Just Turn It Off

You are reading this blog because you are interested in minimizing our damage to our environment. Watching all the excitement about the Oscars last night, brought to the surface something that has bothered me for a long time. I would suggest to you that perhaps one of the very top things you could do for the environment would be to turn off your television. I know this idea will not make me very many friends. The TV is an American cultural icon. Most every house in the country is host to at least one. I would guess that in most those homes there is a TV in several rooms of the house. So, again I would say that one of the most important things we can do to help our environment is to boot that tv right out the door.

There are several reasons that I would argue this besides just the amount of input and waste that constitute building and using a tv. Although, this would be a substantial enough amount to justify getting rid of all tvs on their own.

The detrimental effects of watching tv could be long. So, I'm just going to focus on a few reasons.

First, Pediatrics International published a research paper where they looked at the effects on children and their tv watching behavior and how that correlated with their eating habits. Needless to say, the more tv the children watched the worse their eating habits, causing a wide range of problems from obesity, diabetes and coronary heart disease. During 121 minutes of tv, the children were barraged with 35 minutes of commercial, almost half of those commercials were advertisements for food. Not surprisingly the foods advertised were high in fat, sugar and basically junk food.

Turn the tv off.

Secondly, tv has basically become a vehicle to get us to watch commercials. Programming is almost incidental. Often times the shows are full of product placements and are barely disguised commercials themselves. Commercials are meant to make us feel a lack or a wanting. That our lives would be better if we only had...or that we would be liked better if we only had....That is the goal of commercials to make us want whatever the product is that they are advertising. Obviously, watching hours of tv and these commercials will create desires in even the most ardent anticonsumerist. There is no way around it. The people that create the ads are good at what they do, gone are the days of the hard sell. Today's commercial is subtle and often is just meant to create a feeling in us that we are to associate with the product. Almost none of these things we see advertised are things that we need. If they were there wouldn't be much need to advertise them. You know that you need them and you buy them. Commercials are meant to make you brand loyal and to make you think you need something that you probably don't really need. Watch less tv and become more satisfied with your life. Crave less, be more satisfied with what you have.

Turn the tv off.

Watching tv is a spectator sport. We are basically powerless in front of the tv. We can not be instruments of change while watching it because it is not only not real, but we can not affect it. You can only sit back and absorb whatever it is that you are watching. There is no interacting with it. I believe it creates feelings of powerlessness and that those feelings hold over to the rest of our lives. Regain your power and your ability to create change. Turn off the tv.

Turn off the tv.

The last point I'll focus on today (because there will surely be follow up posts) is that every minute you spend watching tv, is a minute you spend not doing something else. Whether it's taking a walk with a friend, throwing a ball around with your daughter, reading a book, cooking a meal with loved ones, or changing the world. This is time you will never recover, it is time lost to the tv permanently. if you step back and evaluate your life and the limited time that you have here, would you be happy to see that you spent x amount of hours in front of the tv.

Watching the tv is addictive and a habit. Put that tv in the closet. Resist the urge to pull it out for a month. It will feel uncomfortable at first but before you know it, you will be amazed at how glad you are that you did. How much time you have to do things that you care about, how many games you have time to play with family, how many books you read and that you start to think about all the things you could do to make a difference in this world. All the real life interactions you now have in your life. You regain your power, your feelings of peace and connectedness to the rest of the world.

Turn off your tv.

Meet Req the Whimsical Canadian

I have another super multimedia artist to introduce you to. You are going to love this recycling, artistic Canadian. Almost all of her whimsical art takes place on recycled materials. I fell in love with her artwork on Etsy when I was looking for ecofriendly artists. You can find lots of great artists on Etsy producing quality handcrafted items, and lots of the products are environmentally friendly. So, before I give away all the surprises, I'd like to start my interview with Req. Don't blame me if after the interview you go to her shop and buy everything in it - it's just one of those good things.

Tell us a little about the art you make?

i'm a bit of a scattered artist in that i like to dabble in a variety of different mediums [paper, vintage book pages, pen and ink, felt, cardboard, paintings], but thematically i'm pretty solid- crows, squid, jellyfish, pills... once in a while i stray from those, but i always come back home. i try to infuse a bit of humour in everything i make, be it a silly title or an obviously funny doorknob hanger.

when i started making art, i spent way too much money on canvases and paint and other supplies... there came a point where i decided i wanted to make things, but not at the expense of being able to live my life. i forced myself to start making things from whatever i found in recycling bins or cheap things at the second hand store. it's a more exciting thing to do, to scour a store for something just right or to try and see the possibility in something, instead of going to the back of the store where the 8"X8" canvases always are. i feel that it forces me to grow, it creates new rules for me every time i go to the charity shop- everything becomes an exciting experiment.

Where do you get inspiration for your art?

inspiration can and does come from anywhere, usually at a time when i don't have a pencil or a piece of paper and am forced to repeat the idea to myself like a mantra [which i inevitably forget until i'm half asleep that night]- the latest thing i made was a mixed media piece on cardboard of clouds and raindrops- i was inspired by a fellow artist [heather utah] who said clouds were relaxing to draw. i wanted to see if she was right, and she is! sometimes it's a song lyric [the piece "sleep when i'm dead" was made thanks to a song by the cure] sometimes it's

even as basic as "can i actually draw a jellyfish?" and then things take on a life of their own. mostly though, my work is inspired by humour. life can be too serious and heavy; i like a piece of levity [even black humour] at least daily. i don't go looking for inspiration, it usually hunts me down, like a cat .

Do you have a favorite medium to work with?

paper, in any form- book pages, loose leaf, cardboard, any of it- i love love love paper and the textures it comes in. i like the way it always does something different even if i'm doing the exact same steps- it'll buckle or tear or wrinkle or stay flat or peel off... i love the unpredictability of it. this may sound strange, but i love how frustrating it can be.

Most everything you do is on recycled materials, like books or fabric - is that an important part of your artwork?

it really is. i've been an environmental gal since the early 80s' it's just my way of life. i ADORE being able to take a ripped up book and instead of leaving it in the recycling bin, i'm able to make 100+ artworks from it. i'm an odd duck in that when i can save something from the garbage, i feel like i've won a prize, it's a bizarre victory for me to say "look at this!!! they were just going to throw this out, can you believe it?!" just this evening i bought some valentine's day candy and thought to myself "well the chocolate is all well and good, but what can i do with the red foil though? maybe i should buy the ones with the pink foil instead..." i'm always thinking like that now. using every piece of something thrills me. i have stacks of broken books that i've taken from libraries' recycling bins- i don't know what to do with them all, but i figure they're better of with me, than at a recycling plant. and if i hit a point where i have too many, well, putting them back where i found them is still a great solution for the environment.

another aspect to using these types of items is that while i need to be able to make my art, i also need to be able to afford to make my art! and of greatest importance to me is that if someone else really wants to own it, that they themselves be able to afford it. if i used other mediums, i'd be forced to charge more to recoup material cost

Where can we go to buy your artwork?

you can find me online: http://reqbat.etsy.com

my twitter and flickr accounts are also "reqbat"

and my blog is http://reqbat.livejournal.com/ for previews of my work, as well as monthly freebies!

What kinds of different projects are you working on for the future?

i bought myself a sewing machine to learn how to sew free-form on things, i'm very excited about trying to sew on vintage book pages, even though i don't know how that'll work with some of the paper being as tender as it is.... and i've recently started delving into making more "story telling art" and other stuff that's kid-friendly... my sketchbook is filled with different raindrop sketches, so maybe something like that in felt?

and i have this pile of pink foil here...

Skinny Bitch Night

We're vegetarian, have been for over 11 years. My daughter just turned vegan as part of a New Year's resolution. In case you weren't aware, a vegan diet eschews eating any food that came from an animal, no eggs, no cheese and for most vegans not even honey. Now, eating a mostly plant based diet is not only better for you but better for the environment. There are lots of websites out there that will give you more information about that, here's one of my new favorites, this one is also good. With my daughter going vegan that has meant starting over reading labels and trying new recipes.

My mom saw an interview with the two authors of the Skinny Bitches books, Rory Freedman and Kim Barnouin, on TV and decided to buy the books. Unbeknownst to her, the recipe book is filled with all vegan recipes. The book focuses on eating healthy and flavorable foods. Perfect, said my sister. An opportunity for us to try some new recipes and all try to eat healthier. So, she arranged for us to start having Skinny Bitch nights at her house. We all drove out to our favorite health food store, stocked up on necessities and a couple of non necessities and came home, excited to try some new foods. Being an orderly sort of person, my sister set us up to start with the first recipe, which is French Scramble. This recipe comes out of the Skinny Bitch in the Kitch cookbook. This resembles a scrambled egg dish but with tofu, know in veg circles as a tofu scramble.

French Scramble

14 or 16 ounces firm or extra firm tofu, crumbled (use your hands or a fork)

4 oz. vegan jack, cheddar, or American cheese, shredded

3 scallions, sliced

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 T nutritional yeast flakes

1 T tamari or soy sauce

1/2 t turmeric

1/2 t fine sea salt

1/2 t pepper

1/2 T refined coconut oil

1 cup sliced mushrooms (any kind)

2 cups fresh spinach leaves

In a large bowl, combine the tofu, cheese, scallions, garlic, yeast flakes, tamari or soy sauce, turmeric, salt and pepper. Set aside.

In a large nonstick skillet over medium heat, melt the coconut oil. Add the mushrooms and cook, stirring occasionally, until tender, about 1 1/2 minutes. Stir in the spinach, a handful at a time if necessary, and cook until wilted about 1 minute. Stir in the tofu mixture and cook, stirring occasionally, for 3 or 4 minutes, or until any liquid has evaporated and the mixture is hot. Serve immediately.

We followed the directions exactly except sauteed regular onions because we didn't have any scallions.

The recipe was easy and quick which was two huge pluses. We also had a green salad and corn on the cob to round out the meal.

Most all of us were pleasantly surprised. My sister was excitedly surprised with the outcome and my daughter and husband thought it was great. All in all the taste survey came down to this - 3 of us rated the French Scramble 8 or higher, 2 rated 6-7, and 1 rated it below a 5. Not bad for such a wide varieties of palettes. The vote was to definitely have it again.

This was a fun evening that my sister planned. Not only did we get to try a new recipe, but spent some fun quality time together as a family. We all helped cook and had a lively discussion during dinner (about whether to follow the recipes in order or to pick the ones we wanted to try first. I pointed out that it might take us around 2 years to reach the dessert recipes. Logic prevailed and will be skipping around the book.) I would suggest it as a fun idea to try with your family or friends. If you like the above recipe book, try checking out the Skinny Bitch In the Kitchen at your local library. Or grab any of your favorite cookbooks and give it a go.

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.