Get Real

We live in an artificial world. We spend most of our time doing things that are not real. We watch Discovery Channel instead of hiking in the woods, we vote instead of participating in a democracy, we take vitamins instead of eating real food, we go to the gym put on headphones and stare at a TV screen instead of walking with a neighbor or playing basketball with our families, we chat on Twitter or MySpace instead of calling an old friend, we text our family instead of inviting them over to dinner. No wonder we feel confused, lonely and disconnected. We are disconnected from nature, our communities, our friends and family. It doesn't have to be this way. We can learn to be reengaged with our surroundings and we can feel good about it.

How this would look to each of us will be different. We each have different needs and different values. However, I think there will be elements of it that are similar to all of us. There are some things I would like to change in my own life to reengage with my world. The first would be to unplug myself. Whether it's tv or computer, it is difficult to engage with others while staring at a screen. I don't mean never turn them on but use them for a specific purpose instead of an all purpose time consumer. Once that tv or computer is off, you open up the world around you.

Say hi to a neighbor, take a minute and actually listen to what they have to say. Get involved in your neighborhood. Take an elderly neighbor to their doctor's appointment. Help a neighbor kid find their lost dog. We have lost a precious commodity in our neighborhoods. How many of us don't even know our next door neighbor's name. We chat online with strangers from countries all over the world, which is nice, but overlook the possibilities right in our own backyard.

Play a game with a family member, whether it be a child, a parent, an aunt or nephew. Take a minute from your day and play a game, monopoly or crazy eights or playing catch outside. The game is unimportant the time spent talking and laughing with a loved one is invaluable. It is estimated that parents only spend 35 minutes a week talking with their teenage child. Obviously our values and priorities have been misplaced.

Find somewhere to volunteer. I believe each of us wants to feel like they make a difference in this world, to feel they are valued. What better way could there be of doing this than to volunteer for a cause you feel passionate about. Lots of us feel undervalued and stressed at our work place, it can easily be the focus of our time and energy. Refocusing that energy back to something we believe in can reenergize us and bring meaning back to our lives.

Go outside. In whatever capacity your able, reconnect with nature. Whether it's going for a hike in the woods or sitting on your back stoop watching the birds at the feeder you put up. I read an article that said we will only be able to reverse our damage to the environment when we stop thinking of it as THE environment and start thinking about it as OUR environment. It doesn't matter if you live in a city or on 50 acres, what happens to this planet is affecting you. Perhaps it is not obvious yet, but the damage we are doing will catch up to us. We can only start affecting change when we realize this and start to make personal choices to say no more - that we will participate in this damage no more.

Today is the only today we have. There could be no better time than now to start a new path, to make a choice to do at least one thing differently. If we don't like the change it is easy enough to revert back to our old habits. But my guess is that is not what will happen.

Meet Benny the Vinyl Queen

Often on this blog, I'm encouraging you to make conscious choices when you decide to purchase things and to buy from individual artists and crafts people when you can. Well, when you see what this next artist has to offer, you will quickly add her to your favorite artists list to buy from. I met Benny on Etsy, a place that sells handcrafted items. Her products caught my attention right away because they are so unique, fun and use a surprising, unusual material. She graciously allowed me to interview her so that you could meet her and see some of her wonderful art. So,....

Benny tell us a little about what you make?

I work with unloved (scratched, old, forgotten) vinyl records and turn them in to something lovable again! I paint vinyl records with a colourful mandala design, and I'm now just getting in to making jewelry from vintage vinyls as well.. I even got my hands on a few coloured records. So happy.


How did you get started using records as a material for art?

I was hanging out quite a bit at my boyfriend's (now husband) communal house.. and they had records pinned up all over their walls.. one day we all decided to paint them! Mine was the fan favourite and all others that I did at the house were stolen at random parties.. so.. hahah.. I knew that I had something there..
But really, vinyls are pretty much free or cheap nowadays.. a great and plentiful medium to specialize in!

I love, love, LOVE using vinyls for the recycling factor.. AND because they're round.. there's no easier way to paint even circles than to have the ridges on records to go by..

Are there special challenges when working with vinyls?

Definitely..
If you are melting them, you have to do it at such a low oven temperature.. they can emit very noxious gasses at even 200 degrees..

Also, painting them has it's own challenges.. I don't use a primer underneath the paint & so it takes several layers of paint to make them solid. A bit time consuming..


Where can we go to buy your jewelry and artwork?

On Etsy (yay!).. the greatest 'buy handmade' site EVER.. so full of talent.. My shop name is BbbennyandtheJet you can also find me at several Halifax, Nova Scotia craft shows, rockin' my socks off.
Oh, and from me personally of course.. I have a couple of local greatest fans that will stop me on the street to ask about my newest stuff!

What kinds of things are you working on in the future?

OoOo.. if I told you these type of secrets, I'd have to kill you. or at least kidnap you and force you to work in my tiny studio with me..



So, take a minute out of your busy day and introduce yourself to a new artist that uses recycled materials in their art.

Some Food Buying Alternatives to the Grocery Store

Groceries are expensive. They also are a huge environmental nightmare. I could dedicate about 2 whole books to this subject (and believe some have, check out Michael Pollan's In Defense of Food). I'll briefly describe why food production in America is such a nightmare; our food usually comes from great distances (using lots of oil products along the way), our food is grown using huge amounts of pesticides and fertilizers (using lots of oil products along the way), eggs, meat, and milk animals are kept in horrendous conditions and given preventive doses of antibiotics (ewww!), and by the time we buy our food at the store it is usually highly processed (not appetizing and not healthy.) That's the bad news, the good news is there is a growing awareness to these problems and some good alternatives to the grocery store food dilemma.

You could supplement your grocery purchases with a small garden. Growing vegetables does not have to be super labor intensive and is a lot of fun. There is nothing more delicious than pulling a ripe tomato off of the vine and having it as part of your supper. Super empowering and super delicious. Even a couple of planters or a small raised bed is a good start. My other blog has lots of tips to help you with this endeavor.

You can also join a CSA (community supported agriculture). These are becoming incredibly popular because they are so great for both the farmer and the eater. By joining a CSA, you enter in an agreement with a farmer to buy their produce. It is usually expected that you pay your fees up front, this allows the farmer to buy seeds and things they need to grow the food. In return, you receive weekly (sometimes biweekly) amounts of in-season, locally grown, fresh (sometimes picked that morning) produce. CSAs are also great because you can ask your farmer how the food is grown (if you want someone who doesn't use chemicals), you can almost always tour the farm, and often get a hands on chance to volunteer there if you desire. What you receive in your weekly subscription depends on the farmer you work with, some only have vegetables, some add fruits, eggs, or meat. This relationship is win/win. The farmer doesn't have to go into debt to grow the food and has a guaranteed buyer. And you get to have a relationship with the person who grows your food, you know it's fresh, and how it is grown. To find a CSA near you, try the Local Harvest website or you can check out this USDA document with lots of information and websites to find local CSAs.

You also have the option of shopping at your local farmer's market. This option still gives you the opportunity to get to know your farmer and gives you a wide assortment of fruits, vegetables and herbs to choose from. Often the produce is organically grown (even if they aren't certified - ask!) You will likely be able to find humanely raised dairy and meat products also. Most communities have at least one local farmer's market, larger communities will have several to choose from. When shopping at the local market, don't be afraid to ask the farmer questions about how they grow their food or where they are located. I'd also recommend that you make sure you are buying from the grower of the food and not a retailer. One of our large local farmer's markets lets almost anyone sell produce there and often it's been trucked up from Texas (I live in Missouri). A hint; if they are selling pineapples, they are not the grower or if they have watermelons in April, they are probably not the grower. The Local Harvest website also lists local farmer's markets.

Try to lesson the environmental load of what you eat by trying some of these alternatives. If you have a favorite that I forgot to mention, let me know.

Sprouter Review

We used to have a sprouter that we loved. It broke and we were left needing to replace it. We had used jars before to sprout seed but it just didn't work as well as our fancy schmancy sprouter. Most all sprouters seem to follow the same basic design, some kind of plastic tray with holes in the bottom. However, it didn't end up being so easy to find a replacement. We bought two sprouters that we didn't like. The seeds seem to either mold in them or just didn't sprout very well.

Last month while at our local health food store, we decided to give it another try. The name of the sprouter we bought is the Sprout Garden. It cost about $25 retail and came with a small bag of alfalfa seeds to sprout. The sprout garden consists of 3 pretty large size round trays (7" in diameter), with four covers/drainers. The trays are stackable, which is nice. All in all, you can use this sprouter to grow a good amount of sprouts without taking up a lot of counter space. The box claims that you can grow four pounds of sprouts in it but we haven't tried that large of an amount so far.

So far, we've been extremely happy with this sprouter. The trays drain well and the pieces seem pretty durable. We've started numerous sprouts in it in an assortment of sizes, from small alfalfa seeds to large bean seeds and have not had any problems.

A quick refresher for those that it's been a while since you've sprouted your own seeds. We soak ours overnight first. Then basically it's a cycle of rinse and drain. Sprouts take from 3-5 days depending on the seed. A good rule of thumb is the bean seeds are ready in about 3 days, you don't want the root to get too long on them and the smaller leafy sprouts like alfalfa and broccoli take about 5 days. Keep the sprouts covered for the first couple of days and then take the covers off and allow sprouts to green up in a sunny location the last day or so. This sprouter came with a basic instruction sheet and a chart to give the amount of days until ready.

You can buy this sprouter online, if it's not carried in your local health food store. Wheatgrasskits.com carries them along with the website The Canning Pantry. I've never bought from either of these places, so, I'm not endorsing them. I'm just letting you know they carry this product.

Our current favorite place to buy seed online is the Sprout People. They have some great mixes.

Shaving, part II

So guess what ? Someone asked where do we get these "old fashioned" razors ? Well, I went out on a shopping adventure to be able to give all of you good info. Imagine my surprise, when all I could find at the local brand name drugstores was one type of mug brush and one type of ready made mug soap. Both distributed by the brand name of Williams. No safety razors and no mugs. After some thought and calculation, I realized that I bought my razor (made by Gillette, no less) almost 20 years ago at an Osco drugstore. Osco does not exist anymore, being bought out by drugstore giant CVS. So I started to search online. One of the sites I found with a wide variety of items in all price ranges is Classic Shaving . As you peruse the site, the less expensive items are toward the bottom of the pages, so do some scrolling and you will probably find something in just about any price range. The razor they offer that is equivalent to mine is toward the bottom and is called The Feather. It has a split top that opens up to replace the blades and a plastic handle. It is almost identical to the razor I've been using all these years. Now, as long as you don't have a dog in the house who likes to chew anything and everything plastic, and no one knocks your razor on the floor giving him access, these razors, by my own experience will last a very long time. If you decide to spend a little more and get one with a steel handle, you probably will never have to replace it. Now that you've bought the razor, you can get replacement blades easily from any of your local drugstores.

Now Cut That Out Part One

There are certain chemicals or cleaning supplies that you just shouldn't have around your house. They are hazardous, not good for the environment and easily replaced. Bleach is one of those chemicals. The darling of the cleaning industry isn't all just shiny whiteness.

Breathing in the fumes of cleaners containing a high concentration of chlorine can irritate the lungs. This is particularly dangerous for people suffering from heart conditions or chronic respiratory problems such as asthma or emphysema. And the risks are compounded when the cleaners are used in small, poorly ventilated rooms, such as the bathroom. Chlorine is also a highly corrosive substance, capable of damaging skin, eyes, and other membranes. Chlorine was listed as a hazardous air pollutant in the 1990 Clean Air Act, and exposure to chlorine in the workplace is regulated by federal standards.

Chlorine bleach is also bad for the environment. Toxins produced as a result of bleach use build up in the environment, cause dangers to the water supply, kill fish, harm animals, and get back to people through the food chain.

It's not that hard eliminate chlorine bleach from your household. You don't need it to clean and you don't need it to whiten your clothes.

To help whiten clothes you can add one-half cup of baking soda or washing soda in with your laundry detergent. Also, if you want to take out the yellowing or graying of your white clothes you can add 1/4 cup white vinegar to your water in your laundry.

For a good all around cleaner, use a paste of baking soda and water for counters, showers, tubs and toilets. Good old distilled white vinegar will eliminate 99% of bacteria.

Here's an all-purpose cleanser recipe from the book Green Up Your Clean Up by Jill Potvin Schoff.
2 Tablespoons baking soda
liquid dish soap or castile soap (such as Dr. Bronner's)

Put baking soda in a widemouthed container and mix in the liquid soap a little bit at a time until you have a nice foamy paste. Use this paste to clean. If you have a heavy-duty job let the paste sit 10-15 minutes and then spray on vinegar to rinse. If you are working with a surface that is sensitive to acids (such as tile), rinse off the vinegar immediately.

It is important for our health and the environment's health to change the way we clean. Luckily it isn't that hard to do once you learn how. As a first step, eliminate cleaning products that contain bleach and using chlorine bleach as a clothes whitener. Try a homemade cleaner or at least buy a cleaner from your health food store that is made in an environmentally friendly way. We'll continue this series in upcoming blogs in our quest to have a healthier, happier home.

Shaving, Sometimes Newer Isn't Better

Hey folks, here's an idea. For all of you using disposable razors, cartridge replaceable razors, and canned shaving cream, there is an obvious alternative that's been around for a long time. No, I'm not saying you have to quit shaving, if that's something that's important to you. I'm just saying there are some ways to do it that are less wasteful and a lot less expensive. Personally, I use an "old fashioned" safety razor. The kind that use regular flat razor blades, so that is the only part that you are using and discarding. The top of the razor opens up when you twist the handle, the old blade is easily taken out, and a fresh blade dropped back inside to take it's place. These type of razors are still available, but you will mostly find them at pharmacies. They are just as easy to use as a cartridge razor and I've always gotten a very fine shave with mine. Today's mega bladed popular razors are fairly cheap to buy initially, but where they really trick you, cost wise, is replacing the cartridges. They are many times the cost of the razor itself. Then, take into consideration all of the plastic and packaging involved, it's not a very green choice. For the extremely daring, there is always the straight razor, which only has to be honed (sharpened). I haven't used a straight razor, yet, but it is something I want to try in the future.

Secondly, look at all of the waste generated by "shaving cream". Which is basically, soap in a can. Personally, I use a mug and a brush. These are readily available at most pharmacies and department stores. The mugs tend to be short and wide, so you have easy access to the soap with your brush. The brushes tend to be boar hair bristles and can have a wide variety of handle types, from plastic, wood, or even porcelain. There are ready made mug soaps available, usually very close to mugs and brushes on the shelves. I use a handcrafted soap which has almond and goat's milk in it. You can also just take a bar of whatever your favorite soap is, cut the corners off of the bar so it will fit nicely in the bottom of the mug, and you are all set. I get just as good a shave with my single blade razor, using my mug and brush to make a nice lather, and it really doesn't take any longer.

So, consider looking into some "older" technology, when it comes to shaving. You might be pleasantly surprised at your "new" shaving experience and save some money and cut down on waste at the same time. Cheers !