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Month: April 2021

end of april updates

end of april updates

yo yo yo, my 2nd-vaccine side effects weren’t too bad. i felt like i had bad allergies for a day, and then i was tired, so i took a 2-hour nap and then went to bed and slept another 8 hours. but now i’m doing ok – went for a run tonight and then some yoga, and so far so good!

and excellent news: the lawn mower started! the lawn definitely needs a trim, so i’m glad that fired up. in other yard news, i’m hoping my tiller also starts up. tomorrow i’m attempting to till my garden! i transplanted my raspberries to the edge of the treeline and out of my garden, and now it’s time to get it ready for all the cucumbers and dill. maybe some beans and tomatoes, but we all know i’m all about the pickle makings.

and talk about yay spring, the birch/aspen are suddenly neon green, which is awesome. the SUN IS OUT LONGER, which is also awesome. i don’t have to worry about rushing to go on a run in the evening, and it’s ALMOST time to retire the treadmill for the season, but i’m not 100% ready to commit to outside quite yet.

speaking of commitment, i am almost ready to buy a new macro lens. after years of doing fake macro, i may be ready to take the leap into real deal macro lens. i rented one last spring and loved it, so now i’m just gritting my teeth and wondering if i should spend the cash. they aren’t cheap. maybe it will respark my photo taking and make me actually get out with the camera.

anyway, those are my life updates in the cheese drawer for now.

omg a vacation??

omg a vacation??

so in ONE MONTH i am going to be on the east coast in new england. can i say how stupidly excited i am for going somewhere – aNYWHERE- for a trip? i mean, last month jane and i went to visit cousin lori, but that was the boonies and not a lot going on (sorry lori).

don’t worry; my travel companions and i will all be fully vaccinated when we go, and you best believe that i am wearing a kn95 on the airplane and in the airport.

we are flying into boston and then renting a couple cars to take us to rhode island where we have a condo for a week, right next to the atlantic. i’m not sure exactly what we’re doing, but i do think we’re spending a day in boston for sure, and i’d like to check out salem (though i’ve heard it’s kitschy and touristy and who the heck cares i’m sure i’ll love it). 😍  i wouldn’t mind taking a day trip to check out the appalachian trail since we’re so close to it (well, relatively). i don’t even care if i’m the only one who goes – there’s a reason we rented two cars!

and of course i am planning on eating nothing but lobster rolls and crab cakes while i’m out there.

anyway, anyone who’s been to new england and has any recommendations, write them in the comments!

slowly becoming plastic free: a review

slowly becoming plastic free: a review

in an effort to create less waste, even though it may seem like a half a drop in the pacific ocean in the effect it’s having, i moved a few of my household items away from plastic. let’s take a look!

dishwasher soap: while i had always tried to get the powdered cascade that came in the box so i could recycle it, i decided to give dropps a try. the packaging is cardboard, and the shipping is carbon neutral. the soap itself is plant based with no dyes, chlorine, phosphates, etc.  plus, the soap comes in those little (eco-friendly) pods. so i just grab one, stick it in the soap holder, and push start. and, i have it on auto-order, so i never run it.

dropps referral code! ($15 off a $30 order)

laundry soap: i’ve been making my own laundry soap for a few years now. i get a giant box of borax, a giant box of baking soda, and a few bars of castille soap (which comes in paper packaging). all the packaging is cardboard, and i just mix it all up in a giant bowl, stick it in a container, and it lasts me many many months. plus, you don’t have to use much. the worst part of it is grating the bar soap, but if you have a food processor, that makes easy work of that.

toilet paper: i tried a couple different brands of eco-friendly TP. it comes packaged in paper and is sourced from bamboo, which is much easier on the environment. the first brand i tried was “who gives a crap,” and while their marketing campaign is on point, their TP is not. or it’s too pointy. it’s rough and disintegrates easily. i tried out “reel” instead, and it is much better than who gives a crap. not exactly the same level as charmin ultra soft cushy bum TP, but if you’re looking for an eco-alternative, try out reel. the next time i order from them, i might get a couple rolls of their paper towels. (while i try to use cloth napkins, sometimes you just need a paper towel, like for cat barf.)

shampoo and conditioner: for the past year, i’ve used bar soap for washing my hair. i’ve tried ethique, which is super expensive, and i’ve tried minnesota-based hibar, also expensive. but for shampoo, i found that JRLiggets works just as fine for a fraction of the cost. it comes wrapped in paper and it lasts a few months. as far as conditioner, that is more difficult to come by, so i did stick with ethique for my conditioner. ethique also comes wrapped in paper. the downside to ordering the bar soap is that it may come in plastic packaging. ethique is based in australia, so they partner with amazon to sell in the US, and despite me directly contacting the bezos henchmen about my preference for cardboard, they still send me plastic. one thing i’ve noticed about moving to bar soap: my hair is a LOT lighter and a lot more flyaway-ish. i’m sure other shampoos were weighing down my hair, and this is a lot healthier. but now i’ve got to take more time to calm down the insane hair waves. OOOH it looks like they also launched a line of concentrates. i’ll have to check that out.

body soap: i haven’t used a bottle of body wash in years, at this point. i buy all my soap in bar form and make sure they’re packaged in paper. and i do buy soap made for washing your body, so it’s not harsh.

mascara: yep, i’ve even jumped on the mascara bandwagon! i got some besame cake mascara, which lives in a little tin. i use the mascara brush from my last tube of mascara, and every morning i wet the cake and put it on. i think it also helps keep away bacteria that like to fester in mascara tubes. i know you’re supposed to replace your mascara every few month because of that, and so far, i’ve been using besame for a lot longer than that. so i’ll spend the extra money. plus mascara is the only makeup i use regularly. it’ll probably even out in the long run.

face soap: i had been a neutrogena user for DECADES. but i decided to make the leap and am now using shae moisturize african black soap, made for sensitive skin. not only has it worked well, it smells great and has lasted me a long time. the most annoying part of it is that i keep it in the shower, and i sort of make a mess in the mornings when i pull it out to use at the sink instead of in the shower. but that’s ok.

deodorant: so HERE’s the interesting one! moving to a non-plasticized deodorant ALSO involved moving to a more natural deodorant. which meant a minor mindshift as far as how much i was allowed to sweat and smell like myself. about a year ago, i bought the ethique brand of natural deodorant. it was just a bar – no applicator – so it was kind of a pain to put on, especially as i got to the end of the bar. but, let me tell you a tmi story about my shift to non-aluminum deodorant. for many many years, i’ve had a bump on my right armpit that would just not go away. i don’t know if it was a permanently ingrown hair, backed up pore, or what. but it was annoying and it wasn’t pleasant smelling if i messed with it too much. after about 6 months of using my natural deodorant, the smelly bump disappeared!! i read up, and now i try to do a clay mask on my pit area once every couple weeks. it helps pull out smells that the aluminum deodorant had really been able to suppress and keep under wraps. if i skip a day, i can definitely tell. OK done with tmi, and back to review. the second brand i tried was native with the cardboard applicator, which wasn’t that much less expensive, but i can get it at target, and it works well. i tried out the brand raw sugar, and the smell was really overwhelming (unfortunately it was sealed and i couldn’t smell it in the store). then, i saw that secret had come out with a cardboard, natural version too. so that’s up next to try. NOTE on these deodorants: the smells are natural, so they are limited and unlike other deodorants. i’ve become ok with coconut, vanilla, and citrus to an extent. there are other scents like lavender and rose, lilac and white tea, herbal musk, cucumber, mint, etc. i don’t react well to florals, and some of the scents are strong, but they may work for you!

what’s next??

  • like i said, i want to try out reel’s paper towels.
  • i also need to take a look at what to do about my actual dishsoap and handsoap. maybe that ethique concentrate will be a good plan for those two.
  • then, there’s the matter of anti-wrinkle lotion for my face. i’ve got to do some research, but i might just continue on with paula’s choice. they have a deal with terracycle to take care of empties in an environmentally happy way.
  • then there’s a whole other issue with food and plastic packaging. that’s where the real waste is. what a mess!

in OTHER more inspiring news, there is a new type of plastic that is infinitely recyclable. good news! but this would require people to make sure to actually recycle it. keep it out of the dumpster, peeps!

earth day: a pivot?

earth day: a pivot?

i think that if there were a perfect time of year for earth day to occur, a day for us to celebrate the earth (inasmuch as you could only limit it to one day), the middle of april might be it.

especially in the northern states, this is a time of year that yanks us in many directions. march may be cold; it may be warm; it’s always drab but slushy. may is almost always at least mostly warm and gloriously green. march makes us mad. may makes us happy. but april? april is hope.

i think that’s how i feel right now about our place in the earth at this moment in time.

this morning i got an email from my mom that outlines native philosophies toward humans’ relationship with the earth around us. while i’ve always hammered on “we are stewards of the earth,” i like kciye a lot better: harmony with the natural world.

it’s not enough to know that we a part of the world and all its habitants; we need to actively take steps to live in harmony with all creation. meaning, we can’t see ourselves as being greater than or above the land, water, animals. instead of keepers of the earth, we need to be keepers of an attitude that is in harmony, a part of a living whole.

i recently read “neither wolf nor dog” by kent nerburn, about a white man’s journey with a native elder. it was a wonderful book and i’d recommend it to everyone, but one thing he explained really made me take a moment to assess my biases.

one of the things kent didn’t understand is why native people kept broken stuff in their yards. why not clean it up? why not just clear it out? because native people use everything (like when killing buffalo), and this applies to inanimate objects as well. done driving a truck into the ground? well, the dog likes to use it as a bed, so it sits in the yard. just because the items they use has changed doesn’t mean their philosophy around use has changed.

this way of life, of course, means humans have a lot of work to do. we especially good at thinking we’re the best, and even within our own species we have issues with this.

but like i said, i’m feeling a little hopeful right now. maybe it’s because it’s spring. maybe it’s because i picked up my garden seeds last weekend. or maybe because there are some things moving in the right direction that i’ve been seeing lately.

  • there seems to be a lot more resources being pumping into electric vehicles.
  • as a nation, we’re back on some level of handling climate change.
  • i’ve been noticing more and more products promoting plastic-free packaging. (speaking of that, i have to review the items i’ve been using plastic-free.)
  • while i’m not partaking, the more people working from home means fewer cars on the roads spewing out CO2.
  • more and more solar farms are popping up around me (and i’ve got a share! woo!)

i know there is a lot more going on, but if we keep pushing corps to do their part, our individual actions, as minimal as they seem (and are), won’t be in vain. keep making a ruckus, people. keep that april-esque vibe alive.

in which i feel sorry for my work self for a bit

in which i feel sorry for my work self for a bit

my officemate took another job after being at the college for a little over four years. i’m actually surprised he worked here for this long – he lives in the cities and it’s a long commute. plus, he has a one year old, and, as i told my old boss, it was just a matter of time. i had given him a year after his kid was born, and he surprised me with a year and four months.

it still really sucks.

when you’re a department of two, a loss of one person lays groundwork for some lonely days ahead. six months after i first started this job, my then coworker quit for another job. i had only been there for six months and didn’t know anyone well; it takes me a long time to get into a groove at a workplace, normally around three years. on top of that, i was in a remote location on campus and didn’t see much of anyone.

i remember sitting in my office one day, just doing the work i could manage to do, and i felt this overwhelming sadness. had i made the right decision leaving my other job for this one? would i ever find any work friends? what was i doing here anyway? i didn’t even know that coworker for that long, but he was at least there, and i collaborated with him on a daily basis, so i wasn’t lonely.

tonight, after a week and a half of knowing my current officemate would be leaving, i was slammed with that sense of sadness, melancholy, and loneliness again. i know that it won’t be the same this time; i’ve been here for five years, know people well, count many as friends. i’m not isolated – i share a cube wall with an IT guy and we have a wonderful time during the workday. but it’s still hard to see someone you’ve talked to on a 5-daily basis for four years, who i spend more time with than my husband (the perils of working opposite shifts). he’s one of the most complementary workmates i’ve had, skillswise, and I don’t know if finding a replacement will be easy.

my hope is that we move on hiring someone as soon as possible. i haven’t even heard the confirmation that we will replace him, and that kind of scares me. i’m being overly cynical and pessimistic about what’s going to happen in my tiny department, but i at least know that there will be support in my other coworkers.

i wish him the best, but dang this really blows.

sounds of spring

sounds of spring

tonight i went for a walk instead of a run. it was close to 80º and i needed a day to stretch out my legs with a walk. i started off listening to a podcast, but when i turned off the county road near my house and onto one of those little side country roads, i turned it off and took out my earbuds.

you see, there is a little bit of a marshland right on that road, and the frogs were out in force tonight.

one of my favorite things about spring is the sound of frogs croaking delightfully in the evening. there is a low rumble of frog croaking, with highlights of croaks that almost sound like crickets. as i walked past, the croaks paused for a moment, then started up again after i’d left the near vicinity.

compared to the silence of winter, enveloping and complete, the sounds of spring is pure cacophony. on top of the frogs, birdsong flitted through the air, the light, high-pitched tunes of songbirds. occasionally, i heard the dinosaur-like call of cranes, sounding like something otherworldly. then in the background of wildlife, the low hum of the freeway whined on, with breakout motorcycle engines revving.

i walked the rest of the way home listening to the sounds around me. it’s a weird time of year; there is no green, so it looks like november, but the light is long in the day and the air is wet and getting warmer. the hope of spring like the frogs: loud and nonstop.

now i’m in my living room with my windows open, surrounded by frogs croaking and a weird owl making a racket.