We visited the Berkshires this weekend, it was lovely. We grabbed some lattes, looked for hiking clothes and ate at a small-town pub after. The region is more mountainous and forested than our region, the Valley.
We drove past an incredible home. It was white with silver shutters, and it was traditional yet semi-modern. I wish I knew the name of house styles so I could have identified it.
We have a creative artist neighbor who does sidewalk chalk art every day. One guy calls it "The Gallery" because we all see her fabulous drawings when we walk to the breakfast place on weekends. I'm looking forward to having more artistic space on our new property.
People in the Berkshires live a much more cozy lifestyle, the forests are right outside their windows, along with the rushing river and mountains. Fireplaces and faux-fur hiking boots in mudrooms are the norm.
I found a cool example of a modern home, south-facing windows, in Natural-Home Magazine. It's a Zen Ranch Colorado Straw Bale Home. I'd love a place like this!
We shopped for hiking boots this weekend, I overheard the funniest conversation. A woman and her mom were trying on some clothes, lamented that the sizes were all wrong.
"These clothes aren't made for American women. (Looks at label) See? 'Made in India'. Women over there are made differently. That's why all our jobs are gone, because the were all sent over there".
I had to laugh. Haven't we gotten a grip on a global economy yet? When will we get with the program? Other countries have a prospering population, universal health care. Other nations are united to solve climate change issues. Spain, Belgium and the Netherlands allow gay marriage.
There's an exceptional article in the Boston Globe this week called Why Fundamentalism will fail.
In Christianity, the fastest-growing wing of the church is the Pentecostal/Charismatic wave...accounting for one in every four Christians. One writer has called them “main street mystics.” Among Muslims, it is the gentle but ecstatic Sufi version that is growing fastest, not the suicide bomber cults. All these movements...represent a fatal threat to fundamentalism.
Surveys have shown that the rapid growth of evangelical Protestantism in Latin America has not produced a replication of the American religious right, but rather a moderate leftward tilt. A majority of Brazilian evangelicals, for example, voted for President Lula, who ran as a Workers Party candidate. ANOTHER REASON WHY fundamentalists are faltering today has to do with the world outside. The fundamentalist world view is unbending and monochrome, but today’s world is variable and multi-hued, and the plurality is more and more visible. children live every day with a heightened, web-enhanced awareness of a diverse world.
I'm encouraged to hear this. Because while the far right-wing may be making a lot of noise, they are clearly in the minority. They've even caused some Republicans to switch parties - and I'm a huge supporter of the Working Party.
I don't think it's about being the loudest, I do think it's about forming communities.
As we all know, real change takes time. News reports are saying today that the single-payer health care plan is off the table. The real news is, it's a very hot topic. It has energy. Thousands of grassroots organizations and nurses are supporting the idea.
Bernie Sanders is introductiong S703 to Healh Care Reform.
Please write to the White House and support Universal Health Care for the 37 to 47 million Americans without insurance. It will save us money! And tell them we want the bill delayed if it doesn't have one.
I'm still trying to minimize our posessions. Even my email box was horribly clogged. I had 124 emails on my private account. Most of them were from nonprofits. During grad school I did a newsletter signup frenzy. I must have been lonely or something! I unsubscribed to almost all of them. Wow! What a difference. Our house is also filled with things we can't seem to say no to. Gifts from family, my mom sends me boxes of junk. Last night I made a list of things I want vs things I need. Need: Clothing, food, shelter. Medicine and cleaning products. Safety items (phone, flashlight) That doesn't sound like a lot until you remember that clothing alone is shoes, shirts, fall coats, winter coats, boots, gloves, jogging clothes, agh! Want: Art and supplies, amenities, furniture, books, cat toys, modest decor, some electronics. Girly things. That is still a lot of stuff, and it doesn't even include sentimental things. Very hard to choose. On a somewhat unrelated note, I love this clothing site called Prana. They make great yoga clothes and they are partnered with Conservation Alliance, a wonderful nonprofit. And they don't brag about stuff. I love that.
Going to my favorite semi-local market today. Finding products that aren't wasteful gives me a raging migraine. Companies brag about all sorts of things that are weak or completely meaningless. Like "made from sustainable materials". Says who? Oh yeah, the company who makes the product. Fortunately, the Federal Trade Commission has finally decided to step in. ABC news had a good story on the matter. As they point out in the story, a few good labels exist already. Terrachoice mentions Ecologo and Green Seal. Here's a quick and dirty eco-guide: ** Items that will be tossed in days or weeks are wasteful, period. The "biodegradeable" label is not regulated by law. Packaging should be minimal. **Plastic is evil. The end. Try glass or metal. **As our beloved Alton Brown says, we don't like Unitaskers. If you buy a glass bottle of milk, or whatever, think of ways you can Reuse the item. Put candies in it as a Christmas gift. That way you'll also avoid gift wrap for the holiday. **Paper can be biodegradeable, but habitat loss and deforestation are, in my opinion, the most serious environmental problem these days. Buy used furniture, use a cloth bag. Be happy and dance.
Had a lovely 1st of November walk in town last night. I had a latte to go in a reuseable mug that was black cat themed and on sale Post-Halloween. Folks were outdoors chatting. Ladies were in their pretty Fall jackets and long skirts.
I'm sort of in grad-school limbo, job searching. But I'm still super busy somehow. I'm in kind of a strange frantic mode. So I enjoy my town visits. Our area is unashamedly liberal. The bookstores have bumperstickers about goddesses and yoga, growing local and Earth conservation. And grassroots organizations.
I strolled around the local bookstore. I need a datebook and I have a list of fiction books to buy. Along with our other new-home features I think I'm going to need a study with tons of bookshelves. I have stacks of journals and sketchbooks.
I'm experimenting with other forms of art and I'm using stuff around the house like buttons. I might start a scrapbook. J thinks I should begin a comic strip. That sure would give me an excuse to spend a fortune at the local art supply store. I should go back to the cafe / bookstore and ponder all this.
I wish all you guys could join me! :)
I've been doing really well with my diet, and I've been sleeping better. Endorphin highs are great. I went jogging at my Lake on Saturday. The weather was amazing. It was humid and the sky was dark.
The rain cooled off my skin. Raindrops pattered on the orange and scarlet leaves that were carpeting the ground. The whole Lake was eerily quiet. Odd birds singing, and a pair of blue jays chasing each other!
Ring-billed gulls gather by the dozens this time of year, and I saw one that had a bright-green tag on its wing. Now I have to look up whom I call to report banded birds.
Running really clears my head. I'm able to solve problems while I jog.
Lovely weekend all around.
Happy Samhain to all my Pagan friends on Vox!
May you have warm beverages and offerings
Originally the "Feast of the Dead" was celebrated in Celtic countries by leaving food offerings on altars and doorsteps for the "wandering dead". Single candles were lit and left in a window to help guide the spirits of ancestors and loved ones home. Apples were buried along roadsides and paths for spirits who were lost or had no descendants to provide for them.
Turnips were hollowed out and carved to look like protective spirits. This was the time that the cattle and other livestock were slaughtered for eating in the ensuing winter months. Any crops still in the field on Samhain were considered taboo, and left as offerings to the Nature spirits.
The controversy between conservationists and loggers is still going on.The spotted owl is even further in decline than before. The Forest Service's new strategy is to blame......who? Other owls.
Yes, the USFS is blaming the barred owl for being the coup de grace of the endangered owl. Who knows what FWS will do as a result. Logging is by far the biggest threat to these guys, followed by climate change. Another reason to have Re-useable bags and avoid paper.
The Forest Service failed to stop the logging. Clearcuts made for conditions that the barred owls liked. So they moved in. It's not rocket science, and it's clearly our own fault.
I'm trying to find an American conservation group who helps spotted owls, but in the meantime, support the Wilderness Committee from Canada. I'll look, and anyone here, let me know if you hear of groups in the U.S. focused on owls in Oregon. These birds have only 10 percent of their original habiat remaining.
I'm loving my new freedom. The house is looking stylish and minimal again. Paradoxically, it's bringing out my materialistic side. I'd like a maroon dining table and new Fall clothing. And tons of books. But I'm not interested in a Kindle.
I like tangible items. My used books, my old car. I'm for the rustic lifestyle, with a nice tree fence and a huge barn behind a house. I've learned to live simply. This is why our modern idea of environmental salvation drives me crazy.
The Cash for Clunkers program is a bit of Toxic Sludge for me. Production of new cars and the ditching of old ones is not eco friendly! Nor is clean coal or hybrid cars. Check out article by Treehugger. The packaging alone on these high tech "eco-gadgets" has probably wiped out a few albatross colonies and a small rainforest in Brazil. Do we really need dozens of new-fangled devices?
Conservation is about simplicity, not producing more junk. I've decided to plan ahead. I'm taking stock of what I really need. My dream is to have a cozy home and travel to idyllic places. Sketching art at a cafe in Paris or journalling about tropical birds in the Maldives. Clothing and food is all I need, along with trains and small cottages with lovely tapestries on the walls.
