Victory Gardens and their meaning in the 21st century

I have been aware of a new eco-meme lately that's actually a play on themes Americans embraced during WWII. The Victory Garden was one of many ways that citizens contributed to the war effort, mostly by not taking resources away from the armed forces fighting overseas. Every so often my father-in-law will reflect on that time, talking about the rationing stamps and the newspaper drives. He was also an airplane spotter as a kid -- someone who can tell the type of plane from looking at the bottom (ostensibly as it flies overhead). So anytime he was running around and a plane zoomed by he would be able to tell if it was an allied or axis plane. 'rents-in-law don't talk about victory gardens because they both grew up on farms! "Victory" in this sense signified victory in war, so what does this second, more contemporary meaning refer to?

Does anyone remember when the "Victory Garden" television program first started airing on PBS? The show started over 30 years ago, roughly 20-30 years after the end of the WWII, so at the point the meaning of "victory" was perhaps more complex. "Victory Garden" in the nostalgic sense of keeping a small food garden, or maybe "victory" in the sense that you can be victorious in learning the secrets of small-garden farming.

On my street front yard gardens have started springing up and anyone who has thought about doing this has probably looked at the book Square Foot Gardening by Mel Bartholomew. Now a website, Squre Foot Gardening has a wonderful "how to" page on the basic concepts of square foot gardening.

I believe that our 21st century victory gardens are going to be a return to some of the philosophy of sacrifice that we embraced during WWII. Home gardens will be impractical for many, but for some it could help supplement the family food budget as foods from other parts of the country become prohibitively more expensive to transport.

Solar Changing UV Bracelet

Over the summer I've been making these bracelets for DJ's friends, as birthday gifts and "just because" gifts, because they are fun and useful. The beads I got from Steve Spangler Science -- they're called "Solar Changing UV Beads." When they're in the sun they change color. It's fun for kids to experiment with them and a good way for parents to find out when to reapply sunscreen -- if you have the children wear the bracelets while applying sunscreen, the beads will remain white until the sunblock wears off. When they change color, it's time to reapply!

I Believe the Children Are Our Future...

...Teach them well and let them lead the way...

Ha! Now that I've got everyone who reads this stuck in an infernal fragment loop of "Greatest Love of All," I can now feel I am not the only one in this predicament.

But, really, I do believe our children are the future, at least our 5 and 6-year olds. Awhile back I got the idea to collect the contents of DJ's pockets for a week and blog about how children are natural hunter gatherers and cleaners of the world. Any brightly colored/strangely shaped/weirdly beautiful object gets immediately tucked away until I find them when I'm cleaning out DJ's pockets in preparation for laundry, or melted on the inside of the dryer drum after I forget to clean out his pockets before laundering.

Last week, the old man and DJ, along with another father-son team, went exploring in the wooded areas around Possum Creek. The above picture contains the artifacts DJ came home with from this expedition:

• Five golf balls
• Four used bottle rockets
• Two shotgun shells
• Part of an iron grate or rake of some kind
• One pair of sunglasses

Instead of scolding DJ for bringing what amounts to garbage inside our house, I'm actually kind of happy about it (after it's hidden on the back porch and can be disposed of once sufficiently out of mind), because it indicates what we could accomplish if we all followed a 5 or 6-year old's logic that everything has worth and everything is valuable. The sunglasses could definitely be cleaned up and given away (or used); the iron grate could be recycled; the golf balls could easily be thrown at passing cars. The point is, we could all be picking up detritus in our visits to wooded areas and other natural places where human contact is obvious in the trash we leave behind. I was thinking about our trip to woods behind J.J. Finley when we did this year's Air Potato Roundup and how DJ was thrilled at the prospect of picking up garbage in addition to air potatoes.

Need-a-Bag? Project Update 07.19.08

Note: The Need-a-Bag? project was created to promote sustainable bagging at the Hwy 441 Alachua County Farmer's Market each Saturday morning. We supply reusable tote bags reclaimed from thrift stores and garage sales. The Need-a-Bag? project also utilizes old tank tops as tote bags by sewing up the bottoms (these are called t-totes). We invite you to read the other posts on the project by clicking the "Need-a-Bag? Project" label at the bottom of this post.

Watched Nancy Pelosi speak to the Netroots Nation conference in the main ballroom today, using the stream feed to Netroots Nation Island in Second Life. Gore made a surprise appearance which drove the crowds (in world and in real life) wild and effectively saved Pelosi's butt from having to answer a lot of difficult but needed-to-be-asked questions from attendees in Austin, TX.

Before that, however, I did Need-a-Bag? at the farmer's market. We put out 7 bags. I haven't been chronicling our market days for the past couple weeks, because I've had my head up my butt.

Anyway, last week some caring soul gave us a few new bags which we washed and put out this week, and this week we got another new bag! Plus, some have finally heard the call and are beginning to return bags they have used. This is definitely a turning point! Thanks to all those who continue to support our efforts!

Arm & Hammer Essentials and Optical Brighteners

This is something I couldn't leave buried in the comments section for a post I did about a year ago on Arm & Hammer Essentials laundry detergent and the fact that they don't use petroleum products in their Essentials line. The commenter says:

However if you read the label closely there is a Warning and if you call their 800 line and ASK them if they add optical brightners the answer is yes. They won't tell you that unless you ask. Optical brightners bond irreversibly to the skin and pollute the enviroment. A & H also does their testing on animals. I for one love animals and think there has to be a better way to test products.

My friend Brenda told me about optical brightners in her research while using cloth diapers with her children. Apparently, most laundry detergents use optical brightners and it's really hard to find detergents that don't. I kind of thought I had found an exception in Arm & Hammer Essentials, but I was more concerned about petroleum products (which the product supposedly doesn't have).

A quick search on the internet confirms the commenter's claim that optical brighteners are bad for the environment. I found the topic detailed on the New England Regional Water Program website, and they state that:

Optical brighteners are less than benign from an environmental perspective. Many of the chemicals in this category are toxic to fish and other aquatic life. Some are also capable of causing mutations in bacteria.

Seventh Generation has a page about optical brighteners which covers the same information but also adds:

Optical brighteners can also cause allergic reactions in people via a process called phototoxicity. When they rub off on our skin from laundered clothes and come into contact with sunlight, they can create a rash or irritation that’s mistaken for sunburn.

They also add that optical brightners are derived from benzene, not something you want in the water system. This also made me think, "isn't benzene derived from petroleum?" I looked it up and, sure enough, there's a post on Wikipedia about benzene and it is indeed derived from petroleum. So, what's the point of using Arm & Hammer Essentials if it has petroleum-derived products in it, anyway?

Dang. And I just bought two more jugs of it on sale at Publix. You know, if it's too good to be true and it costs less than Seventh Generation, it probably is (too good to be true).

I also posted about Seventh Generation when I asked why Sierra Club wasn't partnering with them, instead partnering with Clorox's new brand of "environmentally-safe" cleaning products.
Even though I'm still mad at Seventh Generation because they wouldn't let me enter their popularity contest to go to some Eco-leader training in D.C. (because I was too old), they are turning out to be the real deal as far as environmentally safe products for the home.

Printer Cartridge Refills

My family runs through a lot of ink, and I've tried several different methods of stemming the cash hemorrhage as a result of paying upwards of 30-dollars per new cartridge. Walgreens, a drug store chain near us, offers cartridge refills for about half what we normally pay and has one-hour turnaround.

I'm sure everyone's had the horrific experience of spending 15-20 dollars on a "refurbished" cartridge and find out that it is completely, utterly useless for its stated purpose. I've been through that -- I've also refilled my own cartridges with reasonable success. Having them refilled at Walgreens is by far the best way I've found yet for saving money and recycling this big chunk of plastic that makes my printer print.

At Walgreens they give you a cardboard holder, and an ink surface protector (I don't know what else to call it -- the blue thing in the picture). I've reused these three things (I think) three times. And the nice thing about this method is that the person who refills the cartridge does a test on them -- if they don't work you don't have to pay for it. You also don't get your cartridge refilled which means you have to either buy one new or root around your house for another empty cartridge.

Need-a-Bag? project update 06.28.08

Note: The Need-a-Bag? project was created to promote sustainable bagging at the Hwy 441 Alachua County Farmer's Market each Saturday morning. We supply reusable tote bags reclaimed from thrift stores and garage sales. The Need-a-Bag? project also utilizes old tank tops as tote bags by sewing up the bottoms (these are called t-totes). We invite you to read the other posts on the project by clicking the "Need-a-Bag? Project" label at the bottom of this post.

We put out 27 bags last week, as part of a rather sizeable boon from a lovely woman at Junior League who heard about our project and kindly donated a TON of bags for our efforts. Thank you, so, so much! According to DG's mom (who was given the bags), this N-a-B? project Angel has also been donating bags during the market days, leaving them on the fence for shoppers before we arrive. It it hadn't been partly for her intervention (as well as any other anonymous donors we may have missed) last Saturday, we would not have had the 2o bags we were able to put up for shoppers.

And, as people ask more about the project, I try to interject that the bags are always free, but we ask that people return them as they get dirty, so we can wash them and shoppers can reuse them. That, or course, implies that people can actually remember to bring them back, one of the big ironies of the Need-a-Bag? project.

Anyway, the Need-a-Bag? project will be one-year-old this October (here's a link to the original post about our first adventure at the farmer's market), and DG and I started talking about the possibility of doing some sort of one-year anniversary celebration. Because, anything that started as a simple concept, to provide reusable tote bags at the saturday farmer's market, and has lasted for a year deserves some sort of recognition. But, more importantly, the people who have become supporters and allies should be especially recognized for their efforts. So, maybe we'll do some sort of pizza party at Satchel's or Buddha Belly close to Halloween.

Picture of Gator Transcendental t-shirt from Satchel's t-shirt collection

Modest Swimsuits: The Next Summer

Got the bug to look for another modest swimsuit pattern; the impulse happened later this year, mostly because I have the Delta Burke monstrosity I bought last year. I reported last spring about my trials in finding a new swimsuit, which resulted in a hellish trip to the mall and the hurried purchase of the aforementioned yuck-suit. The photo to the left is the pattern I just purchased from Fashionably Modest Patterns, one of many, many sites dedicated to modest dress for women. I have never, even when I had the body to do it, worn a bikini or other revealing suit. I do not understand the desire to bare one's body in public, especially now that I droop and sag in places that require things like skirts and high necks. So this year is the year I give away the Delta Burke, third-world produced garment, and make my own suit. I will be adding the cap sleeve option to this pattern and definitely the shelf-bra option. And, no, I will not be photographed in the suit for another blog post; some things are better left alone.

Need-a-Bag? project update 06.21.08

Note: The Need-a-Bag? project was created to promote sustainable bagging at the Hwy 441 Alachua County Farmer's Market each Saturday morning. We supply reusable tote bags reclaimed from thrift stores and garage sales. The Need-a-Bag? project also utilizes old tank tops as tote bags by sewing up the bottoms (these are called t-totes). We invite you to read the other posts on the project by clicking the "Need-a-Bag? Project" label at the bottom of this post.

So, this week we put out only 10 bags -- DG had just come back from NYC and we just didn't have a chance to go shopping for more. But it was a Farmer's Market Miracle, because some kind soul or souls put out 9 extra bags for the shopping day! It was so amazing and heart-warming and I felt like I was in the third act of a Lifetime Original Movie. Thank you, Friend or Friends of Need-a-Bag? Project!

Newly elevated Need-a-Bag? Project Associate Stacey did a nice write-up of the Saturday farmer's market experience at her blog, yecats gniwe, and provided a recipe and picture for baked rigatoni that looks really yummy (I haven't had breakfast, yet, but I could definintely chow on some baked rigatoni right now). Anyway, it was a pleasure to have her help and companionship while we politely pushed and shoved our way through the crowded marketplace (paraphrasing Stace).

Speaking of yummy meals, I finally baked the spaghetti squash and made the casserole with meat sauce. I tossed the spaghetti squash strands in a hot pan with olive oil and garlic before placing in the lasagna dish and adding the pasta sauce with browned beef (and topping with parmesan). I baked mine uncovered for about 15 minutes although some recipes call for a light aluminum cover. I don't think you can really go wrong with this recipe, though, and it was a hit with the old man, who declared it "squash we can believe in!"

Got the pic of some yummy rigatoni from yecats gniwe

No longer "ad-free"

This is kind of dorky, but I just wanted to announce that I took the "ad-free blog" picture from the sidebar, because after thinking about it my blog does have some ads, like the "KleerKut" picture. Maybe I'm nitpicking between ads that are for causes and ads that sell stuff, but from an ethical standpoint my position is that it is still advertising. Hence the change.

Got the picture from adfreeblog.org

Super-Duper Summer Update

It has been awhile since I posted anything about the various projects I've been working on, in an effort to live more lightly. Here are some of the results so far:

Weaning from Deodorants:
This has been a struggle. The Lush deodorant bar DG got me for Christmas is still in use, but the red rash under my arms continues. It doesn't hurt and it's not itchy so obviously I haven't been that concerned if I'm still using the deodorant bar. And, I've finally gotten use to the smell -- of the deodorant bar, not my B.O. The yucky, feel-like-spit sweatiness of the season is upon us, but so far I haven't noticed my smelliness that much. I had to come into work early this morning and forgot to use the bar so ended up spritzing myself with a rather expensive perfume sample my friend Paul had given me. But I smell damn good.

Weaning from Shampoo:
I haven't used baking soda and apple cider vinegar in a few months -- still using the Lush shampoo bar (also a Christmas present) and interspersing that with Head and Shoulders because it's convenient. I wash my hair maybe 2-3 times a week and the shamps bar is still going strong. Halfway through June -- can it make it to this Christmas???

10-Dollar Compost Bin:
Can somebody please explain to me what one does when the bin fills up but you still have kitchen scraps to throw in? Haven't gotten there yet, but I'm close. Also, as you continue to fill it up and the junk turns into delicious, nutritious compost, just when can you start using it? Doesn't it take, like, 3 months to be useful? It has been fun stirring the compost every so often and seeing the stuff percolate into a beautiful black mass. Ultimately, however, I think my design was flawed in that I buried the bin instead of leaving it whole and kicking it around the yard once in awhile. This is what my friend Brenda's sister did and, in retrospect, it seems like a better plan than turning it with a shovel every so often. I might make another can, but the thought of another hour drilling holes into the thing is just not that appealing, right now.

Diva Cup:
Wow, what can I say? The Diva Cup has changed my life for the better. Proper placement and sometime-leakage are still issues but I'm just not that phased by that stuff, as evidenced by my skank-ass underwear collection.

Will post more updates as they come to mind.

Got the picture for my next compost bin from FrostCall, which additionally has a link to the DIY Urban Compost Bin, courtesy of the Crumley Family