Taking sides

I’ve been away from myself for a very long time.

A life time goal has been achieved, a new love has been found, some super cool people have adopted me as one of their own.

I’m back now. The dust has settled on this new life and it is good…..for me.

But it isn’t just about me.

There is mean spirited laughter and name calling from people that I thought were kind and loving. Adults taunting those whose ideas or opinions are different from theirs. Public mocking and shaming reminiscent of a 6^th grade school yard.

Once again, so many decades later, I must choose. I want to stand off by myself in the corner and have no part in the pain that is being inflicted. But the older me now knows that inaction assumes just as much guilt as if I had inflicted the wrong myself.

So I must decide. Who am I?

Do I respect or accept behavior or opinions different from mine?

Do I respect the individual rights and freedoms of others?

Is it important to me for my children, grandchildren and friends to be able to practice their faith without fear of persecution?

Yes, the answers to these questions define who I am. The answers to these questions also define who my friends are.

What will I choose?

I know the answer to these questions. And I know that because I must be true to myself that I will forfeit relationships with people who I thought were friends.

I think it is the loss of these ‘friends’ that pains and confuses me the most. I was so sure that they were kind, loving, caring people. But it is anger that is being celebrated now.

“What was it which transformed men who were timid and peaceable enough in private, as Tertullian put it, and made them shout gleefully for the merciless destruction of their fellow men? Part of the answer may lie in the simple development of a tradition, which fed on itself and its own success. Men liked blood and cried out for more.” Keith Hopkins, Dean of the Faculty of Social Sciences at Brunel University and the author of Conquerors and Slaves (CUP, 1978).

I am back now, I have remembered who I am and I know I must be true to myself.

It will cost me dearly, but I am a rich person. My life is good, it is those who do not have my life that I must make this choice for. I must take the side of kindness, acceptance and respect towards all people.

Have you seen the following commercial on TV?

“Google turn on the lights. Google unlock the door. Google turn off the wifi. Google start the car.”

This technology can be a bit tricky to understand and to set up but you simply have to learn to think like the computer……………………

………..Or let it think for you………..

I’ll just leave that right there.

Life on an island – or I want to be the normal one

I propose a 52^nd state for sustainable living enthusiasts. It appears to me that the large majority of us are living on our own little isolated islands.

When I talk to the local grocery store developer about foods free of chemicals he says “do you mean organeek?”

When I try to explain that I am not actually a vegetarian but I do not eat factory farmed meat I get the-deer-headlights look and much rolling of the eyes.

And when people ask for advice on gardening they totally reject the idea that you NEED dandelions and that you DON’T need to bring in truck loads of topsoil.

In my fantasy 52^nd state (or even town) we would not live in McMansions but rather small easy-to-heat and cool homes that we could reasonably expect to pay off in the near future. We would trade seeds of locally grown vegetables. We could go to each others houses to eat dinner without being subjected to Cool Whip and we could get totally wasted on the neighbors’ homemade wine and fattened up on pork rinds raised and cooked up within a few miles of our own back yard. Someone would always know where the wild mushrooms are and someone else would always have the best pudding recipe made from local raw milk.

No one would shop at the big W but instead we would support our locally owned feed and hardware store – and some of us might even work there. If I needed soap I could go down to Jans’ house and buy some of her rosemary laced bars and if I needed honey I would walk around the corner to Bobs’ house for a jar or two.

When we wanted a Pizza night we would gang up on Michelle for a community pizza dinner and for an extra ‘tip’ she might throw in Margaritas. Delivery would be out though – I’m pretty sure she wouldn’t be cool with that.

In the 52^nd state each house would have its’ own mini food forest and apartments would have larger food forests instead of manicured green grass and rows of pansies. I actually lived in an apartment complex like this in W. Germany over 20 years ago.

Sure, it’s a fantasy, but it’s my fantasy. In my fantasy people who are living sustainable lives with a thought to leaving our local community a healthier, cleaner and more sustainable place for generations to come are the norm – and people who just want life out of a box would be , well, not normal.

Design that makes Dollars and Sense

Lets just forget about ‘climate change’ and ‘saving the world’ for just a moment please. One of the HUGE problems cities face during snow storms is “where do we put the snow?” A major storm requires snow to actually be hauled out of the city and municipalities simply do not have the resources to clear streets and haul out massive quantities as fast as the snow accumulates.
People are literally trapped by snow in urban areas. This design makes sense, eases the already heavy burden on municipalities who are trying to service densely populated areas, requires no expensive chemical application AND provides other money saving services to the homeowner inside the home. http://paramus.dailyvoice.com/neighbors/who-needs-a-shovel-paramus-family-melts-snowfall-away/620538/#.VqlrSNr4ihd.facebook Who Needs a Shovel?

Dirt vs. Living Earth

When I had three very large trees removed from my new-to-me urban back yard the very first advice I was given from everyone was “You need to get some dirt hauled in here”.

Eh? What is that stuff on the ground? Yes, I know it is a bunch of sand and tree roots and not very accommodating to the types of things I want to plant.

But spending a bunch of money on fill dirt and fertilizer isn’t the answer either.

What I need is living earth. And I have all the materials I need right here.

Leaves fall on the ground. I rake them into a pile and occasionally throw some kitchens scraps under the pile. O.K., so I cheat – I do spend 2-5 bucks on red wiggler worms and throw them in the pile.

Within a very short period of time the bottom of the pile is black living earth.

I usually steal worms from the pile (they make more) and put them in whatever trench or hole that I am planting in – along with a handful of newspaper (or junk mail) and kitchen scraps. Water once at planting and then walk away.

Sometimes I pull out a ‘core’ of dirt in the middle of the yard and fill it with shredded paper, a couple of worms and kitchen scraps.

I did this for eight years at another property I owned and the result was a couple of acres of rich black living earth, at a depth of 6-8 inches – right here in the Sandhills of South Carolina.

Yes, it does take time, but quick fixes are what got us into the predicament that we are in now.

We need to learn how to nurture the land, whether it be a small urban lot or hundreds of acres. Healthy living earth saves money, conserves moisture, and grows stronger and more nutritious food.

I have plenty of dirt right here. In time it will become a healthy living earth.

http://www.permies.com/t/50976/composting/Worms-Work

Worms at work at Permies.com

Tiny House – a place to call my own.

Tiny House Movement begins in South Carolina
According to the National Association of Home Builders, the average size of a new single-family American residence in 1950 was just over 980 square feet.

Now days we are calling it the ‘Tiny House’ movement.

Today it is nearly impossible to find anyone to even allow such a small house to be built and with the median income for an entire household at under 55K it is nearly impossible for young people to buy a house that they can REALISTICALLY afford.

Is there an answer?

We could go back to the age of ‘save-up-to-buy’ the house, car, new toy, etc.. (unlikely).

But let’s play pretend for just a moment.

Suppose we did decide to become a pay as you go society.

First we have to deal with the issue of how much money we have in our pockets.

We know that our culture/society is not going to provide jobs to the average joe that will allow us to earn a living wage. We can’t all be the supervisor and manager; somebody has to scrub the toilets, run the cash register and stock the shelves. We may have to have a couple of these jobs – I have been known to work three such jobs at one time.

Next, how do we eat, sleep and get where we need to go on-the-cheap?
In the U.S. we think we all have to own a car, have a cell phone and some of us (me ) think we need to own our own home.

There really are cars out there that cost less than $20,000. No they are not the coolest but they exist. I have had many such cars and I also ride a scooter and bicycle.

One could also walk but that might be asking too much of Americans.
And there are cell phones that cost less than $100 and data plans for under $40 per month. I know this because my mother has such a plan.

Then there is the home. If you think your long term financial security is largely dependent on owning your own home, as I do, the next obstacle is a huge one.

Our culture tells us that we must only live in ‘certain’ communities, we must pay fees to homeowners associations, we must let the bank and realtor tell us what house we will buy and how much we will pay. And you absolutely cannot buy a house for less than 150K! – oh such bullshit.

I have never paid more than 75K for any piece of property and a couple were in the under 40K range. Yes, they do exist, and yes they are in areas that many people that I know would never consider living. So sad for them and that just makes more opportunity for me.

But, back to the Tiny House thing.

We have given a cute new name to a sustainable solution to our housing woes. Now we need to get our laws, codes, and municipal attitudes to embrace the idea.

Every one of us deserves the opportunity to earn a place to call our own.

Yes, I did say opportunity to earn – so in plain speak that means I believe you should be required to work for it – not have it handed to you.

But if every home is 2500+ square feet in a gated communities with homeowners association fees…..then only a select few will ever be able to have a place to call their own.

I’ll talk about eating on the cheap in upcoming articles.

http://www.deptofnumbers.com/income/us

Stuff to keep her busy during the dark days of winter.

Tapping my fingers, twiddling my toes and generally annoying my living companions because I just can’t seem to sit still during the long winter evenings.

Then I remembered the orange pomanders. I believe both my mother and grandmother made the orange pomanders during the holidays.

Sharp edges of pungent clove pierced both orange and tender young fingers, but strangely enough I never minded the pain. The fragrance of orange and clove was both calming and stimulating at same time.

I’m not sure why the oranges didn’t rot or mold, instead they shrank a bit and became very hard.

Tonight I will play the nostalgia game and see if I still like tearing up my fingers for the sake of a pretty orange in a bowl that you can’t eat.

Only 121 more dark winter evenings to go. And, no, I’m not the needlepoint type.

Doctor to Patient Direct – It’s about time!

Irmopc.comFINALLY! Direct doctor to patient care comes to South Carolina.

IMO the number one problem with health care in this country is the insurance companies. I am excited to share this information with you and hope that more doctors will follow suit.

“Does Irmo PC accept health insurance?”
“No, and this is a significant benefit to our patients.”

“Insurance companies have become the third wheel in the doctor-patient relationship. Removing the influence of third-party payers allows us the freedom to treat our patients without interference. We act in the best interest of our patients, and not the best interest of the insurance company’s bottom line.”

http://irmopc.com/

Experiences trump stuff

I’m baaaack, Yay!!!

My sweetie met me in Atlanta yesterday afternoon.

Brought back with me a horrible cold, left eye swelling shut on the final leg of flight so I skipped the bit where I put on fresh make up and try to look cute for hubby.

Went through over 6 customs/passport control checkpoints. In Atlanta the ‘system’ was down so a couple hundred of us got to stand in line while the customs agents stood around telling stories for a while.

Also brought back a couple of really cool cycling jerseys, a brass bell for my bike (yes, I’m going to use it – a lot), assorted coasters (we like coasters) and fridge magnets. Plus a lot of very cool memories of people and places that I’ve never been to and may never go to again.

Mom and I have had, yet another, wonderful experience together and it is true, experiences trump stuff any day. I will remember us sitting in a café in Berlin watching ‘The’ marathon of the year and drinking amazing wine long after the coasters have been lost and the jerseys have faded and torn.

Thanks Mom, we are pretty cool people and we do pretty cool stuff – must be in the genes!

And now it is time to turn the page to the next chapter; I’m going to title it ‘Steve and the Flying Jacildones’. No real reason other than I like the way it sounds and they all make me smile. Especially that Steve guy.

Horseback riding, grocery shopping – the rules are meant to be broken

Yes Kat, you can wear a cycling shirt for anything you like (GASPS from the cycling crowd!!). The three handy pockets in back carry car keys, snacks, water bottles, cell phone, etc.