Re: Fa La La La La: A Local Christmas Experiment

Hello and Happy New Year! I have been remiss in updating you on our Christmas Experiment. 'Tis late, but here we go. J and I were very successful in our Christmas Experiment (though, more accurately, it should be called a Christmas Challenge, as it was not really an experiment). We had a couple of challenges for ourselves as we embarked on our holiday shopping. Here are the updates:

• All of the gifts for our family were purchased locally or regionally. Only one single gift was bought at a "big box" store. The remaining gifts came from Sea Hag, Sam the Beer Man, Tom's, River Read Books, Ithaca Coffee Company, Laveggio Roasteria, Nyala Farm Alpacas, The Petal Pusher, Silk Oak, Spirit & Kitsch, Homespun Boutique, Creature Comforts, the vendors of the Otsiningo Park Farmers Market
• The two or three friend gifts that came from the internet were purchased from independent artisans selling their stuffs on etsy.
• All gifts were wrapped in paper purchased before we decided to take this challenge or in repurposed paper.

We did a great job on this challenge, and we got to know our local shop owners, farmers, artisans a little better. We really enjoyed our Buy Local Christmas.

Re: For This, We are Grateful

This is a re-post with some italicized augmentations. I'm thankful for so many of the same things that I'm recycling. Yay, recycling!

in no particular order: a strong, fun marriage * a smart, helpful, cute, supportive, funny husby who I looooooooooove * generous and loving family, near and far * Olive * Herb * Rachels! Tovah! * new friends * reconnecting with old friends * decent, hassle-free (knock on wood) health insurance * Dan Savage * new adventures * Mother Jones * Smart Wool * chickens * our local bookstore, local whole foods stores, and local gift shops * Obama * The Stranger (they gave me this idea and I used and/or changed some of their thanks) * a job that sort of lets me come and go as i please * Purity's cinnamon ice cream * our own (well, not OWN own) little house * access to fair trade and direct trade coffee * Rachel Maddow, Anderson Cooper, David Pakman * NPR * so long, DADT * reliable transportation * Wegmans * Nutella * access to local meats, eggs, cheeses, butter * Roku box and NetFlix * my new super-cute and fast puter *Google * chiropractics * close proximity to Ithaca * only one more semester * Joel and Ethan Coen * smart phones * our mostly good health and that of our family and friends * everyoneisgay.com * learning to make the best of things (still working on this one) * 30 Rock * Apples to Apples * farmers markets * things that used to be disposable but now are compostable! * This American Life * Cook's Illustrated * turbo-fast internet * kefir * (getting close to?) finding my niche * extra, extra, extra sharp cheddar * kombucha * AVG * smoosh-faced dogs * too many other things to list

Fa La La La La: A Local Christmas Experiment

Since I'm still in school, and we have limited monies for Christmas gifts, we're trying some new things:

1. J and I aren't gifting to each other. Boo.... I guess my present from J is ... school? Blerg.
2. We're planning to buy all our gifts locally/regionally. This is savvy in regards to money and in regards to the environment. It means no Amazon, no extra monies for shipping and no carbon footprint for the transportation of an item from wherever it comes from to Broad Street, no disappointment if the UPS driver leaves a note instead of a package. Not only will we be supporting the local economy, we'll be able to give slightly larger gifts since we won't be paying for shipping from 5, 8, 12 different online purveyors.
3. Additionally, we'll be patronizing local shops, bookstores, farmers markets and craft shows and only hitting the big box stores if we have to.
4. We're not buying any wrapping paper this year. We'll be using what we have or what we find or what we can repurpose.

J and I both really love giving totally unique gifts; hopefully we'll be able to find and gift neat things despite the (lack of) local shopping options. I suppose I can concede on gift amazingness provided that we're being better to the planet and the local economy. If it goes well, we'll probably try it again!

image via Perfect Duluth Day

Carrot Tops

As soon as the CSA folks heard we had a bun with a serious affinity for carrot tops, they were happy to indulge us (and Olive). Thanks, Binghamton Harvest and Binghamton Urban Farms!

Check This Out!

Ever since Tovah encouraged me to try to make rejuvelac during my spring break, I've been doing some research about sprouting. Now that I've finished my first batch of rejuvelac, I want to continue sprouting. I came across this neat video via the SproutPeople. I might try sprouting and growing some wheatgrass for little Olive!

Spring Break and What's Next

I'm on spring break this week; it's important that I'm occupied and at least semi-productive so I don't feel like I've wasted the week. Today is only Tuesday, and already I have been so busy!

Monday, I went to the outdoor store for a new compost pail and a rake. I drilled ventilation holes and transferred the compost from the full pail to the empty so I can use the soil at the bottom in the garden. I wasn't sure how it'd look, how composted it'd be; but I was pleasantly surprised! It looks like dirt!

I had to add the "compost only" label because the old neighbors used the pail to get rid of broken glass, so that was awesome.

Today, I got a baby dwarf Lionhead bunny! S/he is really cute and has been practicing her sprints tonight. I'll definitely have more pictures (and a name?) soon.

Tomorrow, I'm spending the day with my friend Amanda and we're going to drink booze with lunch and get massages. It should be pretty amazing. Thursday, I have to do some homeworks and then J and I will spend Friday, Saturday and Sunday together! I'm pretty sure there's a bike ride in our future.

My seedlings have really taken off and I am also making rejuvelac from sprouted spring wheatberries this week. Thanks for the idea, Tovah! All good fermented things come from Tovah.

Regarding this semester, it has been really hard. So much more difficult than I thought it'd be. It's also been kinda lonely, complicated and confusing. My life is so different now than just a couple of months ago! I'm glad I'm done with my mid-terms and I'm really glad I'll only have a month left when I get back.

I have struggled with one class in particular, Intro to Human Development. The class is all theories and nuance and stages and if you don't get all the little details, you're sunk. I bombed three quizzes and kept going to the professor over and over again. But I busted my ass preparing for the midterm and I was able to get a 74. It's not awesome, but it's better than a 50 and I think it'll give me a boost of confidence to get me through the end.

I still have a ton of work to do, but in a month; it'll all be over.

After that?

We visit Rachel and her husband Eric in Philadelphia for a few days, hopefully have dinner with Megs Sherry and her parents and relax a little before my Summer term begins.

Stay tuned for: meet my friend Amanda, a visit with Tovah, a wedding in Michigan and a few days with J's fam, and news of the fall semester!

Eco-nundrum

The organic peppers (our preference) are imported from Israel. The pesticide pepps originated in Mexico. Is it better to buy organic with a much larger carbon footprint or consume the pepps that are "closer" to home?

I bought the organic. What do you think?

For This, We Are Grateful

in no particular order: a strong, fun marriage * a smart, helpful, cute, supportive, funny husby who I looooooooooove * generous and loving family, near and far * Herb * great friends * decent, hassle-free (knock on wood) health insurance * new adventures * Mother Jones * chickens * Obama * The Stranger (they gave me this idea and I used and/or changed some of their thanks) * stable jobs (omg, I hope I haven't jinxed us!) * Purity's cinnamon ice cream * a warm (albeit dumpy and with an awful landlord), affordable, and probably safe apartment * access to fair trade and direct trade coffee * NPR * reliable transportation * Wegmans * access to local meats, eggs, cheeses, butter * Roku box and NetFlix * a fun and relaxing Thanksgiving with my family and Jesse's parents all in one room * my new super-cute and fast puter * Google * close proximity to Ithaca * Joel and Ethan Coen * our mostly good health and that of our family and friends * learning to make the best of things * 30 Rock * Apples to Apples * things that used to be disposable but now are compostable! * Cook's Illustrated * turbo-fast internet * kefir * extra, extra, extra sharp cheddar * kombucha * AVG * smoosh-faced dogs * too many other things to list

LUSH Helps Protect Orangutans. You Can, Too!

Maybe you think I'm fussy because I don't want mass market cosmetics, because my preferred purveyor of all things soapy is LUSH. There is good reason for my insistence. For instance, LUSH is in the process of eliminating all palm oil from all of its products because the environmental and social impact of using it is enormous!

During a recent trip to Indonesia to explore the palm oil industry, we witnessed firsthand the grave impact it has on Asian rainforests, wildlife and indigenous people - massive deforestation, Indigenous peoples being forced from their homes and the orangutans being pushed to the brink of extinction.

As our beliefs are at the heart of everything we do, we knew that we had to take action immediately and minimize our use of palm oil, (and hopefully save some rainforests along the way). The cosmetics industry uses approximately 6-7% of the world’s palm oil, and it’s a main ingredient in many soaps. Upon our return from Indonesia we rushed back to the LUSH labs and for almost a year worked in partnership with a leading UK soap-base manufacturer, Kay’s, to develop the world’s first commercially available palm-free soap base. Cracking this formula wasn’t easy, but after a lot of sweat we’ve finally got it right.

LUSH North America has now switched all of its soap production to this new palm-free base, and we are also using palm-free glycerin. Our end goal is to remove palm oil from all of our products, and we are currently investigating our surfactants which might be palm oil derived. Here at LUSH we understand that if the rainforests have any chance of surviving, retailers are going to have stop putting palm oil into their products.

As long as companies continue using palm oil, the Indonesian and Malaysian governments will allow the clearing and burning of rainforests to develop new plantations. Oil palm trees are so lucrative that governments and businesses only see dollar signs.

It seems to us that the only way to really tackle this problem is if palm oil becomes less popular. Because so many people want to use palm oil, it simply cannot be produced in a truly sustainable manner. Lush is hoping other business will move away from palm oil, which is why we are willing to share our expertise with anyone that wants to take similar steps. We are proud of our new formula for our palm-free soap base, which is why we want to share it with other soap manufactures. more...

See. I'm not fussy. I'm socially responsible. Do some research; maybe (hopefully) you'll want to make a similar stand with your money.

image via LUSH

Rehoboth Beach

J and I spent a few days in Rehoboth Beach, DE last week. It was our first time there; we went primarily to check out Dogfish Head Brewery and secondarily to meet up with Rachel@Philadelphia and her husby Eric. We stayed at a really beautiful and fancy place called the Canalside Inn, which was in walking distance to the boardwalk and beach. The weather was great, upper 80s and 90s the whole time.

We didn't do too much in terms of activities; we did alot of walking around town, we swam and laid around at the beach at Cape Henlopen (a Delaware state park that was much quieter and calmer than the public beach at Rehoboth), walked along the beach @ Rehoboth, toured Dogfish Head (damn, that place smelled fantastic), and spent some time with Rachel and Eric.

As far as I'm concerned, all the restaurants that we tried were extremely mediocre. Sure, Rehoboth is not known to be a culinary destination by any means, but still.... If you don't want to eat lousy boardwalk food or pay $35.00 for a piece of salmon (not that I eat Atlantic Salmon anymore anyways) at one of the wildly high-end restaurants, you're stuck with what's in between. And it mostly wasn't very good.

There were some food high-lights:

• Iguana Grill Restaurant and Cantina
• The Ice Cream Store. This place has 70 plus flavors, many homemade with milk from a local dairy farm. Some particularly interesting flavors: sweet corn, spinach, bacon, eggplant, pink mint chip.
• Greenman Bistro & Juice Bar. I'm sad we didn't try this place until our last morning when we ate there with Rachel and Eric. Greenman is delicious and just our style (organic, free range, fresh, local, biodegradable, fair trade, heaven)

The nice thing about this trip is that we were both able to relax quickly and stay relaxed for the duration of the vacation. We had a lot of fun together which is something that was infrequent when I was working overnights. I know I get all balled up about the stress and pressure of life and it was nice to be reminded how much fun J and I have together when we can forget about the day-to-day for a while. For that reason, the trip was really special and memorable.

Check out the photos.

Don't Drink The Water

It's really best on a number of levels for you to drink your water from the tap, but if you insist on consuming from plastic (Your water bottle is one-quarter oil), please drink domestic.

Anna Lenzer, Mother Jones:

If you drink bottled water, you've probably drunk Fiji. Or wanted to. Even though it's shipped from the opposite end of the globe, even though it retails for nearly three times as much as your basic supermarket water, Fiji is now America's leading imported water, beating out Evian. It has spent millions pushing not only the seemingly life-changing properties of the product itself, but also the company's green cred and its charity work. Put all that together in an iconic bottle emblazoned with a cheerful hibiscus, and everybody, from the Obamas to Paris and Nicole to Diddy and Kimora, is seen sipping Fiji....

Nowhere in Fiji Water's glossy marketing materials will you find reference to the typhoid outbreaks that plague Fijians because of the island's faulty water supplies; the corporate entities that Fiji Water has—despite the owners' talk of financial transparency—set up in tax havens like the Cayman Islands and Luxembourg; or the fact that its signature bottle is made from Chinese plastic in a diesel-fueled plant and hauled thousands of miles to its ecoconscious consumers. And, of course, you won't find mention of the military junta for which Fiji Water is a major source of global recognition and legitimacy. (Gilmour has described the square bottles as "little ambassadors" for the poverty-stricken nation.)more...

image via Viva Woman

Yeah, This Is Pretty Much Exactly Me

Unfortunately, I'm out of windows. And it makes me sad.


via A Way to Garden

Dump, Sweet Dump: My Raised Bed Garden

Last Sunday, my Uncle Richard came down to help me put together a raised bed garden. Here is the frame.

And now I'm in the frame. The door on the right is one of the doors leading to the upstairs apartment.

The building behind me is really big and houses tons of people who play loud music and argue at all times of the day and night. The cops are there frequently.

Here, I'm putting in some Early Girl Tomatoes and some Red Cherry Hot Peppers. I have a variety of pepper seedlings that are looking pretty sad and probably won't produce anything so I put in these Red Cherry plants. I'm not sure why the seedlings haven't done much; perhaps all this damn rain!

The teeny plants towards the back of the garden are the pepper seedlings.

Also in the garden: Minicor Carrots, Beauty Radishes (already coming up!), Chicago Red Beets (coming in), Ford Hook Lettuce (also coming in!), Harmony Spinach and two rows of Sugar Sprint Peas.

Bad Plant Mother

My ivy has aphids and subsequently, the neighboring shamrock does now, too. Do aphids mean I did something wrong?

Once I'm a horticulturalist, you'll be asking me these questions, no?


aphid image via Rothamsted

Overheard in the J and L House

Lisa, envious: Andrew's composting?!?!?!?!

(loud sigh)

I don't have anything! I don't have a peahen* and I don't have a compost pile. Stupid compost pile.




*my parents have spotted a peahen that may have taken residence on their property. I am, of course, crossing my fingers and hoping for peachicks.

p.s. I know I'm being ridic; you don't need to tell me.

Is Regular Clean Clean Enough for Your Family?

from the Coen brothers



via Slog

There are Plenty of Reasons to Love Ithaca

My newest reason:
At GreenStar, the local natural foods cooperative market, when you are checking out, they ask you if you want paper or corn (bags).

I love it.

If only Bingo could be even a little green.... Even a smidge would be better than (almost) nothing.


P.S. If you're wondering what we chose, we chose neither since we brought our own bags.

Tim Mollen and I Talked

and we agree that you should replace your antiperspirant with a nice, aluminum-free deodorant. I like the Crystal Rock but that's no secret. Read Mollen's take on the pits of dealing with your pits (with permission) and tell your friends:

The Lost Journal

Tim Mollen

Journal Entry: September 23, 2008 (age 39)

Sweating the Details Can Be Good For Your Health

Once in a great while, a marketing campaign can actually make you stop using a product that you’ve used for years. Recently, I’ve started seeing ads for “clinical strength antiperspirant.” So far, so good. I think I fit into the sizable demographic that doesn’t like to be involuntarily wet and smelly, or at least not during business meetings or family functions. And like most people, I usually reach for the product that says “extra strength,” rather than the one that says “regular strength.” Regular strength is for common people, not exceptional people like you and me. We have atypical needs that require extraordinary solutions. Let the peasantry get by with half-measures; we power-users must be fully satisfied!

But the next ad I saw went on to say that clinical strength antiperspirant achieves its improved results by increasing the aluminum compound content. Aluminum? Increasing the aluminum? Huh? I went to my medicine cabinet and got out my regular strength, sweat-battling stick. Sure enough, the label listed the active ingredient as aluminum zirconium tetrachlorohydrex. Just the aluminum part sounded bad enough. With the added negative connotations of zirconium (cheap diamonds?) and tetrachlorohydrex (bleached fish?), I became truly concerned.

After some online research, I realized that for the past 30 years, I have been plugging the pores under my arms with…metal?! “That oughta do it,” I imagined the product development engineers saying. But is cutting off a natural process of the body by filling openings in our skin with metal really the best option? From what I gather, the science on possible health problems resulting from this approach is unsettled. Nonetheless, the idea just sounds wrong.

That didn’t stop me from toying with the idea of stitching Reynolds Wrap into all of my shirts. Sure, I’d make crinkly sounds whenever I moved, but I could also get a little closer (and not be shy). I began to rationalize this iron-clad method of preventing B.O. The electrolytic reduction of aluminum is referred to as “smelting.” Therefore, I reasoned, he who smelts it will not smell it.

Following that kind of unassailable logic, what other innovations in personal hygiene could be achieved by getting past such outdated concepts as “safety” or “health?” We could make toothpaste that’s 50 percent bleach. Or an eye drop that actually kills blood vessels. Or skin-toned spackle to fill in laugh lines. The possibilities are endless! Cement styling gel. Lip em-balm. Flesh/odor-eaters. Q-tip drill bits. Perhaps one day, nature’s most poisonous protein could be injected into people’s faces to get rid of wrinkles. Oh wait – that one is already being used. (It’s not just toxic – it’s bo-toxic!)

On third thought, I think I’ll just try a deodorant without antiperspirant. If Mennen Old Spice can’t be Sure of the Degree to which Secret methods are being used to make their underarms Arrid, Soft & Dri, there should be a Ban.

Tim Mollen is funny and he is aluminum-free, right, buddy?

Green is Good for My Body, Good for the Planet

This past year, J and I have seriously overhauled the way we consume groceries, produce, meat, household items, gifts, personal care items and more.

Previously, I blogged about my switch from mass market antiperspirant to Crystal Body Deodorant. I have been using it for months and not only do I still use it, I want everyone else to use it. I even started a dialog with local humorist Tim Mollen who wrote about his pits and his concerns regarding toxic antiperspirant in his weekly newspaper column. I told him about my love of the rock and love of not being poisoned; we became "sweat buddies" with an unusual commonality.

I also blogged about my switch from traditional lady part products that add waste to the landfills to the Diva Cup. I made that switch in July and, after a couple awkward months of adjustment, I now am happily using and reusing my Diva Cup and feeling good about eliminating some trash.

Recently, I have discovered LUSH Cosmetics, a company that makes handmade, 100% vegetarian cosmetics with fresh, organic fruits and vegetables. 75% of their products are vegan, they are all nearly preservative-free. PLUS Lush buys ingredients only from companies that do not commission tests on animals.

I am currently using Coalface Cleanser with ingredients including licorice, charcoal and sandalwood oil. Since it is a bar soap, the only waste is the small plastic bag in which it shipped (70% of their products are available "naked"). The scent was a bit strange to adjust to. Its very licorice-y and woodsy but now that I have grown accustomed to the smell, I find myself craving black licorice which I have previously disliked. The soap really does great exfoliating work because of the powdered charcoal, also a great detoxifier.

I have already noticed a great improvement over my previous chemical-laden, contained in several ounces of non-recyclable plastic facial cleanser. I have no more mini-breakouts along my hair line and the mini-breakouts along my jaw line are almost all gone, too!

Lush says the following about Coalface:

Removes impurities and tones combination skin

Who would have thought charcoal and liquorice could get along? One is tough and gritty, the other sweet and syrupy. But charcoal and liquorice could just be the odd couple of skin care, teaming up to fight oily, troubled skin in our Coalface cleanser. Powdered charcoal removes impurities and mildly exfoliates while liquorice heals naturally. Sandalwood oil tones the skin (and mediates should charcoal and liquorice disagree about anything).

I bet you're wondering what I use to follow such a great first act! I'm glad you're curious. I'm using Tea Tree Water toner, which I also love. I do a few quick spritzes after my licorice wash and I am ready to go. My skin feels so smooth and I love the tingly feeling I have from the tea tree oil.

LUSH describes Tea Tree Water as such:

Tea tree and grapefruit detoxifying facial spritzer A spritz of Tea Tree Water here, a spritz there and all your worries soon vanish along with inflamed pores and pesky blemishes. We combine tea tree with grapefruit water and juniper berry to make this calming elixir. Use it daily or as a pick-me-up in any dry environment. Our special mixture tightens pores and lifts away dirt and oil so your skin can breathe. What more could you ask for?

Oh, and remember I mentioned that all LUSH Cosmetics are handmade? Well, check out who made my Tea Tree Water toner. Its NIC! I've got his picture and everything.

I dig it!

Future greening of this bod: solid shampoo. NO BOTTLES!

To be continued....

Breaking News... from 1987

A prescient Calvin and Hobbes strip from July 23, 1987


via Groovy Green