Elias and I spent the morning planting perennials in our flower bed and picking peas and tomatoes. I should say Elias was picking tomatoes and eating peas right off the vine. No picking involved, just grab and bite. He loves tomatoes, which is a good thing considering we have 30 tomato plants that are overflowing with tomatoey goodness. I love gardens.

The big change for me this week (it's been awhile hasn't it?) is to save the water from my shower and water my plants with it. I cannot get in the shower until it has warmed up. I know it's not very environmental of me, but I don't like getting blasted with cold water first thing in the morning. To offset that wastefulness I will save the water for better uses.

Folk you!

We spent the weekend at the Calgary Folk Fest. Thursday night, Friday night, Saturday all day and night and Sunday all day and night. Phew, that's a lot of folkies. To be honest, the music wasn't as good as past years, but I love the people. Everyone is just so darn nice, it's refreshing. Living in a city of over a million people can get a little exhausting, and generally people aren't that friendly. They are in too much of a hurry to be courteous. So being surrounded by 30,000 of the nicest people you ever did meet was just lovely. Elias had a great time entertaining the people around us. At one point we were navigating the chariot through a throng of people and he was yelling "beep beep!" Where he comes up with this stuff I don't know, but it sure is funny.

About the music. The highlights for me were the Be Good Tanya's, even though we were navigating the crowds trying to get the main stage during one of my favorite songs and their set was too short, it was fabulous. 

Ani DiFranco was amazing. I remembered why I have loved her for so many years. She is a little fireball and she can rock! Her music has changed so much and I love each new album she puts out. She sang a few new songs and I was amazed at how calm and happy they were. Not angry at all, in fact one of them was called "I'm not angry anymore" and she's not. She's bubbling contentment. Having babies does that to you.

While we were out having a folkin' good time, something evil was lurking in the vegetable crsiper in my fridge. A forgotten cucumber was slowly rotting and spreading its evil mold spores throughout the drawer, ruining everything in its path. I just emptied it out and I didn't even compost it! Horrors! I threw it in the trash, where it will never break down. I couldn't stomach the thought of chopping all of that moldy produce into small chunks. Oh the guilt!

Speaking of stomachs, mine is undergoing some changes these days. This is why I never blog, feel sick at the thought of moldy broccoli, and want to eat sausages all day. What's up with that? My belly is going to grow to about the size of a beach ball, until about March, and then at the end I get a baby! Talk about saving the best for last.

It's the middle of July and already I am dreading winter. I think it's because we haven't had a very warm summer so far, sure there have been many days where it's been HOT but a lot of them have been rainy. Today feels like september. Elias and I went for a walk this morning and after about one minute he started "uppa momma, uppa momma" so I cuddled him up and he said it was "told" which is Elias-speak for cold. Just like "tootie" actually means "cookie." He has his own language.

I have been spending some time in my garden lately, mostly weeding. If I wasn't out there every 2 days I'm certain the weeds would take over. Everytime I go outside I have to pull at least a few weeds. It's an obsession.

Next year I want to build a green house. I'd like to see the weeds just try and get in there!

As for my weekly changes, there hasn't been many lately. Actually I have regressed! I started buying crackers again and I have even bought tooties, I mean cookies! Horrors! Since the year is more than half over, I thought I would compile a short list of changes I like, and those that I don't.

Some things that I don't miss:

1. Tissue. Cotton hankies are so much nicer

2. Soft toilet paper. I don't notice the difference now, but Mike, well lets just he say he's a little more sensitive.

3. Disposable feminine hygeine products. I love my cotton pads. Weird.

4. Disposable baby bum wipes. The flannel ones do a much better job and are quick and easy to make.

5. Paper towels. Did I mention that I stopped buying them? It just happened and well, I didn't even notice. Cotton napkins are much nicer anyway, and so fancy when you have friends over!

6. Bottled water. All I have to say is Ewwww. What a waste of money.

7. Superstore meats. Yuck.

8. I would like to write Starbucks here, but I must admit every month or so I get a hankering for an iced coffee. Did I mention I live in suburbia?

9. Gross candy bars. Now that I've given them up, a regular chocolate bar is not so appetizing anymore. Give me organic fair trade chocolate, dark please...

Things that I do miss:

1. Salon shampoo. Oh how my hair longs for good ol' salon shampoo. I have tried everything"natural" and my hair is a tangly mess. I got desperate and spent $50 on Oh-so-natural-aveda and my scalp turned bright red. I had to return it. $50!!! I must have been temporarily insane. Some people say that they don't use shampoo at all. I might try that, when hell freezes over.

2. The bliss of being ignorant. I can't claim that I have ever been ignorant. I was born an environmentalist, but sometimes I wish that I could be.

that's all for now. I promise to post more now that I don't feel like something the cat dragged in.

I haven't posted much lately because I guess I just don't have that much to say. Life just keeps moving along and here I am and it's already thursday. Where does the time go?

My subject today is toys. They have an uncanny ability to reproduce at an alarming rate. How did my house start to look like a daycare? Everyday there is more and most of them are of the plastic variety which I despise. Plastic toys break, and then they end up in a landfill where they sit for a thousand years. Or worse, they end up in the ocean. Whenever a new toy comes into my house I imagine its life span and I inevitably start feeling guilty.

I bought Elias a plastic toy on tuesday. We were in a toy store buying a book for his cousins 2nd birthday, and he discovered a fire truck that has screws in it and a little screwdriver so you can take it all apart. This is what he likes to do. Unscrew things. It is a well made plastic toy, but it is still plastic. I have pledged to myself, no more plastic toys. His 2nd birthday is fast approaching and I must put a stop to this plastic madness.

I have been trying to think of ways that we can play that doesn't require plastic toys. I got a fantastic idea from my sister in law the other day, Play dough! Play dough has provided hours of fun this week, for the cost of some food coloring and cream of tartar. 

Here is the recipe:

1 c. flour

1/4 c. salt

2 tbsp. cream of tartar

1 c. water

2 tsp. food colouring (or beet root powder, turmeric whatever else will work.)

1 tbsp. oil.

Mix flour, salt, and cream of tartar in a medium sized saucepan. In a separate bowl mix water, oil, and food coloring. Mix wet into dry and stir over medium heat for 3-5 minutes until it forms a ball in the centre of the pan. Take it out and knead it on a lightly floured counter for a minute. Tada!

I tried the uncooked variety, and the cooked stuff has a much better consistency.

My next plan is painting. Elias loves to paint suns on the bathroom mirror with his dad's shaving brush and some water. I'm on the look out for non-toxic paints.

the magic of ebills

I can't believe that it's taken me this long, but I am finally making the switch to e billing. Regular bills that come in the mail use so much paper! DUH.

Another change that I've been making is not only turning off but unplugging energy sucking appliances when I am not using them. Like my computer, TV, stereo, and cell phone charger. One more thing, I turn off my phone at night to conserve the battery power so I'm not charging it every three days. Now if I could just remember to turn it off during yoga...

grrrrrr

I just came home from an incredibly unsuccessful bra shopping trip. I have been waiting weeks to be able to shop for a bra when Elias wasn't with me, and the opportunity arose today so I jumped at it. 

I picked 10 different styles, in many colours and sizes to ensure that something would fit. It soon became apparent that I was in the wrong store. First of all, why are 90% of bras padded? I saw a commercial the other day for a new bra, and its main selling feature was that on top of the already padded bra they added another special padded nipple part for "modesty". Since when did nipples become immodest? Why are we so obsessed with ensuring that no one knows that we have nipples under our t-shirts? Do men wear special nipple protectors so we can't see them under their clothes? I didn't think so.

After trying on all 10 of them, not only was I thoroughly disgusted but I was also incredibly frustrated. Who is designing these bras? I wanted to tell the saleswoman that the reason I wasn't buying any of these ill fitting bras was mainly because I like my nipples! Why should I wear an extra layer of padding? Why do women want to look like barbie, who by the way has no nipples!!!

Another problem with these bras is that most of them have a metal wire in them, and to me that just doesn't seem right, why put metal right next to your breasts? And who wants to wear a bra that has such a small cup that your breasts spill right out the top? Not only that, but they are squished together and lifted so high that you could rest your coffee cup on them. My breasts aren't cup holders!

To me this illustrates how screwed up our ideas of reality and beauty have become. Mainstream society is on a downward spiral, I think I'll just wear my old bra until it falls off me.

stop bill C-51

It will be a scary world if bill C-51 is passed. I should have wrote about this sooner, but here is the low down in case you haven't been following it. Basically, Health Canada wants to outlaw natural health products by making it illegal to sell products that aren't licensed. Currently that is about 70% of the natural products out there. Interestingly enough, you will be able to get any number of pharmaceutical drugs because they are licensed. And why wouldn't they be? Big Pharm has lots of money and are obviously scratching the backs of government officials.

I was once told by a doctor that the only way that my body would function normally would be for me to take $300 of prescription drugs each month, drugs that were not covered by my health plan and could quite possibly cause other organs to fail. There was no discussion about alternative therapies, but there was the implication that if the drugs didn't work for me they could always cut out a part of my colon. 

I basically ran out of the hospital and never went back. When they called me I told them to stuff it, I didn't want their treatments. I was not sick, just a little off track. And so my quest for health began. I encountered some quacky natural health doctors, but I finally found Dr. D. who looked me straight in the eye and without hesitation told me I was healthy, just a little off track, and I would be better within days. I started taking homeopathic remedies and other natural health products and I was feeling better within 2 days.

2 years later, I am healthier than I have ever been. I take supplements when I need to, and I eat healthy. I am grateful that my search for health led me to Dr. D. I feel sad for people who actually believe doctors when they are told that the only options for crohns or colitis are pharmaceuticals. 

Pharmaceutical companies are more powerful than we know, and it's time to stand up for our health. Even if you don't take natural supplements, someone you love certainly does. Click here to find out more.

hello, spring?

Is it just me or does Spring seem to be taking her sweet time arriving this year? Come on already!

I just came in from planting some more seeds in my front yard. I planted spelt, and lots of sunflowers. Elias is a big help when I'm working outside, he is my official soil tester, and according to him the soil is yucky. Perfect, just what we need. He knows, because he ate a mouthful of it while I was digging rocks into the side yard for a rock garden. 

He is sleeping right now and every time he lays down for a nap I am amazed and I feel like I have won the lottery! He sleeps! On his own! Am I the luckiest mother around or what?

Normally he sleeps with his hammer in hand. You never know when you are going to need a hammer during nap time or even at night. Some kids like stuffed toys, some like blankets, mine likes tools.

Anyway, although I haven't posted any changes for a few weeks, I am still changing something every week. Rain barrels are one thing and driving less is my newest challenge. It is hard when you live in the boonies, but I am trying to do more things near my home and walk to places that I can, like the library or the grocery store. Somedays I don't even drive at all. It's easy when the weather is warm, but believe me, when it's -30, I won't be walking to the library.

it's been a long long time a coming...

How long has it been since I last wrote? It should be called the small planet whenever I feel like it. or the small planet monthly.

I've been busy since my last posting. I've had my first few nights of blissful, uninterrupted sleep, and strangely I am more tired than I have been in years. It's like my body suddenly realized I've been working on such an incredible sleep deficit, that now it's saying, "whoa! slow down lady. We need some SLEEP!" and so, that is what I have been doing, in between taking classes on organic gardening and naturalized landscaping, planning out my vegetable garden, and setting up rain barrels in my yard.

Actually, Mike is in charge of the rain barrel portion. We have 4 rain barrels connected by a series of tubes and hoses and it works! We are only watering with rain water that we have collected from the sky! It's amazing. In fact most of them are full just from the rain and snow that has fallen in the past week. If you don't have a rain barrel get one, get four, or six...

I have planted some native wildflower seeds, that I got for free from the Bow Point Nursery, in my front yard. The nursery is quite unique and environmentally friendly too. They specialize in native, drought resistant plants, shrubs, and trees that grow in right here in Southern Alberta. Imagine planting something that will naturally do well here! So smart. There is a reason that cedars don't grow here, they are meant for a moister, warmer climate. (like the west coast) It makes me sad to drive by the superstore and see all of the half dead cedars standing outside.

Next I will be transplanting the tomatoes that we started from seeds in March. They are quite big now and are taking up half of my kitchen table, so it will be nice to get them outside. I am planting them with lots of basil to confuse insects and make them taste better. If it would only stop snowing... Then I'm planting lots and lots of peas. I am going to build a structure so they can climb upwards, saving space and creating a windbreak for the rest of my garden. ( a little trick I learned in my class.)

We bought a truckload of compost from Bow Point as well. We filled up the back of Mikes truck and it only cost $10. That we dug into the vegetable beds so they are ready for the organic seeds that I bought at sunnyside market. I wish I would have bought more seeds on seedy saturday.

plumb dumb

We had a plumbing problem the other day and I was truly panicking. I was thinking to myself, What do I do? I have to call a plumber!

Our bathtub was plugged. I screwed off the drain and pulled out a handful of hair, because that is the only way that I know how to unclog a drain. It didn't work. So then I dropped some baking soda down, followed by some vinegar. It bubbled up really nice but it actually made it worse. Then I called Mike in and told him, "I think we need to call a plumber." He didn't even respond to that suggestion. Did I mention that Mike likes to fix everything himself?

Anyway, he got out the toilet plunger and tried to plunge while standing on the sides of the tub. That didn't work so well and he fell into the half full bathtub. While standing in ankle deep water he plunged the bottom drain. Nothing happened. He removed the cover from the top drain, plugged the bottom drain with his foot, and plunged the top drain. It worked! And as a bonus it was fun to watch my handy (and flexible) husband work. I was so excited, and so happy that I married such a handy guy. So there you have it, unclogging your bathtub for dummies.

Our big change this week is a jacket for our hot water heater. Apparently it prevents the loss of heat from your water heater, so you use less energy.  They are available at home depot for $30. What would be really great is a system that heats up your water as you need it. It seems wasteful to heat up a whole tank. 

phew!

Is is already friday?

This week has flown by at a frantic pace. I didn't even post my change of the week so here it is. No more music on cd's. I have been buying all of my music from itunes. I thought this change would be easy, but I miss the cd insert. I'm one of those people who likes to sing along to the song, and I love reading the insert. I even read the "thank you" section at the back. I like to know who they are thanking. I was once mentioned in the back of a cassette that a friends band in high school released. Well, not me personally, but they said thanks to the "girls from the North." It was the highlight of my grade 12 year. 

I have been spending some of my days at the "Growing up Green" eco-fair at North Hill Mall this week. It runs until sunday. I have enjoyed my days at the mall immensely. I met some very cool people who are committed to saving the world. 

My first day was spent with Tim from Swizzlesticks Salon. I didn't realize that the swiz was so earth-friendly. I am definitely purchasing a REAP passport to take advantage of a free haircut and make-up consultation.

I spent 2 hours laughing until my face hurt with Dr. Tania Rampersand from Effective health solutions. If you are looking for a naturopath/homeopath give her a call. She is funny, passionate, and truly cares about people.

Jennifer from Verde tea is a lovely girl and her tea is all fair trade organic, unlike the other tea shops in town. I just had myself a cup of white tea with rose petals and vanilla. Yum.

Lauren from Conscious Home is so committed to saving the world that she will come over to your house and help you green it up, as a bonus you get a whole bunch of great stuff, including some of the best cleaning products around. Have you heard of small planet?

At the end of the week, I am tired but so excited that so many people are out there, making a difference. I am inspired and grateful for all the people that I talked to. Good things are happening in the world. I can feel it.

things keep changing...

The war on flyers has been won! I'm not sure what was the final key, but there have been no flyers on my door step for about a week. My neighbours do think I am nuts for having that huge NO FLYERS sign, but it has all been worth it. Ah, victory. It feels good.

This week I am cutting down my showering time to 5 minutes or less. It sounds easy, but I am a person who can easily spend 30 minutes in the shower. I can spend an hour or more in the bathtub, it's like therapy for me. I love the water. If Mike and Elias go out I run upstairs and jump in the tub. 

I've been practicing my 5 minute showers all week. If I don't wash my hair it's easy peasy. If I do wash my hair it takes a little longer because I cannot get the tangles out of my head these days. You see, I'm cutting down on packaging, so I have been using Lush conditioner that comes in a solid bar. It's called Jungle, and it does turn my hair into a jungle. A wild, tangly, jungly mess that small rodents could live in. LOVE this. 

The reason I am doing this is because I want to reduce my water consumption. I have many more great ideas for this as well. Like using a rainbarrel to collect water to water my organic vegetable garden (which is not in the ground yet, but it is in my mind!) and collecting water from my (less than 5 minute) shower to water my houseplants. I am also planning a rock garden/native plant haven in my front yard so I don't have to waste water keeping my lawn green. I have signed up for some classes at Mt Royal college, one of them is about organic vegetable gardening, one about native plants and flowers, and one about low maintenance landscaping. 

I can't wait for warmer weather.

Water

One of my sons favorite words is water. He says it about 100 times a day. One of his favorite activities is playing in water, in the tub, in the kitchen sink, at his little table in the kitchen where he pours water from cup to cup, to the floor. Another favorite is puddles, and it is a good thing that he loves to wear rubber boots. In fact his name was River for the first few hours of his life, until our parents said, "You can't name a baby River!" To which Mike and I, still in shock from the miracle of birth and life, said OK, we'll call him Elias River.

Whenever he sees the river, he heads straight for it and wades right in. Last summer he was swimming in the bow, at night, and he was only a year old. We couldn't keep him out of it. I love the water as well, having spent most of my childhood in a swimming pool, and the first ten years after I graduated as a swimming instructor/lifeguard. 

Which is why I take water so seriously. There was a time when I would buy bottled water, mostly because I was too lazy to bring my own bottle with me. Then, I saw Dr. Vandana Shiva speak about water here in Calgary. Slowly, things started to shift for me. Why are we paying for something that is free? We live in Canada, we have clean water that comes right out of our taps yet we pay dearly for bottled water, and the truth of the matter is that most of that water comes from the tap! It is no cleaner than what comes from the tap, in fact it is most likely full of bacteria. How well do you think those bottles are sanitized? What about the giant water cooler that holds it? Who cleans that? Recently, a local water business was shut down, the reason? They weren't sanitizing the bottles, there was unacceptable amounts of bacteria in the water, and they weren't even supposed to be bottling water on the premises. 

Another problem with the bottled water industry is the amount of bottles that are produced. Most of those bottles end up in a landfill where it takes 400- 1000 years to break down, that is a long time. 

My dad is very wise. When I was a kid and I came home from school feeling yucky, he would ask me "did you drink any water? What did you eat?" He refused to eat food that was cooked in a microwave, and he never drinks bottled water, only tap water.

Today, if people tell me they don't feel well, I ask them if they have drank any water, and what they ate. I don't even own a microwave, and tap water is my main source of hydration, although I do have a filter on my tap. It's from aquasana and it takes out chlorine and other stuff, I just got it at Riva's Eco Store. (If you haven't been already, GO! It's a great store.)

My point, after all of these rambling thoughts, is this: break free of your bottled water addiction! Buy a reusable water bottle (MEC sells stainless steel ones for $10) and fill it with tap water. Don't pay for things that are free!

The human cost of chocolate

The more I look, the more I see, and some things I don't want to see because they are so incredibly unfair and unjust. The chocolate trade is one of those things. Most of the chocolate that we can buy here in the First World comes from West Africa, and it is harvested by children, under terrible working conditions. The word for it is "slavery." These children are bought and sold and subjected to abuse and worse.

I've been hearing more and more about it, which is a good thing for maybe people will stop buying slave chocolate. The big companies to avoid are Nestle, Cadbury, Mars, and Hershey.

The next time you sit down to enjoy a chocolate bar, take a moment to think about where it came from, who produced it and what the real, human cost of it is. Kind of leaves a bad taste in your mouth.

The only chocolate that is going to be making it's way into my mouth is Fair Trade Organic. You can buy Fair Trade Chocolate at any health food store, and if your local grocery store doesn't carry it you can ask them to.

The war on flyers

and so it continues... I have now called the flyer force 2 times, emailed twice, signed up for both the Red Dot Campaign and Dump the Junk, talked to the kids who deliver them and now I have posted a giant NO FLYERS sign on my front door. So maybe my neighbours think I'm a little crazy, I want this madness stopped I tell you!!

Enough of that, here is a lovely video from one of my favorite bands, The Be Good Tanyas human thing.

Happy Almost Spring!

the business of yoga

I must admit I have a small problem with buying yoga clothes. I have drawers full of them, and I hate to say it but most of them are of the lycra variety. In my own defense, I worked at lululemon for 4 years, and that is where it all began. Before lulu, I practiced yoga in plain old cotton pants and t-shirts, but who can resist the 60% staff discount?

Which brings me to the change of the week- no more lycra yoga clothes. Lycra is basically a plastic, which is a petroleum product, which takes hundreds of years to break down in a landfill not to mention the environmental cost of producing the stuff. So, I have sworn off lycra and will now only buy organic cotton, hemp, soy, or bamboo clothes. This should be easy considering that everyone now sells organic cotton, yay for eco-chic, eco-hip! In fact, just this afternoon I bought myself an organic cotton t-shirt from superstore. I feel pretty cool sitting here in my pesticide free t-shirt.

100% pre used trees!

It appears that the office supply giant staples now carries 100% recycled paper. When I found it last night I couldn't help but grin, and then still with a huge smile face, I asked the stock boy if they had 100% recycled notebooks. He said that yes, they did, and I thought I had hit the jackpot. Who knew that notebooks could make me so happy? He directed me to the aisle, but they did not have them. They had notebooks with recycled covers, but I don't care if the cover is recycled, I want the pages too! I purchased my paper, and a map of the world, and left without even requesting the notebooks, I was that bummed out.

In case you haven't already noticed, it's hip to be green. This is a far cry form the early 90's, when environmentalism was hip, but in a hippie dippie sort of way. Corporations weren't jumping on the green bandwagon, and organic cotton more resembled old burlap. You certainly couldn't find organic produce at your local Safe place to buy food, and shopping green meant shopping second hand. It's funny how the green movement is spawning a whole new reason to shop. Buy more Stuff, Save the Planet!

Change of the week

My newest change is to actually use my reusable shopping bags, and so far I have been very good about it. It was this picture that really made me rethink all of those plastic bags that I get at the grocery store, and I do a lot of grocery shopping. We eat all of our meals here in our house, and I am feeding a 6'4" man with a huge appetite, plus myself, and I can pack away a lot of food. And Elias too, but he is not a big eater, yet.

Earth saving 101

These two are another reason why I do this. And for everyone else, I thought I would compile a list of small changes that we have made in our lives over the years to lessen our footprint on the earth. They are easy to do.

1. Earth friendly cleaning products! In case you haven't tried them already (here comes some shameless self-promotion) Small Planet are really the best cleaning products around and there are NO questionable ingredients, everything is listed on the bottle. They are produced locally, by me, and they work better than anything else out there.
2. Bar soap for showering. No fancy bottled shower gel, just lovely handmade (local) soap. Do Be Clean is my favourite.  www.dobeclean.com
3. Eco-laundry soap. I use Nellies, and for stain removal I use a stain remover bar from Eden Essentials in the Calgary Farmer's Market.
4. Compact Flourescent Bulbs in all the lights in our house. They last 7 years, they don't waste energy by producing heat, and they save you money on your electricity bill.
5. Energy Star appliances. If your fridge is 10 years old, it is a huge energy sucker. Fridges in general are huge energy suckers, but old ones are worse. Not all new fridges are energy star, however, and the ones with the freezer on top are the most energy efficient.
6. 100% recycled office paper and notebooks. Just for fun, whenever I go into Staples I ask for 100% recycled paper. They don't have it, and I know this, but I like to watch them try to find it and then wonder why they don't carry it. On my way out I fill out a suggestion form requesting that they carry it. If everyone did this they would carry it for sure. So next time you're in staples, ask for it.
7. Crystal deodorant. Anti-perspirant contains aluminum, which builds up in your body, close to your breasts. I just don't like the idea of purposefully putting metal onto my body. Plus, the crystals have no packaging.
8. No bottled water. I bring my own stainless steel water bottle where ever I go. Water is a basic human right. Everyone on the planet should have access to fresh, clean water, but they don't. This is a whole other topic in itself, so stay tuned!
9. The Library. Although I love buying books I have started using the library as much as I can. If I sign out a book that I can't live without, then I buy it. To quote Margaret Atwood, "we are writing our history on the skins of fishes with the blood of bears."
10. Recycle everything that I can. The only way to recycle your plastic in Calgary is to have a curbside pickup. I don't know where it goes, but if anyone wants to find a use for plastic there is a huge market in Calgary. I was thinking ultra-cool lawn furniture made from local recycled plastic, and play structures for parks and backyards. I'm looking into it.

The Red Dot Campaign

To reduce your unwanted mail and save about 100 million trees a year, go to www.reddotcampaign.ca. Print out the red dot letter, sign it and drop it into your community mail box. I don't know for sure how effective it is, but I'm giving it a try.

Boogers, flyers, and gratitude

Things around here haven't been great. Both Elias and Mike are sick. My no tissue rule is proving to be very fun indeed. Last week I bought three organic cotton hankies for $12. I soon realized that 3 hankies lasts about 2 hours in a house full of runny noses. Then I cut up an old baby blanket into about 12 more. They lasted one day. Last night I cut up another one, and now I am doing the laundry. 

Mmmm boogers. There is a lot of them in my house, just in case you were wondering. The great thing about using flannel blankets to wipe your nose is that you don't rub your nose raw from wiping it with wood products. No matter how many synthetic lotions they put into tissue, it is still a wood product at the end of the day, and your nose will be red and sore. Not so with flannel!! I don't even mind the small bit of extra laundry.

Enough about boogers, I never posted my newest change last week so here it is: Gratitude. One small simple word that means so much. Gratitude for all the people in my life, my house, my bed, my health, my telephone! Gratitude makes what I have enough, and more. Every day I think of all of the things that I am grateful for and that I have, then I don't feel the need to acquire more useless stuff. 

I was looking through one of the many flyers that come to my house (yes, I still get them despite all of my efforts to have them stopped- more on that later!!) and I saw a shiny stainless steel toaster oven, and for a moment I thought "hey, I could use a new toaster oven." Why this thought entered my mind I do not know. I have a toaster oven, it is old but it works great and I use it everyday. I took a moment to be grateful for the one I have, and then moved on. 

Having fliers delivered to your house each day feeds the need to get more stuff. 

Back to the flyer problem, I have called the flyer force (in case you want to call in Calgary, the number is 291-0657. Tell them Jennifer Vanderland told you to call and have your flyers cancelled!)  I have asked the kids that deliver them to please stop, I have a sticker on my door, and I have even gone online to www.the-cma.org/consumer/donotcontact.cfm to join the "Dump the Junk Campaign" So far nothing has worked. I plan on staking out my front door until those kids stop throwing flyers on my front porch. I lived in a condo in Hillhurst for years, and I had a nice little sticker on my door which was amazingly effective. The burbs are a different story.

Why oh why?

I've been thinking a lot lately about why I am doing this weekly green change in my life, and there are many different reasons. I don't consider myself to be a radical eco-warrior, I am just your average concerned citizen. I just heard about this terrific blog called Green as a Thistle, and this woman has made one eco-change every day for a year. Every Day. Not just once a week. That is some serious change.

I am doing this not because I like to walk around for one week a month with a submarine sandwich between my legs, or because I am the kind of person who likes to deny themselves pleasure. It's because I find it so easy, and I want to share these small changes with others and maybe inspire them to do the same. I want to live simply and happily, and I want to change my life for the better. A lot of these changes that I have made I have been thinking about for some time, but I have just been too lazy to do them. So now I have no excuse. I am changing one thing each week for the entire year of 2008. 

Here's a little recap of my year so far:

1. Reduce garbage. This is my biggest challenge and it is something that I think about everyday, with every purchase I make. Because of this I no longer buy any packaged or processed foods. Mike was searching through the cupboards for something to eat the other night, and really there is nothing there! We have a tonne of  food and if 8 people dropped by for dinner I could whip up something divine, but there is no snack foods. I took pity on him and made him some chocolate chip cookies.
   
2. Compost. I love this. I was digging around in my compost pile this afternoon, and it's looking good. I learned that you can add dryer lint and hair to your compost! Fabulous!
   
3. Reusable menstrual pads. Don't love it but I haven't found a suitable alternative yet. Still experimenting with the Diva Cup.
   
4. 100% recycled toilet paper. Don't even miss the quilted soft kind.
   
5. No more tissue! Elias has a cold right now and I have been wiping his nose with reusable hankies from Hankettes. I Love them and Elias doesn't mind either. His nose isn't even red from all the wiping.
   
6. I gave up coffee for 3 miserable days. Then I realized that I still have to ENJOY my life so I changed it a little. No more starbucks, no more paper cups, only fair trade organic beans. So far I have only had one latte from second cup. (my sister had a coupon, I couldn't resist!)
   
7. Reusable bum wipes. Why did I wait so long? These are much better than the alternative.
   
8. Homemade bread, granola, and yogurt. So far so good on the bread and granola, have not done the yogurt yet, although we always used to make our yogurt...
   
9. Bulk spices= less packaging.
   
10. Organic meat only in our house.

That about sums it up for tonight, sweet dreams if anyone is reading.

Jeef Berky

I haven't been very diligent about posting, and I will take this time to blame it entirely on Elias who has decided he doesn't need to nap anymore, and instead, when he gets grumpy he takes it out on his unsuspecting cousin. Blessedly, he is now in a peaceful slumber as his little body could no longer take it. As adults, we can ignore these signs of sleepiness by ingesting copious amounts of caffeine, but babies simply sleep when they need to.

Thank God for that.

In light of some new beef recalls ( the thought makes me shudder, those two words should never be in the same sentence) I have decided that we will be eating less meat than we already do, and will eat only local, organic meat. I like to buy it from Hoven Farms, Sunworks, or the dutchies at the Calgary Farmer's Market. They are not called the dutchies, but they are dutch and I cannot remember the name of the actual business. Lack of sleep will do that to you.

In our house we eat meat (chicken or beef) twice a week at the most. The rest of the time we eat beans, rice, pasta, soup, and fish. Poor Mike. He was raised on meat and potatoes and has married a woman who is a little scared of cooking and eating meat. I once served him raw pork chops. mmmmm.

Change change change...

For months I have been collecting small glass jars, and then I realized that instead of letting them pile up in my pantry I could actually put them to use. So I have started buying bulk spices and storing them in my little jars. My pantry looks so nice with all of these jars lined up. It is cheaper, since I'm not paying for any packaging, and I can buy organic spices. Maybe it's just me, but these spices seem to be a lot fresher as well. Another great thing is that the jars are glass. The safety of storing food in plastic is questionable, so I am phasing out the plastics in my house.

That is my big change for the week. Not too exciting, but so simple.

Total Eclipse of the Moon

After watching the eclipse last night, I awoke this morning feeling, inspired, in love, and so grateful for my life. It is one of those days that seems sunnier than most. Maybe it was the company, my good friend Claudia was visiting from Central America. Maybe it was the fine Chilean wine that she brought, or the great dinner that we all shared, or the long walk outside on a crisp cold night. Maybe it was the conversation as we sat on the porch watching the night sky, remembering old times and looking forward to new adventures. Whatever it was, it was lovely. 

I felt inspired to go for a long walk this morning to enjoy the sunshine, however fleeting it may be. Today is thursday, which is garbage day in my neighbourhood. As I walked through the streets I noticed a lot of people have 8-10 bags of garbage. 8-10 bags of garbage from one household in one week?? That is disgusting and these people should be ashamed of themselves.

It got me thinking, what if we were forced to deal with all of our garbage? What if it didn't just go "away" every week? What if all the mountains of crap that we create had to be stored in our backyards, or worse, in our homes? I'm sure it would make a lot of people rethink their waste. Imagine the smell of rotting food scraps and the mountain of cardboard from useless plastic toys...(that is a whole other topic!)

A few years ago there was talk about a limit on the amount of garbage that one household generates, and a fine for those who exceed the limit. Other forward-thinking Canadian cities have this, but Calgary, it seems, is more of a backward-thinking city. 

On one of our many classic rock stations, there was a phone in where people could say what they thought of this garbage limit, and I thought others would like the idea as much as me. To my horror, most people couldn't even fathom the idea of limiting their garbage. I felt sick to realize that most people don't even give it a second thought, and think that we have unlimited space for all of the useless junk that clutters up our homes, and our minds.

The Big Debate

Over the past few weeks I have heard, and read, about the big "cloth vs. disposable diaper" debate. In my mind there is no debate to be had. It's common sense, which is a funny term, because I honestly don't think that sense is too common. 

Anyway, back to my topic. The big "debate" is that cloth diapers aren't any better than disposables because you have to use bleach to get them clean. BLEACH! On your baby's bum! Let me make one thing clear. Bleach causes cancer. It is toxic. Now why oh why would you bleach something that you put onto a small infants bottom? 

Cleaning them is easy. You put the poop into the toilet, which is something that you should be doing even if you use disposable diapers, and then you put them into a bucket with a little vinegar in it. Then, after a few days when you are running low on diapers, you put them into the washing machine with some ecologically friendly laundry detergent, (I use Nellie's) and wash them. Here is the shocker, they come out clean, and smelling like, well nothing. Not poop, not pee, and certainly not laundry soap scented with fragrances. They also come out with some stains on them. You are dealing with poop after all.

Another argument for the disposable side is that washing cloth takes more water. In reality, it takes more water to produce disposables, and the wood pulp inside is bleached so it is that nice white colour that so many people are so fond of. So, by creating these diapers there is more water used and more water polluted by the runoff. 

To reduce the amount of water that you use, get a front loading washing machine. They use less water and less energy, and they get your clothes cleaner. You could argue that they are expensive, but it is all a matter of priorities as far as I can see. Think of it as an investment. I saved up for my machine, and I love it. I sometimes sit in front of it just to watch the clothes roll around and around and around... I'm kidding!! I'm not that crazy.

Glimmer of hope

I decided to watch the Planet Earth DVD with Elias tonight. I chose the "saving our species" disk. When I watch things like this I feel very small. There is so much destruction happening in our world, how can I make a difference? Will it change anything if I give up coffee and tissue? I sat down at my computer and I ended up at TED, which is an amazing website full of inspiring ideas. If you have some time and are in need of a little glimmer of hope in your day, watch this. 

As for more small changes in my life, I am further reducing the packaging that comes into our house. I am making granola, and bread once a week, and I am learning how to make yogurt. Less packaging, less preservatives, better taste. 

It's been two weeks that I've been doing this, and I like it. When did we decide that baking bread was back breaking labour and that it's easier to buy it at the store? Besides the rising and actual oven time, making bread takes about 20 minutes. Here's a little secret. While your bread is rising, you can do other things. Like go outside, do your bookkeeping, and play with your kids.

The granola is easy too, and cheaper. I can buy all organic, some local ingredients and make my own for about 1/4 of the cost. We go through a lot of granola in this house. Mike is a little addicted.

The ultimate chocolate chip cookie

I love cookies, but not overly sweet ones. This recipe is just right, with lots of chocolate chips. I adapted it from the Moosewood Restaurant New Classics *my favorite recipe book.

You need:

3/4 cup coconut oil (or butter)

1 cup sucanat (or brown sugar but sucanat gives them a nice dark colour and rich taste)

2 eggs

1 1/2 cups unbleached white flour

3/4 cup whole wheat or spelt flour

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp salt

2 tsp vanilla 

2 tbsp water (or milk if you prefer)

1 1/2 cups dark chocolate chips (organic of course)

Pre heat oven to 375 degrees. In a large bowl cream together butter and sugar. Add eggs and vanilla and mix well. In a separate bowl, mix together the flours, soda, and salt. Add this to the butter mixture and mix some more. Add chocolate chips and mix. Drop by the tablespoon full onto baking pan. Bake for 10 minutes. Cool. Eat. Makes 12 big ones.

Giving up on giving up

It's true. My days are not so great without my morning cup of coffee. The world sucks actually, and all I do is eat cookies, so I have revised my pledge. No more starbucks. No more coffee in disposable cups. Only shade grown organic beans for me, thank you very much. I feel better all ready.

On to my next change for the year, and I really can't believe that it's taken me this long. 

Reusable baby bum wipes. It's so simple, and so great. I made them last week and they are WAY better than the ones I have been using up to this point. We have always used cloth diapers and reusable wipes are just so smart! I have always made my own because the thought of paying for something to wipe Elias's bum with seemed crazy, and those packaged ones are expensive. I was making them out of a roll of paper towels, cut in half.

Now I am making them out of old flannel blankets. 

It's easy. Cut blanket into squares the size of a tissue or so. If you have a baby you most likely have a 100 or so receiving blankets, so use them up. 

You will need: Dr Bronner's baby soap, water, lavender or tea tree essential oil, your blankets, and a container to hold them in. I use an old tupperware that is rectangular and thin so it easily fits into the diaper bag.

Measure out 1 cup water, 1 tsp soap, and 10 drops essential oil. Lay your cut up wipes into the container and pour soap and water over. Put the lid on. Voila. Wash with your diapers or rinse after using and wash with towels. Simple.

I can't tell you the joy this simple thing brings me. Maybe that's just the coffee talking.

oops

I started out the week with a great resolve to finally kick my coffee habit. I was so on board and excited by a fresh start, and a chance to give my body a break from all of the caffeine I've been ingesting over the years. Well, by wednesday I was miserable. MISERABLE I tell you. My world was not a happy place. I wanted to move out of the city. The traffic was hell, people were rude and my family was driving me crazy! 

But still I kept on. Not a drop of coffee passed over my lips.

Thursday was no better. Then some old friends dropped by for a visit. Eagerly I asked them "do you want a coffee?" One was a non-coffee drinker, the other a caffeine junkie. I got out my espresso machine, ground up some fair-trade-organic-shade-grown beans and brewed us a cup. Oh the joy I felt as I sipped my first coffee in days. Suddenly, my world was a brighter place. Old friends, new babies, and coffee, shared in my sunny kitchen on a fine day in February.

On a side note, I spent monday, tuesday, and wednesday eating chocolate chip cookies. I swapped one vice for another. But I am happy to announce that my chocolate chip cookie recipe is now perfect. I will post it another day. Right now I'm off to the basement to mix up some cleaning products.

ode to coffee

Oh Coffee, how I have loved thee. It was so long ago when we first met and I inhaled your pungent scent. It took years to really acquire a taste for you. It started with black coffee in mcdonalds while skipping classes in high school and moved forward from there. You were there for me each morning through college, and through my years as a lifeguard. I looked forward to relishing each sip from a disposable paper cup while driving to the mountains. You became a morning ritual and soon I was unable to start my day without you. It felt incomplete. My passion soon became an addiction as I sought out coffee shops where ever I happened to be. 

I'm afraid our love affair has come to an end. You give me gut rot and your production weighs heavily on my conscience. I have moved on. Goodbye coffee, I'm sure I'll miss you sometimes. 

A few facts about coffee:

The production of coffee leads to river pollution, soil erosion, and deforestation. I know that you can buy fair trade, organic, shade grown coffee, but seriously if you look around at the first world's thirst for coffee how can this be at all sustainable? Starbucks is worldwide with at least 15,000 stores. That's a lot of coffee; that's a lot of coffee cups! And that is just one chain.

Not only that but it just isn't good for your adrenal glands, or your bones. It hardly seems worth it for a cuppa. 

It's been two days. I've been drinking a lot of tea.

small changes

This year, I am committed to making one earth friendly change per week in my house and my life. Here is a short list of what I have accomplished so far this year.

1. Reduce the garbage that we generate each week. We have a recycling pick up each week and the biggest part of that is plastics. Yogurt containers, plastic bags- everything comes in a plastic wrap of some sort. I am going to reduce our amount of recycling too. 
   
2. Composting. We just starting composting and there is a lot of organic matter that leaves my kitchen each day. Compost is a beautiful thing!
   
3. Reusable menstrual pads. hmmm. Not loving this change too much. I suppose that if you like the feeling of walking around with a submarine sandwich between your legs then you might like this idea. That being said, I am committed to this. (that is reason enough to get pregnant again!!)
   
4. 100% recycled toilet paper. We have made the switch, much to the disappointment of Mike's sensitive bum.
   
5. No more Kleenex. If you need to blow your nose in my house then you can use my (oh so soft) toilet paper. I often use old bandanas or some of the cotton hankies that my grandma gave me. I would like to note that if I get a head cold, then I WILL be buying some kleenex.
   

That about sums up the changes for the first five weeks of 2008. As this is a new week, my new change is to eliminate coffee. HA! Day one has not been fun. Maybe I should wait until December to implement this ? 

Here is my recipe for warm chickpea salad:

You need:

1 bulb roasted garlic

1/2 red pepper diced

1/2 yellow pepper diced

2-3 cups chopped spinach

1/4 cup feta cheese

3/4 cup chicken (or veggie) stock

1/2 onion finely chopped

1 can chickpeas

olive oil 

1 lemon

salt and pepper to taste

Roast garlic. Wrap it in foil, drizzle with 1/2 tsp olive oil and roast in toaster oven at 400 degrees for 35-40 minutes.

Saute onions in 1 tbsp olive oil, add drained chickpeas, chicken stock, roasted garlic, and salt and pepper. Saute on med. for about 15 minutes until stock is absorbed.

While the peas are cooking, chop the spinach and peppers and crumble the feta. Place into a bowl. When peas are done pour them over the spinach and toss. Squeeze juice of lemon over top and top with more feta.

hello small planet

Finally a space to call my own! Here it is folks, the first edition of the small planet daily. Except that it might not be daily....

I just returned from a morning round of deliveries and Elias is sleeping like a baby, because he is a baby. An 18 month old baby. He is so peaceful when he is sleeping, all rosy cheeked and gorgeous. Here is a short list of things that I have learned in the past 18 months.

1. having a baby is a lot of work, but when you're done, it's well worth it. I think that if you knew before hand that you were going to have this funny little person who you love more than you ever thought possible, labour and delivery would be a little easier. You see, before I had Elias I just didn't know what it meant to be a mom, or what I was in for. If I had known this before the big day it would have been easier! That is why I think that our second will be easier. ( I must keep telling myself this...)
   
2. lack of sleep is really no big deal. It's all a state of mind. If someone had said to me, "jennifer, once you have a baby you will not ever get a good nights sleep again" then I might have said "well no babies for me!" You see I was a person who NEEDED at least 8 hours EVERY night. Who was that woman? Give me four hours of uninterrupted sleep a night and I am on fire!
   

That is all I have for today, but come back and check out my new recipe for a warm chickpea salad that will have you loving chickpeas. I'm not kidding, it's that good.