Winter - On the Fox

It's here!  A shot of our backyard upon waking up this morning.  We didn't even know snow was in the forecast.  This is the first snow of the year that's stuck, just 3-4 inches.  What a beautiful surprise.  Outside it was warm, 32 degrees, and so silent.  Peaceful.

Go Further

Go Further is a movie that was made in 2003 starring Woody Harrelson.  Tim and I just completed watching it.   The movie is a documentary focused on the idea that a single person can make large-scale change.  Basically, Woody and some friends rode their bicycles followed by a biofueled bus down the west cost from Washington through Oregon and California and stopped at local colleges along the way to raise awareness about the environment.  Although it wasn't a big learning experience for me, it was great to see people who have positive mindsets about how to save our environment.  Some of the topics explored were paper, meat, milk, renewable energy, vericomposting and organic farming.  The whole trip they ate following a raw food diet (yum, lots of fresh veggies and fruits!)  I found much about their eating to be inspiring.  I mean really, some of the food we consume we can't even pronounce the ingredients on the label!  And supposedly 2/3 of all the food on the shelves at the grocery store has some sort of genetically modified ingredient(s)...and it's not even required by law to label them saying so.  Scary!    In the Extras of the DVD,  Woody read a poem that he wrote that I think is nicely done.    The poem is too long to post here, but here is an excerpt:

Thoughts from Within by Woody Harrelson:

..."I sit on the grass under a tree 

dreaming of the way things used to be 

Pre-Industrial Revolution 

which of course is before the rivers and oceans, and skies were polluted 

before Parkinson's, and mad cows 

and all the convoluted cacophony of bad ideas 

like skyscrapers, and tree paper, and earth rapers 

like Monsanto and Dupont had their way 

as they continue to today. 

This was Pre-us 

back when the buffalo roamed 

and the Indian's home 

was the forest, and God was nature 

and heaven was here and now 

Can you imagine clean water, food, and air 

living in community with animals and people who care?"

...

On spending...

So, we all know the economy is in the pits. Lately, I've been hearing the media pushing people to get out, start spending for the holiday season, and give the economy the boost it needs. Although I understand the reasoning for this, I'm not sure it's quite the final answer. I do know I won't be "playing along." Each day, I am surrounded by people who believe that the holiday is about gift giving, and gift giving means spending money. I just think that if we will be spending money this holiday season, we should be aware of where and how we are spending it. First off, if you believe that shopping will give the economy a boost, please SHOP LOCAL! This doesn't mean driving to your nearest wal-mart. This means supporting the shop who's owner lives on your block. If you want to gift a tool, instead of going to wal-mart, go to Bob's Hardware. Bob lives in your town, and therefore you are supporting your local economy. Or, what about gifting a used-item? I know, this is absoultely absurd!! Heaven forbid we RECYCLE rather than demand for greater production of cheap plastic crap (equaling greater consumption of energy, resources, etc.). If you know someone who likes teacups and saucers, would it be wrong to find unique one at the local thrift shop rather than buying one from Macy's that is just like the other 500,000 teacups being sold at Macy's all over the country? Personally, I would prefer the unique one that shows, "this made me think of you!" Here is a last idea. What about instead of buying gifts for people, decide with them use the same amount of money to donate to your favorite cause. That way you avoid spending $20 on a crappy gift for them and they avoid spending $20 on a crappy gift for you. This year at work my department (3 of us) are chipping in $10 each to purchase hats, mittens, and scarves at Goodwill that we will donate to underprivledged kids who don't have these needed goods for the winter months.  I'm glad we are doing this rather than a secret santa type of thing.  What's the point of basically trading up money for something you probably don't want from someone that doesn't really know you? I just don't understand. If you do have to participate in a a secret santa, what about donating the $ to some special cause (like a local society that raises money for children) under the secret santa's name?

This holiday season we are limiting our spending and we are staying local with our purchasing. Between Tim and I, we will chose to spend time together rather than buy a gift for each other. This is always nice, and more memorable.

I recently learned about an initiative that a group in the UK has. A coliation group in the US called AdBusters also has run a similar thing. It's called Buy Nothing Day. Although this is an interesting campaign, it's not practical. Today, we live in a mode of ease and immediacy. I can't imagine the buy-in for Buy Nothing Day is very good.

What are you doing for the holiday gift giving? I think it's hard to break out of the excessive gift giving rut, but a few of us can help break the cycle. This year Tim and I have 1 thing on our list. A year pass to the Wisconsin State Park system. -L

Learning about Permaculture

As Tim and I continue to realize our dreams of someday having a large property where we can be mostly self-sufficent, we have been researching many things, as well as learning them by doing them. We have several reference book about homesteading, country living, gardening, land management, and so on. Through the reading and research I've recently been introducted to the term "permaculture." One of my goals for the next months will be learn more about permaculture. What is permaculture? Well, in a nutshell I guess you could describe it as the design of ecological landscapes that produce food. Emphasis is placed on multi-use plants, cultural practices such as sheet mulching and trellising, and the integration of animals to recycle nutrients and graze weeds. However, permaculture entails much more than just food production. Energy-efficient buildings, waste water treatment, recycling, and land stewardship in general are other important components of permaculture. The key is sustanability and harmony with the land. You could call it earth ethics. We hope that someday we will be able to practice the type of land management that is suitable not only for the earth, but for us! Right now, we do it on a small scale...consider it practice!

Seasons-a-changin'

We sit here helplessly as winter ushers itself in.  Only a few remnants of fall remain and that's the wet leaves on the ground and a few trees that franticly hang on to their last brightly colored leaves.  We have done the majority of the work to get prepared for winter, including pulling the garden out, bringing in all the patio furniture and we still have some pots to bring in.  Strangely, I have 1 geranium that refuses to let go, it's hanging on with 30 degree weather and frost, I can't believe it!  Tim is outside winterizing his motorcycle and the lawn tractor.  Friday night and Saturday we had snow, but nothing stuck.  Now, there is a flurry coming down again. Although I truly love the first winter snowfall that sticks to the ground, I hope we have a mild winter, at least not one with the amount of snow we had last year!  -L

Fall On Your Knees

I'm not exactly sure how to describe the feeling, but it is always heartwarming to finish a good book.   I just finished reading a well written story called "Fall On Your Knees" by Ann-Marie MacDonald.  This is the book that I started on our Minnesota trip and wanted to finish it during that trip too...that obviously didn't happen since it's two weeks later. :)   The book was wonderful, in my opinion.  The author developed characters that were engaging and real.  The story has many twists and turns, all within 5 generations of one family.  All the way to the end, secrets are revealed and as the reader, I felt more and more involved.  This isn't the kind of book you can read a little of here and there.  You have to sit down, and read large chunks at a time, it reads like an epic novel.   If you are interested in reading stories about the human condition, family ties, and tragedy, I would highly recommend this one.  It is 500+ pages of small text, so be ready for a commitment to it!  

Last Chance for Survival!

Over lunch while surfing the web I ran across an brief write up about Axolotl, the "Mexican water monster." Although I have never heard of this creature, I was sad to find out that it is salamander that is close to extinction. Due to human disruption in the axolotl's natural environment, it is predicted that in five years this salamander will be extinct. In further research, I learned that the International Union for Conservation of Nature recently put out their 2008 Red List. A list of endangered species around the world. Some species you may be familiar with like the African Elephant or the Tasmanian Devil. Many of the extinctions are noted to be due to human interference. Others might be due to disease within the species community. The list is long, but here is a link that includes a much shortened list including pictures and a brief description of the species. The full list is 1,642,189 species. To the right is a picture of the Axolotl...what a happy looking guy! Although I believe that some extinction is likely inevitable, I also have to ask: what are we doing to this planet?

Making Clothing Detergent

For the past year or so we've been buying earth friendly, chemical-free detergent for washing our clothing.   At first, it took a little getting used to because there was some sort of temptation over the synthetic fragrances like "Cool Breeze", when washing clothes.  Once I got over not having fake scents on my clothing, I realized that the eco-friendly detergents were just fine.  The brands that we've purchased that have worked have been Seventh Generation or Ecos detergent powder (cheaper than liquid). They are non-toxic, biodegradable, contain no chlorine, artificial fragrances, or dyes.  At around $8 for a box, I felt it was kinda pricey.  I decided that after using up the last bunch, I would make my own.  We feel that whenever possible, we should be using products that are as natural (from the earth) as possible.  So, instead of using a synthetic fragrance with a lot of words we can't pronounce in it, why not just use an essential oil, which is plant derived, non-chemical?  So, for the first time I made our own clothing detergent.   I am very happy with the final product!  It took just a little bit of work and it's great!  The first ingredient for the detergent is baking soda, which is a very safe product used in many "green" cleaning products.  It has been used for ages in cleaning and baking!  The second ingredient for the detergent is borax. Borax, although sounding a bit scary, is a naturally occurring mineral in the earth.   Borax is bad if you eat it, but safe for cleaning. It softens, disinfects, and deodorizes.  The third and final ingredient is castile soap.  Castile Soap is a soap that is made exclusively from vegetable oil.  I used Dr. Bronners Magic All-One Hemp Lavender Pure Castile Soap (organic).  It's vegetable base is Hemp oil and it is all natural and organic.  Since my detergent is a powder, I had to grate the soap to make it from bar to powdered form.    The differences are clear!  

Here is the list of ingredients from Dr. Bronner's Soap: Saponified Organic Coconut, Organic Palm & Organic Olive Oils (w/Retained Glycerin), Water, Organic Hemp Oil, Organic Jojoba Oil, Lavandin Extract, Organic Lavender Oil, Salt, Citric Acid, Vitamin E

Compare that to a soap that is touted to be the most "simple", Ivory Bar: Sodium Tallowate and/or Sodium Palmitate, Water, Sodium Cocoate and/or Palm Kernelate, Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Extract, Glycerin, Sodium Chloride, Fragrance, Coconut and/or Palm Kernel Acid, Tallow Acid, Citric Acid, Sodium Citrate, Tetrasodium EDTA, Yellow 10, Green 3.

Compare that now to yet another soap, Irish Spring Bar: SOAP, SODIUM TALLOWATE, SODIUM COCOATE, SODIUM PALM KERNELATE, WATER, STEARIC ACID, COCONUT ACID, PALM KERNEL ACID, GLYCERIN, FRAGRANCE, SODIUM CHLORIDE, TITANIUM DIOXIDE, PENTASODIUM PENTETATE, BHT, D&C GREEN 8, FD&C GREEN 3

Here is the detergent recipe if you are interested in trying it out.  I have been satisfied with it!  The clothes come out fresh smelling, wrinkle free, and clean!

1.) In large bowl, grate down 1 bar of Dr. Bronner's Castile Bar Soap (I picked Lavender scent, but the clothes come out fresh, but not smelling distinctly of lavender.)

2.) Add 2 cups Baking Soda.

3.) Add 1 cup Borax.

Mix well.  Store in plastic bag that can be sealed and reused for the next batch.  I use about 1/4 cup per Large load of laundry.  It will not make bubbles in the laundry, but it will clean it!  I have stopped using laundry sheets in the dryer, and the clothes have been coming out wrinkle and static free!  Enjoy!

Sour Cream Apple Pie

One of my coworkers has too many apples on his hands so he brought in a large amount of HUGE Macintosh apples.  I brought a bunch home and dehydrated the majority of them, but still had a few left over.  I decided to make the following pie with what I happened to have on hand, it was good!  Below is the altered recipe. I lowered the sugar, used egg beaters, used whole wheat flour and more apples than the original recipe.  The altered recipe goes as follows:

Amish Sour Cream Apple Pie

INGREDIENTS

1 cup sour cream 

1 egg (I used egg beaters)

½ cup sugar

2 tablespoons flour

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon vanilla

3-4 cups diced apples (your preference to peel or not peel)

1 unbaked 9-inch pie crust

CRUMB TOPPING

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/4 cup butter

1/3 cup flour

1 teaspoon cinnamon

DIRECTIONS

1 Beat sour cream and egg together.

2 Add flour, sugar, salt and vanilla.

3 Mix until smooth.

4 Stir in apples.

5 Bake at 400 degrees for 25 minutes.

6 Mix the crumb topping ingredients until crumbly.

7 Remove pie from oven and spread with crumb topping.

8 Bake 20 more minutes.

Our Vacation Photos

Since we have so many vacation photos,  I figured I'd post them online so all can see.  Please visit our Minnesota Photo site for the opportunity to see most of the photos we took.   minnesotareitz.shutterfly.com  Enjoy!  Here are a few of my favorites as teasers!