I'm still trying to minimize our posessions. Even my email box was horribly clogged. I had 124 emails on my private account. Most of them were from nonprofits. During grad school I did a newsletter signup frenzy. I must have been lonely or something! I unsubscribed to almost all of them. Wow! What a difference. Our house is also filled with things we can't seem to say no to. Gifts from family, my mom sends me boxes of junk. Last night I made a list of things I want vs things I need. Need: Clothing, food, shelter. Medicine and cleaning products. Safety items (phone, flashlight) That doesn't sound like a lot until you remember that clothing alone is shoes, shirts, fall coats, winter coats, boots, gloves, jogging clothes, agh! Want: Art and supplies, amenities, furniture, books, cat toys, modest decor, some electronics. Girly things. That is still a lot of stuff, and it doesn't even include sentimental things. Very hard to choose. On a somewhat unrelated note, I love this clothing site called Prana. They make great yoga clothes and they are partnered with Conservation Alliance, a wonderful nonprofit. And they don't brag about stuff. I love that.
Going to my favorite semi-local market today. Finding products that aren't wasteful gives me a raging migraine. Companies brag about all sorts of things that are weak or completely meaningless. Like "made from sustainable materials". Says who? Oh yeah, the company who makes the product. Fortunately, the Federal Trade Commission has finally decided to step in. ABC news had a good story on the matter. As they point out in the story, a few good labels exist already. Terrachoice mentions Ecologo and Green Seal. Here's a quick and dirty eco-guide: ** Items that will be tossed in days or weeks are wasteful, period. The "biodegradeable" label is not regulated by law. Packaging should be minimal. **Plastic is evil. The end. Try glass or metal. **As our beloved Alton Brown says, we don't like Unitaskers. If you buy a glass bottle of milk, or whatever, think of ways you can Reuse the item. Put candies in it as a Christmas gift. That way you'll also avoid gift wrap for the holiday. **Paper can be biodegradeable, but habitat loss and deforestation are, in my opinion, the most serious environmental problem these days. Buy used furniture, use a cloth bag. Be happy and dance.
Had a lovely 1st of November walk in town last night. I had a latte to go in a reuseable mug that was black cat themed and on sale Post-Halloween. Folks were outdoors chatting. Ladies were in their pretty Fall jackets and long skirts.
I'm sort of in grad-school limbo, job searching. But I'm still super busy somehow. I'm in kind of a strange frantic mode. So I enjoy my town visits. Our area is unashamedly liberal. The bookstores have bumperstickers about goddesses and yoga, growing local and Earth conservation. And grassroots organizations.
I strolled around the local bookstore. I need a datebook and I have a list of fiction books to buy. Along with our other new-home features I think I'm going to need a study with tons of bookshelves. I have stacks of journals and sketchbooks.
I'm experimenting with other forms of art and I'm using stuff around the house like buttons. I might start a scrapbook. J thinks I should begin a comic strip. That sure would give me an excuse to spend a fortune at the local art supply store. I should go back to the cafe / bookstore and ponder all this.
I wish all you guys could join me! :)
I've been doing really well with my diet, and I've been sleeping better. Endorphin highs are great. I went jogging at my Lake on Saturday. The weather was amazing. It was humid and the sky was dark.
The rain cooled off my skin. Raindrops pattered on the orange and scarlet leaves that were carpeting the ground. The whole Lake was eerily quiet. Odd birds singing, and a pair of blue jays chasing each other!
Ring-billed gulls gather by the dozens this time of year, and I saw one that had a bright-green tag on its wing. Now I have to look up whom I call to report banded birds.
Running really clears my head. I'm able to solve problems while I jog.
Lovely weekend all around.
The controversy between conservationists and loggers is still going on.The spotted owl is even further in decline than before. The Forest Service's new strategy is to blame......who? Other owls.
Yes, the USFS is blaming the barred owl for being the coup de grace of the endangered owl. Who knows what FWS will do as a result. Logging is by far the biggest threat to these guys, followed by climate change. Another reason to have Re-useable bags and avoid paper.
The Forest Service failed to stop the logging. Clearcuts made for conditions that the barred owls liked. So they moved in. It's not rocket science, and it's clearly our own fault.
I'm trying to find an American conservation group who helps spotted owls, but in the meantime, support the Wilderness Committee from Canada. I'll look, and anyone here, let me know if you hear of groups in the U.S. focused on owls in Oregon. These birds have only 10 percent of their original habiat remaining.
Happy Samhain to all my Pagan friends on Vox!
May you have warm beverages and offerings
Originally the "Feast of the Dead" was celebrated in Celtic countries by leaving food offerings on altars and doorsteps for the "wandering dead". Single candles were lit and left in a window to help guide the spirits of ancestors and loved ones home. Apples were buried along roadsides and paths for spirits who were lost or had no descendants to provide for them.
Turnips were hollowed out and carved to look like protective spirits. This was the time that the cattle and other livestock were slaughtered for eating in the ensuing winter months. Any crops still in the field on Samhain were considered taboo, and left as offerings to the Nature spirits.
I'm loving my new freedom. The house is looking stylish and minimal again. Paradoxically, it's bringing out my materialistic side. I'd like a maroon dining table and new Fall clothing. And tons of books. But I'm not interested in a Kindle.
I like tangible items. My used books, my old car. I'm for the rustic lifestyle, with a nice tree fence and a huge barn behind a house. I've learned to live simply. This is why our modern idea of environmental salvation drives me crazy.
The Cash for Clunkers program is a bit of Toxic Sludge for me. Production of new cars and the ditching of old ones is not eco friendly! Nor is clean coal or hybrid cars. Check out article by Treehugger. The packaging alone on these high tech "eco-gadgets" has probably wiped out a few albatross colonies and a small rainforest in Brazil. Do we really need dozens of new-fangled devices?
Conservation is about simplicity, not producing more junk. I've decided to plan ahead. I'm taking stock of what I really need. My dream is to have a cozy home and travel to idyllic places. Sketching art at a cafe in Paris or journalling about tropical birds in the Maldives. Clothing and food is all I need, along with trains and small cottages with lovely tapestries on the walls.
So here it is, almost Halloween and I don't have any underground sci fi to watch. There's no District 9 seqel. Do you feel sorry for me yet? I used to be hooked into the coolest indie stuff because I hung out with artists. But since grad school I've become boring and I lost my connecitons.
Most of the sci fi I like is pretty pop-culture. Lexx, The Cell and Kingdom Hospital are among my favorites. Semi-obscure but hardly indie.
I was planning to apologize for talking about District 9 again, but hey I wouldn't be the first person to obsessively blog about one topic. Just call me a Trekkie! To be honest I wish there were more people making such controversial films. I love cheesy sci fi. But hey, D9 has been banned in Nigeria. Sci fi with substance. How cool is that?
Do most of us really know what goes in places like this? One BBC article talks about the controversy. The filmmakers used the actual District 9 "slum" and hired some of the locals to help build the set. Residents were paid and fed. Some were happy, some were not. Leave it to BBC to show both sides of the story. Wouldn't it be nice if American networks still did the same? **Ahem, Fox "News...."
I'm not always in search of "meaningful" films. I just want creative and high-quality. Peter Jackson was not afraid to tackle the topic of social justice and racism. And it was a blast to watch. Oh and ps, I heard that Sharlto Copley might be nominated for an Oscar.
Any recommendations for indie films?
We had a lovely Fall visit to Williamsburg.- there was a crafts fair and we took photos of the Quiet Reflection Garden. Notice the Fairy's wing - a Reflection spider has decided to use it for his web. Could this be any more magical?
And we had bruch, at Chef Wayne's Big Mamou Restaurant! Yes, we had spicy New Orleans' cajun food for breakfast. Check out their brunch menu. I managed to go wheat free and vegetarian. Yay!
Then we stopped for some pumpkins to carve, and the obligatory yearly Halloween photo with our resident black cat Ives. And while we're on the topic of family, you may have noticed I've changed my name to Emmi. It's closer to my grandma's name, sorry for any confusion. But I'm shaking things up again.
We also watched the new Star Trek movie last night, finally! And we found a show on Hulu - a cancelled tv show called No Reservations after the Anthony Bourdain book of the same name. Was really funny. Anyway, here's a photo of me and Ives after the fun day!
I need some hot drink recipes! I've made a resolution for the Pagan new year, I'm going back to my vegetarian diet. This while trying to remain wheat-free. One way I distract myself when I'm tempted is to find a nice non-alcoholic drink.
I try to keep it healthy although I do love my caffine.
Any ideas?
Many of my Vox friends posted hot cider recipes and I'm trying to track most of them down. I didn't have enough time while in grad school to file them all. I might try to create some hot chocolate recipes although they have tons of sugar and that gives me headaches.
I'm also constructing my altar for Samhain and Halloween night. I have swan and hawk feathers, found of course. Driftwood and ocean-washed rocks from Maine. Also rose quartz and tourmaline, my birthstone. I wonder if that's significant in some way. Hmmm. I wish I had a glass table. That may have to go on my wishlist.
I might use some unbleached paper to write prose of some kind for my altar. Maybe stories? Suggestions welcome.
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