I almost died yesterday.

Okay, I didn’t almost die, but I thought I was going to.

Well, I didn’t actually think that.

What I thought was, “Is everyone having a good time? Did that silence go on too long? Did I laugh too loud? Am I doing a good job?”

See, I was hosting a party, and I have anxiety.

I know it’s only February, but I have been spring dreaming the last few days! I’m ready to break out my tank tops and swing on a hammock in a gentle breeze. Sure, it might snow tomorrow, but my mood is looking to the future.

That makes it a great time to revisit my Bright Summer Salsa. This is one of my favorite sunny day foods! It’s spring and summer and fresh and color all swirled together in a beautiful deliciousness. You can eat it as a salsa with tortilla chips. Or you can do it like I do – straight from the bowl with a spoon!

This salsa includes corn, black olives, tomatoes, red onion, and bell pepper for bright bursts of flavor.

It’s got olive oil and avocado to smooth and balance out the flavors.

Then there’s jalapeño, lime, and salt to perk things up.

You’re going to love it!

It’s not too early to try toddler science activities with your little one! Don’t think of it as education. Instead, think of it as new ideas for having fun. You’ll be teaching new words and showing off neat experiments. Have fun with your child even if they don’t seem to get it. They are soaking in information all the time. All of these activities can be done with everyday items and they are quick to setup, making it easy to whip out some toddler science activities any time you’re looking for fun things to do with your kid.

Homesteading gifts? Christmas is right around the corner, and you need the right gift for the homesteader in your life.

I’ve found a collection of lovely illustrated books from author Celia Lewis. All you have to do is pick the right one for YOUR homesteader. These illustrated books are the perfect combination of useful information and gorgeous artwork. That makes them the gift that’s both functional AND delightful!

You might need homesteading gifts for someone who is already raising livestock or who is thinking about branching out into livestock, in which case you can pick from cows, pigs, chickens, or ducks and geese. Or for the homesteader who is a nature lover, there’s An Illustrated Country Year and An Illustrated Coastal Year. One of these is guaranteed to be a hit.

If you’re a compost beginner, never fear! Composting is one of my favorite things in the world, and you’re going to love it, too! I mean, think about it… you can take your trash and turn it into something highly useful. How awesome is that?!

9 years ago I was a compost beginner living in a rental house. A house of my very own with all the yard in the world was right around the corner, but I wanted to get started with composting right away. When you’ve got enough of your own land you can have permanent compost bins. But as long as I was renting I got started with garbage cans.

I started with a big trash can (I don’t remember the gallons, but it’s about 3 feet tall) with a good lid. I drilled holes in the bottom and sides for air flow and bug access. Then I started dumping in our waste.

Some things that DO go in the compost:

• Egg shells and cardboard egg cartons
• Fruit rinds, peels, seeds, and pits
• Veggie tops, bottoms, and wilted stuff
• Coffee grinds and our eco-friendly coffee filters
• Paper towels, cardboard toilet paper rolls
• Swept up random debris and dog hair

You might be amazed at how quickly this stuff builds up!

Some things that DON’T go in the compost:

• Meat, cheese, or any dairy
• Greasy or saucy stuff
• Bread, pasta, and rice are kept to a minimum
• People or dog manure

At one point my trash can compost got maggots. As a compost beginner, I pretty much panicked at that point! I knew the whole thing must be ruined. But, nope. Turns out they were a sign that my compost was too wet and had too much nitrogen. I worked in a LOT more dried leaves than I had previously been using, and the maggots went away.

Compost is easy like that. Even when you’re a compost beginner, problems are pretty simple and easy to turn around.

Another sign of a problem I enjoy looking out for is the smell. Contrary to popular belief, compost should smell good. It should not smell like a rotting mess. It should have a clean, earthy, dirt smell. During the maggot period, my compost smelled like shit. Literally. After working in more brown yard stuff, the smell came back to the pleasant earthy smell (with heavy coffee overtones!) I really love smelling my compost, both to check in on it and just to get a big nose-full of the earth-happy project I’m working on.

Are you a compost beginner? What do you need to know to get started?