Some people find me adventurous and fun. Others think I'm more organized and ... well ... structured, to choose a somewhat neutral term. Personally, I think I'm both, often at the same time. Recently, encouraged by my husband, I've decided to explore the spontaneous side - with full rational consideration of the reasons and consequences.
He found a great charter flight to Europe, and is sending me for my birthday. I made the decision in one night, and am leaving in 4 days. For 2 weeks. By myself. This is, for me, a pretty spontaneous decision. I am doing a writing project right now which I need to complete by mid-June. NEED to, as in I have a conference presentation. And it means missing a few meetings and drumming classes and other things. And well ... "hello mom, i'm going to Europe on Tuesday" is not completely usual for me.
But on the other hand, it makes perfect sense. I'm unemployed - no time commitments. The fare is good. I really really wanted to go to Europe this summer. The house is in the middle of renovations. And if I don't go now, when will I go? This is a great opportunity, and when I think about how I want to look back on my life, I'd like to think that I said "yes" to 2 weeks in Europe rather than "no, I should probably spend some time at the library" - particularly since writing is possibly THE most portable of all work.
I leave Tuesday - my priorities now are cleaning my room, finding the right bags to carry (this is a very complex task for me. They need to be light but easily portable, smallish for sure; I want wheels in spite of the guidance against them because I hate sore shoulders and find that I actually DO use the wheels a lot; but wheeled bags are heavier, hence you can carry less; and I need a day bag that's big enough for a book, journal, water bottle and food but small enough that it's comfy. But it would be nice not to look like a complete tourist with a gaudy backpack, and I have no idea what this option would look like in practice, or where to find it), packing, and getting some urgent work done on my writing. And a bunch of other things on the list.
Back to it.
Friday, May 15, 2009
Friday, May 8, 2009
Home-made Beauty
I've found a couple other home-made solutions to some skin care issues I've had. I'm THRILLED to find these easy, natural recipes as opposed to the cost, waste and toxicity of most drugstore solutions.
Intensive skin care.
My hands have been DRY and GROSS from all the gardening, cleaning, etc. I had a Mary Kay 4-part product for exfoliation and moisturizing, but it was chock-full of chemicals, including red dye (really! why do you need carcinogenic red dye?).
Solution:
Granulated sugar + grapeseed oil
Put some granulated sugar into a glass.
Starting with dry hands, pour about a teaspoon of sugar into your palm; add about a tablespoon or less of grapeseed oil. Rub all over hands like a scrub for a minute or more. Then rinse - the sugar dissolves, leaving you with exfoliated, oiled hands. Dry gently and let the remaining oil absorb.
Facial scrub.
I used to use St. Ives, but hey, they have chemicals too, and are really rough.
Solution:
almond oatmeal scrub
In a food processor or coffee grinder, blend up 1/2 cup oatmeal and 1/2 cup almonds. Mix and add 1 tbsp chamomile flowers (or a chamomile teabag - that's what I did).
Spoon out a teaspoon or so into your hands, add some water to make a paste, and rub your face.
Rinse off.
Bonus: smells like a yummy oatmeal muffin!
Intensive skin care.
My hands have been DRY and GROSS from all the gardening, cleaning, etc. I had a Mary Kay 4-part product for exfoliation and moisturizing, but it was chock-full of chemicals, including red dye (really! why do you need carcinogenic red dye?).
Solution:
Granulated sugar + grapeseed oil
Put some granulated sugar into a glass.
Starting with dry hands, pour about a teaspoon of sugar into your palm; add about a tablespoon or less of grapeseed oil. Rub all over hands like a scrub for a minute or more. Then rinse - the sugar dissolves, leaving you with exfoliated, oiled hands. Dry gently and let the remaining oil absorb.
Facial scrub.
I used to use St. Ives, but hey, they have chemicals too, and are really rough.
Solution:
almond oatmeal scrub
In a food processor or coffee grinder, blend up 1/2 cup oatmeal and 1/2 cup almonds. Mix and add 1 tbsp chamomile flowers (or a chamomile teabag - that's what I did).
Spoon out a teaspoon or so into your hands, add some water to make a paste, and rub your face.
Rinse off.
Bonus: smells like a yummy oatmeal muffin!
Different visions
I'm doing some reading about models of citizenship education for a paper I'm writing. A few have described how there are different visions of how "we" want citizens to act in the world - and these result in very different educational models for producing citizens. One article describes 3 different types of citizenship visions: personally responsible - someone who is a good person and helps others; socially active - someone who gets involved in organizing local activities; and justice-oriented - someone who looks at the root causes of social issues and lobbies to change them.
There was a neat CBC interview this morning that highlighted how these different perspectives can result in different ways to address social problems. A BC minister of something was talking about a study on domestic workers and caregivers and some of the problems they face - from being pushed to work more hours than their contracts, through outright abuse. The interviewer asked: are there any structural reasons for this? And he talked about some - that workers stay in the homes of their employers; that they suffer the consequences of reporting abuse; that we don't subsidize day-care in Canada, leading for a need for workers. The Minister didn't see any structural issues. He said that a majority of workers (from what he knows) are happy about the program. It seemed he just saw the need to tweak it - versus address the global economic imbalances that produce the program, or the inherent power imbalance in these particular relationships.
Theory in real life: yes!
There was a neat CBC interview this morning that highlighted how these different perspectives can result in different ways to address social problems. A BC minister of something was talking about a study on domestic workers and caregivers and some of the problems they face - from being pushed to work more hours than their contracts, through outright abuse. The interviewer asked: are there any structural reasons for this? And he talked about some - that workers stay in the homes of their employers; that they suffer the consequences of reporting abuse; that we don't subsidize day-care in Canada, leading for a need for workers. The Minister didn't see any structural issues. He said that a majority of workers (from what he knows) are happy about the program. It seemed he just saw the need to tweak it - versus address the global economic imbalances that produce the program, or the inherent power imbalance in these particular relationships.
Theory in real life: yes!
Tuesday, May 5, 2009
New love
I LOVE the garden! I feel quite materialistic saying this, but it has made all the difference to me to be working on a piece of property that we own, compared to working on anyone else's land. In the first place, we're right there. Get dressed, walk out the door and there's the garden. Though that implies quite a high degree of laziness, the ease of access lowers any barriers I might have to gardening. Combine this with the fact that my husband and I are both excited, feeling creative, and not bound to any particular vision of the garden - I'm freed up to do what I/we want, and don't have to answer to anyone else. Oh, the freedom from external control! No worries about making "mistakes" - just fun and enthusiasm over what we can do. Then, of course, it's ours - our home, our nest, and for the first time, working outside - on the yard - is an extension of my home-making instinct. We're making the place beautiful for us to enjoy, for our friends, and down the line, for our property value. And I have an amazing husband who quickly and easily brings in loads of soil, a pile of rock, or whatever else we need, and works it and builds it and makes it beautiful.
And then: gardens are so beautiful!!! We're putting in walkways, enclosed beds, all kinds of herbs and succulents and flowering and other plants (preferably perennial and low water varieties). Each few hours brings dramatic changes, or the promise of them when the plants grow in and take over. I didn't know how much I'd love doing this, and I'm thrilled that I do. I've started doing more reading about gardens, more research, and am looking forward to seeing how it develops over time.
And then: gardens are so beautiful!!! We're putting in walkways, enclosed beds, all kinds of herbs and succulents and flowering and other plants (preferably perennial and low water varieties). Each few hours brings dramatic changes, or the promise of them when the plants grow in and take over. I didn't know how much I'd love doing this, and I'm thrilled that I do. I've started doing more reading about gardens, more research, and am looking forward to seeing how it develops over time.
Delicious local meals
Yum yum yet again! Have to share two new recipes.
Fresh beet salad
Makes enough for a small serving for 4.
One medium or large raw beet. Wash, cut off ends, peel, then grate with a medium size grater.
Add:
1/2 cup or so of chopped walnuts
1/4 cup or so of chopped cilantro
Salt (not too much)
Olive oil
Mix - eat - yum! Tastes fresh and nutty and chewy.
Garlic nut greens
Fry on low heat garlic (5 - 10 cloves, roughly chopped) and nuts (flaxseed, almonds, some combination) in olive oil.
Add washed & medium-chopped beet greens and/or swiss chard - only cut off the tail of the small beet; stir and fry, adding water if you need.
Also yum yum!!!
The best part is, once we really get the garden growing, we can grow or locally source all the main ingredients! My parents have walnuts and they grow here, so it's just the olive oil and salt that aren't local.
Fresh beet salad
Makes enough for a small serving for 4.
One medium or large raw beet. Wash, cut off ends, peel, then grate with a medium size grater.
Add:
1/2 cup or so of chopped walnuts
1/4 cup or so of chopped cilantro
Salt (not too much)
Olive oil
Mix - eat - yum! Tastes fresh and nutty and chewy.
Garlic nut greens
Fry on low heat garlic (5 - 10 cloves, roughly chopped) and nuts (flaxseed, almonds, some combination) in olive oil.
Add washed & medium-chopped beet greens and/or swiss chard - only cut off the tail of the small beet; stir and fry, adding water if you need.
Also yum yum!!!
The best part is, once we really get the garden growing, we can grow or locally source all the main ingredients! My parents have walnuts and they grow here, so it's just the olive oil and salt that aren't local.
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