H 2 the O August 5, 2010

A couple of months ago I got onto a kick of drinking not much of anything except water. Somewhere along the line I added those carbonated beverage back in here and there, and along with that came the juice drinks from a powdered origin, that’s how they roll here. I have noticed in the last couple of weeks that I. just. feel. like. crap. I am always tired, sometimes achey, and severely lacking in the motivation-to-do-anything department. I think it’s time for me to get my drink back on.

Remember a few years ago (maybe 5 or 6 years) when the Nalgene bottles were the new-to-the-scene rage? I picked me and The Manchild up one each of them at the EMS store, along with a trusty mouth guard thingy. About a year later I picked up three more at one of my favorite places, L.L.Bean. They were on sale, and I had lost mine, so how could I not? This time the hubby got one too.

The next thing I know, avoiding #7 plastics is all the rage. Of course, what do you think I found on the bottom our Nalgene bottles? Why, yes, of course, #7, #7, #7. You are not a lucky number, are you?

Let me just go off on a side note tangent about this… I am no expert on plastics and the numbers that you find on them. I have not done any kind of extensive research on plastics and the good, bad, or the ugly that may be associated with them. I have done a little reading here and there that put me on a kick a while ago in which I just wanted to avoid plastic food containers altogether. This kick was short lived, but I still try to avoid the plastics when possible. The point that I’m trying to get at here is how I came to find my treasure, the Klean Kanteen.

So. Back to L.L. Bean I went, the land of satisfaction guaranteed. I refturned those Nalgene #7′s because I was not satisfied with the possibility, whether real, or remote, or not, that they were leeching chemicals into my water. And there, sitting so pretty on the shelf, I saw it, the Bean Kanteen. So pretty in pink. I picked up one that day, and eventually returned to add a plain stainless to the family collection.

I can’t say enough good things about these containers. I have never had one leak on anything, Though they have been dropped a million plus one times, they have only minor scratches and a few small dents here and there. I’m not sure if this can be possible, but the ones we have are not insulated, but they seem to keep our water colder for a longer time period than the average plastic bottle. I’ve had a million compliments on them along with the “where did you get thats?”

So. Are you ready to get your drink on? You will feel so much better, I promise. And if you pick up a reusable container like mine, you will also be friendly to the earth!

Changelings June 26, 2009

I am torn today because I have two subjects on the brain, both dealing with change, but in different ways.  One has to do with how ‘times change’ and the other with how ‘people change’.  I’m going to stick with the times today since I have been thinking about that for a few days.  We’ll get to people later.

 

A week or so ago I was going to write a post about my grandmother.  And her opinions.  Yes, her opinions did need its own sentence.  I decided against that because I’m still teetering on the fence in regards to how personal I really want to get here (please keep this in mind if you plan to revisit, becuase it will also apply to the soon to come people post).

 

When I was in my teens, I was… let’s say very alternative for the time.  I was quite the tree hugger, years before it became trendy, and I caught a lot of flack for that.  While I held on to a lot of the ideas and practices I had then, there are several that slipped away as the years passed by.  I no longer remember the different properties of different crystals and stones, and I don’t have any more t-shirts that say things like ‘save a tree, harvest a developer’.  I try not to regularly lecture family members and friends on how to be kinder to the environment.

 

I’ve held true to my beliefs that there is such a thing as natural healing (though I don’t practice it very often-and I DO believe there is a place for conventional medicine), and we should all do our part in preserving the earth;  I’ve always chosen a more natural or organic option when it was available.  I’ve gone through times where I was a little more active in the   ‘earth renegade’ lifestyle, and I’m coming back into one of those times.  I’m trying to live a more natural lifestyle (natural food, natural cleaning, natural all around).

 

I specifically remember a family gathering where I was discussing the healing benefits of certain herbs and crystals with my grandmother, and she insisted that ’all that’ was psychological.  I remember making the statement that it may be so, but I would rather carry a crystal in my pocket than take a pill; if I could heal myself psychologically, all the better.

 

The other night I dropped a jar of our homemade jam at my grandmother’s house.  We sat and chatted a while as the kids played outside, and she commented on how she thought it was funny that I was getting so into the homemade thing.  This was after a recent phone conversation we had where she was telling me that she puts peppermint oil in her laundry with the sheets because it kills bed bugs.  I thought it was funny that she seems to have forgotten what I was doing 15-20 years ago; the same thing I am doing now.

 

Within the last few days, I came across this post about how the U.S. is a little late in jumping on the band wagon of the simple lifestyle, but that without America, the change that had been seen in other countries would be short lived.  Rhonda linked to some Oprah articles and shows on cutting back and living simply.  What does it say about our society, that it takes an economic crisis and Oprah for us to join others in efforts to take care of that which has only been lent to us (Earth)?

 

Today I received my email update from Katie over at Kitchen Stewardship, and while her post focused on nutrition, in her ‘How?’ everything was tied together; everything we do is connected in one way or another.

 

I’m so happy to see that even though it has taken a while, we are finally catching on to this movement.  I have discovered so many resources online that are helping me come up with more and more ways to live naturally and healthfully, all the while minimizing my impact, but in a way that is not tedious or not conducive to my currently busy schedule.  I’m hoping that this time around the change is more than a phase, and I can have an impact and inspire others, even if it is only one person.

We All Need A Little Marjory June 2, 2009

Did you ever watch Fraggle Rock?  Do you remember Marjory the ‘trash heap’?  I don’t know why I always recognized her as being a compost pile, and not just a trash heap, but for some reason, I have always remembered Marjory fondly, and she gave me a greater respect for Jim Henson; he was great for more than The Muppets.

 

I’ve written before about my love of being green.  I treid to start a compost pile in the backyard when I was in high school, but the neighbors weren’t very appreciative; the husband asked me to clean it up because the wife’s home day care children were attracted to it.  Being that we lived in a duplex at that time and we shared the back yard, I complied with his wishes.

 

That was well over 15 years ago, and while I had often thought of starting another pile, I didn’t really ever have a good place for one.  I generally rented non-single family places that weren’t very conducive to compost piles.

 

Last year while we were looking for a place to call our own, our town was offering compost bins that had been featured on Oprah, FOR ONLY $15!  I can’t even begin to descibe to you the excitement that I had when I heard this.  I promptly got on the waiting list and could not wait until I had a place to set it up!

 

Now that I have been using it for almost a year, I have decided that I would prefer to compost the old fashioned way (sans bin).  While the bin is somewhat compact and can be a little more pleasant to the eye, I have had quite the trouble keeping the animals out of it, and because it is so tall, it is hard to give it a thorough turning.  I stopped at Home Depot over the weekend and picked up some plastic poultry netting and poles so that I can get a pen of sorts set up and see how that works out for me.

 

I decided to post the bin on freecycle, and I have been overwhelmed at the number of responses that I have had!  I think I may send an email to the town to find out if they have any plans of doing another program like they did last year.  At any rate, I am just amazed at the number of people who have piles that they want to get into bins, or people who want to start a pile.  After doing some research, I found that if you do it properly, there really is no benefit to having a bin other than it may look a little neater.  This is not a problem for me as I had the bin behind the garage and I plan on keeping the new pile there as well.

 

At any rate, I was wondering if any of you have had experience with composting, and what your thoughts/preferences are.  For those of you who have considered it but have never acted, here are some great websites I found that may give you the motivation you need to get started, it really is easy!

Create Your Own Compost Pile

Composting for the Homeowner 

Garden Guide to Composting

It Isn’t Easy Being Green February 11, 2009

Since about 9th grade I have been quite a little tree hugger.  Now, the thing you need to realize, is that I was in 9th grade in… let’s say about 1990.  Being green was just coming about back then, and it was not “cool”, nor was it “trendy”.  I was sogreen I that I made little flyers to had out to teachers and classmates to help them be green too; use vinegar and newspaper to clean your windows, use lemon and Borax to clean the tub, and lots of other alternative cleaning solutions that I had found in some magazine article somewhere.

 

Then came the town recycling program.  I could not have been any happier than a pig in…  At home I made sure that we recycled EVERYTHING that could possibly be recycled.  We had this 3 bin thing in the kitchen, and I folded the brown paper grocery store bags over so they would fit into those bins and squealed with glee a the very thought of minimizing my carbon footprint.

 

Fast forward to high school… The following year I went to school at this private but still public school in the middle of nowhere in Maine.  Being green was even less attractive there.  Picture me, the little environmentalist wearing my t-shirt that said “save a tree, harvest a developer”, surrounded by sons and daughters of men who made a living by logging.  They loved to pick and tease, and started calling me  “Woodsy”.  To this day I still have fond memories of a few certain people calling to get my attention.  I loved it.  I spent only one year there, and on the last day of school, I handed out gobs and gobs of daisies (my favorite flower, even still to this day) that I had gone and hand picked from the side of the remote paved road going into town. 

 

I became more “normal” over the years as being green became the thing to do, a way of life for everyone.  But I notice that lately, I have been crazy about recycling.  I recently noticed that my neighbors don’t have a recycling bin out on the curb when garbage day comes around, I find myself obsessing over whether or not certian containers can be recycled, and I feel washed over with a tremendous sense of guilt when I forget to shop in the company of my reusable cloth bags (whic, can I tell you, internet, that I have been using for YEARS!).

 

Since we moved this summer, I watched with joy as my husband erected the trusty compost bin and stuck it out behind the garage.  I have that same guilty feeling I do with the bags when I put even an ounce of something that could go into the composter into the trash. 

 

I suppose there are other things that should be higher upon the list of what makes me lose sleep at night, but for whatever reason, maybe because Earth Day is around the corner, I have had this weighing on my mind and I needed to express myself. 

 

So, there you have it, I am an earth loving, tree hugging, guilt laden carbon foot print minimizer… don’t invite me over if you don’t recycle because you just may get an earful!