What a weekend (and it's not over yet)! No time - or photos - to post about it all just yet, but here's a taste....
We spent Saturday chasing a sex-crazed rooster (yeah, Bunty is decidedly NOT a hen) off of our poor dear Ginger, who was getting injured.
I made a hearty eastern-european meal of Hungarian Chicken Paprikash over homemade German spaetzle noodles, shared with dear friends.
I ate delicious, fudgy brownies. Which - if you know my sensitivity to caffeine in any form - made for a very squishy-brained Able-Bodied Girl.
We shipped the rooster off to boot-in-the-ass camp at Barnhenge Mama's farm, where he will learn manners and respect of the ladies. We also picked up Bunty2 and integrated her into the mini-flock.
Tomorrow, I am off of work. And I've decided to have a tech-lite day. No internet. No email. No tablet. No TV. No DVD or Netflix streaming. Cell/text only for immediate matters. No computer. Until 9p. Able-Bodied Boy is willing to join, although pressing work matters may force email/computer use. Crafting, cleaning, and board games will abound!
So until then, have a wonderful Monday!
Anything exciting in your world this weekend?
Much Love,
Able-Bodied Girl
Showing posts with label my sustainable world. Show all posts
Showing posts with label my sustainable world. Show all posts
Sunday, January 15, 2012
Thursday, January 12, 2012
consumerism at its....
... not best... not worst... just, at itself...
I've been a total consumerist this holiday season and it's been driving me a bit nuts. Ok, maybe not total, but at least more than usual.
I'm sitting here on a new tablet, all shiney and new and Made in China (by oppressed workers, I'm sure) and made with precious metals purchased from African tyrants.
But it's a really really awesome replacement for my dead laptop (which did, by the way, get a ressurection through some upgrades a couple of years ago). And I realy needed it. How else am I going to avoid real human contact by just browsing Facebook updates and downloading apps? My laptop couldn't do anything important, like output Hulu to the TV so I could sew while half-listening.
My dead laptop, which will probably now join the millions of tons of other worthless electronics that gather in toxic graveyards.
You see why I'm a bit twitchy. This is how my brain works.
I drove around last night buying things from stores that were not organic, local, eco-friendly, or sustainably-made. I didn't even think about any of that before driving around after work.
I didn't think to look where the Dole fruit cups were made/shipped from/made of before buying a dozen after my surgery. Oooooh a Sale! Must Buy! (China, the Phillippeans, Mexico... #5 plastic - not recyclable here - with a celophane top).
But little things like that drive me nuts afterwards. And I guess that's a good thing. I mean, I'd rather be conscious and trying and failing than ignorant and not trying at all.
I want to live my life in the cycle of life. Not just consume and dispose and only think of the one moment that the item I bought is in my life. I want it all to fit together, the way that nature does in and of itself. I want to know that the inputs and the outputs aren't just ellipses in my life; they should be knowns that don't make me cringe.
Think about antiques. Old, well-built stuff that has lasted, what, 50+ 100+ years? Things that have purpose, both functional and decorative. In 50 years, will we have antiques? Or just old crappy iPhones to laugh at?
That's my rant. I'm going to go consume some unrenewable energy and encourage child labor now.
Anything pissing you off lately? Make any resolutions about them?
Much Love,
Able-Bodied Girl
I've been a total consumerist this holiday season and it's been driving me a bit nuts. Ok, maybe not total, but at least more than usual.
I'm sitting here on a new tablet, all shiney and new and Made in China (by oppressed workers, I'm sure) and made with precious metals purchased from African tyrants.
But it's a really really awesome replacement for my dead laptop (which did, by the way, get a ressurection through some upgrades a couple of years ago). And I realy needed it. How else am I going to avoid real human contact by just browsing Facebook updates and downloading apps? My laptop couldn't do anything important, like output Hulu to the TV so I could sew while half-listening.
My dead laptop, which will probably now join the millions of tons of other worthless electronics that gather in toxic graveyards.
You see why I'm a bit twitchy. This is how my brain works.
I drove around last night buying things from stores that were not organic, local, eco-friendly, or sustainably-made. I didn't even think about any of that before driving around after work.
I didn't think to look where the Dole fruit cups were made/shipped from/made of before buying a dozen after my surgery. Oooooh a Sale! Must Buy! (China, the Phillippeans, Mexico... #5 plastic - not recyclable here - with a celophane top).
But little things like that drive me nuts afterwards. And I guess that's a good thing. I mean, I'd rather be conscious and trying and failing than ignorant and not trying at all.
I want to live my life in the cycle of life. Not just consume and dispose and only think of the one moment that the item I bought is in my life. I want it all to fit together, the way that nature does in and of itself. I want to know that the inputs and the outputs aren't just ellipses in my life; they should be knowns that don't make me cringe.
Think about antiques. Old, well-built stuff that has lasted, what, 50+ 100+ years? Things that have purpose, both functional and decorative. In 50 years, will we have antiques? Or just old crappy iPhones to laugh at?
That's my rant. I'm going to go consume some unrenewable energy and encourage child labor now.
Anything pissing you off lately? Make any resolutions about them?
Much Love,
Able-Bodied Girl
Friday, June 3, 2011
what sustainability means to me
AKA: What the hell is the difference between going green and urban homesteading and non-toxic living and organic products and sustainable living and all those other terms I hear?? And which labels apply to me?
"Going Green": this is the one we probably all started hearing first. All about being environmentally-friendly, right? You buy things that don't kill the fish once you pour it down the drain, that save electricity - and thus fossil fuels, that use less water, that aren't produced with toxic chemicals that can cause your kids to get cancer. To me, though, this term is so vague it's almost laughable. It's turned into a marketing ploy to make you feel better about buying, consuming, and generally being the same as before. To truly "be green", you have to read the labels, do your research, understand exactly how this product/process/practice is better than what you were doing before.
"Urban Homesteading": this is starting to become a lot more popular. Urban and suburban families, in tight quarters, learn how to turn their little place in the world into a mini-farm. Farms being places where you use, reuse, do things yourselves with grit and elbow grease. These folks raise chickens, compost with worms, grow as much as they can on their patio and when they run out of space, use abandoned lots for community gardens. They can their own jams and tomatoes, make their own mayo, use baking soda and vinegar by the pound, and have that can-do spirit. It kinda makes me want to live less rural (ok, everything about me screams "get me outta the pastures!").
"Non-Toxic Living": start reading the labels on every product you'll use, and you'll quickly get the point of this. We are constantly exposed to petro-chemicals and man-made concoctions. Some industries that use these products are not regulated in terms of what they use and how they market them, and the ones that are regulated... well, it's the government regulating these things; you decide how you feel about that. There is a lot of concern that these toxins cause cancer and any number of other ailments. For some folks, this can be solved by a combination of "old-fashioned" (pre-industrial) / homemade goods that have worked for generations and new technologies that produce our modern accomplishments in a more-natural way.
"Organic Products": this concept, more than any other, has evolved for me. It used to mean a stamp of approval, a lack of chemicals, assurance that everything was shiney clean. No chemicals, hormones, or anti-biotics; living in pastures with all their parts in tact; being shaved of their wool without needing to die in the process. Well, not anymore for me. I don't take the "free range" label or the organic labels too seriously. So many of those concepts are government-regulated, a government who has been in the pocket of the food & farm industry for far too long. Corporations know how to get around the red tape and through the loop holes, and can afford the certifications. Local farmers and producers can't afford the pricey certifications, but they can still produce the best "organic" products you'll find. For me, "organic" merely means knowing where it comes from: how it was made, where it was made, what was/wasn't done to make it a better-for-you/the-animal/the-community/the-world product. My new favorite phrase is "we-can't-afford-the-certification-but-really-are-quite organic".
"Sustainable Living": For me, it all comes down to sustainability; I sort of think of this as the big umbrella over all of these concepts. Using renewable resources in a way that allows them to replenish themselves before we need/use again. Making do with what we have, rather than consuming more than we need. Being a part of the full cycle of seasons, of growing, of the circle of farm life pest control where the ducks eat the snails and the cats eat the mice; of planning for more than just the next day or week or month or year, but for our lifetime. It can apply to what we eat (local/organic, not shipped from South America), what we put on our bodies (no-poo, not toxin-filled shampoos), what we buy for our houses (sustainably-forrested durable wood, not cheap plastic crap), and what/how we grow around us (gardens watered with rain barrels and pests controlled by natural products or natural methods, not water-depleting hoses and pest poisons).
Do you embrace any of these concepts? Practice them? Disagree with their principals or how I've put them?
Much Love,
Able-Bodied Girl
"Going Green": this is the one we probably all started hearing first. All about being environmentally-friendly, right? You buy things that don't kill the fish once you pour it down the drain, that save electricity - and thus fossil fuels, that use less water, that aren't produced with toxic chemicals that can cause your kids to get cancer. To me, though, this term is so vague it's almost laughable. It's turned into a marketing ploy to make you feel better about buying, consuming, and generally being the same as before. To truly "be green", you have to read the labels, do your research, understand exactly how this product/process/practice is better than what you were doing before.
"Urban Homesteading": this is starting to become a lot more popular. Urban and suburban families, in tight quarters, learn how to turn their little place in the world into a mini-farm. Farms being places where you use, reuse, do things yourselves with grit and elbow grease. These folks raise chickens, compost with worms, grow as much as they can on their patio and when they run out of space, use abandoned lots for community gardens. They can their own jams and tomatoes, make their own mayo, use baking soda and vinegar by the pound, and have that can-do spirit. It kinda makes me want to live less rural (ok, everything about me screams "get me outta the pastures!").
"Non-Toxic Living": start reading the labels on every product you'll use, and you'll quickly get the point of this. We are constantly exposed to petro-chemicals and man-made concoctions. Some industries that use these products are not regulated in terms of what they use and how they market them, and the ones that are regulated... well, it's the government regulating these things; you decide how you feel about that. There is a lot of concern that these toxins cause cancer and any number of other ailments. For some folks, this can be solved by a combination of "old-fashioned" (pre-industrial) / homemade goods that have worked for generations and new technologies that produce our modern accomplishments in a more-natural way.
"Organic Products": this concept, more than any other, has evolved for me. It used to mean a stamp of approval, a lack of chemicals, assurance that everything was shiney clean. No chemicals, hormones, or anti-biotics; living in pastures with all their parts in tact; being shaved of their wool without needing to die in the process. Well, not anymore for me. I don't take the "free range" label or the organic labels too seriously. So many of those concepts are government-regulated, a government who has been in the pocket of the food & farm industry for far too long. Corporations know how to get around the red tape and through the loop holes, and can afford the certifications. Local farmers and producers can't afford the pricey certifications, but they can still produce the best "organic" products you'll find. For me, "organic" merely means knowing where it comes from: how it was made, where it was made, what was/wasn't done to make it a better-for-you/the-animal/the-community/the-world product. My new favorite phrase is "we-can't-afford-the-certification-but-really-are-quite organic".
"Sustainable Living": For me, it all comes down to sustainability; I sort of think of this as the big umbrella over all of these concepts. Using renewable resources in a way that allows them to replenish themselves before we need/use again. Making do with what we have, rather than consuming more than we need. Being a part of the full cycle of seasons, of growing, of the circle of farm life pest control where the ducks eat the snails and the cats eat the mice; of planning for more than just the next day or week or month or year, but for our lifetime. It can apply to what we eat (local/organic, not shipped from South America), what we put on our bodies (no-poo, not toxin-filled shampoos), what we buy for our houses (sustainably-forrested durable wood, not cheap plastic crap), and what/how we grow around us (gardens watered with rain barrels and pests controlled by natural products or natural methods, not water-depleting hoses and pest poisons).
Do you embrace any of these concepts? Practice them? Disagree with their principals or how I've put them?
Much Love,
Able-Bodied Girl
Friday, March 4, 2011
the commuting dilemna: time? money? happiness? environment?
I rarely like speaking about my job in this type of public forum, since it's accessible to my employers, but I'm going to this time. It is not a topic of concern that I've kept secret from anyone at work.
My daily commute is 62.9 miles, about 40 minutes each way if the route is delay-free.
Time: I hate being away from the house for so long each day. I leave at 7:30a and I don't get home until 5:45p; that's 10:15 away from home, during the sunlight hours. It means Able-Bodied Boy does a lot of the outdoor work after he gets home, before sunset in spring/fall, which I feel guilty about.
Money: I make money at work, but I spend hoards of that money on gas. It's a tank each week just for work, not including weekend excursions. That comes to about 10% of my take-home pay (after taxes, healthcare, and 401k contributions) for just traveling to/from work. More as gas prices rise...
By working so far from home, but with work being closer to many of my friends, I often have to make choices like these: do I spend time with my friends after work but spend money on dinner (don't forget that diet too!) and the extra gas to get around, or do I go home where dinner is cheaper and healthier?
Environment: I hate myself for driving so much, using precious fossil fuels which we so wantonly waste, which cause wars, which don't really break down into forms that are positive - or even neutral - to our environment, and which we finally seem to grasp are not infinitely available. I hate that we live so far away from civilization, making driving quite necessary. I would love to live in a place where I can walk to the grocery or the bar, bike to work and shops, and only drive when necessary.
Happiness: I really enjoy my job. Which is good because I don't have much of a choice about it; there are not really any other jobs near where I live. If I were to see a position I qualify for - whether within my company or with a different company - which was closer to home but with less job satisfaction, I would truly be torn.
All this comes up for two reasons. One, rising gas prices due to the turmoil in the Middle East. Two, it is entirely possible that my employer will have positions available closer to home this year. If I were to apply for and be accepted into one of them, it would save me about 6 miles each way but through very heavy traffic, so it may be a wash in terms of gas usage. So I'm not too sure that it would be a step in a positive direction, at least commute-wise.
There are no easy solutions to this mess of sometimes-conflicting priorities. Moving is not an option at this point. I don't see myself becoming rich and flippant about how I spend my money, nor do I see myself caring less about the environment or wanting less time for me and Able-Bodied Boy and the life we are making for ourselves. The only somewhat-solution would be a new company in a better location, but at the risk of my job satisfaction, and 40 hours a week of misery doesn't necessary sounds like a good option either.
At this point, I don't have much hope for progress, but do you have any solutions or considerations I haven't thought of?
Much Love,
Able-Bodied Girl
My daily commute is 62.9 miles, about 40 minutes each way if the route is delay-free.
My morning commute is 29.8 miles. This is the shorter and cheaper route to work. It has a moderate risk of traffic delays (traffic = higher mpgs and more headaches), but is overall the more efficient route. It also saves me $3-4 daily in tolls. Because of the possible delays, I leave home 10-15 minutes earlier than I should need to so I can always be at work on time; I have a pet peeve about being late.
My afternoon commute is 33.1 miles. This is the most trouble-free route home. It has a very low risk of traffic delays, although I do drive through one town with quite a few stoplights along the way; I avoid one other town's stoplights by using other highways. I do not take my morning route home because of the high risk of traffic delays.
Time: I hate being away from the house for so long each day. I leave at 7:30a and I don't get home until 5:45p; that's 10:15 away from home, during the sunlight hours. It means Able-Bodied Boy does a lot of the outdoor work after he gets home, before sunset in spring/fall, which I feel guilty about.
Money: I make money at work, but I spend hoards of that money on gas. It's a tank each week just for work, not including weekend excursions. That comes to about 10% of my take-home pay (after taxes, healthcare, and 401k contributions) for just traveling to/from work. More as gas prices rise...
By working so far from home, but with work being closer to many of my friends, I often have to make choices like these: do I spend time with my friends after work but spend money on dinner (don't forget that diet too!) and the extra gas to get around, or do I go home where dinner is cheaper and healthier?
Environment: I hate myself for driving so much, using precious fossil fuels which we so wantonly waste, which cause wars, which don't really break down into forms that are positive - or even neutral - to our environment, and which we finally seem to grasp are not infinitely available. I hate that we live so far away from civilization, making driving quite necessary. I would love to live in a place where I can walk to the grocery or the bar, bike to work and shops, and only drive when necessary.
Happiness: I really enjoy my job. Which is good because I don't have much of a choice about it; there are not really any other jobs near where I live. If I were to see a position I qualify for - whether within my company or with a different company - which was closer to home but with less job satisfaction, I would truly be torn.
All this comes up for two reasons. One, rising gas prices due to the turmoil in the Middle East. Two, it is entirely possible that my employer will have positions available closer to home this year. If I were to apply for and be accepted into one of them, it would save me about 6 miles each way but through very heavy traffic, so it may be a wash in terms of gas usage. So I'm not too sure that it would be a step in a positive direction, at least commute-wise.
There are no easy solutions to this mess of sometimes-conflicting priorities. Moving is not an option at this point. I don't see myself becoming rich and flippant about how I spend my money, nor do I see myself caring less about the environment or wanting less time for me and Able-Bodied Boy and the life we are making for ourselves. The only somewhat-solution would be a new company in a better location, but at the risk of my job satisfaction, and 40 hours a week of misery doesn't necessary sounds like a good option either.
At this point, I don't have much hope for progress, but do you have any solutions or considerations I haven't thought of?
Much Love,
Able-Bodied Girl
Sunday, January 23, 2011
life amongst the pastures
Able-Bodied Mom & Dad live atop a rural country mountain now, in their retirement, with the self-reliance needed when 4-inches of snow and wind can create house-bound conditions (what a lovely holiday it was last month!). Dad mentioned that he suspects a bit of Amish in our blood, and I too feel the pull towards a simpler way of life. Growing raising sowing nurturing cycling through the seasons. Staying home to care for plants and animals and others and self.
But this just isn't feasible or practical at this point in our lives. I feel defeated saying that, but it is what it is, and we do try to add little bits of the earth back into our concrete lives.
These are the little things, the small choices, the habits we form when we can; the things that make us feel more connected to the earth, to our food, to our friends family and neighbors, and to each other.
Using our own two hands, we do what we can. Making foods from scratch, growing our favorite foods, keeping more out of the landfills, being conscious of the impact of our purchases - from the origin of source material to the disposal of the item.
I want to tell you all about these things: not about the choices we make, but the journey into those decisions.
What sparked me to stop using a clothes dryer, and how have we managed to keep up with that habit? Will we ever give up paper-towels for reusable cloth? Will we ever be able to make satisfying compost? How will our first CSA experience be this year? Will I ever convert our household to more natural cleaning products? Will we ever overcome the cold weather to trim back the old blackberry growth; will I ever overcome my "ugh" of the heat and truly commit to our vegetable garden? Can I be a No-Poo sort of girl? What new sorts of things can I put-up (canning)? When there is furniture to be bought, repairs to be made, vacations to be had, what sort of new information and consciousness can I bring to those activities to make them environmentally- and pocket-friendly? What about those chickens we keep talking about? Can I really make my own clothes? Will I ever find my green thumb (cuz even the houseplants cry when Able-Bodied Boyfriend leave town)?
These are the little things that make me feel like life is sustainable, that we use less, need less, and ask less of the world. They aren't for everyone and aren't intended to be. But maybe we can discuss the consideration, the process, and the information that leads to choice and change.
I want to ask: how does me, being me, affect the world?
How do you affect the world?
Much Love,
Able-Bodied Girl
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