Year: 2014
-
Dealing with Feelings of Despondency Regarding Human Degradation of the Earth
Lately I’ve been feeling something that would be best described as urgent helplessness with regard to the state of the Earth and the rampant apathy surrounding it. I want to spend every possible second I can learning and arming myself to be able to spread the word and do everything I can to help remedy…
-
The One-Straw Revolution: Parts Four and Five
I could write a lengthy blog post on just about every sentence in The One-Straw Revolution. Unfortunately, my library loan has expired for this e-book and all the highlights I made, so I must write a quick final post on a couple of his points that currently stand out the most to me. Although I’ve…
-
The One-Straw Revolution: Part Three
Part three of The One-Straw Revolution is wise, thoughtful, and philosophical. Much of it I’ve already read and begun to practice in my Buddhist studies, but there were quite a few gems that I had not encountered yet. The first gem that keeps coming back to mind is, “Each person should ponder seriously how much…
-
The One-Straw Revolution: Part Two, The Four Principles
The Four Principles In part two, Masanobu Fukuoka discusses his four principles for successful natural farming. The four principles are simple and indeed seem to propose a less labor-intensive method of producing food. Here I’ll discuss each of the principles while adding my own elaboration. No Cultivation Throughout my life, I’ve only ever seen methods of…
-
The One-Straw Revolution: Part One
I first decided to read a book by Masanobu Fukuoka, because I knew that he used natural farming to raise grains, and I am interested in growing some grains. But it turns out that Fukuoka is a good author with whom to start my The Permaculture Pupil writings, because he used permacultural techniques without knowing it,…
-
What should you do with your old smartphone? Save the rain forests of course!
About a year ago, we decided that my then current smartphone was no longer worth using as a phone. Frankly, I was afraid that if I needed to dial 911, I wouldn’t be able to. So I got a new phone for my birthday, and hubby decided that he would use the old Android to…
-
My New Obsession, Permaculture
I’m sure no one is keeping track, but my blogs have become quite sporadic of late. The lack of writing is certainly not without reason, though. I’ve been studying. And planning. In this post, I talked about how I want to change the world. I don’t want to change the world, just to switch things…
-
Choose to Enjoy It
I am extremely lucky to be vacationing in the Black Hills this week, but perhaps even luckier to have found a gem of wisdom while here. Yesterday morning, my husband and I were outside the hotel with Forrest. Something about having a baby seems to open up conversation with about everyone. This time it was…
-
Use Your Dreams to Stay Sober
I’ve all but started a completely new life since then, and some things are easier left unsaid. You know, it’s easy to make a good impression when certain pieces of your past are left out. But we all have our demons, and I’m happy to share mine if it means I might be able to…
-
Cleaning a Bathroom the Easy Way (and without chemicals)
My working past is rich in cleaning experience. None of it until the past few years was without toxic chemicals, but I did learn some fun techniques that still make things easier. The bathroom is my least-deplored room in the house to clean, maybe because I don’t have to vacuum it. But when our family switched…
-
An Anniversary Shoutout
Tomorrow will mark two years since my husband and I traveled to the beautiful state of Hawaii and joined each other’s hands in marriage; and instead of writing a personal letter this year, I decided it would be more fun to shout it from a virtual mountain top. Husband, you gave me the courage, the…
-
I Want to Change the World
I never really knew what I wanted to be when I grew up. For a while, I wanted to be a garbage man, because they got to ride on the back of the truck. Then I wanted to be a veterinarian, because I love animals. As I got older, the length of schooling required and…
-
I Love Dandelions
Do you remember, as a child, picking a bouquet of dandelions for your mother? I do. I genuinely thought dandelions were beautiful and that I was giving a beautiful gift to my mother. I did not consider them a weed, something worthy of destruction. In fact, not only were they beautiful, but when they went…
-
#reallifewoman
Women, show of hands. Who loves how they look when they wake up? You look in the mirror and the woman who stares back has no makeup, crazy hair, puffy eyes, unlifted boobs, and dons her eighth-grade softball t-shirt. At this very moment, how likely are you to take a selfie and post it online…
-
Why I Stopped Wearing Makeup
I learned a few things in high school. I learned algebra. I learned chemistry (just kidding). I learned the definition of viscosity. And since I’m a woman, I also learned that in order to go out in public, you must “put your face on.” For at some point in history, we determined that women’s faces,…
-
Life Is About the Journey, Not the Destination
Finally, I heard the bell — that beautiful, beautiful bell. The ringing continued to vibrate deep into my little body as I shook with exhilaration. School was over for the day; I was free at last. First grade is hard. Much harder than kindergarten. I am most certain that this will be the most difficult…
-
Family Cloth
After reading Being Green, a friend asked me to elaborate on family cloth. She wondered why she would want to use it. Let’s start with this: What is family cloth? Family cloth is squares of cloth used to wipe at the toilet. Don’t leave yet! Let me explain the logic and benefits first. I hadn’t thought much…
-
Being Green
For today’s post, I thought it would be fun to list the things we do to minimize our impact on the environment. Hopefully I can give you some ideas you may not have thought of yet. Many of these items fit in more than one category, so I just picked the most obvious one. Reduce…