the name of the game.

Below are the highlights of the food scandal in China I gathered from the Los Angeles Times.

- A Shanghai woman who had left uncooked pork on her kitchen table woke up in the middle of the night to find her pork was emitting a blue light. It was later found to be made by phosphorescent bacteria (which glow-in-the-dark).

- Last month, watermelon farmers in eastern Jiangsu province hoped for a bumper crop instead got exploding watermelons. Much “like landmines” after they mistakenly applied too much growth hormone.

- A popular manufactured of steamed buns was caught using dye to make cheap wheat buns look like the more expensive black rice buns.

- And fish farmers are also feeding their fish ground up birth control pills to make some breeds of fish mature more quickly. Even the farmers themselves refuse to eat these fishes.

A Chinese food scientist who exposed many of these issues wrote a book about it, but the book was banned in his own country. Reporting about such things makes the government unhappy and people are scared to voice their opinion.

The list could go on and on. But these are just some of the ones I found shocking.

This isn’t just happening in China as it was also reported shrimp farmers in Vietnam were also using large amounts of antibiotics on their shrimps. And many of those shrimps are being sold to outside markets such as the U.S.A.  This just makes you think twice about eating shrimp cocktails.

I guess in this case we have to vote with our wallets. Eat less of the bad stuff or none at all. Eat more organic veggies and grow your own if possible.

I’ve been wanting to have my own serger for years now. But didn’t want to buy a brand new one since I don’t sew enough (to make it worth it).

Then I saw this used serger for $39 and was more than happy to buy it. It wasn’t perfect and missing the thread guide - as the thread guide holder was broken.

We improvised by using an old radio antenna because it can be pulled up and down. And for the thread guide holder, we used little open screws used for hanging pictures.

After cleaning up the lint and fixing the tension, it was ready for a test drive. Everything works fine and I am now a proud owner of a Singer UltraLock 14 U34!

This is the first summer tank top I made with my “new to me” serger.

I just drafted the pattern by hand and was surprised how nice the neck line turned out. The fabric is from Joanne’s Lisette brand, on sale for $5 per yard.

Sergers are great to have if you do lots of sewing and want the seams to sew up tight and last a long time.

And a good used serger is also good as it saves you money and also gets to be recycled by a new owner.

Note: Threading the serger can be tricky. Tweezers are a necessity!

More photos on my Singer’s threading chart and the mechanics,

This is another great photo from another website with names to serger parts.